Russian Navy warships launched missiles from the Mediterranean Sea at Daesh targets in the eastern Syrian province of Hama, killing militants and destroying the group's command posts and large caches of weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. [...]

Another U.S. military strike inside Syria — this time, shooting down a Syrian bomber — has escalated tensions with Russia, even opening the possibility that Russian anti-aircraft missiles will target U.S. warplanes, reports Gilbert Doctorow. The Pentagon’s announcement that the U.S. military had shot down a Syrian warplane inside Syrian territory merited only inside-the-paper treatment at [...]

America’s neocons are back pounding the war drums, urging President Trump to escalate U.S. military attacks inside Syria even if that means hitting Russian targets and risking a new world war, reports Robert Parry. The U.S. mainstream media’s near universal demonization of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin – along with similar hatred directed toward Ira [...]

If the US attacks a Syrian warplane in Syrian skies, it means an act of war. And the US should give an explanation for this, demands Aleksey Pushkov, the head of Russia's Communications Policy Committee. It also means the US wants a divided Syria, he adds. US attack on Syrian plane in Syrian sky is act of war – Russian senator Nach US-Abschuss von syrischem Jet: Russischer [...]

The US has no right to fly into Syrian airspace where it shouldn’t be and set boundaries but should mind its own business. Otherwise, it is an act of aggression, says former US Congressman Ron Paul. [...]

By carrying out extensive efforts toward eradicating terrorism and finding a solution to the Syrian conflict, Russia is providing the West with a priceless, albeit "undeserved," service, Syria’s Ambassador to China and former Ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha told Sputnik on Friday. [...]

The Russian Defense Ministry released on Friday a photo demonstrating the results of the country's Aerospace Forces' airstrike conducted on May 28 against the headquarters of Daesh terrorist group in the Syrian city of Raqqa. [...]

Big Picture Interview: Max Blumenthal, Senior Editor-AlterNet's Grayzone Project/ Author-The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. Iran is blaming Saudi Arabia and by proxy the United States today after ISIS killed 12 people and wounded 42 more in a brazen attack in heart of Tehran. In a statement - Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards drew a direct connection between this morning's slaughter and [...]

Russia considers the US-led coalition airstrike against pro-Damascus fighters in Syria an act of aggression and rejects the justification for the attack issued by the Pentagon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. [...]

A new Operation Inherent Resolve report has upped the official civilian death toll of the US-led aerial bombing campaign in Syria and Iraq by more than a third, confirming 484 civilian deaths – while activists claim the figure is several times higher. [...]

Russia is ready to sell its S-400 air defense systems to Turkey, President Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). He added the issue was discussed earlier with his Turkish counterpart. [...]

This could be the most uncomfortable State Department press briefing moment yet. During a press conference about US President Donald Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East, AFP journalist Dave Clark asked a department official why the US criticizes the Iranian elections and its record on democracy, but not Saudi Arabia. [...]

The Russian-Egyptian deal on the sale of Ka-52K attack helicopters has reportedly reached the final stretch. Talks on the price of the choppers, to be used aboard Egypt's Mistral amphibious assault ships, are expected to begin later this month. Military expert Alexander Sitnikov explains how Russia ended up winning on the Mistral deal after all. [...]

The US launched a military strike on a Syrian government airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians. CNN's Athena Jones details the events leading up to the decision. Trump "No living being should suffer from such a nightmare." - I don't get it - he's speaking about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, right? Evidence Debunks OPCW Claim on Syrian 'Chemic [...]

Norway’s largest trade union body has voted in favor of economic, cultural, and academic boycott of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. In response, Tel Aviv said that the union “placed itself shoulder to shoulder with the worst enemies of Israel.” [...]

US president Donald Trump is not a truly independent political leader but merely a puppet of US corporations, military and intelligence, and who serves their interests, Syrian President Bashar Assad has told the Latin American TeleSUR TV network. [...]

Russia’s brazen confidence in its victory in propping up Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s once-failing regime grows day by day, as evidenced by Moscow’s latest oil deals with the Syrian government. Sputnik news reports that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin visited Damascus in November to get the ball rolling on the fossil fuel deals. [...]

The collapse of Russo-American collaboration over flight safety in Syria turned out to be a painful experience for the US, Russian academic Nikita Danyuk suggested in an interview with Radio Sputnik, adding that it is unlikely that Washington will continue to infringe on the Syrian state. [...]

Russia strongly backs Iranian membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), now that UN Security Council sanctions have been lifted from the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Iran is ready to become a full-fledged member of the organization, Lavrov said Friday during an SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Astana. [...]