Author: Steven Sahiounie

A massive explosion rocked the town of Ain Qana in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, causing a major shockwave across this region of the country.A large fire and significant destruction was photographed in the area, amid the arrival of ambulances and security forces to help the people in the area. The explosion has reportedly taken place at a gas station in ‘Ain Qana, but the source of the blast is unknown The cause of the explosion is still unknown at this time.

Taiwan announced on Monday, that its armed forces have the right to self-defense and respond to attacks amid “harassment and threats,” in an apparent warning to China, which recently sent several planes across the midline of the Taiwan Strait.A statement by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense stated that it had “clearly defined” the response measures that the island would take, amid “the escalation of harassment and threats from enemy aircraft and fighters.”They said that Taiwan has the right to “defend itself and confront attacks under the approach of not escalating the conflict or causing incidents.”Usually, Taiwanese and Chinese fighter jets…

The head of the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, Stefano Del Col, said that the continuous Israeli overflights over the Lebanese airspace represent a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and Lebanese sovereignty.Del Col called on the Israeli army to stop flying over Lebanese airspace, and said that such continuous violations lead to escalation of tension and could lead to incidents that threaten the cessation of hostilities agreement between Lebanon and Israel.Del Col indicated that UNIFIL has recorded in recent days a large number of Israeli air violations, explaining that the continuous overflights over the Lebanese airspace constitute a violation…

The Turkish Ministry of Defense issued a warning to the Armenian authorities on Monday, following the killing of an Azerbaijani soldier along the border.In a tweet via their official account, the Turkish Ministry of Defense called on the Armenian authorities to immediately stop “playing with fire.”“Armenia, which illegally occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, has now violated the ceasefire in the Tovuz region and a heroic Azerbaijani soldier has been martyred,” the ministry said.The Turkish defense added, “We extend our condolences to all Azerbaijani brothers and sisters. Armenia must stop playing with fire immediately!”On Monday, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced that the situation…

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, considered that the military confrontation between the Syrian government and the opposition in the country has ended, noting that there are only two hotspots in Syria, namely Idlib and the areas east of the Euphrates.Lavrov said, in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, whose text was published on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday: “I recently returned from Damascus, where I visited with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Borisov, who held talks on prospects of economic cooperation, while I discussed with colleagues political situations. ”He continued, “I do not think…

Moscow regrets that the United States is taking steps to militarize space; measures are needed to prohibit any deployment of weapons there, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said on Monday.“We saw and heard statements, unfortunately, of US representatives and their allies that they would like to do something in terms of the military use of space. We believe that, of course, we need a document that would give us international legal guarantees that weapons of any kind will not be put into orbit,” Vershinin said during an online press conference at the Rossiya Segodnya news agency.“In this regard, we…

An Iranian official said on Monday that his country is currently involved in a “bloodless war” against the U.S., as the two foes continue to combat one another at a diplomatic level.According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, said that the United States is waging a war against Iran, imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s exports of crude oil.The Iranian minister said, “Today, Iran is still fighting a war. America launched a war against Iran without bloodshed.”On Sunday, Zanganeh called on member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to “refuse…

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, along with the country’s Defense Industries Organization, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.“Today, I will take the first action under this new executive order by sanctioning the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, and Iran’s Defense Industries Organization and its director,” Pompeo said.Russia had previously called out the United States for the restoration of sanctions against Iran.“The facts are that the UN Security Council did not take any action that would lead to the restoration of old sanctions against Iran. All…

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Monday, that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi will ask France during his upcoming visit to France to buy weapons from them.The minister said that “there is a French desire to strengthen relations with Iraq, matched by an Iraqi desire to strengthen relations with them.”Hussein added that “there are economic projects that have been put forward and have obtained initial approval, so that French companies implement these projects in order to help Iraq, and they are projects that deal with infrastructure, services, and others that deal with the energy and oil sector, in addition to…

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday announced sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for allegedly defying the United Nations arms embargo imposed on Iran.“We’re also sanctioning the previous president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro,” Pompeo said in a press conference. “For nearly two years, corrupt officials in Tehran had worked with the illegitimate regime in Venezuela to flout the UN arms embargo.”Venezuela has increased ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran in recent months due to increased sanctions against both countries.Iraq also supplies Venezuela with fuel, engineers and other material to help the country bridge its fuel crisis at…