Author: Steven Sahiounie

By Janice Kortkamp Rania  “if death will come in 5 years or 7 or 10 I would urge it to come now because they have ripped us up of all hopes for any foreseen future… they have killed us while we are still breathing, they have taken any shred of dignity pushing us to strive for our daily bread … I wonder what else they may ask for if we keep compromising ….” [the full identity of the testimonies is not available] 1. Ayham  I wonder what does the American Government have against the Syrian people and for what reason we are being…

“Who have given the Americans the right to do this? And, at whose invitation is the US protecting Syria’s oil fields?” Xie Xiaoyan said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday. “Let’s think the other way around: will the US allow Syria to send troops to US territory to protect oil fields there?” he said. In late October, Washington reversed an earlier decision to pull out all of its troops from northeastern Syria, announcing the deployment of about 500 soldiers to the oil fields controlled by Kurdish forces in the Arab country. The US claimed that the move was aimed at…

Steven Sahiounie, Political commentator Archbishop Atallah Hanna, of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was the victim of an Israeli assassination attempt on December 17, just days before Christmas, when an Israeli gas canister was fired into his church in Jerusalem.  He was rushed to the hospital suffering from partial paralysis due to the effects of the poisonous gas.   The Israeli occupation authorities have long held him in disdain because of his outspoken criticism of the occupation of Palestine, and the suffering of its people. Hanna stated last month, “The occupation in Jerusalem is treating us as if we are…

By: Darius Shahtahmasebi While much of the international and domestic US media focuses on the Trump impeachment scandal, there are many signs that a major conflict could break out in the Middle East. Will Christmas go off with a monumental bang? Iran can move in and out of the media focus as other stories and scandals begin to steal the spotlight, but in the background the pressure being mounted against Tehran is heating up on multiple fronts. For example, the US recently rolled out a fresh load of sanctions against Iranian companies, including its largest airline, accusing it of “weapons of mass…

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies have launched a large-scale military operation against terrorist groups in the southeastern part of the so-called Greater Idlib region. The operation, which was launched in the afternoon of December 19, is reportedly led by the SAA’s elite 25th Special Forces Division, previously known as the Tiger Forces. Large units of the army and many pro-government forces are participating in the operation. SAA troops are now storming Umm Jalal in southeast Idlib. Russian and Syrian warplanes are targeting the town, which is also being pounded by the army’s artillery. According to pro-government activists, al-Qaeda-affiliated…

The Iraqi Armed Forces launched a massive operation to eliminate the remnants of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) terrorist organization along the western border of the country. According to the Iraqi security forces, their troops targeted the Islamic State hideouts in the southern part of the Al-Qa’im District, Wadi Houran, and Al-Husseiniyat. This operation was coordinated with the Popular Mobilization Units’ (Hashd Al-Sha’abi) Al-Anbar forces, who have been carrying out daily search-and-destroy missions against the Islamic State. The Iraqi security forces noted that the operation is also being conducted in coordination with the Iraqi Air Force, U.S.-led Coalition, and army. In…

Saudi Aramco has begun exploring oil fields in Syria’s northeastern province of Deir ez-Zor, and the company’s official delegates have just visited the areas formally located in the zone of responsibility of the United States. Experts interviewed by Nezavisimaya Gazeta believe that potential presence of Saudi business in Syria’s northeastern region can serve as a positive factor. Riyadh has repeatedly provided active assistance there. Currently, the oil wells in that part of Syria need specialized upgrading and maintenance. Many were damaged either as a result of hostilities, or intentionally during the retreat of IS and its cohorts. “Saudi presence in…

By Drago Bosnic The US Congress passed a defense bill for 2020 that includes new sanctions on contractors who are helping build Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as the curbs are aimed at preventing its completion, which is still expected this year. The US Senate has voted for a $738 billion defense budget, which includes sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and military assistance to Ukraine, according to the results of the vote, Sputnik reported. The vote in the Republican-controlled Senate was 61-6 in favor of the National Defence Authorisation Act, or NDAA. The legislation calls for mandatory sanctions…

Algeria swore in Abdelmadjid Tebboune as president on Thursday as the protest movement debates its response to his offer of dialogue to end a months-long political crisis. Tebboune, a former prime minister who casts himself as a reformer, was elected last week in a vote the opposition regarded as a charade intended to keep the ruling elite in power, Reuters said. The army saw Thursday’s election as the best way to end 10 months of weekly mass protests that helped oust Tebboune’s predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April. Since the election, the weekly Friday and Tuesday protests have gone ahead as…

At least five people, including three children, have lost their lives and several others sustained injuries when a car rigged with explosives went off in an area of Syria’s northeastern province of al-Hasakah, controlled by Turkish military forces and their allied militants ever since they launched a ground offensive against militants from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack took place on Thursday afternoon in Tal Halaf village, which lies west of the strategic border city of Ra’s al-Ayn. On November 26, a car bomb killed at least 17 people and wounded 20 others in…