Free Republic

Stuck in a recession and with no sign of a reprieve in the oil price, Russia could quickly descend into chaos if the money runs out, William Browder, a well-known critic of the Kremlin and chief executive of Hermitage Capital, told CNBC. "I don't think you can underestimate how bad the situation in Russia is right now, you've got oil below any measure where the budget can survive and you've got sanctions from the West. Russia is in what I'd call a real serious economic crisis," he said on Thursday. Speaking to CNBC in Davos where global business and political...

Saudi Arabia is not ruling out developing a nuclear bomb if its regional rival Iran obtains one, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. Asked if Saudi Arabia had discussed seeking a nuclear bomb in the event Iran managed to obtain one, al-Jubeir replied the country would do "whatever we need to do in order to protect our people". "I don't think it would be logical to expect us to discuss any such issue in public and I don't think it would be reasonable to expect me to answer this question one way or another,"...

The Prime Minister’s Office dismissed as “unacceptable and wrong” uncharacteristically sharp public criticism of Israel’s legal standards leveled Monday by US envoy Dan Shapiro, who said at times there seemed to be one standard of law in the West Bank for Israelis, and another for Palestinians. “As Israel's devoted friend, and its most stalwart partner, we believe that Israel must develop stronger and more credible responses to questions about the rule of law in the West Bank,” Shapiro said during an address at the annual Institute for Strategic Studies (INSS) Conference in Tel Aviv. Noting that the recent indictments in...

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he's "100 percent" on board with the remaining field of candidates in support of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem if elected president in the fall of 2016. In an interview with The Brody File, published on Tuesday, Trump said "I am for that one hundred percent. We are for that one- hundred percent" when told by host David Brody that pledging to move the embassy to Jerusalem is a "tier-A issue for Evangelicals as it relates to support for Israel." Trump is currently tied for first place with Senator Ted...

The Obama administration confirmed late Sunday it had delayed the imposition of new ballistic missile sanctions on Iran to ensure the Islamic Republic released five imprisoned Americans under a secret agreement reached on the sidelines of the nuclear negotiations, according to senior administration officials. The officials confirmed that "secret" talks between U.S. and Iranian officials had been taking place for the past 14 months. In exchange for the release of the five Americans--including a Washington Post reporter and Christian pastor--the Obama administration pardoned or dropped charges on 21 Iranians convicted of violating U.S. sanctions, including seven who had been detained...

Officials in Israel expressed outrage on Monday evening after the European Union (EU) passed a resolution stipulating that agreements with Israel will no longer apply to any areas over the 1949 Armistice borders. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely responded to the decision and said, "The Europeans continue to act unilaterally with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict". "This resolution achieves the opposite from what they sought to achieve. These types of declarations only push actual dialogue further away and give a boost to the Palestinians to continue their efforts to condemn Israel in the international arena and to continue the relentless...

Since the major escalation in Arab terrorist attacks in Israel began at the start of October last year, Israelis have consistently complained about the use of social media to incite terrorism and glorify "martyrdom," and the lack of enforcement by social media companies. [...] Perhaps the worst offender in this regard is Facebook, which now faces legal action over its slow, minimal reaction to the reams of anti-Semitic incitement uploaded daily. Now, the Israeli rights NGO which is leading the legal campaign against Facebook incitement is taking the fight directly to the digital giant's CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg. Shurat...

As the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad wages an offensive with Russia's backing on rebels across the country, behind the front lines it has been consolidating its hold in Syria's west. This is the part of the country sometimes called "useful Syria," home to most of its population and economic centers. The consolidation of regime control here may be a harbinger of a future, divided country — or it may create a base from which the regime can launch attacks on the rest of Syria. The regime has systematically encircled, blockaded and bombed the remaining pockets of rebel control in...

See also: The most plausible explanation for the 10 riverine sailors captured by Iran A fascinating comment on Rick Moran’s blog about the Iranian capture of our sailors is making waves in the blogosphere and on Facebook.  It makes a lot more sense than any of the official explanations we have received for the capture and subsequent release of the sailors. Thomas Lipscomb explains: Flash! A former Navy SEAL, Matt Bracken, just blew up what I have been calling "a pack of lies from the US and Iran" on what the hell happened that got our boats captured and taken to...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says the official implementation Saturday of the landmark deal reached between Tehran and six world powers has satisfied all parties except radical extremists. Speaking in the parliament in comments broadcast live on state television, Rouhani said, "In (implementing) the deal, all are happy except Zionists, warmongers, sowers of discord among Islamic nations and extremists in the U.S. The rest are happy." ...

(CNN)Iran has completed the necessary steps in a deal to restrict its nuclear program, meaning international economic sanctions are lifted, U.N. and EU inspectors said.

Iran has complied with last July's nuclear deal, the UN atomic watchdog said Saturday, allowing sanctions to be lifted and the landmark accord to enter into force. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that its "inspectors on the ground verified that Iran has carried out all measures required under the (July deal)... to enable Implementation Day to occur." The United States has received the IAEA report confirming that Iran has honored its side of the nuclear accord, and will proceed to lift its economic sanctions.

An assistant to Saeb Erekat, a long-time senior official in the Palestinian Authority (PA), has been arrested by PA security forces on suspicion of spying on behalf of Israel. Erekat has acknowledged the facts of the case, which were published by media based in Ramallah. The suspect is accused of working for Israel for the past 20 years. He is believed to be in a Palestinian intelligence facility at present. Erekat served as the secretary-general for the PLO and headed the Palestinian negotiating team during peace talks with Israel. He often threatened Israel with ended the security agreement and worked...

Cyprus no longer sees Israel as an aggressive country imposing its will by force on the Palestinians, but rather as a small nation fighting for survival in the face of much greater odds, Averof Neophytou, head of the country's center-right ruling party said on Monday. [...] For years, he said, Cyprus had the "wrong perception of Israel," partly because it was for so long an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement, before joining the EU in 2004. "For decades Israel was blamed for creating the instability in the region, but can anyone credibly blame Israel for the instability in Syria,...

"The rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran has quickly ballooned into the worst conflict in decades between the two countries" says one news source adding "The back-and-forth escalation quickly turned the simmering tension into an overt struggle for power in the Middle East." And while in the west is already seeing a cold-war brewing between the two, in Iran, the populace envision a literal scenario where the complete destruction of Saudi Arabia is at hand. The animated film, produced in Iran shows what is going viral in Iran: a sinister plan to completely wipe out Arabia: The Revenge of Fatimah...

Baku - APA. Russia could give asylum to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if he has to leave his country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on January 12, according to RFE/RL. "It was surely more difficult to grant [U.S. national security contractor Edward] Snowden asylum in Russia than it would be in the case of Assad," Putin told the German tabloid Bild, referring to the American leaker of classified U.S. documents who was given asylum in Russia in 2013. Putin said it was too early to say whether Russia would have to give shelter to Assad as...

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, at least five times Tuesday while U.S. Navy sailors were in Iranian custody, a senior State Department official told reporters Wednesday. In the course of his conversations, the official said Kerry told Zarif: "If we are able to do this the right way, we can make this into what will be a good story for both of us" and would be a way for Iran to prove it can act in a responsible manner in this type of situation. The calls, which took place over...

Over the past several weeks, we have learned that the Obama administration believes it is at war with Israel. The war is not a shooting war, but a political war. Its goal is to bring the government to its knees to the point where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loses power or begs Obama and his advisers to shepherd Israel through a “peace process” in which Israel will renounce its rights to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. One component of this war is espionage. Last monthThe Wall Street Journal reported that Israel is a top target for American espionage. The other component...

Jewish immigration to Israel from western Europe has reached an all-time high as a result of a rise in anti-Semitic attacks, a leading nonprofit group said Thursday. The Jewish Agency, which works closely with the Israeli government and acts as a link for Jews around the world, reported that 9,880 western European Jews immigrated to Israel in 2015 -- the highest annual number ever. The vast majority, close to 8,000, came from France where a rise in anti-Semitic attacks has shattered the sense of security of the world's third-largest Jewish population. ...

Nancy Pelosi acknowledges the Iranians may do bad things with the $150 billion dollars set to be returned to the regime as part of the Iranian nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama Administration. Appearing on CNN's "New Day" on Wednesday, Pelosi even said the Iranians "have been doing bad things with the money that they have but the fact is the biggest threat to all of us is that Iran would have a nuclear weapon."