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Regional geopolitics

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  • Re: Regional geopolitics

    Iran’s 34th fleet faces US flotilla opposite Yemen
    debka



    Iran’s Navy commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced Thursday, Oct. 13, that the Iranian 34th Fleet had deployed warships to the Bab al-Mandeb strait opposite the shores of Yemen. He made no mention of the US Tomahawk attack two days ago that destroyed three Iranian radar stations set up on Yemen’s Red Sea shore in rebel Houthi territory. This was US retaliation for Iranian missile attacks on American warships.
    All the Iranian admiral said was: “The fleet will provide security to seaways for Iranian vessels and protect Iran’s interests on the high seas.”
    DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose the new Iranian fleet deployment consists of the Bushehr logistical command helicopter carrier, the largest warship in its navy, and the Alxxx guided missile destroyer.
    Their capabilities are far from matching the US flotilla brought in to secure strategic Red Sea waters after Iranian missile attacks from the Yemeni coast. The Americans posted two guided missile destroyers the USS Mason and the USS Nitze, and theUSS Ponce floating forward stage base. However, Tehran’s unwillingness to terminate Iran’s first sea clash with the US in the waters off Yemen without a response is a clear sign that rather than backing down, the Iranians are gearing up for more rounds of engagement.
    Read earlier DEBKAfile reports tracing how this confrontation built up in just a few days...
    Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by US Navy destroyer USS Nitze early Thursday, Oct. 13, destroyed three Iranian-Yemeni coastal radar stations, after C-802 anti-ship missiles supplied by Iran to Yemeni Houthi rebels were fired at US naval vessels off the Yemeni coast. The stations were built and operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) for their Yemeni proxies to back up a threat to blockade the Red Sea.
    From Oct. 9, the new missiles four times targeted the US flotilla shortly after it arrived to patrol the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Neither the US nor Iran has acknowledged their mounting confrontation over control of these strategic waters, which Tehran is waging through its Yemeni proxy.
    DEBKAfile was first to disclose this confrontation in a special report Wednesday. (see below)
    Iran’s Guards are repeating the mode of operation they employed a decade ago at another Middle East flashpoint. On July 14, 2006, Hizballah used an earlier version of the C-802 to attack and cripple the Israeli Hanit missile ship on the day this Iranian Lebanese proxy launched the Second Lebanese War against Israel. Rev Guards seized control of Lebanese shore radar station to guide their aim.
    A highly advanced radar installation is required for the use of the C-802. Two radar stations set up outside Yemen’s two principal Red Sea ports, Mokha and Hudaydah earlier this month were operated by Rev. Guards missile and radar teams until they were destroyed Thursday, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. The third station was added for triangulation. The destruction of all three by a US Tomahawk has knocked out the Houthis’ ability to use C-802 missiles and Iran’s threat to blockade the Red Sea.
    To drive this lesson home, the US Pentagon issued the following statement:
    "Destroying these radar sites will degrade their ability to track and target ships in the future. These radars were active during previous attacks and attempted attacks on ships in the Red Sea, including last week's attack on the USA-flagged vessel "Swift-2", and during attempted attacks on USS Mason and other ships as recently as yesterday.
    The official was referring to the United Arab Emirates US-flagged transport ship that was badly damaged last week in the Bab al-Mandeb strait by a Houthi missile..
    DEBKAfile reported earlier:
    Contrary to Tehran’s assurance to Washington in August that Iranian arms supplies to Yemeni Houthi rebels had been suspended, the rebels took delivery last week of the largest consignment of Iranian weapons to date.
    According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the shipment included highly sophisticated Scud D surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 800km; and C-802 anti-ship missiles (an upgraded version of the Chinese YJ-8 NATO-named CSS-N-8 and renamed by Iran Saccade).
    They came with Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers and radar systems to fine-tune the targeting of these missiles by Iran’s Yemeni proxies.
    The Scuds were given to the Houthi forces fighting in northern Yemen on the Saudi border, while the C-802s were delivered to the Houthis’ Ansar Allah faction, which is under direct Iranian Rev Guards command.
    The missiles were posted at special launch bases constructed by Iran outside Yemen’s two principal Red Sea ports of Mokha and Hudaydah.
    Since no more than 62km of Red Sea water divides the Saudi and African coasts, the Iranian missiles are well able to block shipping and tanker traffic plying to and from the Gulf of Suez and the Persian Gulf. Therefore, the threat of blockade hangs imminently over one-third of Saudi and Gulf Emirate oil exports.
    The same threat hangs over Israeli civilian and naval shipping from its southern port of Eilat through the Gulf of Aden and out to the Indian Ocean.
    One of the most troubling aspects of this pivotal new menace to an international waterway was that US, Saudi, Egyptian and Israeli intelligence agencies missed the huge consignment of Iranian missiles as it headed towards Yemen. Neither did they pick up on the construction by Iranian military engineers of three ballistic missile bases – one facing Saudi Arabia and two Red Sea traffic.
    Tehran’s Yemeni proxies moreover landed large-scale military strength on Perim island in the mouth of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the chokepoint for ingress and egress from the Red Sea.
    Since the strait is just 20km wide, control of this island empowers this force to regulate shipping movements through this strategic strait.
    Tehran wasted no time after all its assets were in place to begin using them:
    1. On Oct. 1, Iran’s Houthi surrogates launched C-8-1 missiles against a United Arab Emirates transport HSV-2 Swift logistics catamaran as it was about to pass through the strait. The ship, on lease from the US Navy, was badly damaged. No information was released about casualties.

    DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources discerned that the aim of this attack was to choke off the movements of UAE warships from the southern Yemeni port of Aden, where large Emirate and Saudi forces are concentrated, to the Eritrean port of Assab, where the UAE has established a large naval base.
    This attack did finally evoke a US response. The guided missile destroyers, USS Mason and USS Nitze, were dispatched to the Red Sea, along with the USS Ponceafloat forward staging base, to patrol the strait opposite the Yemeni coast
    2. This did not deter Tehran or its Yemeni pawns: On Oct. 9, they fired an additional barrage of C-802 at the American flotilla, which according to a US spokesman, missed aim.
    The Mason hit back with two Standard Missile-2s and a single Enhanced Sea Sparrow Missile.
    There has been no official word about whether these weapons destroyed a Yemeni launching site. But the event itself was a landmark as the first direct Iranian-Houthi attack of its kind on an American naval vessel.
    3. That same day, the Houthis fired Scud-D missiles at the Saudi town of Ta’if, 700 km from the Yemeni border and only 70km from the Muslim shrine city Mecca. This was meant as a direct assault on the Saudi royal house and its claim to legitimacy, by virtue of its role as Guardian of the Holy Places of Islam.
    In America’s heated presidential campaign, the Democratic contender Hillary Clinton boasts repeatedly that as Secretary of State she helped “put the lid on Iran’s nuclear program without firing a single shot.”
    That is factually true. America did not fire a single shot. Iran did the shooting and still does, constantly upgrading its arsenal with sophisticated ballistic missiles.

    Comment


    • Re: Regional geopolitics

      Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Turkey
      This column attempts to explain the reasons for the sudden rapprochement between Russia and Turkey, which also welcome Azerbaijan, and tangentially Iran, into their fold, while a major confrontation was taking place in Yerevan between an armed opposition group and the police.

      By setting aside their feud over the downing of a Russian military jet by Turkey near the Syrian border last year, Moscow and Ankara have now formed a “marriage of convenience” stemming from their perceived mutual national interests. This pragmatic decision by the Presidents of Russia and Turkey is intended to maximize their economic benefits and coordinate their foreign policies, enabling them to better withstand pressures from the West.

      Russia has been suffering from a faltering economy, mostly due to Western sanctions after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Turkey, on the other hand, despite its membership in both NATO and the European Council, has been shunned from joining the European Union and accused of supporting ISIS in Syria. Moreover, Turkish President Erdogan is outraged that many European countries have been highly critical of his harsh measures against political opponents after the July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan is also unhappy that the United States has not extradited to Turkey the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of masterminding the attempted military coup.

      Rejecting the “undue Western interference” in their domestic and foreign affairs, Russia and Turkey have decided to lay the foundation for a new alliance that will bring them out of their isolation from the West. To pursue that end, Russian President Putin met with Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev and Iran’s President Rouhani in Baku on August 8, and Turkish President Erdogan in St. Petersburg on August 9. These four countries signed a series of important economic agreements and discussed significant political issues impacting the region, including the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict. The next day, Putin met with Armenian President Sargsyan in Moscow to brief him on the results of his earlier meetings.

      While Russia’s rapprochement with Armenia’s arch-enemies, Azerbaijan and Turkey, could lead to heavy pressures on Pres. Sargsyan to make territorial concessions on Artsakh, it could also lessen the possibility of unilateral military action by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, without Pres. Putin’s consent. No one should be surprised if this new realignment between Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey would also revive the defunct Armenia-Turkey protocols of 2009, resulting in the opening of their mutual border in conjunction with a “conciliatory step” on Artsakh by Armenia.

      Today’s wily Turkish leaders are following the footsteps of their Ottoman predecessors who skillfully pitted one major European power against the others for decades, and then switched sides when it suited them. Incredibly, Erdogan is cozying up to Russia while remaining a NATO member, thus benefitting from both parties. The United States and other NATO members should not fall for this Turkish trickery. They should warn Erdogan in no uncertain terms to choose either NATO or Russia! Should the Turkish President continue to side with Russia, he could be left with an empty bag when his alliance with the Kremlin collapses!

      As dark clouds gather over Armenia and Artsakh, Armenians have been busy settling internal disputes. The July 17 takeover of a police station in Yerevan by a group of 31 armed men who are veterans of the Artsakh War created considerable concern among Armenians nationwide and worldwide. The group, nicknamed Sasna Dsrer, (Daredevils of Sassoun), demanded Pres. Sargsyan’s resignation, release of political prisoners, formation of an interim government, and new elections.

      After a two-week standoff -- three policemen were killed, several of the armed men were wounded, and scores of demonstrators were injured or detained, including journalists -- the remaining members of Sasna Dsrer surrendered. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of protesters held public rallies night after night to express their support for the demands of the veterans’ group.

      The true roots of this tragic confrontation go back to the early days of Armenia’s independence. There has been a pent up anger and frustration among large circles of the population for the past quarter century during which over a million Armenians left the country to secure basic necessities for their families. Those remaining behind suffered many deprivations and inequalities, including corruption, fraudulent elections, unfair judiciary, uncaring bureaucrats, and monopolistic oligarchs!

      As a result, most Armenian citizens have lost their trust in government. Although an armed attack on a police station is not an acceptable form of dissent, when people are in a desperate situation for a long period of time and see no other alternative to resolve their grievances, they are forced to resort to extreme measures.

      While such internal dissension could jeopardize Armenia's and Artsakh's security, the protesters are adamant that having unresponsive leaders poses a greater risk. Ironically, all those protesting the possibility of turning over to Azerbaijan the buffer zone around Artsakh have helped strengthen Pres. Sargsyan's position in making the point to Putin that the Armenian people vehemently oppose any territorial concessions on Artsakh.

      If government officials wish to prevent the repeat of further domestic unrest, they must take all necessary measures to show that they truly care about the welfare of the Armenian people. To this end, Pres. Sargsyan recently promised to make drastic changes, including the formation of a “unity government.” Understandably, many citizens are skeptical since they have heard similar unfulfilled past promises.

      In 2017, a new Parliament is scheduled to be elected, and a new President to be selected by Parliament members in 2018. Unless the next elections are fair and represent the various segments of the population, there may be more serious disturbances. The burden for freer elections falls not only on government officials, but also on voters who sell their votes!

      A democratically-elected government is the only way to gain the people’s trust not only to govern them fairly, but also to properly manage the country’s foreign relations, including the negotiations on Artsakh. Currently, there is a considerable distrust that what is being negotiated behind closed doors in Moscow or elsewhere stems from the interests of the Armenian nation.

      To get out of this newly-imposed precarious geo-strategic isolation, the authorities in Armenia and Artsakh have to emulate the long-standing Turkish tactic of “divide and conquer,” looking for opportunities to pit Russia against Turkey and Azerbaijan, thus undermining the possible consensus of Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Turkey on the Artsakh conflict!

      Harut Sassounian is the Publisher of The California Courier

      Comment


      • Re: Regional geopolitics

        Harut Sassounian is good at analyzing Armenian issues in the US and Genocide related issues.
        When it comes to Geo-politics of the Caucasus region, he doesn’t come across too smart.

        Comment


        • Re: Regional geopolitics

          Originally posted by Azad View Post
          Harut Sassounian is good at analyzing Armenian issues in the US and Genocide related issues.
          When it comes to Geo-politics of the Caucasus region, he doesn’t come across too smart.
          --- when it comes to geo-politics ---
          I agree on that emphatically.
          His last paragraph, clearly states ... The end justifies the means. WRONG.
          We are striving to be a decent people's seeking the truth. Can't get there by conniving. To emulate the terk??? Fkn moron.
          The path of righteousness is a tough road. The sleazy path is a completely different road.
          We gotta be tough and not cowardly.
          Better to die on the right path than live on the wrong one.

          Comment


          • Re: Regional geopolitics

            Russia & Turkey carve anti-US enclaves in Syria

            US President Barack Obama told Pentagon and military chiefs he met Friday, Oct. on Oct. 14, that instead of arming anti-Assad rebel groups in Syria, Washington was going back to negotiations with Moscow for cooperation in achieving a cessation of hostilities in the Syrian war.
            US Secretary of State John Kerry therefore scheduled his umpteenth meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for Saturday in Lausanne. This time, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and possibly Qatar, tagged along.
            Beyond the high words, recriminations and the unspeakable horrors attending the battle for Aleppo, Obama never seriously considered providing the anti-Syrian rebels holed up in Aleppo with the anti-air weapons they need to shoot down the Russian and Syrian warplanes blitzing them – any more than UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s statement that it was time for British military involvement in the Syrian war was for real
            Above all, Britain is short of the military heft for backing up hypothetical intentions.
            The options for serious Western intervention in the Syrian war are constantly diminishing for the reasons outlined here by DEBKAfile’s military sources:
            1. American missiles have no way of reaching Syrian rebel groups, certainly not those still fighting in eastern Aleppo. Neither Russia, nor Turkey, whose army now controls 5,000 sq. km of northern Syria, would let them through to that destination.
            2. Had Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan chosen to do so, he could have simply ordered his army to open up a route for the supply of missiles to the rebels who are hemmed in in Aleppo by Russia, Syrian, Iranian and Hizballah forces. He is withholding that order because the military deals he concluded with President Vladimir Putin last week in Istanbul override any concerns he may have for the fate of those rebels or Aleppo’s population.
            3. Those deals in a word sanctify the Turkish “security zone” in northern Syria which is covered by a no-fly zone for all but Russian and Turkish flights. They also provide for the Syrian rebels retreating from the various Syrian war zones, including Aleppo, to be taken in and absorbed in the Turkish enclave. Erdogan would thus become the senior patron of the Syrian opposition rebel movement, barring only the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and other Islamic extremist groups. This would enable him to steal from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar their sponsorship roles and their influence in the anti-Assad movement.
            4. Ankara’s military alliance with Moscow is steadily eroding Turkey’s ties with the United States as well as NATO. Matters have gone so far that the two capitals or in advanced discussion of the supply of Russian air defense missiles to the Turkish army.
            DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources reveal that under discussion is the installation in Turkey of a system of advanced Russian missiles linked to the Russian anti-air missile shield under construction in Syria.
            Turkey would thus become the first member of NATO to arm itself with a Russian anti-air missile shield.
            How was this allowed to happen?
            According to our sources, Putin and Erdogan are moving fast to cash in on President Obama’s repugnance for military intervention in Syria and his waning powers at the tail end of his presidency.
            Furthermore –
            a) Neither is configuring Syrian President Bashar Assad into their calculations. They are going forward with their plans while ignoring him and his drastically diminished army as factors worth consideration.
            b) Their objectives are similar and interlocking: Both are intent on developing their respective enclaves in northern Syria, Moscow for a long-term military presence in the country: likewise, Ankara.
            Up until now, the Obama administration stood firm against the two goals, which is why Washington and Moscow were unable to achieve any real cooperation over a secession of hostilities in the war-torn country; even when Kerry and Lavrov struck a truce accord on Sept 9, it never held up beyond a few hours.
            Most recently, Putin and Erdogan tried signaling the US president that their sole ambitions with regard to Syria’s future lie in the two military enclaves now under construction.
            Obama saw this as a sufficient basis to continue withholding advanced arms from Syrian rebel groups and to go for another round of diplomacy with Russia – with Turkey hitching a ride this time on the opposite side of the table..

            Comment


            • Re: Regional geopolitics

              Originally posted by lampron View Post
              Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Turkey
              This column attempts to explain the reasons for the sudden rapprochement between Russia and Turkey, which also welcome Azerbaijan, and tangentially Iran, into their fold, ...
              I have no clue how he mixed all these nations (Iran in particular) and tied them to the last Armenian internal issues.
              In short, The West wants erdogan gone. Russia is seizing this opportunity in alienating turkey’s relationship with NATO. The only border where NATO is not aggressively harassing Russia yet. The way I see it, Russia gave turkey a breathing room in northern Syria and Iraq, harassing the kurds, allowing it to overstep NATO. In return, Russia most likely told turkey to stay out of the Caucasus. The pipeline will run from the black sea under Russian control. The rest are just BS to feed the media, like the recent comment by Lavrov “turkey can play a positive role in Nagorno-Karabakhh settlement” (why now?) to appease the azeris. They all know including aliyev and Kerry Artsak is on the back burner for a long time. Notice turkey did not make any comments on Armenia acquiring Iskander missiles.

              Comment


              • Re: Regional geopolitics

                I am not seeing this in the western press, but Al Masdar (sp) is reporting the Syrian who was arrested for possessing explosives and then killed himself while in jail belonged to the "white helmets" group.
                I have suspected this western funded group of politicle deception because the only accusations they make are toward Syria and Russia. They always seem to be on the spot for Syrian/Russian bombs (but) --- NEVER --- for western coalition collateral damage bombings.
                If it spells fishy but there are no fish around ...
                White helmets or more contriving by the west ???

                Comment


                • Re: Regional geopolitics

                  Originally posted by Artashes View Post
                  I am not seeing this in the western press, but Al Masdar (sp) is reporting the Syrian who was arrested for possessing explosives and then killed himself while in jail belonged to the "white helmets" group.
                  I have suspected this western funded group of politicle deception because the only accusations they make are toward Syria and Russia. They always seem to be on the spot for Syrian/Russian bombs (but) --- NEVER --- for western coalition collateral damage bombings.
                  If it spells fishy but there are no fish around ...
                  White helmets or more contriving by the west ???
                  The shekel western controlled “interest” were starting to look bad with their support and siding with the “opposition groups” that are literally terrorist groups. The new marketing focus is on their rescue group (White Pots) of the same terror organizations. They all go to turkey for their “medical” trainings. Now our media shows all the White Pots’ rescues from the Russian and Syrian Regime shelling, instead of the opposition terrors.

                  Comment


                  • Re: Regional geopolitics

                    TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior field commander of Aleppo operations blasted Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh for their negative roles in Syria, and said they seek to pave the ground for the ISIL terrorists to occupy Deir Ezzur.

                    "Saudi Arabia and the US are making strenuous efforts to grant Deir Ezzur city to the ISIL. We are aware of their goals and will not allow the US and its allies to implement their scenarios there," the commander said on Tuesday.

                    "There is reliable intelligence available to show that the US along with Israel and Saudi Arabia want the ISIL to withdraw from Mosul peacefully and without sustaining any toll and damage and enter Syria with all its equipment, crews and fighters," he added.

                    Noting that the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia are accomplices in ISIL's crimes, the commander warned that the supporters of the terrorist group would regret their deeds.

                    His remarks came after at least 20 more civilians were killed in another air assault by the US-led coalition fighter jets on a number of villages in Eastern Deir Ezzur.

                    Local sources in Deir Ezzur said that at least 11 people, including women and children, were killed in the US air attacks on al-Sha'fah village in the Eastern parts of Deir Ezzur.

                    "9 other civilians were also killed and 15 more were wounded in the US airstrikes on Baqouz village," the sources added.

                    The US-led coalition's airstrikes have been taking a heavy toll on the civilian population and infrastructures in Syria, while the Pentagon claims that the assaults are aimed at the ISIL.

                    Early this month, over 50 civilians were killed in an air raid by the US-led coalition planes in Deir Ezzur.

                    Four days later on October 7, the US-led coalition fighter jets conducted another round of air assaults over Deir Ezzur province, destroying another key bridge in the North of the provincial capital.

                    The US-led Coalition aircraft targeted al-Syasia Bridge North of the city of Deir Ezzur early this month which resulted in the destruction of the largest bridge in the province.

                    A number of bridges have been destroyed by the bombers of the US-led Coalition in Deir Ezzur province in recent weeks, which, according to prominent analysts and politicians, is the Washington strategy to prevent the Syrian Army and its allies' further advances in the fight against the ISIL terrorists.

                    On October 8, Governor-General of Deir Ezzur Mohammad Qadour al-Aynia expressed regret that the US-led coalition is bombing Euphrates bridges to the benefit of the terrorists in his province.

                    "The US-led coalition recently pounded 13 bridges over Euphrates river from al-Bu Kamal region to the borders of Raqqa under the pretext of cutting the ISIL's supply routes but destruction of these bridges was aimed at annihilation of Syria's infrastructures and the Deir Ezzur people would face more hardship for commuting between the villages on the two sides of the river," al-Aynia told FNA.

                    He said that the ISIL now takes a lot of money from the Deir Ezzur villagers to transfer them with boats, adding that the US created a new source of revenue for the terrorists.

                    Local sources in Deir Ezzur said earlier this month that the US planes pounded 7 bridges in four days.

                    The bridges on the Euphrates in al-Mayadeen, albu Kamal, al-Ashara, al-Basira, al-Tarif and al-Nowam in the Eastern and Western countryside of Deir Ezzur were attacked before the airstrike on al-Abbas bridge at the time.

                    The US-led Coalition's airstrikes had also destroyed al-Shihan Bridge near al-Salhin neighborhood in albu Kamal countryside and Tarif Bridge in the Western countryside of Deir Ezzur that extends between Deir Ezzur and Raqqa provinces late September.

                    The bombers had also destroyed al-Asharah Bridge that links the two banks of the Euphrates River in the Eastern part of the Deir Ezzur province, only few hours after demolishing al-Mayadin Bridge in the same month.

                    The warplanes of US-led coalition targeted the Syrian army troops near the city of Deir Ezzur on September 17, leaving over 90 military personnel dead and a hundred wounded.

                    Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed a report by the Syrian state news agency that an ISIL offensive began right after Syrian Army positions were hit by the bombers of the US-led coalition.

                    The actions of the coalition “clearly paved the way for ISIL terrorists to attack the position and take control of it,” the agency said citing the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces.

                    The General Command called the bombing a “serious and blatant aggression” against Syrian forces, and said it was "conclusive evidence" that the US and its allies support ISIL terrorist group.

                    A day later, a military source disclosed that the ISIL launched attacks on the Syrian army positions in Deir Ezzur only 7 minutes after the US-led coalition's airstrikes.

                    The military source reiterated that the air and ground assault were highly coordinated.

                    A Syrian top official said the country's intelligence unit possesses an audio recording of a conversation between the ISIL group and the US military before the airstrikes by the US-led coalition on the Syrian army troops near Deir Ezzur on September 17.

                    The speaker of the People's Council of Syria, Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, said that after the US coalition's airstrikes on the government troops, US military directed terrorists' attack on the Syrian army.

                    Hayastan or Bust.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Regional geopolitics

                      Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenian Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan received today Iranian delegation headed by Iran’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Major-General Nasrollah Kalantari.

                      Armenian Ministry of Defense informed that the parties discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation, as well as settlement of problems and conflicts in the region.

                      Both parties attached importance to the necessity of making military-political contacts more frequent.

                      On the same day, the delegations held a meeting in the extended format, which was attended by Armenian First Deputy Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan and Armenian Deputy Minister of Defense David Pakhchanian.

                      The parties discussed issues related to continuation of bilateral cooperation in logistics, education and other sectors, and expansion of contacts.

                      Hayastan or Bust.

                      Comment

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