December 10th, 20180Watching the ongoing debate between U.S. liberal and right-wing pundits in U.S. mainstream media, one rarely gets the impression that Washington is responsible for the unfolding crisis in Central America.
In fact, no other country is as accountable as the United States for the Central American bedlam and resulting refugee...
December 3rd, 20180When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army to carry out a limited operation in the besieged Gaza Strip on November 12, he certainly did not anticipate that his military adventure would destabilize his government and threaten the very survival of his right-wing coalition.
But it did, far more than the multiple...
November 4th, 20180The next round of economic sanctions on Iran, which will start going into effect on Nov.4, will mainly target the country’s oil and gas industries. These sanctions were eased after the 2015 signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, but are being phased back in following...
October 7th, 20180On Wednesday, an Israeli official played down the Russian upgrading of Syria’s air defenses, saying the newly supplied S-300 missile system could be defeated by Israel’s stealth fighters and possibly destroyed on the ground.
Moscow said on Tuesday that it had delivered the S-300, a decision it took after accusing Israel of...
October 1st, 20180Israel is ready to reopen a crossing point into the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights now that Syrian government forces have regained control from rebels, according to Israeli Minister of War Avigdor Lieberman.
But Lieberman, on a visit to the Israeli-occupied side of the Quneitra crossing on Thursday, said any resumption of operations...
September 30th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 1,100 civilians have been killed in U.S.-led strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria since the operation began in 2014, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
The coalition fighting ISIS militants said in a statement that during the month of August it had determined that an additional 53 civilians...
September 21st, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Thursday, Sept. 20, that his group had obtained precision rockets despite Israeli strikes in recent years aimed at cutting the supply route through Syria.
“No matter what you do to cut the route, the matter is over and the resistance possesses precision and non-precision rockets...
September 19th, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, a key Damascus ally, said on Wednesday that his group will keep its military presence in Syria until further notice, commending the Idlib Russian-Turkish agreement as a step toward reaching a political solution in the country.
“We will stay there (in Syria) even after the...
September 17th, 20180AMMAN — A Syrian rebel commander said on Thursday rare military exercises with U.S. Marines in southern Syria sent a strong message to Russia and Iran that the Americans and the rebels intend to stay and confront any threats to their presence.
Colonel Muhanad al Talaa, commander of the Pentagon-backed Maghawir al Thawra group, told...
September 9th, 20180BEIRUT — On Thursday, Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis said in Damascus that opposition-controlled Idlib province will soon be restored to Syrian state sovereignty, vowing to win any coming war.
“Idlib will soon be restored to the nation,” Khamis said in a speech during the opening ceremony of the 60th edition of the annual...
September 1st, 20180MOSCOW — Russia will begin a major naval exercise in the Mediterranean on Saturday, the Ministry of Defense announced, a move the Kremlin said was justified by a failure to deal with militants in Syria’s Idlib province.
Idlib and areas surrounding it are the last major enclave held by rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar...
August 26th, 20180MOSCOW - A senior Russian official warned the U.S. on Saturday against making any “reckless” moves in Syria, the RIA news agency reported.
Reacting to comments by National Security Adviser John Bolton about Washington’s possible strong reaction in the event of a chemical or biological attack in the Syrian region of Idlib, Deputy...
August 17th, 20180BEIRUT — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Party, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Tuesday his group was stronger than ever and would “very soon” celebrate victory in Syria, where it has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad government.
Nasrallah was speaking on live television to mark the anniversary of a 2006 war...
August 4th, 20180MOSCOW — Russia will deploy its military police on the Golan Heights frontier between Syria and Israel, its defense ministry said on Thursday, after weeks of mounting volatility in the area.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s sweeping away of rebels in southwestern Syria has worried Israel, which believes it could allow his...
August 2nd, 20180BEIRUT - Syrian state media said late on Thursday that air defenses had destroyed a “hostile target” west of the capital Damascus.
“Our air defenses confronted a hostile target and destroyed it west of Damascus,” the state news agency SANA said, quoting a military source.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have...
July 29th, 20180On Thursday, the Syrian city of Sweida buried dozens of its Druze inhabitants who were killed the day before in coordinated massacres carried out by ISIS terrorists. Residents and witnesses said they overran villages and staged multiple suicide attacks inside the city.
They said the attacks that killed more than 200 people— the...
July 28th, 20180DETROIT — On Tuesday, July 24, a Dearborn man was charged in an unsealed indictment with providing material support to ISIS after being captured on an ISIS battlefield.
Ibraheem Musaibli, 28, was taken into custody by coalition-backed forces this month while attempting to escape the Middle Euphrates River Valley in northern Syria,...
July 22nd, 20180BEIRUT/AMMAN — President Bashar al-Assad is set to recover control of the Syrian frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in a major victory over rebels who have agreed to surrender terms, sources on both sides said on Thursday.
Backed by Russian air power and unopposed by Assad’s foreign adversaries, government forces...
July 8th, 20181BEIRUT - Syrian military air defenses struck an Israeli warplane and shot down Israeli missiles targeting the T4 air base in Homs province in response to an act of “aggression” on Sunday night, Syrian state media said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel does not comment on foreign reports.
Israel has grown deeply...
July 6th, 20181By Pepe Escobar
Ahead of the Trump-Putin summit on July 16 in Helsinki, Syria-centered spin has gone into overdrive. Different sources have leaked what is billed as President Trump’s alleged Syria deal discussed with Jordan’s King Abdullah.
Trump would “allow” Damascus, supported by Russian air power, to regain...
June 19th, 20180As the Arab and Muslim worlds were ending a month of blessed fasting, observing the most holy month in Islam and getting ready to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, there isn’t much to celebrate there— a region engulfed in bloodshed and complicated conflicts among brothers and neighbors.
In Gaza, a real massacre engulfing the besieged Strip...
June 12th, 20180GENEVA/BEIRUT ― The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR hopes the Lebanese foreign ministry will quickly reverse a decision to freeze residency applications the agency has submitted for its staff, its spokesman said on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil ordered the freeze last week after accusing UNHCR of hindering the return of...
June 5th, 20180BEIRUT — Lebanon is working with Damascus for the return of thousands of refugees who want to go back to Syria, a Lebanese official said on Thursday.
As the Syrian army, backed by Iran and Russia, has recovered territory, Lebanon’s president and other politicians have called for refugees to go back to “secure areas” before a...
June 1st, 20180DAMASCUS – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad raised the possibility of conflict with U.S. forces in Syria if they do not withdraw from the country soon.
In an interview with Russia’s RT international broadcaster, Assad said he would negotiate with fighters backed on the ground by Washington, but would reclaim territory they control...
June 1st, 20180DEARBORN — Farah, a 9-year-old girl flaunting a colorful dress, proudly hands a drawing she made to a woman who’d just gifted her a toy doll.
Farah, whose name translates to “joy” in Arabic, said she loves drawing and would someday day like to teach art. Mohammed, her 6-year-old brother, sports a black bandana. He’s...
May 25th, 20180The nuclear deal: List of U.S. demands vs list of Iranian condition
WASHINGTON/TEHRAN — on Monday, the Trump administration demanded that Iran make wholesale changes in its military and regional policies or face "the strongest sanctions in history" as it sought to turn up heat on Tehran after President Trump's decision to withdraw...
May 24th, 20180BEIRUT - Syrian state media said a military airport near Homs city had come under missile attack which was repelled by its air defense systems on Thursday.
“One of our military airports in the central region was exposed to a hostile missile attack, and our air defense systems confronted the attack and prevented it from achieving its...
May 23rd, 20180TEL AVIV — Israel is pressing the Trump administration to recognize its sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Wednesday, predicting U.S. assent could come within months.
Interviewed by Reuters, Intelligence Minister Israel Katz described endorsement of Israel’s 51-year-old hold on the...
