Middle Orient

US seeks ‘fallback’ Saudi bases in case of Iranian threats

The Wall Street Journal reported on plans for ports and air bases in the kingdom’s western desert, which the US military would seek to develop as positions to be used if war were to break out with Iran. The US military is looking for fallback bases in Saudi Arabia to …

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Jordan king channels intelligence energies to ‘security threats’

The intelligence apparatus, according to a Royal Court statement, is to “to focus all energies in its areas of specialty, which are vital to national security and professional intelligence operations, and to dedicate all capabilities to ensure that it remains an example of professionalism in countering terrorism and security threats.” …

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Stop Taking for Granted the Justification for the Existence of Israel

Soapbox (described on Facebook as Russia state-controlled media) is circulating a video of veteran Israeli journalist Gideon Levy lecturing against the Zionist occupation of the West Bank. In the first few frames Levy says: “Palestine must be demilitarized.” Sorry, why should Palestine be demilitarized? Don’t they [Palestinians] have their right …

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‘Leaving Aside’ International Law: Why Democrats are as Dangerous as Republicans to a Just Peace in Palestine

Motivated by their justifiable aversion to former US President Donald Trump, many analysts have rashly painted a rosy picture of how Democrats could quickly erase the bleak trajectory of the previous Republican administration. This naivety is particularly pronounced in the current spin on the Palestinian-Israeli discourse, which is promoting, again, …

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Iran’s supreme leader demands US action, not talk on nuclear deal

As the new administration tries to revive diplomacy with Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that “words and promises are no good.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that his country wants action, not “talk and promises” from the United States as the new administration seeks to rejoin …

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Marwan Barghouti insists on running for president in Palestinian elections

Fatah leaders are scrambling to convince imprisoned leader Marwan Barghouti to run in the Fatah list for the legislative elections, and renounce his bid to run for the presidency. When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued the election decree Jan. 15, many expected that his Fatah party’s biggest challenge would come …

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Iran’s use of Iraq as a missile base: Threats and logistics – analysis

Tensions with Iran appear underpinned by similar discussions about deterrence Iran could move up to 200 long-range missiles to Iraq, a report noted earlier this week, a move that would be designed to put in place missiles that could reach Israel. The reason Iran might do this is to prevent …

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In signal to Iran, Israel, US begin developing Arrow-4 missile defense system

The Arrow system serves as the upper layer of Israel’s multi-tier missile defense array and is aimed to protect Israel’s skies from long-range missiles. In the face of Iran’s continued development of long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that it has …

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US, EU-3 move toward Israel on Iran – but is it far enough?

If Iran can legally get to the nuclear weapon threshold with no limits in 2030, then the whole game could eventually be up. The joint US-EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) statement issued on Thursday night moved both major parties closer to Israel in their positions on Iran in significant ways. …

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Russian Deputy Defense Minister Discusses With Pedersen Situation In Syria

Russia and the UN have discussed the strategy to create normal living conditions in Syria, writes SANA. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin has met with UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen. “The two sides exchanged points of view on the situation in Syria within the framework of the …

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