Author: Steven Sahiounie

By: TiM MURPHY On Friday night, the Washington Post published an absolute bombshell report about President Donald Trump: President Trump told two senior Russian officials in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was unconcerned about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election because the United States did the same in other countries, an assertion that prompted alarmed White House officials to limit access to the remarks to an unusually small number of people, according to three former officials with knowledge of the matter. You’ve heard about this meeting before, because it was a big deal at the time—that’s the same one where…

The vessel recently left the port of Bandar Abbas where it was being held in custody, but, according to Tehran, it still faces charges of violating maritime rules and causing environmental damage. British-flagged oil tanker the Stena Impero arrived to Dubai after two months of detention in Iran, Reuters reported on Saturday. Seven of the Stena Impero’s 23 crew members were released earlier in September and left the Islamic Republic, while the remaining sailors were told to stay on board so that the ship could leave the port. The Stena Impero was detained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait…

Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse anti-government protesters who threw rocks, broke windows and blocked a key road near the local headquarters of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). A series of protests in the Chinese-ruled city for and against Communist Party rulers in Beijing is planned ahead of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic on Tuesday, October 1, including at the consulate of former colonial power Britain. The protesters, many dressed all in black and wearing masks, took cover under umbrellas from the water cannon and fled after the demonstrations had taken a familiar turn…

The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces says three Saudi military brigades were completely destroyed after Yemeni Army troops, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, mounted a large-scale military offensive in the kingdom’s southern border region of Najran. Speaking at a press conference in the capital Sana’a on Saturday evening, Brigadier General Yahya Saree described the major and efficient operation, dubbed God’s Victory, as the biggest-ever since Saudi Arabia and some of its allies embarked an atrocious military campaign on Yemen more than four years ago, noting that the offensive lasted several months and inflicted dramatic losses – both in terms…

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem has slammed as “illegal” the military presence of the US and Turkey in northern Syria, demanding an immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces from his country. “The United States and Turkey maintain an illegal military presence in northern Syria,” Muallem said in his address to the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Saturday. “Any foreign forces operating in our territories without our authorization are occupying forces and must withdraw immediately,” he said, asserting, “If they refuse, we have the right to take any and all countermeasures authorized under international law.” The…

The United States’ main mistake in its negotiations with North Korea is that it exerts maximum pressure on Pyongyang but never resorts to positive measures, according to Russia’s permanent representative at international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov. “The US partners have assumed the leading role in the process of negotiations. Their main mistake is they rely exclusively on pressure, while forgetting that some positive incentives should be employed, too, for the sake of success,” TASS quoted him as saying, in Moscow. “Pyongyang has for a long time refrained from tests, from ballistic missile launches, but it has seen no incentives. The…

European nations were so eager to negotiate with Iran that they suggested the US would end its sanctions regime if Tehran was willing to engage in dialogue, President Hassan Rouhani has said. According to Rouhani, European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal urged him to meet with US President Donald Trump, promising that Washington would lift “all” sanctions in return. “Three out of the six countries, that is the chancellor of Germany, prime minister of Britain, and president of France, all insisted for the meeting to be held, saying that the US would lift all sanctions,” stated the Iranian president. He said he…

Negotiations on the so-called safe zone in Syria continue as Washington and Ankara have yet to reach a final agreement on the perimeter and governance of the area. Ankara has insisted on the zone to go as deep as 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles) east of the Euphrates River along its border with Syria, be controlled jointly by Turkey and the United States, and be completely cleared of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara regards as a terrorist organization, and Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday, cited by NTV, that work on safe zone continues…

Russia does not rule out discussing with Iran deliveries of air defence assets and radio-electronic equipment to the country, as well as the creation of an integrated system of Persian Gulf security, Federal Service of Military-Technical Cooperation Director Dmitry Shugayev said. Shugayev stressed that Russia acts strictly in compliance with international regulations, stating that defence cooperation on offensive arms with Tehran cannot be started before October 2020. “Before the UN Security Council’s sanctions expire, we can discuss cooperation on the following issues: air defence assets deliveries, creation of an integrated surveillance, security and defence system for the Persian Gulf coast,…

Security forces in Egypt have boosted their presence across the country, sealing off Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the birthplace of a revolution in 2011, amid calls for protests against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi over corruption allegations. Egypt was rocked by unusual demonstrations on September 20 following calls for protests that were made after allegations of corruption against Sisi and the country’s powerful military were made by the self-exiled contractor and actor Mohamed Ali. Ali renewed his call for Egyptians to take to the streets on Friday. Riot police on Friday closed off streets and bridges leading to Tahrir Square, where hundreds of…