Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested a senior member of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) in the eastern region of Syria this week. According to the Xeber 24 news site, the SDF arrested Niru Sariva during an operation inside the city of Baghouz in the Deir Ezzor Governorate. Sariva, a Portuguese national, was reportedly a commander of one of the Islamic State’s foreign battalions in eastern Syria before his capture by the Syrian Democratic Forces. Xeber 24 noted that Sariva was the commander of ISIS’ foreign militants’ battalion and was in charge of abducting and executing Westerners in Syria. The 33-year-old…

The Iranian oil tanker, ADRIAN DARYA (previously Grace 1), that was previously detained in Gibraltar has allegedly offloaded its cargo in Syria, the Middle East Eye reported. According to the Middle East Eye, the ADRIAN DARYA offloaded at least 55 percent of its cargo, a similar claim made to Al-Masdar from a Lebanese journalist that asked to remain anonymous. The journalist added that the cargo on the ADRIAN DARYA oil tanker is worth approximately $130 million (U.S.). At the same time, a Syrian source in Damascus told the media that the oil was delivered using several small ships. He said the ships…

An independent Russian producer has made a foray into China’s market for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), jostling with Middle Eastern countries for what could be a lucrative foothold, market data showed and traders said. China is one of the world’s largest importers and consumers of the fuel. Key suppliers to the country are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which jointly account for more than 60% of China’s LPG imports. Russia is one of the top oil exporters to China and is set to launch a gas export pipeline connecting the two countries by the end of…

By: Andrew korybko The tentative peace deal that the US is negotiating with the Taliban would redefine the regional balance of power if it’s officially promulgated, thus continuing the ongoing trend of Great Power realignment in Eurasia. It’s been widely reported that the tentative peace deal that the US is negotiating with the Taliban will see the removal of 5,000 American troops from Afghanistan and the closure of five military bases (at least in the first phase) in exchange for the armed group (formally recognized as terrorists by Russia and many other countries) promising not to allow their territory to be used…

Steven Sahiounie, Middle East observer Erdogan demands a nuke Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated he refuses to accept that Turkey cannot acquire a nuclear weapon, apparently forgetting that Turkey is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.  He held up the example of his regional neighbor, Israel, and the fact they have multiple nuclear warheads, although they have never officially confirmed ownership.  Idlib is falling The Turkish military and the Turkish backed terrorists aligned with Al Qaeda are failing to hold on to their occupation of Idlib, Syria. The Russian air force and the…

Tehran will provide details on Saturday of its latest scaling back of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal in response to US sanctions, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Atomic energy organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi will set out the details of Iran’s third cut in its nuclear commitments since May, the report said on Thursday. The previous day, President Hassan Rouhani said that the new steps included abandoning all limits set by the 2015 deal to Iran’s nuclear research and development, AFP said.

terrorist have shelled 21 settlements in the Syrian regions of Aleppo, Latakia, Idlib and Hama in the past 24 hours, Major General Alexey Bakin, chief of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides in Syria, told reporters on Wednesday. “On September 3, 26 shellings were registered. Militants from illegal armed groups shelled Benjamin, Sabikiyah in Aleppo province; Ayn al-Qantara, al-Asi, Ardash Daq, Qara Galiyah, Qara Djegez, Saraf, Nahsheba, al-Areym, Mamuhiya in Latakia province; Suqqokiyah, Zaitunah, al-Qasabiyah, Zaitundjiq, Tell al-Maqtwa, Huayn al-Qabir, Adjaz, Tell al-Turki, Sharjah in Idlib province; Ell-Jammasiayah in Hama province,” TASS quoted Bakin as saying. He…

The US state department has confirmed it offered millions of dollars to the captain of an Iranian oil tanker which is at the centre of a diplomatic row. Brian Hook, head of the department’s Iran Action Group, emailed the captain of the Adrian Darya 1 about sailing it somewhere the US could seize it. The vessel was suspected of moving oil to Syria, and was temporarily impounded by UK authorities in Gibraltar in July. It was released last month after Iran gave assurances about its destination. The US justice department, which had tried to block the release, then issued a warrant…

Sarah Abed, independent journalist and analyst The second largest sovereign state in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, has been ravaged by war, deliberate starvation, and cholera for over four years. A 274 page U.N. report released on Tuesday, highlights the human rights situation including violations and abuses since September 2014. According to the report, which took two years to complete, the United States, France, and Britain may be complicit in war crimes for their involvement in the war in Yemen by not only supplying the weapons being used by the Saudi and United Arab Emirate coalitions, but also providing them with intelligence and…

Yemeni government officials have begun indirect talks with United Arab Emirates-backed southern separatists in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah to end fighting in Aden and other southern provinces, Reuters quoted a Yemeni official as saying on Wednesday. The fight for Yemen’s south has opened a new front in a multi-tiered war and threatens to further fragment Yemen. Government and separatist forces are both part of a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Houthi group. The separatists, who seek to restore the former South Yemen republic, have seized control of the southern port of…