Author: Steven Sahiounie

Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani has stated that Iran is prepared to utilize its full capabilities to assist Syria in enhancing its defense and deterrent power against the US and Israel. In a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Ali Mahmoud Abbas in Tehran on Saturday, Ashtiani warned against plots by the United States and Israel to intensify crisis across West Asia. “Any strategic mistake and adventure of the US and the Zionist regime will lead to the worsening of the situation in the region,” he said. He condemned Israel’s airstrikes against Syria and violation of its territorial integrity,…

Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa on Saturday met with the US secretary of state in Manama to discuss regional issues.The crown prince and Antony Blinken “discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire of at least six weeks in Gaza as part of an agreement to secure the release of hostages,” the US State Department said in a statement.Prince Salman stressed the kingdom’s “firm stance toward the Palestinian cause and its unwavering commitment to reaching a peaceful, lasting and fair solution in support of Palestinians’ legitimate right to establish an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Bahrain’s state…

President Mahmoud Abbas engaged in a phone conversation this evening with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The conversation discussed the urgent measures needed to cease the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. Both leaders stressed the imperative for Israel to completely withdraw from Gaza and cease all unilateral actions in the West Bank and Jerusalem. They underscored the critical need for Palestinian worshippers to access Al-Aqsa Mosque without hindrance. Furthermore, President Abbas and Sheikh Tamim reaffirmed their dedication to delivering essential humanitarian aid through various channels and ensuring…

US and Jordanian aircraft on Saturday dropped food supplies to Palestinian civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip in a joint humanitarian aid operation, US Central Command said in a statement.The airdrops by a US Air Force C-130 aircraft and a Royal Jordanian Air Force C-130 aircraft came as the main UN agency working in the enclave said that one in three children under age two is acutely malnourished. It warned of looming famine.US Central Command called the airdrops “part of a sustained effort and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries.”Much of Gaza lies in ruins and its 2.3 million…

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry mocked recent comment by a former Israeli military official about partitioning Iran through ethnic discord, saying the Zionist criminals won’t live to see their wishes fulfilled. In a post on his X account on Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani ridiculed the comment by Mordechai Kedar, a former Israeli military intelligence officer who has proposed a regime change in Iran instigated by ethnic minorities. Kedar has, in an op-ed article issued by the Jerusalem Post on March 13, argued that Iran should be disintegrated into five to six ethnic states. In response, Kanaani…

Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas has handed in his resignation to Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, the government’s press office said in a statement on Friday. Anusauskas was also scheduled to meet with President Gitanas Nauseda on Saturday, according to the agenda of the head of state. Journalist Edmundas Jakilaitis launched a wave of speculation on Friday evening, when he wrote on Facebook: “Thanks to Arvydas Anusauskas. We’ll see how Laurynas Kasciunas will do.” Anusauskas jokingly directed all questions to Jakilaicius after the post. “I promised him to refer all interested parties to him for that message, so go ahead, call, ask,” he…

The second load of food aid is ready to depart by sea from Cyprus to Gaza, according to the island’s president, after the first aid shipment landed in the besieged Palestinian enclave overnight. “The first ship has started its return to Cyprus, and we are ready to dispatch the second ship,” Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told journalists. The second ship, with 240 tonnes of aid, is moored at Larnaca port awaiting a signal to sail. US charity World Central Kitchen, which arranged the mission with the UAE and Spanish NGO Open Arms with support from the Cypriot government, said the…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza on a larger scale ahead of a two-day trip to the Middle East. “It is necessary for aid to reach Gaza on a larger scale now. That will be a topic that I also have to talk about,” he told journalists ahead of his trip. Scholz will travel to the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba to meet on Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II before flying to Israel to see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also voiced concern about Israel’s planned offensive in the southern…

Sorrow and misery linger over the tents of displaced individuals in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the city of Rafah, where over 1.5 million Palestinian citizens are crowded due to the ongoing Israeli war of genocide. They find themselves prey to hunger and thirst even during the holy month of Ramadan. Maysaa Al-Balbisi, a 39-year-old woman from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, stood tearfully, holding her infant daughter in her arms, in front of a simple tent. Inside, she resides with her husband and two children in a makeshift shelter set up in the playground of the Shaboura market…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirms that Russia is determined to revive and renew Crimea on the 10th anniversary of the reunification. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the only right development from the Euromaidan coup in Ukraine was the reunification of Crimea with Russia. In a video recording on the 10th anniversary of the peninsula’s reunification with Russia on Saturday, Lavrov said, “As the further development of the situation shows, this decision was the only right one. It [reunification] made it possible to protect the lives, honor, and dignity of Crimeans from the encroachments of the Russophobic Kiev regime.” Lavrov…