RT – April 22, 2020

President Donald Trump has ordered the US Navy to “shoot down and destroy” Iranian gunboats, should they harass American vessels at sea. His declaration comes after a confrontation in the Persian Gulf.

“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” the president tweeted on Wednesday morning.

A week earlier, the US Navy accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of “dangerous and provocative” actions, claiming that nearly a dozen Iranian vessels buzzed a group of American ships in the Persian Gulf. The US Fifth Fleet later published video footage of the encounter, which showed the gunboats circling a larger US ship.

Tehran brushed off the accusations, disputing the “Hollywood” scenario portrayed by the US. The Iranian government considers US naval activity in the gulf highly provocative, and condemned the patrol as “adventurism.” 

The US and Iran almost came to war at the beginning of the year, when the US assassinated General Qassem Soleimani with a drone strike at an airport in Baghdad, apparently in retribution for a series of Iranian-sponsored attacks on US bases in Iraq. However, tension in the Persian Gulf has been high since last summer, when the US and its Western allies blamed Iran for a series of sabotage attacks on oil infrastructure in the region.

US-led naval patrols were stepped up, and American troops and air defense systems were sent to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Based in nearby Bahrain, the US Fifth Fleet has been active in the gulf both before and since the flareup last year. The US insists patrols are essential to protect shipping routes against Iran’s “malign behavior.”

https://www.rt.com

Nick Givas, Rich Edson – April 16, 2020

The State Department is concerned China may be conducting small nuclear tests in secret, possibly violating an international agreement banning such tests, Fox News confirmed Wednesday.

A new State Department report on compliance with arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament, first obtained by the Wall Street Journal earlier Wednesday, found that China may be flouting international law by conducting the tests within the northwest region of the country, using low explosive power.

The report didn’t prove any wrongdoing on the part of the Chinese, but still raised red flags.

“Some compliance concerns are raised and some findings of violations are made,” it read.

Officials wrote that China had maintained a “high level of activity” at its Lop Nur site in 2019, and could be seeking to operate it year-round going forward.

It also mentioned China’s use of explosive containment chambers, extensive evacuations at the site and lack of transparency on nuclear testing as reasons for raising suspicions.

The report went on to cite further concerns about China’s possible violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) by engaging “in biological activities with potential dual-use application.”

https://www.foxnews.com

Strange Sounds – April 6, 2020

For many countries, the ongoing oil price depression has brought about a new era of impending economic implosion. Yet no one seems to suffer as much as Iraq nowadays – a country with no appropriate government, battle-bled from its fight against the Islamic State and torn apart by internal conflicts.

With a median age of 21 years, the challenge for Iraq as a federal state within its current borders is all the more complicated as the government has little to offer to large swaths of young people, tired of nepotism and red-tape.

Iraq could mitigate risks by handing out cash – it has none, it could tap into its reserves – again, very little (some $62 billion), effectively, Baghdad’s only survival strategy is to wait and pray for better times.

Just when Iraq hoped to rebuild the country – its 2020 budget has been the largest in history and has focused on revamping the nation’s dilapidated infrastructure – external developments have cut the ambitious targets short.

The massive budget was in many ways a response of the 2019 protest waves which did not subside in 2020 – ultimately, they have led to the ouster of the Abdul Mahdi-led government (who continued as a caretaker until March 02 after the Parliament-nominated replacement candidate, the US-educated Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, failed to generate sufficient parliamentary approvals).

The new candidate for the Prime Minister role, Adnan al-Zurfi, might face a similar future as getting Sunnites and Kurds onboard will inevitable be a major challenge.

https://strangesounds.org

Elad Benari – March 27, 2020

Color Red sirens were sounded on Friday evening in , the envelope and the Shaar Hanegev region.

The Spokesperson’s Unit said one rocket was identified as having been fired from Gaza towards Israeli territory.

The rocket is believed to have exploded in an open area. There were no reports of physical injuries or damages.

Calm has mostly been maintained in southern Israel over the last month, after the Islamic Jihad fired over 80 rockets at southern Israel before it reportedly asked for a ceasefire.

Three weeks ago, a rocket fired from Gaza toward southern Israel failed to hit its target and exploded within Gazan territory.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com

RT – February 24, 2020

Israel will stop at nothing to ensure its security and may well launch a broad military campaign against Gaza if the local armed groups continue with missile strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Air raid sirens were heard across southern Israel for the second straight day on Monday. The IDF said that some 50 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israeli territory, with 90 percent of them intercepted.

The missile strikes were met with a harsh response, with the Israeli Defense Forces confirming on Twitter that multiple strikes against targets in Gaza have been carried out.

“We are now hitting with planes, tanks, and helicopters,” Netanyahu announced as he visited an Iron Dome air defense system battery in the Ashdod area. He also added a special message for the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants.

Speaking later in the day at the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, Netanyahu added more threats.

“I don’t plan to let up… Beyond the hard strikes on our enemies, Hamas and Islamic Jihad need to understand – this [missile attack against Israel] won’t continue. If they do not completely stop, we will have to activate the plan we prepared for a broad campaign.”

Netanyahu said he was well aware of the price that IDF troops – who are conscripts – and their families would pay in such a campaign.

“I am not rushing into war,” the PM said, but if Israel is forced to launch a major offensive, “woe to Hamas and Islamic Jihad when that day comes!! It’s their choice.”

https://www.rt.com

Ryan Browne, Barbara Starr and Zachary Cohen – March 13, 2020

(CNN)The US carried out airstrikes on Thursday against multiple Iranian-backed militia sites in Iraq, according to the US Defense Department.

The strikes come one day after the US assessed an Iranian-backed group was responsible for a rocket attack on a base where coalition forces are located, killing two American service members and one British service member.

The Defense Department on Friday identified the two US service members killed in the attack as Army Specialist Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias, 27, of Hanford, California and Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts, 28, of Owasso, Oklahoma. The UK Ministry of Defense had earlier identified the slain UK service member as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon.

The UK government expressed support for the US airstrikes, with the UK’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace saying “We support the right of the United States to defend themselves, as they have done tonight.”

Fox News was first to report on the strike.

A US defense official told CNN that the strikes were carried out by manned fighter aircraft and targeted five weapons storage facilities.

In a written statement, the Defense Department stated the strike was aimed at harming the ability of Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-sponsored Shia militia group, to conduct future strikes against American troops. The weapons storage facilities included areas where weapons used to attack American and coalition troops were stored.

https://www.cnn.com

RT- February 27, 2020

Social media platforms across Turkey winked out after reports of an airstrike in Syria killing dozens of Turkish soldiers fueled rumors of an all-out war. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and YouTube were all reported down.

Twitter was the first to go, with national provider Turk Telekom shutting off access around 11:30pm local time on Thursday. This was shortly after news broke that at least nine – the number has since continued to rise – Turkish soldiers were killed in Syria’s Idlib province.

This was followed by all other social networks, clustered by provider, according to multiple services monitoring internet outages across the globe.

Accounts of major media outlets remained active however, as they flashed updates about the alleged Syrian airstrike and the Turkish response – described by officials in Ankara as air and artillery strikes against multiple “regime” targets.

News that multiple soldiers were killed in Syria was confirmed on Thursday evening by Rahmi Dogan, governor of the Hatay province that neighbors Syria. Casualties from the strike were reportedly being treated at hospitals in the border town of Reyhanli.

Among the rumors circulating on social media in the aftermath were reports that Turkey would open its borders for Syrian refugees seeking to cross into Europe. It was also suggested that the parliament in Ankara intended to declare war on Syria in the morning.

So far, the only thing that has been officially confirmed is that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called an emergency session of security officials, and that Ankara has reached out to NATO and Washington.

https://www.rt.com

Sputnik News – February 20, 2020

Earlier, the National Interest published an article in which the author pointed out that rockets on Borei-class submarines could render the United States ‘uninhabitable’.

Five nuclear submarines, both existing and in the works, can annihilate the entire human race or bring our planet to the edge of the apocalypse, according to an article by the National Interest published this week.

The piece lists Ohio-class submarines as one of these weapons of total destruction, noting that the vessels are able to turn 288 town-sized targets into ashes in less than half an hour.

Another ominous vessel listed in the article is the Columbia-class submarines that were designed to replace the Ohio-class versions.

Three other submarines mentioned in the article are all manufactured in Russia, specifically the Borei-class, Delfin-class and Yasen-class submarines.

Russia is currently looking to develop eight Borei-class vessels. Three submarines of this type have already joined the Russian fleet, while another one is currently being tested.

https://sputniknews.com

Rick Moran – February 12, 2020

There have been several clashes between Syrian and Turkish military forces in the last two weeks, as Syria attempts to retake Idlib province from rebel forces. Turkey has carved out a demilitarized zone in Idlib, which is supposed to be a safe zone for Syrian civilians. Their goal is to prevent a flood of refugees from crossing the Syrian border.

But Syria is ignoring the Moscow-negotiated cease-fire and driving hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Turkey, most of them in desperate straits.

The UN is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe as 700,000 Syrians are on the move with nowhere to go. But there are likely to be more refugees as Syria and Turkey have now come to blows, with President Erdogan promising to “punish” Syria for attacking Turkish positions in Idlib.

Washington Times:

Analysts say the reignited Syrian crisis threatens to engulf  Turkey and force Ankara to greatly expand its military mission inside the country. The winner, they say, could ultimately be Russia, as President Vladimir Putin may emerge as the only player powerful enough to prevent a full-blown war.

“Erdogan went into Syria for entirely selfish and cynical reasons, and now finds that it was a lot easier to go in than get out,” said former Defense Department official Michael Rubin, now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who tracks the region extensively.

https://pjmedia.com

Emily Jones – February 6, 2020

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli officials have arrested the man responsible for injuring 12 soldiers by ramming his car into them early Thursday morning outside First Station, a popular entertainment center in Jerusalem.

The man was arrested at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank Thursday evening, police said. He was handed over to Israel’s Shin Bet security service for interrogation.

“Following an extensive operational and intelligence effort, the IDF, working with the Shin Bet, the Israel Police’s special police unit and other special forces, has arrested the terrorist who carried out the ramming attack in the predawn hours of this morning in Jerusalem,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

“He is unconscious and connected to a respirator in the intensive care unit,” hospital officials told Israeli media.

He and the other soldiers involved in the attack were in Jerusalem to attend a swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall that morning.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would catch the perpetrator, saying that “terrorism will not defeat us.”

President Reuven Rivlin said Israel is “praying” for the injured soldiers.

The car-ramming incident is one of 3 terror attacks against Israel in just 12 hours.

https://www1.cbn.com