Author: Steven Sahiounie

According to reports, the housing ministers of their respective countries will sign a contract on Tuesday, under which Iranian firms will construct 30,000 residential units in the Syrian capital, Damascus. A new bilateral agreement will see Iranian companies build 30,000 residential units in Syria, the chairman of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), Gholamhossein Shafei, said on Tuesday, and reported by state media. Shafei unveiled the proposals at the Iran-Syria Business Forum, and outlined Iran’s commitment to supporting Syria’s reconstruction, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported. “Iran hopes to see Syria’s reconstruction following the full restoration of peace and…

The White House and the US Capitol have been put on temporary lockdown following an airspace violation in Washington D.C. According to law enforcement sources the North Lawn of the White House was cleared as fighter jets from Air Force Base Andrews were mobilized on Tuesday. “The White House was locked down this morning due to a potential violation of the restricted airspace in the National Capital Region,” a spokesperson for the Secret Service responsible for protecting the President and his family told media in a statement. “The lockdown has been lifted at this time.” A small aircraft, which had…

By Pepe Escobar Just in time to shine a light on what’s behind the latest sanctions from Washington, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a speech at the annual Astana Club meeting in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan delivered a searing account of Iran-US relations to a select audience of high-ranking diplomats, former Presidents and analysts. Zarif was the main speaker in a panel titled “The New Concept of Nuclear Disarmament.” Keeping to a frantic schedule, he rushed in and out of the round table to squeeze in a private conversation with Kazakh First President Nursultan Nazarbayev. During the panel, moderator Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute, managed…

By Omid Rahimi and Aveek Sen On November 6th, early in the morning at 7:50 AM local time, the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Tajikistan published a statement about an attack on a Tajik border outpost in “Ishqobod” along the border with Uzbekistan. The first statement informed that 15 of the assailants and 2 members of the state forces have died.  On the same day, in the second statement -that of the State Committee on National Security (SCNS)- claimed that the invaders were members of ISIS and entered the country from Afghanistan. After 2 days, on November 8th, ISIS officially took the responsibility of the attack by publishing…

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of an epidemic of dengue fever in Yemen as the impoverished country is already grappling with cholera due to a years-long Saudi aggression. “We have been recently extremely worried and concerned by reports of dengue outbreak, in addition to cholera,” Robert Mardini, head of the ICRC’s delegation at the United nations (UN), told a gathering of journalists on Monday. Mardini said more than 3,500 people have come down with dengue fever and 50 are reported to have died in the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah from late October to early…

Police in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, have seized over 180,000 litres (47,550 gallons) of smuggled fuel, media reported on Monday, citing a police official. Sistan and Baluchestan police chief Brigadier General Mohammad Ghanbari stated that three fuel depots and seven tank trucks were seized and that 65 smugglers had been arrested, Iran’s Mehr news outlet said. Despite the Iranian government’s creation of markets in Iran’s border regions to prevent the illegal trade of gasoline, smuggling in these areas has increased in recent months in the wake of further US sanctions on Iran’s oil…

France will be launching the coalition in response to a flare-up in tensions in the Middle East in the past six months, caused by a series of attacks on oil facilities and tankers. Western nations have largely attributed those incidents to Iran, despite a lack of conclusive evidence. France’s defence chief has announced that the proposed European maritime force will be headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Defence Minister Florence Parly made the announcement on Sunday as she spoke to reporters at the French naval base in Abu Dhabi, which is set to host the…

At least nine civilians were killed overnight in the village of Gajgin in Afghanistan’s Farah province by US-led coalition aircraft, broadcaster 1TV reported on Sunday. At the same time, five other people, including one minor, were severely injured and later sent to the hospital. Local authorities confirmed the incident, telling journalists that they had asked the government in Kabul to address the tragedy. In the meantime, there has been no official comment from the coalition forces. The reports come amid another escalation in Afghanistan almost two months after the US President Donald Trump suspended peace talks with the Taliban movement, noting…

Last month, the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy warned of “bitter fate” for those who breach Iran’s borders amid the ongoing political standoff with the US. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) chief Hossein Salami has pledged that the IRGC would obliterate the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia if they cross what he described as Tehran’s red lines. “We have shown restraint … we have shown patience towards the hostile moves of America, the Zionist regime (Israel) and Saudi Arabia against the Islamic Republic of Iran … but we will destroy them if they cross our red…

The Small Group of the Syrian Constitutional Committee will gather for the second round of discussions in Geneva on Monday following a two-week break. The group will work on initiatives concerning Syria’s constitution, which will be submitted to the committee for approval. The United Nations Office in Geneva said the meeting of the 45 members of the Small Group will be held at the Palace of Nations. The 150-member Syrian Constitutional Committee includes representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition, as well as civil society members. Each of the three groups holds one-third of seats in the committee. The…