Author: Steven Sahiounie

A US-led military coalition said to be backing the Iraqi government in its fight against Daesh terrorists has been training Iraqi army forces for several months at a military base located in Taji. The attack on the Iraqi base comes amid escalating tensions in the region due to the ongoing standoff between the United States and Iran. According to multiple reports citing Iraqi military sources, several rockets hit the Taji military base, north of Baghdad, on Tuesday. A source in the Iraqi security forces confirmed that at least five Soviet-made Katyusha-type projectiles hit the military installation. Alsumaria News, citing a…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation” on Sunday that he didn’t see any specific evidence that Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was planning an imminent attack, which had been widely used by Trump as the justification of his assassination along with Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.  “What the president said was he believed that it probably and could’ve been attacks against additional embassies,” he said. While Trump was apparently making Ouiji-board foreign policy decisions, Esper was worried about the US troops now in Iraq, and with more on their way,…

protests have taken place in Iran over the crashed Ukrainian Airlines flight 752, after authorities admitted it was shot down as a result of “human error.” The protests were widely supported by specifically the US and UK. As there were reports that the British Ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire was arrested in Tehran for taking part in the protests. In a tweet Tasnim news said he had been detained “for organizing suspicious movements and protests in front of Amir Kabir University but released after hours”. The tweet added he would be “summoned by the foreign ministry tomorrow morning [January 12]”.…

Oil prices turned negative for the year after dropping on Monday as traders and investors focused on the possibility of oversupply in crude amid dissipating tensions that initially threatened tanker movements in the Middle East. Brent, the global benchmark for crude, was down 65 cents, or 1 per cent, at $64.33 per barrel by 11:37 a.m. EST (15:37 GMT), continuing its slide from the middle of last week when the United States and Iran moved away from an outright war after Tehran fired missiles at US airbases in Iraq. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude benchmark, was down 74…

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…