Middle East

US directs Iran to act like a ‘normal’ country. What is a normal country?
After reimposing crippling sanctions on Iran this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened that Iran should “act like a normal country, or see its economy crumble.” But, how exactly does a ‘normal’ country act? Since the dictat was issued from Washington DC, it seems only fair to start there. Is the United States itself a ‘normal’ country? What makes a ‘normal’ country as [...]
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Iran, South Korea Agree to Cross-Currency Trade, Ditching Dollar – Reports
As the United States continues to slap Iran with sanctions, Washington allowed several countries, including South Korea, to purchase certain limited amount of Iranian oil without fear of reprisal. The governments of Iran and South Korea have agreed to forgo the use of US dollar in bilateral trade and instead switch to their respective national currencies in such transactions as Washington moves to [...]
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How Khashoggi was killed: Erdogan says chilling audio sent to Saudi Arabia, US, UK, France & Germany
The recordings that could reveal the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Turkey in shocking detail have been shared with France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said. [...]
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Pentagon Report Questions US’ Own Legal Justification for Staying in Syria
The unusually frank quarterly report to Congress on the US's military operations against Daesh* in Syria and Iraq also hints that Washington has no exit strategy once the terrorists are defeated. [...]
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Israeli Foreign Ministry Vows to Prevent Tragedies Like Russian Il-20 Downing
Israel will do utmost to prevent such incidents like the downing of a Russian Il-20 plane near Syria from happening again, Yacov Livne, the director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Euro-Asia Department, said on Monday. [...]
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Israeli Air Force Shuns Attacks in Syria Since S-300 Delivery – Lawmaker
Russia has delivered 49 units of its sophisticated S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems to Syria in wake of the accidental destruction of a Russian Il-20 plane by Syrian air defenses responding to an Israeli attack. [...]
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Stuxnet II: Did Israel Just Release Cyber “Hounds of Hell” on Iran?
Stuxnet II: Did Israel Just Release Cyber "Hounds of Hell" on Iran? SUPPORT TRUNEWS: http://tru.news/2ps3OL2 TruNews on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tr... Stuxnet II: Did Israel Just Release Cyber "Hounds of Hell" on Iran? Distress of Nations: China, Russia and Israel prepare for War End of Petrodollar? U.S. Allies Pivot East Toward Russia And China /* */ [...]
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Up is Down: Trump Oil Sanctions on Iran Likely to Increase Tehran Sales – Report
New sanctions placed on Iran by US President Donald Trump are likely to have the reverse effect the White House is hoping for, according to new reports, as Tehran’s petroleum exports are set to increase just as Washington’s restrictions commence. [...]
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US threatens to smack SWIFT with sanctions if it fails to cut off financial services to Iran
US threatens to smack SWIFT if it allows transactions in violation of Iran sanctions. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned global financial messaging service SWIFT on Friday that it could be penalized if it doesn’t cut off financial services to entities and individuals doing business with Iran. [...]
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Utah mayor killed in Kabul the latest victim of perpetual US presence in Afghanistan
The US serviceman killed in an insider attack in Kabul is identified as Brent Taylor, a mayor from Utah. While shocking to some back at home, this is only the latest such incident in a war that even top brass now call unwinnable. [...]
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After 17 years of war, top US commander in Afghanistan admits Taliban cannot be defeated
The Afghanistan war cannot be won militarily and peace will only be achieved through a political resolution with the Taliban, the newly-appointed American general in charge of US and NATO operations has conceded. [...]
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Bolsonaro Says Brazil Will Move Embassy to Jerusalem
Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro tweeted that he intends to transfer the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as a part of fulfilling his election campaign promises. Brazil will become the third country after the United States and Guatemala to move its embassy to Jerusalem, Associated Press reported. In a tweet published on Thursday, Bolsonaro said: “Israel is a sovereign state, [...]
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Israel Sells $250Mln Worth of Cutting Edge Spy Systems to Saudi Arabia – Reports
Tel Aviv hasn’t confirmed the reports, nor has the Gulf kingdom, which doesn’t have official diplomatic ties with the Jewish state. Saudi Arabia and Israel held covert meetings “in Washington and London,” which resulted in an estimated $250 million deal, including the transfer of Israeli espionage technologies to the kingdom, Israeli media reported on Sunday, citing an exclusive report by [...]
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‘Brutally honest’: Public outcry forces Facebook to stop banning pics of starving Yemeni girl
A backlash prompted Facebook to stop removing posts featuring a photo of an emaciated seven-year-old Yemeni girl, which accompanied a harrowing New York Times report from the war-torn country. The atrocities in Yemen don’t make poignant headlines in Western mainstream media as often as stories about chemical weapons in Syria or ‘Russian meddling,’ as the conflict usually gets sidelined in th [...]
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‘Criminal negligence’ or disregard to Russia-Israel ties: MoD details chronology of Il-20 downing
A minute-by-minute account of the Il-20 downing shows Israel's culpability and either its military bosses' lack of appreciation of relations with Moscow, or their control of commanding officers, the Russian defense ministry said. [...]
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Bone Saw Mystery: Did Apple Watch Record Saudi Journalist’s Butchering?
On today's TRUNEWS, what really happened in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul? Rick Wiles considers the convoluted international intrigue surrounding the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Turkish reports through audio and video say was brutally carved up alive by supposed rogue elements from Saudi Arabia. Rick also looks at Khashoggi's past connections with the CIA and Osama Bin [...]
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‘Trump doesn’t want any country even near challenging American power’
By withdrawing from a key nuclear arms treaty, the US could be shooting itself in the foot in Europe, but Trump doesn’t care about Europeans, he cares about Russia, China and - most of all – Israel, says author John Laughland. [...]
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Saudi crown prince calls Khashoggi killing case ‘painful’ in first remarks since admitting death
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged that “justice will prevail” in the case involving the death of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier in October. [...]
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Ex-White Helmets Open Up: ‘We Were Used for Their Political Agenda & Discarded’
The controversial White Helmets rescue group has been praised in the Western media as heroes, and derided by the Syrian government as 'al-Qaeda's civil defense' network. But is there a middle ground between such polarizing views? A Sputnik correspondent got an unprecedented inside look into the group's operations in southern Syria. [...]
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