Railway of Resistance: A grand project to connect Iran, Iraq, Syria

May 19 2023

Beyond its positive economic implications, the railway project connecting Iran, Iraq, and Syria will be a geopolitical game changer by connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Photo Credit: The Cradle

By Mohamad Hasan Sweidan

Sir Halford John Mackinder, one of Britain’s most prominent theorists in the field of geopolitics, discusses the significance of land connectivity between nations in his 1904 essay called The Geographical Pivot of History.

Besides introducing his notable Heartland Theory, Mackinder argued that advancements in transportation technology, such as the development of railways, have altered the balance of power in international politics by enabling a powerful state or group of states to expand its influence along transport routes.

The establishment of blocs, like the EU or BRICS, for instance, aims to enhance communication between member states. This objective has positive implications for the economy and helps reduce the risk of tensions among them.

The cost of such tensions has increased considerably, given the growing benefits and common interests achieved through strengthened ties between nations. Consequently, reinforcing connections within a specific region has a positive impact on the entire area.

Therefore, any infrastructure project between countries cannot be viewed solely from an economic standpoint; its geopolitical effects must also be highlighted.

West Asia connected by railway

In July 2018, Saeed Rasouli, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI), announced the country’s intention to construct a railway line connecting the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, the Iran-Iraq-Syria railway link. This ambitious project would run from Basra in southern Iraq to Albu Kamal on the Iraqi-Syrian border and then extend to Deir Ezzor in northeastern Syria.

Undoubtedly, this project strengthens communication between the countries of West Asia and increases the need for other powers to collaborate with this important region, which is strategically located in parts of Mackinder’s “Heartland” and Nicholas Spykman’s “Rimland” of Eurasia.

Moreover, in accordance with Mackinder’s proposition, it can be argued that this railway project holds geopolitical significance for the three involved countries – Iran, Iraq, and Syria – and for West Asia as a whole.

The concept of a railway link between Iran and Iraq emerged over a decade ago. In 2011, Iran completed the 17-kilometer Khorramshahr-Shalamjah railway, which aimed to connect Iran’s railways to the city of Basra. Subsequently, in 2014, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Tehran and Baghdad to construct the Shalamjah-Basra line.

As per the agreement, Iran was responsible for designing and building a bridge over the Arvand River, while the Iraqi side pledged to construct a 32-kilometer railway line from the Shalamjah border to the Basra railway station within Iraqi territory.

Final destination: Syria

On 14 August, 2018, Iran announced its intention to further extend the railway from its territory to Syria, with Iraq’s participation. This move aimed to counter western sanctions and enhance economic cooperation.

The railway project would begin at the Imam Khomeini port on the Persian Gulf, located in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, to the Shalamjah crossing on the Iraqi border. From there, the railway traverses through the Iraqi province of Basra, crossing Albu Kamal on the Syrian border and ending at the Mediterranean port of Latakia.

Iranian official sources stated that this railway would contribute to Syria’s reconstruction efforts, bolster the transport sector, and facilitate religious tourism between Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Iran would bear the costs of the project within its own territory, while Iraq would contribute its share up to the Syrian border.

During the visit of former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Iraq in March 2019, a memorandum of understanding on the project was signed between Tehran and Baghdad. However, despite the agreements, the Iraqi side has faced economic challenges and a lack of funds, resulting in a delay in the construction of the railway.

Proposed railway links between Iran, Iraq, and Syria

Three Sections

The railway project can be divided into three sections: The first section links the Imam Khomeini Port to the Shalamjah crossing on the Iraqi border. According to the Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash, the railway line in Iran has been completed and has reached the zero border point.

The second section will link the Shalamjah Crossing to Basra in southern Iraq, then extend to Baghdad, Anbar province, and finally, the Syrian border. The financing of this section, according to the agreement, falls under the responsibility of the Iraqi government. The commencement of this phase is expected soon.

The third section, within Syria, encompasses two routes: The northern route extends between Iraq’s al-Qaim and Syria’s Albu Kamal, then heads west towards the Syrian port of Latakia. The southern route runs from the al-Qaim crossing on the Iraqi-Syrian border to Damascus via Homs.

It should be noted that although the shortest route to Damascus is through al-Tanf, due to the presence of the illegal US occupation forces there, the longer Homs-Damascus corridor was adopted. This also ensures the passage of railways through a greater number of Syrian cities.

Economic significance

Although the rail line between Iran and Iraq will only span 32 km and cost approximately $120 million, divided equally, its significance extends far beyond its length. It will serve as the sole railway connection between the two countries and play a crucial role in improving communication throughout the wider region by linking China’s Belt and Road Initative (BRI) lines to Iraq via Iran.

Once completed, the project will enable Iraq to easily connect to Iran’s extensive railway network, which extends to Iran’s eastern border. This linkage will open pathways for Baghdad to connect with Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Far East.

Moreover, in the future, the project positions Iraq as a transit route for trade between the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region and Central Asia, as well as Russia. Incidentally, Iran and Russia have just inked an agreement to establish a railway connecting the Iranian cities of Astara with Rasht, as part of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

The railway line also contributes to the promotion of religious tourism among the three countries, which are home to several important Shia shrines. In September 2022, more than 21 million people from around the world, including 3 million Iranians, visited Iraq for the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage in the holy city of Karbala. This figure is likely to increase significantly with a rail link, leading to increased revenues for the Iraqi treasury.

Furthermore, the project serves as a means to bypass western sanctions and external pressures on the three countries, particularly Iran and Syria. It strengthens the independence of these nations and reduces the likelihood of foreign powers interfering in the economic relations of the project countries.

Obstacles to project implementation

Despite the signed agreements, the Tehran-Baghdad-Damascus railway project has faced mixed reactions in Iraq, leading to a lack of enthusiasm for moving forward with the rail link. Only last month, the Ministry of Transport issued a clarification regarding its rail link with Iran, stressing that the project is related to “passenger transportation only.”

Iraqi politicians have expressed concerns that the rail link with Iran could hinder their country’s Dry Canal project, which aims to connect the port of Faw in Basra province to the Turkish and Syrian borders.

They believe that the Grand Faw Port is strategically positioned as the closest point for sea cargo to Europe, potentially bringing economic benefits and employment opportunities. These concerns arise from the fear that the Imam Khomeini port in Iran could gain increased importance, diminishing the significance of the Faw Port.

But Iraqi concerns actually present an opportunity to link Iran to the Dry Canal, enhancing the strategic importance of both projects and bolstering Iraq’s position as a regional trading hub. In the near future, communication and cooperation between these neighbors will be crucial in thwarting external efforts to impede the economic interdependence of the three countries.

A promising journey

The tripartite railway link project holds immense significance as it connects these countries within a larger network, resembling the historical Silk Road that facilitated trade between the east and the west for centuries.

The railway project has the ability to initiate a major transformation in West Asia if it materializes and expands further afield to countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Their participation would not only reduce tensions among regional states but also yield positive economic outcomes and bolster tourism, particularly religious tourism, and foster stronger inter-regional ties.

By connecting key players in a geopolitically strategic region, the Tehran-Baghdad-Damascus rail link has the potential to lay the foundation for a new West Asian paradigm that promotes connectivity, stability, and prosperity.

As seen by the recent Iran-Saudi and Syria-Saudi rapprochement agreements, the region is in a collaborative mood, actively seeking economic development instead of conflict. With China and Russia – two powers at the forefront of Eurasia’s biggest interconnectivity projects (BRI and INSTC) – brokering and impacting many of these diplomatic initiatives, expect railways, roads, and waterways to begin linking countries that have been at odds for decades.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

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Al Qaeda Avenging Bombing of Israel, Attack the Syrian Army

 APRIL 7, 2023

 ARABI SOURI

NATO-sponsored Al Qaeda terrorists in northwestern Syria carried out waves of terrorist attacks against the Syrian Arab Army posts in the southern Idlib countryside and northern Latakkia countryside, the Syrian army repelled the attacks successfully.

Avenging the bombing of northern ‘Israel’ yesterday, the NATO-sponsored Turkish army-affiliated Nusra Front (al Qaeda Levant) and the Turkistan Islamist Party (ISIS) attacked the Syrian Arab Army posts in two different axes in the northwest of Syria consecutively, in both attacks the vigilant Syrian Arab Army SAA units repelled the attacks and inflict serious casualties among the attackers.

Shortly after midnight, on the al Fatatra axis in southern Idlib, the SAA units protecting the liberated villages managed to kill several terrorists and wound many others of the Nusra Front (aka HTS) with help of the SAA artillery shredding the attackers and their dens they launched their attacks from.

Who finances and arms these terrorists on the United Nations Security Council’s terrorist list with all the advanced weapons and communication devices?

Local sources reported dense clashes in the area, the Syrian Ministry of Defense later confirmed in a statement carried by the Syrian news agency SANA the reports and pointed to the coordinated involvement of the SAA artillery in these clashes.

In northern Latakia countryside, northwest of Syria, the Syrian Arab Army units repelled an attack by a group of the NATO-sponsored Turkistan (anti-Islamic) Islamist Party (ISIS – ISIL – Daesh) terrorists, the attack was foiled and several terrorists were killed including a so-called Abu Qutada, a commander in the terrorist group.

The body of the killed commander was taken by the SAA for further investigations with the Russian authorities, and most likely with Chinese security. The CIA with the help of ‘intelligence’ agencies from a number of Gulfies states and the Turkish MiT recruit terrorists for this Turkistan Islamist Party from Central Asia all the way from the Chinese Uighur to northern Turkey, Washingnton’s created Green Belt that surrounds southern Russia and west of China.

Settlers in Syria, Uighurs, Turkestan & Displacement of Syrians, to Where?

Both of the terrorist groups in these two attacks in southern Idlib countryside and northern Latakia countryside are the most ideologically loyal to the Turkish madman Erdogan and his anti-Islamic Muslim Brotherhood organization. Nothing stops this madman Erdogan from spilling the blood of innocent people, especially mainstream Muslims, and Christians even in Islam’s holiest Ramadan fasting month, just like his masters in Tel Aviv.

The Russian Ministry of Defense, on its part, reported the attack of the anti-Islamic Turkistan Islamist Party foiled by the Syrian Arab Army in northwest Syria, the Russian sources added that 3 of the attackers were killed in this attack.

Analysts in northern Syria connected these attacks with the overall NATO escalation across the globe as their Ukraine project is failing miserably, and the analysts link the timing of these particular two terrorist attacks to the bombing of northern ‘Israel’ – occupied Palestine yesterday pointing to the close relationship between the terrorist groups in Syria and Israel.

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Assad: Earthquake Repercussions Belong to Cumulative Case of War, Terrorist Sabotage, Embargo & Its Effects

Feb 17, 2021

By Staff, SANA

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad gave a speech on Thursday night in which he tackled the repercussions of the earthquake that struck the country.

“A homeland is a home, and its protection is a duty, regardless of the type and magnitude of the challenge, and regardless of the capabilities. This was the case since the first moments of the earthquake,” Assad underlined at the beginning of his speech.

The Syrian president’s speech detailed all repercussions of the tragedy, stating the following:

This deep and overwhelming sense towards the homeland, our home, Syria, was felt by the one family inhabiting it, individuals and institutions. And there was this massive surge on the part of everyone to protect, save and help their brothers and sisters affected by the earthquake in Aleppo, Lattakia and Hama. This national patriotic and humanitarian scene is not surprising for any of us; for we have felt it at different turns of the war on Syria. But now, it is clearer and more comprehensive. More importantly, it is more expressive, for it comes after twelve years of war and embargo, with the accompanying death, sabotage and lack of resources on the national level.

However, despite the cruelty of all this, it has not changed the essence of our feeling and our thinking towards each other and towards the homeland, whether it is the land or the people inhabiting it, towards its concepts, customs and traditions.

If this war has exhausted and drained a lot of the national resources, and weakened the capabilities to face more crises, this war itself gave the Syrian society the expertise and the ability to act quickly and effectively in the early hours of the earthquake.

The magnitude of the disaster and the tasks that we should all shoulder are much larger than the available capabilities. However, what our society, its individuals and institutions, was capable of doing was also much larger than the available capabilities. This was not only because of the war and the sanctions, but also because Syria has not been an earthquake area for about two and a half centuries. Neither the buildings nor the institutions nor the equipment were prepared for different types of natural disasters. This made it the first challenge of its kind, and the largest of its kind. Nothing compensated for those weaknesses except the quick and highly effective response of the government, civil-society organizations and individuals who volunteered in the rescue work, those who made in kind or financial donations, residents and expatriates. They have tried every possible way to break the embargo in order to provide every possible assistance to their disaster-affected brothers and sisters. This is in addition to the emergency aid sent by sisterly and friendly countries, which constituted a significant support for the national efforts to alleviate the impact of the earthquake and save many of the injured.

However, from the experiences of other countries in this area, earthquakes have immediate and long-term effects. What we shall face for months and years, in terms of economic, social and service challenges is no less important than what we faced during the first days. And it needs a lot of thinking, dialogue, solidarity and organization on the part of all national sectors. It is important not to look at the repercussions as a separate case related exclusively to the earthquake; for it is a cumulative case of war, terrorist sabotage, the embargo and its effects and of the earthquake recently. Added to this are faults that have accumulated in different sectors for decades before the war.

The scene might look complicated, and it might be difficult to categorize the reasons leading to each problem separately. But it might give us an opportunity to solve those accumulated problems in an interrelated manner. This means moving from addressing the negative aspects of the emergency conditions into the positive aspects of comprehensive treatment. And it means moving forward instead of standing fixed in facing crises. This cannot happen all at once, but in a prioritized manner depending on the available capabilities, and in stages. But what is important is having the vision based on a national consensus and a broad dialogue.

But even then, we need to continue dealing with the repercussions of the earthquake step by step. After completing the rescue stage, providing emergency shelters and the basic requirement in terms of food, clothes and medicine, which have been done so far. The relevant government institutions have started to provide temporary housing, until permanent housing is provided at a later stage.

Creating a fund for supporting the affected people is under study. The fund aims at supporting them until they become capable of restoring the different aspects of their life capabilities. This will happen after the damage is assessed, and criteria are drawn for the identification of those covered and the support provided. All this should be done in parallel with curbing economic decline which usually hits affected areas and impacts the national economy in general. The necessary legislation will be passed and measures taken in order to alleviate the economic burdens on their population and accelerate the economic cycle there. These have been started to be examined before being presented for discussion and taking the appropriate decisions in the next few days. There are also some other ideas which have been proposed recently and will be announced by the relevant institutions, after being properly examined, discussed and their feasibility ensured.

When societies suffer different kinds of earthquakes, geological, political, military, cultural, social or other kinds of violent tremors, they are bound to lose part of their stability, because their institutional and social controls are shaken. This includes laws, regulations, concepts, traditions and morals. This, in turn, gives rise to negative aspects already there, but have been latent or limited as a result of those controls.

Enthusiasm and vigor in treating these manifestations which appear on the surface are necessary in crises, provided they are based on wisdom and awareness, on facts not exaggeration and illusions. So, let’s look for the truth instead of promoting rumors which have eclipsed scenes of heroism, sacrifice, devotion, solidarity and the unlimited enthusiasm we have seen during the hours and days which followed the earthquake. For they will send messages of frustration to all those who have made that amazing and extraordinary patriotic scene, and promote instead an image at odds with the pure and honorable image we have drawn in the minds of others.

Is there an event, small or large, that can obscure the images of heroism projected by our national civil and military institutions, civil society, and individual volunteers involved in rescue work like a beehive, day and night? They are credited with all that has been achieved. They have born the homeland, with all its hopes and pain, in unlimited enthusiasm and forbearance and great sacrifice. They have embodied the homeland in all its beautiful meanings and noble values.

Was it this spontaneous popular surge to support the disaster-affected with a flood of good that suspended their poverty and need? It was a surge of activity and feeling which equaled the well-off, who gave without being asked, and the needy, who cut some of their limited resources and daily sustenance in order to help a disaster affected person. They have been a real and live model of morals in their noblest manifestations, patriotism in its deepest meanings and humanity in its most sublime attributes.

Can we ever forget those who have mobilized in order to defend the real image of our society in the different mass and social media, not allowing the distorted image that some people have been trying to market to affect our reputation as a society, and preventing that image from affecting its morals, solidarity and altruism, which is the highest value on the individual and collective levels?

There are many other stories and endless details, individuals, heroes, courageous and valiant persons who stand as role models for the present and guiding lights for the future.

For all those, residents and expatriates, who alleviated this painful tragedy with what they could, materially and morally, with something or with a word, we don’t say thank you, because loving one’s homeland, serving and defending it is a duty that does not require thanks, but we say to them: we are proud of you, and your homeland is proud of you.

In the midst of our pain and sadness for the victims, our pride in our compatriots, we should not omit to thank all the countries which have stood with us from the first hours of the disaster, our Arab brothers and our friends whose kind and field assistance have made the greatest impact in strengthening our capabilities to face the difficult circumstances in those critical hours.

I would like to thank in particular the rescue teams from different countries which took active part in rescue operations and continued to work until the last moments of hope of finding a live person under the rubble. They conducted their work with the same enthusiasm and devotion as their Syrian colleagues. They were real brothers. So, on behalf of every Syrian, we thank them and are grateful to them.

All of us in this homeland, Muslims and Christians, believe in God; and believing in God means believing in God’s will. For us, God’s will is a destiny which brings us things we like and things we dislike. If we are not in a position to comprehend God’s wisdom in the calamities and graces which befall us, and their reasons, we are certainly in a position to learn the lessons from them. The first and most important thing which we should learn from this tough experience, now that we have been able, together, with all parts of our spectrum and sectors, to overcome our circumstances and limited capabilities, is to believe in our own tremendous capabilities, and to believe that our solidarity enables us to do it and that our fragmentation stifles it.

So, let’s believe in God, believe in our homeland, in the will capable of making miracles when we possess it, in order for Syria to remain proud of its people, strong in its history, rich in its dignity, capable in its will.

What happened on February 6 in Syria and northern Alexandretta – Geologist Ammar Ajeeb

Special and continuous coverage of the repercussions of the devastating earthquake 2/17/2023, presented and interviewed by Bushra Zaini

Al-Ekhbariya camera monitors the conditions of the affected people and the damage caused by the earthquake in the village of Astamu in the countryside of Lattakia

• Gulf Media Outlets Broadcast Assad Speech on Earthquake Repercussions

The Syrian Earthquake Has United the Arab World

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Steven Sahiounie

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360°

Close to 9 million people in Syria have been affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, 65 seconds in duration on February 6, that Turkish President Erdogan has compared with the power released by atomic bombs. The hardest hit areas are Latakia, Aleppo, and Idlib.

The UN estimates that more than 4.2 million people have been affected in Aleppo province with 400,000 homeless, and 5,000 buildings declared unlivable. Aleppo has more than 1,600 dead and 10,000 injured.

The province of Idlib is a total population estimated at 3 million, but because there is no government or authority there, we can only guess how many have been affected.

UAE Aid plane landing in Aleppo International Airport

The UN says 5.5 million Syrians are without a home after the earthquake, with more than 7,400 buildings having been destroyed completely, or partially in Syria.

In Latakia, there are 820 dead, 142,000 homeless, and over 2,000 injured, with 102 buildings completely collapsed, and others condemned.

A total of 58 trucks have crossed from Turkey to north-west Syria through the Bab al Hawa crossing point over the past five days, carrying aid such as food, tents, and medicines. Those trucks are solely supplying Idlib, under the occupation of the armed group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Eleven trucks have gone through the newly opened border crossing of Bab al Salam today, carrying non-food items such as blankets, and mattresses.

Iraqi AAid plan landing in Damascus international Airport

Location matters in this quake

The map will show that Aleppo, Syria is just south of Gaziantep, Turkey which was the epicenter. Aleppo was heavily damaged in the earthquake, adding more misery to a city that was under the occupation of Al Qaeda terrorists in the eastern section until being liberated in December 2016.

Looking at a map, you see that Latakia is a 2 ½ hour drive west of Aleppo on the M4 highway. It seems like a long distance, but the power of the 7.8 magnitude brought the epicenter and Latakia together because they share the same fault line, which Aleppo does not.

Tunisian Aid plane landing in Aleppo International Airport

UN: no roadblocks to aid, no politics

Rula Amin, UN Refugee Agency Senior Communications Advisor, urged cooperation among nations to help Turkey and Syria. She said there should be no roadblocks to assistance for people in need. Referring to the UN and western aid coming almost exclusively to Idlib, and by-passing those in need in Latakia and Aleppo, she urged all to put politics aside, and focus on getting aid to those in need regardless of whether they are in the US-EU supported area in Idlib, or whether they live in Aleppo and Latakia under the Syrian administration from Damascus. Amin is no stranger to Syria. In March 2011, Amin was one of the very first international journalists in Deraa, covering what she had claimed was a ‘popular uprising’, and even interviewed the cleric who was the key player of the Obama-designed US-NATO attack on Syria for ‘regime change

.’ She did not go as far as to demand the lifting of all US-EU sanctions on Syria to send aid, but her meaning was clear. The sanctions prevent aid from arriving in Damascus. On February 9 the US Department of the Treasury issued General License 23, which allows for a humanitarian waiver of supplies to government-controlled areas in Syria, but must be received by an NGO and not the Syrian government. The 180-day waiver is far too short, as the need is enormous, and will people will need years to grapple with the damages.  Rebuilding homes and businesses may take a decade or more. Also, most governments abroad would be sending official aid to Syria through a government-to-government mechanism, and using an NGO is a tedious stipulation designed to discourage aid from being sent.

Who gave to Damascus?

On Tuesday, a plane landed from Saudi Arabia at the Aleppo International Airport, carrying 35 tons of humanitarian aid.  Aid to Damascus also arrived from: China, Russia, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, UAE, Bangladesh, Libya, Belarus, Jordan, Cuba, Venezuela, Tunisia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Cyprus, Hungary, India, and Sudan.

Jordanian Aid plane landing in Damascus international Airport

Italy sent two planeloads of aid to Beirut, Lebanon to be transported to Syria by land. This demonstrates the extreme fear that western allies of the US have of the sanctions. By sending the aid to Lebanon, which is not sanctioned, Italy feels more comfortable that the US Treasury will not issue massive penalties against them.

Who refused aid to Damascus?

The US, the EU, and all US allies such as Canada have sent nothing to Syria for the earthquake-ravaged zones of Latakia and Aleppo.  According to America, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the allies of the US, there is no place called Syria.  There is only a small, rural agricultural province called Idlib.  Syria is 10,000 years old, and Damascus and Aleppo both tie as the undisputed oldest inhabited cities on earth.  But the great minds in Washington, DC. only acknowledge the tiny area called Idlib.  The terrorist-controlled Idlib is suffering, and has innocent unarmed civilians in need of help; however, Latakia, and Aleppo are far bigger and have sustained more deaths, injuries, and structural damages than Idlib. The US and the west have used politics to judge who gets helped, and who is forgotten. The Syrian people will never forget this. The US and EU sanctions have made life unbearable in Syria before the earthquake of the century, and now when politics should be set aside for humanitarian needs, the US doggedly holds on to their dogmatic ideology to make sure the Syrian people know the full disdain of the American government. The Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates visited Damascus and met with President Assad after the quake, in an act of defiance of US-dictated policy.

Algerian aid plane in Aleppo International Airport

Where is Government controlled Syria?

The US-NATO attack on Syria beginning in March 2011 has resulted in three separate administrations in Syria.  The biggest territory, about 75%, is the central government in Damascus. Aleppo and Latakia are the two hardest hit by the earthquake which is under the Damascus administration.

The second administration is the province of Idlib, which is an olive-growing region between Latakia and Aleppo. There is no government there.  The 3 million persons there live under the occupation of an armed terrorist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly called Jibhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda. The terrorists embedded themselves there in 2012, and until now are safe from attack because the US, EU, and UN all lobby for their protection, and aid. The US supports the Al Qaeda terrorists because they represent the US interests in Syria to be decided upon in a final political settlement in Syria under the auspices of the UN.

The third administration is the Kurdish self-proclaimed region of the northeast, where the US military is occupying the Syrian oil wells, and allowing the Kurds to sell the stolen oil in Iraq to cover their expenses. This area was not affected by the earthquake. This administration exists separate from Damascus only because of the US military illegal occupation

Where is Idlib?

Many of the residents of Idlib most affected by the earthquake have had to sleep outside among the olive groves, in freezing temperatures. The UN acknowledged the international response to Idlib has been a failure.

Raed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets, an award-winning video troupe headquartered in Washington, DC. has denounced the UN as incompetent in their response to the needs in Idlib. The White Helmets work solely in Idlib and have international donors. Al-Saleh was angry after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Syrian President Assad had agreed to allow UN aid deliveries to the area through two border crossings from Turkey for three months. The White Helmets and the terrorists do not recognize the Syrian government.  Damascus had tried to send aid to Idlib, but the terrorists turned it back saying, “We don’t want help from the enemy.”  Previously the UN trucks of aid to Idlib were also stalled after the terrorists demanded a $1,000 fee for each of the 10 trucks.

Why are the borders controlled?

The Syrian government has controlled the border crossings of Syria for security reasons. Serena Shim, an American journalist from Detroit, witnessed and reported seeing a UN food truck carrying Al Qaeda terrorists, and their weapons, from Turkey into Syria near Idlib. She was murdered in Turkey just days after publishing her report.

The terrorists in Idlib are contained in a small area and have weapons including missiles which have frequently been directed at Latakia, and Kessab, a small Christian Armenia village just north of Latakia. The Syrian government wants to keep the weapons from flowing into Idlib while allowing UN, and other humanitarian aid to flow into the 3 million civilians who are held there as human shields.

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Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist

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First Hezbollah aid convoy arrives in Latakia, Syria

Feb 13, 2023

Source: Al Mayadeen Net + Agencies

By Al Mayadeen English 

A convoy of 23 aid trucks sent by the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance group arrive in Latakia, Syria.

First Hezbollah aid convoy arrives in Latakia. February 13, 2023. (AFP)

Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent in Latakia reported on Monday the arrival of the first aid convoy sent by Hezbollah, Rouhama, to help the Syrian people after the catastrophic earthquake. 

The head of the ​​convoy said that there are 23 trucks packed with food, medical supplies, and equipment for those affected by the earthquake. 

The official indicated that the convoy that arrived today will be followed by others soon.

Yesterday, the head of the Hezbollah Executive Council, Hashim Safi Al-Din, announced sending the first batch of aid to Latakia, to be followed by other convoys to Aleppo and other Syrian regions.

Safi Al-Din said, “The affected people need all the help they can get, and Syria has always stood by Lebanon in its ordeals,” He also pledged to the Syrian people to “always stand by them, and with them in this disastrous challenge.”

The Hezbollah official further stressed that “the West revealed the culture to which it belongs, and confirmed that it perpetuates false slogans in defending human rights.”

Hezbollah sends aid convoys to quake-hit Syria

Hezbollah, on February 8, revealed that it was preparing convoys of humanitarian aid to earthquake-affected areas in Syria, in light of the catastrophic earthquake that struck the Arab country amid the inhumane Western sanctions.

Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, told Lebanon’s Al-Manar television channel that countries around the world must rush to send rescue workers, equipment, and aid to earthquake victims.

Qassem offered his condolences to Syria and the Syrian government, announcing that Hezbollah has dispatched convoys of humanitarian aid to quake-hit areas. 

He argued that US sanctions, backed by most Arab countries, are hindering relief and rescue operations, adding that the coercive measures violate fundamental humanitarian principles.

The top Hezbollah official emphasized that the West must understand that Syrians are united in their fight against Takfiri militant groups. He also emphasized that Hezbollah is standing by Syria and Turkey in the aftermath of the tragic incident.

• Despite All Pain, Quake-hit Syria Neglected as Aid Offers Pour in for Turkey

Syria disaster exposed US true face; major threat to world peace: IOL

12 Feb 2023

Source: IOL + Al Mayadeen English

By Al Mayadeen English 

A piece for the IOL outlines how the US sanctions against Syria reveal the fallacy that underlines the US humanitarian claims.

Members of the Algerian rescue team and Syrian Arab Army soldiers search for survivors in the aftermath of the earthquake in Aleppo, Syria February 8, 2023. (Reuters)

International calls, spearheaded by China, demanded that the US lift its unilateral sanctions against Syria amid ongoing efforts to find survivors following the devastating earthquake that struck the country last Monday.

According to a piece by Abbey Makoe for the IOL, a South African newspaper, thousands of lives have been lost as a result of the catastrophic earthquake that hit both Syria and Turkey. While humanitarian aid to Turkey was “relatively smooth”, Makoe reported, that in Syria, unilateral sanctions “are frustrating efforts to transport aid to Syria.”

It is worth noting that Turkey is not only a member of the NATO alliance but also constitutes the second-largest military in the organization.

War-torn Syria suffocated by unilateral sanctions

The South African writer explained that Syria has suffered immensely under a 12-year war prior to the devastating earthquake. During that war, the US imposed unilateral sanctions against Syria as it supported “various Arab rebels fighting to overthrow the government of President Bashar Al-Assad,” as per US claims.

These restrictions have hindered aid to the Syrian people and nation leaving anyone stuck beneath the rubble to face their own fate as the Syrian search and rescue teams undergo major setbacks at all levels.

The newspaper also highlighted that the White Helmets, which are “Western-funded fighters to topple the Syrian government,” are also directly “supported by the US army on the ground.” 

This group has become “fully in charge” of the situation in regions where they operate as those are “parts of Syria where the government has long lost control.”

On that note, it is worth reminding, as did IOL, that approximately “1000 US soldiers continue to operate in Kurdish-controlled areas in the country’s oil-rich northeast.” US soldiers are operating on “Syria’s southern border area” as they cooperate with “Arab rebel factions that they sponsor.”

Read more: WHO chief to Al Mayadeen from Aleppo: Situation is tragic

Chinese concern

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning called on the US to lift its sanctions on Syria and “unlock the doors for humanitarian aid,” reported IOL.

Mao noted that “the devastating earthquakes – on top of years of war and turmoil – have left Syria in a terrible humanitarian crisis,” and emphasized that “the frequent [US] military strikes and harsh economic sanctions have caused huge civilian casualties and taken away the means to the subsistence of the Syrians.”

Furthermore, Mao attacked Washington for stealing Syria’s oil “at a staggering rate.” The spokesperson said, “As we speak, the US troops continue to occupy Syria’s principal oil-producing regions. They have plundered more than 80% of Syria’s oil production and smuggled and burned Syria’s grain stock,” adding, “All this has made Syria’s humanitarian crisis even worse.”

Read more: US should lift sanctions on Syria for disaster rescue: CGTN poll

Global concern 

El-Mostafa Benlamlih, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim for Syria, characterized the current situation in Syria as “a crisis on top of a crisis.”

According to the article, Benlamlih’s statement during a press conference on Wednesday in which he stated, “We just hope that the political considerations will get out of the way and let us do our job,” is a veiled appeal to the US.

Alongside Benlamlih, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) President Khaled Hboubati said, “The evacuation process and rescue operations are restricted due to obstacles resulting from the severe sanctions. We have shortages in heavy machines and equipment needed to lift the rubble.”

The true face of America exposed

According to the IOL piece, the tragedy in Syria has revealed the US’ “cantankerous foreign policy” and exposed its “much-flaunted” humanitarianism “as a fallacy.”

The South African writer put forward a couple of questions in his quest to prove his abovementioned claims: “Is Washington truly oblivious to the human tragedy that is currently unfolding in Syria where innocent men, women, and children need to be rescued under thousands of collapsed buildings? Where is Washington’s heart, if they have any?”

Makoe also called on the international community to “blatantly disregard America’s unilateral sanctions in Syria and rush to the aid of fellow human beings,” adding, “After all, the US sanctions are not even the UN sanctions against Syria.”

The writer argued that the “US and the EU are a major threat to world peace” and explained that their “‘rules-based world order’ is a ploy to undermine the UN and the majority of its member-states.” On this note, Makoe warned that “if not careful, the UN would be moribund.”

With regard to the Syrian crisis and the US unilateral sanctions on the country, the IOL writer said, “The failure to allow a free and safe passage for international aid organisations to do their work of saving lives in Syria would be an indictment on all the UN-affiliated countries that are looking the other way as the US blatantly abuses its power.”

Syria refers to US temporary sanctions waiver as ‘misleading’

Due to the current logistical difficulties following the powerful earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria and following an international outcry, the US has decided to issue a six-month sanctions exemption on Syria for all disaster relief-related transactions, but Syria has dismissed the US sanctions waiver as “misleading”.

“The misleading decision taken by the US administration to temporarily ease some of the cruel and unilateral sanctions on the Syrian nation is out of sham and hypocrisy and is no different from previous gestures meant to convey an erroneous humanitarian impression. While the sanctions waiver is proclaimed to allow the flow of humanitarian aid, the realities on the ground prove the opposite,” the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement on Friday.

It added, “US coercive measures and policies have deprived Syrians of their natural wealth, which is being plundered, and have created obstacles for state institutions to improve living standards, implement development projects and achieve targeted goals, and provide basic services.”

Minimal Western aid to Syria, despite temporary lift of sanctions

Despite the US Treasury announcing the temporary lifting of some Syria-related sanctions, no Western country other than Italy has provided Damascus with aid following the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the country and Turkey.

Although some Western countries pledged support for Syria, realities on the ground prove the opposite, as only militant-controlled areas have received Western aid so far.

Al Mayadeen correspondent reported that the first plane coming from Italy, loaded with aid to Syria from a Tunisian businessman, arrived at Beirut Airport in the Lebanese capital, with another expected to land later, as per Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport in the Lebanese caretaker government, Ali Hamieh, who said earlier in a statement to Al Mayadeen that two Italian aid planes will land at Beirut airport today and then head to Syria.

The head of the medical delegation coming from Italy, Tammam Yousef, said, “These planes are a message of solidarity from the Italian people to the Syrian people.”

According to Yousef, the planes are loaded with four ambulances, as well as clothes and medical materials, adding that there is a third plane that will take off in the coming days from Italy, carrying additional aid to the Syrian people.

The abstention of the West comes despite Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, stressing the need to avoid “politicization” of aid to earthquake victims in Syria and urging Washington and Brussels to ensure there were “no impediments”.

Pedersen told reporters in Geneva that aid is needed to get to Syrian state-controlled areas, as well as those controlled by militants.

“Certain” sanctions on Syria must be lifted in order for the international community to deliver essential goods to address peoples’ urgent needs in the aftermath of Monday’s earthquake, underlined Corinne Fleischer, UN World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Read more: Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll to top 50,000, UN warns

Related Stories

• UN admits: ‘We have failed the people in northwest Syria’
• Minimal Western aid to Syria, despite temporary lift of sanctions
• Western selective humanitarianism, Syria earthquake falls on deaf ears

Syria Earthquake: US & EU Refuse to Help Syrians

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360°

https://syria360.wordpress.com/2023/02/10/damascus-describes-us-decision-to-partially-and-temporarily-freeze-sanctions-as-misleading/

Earthquake in Syria is Devastating Combined with Western Hybrid War

 FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° 

The barbaric Western sanctions combined with heating, fuel, and electricity shortages are causing absolute devastation in Syria’s quake-hit cities.

As if the region does not have enough to deal with! Sanctions, war & hybrid war, blockade, starvation, poverty, mass displacement, cholera, freezing temperatures, no electricity, no water, no heating, mass poverty and now an earthquake reported 8.1 at worst. 💔💔💔

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

The Syrian Arab Army is working with volunteer Fire Brigades and Civil Defence to search for survivors as storms continue to torment the rescuers and homeless #Syria pic.twitter.com/8BkyMAJG8G

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Buildings weakened by war are still collapsing hours after the earthquake. This is #Aleppo. Al Zbadia neighbourhood. pic.twitter.com/yGlZAMpRyE

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Al Masharqa, #Aleppo. 8 children's bodies have been found so far, in the rubble. 💔#Syria pic.twitter.com/ze7A9PEohd

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Fire brigades in Lattakia remind us that they lost comrades in the tragedy but all volunteers are working around the clock to rescue survivors. They are hampered by driving rain and wind as storms also batter Syria. The scale of the devastation is unbearable 💔 pic.twitter.com/1ffsp1c3Wx

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Search for survivors continues in Hama #Syria. A friend told me they spent all night on the street and that it was the most terrifying night of their lives. After 11 years war..that says something 💔 pic.twitter.com/otPm4A3tvp

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Antioch-Rehaniyya Road. pic.twitter.com/W7Hs6o8TmZ

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Buildings weakened by war are still collapsing hours after the earthquake. This is #Aleppo. Al Zbadia neighbourhood. pic.twitter.com/yGlZAMpRyE

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Buildings weakened by war are still collapsing hours after the earthquake. This is #Aleppo. Al Zbadia neighbourhood. pic.twitter.com/yGlZAMpRyE

— vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) February 6, 2023

Syria and Turkey United in Massive 7.8 Earthquake

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° 

Steven Sahiounie

At least 780 are dead in Syria, with another 2,300 injured according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 4:17 am local time today.
Rescue teams look for survivors under the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in the regime-controlled northern Syrian city of Aleppo on February 6, 2023. – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria early on February 6, killing hundreds of people as they slept, levelling buildings and sending tremors that were felt as far away as the island of Cyprus, Egypt and Iraq. (Photo by AFP)

The epicenter was near Gaziantep, Turkey on the Syrian border.  After shocks began almost immediately with a powerful 6.7 quake eleven minutes after the initial 7.8 jolt.

Deaths have been reported in the Syrian regions of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, with Tartus having been impacted by the quake, according to SANA.

An eight-story building collapsed in Syria’s Hama province, SANA reported, citing the Hama Fire Brigade. Multiple buildings were also reported to have collapsed in the port city of Latakia, and the city of Aleppo, SANA said.

The Red Crescent in both Turkey and Syria have both asked people to donate blood after the powerful quake. Churches and Mosques in Syria have opened their doors to the homeless.

In Turkey, at least 1,500 dead, with more than 8,550 injured, according to the Turkish media.  At least 10 provinces across southeastern Turkey have been impacted by the earthquake, with 3,800 buildings collapsed.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said Monday it recorded seven quakes with a magnitude above 5. The strongest aftershock so far was recorded at 1:30 pm Monday and had a magnitude of 7.5.

Strong aftershocks are likely to continue in the hours and even days to come after an earthquake as strong as this one, according to meteorologists.

The Syrian Ministry of Defense in Damascus said in a statement it is “mobilizing all its units, formations and institutions in all governorates to provide immediate aid and urgent assistance to the residents affected by the earthquake, search for people trapped under the rubble, and to treat the injured.”

Shaking from the quake could be felt up to 300 kilometers away (186 miles) from the epicenter.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the border between Turkey and Syria is tied as the strongest the country has experienced in more than 100 years of records, according to the USGS.

An equally powerful 7.8 magnitude quake that hit eastern Turkey in 1939 resulted in more than 30,000 deaths.

Turkey has experienced seven quakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater in the past 25 years, but Monday’s is the most powerful. It is also the strongest quake to hit anywhere in the world since an 8.1 magnitude quake struck a remote region in the southern Atlantic Ocean in 2021.

Karl Lang, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech University’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, told CNN, “It’s a seismogenic area. It’s a very large fault zone, but this is a larger earthquake than they’ve experienced any time in recent memory.”

“The magnitude of shaking that is felt on the surface is both a function of the amount of energy released, the size of the earthquake, but also how far that energy is released below the surface. So if it is very close to the surface, if it is a shallow earthquake, then it can be very dangerous,” said Lang.

“What’s really unusual here is that it’s a very large earthquake that is also close to the surface,” Lang said.

Residents in Latakia reported, “It felt like it would never be over.” The quake brought on a three-minute rolling movement in which high towering housing units swayed, causing residents to pour into the streets in their pajamas. The coast of Syria is experiencing a very cold rainstorm which began before the quake and has not let up.

With several inches of snow on the ground in Gaziantep, residents waited outside in the rain for about 30 minutes before he could go back inside to grab coats and boots.

Predictions

Frank Hoogerbeets, CEO and President at Solar System Geometry Survey, made a prediction of this earthquake in a YouTube video on February 2. After his prediction came true, he wrote: “As I stated earlier, sooner or later this would happen in this region, similar to the years 115 and 526. These earthquakes are always preceded by critical planetary geometry, as we had on 4-5 Feb.”

World leaders forgot the Syrian people

In times of natural disasters, it is to be expected for world leaders to extend condolences and offers of help.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted, “I have been in touch with Turkish officials to relay that we stand ready to provide any & all needed assistance. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkiye.” What about Syria? The Syrian people are suffering as well, but they don’t get mentioned.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted, “We stand with the people of Turkey in this difficult time.” No mention of the Syrians suffering.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey.” No mention of Syria.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sent his condolences to the people of both Turkey and Syria in a series of tweets. The Syrian people deserve mention.

Countries who have offered help to Syria are: China, Russia, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Iraq, Algeria, France, Spain, Germany, Sweden and Bahrain.

Idlib and the White Helmets

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said its hospitals in Syria “are overwhelmed with patients filling the hallways.”  This news from CNN would lead you to believe that SAMS has hospitals serving Syrians in need all over.  The fact is, SAMS is strictly serving the medical needs of the approximately three million residents of Idlib province, which is the only area in Syria under the occupation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

SAMS’ president Dr. Amjad Rass said the organization has been receiving victims and working to guarantee the wellbeing of more than 1,700 staff in Syria and 90 in Gaziantep, Turkey, according to CNN. The fact is, the 1,700 staff he mentions are in Idlib alone, and the 90 are not in Syria at all, but in Turkey.

SAMS is a medical charity located in the US and was founded during the Obama administration’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood and its charities during the US-NATO attack on Syria for regime change, which failed.

The “White Helmets” group, officially known as the Syria Civil Defense, also said there were dozens of victims and hundreds trapped under the rubble in the Idlib region, according to CNN.  The fact is, the White Helmets are an award-winning video troupe founded by a British former secret agent, and they are not known as the Syria Civil Defense locally, as that unit is the Fire Department in Syria and is found across the country in every city and administered from Damascus, not Hollywood.

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Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.

https://syria360.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/earthquake-in-syria-is-devastating-combined-with-western-hybrid-war/

https://syria360.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/syria-appeals-to-un-member-states-to-help-support-syrian-efforts-to-face-impacts-of-the-earthquake/

https://syria360.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/devastating-earthquakes-in-turkey-syria-kill-more-than-2350-felt-across-lebanon/

https://syria360.wordpress.com/2023/02/06/nearly-1500-killed-as-7-8-magnitude-earthquake-hits-turkey-syria/

Over 2,300 killed as 7.8-magnitude earthquake hits Turkey, Syria

Monday, 06 February 2023 5:04 AM  [ Last Update: Monday, 06 February 2023 1:17 PM ]

A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake has hit Turkey and Syria, killing over 2,300 people and trapping many others.

The quake struck at 04:17 am local time (0117 GMT) at a depth of about 17.9 kilometers (11 miles) and was followed by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock 15 minutes later, according to the US Geological Survey.

Turkey’s AFAD emergencies service center put the first quake’s magnitude at 7.4.

According to the head of Turkey’s disaster and emergencies management agency (AFAD) Yunus Sezer, the country’s death toll following the earthquake has risen to about 1,500 with thousands of buildings destroyed.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the earthquake as the country’s largest disaster since 1939.

People gather as rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in the Syria city of Jandaris, February 6, 2023. (Photo by Reuters)

The Ankara government has requested international aid amid the widespread devastation caused by the quake.

The president of the Turkish Red Crescent also urged the nation to make blood donations.

Kerem Kinik also said on Twitter the organization sending additional shipment of blood to the affected region.

The country’s vice president Fuat Oktay announced the suspension of schools in the 10 affected cities and provinces.

He also announced that flights to and from the airport in Hatay province have been suspended, while airports in Marash and Antep are also closed to civilian flights.

The quake leveled buildings across major cities in southern Turkey, including Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, and caught most people while they were still asleep.

“I have never felt anything like it in the 40 years I’ve lived,” Erdem, a resident of the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake’s epicenter, told Reuters. “We were shaken at least three times very strongly, like a baby in a crib.”

Rescuers search for survivors under the rubble, following an earthquake, in militant-held town of Jandaris, Syria, on February 6,2023. (Via Reuters)

The World Health Organization (WHO), meanwhile, said it was concerned about areas in Turkey from which there had been no news following the overnight tremor.

“National authorities will be focusing on search and rescue at the moment,” a WHO spokesperson told Reuters in a statement, adding “Then we will expect an increased need for trauma care to treat the injured and to support the entire health system in affected areas.”

In Syria, the country’s official media as well as rescue teams working across the nation put the death toll at over 800.

The official SANA news agency, quoting the country’s health ministry, said the quake had killed at least 461 people and left at least another 1,326 injured, including the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia and Tartus.

Rescue teams said over 380 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in northwestern parts of the country, which are held by pro-Turkish militants.

A man carries away an injured child following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, Syria, on February 6, 2023. (Photo by AFP)

Reports said the Syrian border city of Harem in Idlib province was completely ruined by the quake.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad held an emergency cabinet meeting to review the damage and discuss the necessary measures, according to his office.

Raed Ahmed, who heads Syria’s National Earthquake Center, told Syrian media that this was “historically, the biggest earthquake recorded in the history of the center.”

The tremors were also felt in Lebanon and Cyprus.

People in the Lebanese cities of Beirut and Tripoli ran into the street and took to their cars to get away from their buildings in case they collapsed, Reuters cited witnesses as saying.

Turkey is in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed in the worst earthquake to hit the country in decades.

Putin offers condolences, aid to Turkey, Syria after quake

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences and offered Russian aid to Turkey and Syria following the deadly earthquake, the Kremlin said.

“We share the sadness and the pain of those who lost their loved ones and we hope for a speedy recovery for all the injured, and are ready to provide the assistance needed to overcome the impact of this natural disaster,” Putin said in a message to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

In a separate message to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin asked him to “convey words of sincere sympathy and support” to the families of the victims and said Russia was “ready to provide required assistance.”

People gather near a damaged site following an earthquake, in Aleppo, Syria, in this handout released by SANA on February 6, 2023. (via Reuters)

“Bashar al-Assad gratefully accepted this offer, and in the coming hours rescuers of the Russian emergencies ministry will fly to Syria,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

“The Turkish president warmly thanked Vladimir Putin for such a prompt and sincere reaction and said that he was giving instructions to the competent authorities of the country to accept the help of Russian rescuers,” it said.

Russia said it had emergency rescue Ilyushin-76 planes on standby to fly to the two countries.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu separately spoke with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar by telephone, offering condolences and support.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that Shoigu “offered to provide all necessary assistance through the military department to his Turkish colleague in the aftermath of the earthquake, including medical assistance to the victims.”

People search through rubble following the earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on February 6, 2023. (Photo by Reuters)

China’s Xi condole with Turkey, Syria over deadly quake

Later on Monday, China’s President Xi Jinping sent his condolences to Turkish and Syrian leaders over the most powerful earthquake to have hit their countries in nearly a century.

Xi told Turkey’s Erdogan and Syria’s Assad in separate messages that he was “shocked” to learn of the disaster.

He also conveyed “deep condolences for the dead and sincere sympathy for their families as well as for the injured.”

“I am shocked to learn of the strong earthquake that took place in your countries, causing heavy casualties and loss of property,” Xi said in his messages, according to CCTV.

China’s official foreign aid agency said it was in communication with Turkish and Syrian authorities and “willing to provide emergency humanitarian aid in accordance with the needs of the affected population.”

People search for survivors under the rubble following the earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on February 6, 2023. (Photo by Reuters)

EU mobilizes over 10 search and rescue teams to Turkey

The European Union says more than 10 search and rescue teams from the bloc have been mobilized in the wake of Turkey’s major earthquake.

“Urban Search and Rescue teams have been quickly mobilized from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania to support the first responders on the ground,” the European Commission said in a statement.

Italy, Spain and Slovakia have offered their rescue teams to Turkey as well.

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قمّة طهران تثمر في إدلب: تحضيرات تركيّة لفتْح «M4»

الجمعة 22 تموز 2022

تعمّد أردوغان خلال قمّة طهران ذكر إدلب والتشديد على ضرورة الإبقاء على الهدوء فيها (أ ف ب)

سوريا 

علاء حلبي 

لم تكد ساعات تمضي على انتهاء قمّة طهران، التي احتلّ الملفّ السوري حيّزاً رئيساً منها، حتى بدأت تركيا سلسلة خطوات على الأرض تمهيداً لفتح طريق حلب – اللاذقية، ضمن مقايضة أوّلية تشمل تسليماً جزئياً لمنبج وتل رفعت للجيش السوري. وعلى رغم تواضع الإجراءات المتّصلة بتلك المقايضة إلى الآن، إلّا أن من شأنها، إذا ما آلت إلى نهايتها، ولم تفلح الولايات المتحدة في عرقلتها، أن تُحقّق انفراجة جزئية في الملفّ الإدلبي الشائك، وأن تؤدّي إلى إعادة تشغيل أحد أبرز الطرق الاستراتيجية (M4) في سوريا

دمشق | تُعتبر إدلب، أكبر المعاقل التي تتجمّع فيها الفصائل المتشدّدة في سوريا في ظلّ سيطرة «هيئة تحرير الشام» (جبهة النصرة) عليها، أحد أكثر الملفّات إشكالية بين كلّ من تركيا من جهة، وإيران وروسيا من جهة أخرى. وقد حاولت أنقرة، على مدار الأعوام الأربعة الماضية، المماطلة في معالجة هذا الملفّ، وتثبيت أمر واقع لصالحها، بالتوازي مع عمليات تبييض لصفحة «جبهة النصرة» تستهدف إعادة تصديرها على أنها فصيل معتدل، ضمن معادلة تشابكت فيها مجموعة من العوامل. وتفرض اتفاقات سوتشي الموقَّعة بين روسيا وتركيا عام 2018، ومتمّمتها عامَي 2019 و2020، على أنقرة، فتح طريق حلب – اللاذقية (M4)، وعزل الفصائل الإرهابية، مقابل إبعاد «خطر الأكراد» في الشمال والشمال الشرقي من سوريا مسافة 30 كلم عن الحدود التركية، وهو ما تعهّدت روسيا بتنفيذه. غير أن التسويف التركي في تنفيذ تلك الالتزامات، التي ظلّت محدّدة بجدول زمني واضح بعد كلّ لقاء بين الرئيس الروسي فلاديمير بوتين ونظيره التركي رجب طيب إردوغان، دفع الروس إلى الردّ بالمثل والمماطلة في حلّ قضية الأكراد، على الرغم من تنشيط دوريات المراقبة المشتركة.

وتعمّد الرئيس التركي، في كلمته التي ألقاها خلال قمّة طهران وفاقت بطولها كلمتَي الرئيس الروسي ونظيره الإيراني، ذكر إدلب في أكثر من موقع. كما تعمّد التشديد على ضرورة الإبقاء على الهدوء فيها، مشيراً إلى أن بلاده «تتفهّم مخاوف جميع الأطراف حول الوضع هناك، لكنها تبذل جهوداً كبيرة في المنطقة وتقدّم الدعم للنازحين على الحدود من دون دعم من دول أخرى». وسبق لإردوغان أن جادل، خلال لقاءات سوتشي السابقة، بالمسائل نفسها، وعلى رأسها وجود أكثر من 1500مخيّم تضمّ مئات آلاف النازحين في ريف إدلب وقرب الحدود مع تركيا، الأمر الذي يمثّل، وفق الرئيس التركي، تهديدات بموجات لجوء جديدة إلى بلاده لا يرغب فيها، في الوقت الذي يحاول فيه أصلاً التخلّص من اللاجئين الموجودين لديه عبر بناء تجمّعات سكنية لهم قرب الشريط الحدودي، من أجل إعادة توطينهم.

ترى موسكو في فتح طريق حلب – اللاذقية خطوة مقبولة ضمن الظروف الحالية

وبالتوازي مع عقد قمّة طهران، وفي اليوم التالي لها، زار وفد أمني وعسكري تركي مناطق عدّة في إدلب، حيث أجرى سلسلة من اللقاءات، بعضها مع ممثّلين عن سكّان قرى على خطّ التماس في جبل الزاوية، حيث يمرّ طريق حلب – اللاذقية. وبحسب مصادر تحدّثت إلى «الأخبار»، فإن الوفد طلب من الأهالي الاستعداد للعودة إلى قراهم، وسط وعود بمنْع تدهور الأوضاع الأمنية والعسكرية خلال الفترة المقبلة، بالإضافة إلى أخرى بتحسُّن اقتصادي كبير، حيث سيتمّ فتح طريق «M4»، ومجموعة من المعابر الاقتصادية التي تربط بين إدلب بشكل عام ومناطق سيطرة الحكومة، مع ضمانات باستمرار وصول المساعدات إلى تلك القرى بدلاً من المخيمات. ونقلت المصادر أن الوفد أكّد أكثر من مرّة أن «ملفّ إدلب لن ينزلق إلى العسكرة»، وأنه «بات مرتبطاً بالحلّ السياسي»، لافتةً إلى أن الوفد أجرى لقاءات مغلقة مع «هيئة تحرير الشام»، تسرّب عنها وجود أوامر تركية واضحة لـ«الهيئة» بضبْط محيط الطريق، ومنْع أيّ محاولات من فصائل منفلتة لعرقلة الاتفاق، ومتابعة العمل على إزالة مظاهر التشدّد. وكان أبو محمد الجولاني، زعيم «النصرة»، بدأ، قبل مدّة، بهذه المهام بالفعل، عبر زيارات لقرى تسْكنها أقلّيات، آخرها زيارة لقرية تقطنها عائلات مسيحية لتطمين الأهالي وإزالة مخاوفهم من «الهيئة»، وذلك بالتوازي مع إدخال تعزيزات عسكرية تركية إلى نقاط تمركز القوات التركية في جبل الزاوية. غير أن الجهود التركية لا يبدو أنها تمكّنت حتى الآن من ضبط الأمن، حيث سُجّلت خلال الساعات الماضية عدّة خروقات لوقف إطلاق النار من طرف الفصائل المسلّحة، بالإضافة إلى محاولة شنّ هجمات بطائرتَين انتحاريتَين على قاعدة حميميم الروسية في جبلة.

ويبدو، حتى الآن، أن ثمّة قبولاً، على مضض، من قِبَل موسكو، التي ترى في فتح طريق حلب – اللاذقية، والمتأخّر نحو أربع سنوات عما اتُّفق عليه، خطوة مقبولة ضمن الظروف الحالية، في وقت ينصبّ فيه اهتمام الدول الثلاث (إيران وروسيا وتركيا) على زيادة الضغوط لإخراج القوات الأميركية من الشمال الشرقي من سوريا، وهي الأرضيّة المشتركة التي بنت عليها إيران قمّتها، وحاولت ترسيخها كونها قد تساهم في فتح الأبواب المغلقة بين دمشق وأنقرة. وبشكل عام، يمكن القول إن الرئيس التركي نجح، إلى حدّ ما، في تجميد ملفّ إدلب، وتجاوُز المعادلة الروسية التي تربط بين منبج وتل رفعت من جهة، وإدلب من جهة ثانية، عبر خطوات صغيرة في الأخيرة مقابل تسليم الأُوليَين للجيش السوري. ومن شأن ذلك أن يؤدّي، في حال تمّت الخطوات المتّفق عليها، ولم تنجح المساعي الأميركية القائمة في عرقلتها عبر الضغط على «قسد» ومنعها من تسليم المدينتَين، إلى تحقيق انفراجة جزئية في الملفّ الإدلبي الشائك، بالإضافة إلى فتح أحد أبرز الطرق الاستراتيجية (M4)، والذي يمتدّ من أقصى الشرق السوري مروراً بحلب وصولاً إلى الساحل السوري، علماً أن الخطّة الروسية، التي أبلغها قائد القوات الروسية في سوريا، ألكسندر تشايكو، لممثّلي «قسد»، خلال لقاء في القامشلي قبل يومين، تقضي بأن تنسحب قواتها من الشريط الحدودي إلى ما بعد الطريق، على أن يتسلّم الجيش السوري المنطقة بما فيها «M4».

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The Prospect of Peace and its Enemies

MARCH 27, 2022 

BY GILAD ATZMON

The USA, Britain and NATO  believe that the war in Ukraine makes Russia weak, reduces Putin into an Amalek figure, makes NATO strong and will lead to an extensive boost to the USA’s military industrial complex. Accordingly, Biden, Johnson and NATO want an indefinite continuation of the war. 

 

It is time to identify who needs the war to continue as Biden is not alone on that front.  Zelensky also wants the war to continue. He knows that any agreement with Russia would make his situation ‘very complicated.’ Ukrainian nationalists who appear  to be bravely fighting  the Russian army and are lauded by every Western MSM outlet, won’t accept a single territorial concession. It is hard to imagine the war coming to an end without such a concession especially given Russia’s clear territorial gains in the south, the east and the north.   And Zelensky, the actor, knows that his current theatrical role is, beyond doubt, the peak of his career. From now on it is downhill. For Zelensky, the war ought to continue forever. 

 

And what about the Ukrainian people, do they want the war to end? It depends who you ask. If you follow the British and American press you are given the impression that Ukrainians are united behind their leader in a collective and suicidal mission. But the truth is that four million have left the country, ten million have been displaced within Ukraine and these numbers are increasing daily. The country is being systematically destroyed, some of its cities reduced to dust. If this is what the  people want, as the BBC wants us to believe, the war will never end.  If, instead, the Ukrainians are ordinary human beings, which is more likely and an intelligent assumption, they must be very tired of the disaster inflicted on them by their leader and the warmongering West. As ordinary human beings, Ukrainians care for the future of the land, their kids, their cities, their culture, their heritage –  they may well want to preserve it all rather than to die in the ‘name of it.’

 

We often read that Zelensky pleads with Israel to broker a peace deal with Russia despite the fact that Israel isn’t exactly the most  natural candidate as a broker for harmonious coexistence. A lot has been written in recent years about the Israeli and Ukrainian fantasy of replacing Russia as  Europe’s primary suppliers of  gas. The current  war in Ukraine positions Israel as the potential primary European gas supplier. This week  Israel’s prominent news channel N12 stated that  “Israel will help Europe to cut itself off from Russian gas.” N12 reports that in a Paris International Energy Agency conference the Israeli Energy Minister began discussions regarding the immediate export of Israeli gas to Europe.   

 

Why did Putin rush to save Syria and the Assad regime? One answer is that Russia needed a Mediterranean  port for its navy. Why would the Russians need such a port on the Eastern Mediterranean shore? One possible answer: Putin understood that he might have to interfere with a potential  underwater gas pipe from Gaza’s seashore to Greece. The port of Latakia places the Russian Navy in a crucial strategic position to undermine such a project.   In other words, despite his current collaboration with Israel on Syria, Putin has known for a while that a naval conflict with Israel is inevitable.  Of course, the Israelis also know that.

 

But Israel’s enthusiasm for the ‘peace negotiator role’ has other crucial ingredients. Israel’s current economic strength is largely the outcome of the Jewish state establishing itself as a safe haven for Russian oligarchs’ mammon, and many of these oligarchs are Jewish and also Israeli citizens. If Israel becomes  a ‘peace broker’  then Israel, due to neutrality,  won’t have to participate in the sanction carnival against Russia.  If the war goes on indefinitely, Israel won’t just maintain the constant flow of Russian wealth into its banks, it will actually become the primary escape route for Russian money. For the obvious reasons, Zelensky insists peace talks resume in Jerusalem under the auspices of PM Bennett. Putin, however,  doesn’t seem enthusiastic about the Jerusalem option. He may grasp by now what Israel is like and what it is after.

 

Putin is a living riddle. I have  good reason to believe that he isn’t mentally unstable  as he is often described in Western MSM. More likely, this experienced tactician has some geo-political  and militarily objectives in mind. But the problem is that no one seems to know what these objectives are. I, for instance,  don’t believe that Putin intended  to invade Kyiv or any other large Ukrainian city except perhaps strategic assets such as Mariupol.   I am also convinced that Putin didn’t plan to ‘impose regime change’ in Ukraine. Putin probably saw a growing military danger from Ukraine and its expanding Western inclinations. He most likely wanted to obliterate  Ukraine’s military ability and by doing so, deliver a clear message to every Eastern European country. Putin wanted and still desires  to eventually settle the conflict with Ukraine’s  democratically elected leader, i.e. Zelensky. More than anyone around, Putin needs Zelensky well and alive at least until the conclusion of his military manoeuvre.

 

As such Putin  may be the only  player  in this horrid deadly theatre with a clear exit strategy and a plan for future coexistence.  He may be the only world leader who envisages an end to this conflict. His vision may be unacceptable to the entire West at this stage. It may be very unpopular in Ukraine and for obvious reasons. But as it seems no one in the West has dared to challenge Russia militarily and I guess that this is partially because no one in the Western military elite really buys into the popular narrative of the Russian army being ‘weak’ and ‘defeated.’   

 

It occurs to me that when Biden called for Putin’s removal in Poland yesterday, it is because Putin is aiming at a conclusive end to this tragic drama in Ukraine, hopefully soon, while Biden and his many partners see a benefit to prolonging  this disaster forever.  

Russia Squeezed Israel Out of Syria (Ruslan Ostashko)

February 04, 2022

Source

Translated and subtitled by Leo.

Russia started to give a rebuff to Israel for their constant dragging into Syrian affairs. Russian electronic warfare capabilities being located in the Middle Eastern country is hindering the work of the Tel Aviv airport, claims one of the Israeli TV channels. The stated Israeli media is also mentioning that the Russian military has taken control of the Latakia port, depriving in these ways the Israeli aircraft capabilities from attacking this facility.

The situation in Syria has long ago left the first headlines of the world media, but this does not mean at all that in the same country there is nothing going on. The geopolitical game on the Middle Eastern Front continues, and Turkey is not the only one that participates against Russia: Israel, which is interested in threatening the extension of Iranian influence in Syria, constantly intervenes by going into the territory of their neighboring nation. They act as though they have an indisputable right to do airstrikes on targets in the territory of Syria, and not have any consequences for it. It looks like in Moscow, which is thoroughly solidifying in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, has had enough with restoring their old overspent position on Tel Aviv.

Clip starts – 1:18

Russia has used their radio-electronic warfare systems against the territory of Israel. These actions have paralyzed the airspace of the country and the work of its largest airport. Israeli TV channel, Kan 11, has informed that pilots of an airline have had issues with their GPS working. Also, the interference happened with passenger liners where landings were being prepared in the Ben Gurion Airport. It is alleged that this kind of effect is made by a radio-electronic warfare system, which Russia has posted in the territory of Syria.

Source – Voyenoye Delo: “Israel has already informed the Russian side of the damage and paralysis of their airspace. Some Israeli experts considered the use of electronic warfare equipment as a signal from Russia and others as a response to airstrikes in the region that are attributed to Israel.”

Clip ends – 2:05

This is not the only action of our homeland’s troops on the mentioned airstrikes. At the end of January, another Israeli media also confirmed that Russia interfered with the actions of the Israeli Air Force on the Syrian port of Latakia.

Clip starts – 2:18

As is shown in the Debka publication, the Russian Army has posted their Military Police forces in the Syrian port of Latakia. In the words of the journalists, this was done today only 48 hours after the announcement of a joint-patrol with the Syrian Air Force between the Golan Heights border area and Euphrates river. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a unit of Russian MP have been deployed at the container zone of the port. Why are they controlling the whole area?

Source – Voyenoye Delo: “The publication Debka reminds us, that the Israeli Air Force previously carried out two airstrikes on this zone in the Syrian port of Latakia. However, due to these strikes, it will include the presence of the Russian military at the facility. It is reported that Israel was not notified with these steps of Russia in Syria. Although, as the authors of the material note, the two countries have a joint mechanism for coordinating actions.”

Clip ends – 3:03

The mechanism is there, but the Jewish government is using that mechanism very selectively. Basically coordinating their actions whenever it is convenient for them. Israelis in 2011 got used to doing whatever they considered needed in Syria, and it is no secret that they were one of the beneficiaries in their neighboring country’s civil war; supporting a few factions of local militants. In any case, no matter how much Tel Aviv tried making itself appear like a fluffy white bunny, played the role as one of the aggressors in the slaughter, which then activated the terrorists of banned organizations such as ISIL. All in attempts in reaching their geopolitical goals of dismembering Syria. After the [2015] Russian intervention and turning point in the war, the plans of Israel naturally fell apart. In addition to this, Tehran, which openly threatens to destroy Israel, was able to greatly strengthen their influence in Syria: creating the so-called Shia Crescent from Iran to Lebanon.

The airstrikes which the Israeli Air Force conducts in Syrian territory is aimed at the proxies of forces that are controlled by Iran. However, with conditions of geopolitical confrontation over the transition into a multi-polar world order, Iran speaks as an ally of Russia, against the West as a whole, and the USA in particular. As for Israel, it’s one of the proteges of America. You can say, Washington’s favorite wife in the Middle East. In any case, this was the way it was under Trump. Now of course the influence of the Israeli lobby on the White House has weakened. But to write off this lobby from accounts is too early.

It turns out that Israel, let it be like when Vysotsky sang about how they are 1/4th of our former people [who became immigrants], by constantly interfering in Syrian affairs is objectively playing against Russia. Which of course should not go on without consequences. The Israeli pilots already once put a Russian plane under Syrian Air Defense fire. (Where 15 Russian troops died from an Israeli F-16 evading a Syrian S-200 missile in 2018.) This should not repeat a second time. If the achievements of this goal causes problems for landing planes in the Tel Aviv airport, then, what can we do. We are very sorry, but no more. We’ll see how strongly this will affect the vaunted army defense of Israel when they will systemically be interfered with not by the Syrian, but Russian military.

West Asia transforms: Twenty Arab states in China’s BRI sights

‘A crisis is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind.’ So says a Chinese proverb, and nowhere is this truer than in crisis-ridden West Asia, now a major focus of Beijing’s BRI vision to bring infrastructure, connectivity and economic growth to this struggling region

January 26 2022

By Cynthia Chung

West Asia’s winds have changed. When Syria began 2022 by joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it became the 20th Arab country that Beijing has factored into its grand connectivity vision for Asia, Africa and Europe.

The Arab states in China’s sights include those that have already signed deals, and others with proposals in hand: Egypt (2016), Sudan (2018), Algeria (2018), Iraq (2015), Morocco (2017), Saudi Arabia (2018), Yemen (2017), Syria (2022), Somalia (2015), Tunisia (2018), UAE (2018), Libya (2018), Lebanon (2017), Oman (2018), Mauritania (2018), Kuwait(2018), Qatar (2019), Bahrain (2018), Djibouti (2018), Comoros.

The ambitious connectivity and development projects the BRI can inject into a war-torn, exhausted West Asia have the ability to transform the areas from the Levant to the Persian Gulf into a booming world market hub.

Importantly, by connecting these states via rail, road, and water, the foreign-fueled differences that have kept nations at odds since colonial times will have to take a back seat. Once-hostile neighbors must work in tandem for mutually-beneficial economic gains and a more secure future to work.

And money talks – in a region continuously beset by war, terrorism, ruin and shortages.

Rebuilding Syria and linking the Four Seas

On 12 January this year, Syria officially joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The timing of this decision dovetails with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s whirlwind tour of West Asia this past spring and summer, beginning with the signing of the $400 billion Sino-Iranian 25-year Comprehensive Cooperation Plan.

In turn, President Bashar al-Assad’s re-election in May last year opened the door to a seven-year Sino-Syrian partnership in the reconstruction of Syria, to relink it to the Mediterranean and Asian markets.

The task will be extensive. The cost of Syria’s reconstruction is estimated to be between $250 and $400 billion – a massive sum, considering Syria’s 2018 total budget was just less than $9 billion.

Nonetheless, Syria has much to offer and China has never been reticent over long-term investment strategies, especially when much can be gained in stabilizing regions that include core transportation corridors.

Syria’s geographical location has been a center for trade and commerce that dates back centuries.

Today, it offers a crucial bypass from the choke points represented by the straits that separate the South China Sea from the Indian Ocean (Malacca, Sunda and Lombok), now controlled by a heavy US presence.

The location of Syria is of central importance to the trade routes through the Five Seas Vision, which was officially put forward by the Syrian president in 2004.

As Assad explained this vision: “Once the economic space between Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran becomes integrated, we would link the Mediterranean, the Caspian, the Black Sea, and the Gulf … we are not only important in the Middle East … Once we link these Four Seas, we become the compulsory intersection of the whole world in investment, transport, and more.”

Source: Schiller Institute. Proposed rail lines from Albu Kamal/Al-Qaim to Deir Ezzor onto Palmyra and Tehran to Baghdad.

The Latakia Port will be crucial to the Five Seas Vision, and will likely be the first primary focus for heavy Chinese investment, with the potential to become the Eastern Mediterranean’s largest port facility.

Iran has a lease on part of the Latakia Port and has a preferential trade agreement with Syria, while Russia has a base at the nearby Tartus Port, roughly 85km south of Latakia.

Latakia provides access to the Black Sea via Turkey’s Bosphorus (Strait of Istanbul), and access to the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. Russia has free trade facilities at the nearby Port Said in Egypt.

From there, vessels can enter the Persian Gulf, under the protection of another Russian facility at Port Sudan, through the Suez Canal.

Goods can then be shipped onto Iran, which connects to the Caspian Sea from the Chabahar Port via the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC).

From the INSTC transport corridor, it is a short journey to Pakistan, India, and ultimately to China.

International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), the 7,200 km multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight, largely coordinated by Russia (north end) and India.

Reviving routes and expanding ports

Lebanon’s Tripoli port, 20 miles south of the Syrian-Lebanese border, will also be at the center of BRI investment, if the country’s muddled political rivalries allow for it. The port can play a vital role in the reconstruction of Syria – which Washington seeks to thwart – with plans to revive the Beirut-Tripoli railway as part of a wider network that would incorporate Lebanese and Syrian railway systems into the BRI.

China is also looking to help establish a Tripoli Special Economic Zone as a central trans-shipment hub for the eastern Mediterranean. Plans are underway for the China Harbor Engineering Company to expand the Tripoli port to accommodate the largest freighters.

China has helped to expand the Mouawad airport, about 15 miles north of Tripoli, transforming it from a predominantly military base to a thriving civilian airport.

In 2016, the year that Egypt joined China’s BRI, President Xi Jinping visited Egypt, and the two countries signed 21 partnership agreements with a total value of $15 billion.

China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd has been cooperating with Egyptian companies in the construction of new logistic and industrial areas along the Suez Canal.

In addition, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation has been working on the construction of a new administrative capital 45km east of Cairo, valued at $45 billion. These projects will work to further facilitate integration into the BRI framework.

The case of Yemen, which joined the BRI in 2017, remains a challenging one. China has done much to invest in Egypt’s Suez Canal and the Djibouti Port, which connects with the Addis Abba-Djibouti railway.

Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan all joined the BRI in 2018, while Somalia had been on board since 2015. China established its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, giving it access to the key maritime choke point in the region. Yemen stands to gain much with its strategically placed Port Aden.

China’s ambassador to Yemen, Kang Yong, said in a March 2020 interview with Yemeni news outlet Al-Masdar that China considers all agreements signed between the two countries prior to the onset of the 2015 war as still valid, and will implement them “after the Yemeni war ends and after restoring peace and stability.”

Although both China and Russia have made the point that they will not directly intervene in regional politics, it is clear where both nations stand in their orientation, as gleaned from the rapid ascension that has been granted to Iran in recent months.

This past September, Iran was admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), while Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were admitted as SCO dialogue partners, joining Turkey.

Over the past year, Iran has quickly gained high regard and is now considered the third pillar to the multipolar alliance of Russia and China, increasingly referred to as RIC (Russia-Iran-China).

On 21 September, officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran met for the fourth round of talks aimed at improving relations, and although the process remains slow, it looks increasingly possible that a peaceful resolution can be reached.

Returning to Syria’s Five Seas Vision, Iraq also has a crucial role to play in this game-changing program.

The office of the Iraqi prime minister stated last May that “negotiations with Iran to build a railway between Basra and Shalamcheh have reached their final stages, and we have signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding with Jordan and Egypt regarding energy and transportation lines.”

China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway corridor, part of the INSTC. Iraq joined the BRI in 2015, Iran in 2018.

The railway is part of Syria’s reconstruction deal. The 30km Shalamcheh-Basra rail line will connect Iraq to China’s Belt and Road lines, as well as bring Iran closer to Syria. Basra is also linked to the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC).

The Shalamcheh-Basra rail link will make it possible for Iran to send various commodities, such as consumer goods, construction materials, and minerals through the railway from Tehran to Shalamcheh and then to Basra, and finally to Al Qaim border crossing between Iraq and Syria, which was re-opened in September 2019 after being closed for eight years due to war in both countries.

Presently, there is no rail link between Al Qaim in Iraq to Syria’s rail station in Deir Ezzor, which is roughly 163km away. This should be a priority for construction. From Deir Ezzor, Syria’s existing rail line connects to Aleppo, Latakia, Tartus, and Damascus.

On 29 December, the Iranian cabinet approved the opening of the Chinese consulate in Bandar Abbas, China’s first consulate in Iran. It is expected that China will invest heavily in the Chabahar Free Trade and Industrial Zone and Bandar Abbas, Iran’s most important southern sea transportation hub.

The former Iranian ambassador to China and Switzerland, Mohammad-Hossein Malaek, told the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) that Beijing is set to play a leading role in developing the Makran region, the coastal strip along Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province and Pakistan’s Balochistan, and where Beijing already has a 40-year, multi-billion dollar agreement with Islamabad to develop the Gwadar port.

Both Iran and Turkey have been intensely engaged with the BRI. The first freight train ran from Pakistan to Turkey through Iran on 21 December last year, after a 10-year hiatus.

This resulted in a major boost to the trading capabilities of the three founders of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), created in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, and which now has 10 members.

The 6,540km journey from Islamabad to Istanbul takes ten days, less than half the time needed for the equivalent voyage of 21 days by sea. The train has the capacity to carry 80,000 tons of goods.

Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Rail (ITI).

Within the corridors of cooperation and connectivity

Also in December last year, Javad Hedayati, an official with Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, announced that Iran, Azerbaijan, and Georgia had reached an agreement on establishing a transit route connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea.

This transit route could potentially link with the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Rail (ITI) and further boost connectivity in the region.

The construction work of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is resuming in the Afghanistan section. The TAPI is a regional connectivity project for supplying gas from Turkmenistan to India’s Punjab to meet regional demand.

Map illustrates the planned TAPI pipeline (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) and railways in Afghanistan.

The pipeline is expected to carry 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The 1,814km pipeline stretches from Galkinesh, the world’s second-largest gas field, to the Indian city of Fazilka, near the Pakistan border.

This will be more than enough to supply Afghanistan’s own energy needs as it starts to rebuild and reconstruct. TAPI is expected to facilitate a unique level of trade and cooperation across the region, as well as support peace and security between the four countries: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

The Afghan-Uzbek rail project is another exciting proposal that has recently been under serious discussion. The project would include the construction of a 700km long Mazar-i-Sharif to Herat rail line that would pass through Shiberghan, Andkhoy, and Maimana in western Afghanistan.

If this project materializes, all Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, would be connected to Iran’s Chabahar corridor via western Afghanistan.

The Afghan-Uzbek rail project will be one of the biggest breakthroughs in Asian transport connectivity with enormous implications for the entire region, both in terms of economic prosperity as well as political stability.

Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan have already signed an agreement to develop a trans-Afghan transport corridor.

India is also seeking a railway connection with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which would connect Chabahar as a gateway between Eurasia and the Indian Ocean.

Cooperation in the area of connectivity with these countries could also be pursued under the SCO framework.

Whether the official title of BRI is present or not, all these development corridors in transportation, industry and energy will participate in the main economic corridors under the BRI framework.

All participant countries in the BRI understand this, and they also know that cooperation is key to mutual beneficence and security.

The Six Main Economic Corridors under China’s BRI, some completed, others hindered by geopolitical conflicts, as in Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Iraq, South China Sea.

Meanwhile, Gulf States shun collaboration

Generally, western-backed Persian Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE have done much to sabotage this vein of progress.

Thus far, their involvement in the BRI framework has mostly consisted of exchanging oil for technological resources to diversify their economies. They have not, however, been as eager to participate in collaborative processes with other Arab countries.

Nonetheless, the tides are changing, and one cannot maintain a wealthy island philosophy among this growing framework.

The Gulf States need a market to trade in, so that they can grow and prosper. They are therefore in no position to dictate relations with their neighbors, on whom they will grow increasingly dependent for their survival.

If the Gulf countries – some now dialogue partner states of the SCO – adhere to the guidelines of that political-economic-security organization – funding and support of Islamic terrorism is expected to slowly die out.

This would be the most effective way to isolate the attempts of the west to instigate chaos and division within West Asia.

With the BRI and Eurasian Economic Union framework working in tandem, those who are willing to abide by the multipolar framework of a win-win cooperation will make the quickest ascensions.

And those who sluggishly cling to old prejudices and outdated orders will only sink into irrelevance.The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Cradle.

هل سترد سورية أم تصعد روسيا بوجه «إسرائيل»؟

الخميس 30 كانون أول 2021

 ناصر قنديل

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ينشط خصوم سورية واللاعبون على حبال الخلاف بينها وبين حلفائها وخصوصاً روسيا وإيران لبث الشكوك، وتقدم الغارات “الإسرائيلية” على سورية، ساحة نموذجية لتحقيق هذا الهدف، فالغارات تتواصل ولا تكاد تتوقف عن معدل غارة في الأسبوع، وسورية تكتفي بصد الصواريخ بصواريخ مضادة، وتحقق غالباً نتائج جيدة، لكن الأثر المعنوي للغارات يبقى جارحاً على مستوى الرأي العام السوري خصوصاً، والعربي عموماً، وتظهر المطالبة بالرد وقد تجاوزت مع الغارة الأخيرة على مرفأ اللاذقية كل المرات السابقة، ومثلها الانتقادات التي تطال الموقف الروسي، وتحمله مسؤولية التمادي “الإسرائيلي”، ويصل البعض إلى حد اتهام روسيا بالتواطؤ والشراكة، وليس فقط اغماض العين عن هذه الاعتداءات.

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في مثل هذه القضايا تلعب الحرب على المعنويات دوراً هاماً، ولا يكفي فقط قراءة أبعاد العمل العسكري ميدانياً واستراتيجياً ووضعه في سياق الإطار العام للقيادة العسكرية المعنية في أولويات المواجهات وتخصيص الموارد لها، ويكفي النظر إلى أهداف الغارات “الإسرائيلية” نفسها لمعرفة أنها غالباً بمفعول ضئيل من الوجهتين الاستراتيجية، أي تغيير موازين القوى ووجهة الأحداث، والتكتيكية أي الحاق الأذى الجسيم بالبنى والهياكل العسكرية والمدنية، لكن الغارات تستمر للبعد المعنوي سواء في تأكيد التفوق “الإسرائيلي” تجاه الرأي العام المشكك بقدرة قيادته على خوض حروب جديدة، وتتخذ القيادة “الإسرائيلية” من عدم الرد علامة على موازين القوى التي تحكم علاقتها، ليس في سورية فحسب، بل بمحور المقاومة المستهدف عبر هذه الغارات، تحت عنوان منع تدفق الأسلحة الإيرانية لقوى المقاومة، ومنع تموضع القوات الإيرانية وقوى المقاومة في المناطق القريبة من حدود الجولان السوري المحتل، ولو كان هذا الشعار إعلامياً فحسب، هذا إضافة إلى زرع الشكوك بما تقوله قيادة المحور عن تفوقها الاستراتيجي على كيان الاحتلال، وتصريحات قادة المقاومة عن القدرة على محو “إسرائيل” من الوجود، وصولاً إلى زرع الشكوك بين قوى المحور وروسيا، أو على الأقل زعزعة ثقة جمهور المحور وفي قلبه سورية تجاه مضمون التحالف مع روسيا.

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في العقل البارد لقيادة محور المقاومة وعلى رأسه إيران وفي قلبه سورية، والقيادة الروسية، ثقة متينة بالتحالف الذي نجح بتحقيق انتصارات أحبطت المشروع الأميركي الذي كانت “إسرائيل” في قلبه، وكان يرمي لاسقاط سورية وتفتيتها وتحويلها إلى إمارات ومشيخات ودويلات ومناطق نفوذ، وثقة بحجم التضحيات التي بذلها أطراف هذا التحالف وبالنتائج التي ترتبت عليه لكل منهم، وتسليم بخصوصية إدارة العلاقة بالغارات الإسرائيلية، بين كل من أطرافه، حيث روسيا ملتزمة بإعادة بناء الدفاعات الجوية لسورية وقد فعلت الكثير في هذا السياق، وهو ما تظهره عمليات التصدي للصواريخ بالصواريخ واسقاط الكثير الكثير منها، وهو ما تكفل بإسقاط أول طائرة “إسرائيلية” في الأجواء السورية قبل أربعة أعوام، وهو ما يمنع “إسرائيل” من دخول الأجواء السورية مجدداً منذ ذلك التاريخ، لكن روسيا التي رسمت دورها في سورية دولياً تحت سقف دعم الدولة الشرعية في مواجهة الجماعات الارهابية، ليست مستعدة لتوسيع نطاق التزامها ليطال التحول إلى طرف في صراع تاريخي قائم ومستمر بين سورية و”إسرائيل”.

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بالنسبة إلى محور المقاومة بلا استثناء وفي طليعته إيران وفي قلبه حزب الله، يبقى سقف الموقف هو ما ترسمه القيادة السورية، واحترام جدول أولوياتها، وفي سورية تبقى الأولوية لمواصلة تحرير الأرض السورية الواقعة خارج نطاق سيطرة الدولة، بفعل سيطرة الاحتلالين الأميركي والتركي والجماعات التقسيمية أو الارهابية العاملة في ظلالهما، وطالما أن الغارات “الإسرائيلية” ذات طابع إعلامي، فالدولة السورية ماضية في أولوياتها، خصوصاً أن ذلك يريح العلاقة بينها وبين موسكو التي تشاركها هذا الالتزام ضمن إطار المهمة الأصلية التي جاءت القوات الروسية على أساسها إلى سورية، وطالما كان ذلك ممكناً ترغب الدولة السورية بعدم الاستجابة لمحاولات استدراجها إلى طرق جانبية تربط هذه الخطة.

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الغارة الأخيرة على اللاذقية تختلف عن سابقاتها، فهي تأتي في ذروة الأزمة الأوكرانية التي تعيشها روسيا في محاولة لتغيير قواعد الاشتباك، والقول لموسكو إن مدى الحركة “الإسرائيلية” لن يراعي الخطوط الحمر الروسية، وإلا فإن “إسرائيل” تملك قدرة التأثير في مسار المواجهة في أوكرانيا عبر جاليات يهودية فاعلة في روسيا وأوكرانيا، وتستهدف “إسرائيل” من هذا التوسيع لنطاق الحركة، التأثير على مسار التفاوض الدائر في فيينا حول الملف النووي الإيراني، عبر السعي لفرض تصعيد عسكري في المنطقة يعقّد مسار التفاوض ويضغط على الموقف الأميركي، ويضعه في زاوية صعبة، ولذلك كان ذا مغزى ما تضمنه البيان الروسي من اتهام “إسرائيل” بالاحتماء بطائرات روسية كان تحلق في أجواء اللاذقية، وتم اختيار التوقيت “الإسرائيلي” بعناية ليتزامن مع هذا التحليق، وما يرافقه من تعليق عمل الدفاعات الجوية السورية تفادياً لوقوع كارثة شبيهة بالتي حدثت قبل سنوات، وأسفرت عن اسقاط طائرة روسية بصاروخ سوري.

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الأكيد الآن هو أن  التعامل مع هذه الغارة ليس كما قبلها، وأن الكل ينتظر روسيا لمعرفة طبيعة الاجراءات التي ستتخذها في ضوء البيان الصادر عن وزارة الدفاع الروسية، خصوصاً أن المرة الماضية شهدت موقفاً روسياً قاسياً أوقفت خلاله موسكو العلاقات السياسية مع حكومة الاحتلال، وزودت الجيش السوري بشبكات دفاع جوية حديثة، وأقفلت الأجواء السورية بوجه الطائرات “الإسرائيلية” في  كل مناطق الانتشار الروسي، ومنها اللاذقية ودمشق وحمص، لكن الأكيد أن الموقف الروسي يبقى روسيا، وأن رداً سورياً منتظراً لن يكون بعيداً، ومن خلفه كل محور المقاومة، وأن معادلة الصواريخ مقابل الغارات ستكون على الطاولة لترسم قواعد اشتباك جديدة، خصوصاً أن واشنطن التي أيدت في عهد الرئيس ونالد ترامب ضم الجولان، لم تنسحب بعد رسمياً من هذا التأييد في زمن إدارة الرئيس جو بايدن، والقرارات الاستيطانية الأخيرة لم يجف حبرها بعد.

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إن غداً لناظره قريب.

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• الدفاع الروسية تكشف تفاصيل الهجوم الإسرائيلي على اللاذقية وسبب عدم تصدي الدفاعات الجوية السورية له
• لم غابت الدفاعات الجوية السورية عن صدّ اعتداء ميناء اللاذقية؟
• عدوان إسرائيلي يستهدف ساحة الحاويات في ميناء اللاذقية
• المقداد: حق سورية في الجولان المحتل راسخ ولا يخضع للتفاوض أو التنازل
• الخارجية السورية : إعادة الجولان الى الوطن حق أبدي لايسقط بالتقادم

الغارات على مرفأ اللاذقية وماذا بعد؟

الاربعاء 29 كانون أول 2021

البناء

إسرائيل تقصف ميناء اللاذقية للمرة الثانية في ديسمبر 2021

لا تأتي خطورة الغارات الإسرائيلية التي استهدفت مرفأ اللاذقية من كونها- كما يزعم الإسرائيليون- استهدفت حاويات تحمل معدات عسكرية، فتلك لا يتم تركها في أرض المرفأ، فكيف في ساحة الحاويات، إلا أن الخطورة تأتي من أن الاستهداف المتكرر للمرفأ عبر غارات جوية من جهة البحر، يفتح الباب لتساؤلات حول العلاقة السورية- الروسية، ما تتهم به موسكو أمام الرأي العام، السوري خصوصاً والعربي عموماً بأنها راضية عن هذه الغارات، أو لا تمانع بها، بدليل أن استهداف يتم في حضن موسكو العسكري، حيث بطاريات صواريخ الأس أس 400 التي تربض في حميميم، التي قيل إنها تستطيع كشف الطائرات الإسرائيلية، وهي على مدرجات الإقلاع من الأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة.

حسناً فعلت القيادة العسكرية الروسية في حميميم باصدار بيان يشرح كيفية حدوث الغارات، وإشارته إلى أن الدفاعات الجوية السورية التي تتعامل عادة مع هذه الغارات لم يتم تفعيلها من قبل الجيش السوري لتزامن الغارات مع عبور  طائرة نقل جوي عسكري روسية في ذات الأجواء بذات التوقيت، تفادياً لتكرار الحادثة التي تسببت بسقوط طائرة روسية مشابهة في أيلول عام 2018، ومن البديهي أيضاً ألا تكون شبكات الصواريخ الروسية مفعلة للاعتبار ذاته، والبيان الروسية يأتي تأكيداً لاتهام سابق سوري- روسي للإسرائيليين بالاحتماء بالطائرات المدنية أثناء تنفيذ الغارات الجوية على سورية، وهذا يعني أن “إسرائيل” تتحدى سورية وروسيا معاً، ولا تترك مجالاً لردعها مع تعطيل فرص اسقاط الصواريخ، إلا بجعلها تدفع ثمن الغارات بما يردعها عن التفكير بتكرارها.

لا سورية تستطيع تحمل أن يمر الأمر من دون رد، ولا روسيا تستطيع المطالبة بضبط النفس، وتحمل التمادي الإسرائيلي من دون خطوة رادعة، وقد آن الأوان لضربة موجعة تقول إنه من الآن وصاعداً، العين بالعين والسن بالسن، والمرفأ بالمرفأ، والمطار بالمطار، وما لا تطاله الطائرات تطاله الصواريخ.

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Israel Bombs Latakia Port for the Second Time This Month – WAR CRIME

DECEMBER 28, 2021

 ARABI SOURI 

Israel bombs Latakia sea port 2nd time in December 2021

Latakia commercial seaport was the target of an Israeli bombing for the 2nd time within this month of December, this time the Israeli aggression was much larger betting on the lack of direct retaliation the last time, and the previous times.

Latakia commercial seaport is one of the main and oldest ports on the Mediterranean, it’s the largest in Syria and it’s the country’s main breathing lung for the Syrian people since the United States of America joined directly on the side of Al Qaeda and ISIS back in 2014 where US forces were deployed on the main routes of trade between Syria and Iraq, where they are also tasked to steal Syrian oil, and in Lebanon by controlling all the security agencies there, and naturally, in Jordan in the south.

A Syrian military spokesperson stated:

At approximately 3:21 in the morning today, the Israeli enemy carried out air aggression with missile bursts from the depth of the Mediterranean, west of Latakia, targeting the container yard in the commercial port in Latakia.

‘The Israeli aggression led to the ignition of fires in the place and the occurrence of great material damage, and work is still going on to put out the fires and check the results of the aggression,’ the military spokesperson concluded.

Local sources confirmed that the scale of this aggression is much larger than the previous one, most of the buildings on the Latakia main Cornishe sustained damage including the Al Nada Hospital, residents in the province of Tartous to the south of Latakia were also shaken by the tremors of the explosions, so did the Russian base in Hmeimim and the Russian service military seaport in Tartous.

Russian Reassurance, the Star Wars Trap for Russia in Syria

Russia, one of the 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council is losing its popularity ground in Syria favoring its relations with Israel

Friends in Latakia added that the fire in this aggression has engulfed more containers carrying essential foodstuffs like rice and sugar, and dozens of these containers were destroyed by this attack, a war crime by all definitions. Syria had to import essential food items also because the US forces with the help of their Kurdish separatist SDF terrorists occupy the main food basket region of the country.

This Israeli aggression and provocation come one day after the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli ‘cabinet’ blatant provocation in the Syrian Golan and vowed to liberate the occupied Syrian land by all means.

It’s beyond any doubt that the Israeli officials are getting more anxious to provoke a regional and they hope for a much larger war that would halt any plans to withdraw the US troops which serve as their first defense line, without the US direct support and the sacrifices of thousands of US soldiers killed and tens of thousands others maimed, and the 7 trillion dollars of US taxpayers hard-earned taxes in wars on behalf Israel, the latter would not stand a chance in any confrontation with any of its neighbors which it stole their lands to build settlements for its settlers it imports from Europe, Russia, and elsewhere.

All indications were that the United States of America is withdrawing from the region especially after its regional proxies proved their incapabilities to fight their wars by themselves despite the abundance of weapons, financial aid, and military and economic wars the US waged against the peoples of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya, and everywhere the US spent those 7 trillion dollars on.

Breaking: Israel Escalates its Aggression on Syria, Bombs Latakia Seaport

The Axis of Resistance, Syria, Hezb Allah in Lebanon, the PMU in Iraq, the Yemeni armed forces and Ansar Allah in Yemen, the IRGC in Iran, and some of the Palestinian factions in Gaza like Jihad and PLFP-GC, this axis is fighting the wars imposed on them strategically, unlike the evil camp spearheaded by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and other NATO member states who are fighting tactically and in pieces, hence, the overall map is being shaped in favor of the axis that chose strategical gains over tactical ones, and the party that chose tactical gains is imploding from within, each by its own and has lost its wars in the region.

The last attempts to involve the US forces in a new war is the last chance of the Axis of Evil to keep the US cannon fodders and human shields to defend their states, sheikhdoms, and kingdoms, will, or in better terms, can the USA fight a new war where it is poised to lose thousands of its soldiers in the first wave, proven by the Iranian retaliation on the Ain Asad US strategic and heavily fortified base in western Iraq where the US soldiers sat hapless betting their lives on the accuracy of the Iranian incoming missiles which warned them beforehand through the Iraqi government and which only targeted the empty buildings it promised to target? The answer is a big no, the United States has taken its decision, replacing its combat fighters into ‘diplomats’ and ‘advisers’ and reducing its heavy and criminal presence in West Asia and North Africa regions.

The attack in the early hours of this dawn on the Latakia port in Syria will not go without retaliation, it’s an added item on the retaliation list that Syria maintains, fighting and eliminating the tens of thousands of NATO-sponsored terrorist groups in the country was and is its main priority, these types of attacks will not deviate the Syrians from the strategical battleground and will not give the Israelis their lifeline by involving the US troops who should complete their withdrawal from Syria and Iraq within the coming 4 days; this heavily depends on whether there are still officials in the Pentagon and the White House who care for the thousands of US troops sitting ducks in both Syria and Iraq.

The new year, we remind is after 4 days, will bring a lot of changes to the region, Israel does have some interesting seaports to bomb their yards, some of which were recently developed by China, and destroying them in retaliation is very lucrative for the commanders of the Syrian army, the coming 4 days and the first week of 2022 will bare many developments.

Terrified from the US Withdrawal, Israel Bombs Syria trying to Start a War

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• Syrian Foreign Ministry Strongly Condemns Israeli Escalation in the Golan
• More Weapons, Munition, and a Drone for NATO Terrorists Seized in Daraa
• Dangerous NATO/ Al Qaeda Terrorist Group Captured by Syrian Security

Bennett: Iran surrounded “Israel” for 30 years with a ‘ring of rockets’

December 28 2021

Source: Israeli media

By Al Mayadeen net

The Israeli Prime Minister has claimed that nuclear agreements with Iran won’t be opposed but a firmer position is required.

Bennett: “Israel” won’t be a side in an agreement and will keep its right to act on its own

After the Syrian air defenses intercepted an Israeli aggression in the vicinity of Latakia Port, west Syria, at dawn today, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that for 30 years, “Iran surrounded Israel with a kind of ring of rockets,” claiming that in the past decade, it has armed Hezbollah with over 100,000 rockets. 

The PM added that “Israel needs to roll this business back.”

“Israel” won’t be a side in an agreement

Regarding the Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna, Bennett told Army Radio that “Israel won’t be a side in an agreement and will always keep its right to act and defend itself on its own.”

Regarding the news that the White House has not yet responded to Bennett’s request for a phone call regarding the nuclear talks, Bennett revealed that the “Americans answer us, without a problem,” claiming that this was fake news.

He added that “when there are gaps in the interests or stances, I express them and act to promote Israel’s interests. We don’t just say no… we don’t just want a fight; we want to act so that we get results. If it can be done pleasantly, then we will do it, and if there is tension, so be it.”

Bennett added that he prioritizes the so-called ‘national security’ of “Israel”, urging superpowers to take a more assertive position regarding Iran. 

US officials: Chance of talks bearing fruit are low

US officials spoke with Israeli officials and revealed that the chances of the Vienna Talks yielding success are low. Despite this, Israeli circles recently warned that the willingness to return to an additional round of talks by the US indicates they are willing to waive sanctions, which, according to the Israelis, does not succeed in thwarting Iran’s nuclear process.

US sources, however, have clarified in recent weeks that if the US was ready to sign a partial agreement with Iran and lift sanctions, it would have done so in the previous rounds. 

Zionist Regime Attacks Latakia Port Area in Syria

By Staff, Agencies

‘Israeli’ warplanes targeted areas near the Syrian port city of Latakia on Tuesday morning.

State-run TV reported that the Zionist regime launched an airstrike on the Latakia Port area in Syria, adding that several explosions were heard.

According to a military source, several missiles came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea targeting a site with containers in the commercial port.

As a result of the airstrike, several containers caught fire.

However, no human casualties have been reported so far.

In late November, an ‘Israeli’ F-16 fired 12 missiles in the Syrian province of Homs. The Syrian military destroyed 10 of them using air defense systems Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S, the Russian military said.

Breaking: Israel Escalates its Aggression on Syria, Bombs Latakia Seaport

ARABI SOURI DECEMBER 7, 2021

Israel bombs containers yard in Latakia seaport – عدوان اسرائيلي على ميناء اللاذقية

Israel escalates its aggression on Syria by bombing the commercial port of Lattakia, the largest in Syria, the Syrian Army’s air defense addressed the incoming missiles, the bombing caused material damage on the site.

A military spokesperson said in a statement carried by the Syrian news agency SANA:

At about 1:23 am today, the Israeli enemy carried out air aggression with several missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean, southwest of Latakia, targeting the container yard in the commercial port of Latakia. The aggression led to the burning of a number of commercial containers in the mentioned place.

The video is also available on VideoPress and BitChute.

The governor of Latakia headed to inspect the site and oversee the firefighting efforts, he confirmed that all fires were extinguished and that the firefighters are cooling the containers.

Locals in the city reported hearing strong explosions, firefighters were seen heading to the commercial port which is not far from residential areas as can be seen from the pictures shared by the residents there:

Targeting the commercial port is a serious escalation in Israel’s aggression, Israel’s very existence is aggression against humanity, the world’s peace and stability, and to humankind. This particular escalation will have serious consequences and a response is inevitable, the timing of it and its severity should worry the European settlers occupying Palestine.

It’s also of no coincidence that Israel is carrying this aggression hours after the Yemeni armed forces showered a number of Saudi cities with missiles in retaliation to the mad escalation in bombings and massacres carried out by the Saudis in the past 5 days after receiving the latest cache of missiles from the Biden’s junta.

Frightened, Confused, and Tense, Israeli IDF Bombs itself and Accuses Hezb Allah!

Is Israel cementing the bond established between the open fronts in the region: one front led by the USA and includes Israel, Turkey, other NATO member states, the Gulfies, Al Qaeda, HTS, ISIS, and a host of hundreds of NGOs financed by the US taxpayers, against an axis led by Syria and includes Iran, Yemen, the Iraqi PMU, the Lebanese Hezb Allah, and some of the Palestinian liberation factions? Or is Israel still trying to provoke a regional war to drag the US forces deployed in the region into it to prevent their withdrawal scheduled by this year’s end?

The Syrian response to the Israeli repeated aggression is the constant work on reducing Israel’s power by eliminating the terrorist groups and weakening the US presence in Syria and in Iraq, and by strengthening the Resistance factions led by Hezb Allah in Lebanon and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, simultaneously, working on countering NATO troops of Turkey, the USA, UK, France, Germany, and Belgium in the country. However, the near future will tell whether Syria will retaliate against today’s escalation before the US withdrawal from the region or will wait until Biden removes his oil thieves and cannon fodder troops deployed in Syria to die for Israel.

5 Kamikaze Drones Bomb Biden Forces Illegally Deployed in Syrian Al Tanf

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Merchant Ship Caught Fire at Latakia Port Triggers NATO Propagandists

ARABI SOURI AUGUST 11, 2021

A fire broke out on a merchant ship docking at the Latakia Port during maintenance work, the fire was soon under control, unlike the NATO propagandists who unleashed their imaginations and used their professionalism in doctoring news to spread panic.

The Chief of the Latakia Fire Department stated that the fire in one of the commercial ships in the Latakia Port was under control and two injuries were recorded.

Latakia Port Director Mr. Amjad Soleiman said in a statement carried by the Syrian news agency SANA: ‘the ship headed to the Latakia Port for maintenance and during the maintenance operations, a limited fire broke out, which was put out by the ship’s crew and the Latakia Fire Department.’