Author: Steven Sahiounie

Steven Sahiounie, Middle East observer The Syrian war ends in Idlib While most of Syria struggles to recover from 8 years of bloody conflict, Idlib is left as the last hot-spot.  The population in Idlib today includes foreign terrorists following the tenets of Al Qaeda.  The terrorists have wives and children, and while they may be seen as innocent, they remind us of the ISIS wives and children now in the Al Hol “concentration camp”, who is seen to be the seeds of the next ISIS resurgence.  Every war has an ending, and the Syrian conflict is ending in Idlib…

Washington earlier proposed that Ankara buy Patriot air defence systems in a bid to thwart its deal with Moscow on the purchase of S-400s. Turkey, however, stuck to its deal with Russia, but hasn’t discarded the possibility of buying Patriots either. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated ahead of his visit to the US in order to participate in the UN General Assembly that the idea of Ankara buying American Patriot missiles is “not off the table”, Daily Sabah reported. He noted, however, that for a deal to happen, the US must make some concessions. “If our conditions are fulfilled we…

A British-flagged tanker detained by Iran in mid-July will be released soon, according to a Fars news report citing an Iranian maritime official. “After the issuing of the ruling for the end of detention of the English tanker Stena Impero this vessel will soon, and after the passing of 65 days, begin its movement from the port of Bandar Abbas toward international waters,” said Allahmorad Afifipour, the head of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran in Hormozgan Province. The vessel, registered in Britain but owned by Swedish logistics firm Stena Bulk, is one of the ships at the center of…

Dozens of Palestinian prisoners behind bars in Israeli jails are continuing their open-ended hunger strike for the 13th consecutive day to protest the presence of cancer-causing mobile phone jammers in prisons. According to a report by the Palestinian Information Center on Sunday, the hunger strike began after the Israeli prison service recently installed many cell phone jamming devices in its detention centers and later boosted the level of their hazardous radio signals. It added that Israeli prison authorities still refused to meet the demands already made by the representatives of Palestinian prisoners about removing the jammers, activating public telephones, and…

By: Pepe Escobar the Yemeni Shiite group’s spectacular attack on Abqaiq raises the distinct possibility of a push to drive the House of Saud from power We are the Houthis and we’re coming to town. With the spectacular attack on Abqaiq, Yemen’s Houthis have overturned the geopolitical chessboard in Southwest Asia – going as far as introducing a whole new dimension: the distinct possibility of investing in a push to drive the House of Saud out of power. Blowback is a bitch. Houthis – Zaidi Shiites from northern Yemen – and Wahhabis have been at each other’s throats for ages. This book is…

Iranian authorities say size of investment in downstream sections of the oil and gas industry, where petrochemicals are produced and marketed, would reach $93 billion by 2025. Head of the National Petrochemical Company of Iran Behzad Mohammadi said on Sunday that the country had extensive plans for expansion of refining and petrochemical activity, adding that government and private investment in the sector would top 70 billion in the next two years. The official made the remarks in a speech on the opening of Iran Plast, a leading annual fair meant for showcasing the country’s potentials and capabilities in the petchem sector.…

According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, special services dismantled the drone, which they managed to detect and shoot down north of the city of Al Qunaitra. The Syrian Army has intercepted a drone loaded with cluster bombs over Jebel al-Sheikh near the Golan Heights, the Syrian Arab News Agency said on Saturday. In addition, Syrian intelligence agencies discovered a stash of weapons, ammunition, medicine, food, and equipment produced in Israel, in the village of Barika in the suburbs of Quneitra. ​The incident comes two days after another drone interception over the Damascus suburb of Aqraba. Israel seized control of the Golan…

Kuwait has raised the security alert level at all of its ports, including the oil terminals, the state-run KUNA news agency reported on Friday, citing Trade and Industry Minister Khaled Al-Roudhan. “The decision emphasizes that all measures have to be taken to protect the vessels and the ports’ facilities,” it said. The announcement comes after two important oil production facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia were hit by drones and missiles on September 14, curtailing the crude output of the world’s top oil exporter, Reuters said. Yemen’s Houthi group claimed the attacks but a US official said they originated from southwestern Iran.…

The European Union has said British and EU negotiators have agreed to continue discussions aimed at ending the Brexit impasse, as the talks appear to be gaining momentum. On Friday, the European Commission said that the technical talks are focused on “a first set of concepts, principles and ideas that the United Kingdom has put forward.” The EU has demanded that Britain put forward written proposals on how to keep goods flowing smoothly across the Irish border without costly and time consuming checks once Northern Ireland leaves the bloc along with the rest of the UK. The commission says “it is essential…

by Tim Korso US President Donald Trump earlier gave a green light to a “moderate” American military deployment to Saudi Arabia to protect it from possible future attacks coming from Iran. The decision came soon after both the kingdom and Washington accused the Islamic Republic of attacking Saudi Aramco facilities, despite Tehran denying this. The US has redeployed the USS Nitze destroyer to the northeast coast of Saudi Arabia in a bid to “plug the gap” in Saudi Arabia’s air defences that was allegedly used in the 14 September raid on its oil facilities, CBS reported. The redeployment comes in line with previous…