Author: Steven Sahiounie

In a move meant to seal the deal on a long-sought Afghanistan peace deal, which would see the US withdraw from the country after 18 years, the Taliban has announced that they are approving a weeklong ceasefire across Afghanistan. The Taliban leadership in Quetta was already reported to be generally in favor of such a move as part of a peace deal, and confirmed it on Wednesday. Taliban council members are broadly supporting the plan. The US and Taliban were on the verge of a peace deal months ago, but President Trump ended the process at the time. With the talks restarted,…

the Houthis’ media wing released a video of a series of attacks on vehicles of the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies along the Saudi-Yemeni border. The video shows the destruction or vestiges of at least 8 armored vehicles and pick-up trucks. They were attacked by the Houthis in the area of al-Ajashir in Saudi Arabia’s Najran province and in al-Dhurah in the northern Yemeni province of al-Jawf. Improvised-explosive devices (IEDs) equipped with passive infrared (PIR) sensors or remotely-controlled detonators, were apparently used in these attacks. The Houthis are allegedly manufacturing such IEDs with help from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard…

Russian and Chinese warships joined Iran’s Navy and Revolutionary Guards vessels on Friday for four days’ worth of maritime exercises in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, simulating search and rescue, anti-piracy and shooting drills. The US Navy is concerned that the recent lull in hostilities with Iran following this summer’s string of escalatory actions in the form of tanker sabotage attacks, ship seizures and drone shootdowns may be repeated, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has said. “I think they’re going to continue to perform provocative actions over there,” Modly said, speaking to Reuters on Friday. “And I…

Over 450 people have been killed in Iraq since mass protests started in the country in early October; demonstrators accuse the political system of being “corrupt”. Protesters broke into an oil field in the city of Nassiriya in southern Iraq on Saturday, forcing employees to cut off electricity from its control station, Reuters reported, citing sources. The oil field produces 90,000 barrels of crude per day. The protesters chanted “no homeland, no oil” as they broke into the facility, the agency quotes sources as saying. Although protesters had previously blocked entrances to refineries and ports, this is the first time…

According to the Russian Reconciliation Center, terrorists attacked Syrian Army ‘ positions twice in Idlib, with each time involving up to 50 militants. The province remains a major stronghold of terrorist from various factions. Syrian army have repelled terrorist attacks in the province of Idlib, the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation reported on Saturday. According to the Russian military, up to 30 terrorists have been killed or wounded. There are no casualties among the Syrian military. “Militants from the terrorist group Tahrir al-Sham [ormerly known as the Al-Nusra Front*] with the support of the Syrian National Army launched two attacks…

China, Iran and Russia kicked off four days of joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. The exercise is aimed at “deepening exchanges and cooperation among the navies of the three countries, and demonstrating the goodwill and capability of the three sides to jointly safeguard world peace and maritime security,” a statement by the Chinese Defense Ministry said. A detachment of Baltic Fleet ships consisting of the Yaroslav Mudry Neustrashimyy-class frigate , the Yelnya tanker, and the Viktor Konetskiy sea tugboat stopped at the Iranian port of Chahbekhar to participate in Russian-Iranian-Chinese maneuvers. This…

Algeria will become the first country to procure an expert version of Russia’s Su-57E (E – export) fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter jet, Algerian media outlet “MenaDeefense” repoted on December 27. According to the report, the delivery contract was already signed. Under the contract, Algeria will reportedly receive 14 Su-57E fighter jets, 14 Su-34 fighter-bombers, and Su-35 multi-role fighters. The contract is allegedly set to be implemented by 2025. The decision to obtain Su-57E jets was reportedly made by the Algerian leadership during the 2019 MAKS-2019 Air Show (Aug 27, 2019 – Sep 1, 2019). In 2018 and 2019, Su-57 fighter jets…

On December 27, Russia’s Gazprom said that it has paid Ukraine $2.9 billion under the decision of the Stockholm court, as a part of wider gas agreements deal reached by the sides earlier in the month. On December 20, Russia and Ukraine announced the terms of new gas transit agreements, under which Russia will supply Europe for another 5 years via Ukraine and pay a $2.9 billion settlement to Kiev to end a legal dispute. In exchange, Ukraine is set to drop another legal claim. Moscow and Kiev are set to formalize the agreements and sign the final deal in…

The Turkish Armed Forces are ready to be deployed to Libya if necessary, media reported on Friday, citing National Defence Ministry Spokeswoman Nadide Sebnem Aktop. The Turkish military is able to conduct operations in and outside Turkey, as required, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing the spokeswoman. In late November, Turkey and the UN-recognised Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli signed an agreement on military cooperation. Both sides have already ratified the deal, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that Ankara would support the GNA in the fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA). Libya…

A concerted effort by radical anti-government demonstrators to disrupt Hong Kongers’ access to shops over the holiday season has resulted in a significant drop in seasonal revenue, as well as arrests by the dozens. Thursday marked the end of Hong Kong’s three-day Christmas break and the third day of protests carried out by masked, black-clad protesters. “Unprecedented violence, reckless and organized destruction became the norm,” Hong Kong city officials said in a statement issued Thursday, reported The Guardian. Chief Executive Carrie Lam also commented on the matter, asserting that protesters ruined Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. According to the outlet,…