Author: Steven Sahiounie

Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and Khalifa Haftar, who leads the forces in eastern Libya, sat down in Moscow to discuss the North African country’s crisis under the auspices of Russian and Turkish authorities. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that he remains upbeat about the high-level talks on Libya that are currently under way in Moscow. “I think that the negotiations will wrap up tonight; they continue on a positive note as I was informed. I hope that an agreement [on a peaceful settlement in Libya] will be signed soon”, Erdogan told reporters in Ankara on Monday. He also voiced…

The United States will work with Iraqi leaders to possibly reduce the Pentagon’s military footprint in the country while preserving American interests, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested on Monday. “How ultimately our force posture will [look like will] be resolved inside Iraq. We will work along duly elected leaders in Iraq to get to the right place”, Pompeo offered during remarks at Stanford University. “I think we can achieve both of these goals – reduce our footprint, reduce our risk while still achieving the American objectives in the region, including in Iraq”. The Iraqi Council of Representatives expelled…

The US Department of the Treasury announced Monday that, as part of its semi-annual currency report, it will no longer designate China as a currency manipulator. “The Treasury Department has helped secure a significant Phase One agreement with China that will lead to greater economic growth and opportunity for American workers and businesses,” US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in the Monday release from his department. “China has made enforceable commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation, while promoting transparency and accountability.” This announcement followed the US Treasury’s delivery of its semiannual “Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United…

A U.S. military convoy allegedly approached a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) checkpoint in the Tal Tamr countryside this past week and was forced to turn around, the think tank Katehon reported. According to the site, the U.S. convoy consisting of four vehicles was heading towards the silos near Tal Tamr when it approached a Syrian Army checkpoint. The Syrian soldiers at the checkpoint allegedly forced the U.S. military convoy to turn around instead of allowing them to continue traveling along the International Highway (M-4). No video footage has been released, nor have the Syrian Arab Army or local activists reported this. However,…

A report by a correspondent for Danish TV 2 who has interviewed Danish soldiers positioned at Iraq’s Ain al-Assad airbase, which was the target of a retaliatory attack from Iran against US forces, shows that the damage done to the base has been “much greater” than the US officials acknowledge. The report cites Danish sergeant John and other Danish soldiers as making the comment in an interview after the US military base in the western Iraqi province of Anbar was targeted by Iran’s retaliatory strikes. “Suddenly, the first wave came, that’s what I call it. Nine rockets at barely a ton each.…

The United States says it is sending 21 Saudi military cadets back to the kingdom after its probe finds last month’s fatal shooting by a Saudi officer as an “act of terrorism.” Attorney General William Barr said on Monday the evidence shows the shooter was motivated by extremist ideology. Barr also said that 21 Saudi cadets have been expelled following an investigation into the fatal shooting and will be sent home. He added that the military trainees possessed child pornography and other extremist materials. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia determined that this material demonstrated conduct unbecoming an officer in the…

US President Donald Trump had reportedly authorized the American military to assassinate Iran’s top general Qasem Soleimani seven months ago, contradicting Trump’s previous statements that he ordered the killing because the general posed an imminent threat. Trump’s authorization in June came with the condition that he would have final approval on any specific operation to kill Soleimani, NBC News reported Monday, citing five current and former senior administration officials. The officials told NBC News that former US National Security Adviser John Bolton had urged Trump to sign off on an operation to kill Soleimani after Iran shot down a US drone that…

By Elijah J. Magnier Well-informed and established sources at Iraqi Prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi’s office in Baghdad believe “the US is unwilling to listen to reason, to the Iraqi government or the parliament. It has the intention of bringing war upon itself and transforming Iraq into a battlefield, by refusing to respect the law and withdraw its forces. The US will be faced with strong and legitimate popular armed resistance, even if some Iraqis (in Kurdistan) will break the law and will accept the US presence in their region, though without a heavy price.” Caretaker Iraqi Prime Minister Adil…

Iran’s precision missile strikes at US military bases in Iraq sent the message that all American targets in West Asia are within the range of Iranian missiles, says the secretary general of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also lauded the Islamic Republic over firing the salvo of ballistic missiles in retaliation for the January 3 assassination by US terrorists of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in an airstrike near the Baghdad International Airport. “This attack was also a message to the Zionist entity… Let stupid…

The protests in Iran that followed Tehran’s admission of its role in the downing of the Ukrainian passenger jet were met with an outpouring of support from Washington. But is it about Iranians, or regime change? US officials and establishment figures certainly spared no effort as they went out of their way to show how much they supposedly admire the ‘courage’ of Iranians who took to the streets to vent their anger at the fact that a Ukrainian passenger jet, with many Iranians on board, was mistakenly shot down by Iran’s military – something Tehran admitted of its own volition…