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Iran unveiled a series of new homemade nuclear-capable ballistic missiles during military parades held over the weekend, a move that experts view as a bid to bolster the hardline ruling regime as dissidents continue efforts to stir protest. On the heels of an encounter between an Iranian drone and Israeli forces, Iranian leaders showcased their ballistic missile capabilities, which includes a nuclear-capable medium-range missile that appears to share similarities with North Korean technology, according to experts. The nuclear-capable missile can strike Israel even when fired from Iranian territory, raising concerns about an impending conflict between Tehran and the Jewish state that...

A Palestinian refugee camp has been under siege for more than 1,660 days. Hundreds of the camp residents have been killed, while tens of thousands have been forced to flee from their homes. Those who have remained in the camp -- mostly the elderly, women and children -- live in unspeakable sanitary conditions and drink polluted water. More than 200 Palestinians from the camp, which has been under siege since 2103, have died as a result of lack of food or medicine. The conditions in the refugee camp, by any standard, are horrific. Why have most of us not heard...

On December 8, 2017, the leader of Iraq’s Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Qais al-Khazali paid a visit to the Lebanese-Israeli border to inspect Lebanese “Hezbollah” resistance positions and to issue a threat to the southern neighbor. In a leaked video, he was shown as saying: “We are here with ‘Hezbollah’ and we announce our complete readiness to stand side by side with the Lebanese people and Palestinian cause against the Israeli occupation.” Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, or Khazali Network, is affiliated with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). -excerpt- His statement however demonstrated the common interests of pro-Iran regional militias to allow Tehran...

Feb 11 is normally a day for rallies all over the country in Iran. It is the anniversary of the Islamic revolution. All over the country, people boycotted the rallies. The regime did their best to scare people in participating, threatening punishment & threatening people's jobs for not participating. School children & their teachers were forced to participate. Many of those who were forced were reluctant to join in, as videos showed only a small group answering to the calls for chants on loudspeakers. As usual, the regime sent buses to transport people to rallies in other cities to try...

WASHINGTON—The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) have launched a national advocacy campaign encouraging U.S. Senators to block a planned sale of U.S. F-35 stealth fighters to Turkey’s increasingly erratic and anti-American Erdogan regime. The ANCA and Hellenic American Leadership Council have joined forces to launch a grassroots campaign to block the impending F-35 sale to Turkey (Graphic: ANCA) This joint Hellenic-Armenian American initiative – the most recent in a series of ANCA-HALC advocacy campaigns – warns Senators against the dangers of providing Erdogan with advanced weapons that he may turn against our...

Israel is counting on Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep confrontations with Iran and Syria from spiraling into war as the Trump administration mostly watches from the sidelines, a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “The American part of the equation is to back us up,” but the U.S. currently “has almost no leverage on the ground,” Michael Oren, Netanyahu’s deputy minister for public diplomacy and a former ambassador to Washington, said in a phone interview Sunday. “America did not ante up in Syria. It’s not in the game.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Saturday that he informed Putin of Israel's intention to continue defending itself against any aggression and to prevent Iran from establishing a presence "in Syria or anywhere else." Russia backs the Assad regime and maintains a large military presence in the country. Netanyahu has met several times with Putin to coordinate military activities in the region. Russia's foreign ministry appeared to criticize Israel's actions by saying it was "absolutely unacceptable to create threats to the lives and security of Russian servicemen." Netanyahu says he also spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Rutgers under fire for numerous incidents of anti-Semitic activity Rutgers University announced it no longer employs the former Syrian diplomat who represented President Bashar al-Assad's regime in the United Nations and accused Israel of organ-trafficking, after the administration defended the hire publicly. Mazen Adi, who was hired as a part-time lecturer in 2015, is not currently teaching in the political science department and has not done so since the summer of 2017, Rutgers President Robert Barchi said in a Jan. 25 meeting with Jewish leaders to address anti-Semitic activity at the New Jersey school, New Jersey Jewish News reported. Adi...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli forces would press ahead with Syria operations despite their loss of an advanced warplane to enemy fire for the first time in 36 years. Syrian anti-aircraft fire downed the F-16 as it returned from a bombing raid on Iran-backed positions in Syria early on Saturday. The Iran-backed forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's near seven-year civil war. Israel then launched a second and more intensive air raid, hitting what it said were 12 Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria, including Syrian air defense systems.

Details of the action carried out by SDF fighters against the Turkish army and allied gangs are emerging. 4 tanks of the Turkish army have been destroyed and 5 Turkish soldiers have been killed in Azaz as a result of an action by fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). On the other hand, an ammunition depot of the invading forces has been destroyed. Video at link.

ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's U.S.-backed Kurds are getting indirect help from an unlikely source in their war against Turkey in the northwestern region of Afrin: President Bashar al-Assad. Pro-government forces and Kurdish-led forces have fought each other elsewhere in Syria and Damascus opposes the Kurds' demands for autonomy. But in Afrin they have a common enemy and a mutual interest in blocking Turkish advances. Turkey, which regards the Kurdish YPG militia in Afrin as a threat on its southern border, launched an assault on the region last month. Seeking to shield Afrin, the Kurds asked Damascus to send forces...

..... "With endless violations of Syrian and Lebanese sovereignty, violations of UN resolutions, embarrassing cooperation with extremist organizations and repeated attacks on Syrian territory, it is no wonder that we have reached the current situation,” continued Touma-Sliman. MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz) tweeted that "it is to be hoped that Netanyahu will not warm up the northern sector in order to save himself from the investigations and the police's recommendations that are expected to be published this week." Attorney Eldad Yaniv, who has been leading the recent leftist demonstrations against Netanyahu, also hinted at the same conspiracy theory. "There is no...

The U.S. has no evidence to confirm reports from aid groups and others that the Syrian government has used the deadly chemical sarin on its citizens, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday. “We have other reports from the battlefield from people who claim it’s been used,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon. “We do not have evidence of it.” He said he was not rebutting the reports. “We’re looking for evidence of it, since clearly we are dealing with the Assad regime that has used denial and deceit to hide their outlaw actions,” Mattis said. Syrian President Bashar Assad denies...

An Israeli F-16 fighter jet has crashed after being hit by Syrian air defences during an offensive in Syria, the Israeli military says. The two pilots parachuted to safety before the crash in northern Israel. It is believed to be the first time Israel has lost a jet in the Syrian conflict. The plane was hit during air strikes in response to an Iranian drone launch into Israeli territory, Israel says. The drone was shot down. Israel later launched further strikes in Syria. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they hit aerial defence batteries and Iranian military sites in the...

The Israeli military has shot down an Iranian drone that infiltrated the country and has struck Iranian targets in Syria that launched it, in what the military called a "severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty". The military said its planes faced heavy anti-aircraft counter fire from Syria that forced Israeli pilots to abandon an F-16 jet that crashed in northern Israel. It said the pilots were injured and evacuated to a hospital. Sirens sounded in northern Israel as a result of massive Syrian fire. Explosions could be heard in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley region near the Syrian border. Israeli military...

One pilot in serious condition * Israel attacks Syrian, Iranian targets in fresh strike * Rocket sirens sound throughout northern Israel An Israeli F-16 was downed Saturday morning after Israel intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria into Israeli territory. According to the Israeli army, Syrian anti-aircraft missiles targeted the jet after Israel responded to the infiltration of the drone with a strike in Syria. The two F-16 pilots ejected as the plane went down in northern Israel. The pilots were taken to the hospital in stable condition. One of the pilots is in serious condition. Following the downing of...

YPJ spokeswoman and commander Nesrin Abdullah is in Stockholm for diplomatic talks. Speaking at a press conference in the Swedish parliament, Nesrin Abdullah, spokeswoman and commander for the Women's Defense Units (YPJ) in Rojava, drew attention to the Turkish regime's intention to carry out a genocide on the population in Afrin with jihadist militias. Nesrin Abdullah explained to numerous journalists that in Afrin so far, a peaceful coexistence of different ethnic groups and faiths has taken place. "For 20 days, the NATO member Turkey has been attacking Afrin in front of the world public. These attacks are contrary to international...

The Kurdish YPG/Asayesh forces have begun to intensify their ongoing intimidations and threats towards Christians in Northeast Syria. They are now increasingly kidnapping and conscripting teenagers with the intention to send them to the frontline in places like Afrin. Local Christian sources, fearing for their lives and speaking on condition of anonymity to the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”), report that they are facing more and more harassments from the Kurdish YPG and Asayesh (security forces). On Friday, 19 January, the first grave human rights violations of the new year included the abduction of seven Christians; four Armenians and...

The US has launched rare air strikes in eastern Syria to thwart and attack on allied Kurdish and Arab fighters aligned to Syria's government. Some 500 fighters had tried to take ground captured from the Islamic State (IS) group by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). SDF and government forces control areas on either side of the Euphrates River. Some US forces are embedded with the SDF but they suffered no casualties. One SDF fighter was injured, the US officials said. The pro-government forces had been backed by artillery, tanks and other heavy weaponry when the attacked an SDF headquarters...

Qatar’s diplomat in Moscow has said his country was in serious talks to purchase an advanced Russian anti-aircraft missile system also sought by a number of other regional powers, some of which were at odds with one another. Qatari envoy Fahad bin Mohammed al-Attiyah told Russia state media Thursday that the tiny oil-rich monarchy was “already in advanced negotiations” over “air-defense systems and capabilities for our land forces as well.” The S-400 Triumf has been considered one of the most effective surface-to-air missile systems in the world, and Qatar’s interest in it signaled only the latest attempt by a Middle...