Author: Steven Sahiounie

Sarah Abed, independent journalist, political commentator Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is in New York this week for high level talks at the UN. He has been confined to a six-block radius. It’s not uncommon for Iranian diplomats along with envoys from North Korea, Syria and Cuba to be confined to a broader radius of 25 miles. Zarif’s movements, however, are limited to the UN Headquarters in Manhattan, the Iranian Mission to the UN, and the Residence of the Iranian Ambassador. Even with the restrictions placed on him with a limited visa, he has made time for a few interviews to…

The Farsi accounts of three Iranian news agencies have been suspended on Twitter since Friday, shortly after they reported the capture of a UK-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Twitter says the events are unrelated. Two Farsi-language Twitter pages of Mehr News Agency, as well as pages belonging to the Young Journalists Club (YJC) and IRNA, have all been blocked on Twitter since Friday. Mehr and the YJC are semi-official news agencies, and IRNA is Iran’s official government-run agency. Mehr and IRNA’s English-language accounts were still accessible as of Saturday evening. Twitter apparently didn’t tell the targeted agencies why…

The combination of rare yellow color, clarity, and size makes a diamond unearthed at a mine in Russia’s northwest one of the most unique gemstones ever discovered in Europe. A deep lemon-yellow diamond weighing 47.61 carats found in the Grib mine in Arkhangelsk, Russia may be the largest of its kind unearthed in this part of the world. The “exclusive crystal” boasts flawless clarity and the right shape, which makes its attractive for major jewelry firms, according to the owner of the mine, AGD Diamonds. The company attributes the fact that the stone was recovered undamaged to its innovative mining…

An increasing number of Iranians have started turning to cryptocurrencies, in particular bitcoin, with the devaluation of the national currency prompted by US economic sanctions. The crypto craze has raised concerns from authorities that the energy-hungry process of “mining” bitcoin is abusing Iran’s system of subsidized electricity. Currently at half-a-cent per kilowatt, the subsidized electricity rates have fueled the country’s thriving crypto-mining community. Iran’s Electrical Industry Syndicate has recently revealed its intention to hike prices to seven cents per kilowatt. Iran’s Minister for Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said that the country has become “a heaven for miners.” “The business…

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has secured more than 50 commercial contracts for 5G across the world, according to the company’s board member and Senior Vice President Catherine Chen, who was cited by news agency Xinhua. Despite pressure from Washington on its allies to ban Huawei technology, Chen said that 28 contracts were signed in Europe. In June, Huawei helped to launch the 5G commercial network in Saudi Arabia. The company – which was barred from building fifth-generation networks by the US, Canada, and New Zealand – has also stepped into the Russian market. Huawei announced an agreement with one of…

By Stephen Lendman In response to delivery of Russian S-400 equipment to Turkey days earlier, a White House press release said the following: “…Turkey’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defense systems renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible” — despite Ankara’s partnership in the program. Its defense contractors produce around 900 F-35 parts. Turkey earlier made a downpayment for planes it contracted to buy. The Pentagon has been training its pilots to fly them. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said expelling its military from the F-35 program “is incompatible with the spirit of alliance and does not rely on any legitimate…

Steven Sahiounie, Middle East observer CNN correspondent Arwa Damon came to Syria illegally many times, as a guest of the armed fighters, even when the Free Syrian Army (FSA) no longer existed, and only Al Qaeda was in control of Idlib. She referred to Idlib as a demilitarized zone, but failed to explain the Russian-Turkish agreement stated that Al Qaeda and ISIS and any other UN recognized terrorist group could be hunted, bombed, attacked and killed by any method. Arwa tried to make you think that the Syrian-Russian bombardment of Al Qaeda positions was illegal. In fact, the UN states that every country must fight to kill Al Qaeda and ISIS wherever…