The Pentagon announced Tuesday that 50 - not 34 - US troops sustained various levels of brain injury from Tehran’s strike on Iraqi bases earlier this month. One expert explained to Sputnik that the Trump administration’s decision to trickle out this information is just a continuation of a series of lies from the White House regarding Iran. Ben Norton, a journalist with The Grayzone and co-host [...]

Islamic State terrorists rejoiced at the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani at the hands of his American ‘allies,’ according to a weekly newspaper affiliated with the group that once controlled much of Syria and Iraq. Soleimani was killed by a US drone strike on January 3, as he was being driven, with others, near Baghdad international airport. [...]

During self-congratulatory remarks about his “deal of the century” to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict, Donald Trump threw in another boast; he claimed US forces defeated “100 percent” of the Islamic State caliphate. Have they? “Thanks to the courage of US forces, the ISIS territorial caliphate — 100 percent — not 95 percent, not 99 or any other percent — 100 percent of their ca [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Thirty-four US service members have been diagnosed with concussions and traumatic brain injuries after Iran conducted ballistic missile strikes on two bases in Iraq with half of them still undergoing medical treatment, Department of Defence spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a press briefing on 24 January. "With regard to the number of recent injuries here is the latest upda [...]

For some time now, London has been deciding on whether to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei to participate in a national fifth-generation technology rollout, following calls from Washington to ban the company amid security and intelligence sharing concerns. A final decision is expected to be made soon. The United Kingdom will allow Huawei to supply 5G equipment for its national superfast next-genera [...]

The Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic missile was first revealed to the public by the country's President Vladimir Putin in March 2018 and has since undergone numerous tests with the Russian Air Force – which have only confirmed its operational capabilities. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended war games between the Russian Northern and Black Sea fleets on 9 January and had a chance to see [...]

A massive demonstration –called for by a prominent Shia cleric– has flooded the streets of the Iraq's capital Baghdad, with thousands voicing their anger at the US military presence there.  Early on Friday morning, throngs of protesters – men and women, young and old – began amassing at al-Hurriya Square in central Baghdad, near the city's main university. [...]

US President Donald Trump complained this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the United States has not been “treated fairly” by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Professor Richard Wolff joins Boom Bust to discuss Trump’s comments, and what may be in store for Transatlantic relations. [...]

Bending under the pressure from the Trump administration, major EU states have taken yet another step away from the Iran nuclear deal, say academics, suggesting that it's unlikely that Tehran will engage in new nuclear negotiations with the same actors. On 14 January, the foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany – the countries-signatories to the Iran nuclear deal – announced that they [...]

Three European signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as Iran nuclear deal, initiated the accord's dispute mechanism on 14 January thus threatening to put an end to the agreement's existence following the US withdrawal from it in 2018. German Defence Minister and head of a governing coalition party, the CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has confirmed that the US indeed thr [...]

France, Britain and Germany have betrayed the 2015 nuclear deal after being threatened with US tariffs, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has claimed, noting that Europe has lost the moral high ground. The three European states accused Tehran of non-compliance with the accord after buckling under pressure from the United Sates, Zarif wrote in a tweet, citing a Washington Post report de [...]

Donald Trump’s threat to cut off Iraq’s access to its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York if Baghdad insists on a withdrawal of US troops from its soil is bare-faced, modern-day colonialism. Let’s set the scene. On January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted to approve a resolution calling for the removal of US troops. A day later, Donald Trump threatened to hit Iraqis with deadly ec [...]

Europe could have saved the Iran nuclear agreement. Instead, it abused the rule of law by inappropriately triggering its dispute mechanism, all but ensuring the agreement’s demise. On January 5, 2020, Tehran announced that it would no longer comply with its obligations under the Iran nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Program of Action (JCPOA). Iran’s actions are in [...]

In December, US President Donald Trump signed the National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which, among other things, stipulates sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The US also threatened to sanction any company or individual involved in providing services on the project. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has lashed out at the US over its push for sanct [...]

The Trump administration’s initial justification for the 3 January strike that killed Iran’s Soleimani was the threat of “imminent” attacks against American interests. That rationale proved shaky over the past two weeks, with government officials contradicting one another and even themselves. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the assassination of Qassem Soleimani was part of [...]

Commenting on US Defence Secretary Mark T. Esper's statement that a group of US troops will remain in eastern Syria, allegedly to prevent Daesh from accessing the oil fields, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said the statement should not be a surprise. In a statement, the chief spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, noted that the US' stated goal of protecting Syrian oi [...]

The imprisoned WikiLeaks founder appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Monday, where a multipart hearing on his possible extradition to the United States was started. Journalists armed with cameras managed to catch a glimpse of Julian Assange Monday night following his extradition hearing, with the WikiLeaks founder filmed from inside a police van outside the court. [...]

US President Donald Trump has lashed out against the “fake news media” and their “Democrat partners” over criticism of his administration’s decision to assassinate Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. The president claimed in tweets marred with misspellings that it does not matter if Soleimani presented an imminent threat to the US, something he had said previously to defend the assassinati [...]

Trump said Iran is in conflict with the ‘civilized world,’ but civilized states don’t seek regime change, lead aggressive wars, and trash international law like the US has done more than once. So, who are the true barbarians? With every line, Donald Trump took the breath away from the watching audience and even some of the horseshoe of military brass behind him when he responded to the Irani [...]

The death of the senior Iranian commander, who was killed in a US drone strike shortly after midnight on Friday morning, prompted Iranian officials to vow retaliation against US interests in the region. US President Donald Trump authorised the assassination of Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. [...]

The US is trying to stop Eurasia's economic and political integration in order to delay its own demise, say international observers, explaining what message the US sent to the Russia-China-Iran "triumvirate" by killing Quds Commander Qasem Soleimani. [...]

For decades, the US establishment has talked about an international community, rules-based order, the importance of NATO allies, democracy and sovereignty. Then-President Donald Trump had an Iranian general assassinated. “Snow doesn’t fall to cover the hills, but to reveal the tracks of every beast,” goes an old Serbian saying. The proverbial snow in this case is last week’s killing of Ge [...]