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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...

On Thursday, the Penal Court of Hatay Province of Turkey sentenced NASA scientist and U.S. citizen Serkan Golge to 7.5 years in prison for supposedly providing material support to the organization of Fethullah Gullen. Gullen is a U.S.-based former imam who Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds responsible for orchestrating the failed coup on July 15, 2016. Golge maintained his innocence throughout his 18-month imprisonment and trial. According to his lawyers, not a single trace of evidence of his contacts with Gullen’s organization was presented to the court. The State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara protested the sentence...

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.

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.

This is the beginning of something much bigger. It marks a turning point in the covert war Israel and Iran have been fighting for decades. Much has already be written about what happened on Saturday when Israel came very close to all out war with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and Assad’s army in Syria. To understand the seriousness of the situation, one has to look at the broader picture and take into account not only what occurred on Saturday but what happened on the Lebanese front over the past few weeks. The incident on Saturday, when the IAF first...

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 each passing week, those who are paying attention are becoming increasingly aware of the trouble that is brewing on Israel's northern border. With the recent escalation with Syria, in which an Israel F-16 was shot down and Israel responded by taking out 8 Syrian and 4 Iranian positions just 32 miles to her north, plus the increasing pressure on Israel from Turkey, Vatican City and those who would delight in seeing the Jewish people wiped from the face of the earth. Now would be a very good time to check your vertical alignment. Events heralding the soon return of...

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...

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...

Two British men believed to be members of a notorious Islamic State group (IS) cell have been seized by Syrian Kurdish fighters, US officials say. Alexanda Kotey, 34, and El Shafee Elsheikh, 29, were the last two members of the cell to remain at large. The four, all from London, were nicknamed "the Beatles" because of their British accents. US officials said the "execution cell" had beheaded more than 27 Western hostages and tortured many more. Who were the IS 'Beatles'? The US state department says the four-man cell was responsible for beheading several Westerners. They are: Mohammed Emwazi -...

This is a longer one, and follows fast on the heels of the last one, but there is a lot happening now. Damascus is being destroyed by Assad, not by Israel as was Amir's guess previously. Amir believes they are using chemical weapons, which could very well make Damascus "uninhabitable," as it says in Isaiah. Russia is angry over U.S. involvement as we keep our word on protecting the Kurds. Russia wants the oil in the area that the Kurds control and is accusing us of going after the oil. Some positive words about Trump, who is loved in Israel.

MANBIJ, Syria – On the ground in Syria, the top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group pledged on Wednesday that American troops would remain in the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Manbij despite Ankara's demands for a U.S. pullout. "We're here to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS is maintained in this area," Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk said during a visit to U.S. forces in Manbij. ISIS is an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group. Funk's visit comes amid rising tensions between Turkey and the United States — NATO allies that have ended up...

Israeli warplanes have fired missiles at a Syrian military position near the capital, Damascus, Syrian media report. A Syrian military statement said its air defence systems blocked most of the missiles, but gave no further details. A monitor said ammunition depots in Jamraya were hit. It is the location of a scientific facility where the West suspects chemical weapons are produced.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have spoken on the phone. According to a statement issued by the Turkish Presidency, Putin and Erdoğan agreed to hold a second summit after Sochi. The summit will be held with Russia, Turkey and Iran at a date not yet determined. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitri Peskov spoke to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti and said, “There was talk about a meeting of the three presidents. A date hasn’t been set yet.” Russia, Iran and Turkey’s administrators had come together in Sochi in November, and after this summit the Syrian...