Author: Steven Sahiounie

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi has called for parliament to hold a confidence vote on his government early next week. Nominated as a consensus candidate among divided political parties, Allawi emphasized that his cabinet was not drawn from the political elite, a key demand of the protest movement sweeping Baghdad and the south since October 1. In a speech broadcast on state TV on Wednesday, Allawi said he was proposing “an independent government without any party candidates for the first time in decades.” Iraqi officials have quietly expressed skepticism that such a government would earn parliament’s approval, AFP reported. Allawi…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he was reviving a plan for the construction of some 3,000 new settler homes near East Jerusalem. The project has been effectively frozen after international opposition. Netanyahu has pledged to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and the area’s Jordan Valley as part of an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump last month, Reuters said. Palestinians have rejected Trump’s plan. Israel’s Defense Minister called in January for Israel to establish sovereignty over nearly a third of the occupied West Bank, acting on Trump’s announcement of the peace…

In December, Syrian government forces launched an offensive to recapture areas of Idlib Province, the last remaining rebel stronghold in the country. Tensions in the region escalated further after Syrian government forces shelled a Turkish observation point on 3 February, killing seven military personnel and one civilian contractor. Syrian Arab Army units have repelled terrorist attacks on the Nayrab axis in the Idlib countryside in northwestern Syria, SANA reported on Thursday. Fierce fighting was reported close to the northwestern city of Saraqib, according to Sham FM radio. Government forces have air cover and are fighting back with artillery fire. The…

Sanctions against Iran were reintroduced by the United States in the wake of Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018. The restrictions target Iran’s economy, energy, financial and transportation sectors, among others. Washington has imposed sanctions on five Iranian individuals for “denying their countrymen free elections” by vetting scores of candidates in the upcoming parliamentary vote, the US Treasury announced on Thursday. “The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today took action against five members of Iran’s Guardian Council and its Elections…

According to the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria, pro-Turkish militants, with the support of the Turkish artillery, broke through the defences of the Syrian army in the areas of Qminas and Nayrab. Russian Su-24 aircraft have conducted airstrikes against pro-Turkish terrorists, which allowed the Syrian troops to repel all attacks successfully, the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria said in a statement. “The Syrian troops destroyed one tank, six infantry fighting vehicles and five pickup trucks containing large-calibre weapons”, the message said. The Centre also added that four Syrian servicemen were injured by Turkish artillery. The organisation went on to say…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator The shifting sands of the Syrian conflict have left many wondering what might happen next between the Kurds, the US, and Russia inside Syria.  I reached out to, Professor Tim Anderson, an Australian political economist, and author of “The Dirty War on Syria: Washington, Regime Change and Resistance”, “Countering War Propaganda of the Dirty War on Syria”, “Axis of Resistance: towards an independent Middle East” for some answers.  Despite Dr. Anderson’s busy schedule, he replied to my interview questions.  Steven Sahiounie: What is the possible future of the Syrian Kurds, given the fact they invited the…

A unit of the Syrian Army stopped a US military patrol in northeastern Syria and forced it to turn back. This was not the first time when Syrian government forces limited the US movement in the area. Over the past months, such incidents have become a general practice. Earlier, several reports appeared that the US military blocked movements of the Russian Miltiary Police in northeast Syria. It probably forgot that this is the game for two sides

The second round of the Russian-Turkish taks on the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib ended in Moscow on February 18. The Turkish delegation left Russia. The sides released no official statement on the talks’ outcome hinting that no breakthrough was achieved. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported the following on the agenda of the talks: According to diplomatic sources, the Turkish delegation stressed the need to rapidly reduce the fighting and prevent further worsening of the humanitarian situation in the region.Another point on the agenda include measures that could be taken in Idlib to ensure full implementation of the…

By Andrew Korybko The Chinese Foreign Minister and American Secretary of State shared contrasting visions of International Relations during their keynotes speeches at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend. Mike Pompeo preached that “the West is winning“, and by the “West”, he elaborated that he means “any nation that adopts a model of respect for individual freedom, free enterprise, national sovereignty.” This outlook divides the world into the West and non-West, into the latter of which he grouped China, Russia, and Iran. Wang Yi, meanwhile, emphasized the “need to get rid of the division of the East and the West and go…

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu slammed the US for occupying Syrian oilfields, calling it a major obstacle to the reconstruction of the country after the conflict. “The oil fields… are controlled by the US. There’s shameless, impudent pillage of the wealth that belongs to Syria and the Syrian people taking place,” Shoigu said during a visit to the Italian capital Rome. At the same time, the sanctions imposed by Washington against Damascus ban any oil shipments to Syria, putting the country in a tight spot. “Most of the people, who are now suffering in Syria, are in need of heat, hot…