Author: Steven Sahiounie

The price of crude oil rose sharply on Friday morning after Iranian officials said that two rockets had struck an Iranian tanker traveling through the Red Sea. International benchmark Brent rose over two percent to $60.34 per barrel by 7:30am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained almost two percent to $54.60 per barrel. “Spare capacity remains fragile and with supply chain vulnerability a worrying concern at virtually every Middle East oil field, traders continue to hedge supply risk premium,” Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist at AxiTrader, told Reuters. The oil tanker Sinopa, owned by the National Iranian Oil Company…

Sarah Abed, political analyst “Operation Peace Spring” Turkey’s third cross border military operation in northern Syria, in as many years, was initiated east of the Euphrates River, on Wednesday. Turkish armed forces began heavy air and artillery strikes targeting about 180-200 Kurdish positions. Turkey’s Defense Ministry claims to have killed 174 YPG/PKK terrorists. However, this operation is much larger than expected at 300km wide and 50 kilometers deep according to some sources, and many major cities have been targeted, resulting in numerous innocent Syrian civilians’ deaths in residential areas. Last Sunday night, The White House issued a statement, which some…

The second Turkish military officer has been killed in the country’s ongoing offensive in Syria’s north, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday. “Our brother-in-arms Haji Bebek died on October 11 during Operation Peace Spring in clashes with terrorists of the PKK-YPG, Kurdistan Workers’ Party – People’s Protection Units,” Akar said in a statement. According to the Defence Ministry, the number of neutralised Syrian militia fighters has reached 342. Earlier in the day, Akar announced the first Turkish military loss in the operation. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of the offensive, dubbed Operation Peace Spring, in northeastern Syria…

By Prof. Tim Anderson and James Corbett Government propaganda and NGO misinformation have coloured the story of the war on Syria from its inception. Stepping in to set the record straight, Dr. Tim Anderson explores the real beginnings of the conflict, the players behind it, and their agenda in his important book, “The Dirty War on Syria: Washington, Regime Change and Resistance.” The Dirty War on Syria has relied on a level of mass disinformation not seen in living memory. In seeking ‘regime change’ the big powers sought to hide their hand, using proxy armies of ‘Islamists’, demonising the Syrian Government and constantly…

By Mark Taliano Not only are the ethnic-cleansing SDF playing a central role in the balkanization of Syria, but their criminal occupation of resource rich areas east of the Euphrates affords them and their Imperial masters strategic locations, useful not only for their preparations to wage war against Iran, but also for their on-going economic war against Syria.  The presence of SDF-occupied areas near Turkey, however, has negatively impacted NATO cohesiveness.  Turkey and the US are at cross-purposes with the SDF. These conflicting military agendas have served as a catalyst for Turkey’s closer affiliations with Russia.  The war on Syria is…

Heavy fighting has been reported as US-backed Syrian Kurdish militants hold off a Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria, regaining control of several villages lost during the fighting. Overnight counter-attacks by Kurdish forces led to the retaking of two of the 11 villages, which had previously fallen to Turkish forces, according to reports. “There is heavy fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turks on different fronts, mostly from Tal Abyad to Ras al-Ain,” the so-called Syria Observatory for Human Rights reported on Friday. Kurdish media also reported that Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain had been hit worst by the fighting.…

The Turkish military is currently conducting an anti-terror military operation in northern Syria — a third one in three years — with a stated goal of clearing the way for the return of millions of Syrian refugees and stamping out the security threat near its southern border. Ankara expects its NATO allies to express solidarity on the ongoing operation in Syria, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Friday during a press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. The NATO chief, for his part, called on Turkey to show “restraint” in the operation, now in its third day. Turkey launched the offensive,…

Two separate explosions, possibly caused by missile attacks, in an Iranian oil tanker operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) have hit the vessel near the Saudi port city of Jeddah. The incident took place some 60 miles from Jeddah early Friday, according to informed sources. The explosions have reportedly hit the vessel’s hull, causing heavy damages to the vessel’s two main tanks, which has resulted in an oil spill in the Red Sea. The spill is currently stopped, according to officials. Technical experts are currently investigating the cause of the explosion. They believe it was a “terrorist attack”, unnamed sourced told the Iranian…

The Turkish military kicked off its ‘Operation Peace Spring’ in northern Syria on Wednesday, saying the campaign was aimed at clearing the border area of Kurdish militants and Daesh (ISIS)* fighters and at establishing a security zone along Syria’s border with Turkey. Turkey was forced to launch its military operation in northern Syria thanks to continued US arms deliveries to the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said. “First, the US told us: wait, we will withdraw our forces. We waited, and they did not remove them. Then we agreed on joint patrols, which turned out…

Iran plans to increase oil production in four oilfields shared with Iraq by nearly 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) until March 2020, according to a report by the official IRNA agency. A deputy director of the National Iranian Oil Company told the IRNA on Thursday that output in Yadavaran, Azar, Aban and Paydar Gharb oilfields will increase at the end of the current Iranian calendar year thanks to intensive work by Iranian and foreign companies at the fields located along the Iranian-Iraqi border. Reza Dehqan said that the largest boost to output would take place in Azar oilfield where production…