The Pentagon will remove four batteries of PAC-3 Patriot missiles from three Middle-Eastern countries, according to the Wall Street Journal. The report said the missiles are needed elsewhere to counter China and Russia. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia may supply Syria with other defense equipment in addition to the S-300 air defense system to ensure the safety of its troops following the downing of a Russian Il-20 plane last week, Viktor Bondarev, the chairman of the Russian parliament's upper house Defense and Security Committee, said on Monday. [...]

MOSCOW - Russia may take steps to prevent further incidents involving the Israeli Air Force jets and has all the capabilities to close Syrian airspace to Israeli military aircraft if it becomes necessary, a member of the Russian parliament's upper house's defense committee, Frants Klintsevich, told Sputnik on Sunday. [...]

Data captured by Russia’s S-400 system in Syria proves Israeli jets were responsible for the downing the Russian plane, the Defense Ministry said, adding that the Syrian missile changed its course shortly before hitting the Il-20. Data captured by Russia’s S-400 system in Syria proves Israeli jets were responsible for the downing the Russian plane, the Defense Ministry said, adding that the Sy [...]

On the heels of an Israeli air raid on Syria, which saw the downing of a Russian plane, Moscow will now deliver S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Damascus. Here’s a quick guide to the sophisticated weapon and its capabilities. The Syrian Army has long sought to procure the S-300 from Russia, but talks which began in mid-2000 were interrupted by the civil war in 2011. [...]

Russia’s decision to boost Syrian air defenses in response to the downing of an Il-20 plane amid an Israeli raid is meant to sting, but not pose a serious threat to Israel’s national security, experts told RT. Last week, a Russian Il-20 electronic warfare plane with 15 crew on board was shot down off Syria’s coast by a Syrian anti-air missile fired in response to an Israeli air raid. [...]

CAIRO (Sputnik) – Israel is guided solely by its military interests in the region, and this factor along with the lack of coordination with the Russian side led to the crash of Russia's Il-20 military plane in Syria, Egyptian military expert Adil Suleiman told Sputnik. The Egyptian analyst noted that the tragedy was the result of a lack of coordination at the operational and tactical levels. [...]

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry reiterated, during a briefing on circumstance of the Il-20 incident, that blame for the Russian aircraft's crash fully rested with Israel, which put the Il-20 under fire of the Syrian air defense. The Russian Defense Ministry has additional compelling evidence in support of the materials presented earlier on Sunday at the briefing devoted to the dow [...]

Russia’s military presence in Syria has effectively turned the tide of war back in 2015, the year Islamic State was about to “roll over Damascus,” the head of Israeli Air Force intelligence said in an interview. The Aerial campaign Russia started against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in 2015 had “categorically” decided the fate of war in President Bashar Assad’s favor, Brig. Gen. U [...]

The decision by Russia and Turkey on Idlib is an intermediate step; the demilitarized zone will prevent the shelling of Syrian troops at Hmeymim base, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. As for the Russian-Turkish agreement on Idlib, it is aimed primarily at eradicating the terrorist threat. This is certainly an intermediate step, because only a demilitarized zone is being created," Lavro [...]

The Russian president’s spokesman said Friday that President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on what an Israeli military delegation had to share with the Russian Defense Ministry on the downing of its jet in Syria, but stressed a decision on the Kremlin’s next step was premature. [...]

A new Taliban video shows insurgents openly celebrating the capture of an Afghan army base. It is the latest example of the inability of Afghan security forces to defend themselves against Taliban assaults. Continued battlefield catastrophes call into question [...]

Weeks of negotiations with the Trump administration have ended with carmaker Volkswagen (VW) agreeing to cease most of its operations in Iran, said US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, as cited by Bloomberg. “Volkswagen has told us they will comply with US sanctions on Iran,” said Grenell, adding: “We are pleased with this decision because Iran diverts its economic resources away from i [...]

US President Donald Trump has accused OPEC’s Middle East producers of “pushing for higher and higher oil prices.” Trump, who is a proponent of cheap crude, has told OPEC countries they would not be safe for long without the US. [...]

WASHINGTON - The US Navy 6th Fleet is informed about the deadly crash of the Russian Il-20 in the Mediterranean near Syria and is ready to provide assistance at sea to any country if needed, the 6th Fleet's public affairs officer, Cmdr. Kyle Raines, told Sputnik. [...]

WASHINGTON - Daesh used rudimentary chemical weapons and encouraged sympathizers to use whatever other weapon at their disposal to carry out terrorist attacks, the US Department of State said in a report on Wednesday. [...]

The tragic loss of a Russian military aircraft with 15 personnel onboard, off the Syrian coast, has to be seen in the context of the Arab country being attacked. Attacked by the Israeli air force and facing an unprecedented buildup of NATO warships. Yet, Syria – the victim of aggression – is the one being blamed. [...]

Russian military police have been deployed to de-escalation zones across Syria since late 2016 to help maintain security in the war-torn country amid the ongoing operations by the Syrian military and its allies to clear Syria of a collection of mostly jihadist militants. [...]

TEL AVIV - Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin is in Moscow following Monday's crash of a Russian Il-20 aircraft in Syria, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Jonathan Conricus told Sputnik. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he sent Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin to Moscow after the incident with a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane in order to prese [...]

Israel doesn’t want to allow the public to witness what’s happening in Gaza, the head of an EU Parliament delegation told RT, after being barred from entering the enclave. He called Israel’s actions there “a war crime.” The group from the European Parliament was scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday but was denied access. [...]

ST.PETERSBURG Israel is unlikely to freely use Syrian airspace in the wake of the crash of a Russian Il-20 military aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea, Yakov Kedmi, a former high-ranking Israeli intelligence official, told Sputnik. "There was an agreement between Israel and Russia that the actions of Israel in Syria's airspace would not endanger lives of Russian troops. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran is seeking to extend or renew a $1 billion oil deal with the Swiss giant Vitol Group ahead of the promised return in November of crippling US sanctions, media reported. The US administration in May withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which eased sanctions on the Islamic Republic. [...]