Author: Steven Sahiounie

The United States has practically started pulling out its military forces from 15 bases in Iraq, senior parliamentary officials in Baghdad said, adding that Washington plans to keep troops just in Ein al-Assad and Erbil. “The US has started withdrawal from Iraq and started retreat from 15 military bases,” Ali al-Qameni, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Commission, was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Ahd news website, as saying on Monday. He said the Americans only insist on continued buildup at the two bases of Ein al-Assad and Erbil, but Iraqi people and the parliament are pressuring them…

US President Donald Trump gave a speech at the White House Business session, speaking regarding the US Fiscal Year 2021 budget, as well as hypersonic weapons. Regarding the hypersonic weapons, Trump said that Russia, which is the only country currently fielding such technology, actually was provided it by the Obama administration, while the US wasn’t working on any developments. Trump also boasted that progress was being made in terms of nuclear weapons, and that both China and Russia wanted to avoid another such arms race. “Now, at the same time, Russia and China both want to negotiate with us to stop this…

The US military is reportedly planning to announce a more than 50-percent rise in the number of cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among its soldiers following Iran’s retaliatory strikes on an American military base in Iraq last month. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement, told Reuters on Monday that there were over 100 cases of TBI after the attacks, up from the 64 previously reported last month. The Pentagon had stated weeks after the strikes that the numbers were expected to increase because the TBI symptoms could take time to manifest. On January 8,…

Russian oil and gas companies could triple their investments in Iraq in the near future, Yury Fyodorov, first deputy chairman of the Economic Policy Committee at the Russian Federation Council, has announced. The companies may spend up to $20 billion on oil projects in Iraq, Fyodorov said at a meeting with Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Abdul-Rahman Al-Husseini, according to Russian media. Today, our leading oil and gas companies such as Lukoil, Bashneft, Gazprom Neft are actively working in your country. The total investment has exceeded $10 billion,” the official said on Monday. He added that other companies, such as Zarubezhneft, Tatneft,…

Canadian lawyers previously submitted a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the victims of the crash, demanding $1.1 billion in compensation from the Islamic Republic. Among the 176 people on board, there were at least 57 Canadian nationals. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has responded to the complaint about the Ukrainian plane crash, calling it groundless. “Iran’s actions are based on international rules”, Zarif said, according to the website Khabaronline. Tehran has also refused to send the “black box” flight recorders abroad for decoding. A Kiev-bound Boeing belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed on 8 January, just minutes after taking…

The Turkish Defence Ministry previously stated that the Syrian Army was pushed out of al-Nayrab and that one of its helicopters was downed the same day. Syrian military forces have recaptured the village of al-Nayrab in Idlib Province after the 25th Army Brigade briefly retreated from it following a surprise attack by terrorist forces, a Sputnik correspondent on site reported. The forces started to take back control over the village less than an hour after abandoning it in order to prevent the terrorists from reinforcing their positions in al-Nayrab, the correspondent added. At the same time, the Syrian Army located to the west…

Previously, reports from some media outlets suggested that the highway had already been recaptured by Damascus’ forces, but a source in the Syrian Army dismissed them, pointing out that the liberation of the M-5 is still underway. The Syrian Army is preparing to retake control of the strategic M-5 highway that goes through Idlib province and, specifically, through a region that is currently controlled by the Jabhat al-Nusra* terrorist organisation. A video shot by a Sputnik correspondent shows Syrian servicemen preparing armoured personnel carriers and tanks for the operation to liberate the highway from terrorists and retake control of it.…

Tensions in northern Syria are escalating as Turkish and Syrian forces continue to clash in Idlib province – the last stronghold of jihadists in the war-torn country. The Turkish Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that a Syrian Arab Army helicopter had been downed and that Syrian forces had to leave the village of al-Nayrab in Idlib province. The Syrian Army later confirmed that it left the village for a short period of time due to the surprise attack; however, according to recent reports, government forces have recaptured al-Nayrab, pushing out rebels linked to the Jabhat al-Nusra* terrorist organisation. Tensions in northern Syria began to…

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Saturday that Hezbollah is not leading the government, stressing that they are required to put an end to the current crisis. Aoun said, in an interview with a magazine on Saturday, that “Hezbollah does not lead the new government, and this government is required to work to put an end to the current economic crisis and take broad economic and financial measures for this purpose.” Aoun continued, according to the LBC, that “the Taif Agreement has greatly reduced the powers of the President of the Republic, and as a result the Council of Ministers…

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is still advancing inside the southern region of the Aleppo Governorate after a successful day northeast of Saraqib. According to the latest report from the Aleppo front, the Syrian Arab Army has captured a number of points this evening, including several sites along the Aleppo-Damascus Highway (M-5). The Syrian Arab Army’s advance has resulted in their forces crossing the Aleppo-Damascus Highway and entering the southwestern countryside of the Aleppo Governorate for the first time since 2013. With this advance, the Syrian Arab Army is now likely to clear the last remaining jihadist points along the…