Author: Steven Sahiounie

The United States is considering fresh sanctions and legal action to deter Iran from exporting fuel to Venezuela, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The threat of more penalties comes as five Iranian gasoline tankers are sailing toward Venezuela – which the US sees as a potential lifeline for President Nicolas Maduro’s government, the report added. Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami warned earlier on Wednesday that the country will hesitate if the US attempts to impede the passage of its ships to Venezuela. Separately, an unnamed military source told the ISNA news agency that the US navy’s fresh warning…

On May 19th, a F-35 Joint Strike Fighter crashed, while flying out of Egling AFB in Florida. The pilot safely ejected, was taken to hospital and is in stable condition. If the F-35 is destroyed, it would be the third crash of an F-35 that resulted in a total write-off of the airframe. This is the second crash of an aircraft operating out of the base in less than a week, with an F-22 Raptor going down on May 15th. Eglin AFB is home to a large number of aircraft. It is a major training base for F-35, and more…

The Government of National Accord (GNA) operations room “Anger Volcano” announced on May 20 that its combat drones had targeted four Pantsir-S1 air-defense systems of the Libyan National Army (LNA). Col. Mohamad Qununu, a spokesman for the operations room, said three of the systems were targeted in the vicinity of the town of Tarhunah, while the fourth щту was targeted near the town of al-Wishka. The Libya al-Ahrar TV shared a video showing the destruction of two Pantsir-S1 systems near Tarhunah. Another video shared by a Turkish outlet, Clash Report, shows a third system being targeted on a road near…

On May 19, the al-Quds Brigade, a Palestinian group supporting the Damascus government, carried out a combing operation in the eastern Homs countryside. During the operation, a large area between Haribshi and Faydat Umm Muyni’a was cleared. The water-rich area was reportedly infested with ISIS cells. The terrorists left behind equipment and few pick-up vehicles, which were seized and destroyed. A day earlier, the National Defense Forces (NDF) announced that fresh reinforcements will be deployed in “al-Badiya” [the central desert region] to clear it from ISIS terrorists. ISIS cells in the Homs desert intensified their attacks recently. Last week, the terrorists set…

Syrian government officials have seized major stocks of Western-made weapons and munitions, including American TOW anti-tank missiles, while conducting clean-up operations in the country’s southwestern provinces of Dara’a, Suwayda and Quneitra. Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing an informed source speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that the weapons were found as Syrian army troops were combing formerly militant-held areas. Among the seized weapons were heavy machineguns, submachine guns, US-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missiles, Israeli-built M72 LAW portable anti-tank rockets, landmines, rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, hand grenades and ammunition of various calibers The source added that…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared an end to all agreements with Israel and the United States in response to an Israeli regime’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Abbas announced in a statement on Tuesday that he intends not to abide by security agreements and understandings signed between Tel Aviv and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as well as cooperation with the United States. “The Palestine Liberation Organization and the state of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the commitments based…

The US Navy has warned vessels in the Persian Gulf to stay 100 meters away from American warships or risk “lawful defensive measures,” in a move that appears to be aimed squarely at Iran. “Armed vessels approaching within 100 meters of a US naval vessel may be interpreted as a threat,” according to the text of the notice issued on Tuesday. The Bahrain-based US Naval Forces Central Command claimed in a statement that its notice was “designed to enhance safety, minimize ambiguity and reduce the risk of miscalculation.” Meanwhile, an unnamed US official told Reuters the new notice was not a…

A senior Hezbollah official says the liberation of Jerusalem al-Quds from Israeli occupation tops the agenda of the regional resistance front, and that the Lebanese movement is fully prepared for any type of confrontation with the regime in Tel Aviv in line with that objective. “We are perfectly ready to confront any act of aggression or instance of folly that the Zionist regime could commit,” Seyyed Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television channel on Tuesday. “The resistance movement is currently assured and well aware of its approach and choices in the event of such a confrontation with…

Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn secretly escaped Japan and fled to Lebanon in 2019 after being kept in custody for financial misconduct, the underreporting of his earnings and the misuse of the automaker’s assets. US authorities have arrested a former special forces soldier, Michael Taylor, and another man, Peter Taylor, who are wanted in Japan for facilitating the escape of former Nissan Motor Co head Carlos Ghosn. The two men are expected to appear before a federal judge in Worcester, Massachusetts, via a video link. Ghosn, a Brazilian-born French businessman of Lebanese descent, was arrested in Tokyo in November 2018…

On 28 January President Donald Trump formally unveiled his plan for Middle East peace, authored by a team led by his son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Palestinian authorities rejecting the proposal as flagrantly biased. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday offered his most vocal to date opposition to the Israel’s government’s moves to annex Jewish settlements as part of the move to claim sovereignty over the West Bank and Jordan Valley, reported The Hill citing a transcript of the former vice president’s statement. “I do not support annexation…The fact is, I…