In spite of US threats, the EU is all set to protect its economic interests in Iran and has started implementing a 1996 law that would prohibit European companies from complying with any sanctions the US would reintroduce against Tehran. “Europe should be grateful to President Trump, because thanks to him we have got rid of old illusions,” European Council President Donald Tusk said at the sta [...]

The US has cleared the sale of 3,200 bombs valued at about $45 million, including powerful bunker busters, to Bahrain. The Persian Gulf monarchy is hosting the US 5th Fleet and has been involved in the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen. The order would consist of 1,500 Mark-82 general purpose bombs; 600 Mark-83 bombs; 600 Mark-84 bombs; and 500 BLU-109 “bunker busters,” bombs armed with special warhe [...]

The re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran and Washington’s threat to punish European companies for doing business there provides a good opportunity for ditching the dollar, according to RT’s Keiser Report host, Max Keiser. “The US uses the dollar as a weapon to promote US dollar hegemony and the US Empire. [...]

Washington’s intention to re-impose the "toughest" sanctions on Iran appears to be playing into the hands of Chinese investors and oil futures traders, analysts have come to believe. Shanghai crude oil futures ISCc1 have recently seen a significant uptick in their trade volumes, which hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, a day after Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran [...]

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the country's military vessels will be on permanent standby in the Mediterranean Sea due to a terrorist threat in Syria. "Due to the remaining threat of incursions by international terrorists in Syria, our ships carrying Kalibr cruise missiles will be constantly deployed in the Mediterranean Sea," Putin said at a military meeting. [...]

The European Union is planning to switch payments to the euro for its oil purchases from Iran, eliminating US dollar transactions, a diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. Brussels has been at odds with Washington over the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which was reached during the administration of Barack Obama. President Donald Trump has pledged to re-impose sanctions against the Islamic [...]

Norman Finkelstein says that while Palestinian protesters in Gaza have bravely resisted their ghettoization under merciless Israeli fire. At least 43 Palestinians have been killed and 2,200 wounded by Israeli troops, Palestinian officials say, on the deadliest day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war. The violence came as the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem, a move that has infuriated Palesti [...]

Turkey has told Israel's ambassador to Ankara to leave the country over the killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces, according to media reports. Eitan Naeh was summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara on Tuesday and asked to leave over the deaths at the Gaza border, Haaretz reported. He was told to leave "for some time," a source told Reuters. [...]

A damning UN Security Council draft statement on Israel’s use of force against protesters at the Gaza border was blocked by the US. Nearly 60 people were killed as the new US Embassy opened in Jerusalem. Monday was the bloodiest day in six weeks of protesting by Palestinians at Israel’s border wall, during which hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli soldiers. [...]

Ireland's foreign minister is being accused of hypocrisy for failing to expel Israel’s ambassador over the IDF killing 60 Palestinians on Monday, despite sending a Russian diplomat home over the Skripal case without evidence. Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney expelled a Russian diplomat in March following Britain’s claim that Russia was behind the poisoning of double age [...]

Israel Defense Forces have enough bullets for everyone, a senior lawmaker party said, according to local media. At least 60 Palestinians, including children, were killed by Israeli gunfire on Monday during protests. Avi Dichter, a senior member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, made the controversial comment when speaking to Hadashot TV news on Monday afternoon. [...]

'Jared Kushner’s speech at the US Embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem claims both sides of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could gain more than they give, as Israeli forces shot dead 41 protesters on Monday. Kushner, whom President Donald Trump tasked with bringing peace to the Middle East, said the US administration had almost completed a peace plan, but is undecided about when to reveal [...]

In response to the violence in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recalled the country's ambassadors to both the US and Israel, accusing Israel of "state terror" and "genocide." According to reports, Erdogan is recalling the ambassadors for consultations over the ongoing situation in the Gaza Strip. [...]

While Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a White House policy adviser, took the floor at the US Embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem, Twitter most naturally turned ablaze, with many resorting to increasingly demonstrated skepticism and even outrage over the Kushner family's involvement in yet another Middle Eastern issue. [...]

As American officials smiled and clapped at the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, Palestinian protesters were gunned down by Israeli bullets at the Gaza border. Twitter users were quick to point out the competing visuals and bad optics on a day when US officials were touting the opening of the new embassy as a “magnificent tribute to peace.” [...]

Jared Kushner’s speech at the US Embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem claims both sides of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could gain more than they give, as Israeli forces shot dead 55 protesters on Monday. Kushner, whom President Donald Trump tasked with bringing peace to the Middle East, said the US administration had almost completed a peace plan, but is undecided about when to reveal its [...]

Forty-one Palestinian protesters have been killed by Israeli fire during demonstrations ahead of the US embassy inauguration in Jerusalem, the Palestinian health ministry said Monday.  More than 1,700 protesters have been injured in Gaza so far on what has been the most violent day of the six week long Great March of Return. Those wounded on Monday include 74 children and 23 women, according to t [...]

In 2016 the United States established a training program for Free Syrian Army militants at its military base in al-Tanf to fight Daesh terrorists in the region. According to The Washington Post, the United States has been concerned over the possibility of Iranian forces, fighting in support of the Syrian government, seizing the US outpost in al-Tanf. [...]

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson vowed Monday that the UK will consider how to help European firms have confidence they can still do business in Iran. The UK and France are determined to preserve the essence of the Iran Nuclear Deal, Boris Johnson said. [...]

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has begun a diplomatic tour to China, Russia and the European Union. The trip is aimed at bolstering Iran’s stance amid Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran deal and re-imposing sanctions. Sputnik discussed this with Rasool Nafisi from Strayer University in Virginia. [...]

Dismissed in the press, the academics behind the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media have found few outlets for their research. Despite this, they have extended their studies from the Syrian war to the Skripal case. Made up of 15 academics, researchers, and PhD candidates across the UK, the group was established to "facilitate research into the areas of organised, persuasive communication [...]

By moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Washington is choosing to be part of the problem in the Middle East rather than working towards a solution, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “The United States has chosen to be a part of the problem rather than the solution with its latest step and has lost its mediating role in the peace process,” Erdogan said in a speech at Britai [...]