Combat power has been boosted by the United States in Southern Syria and there are rumours that Syria will be the launch site in a confrontation between the US and Iran.
US President Donald Trump has been increasing rhetoric against the Islamic Republic of Iran, slamming it for its violations of the 2015 nuclear deal and its treatment of people at home, as well as the war-mongering it is carrying out across the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia and three other Arab nations have cut their diplomatic and economic ties to Qatar, as punishment for supporting the Iranian Regime and terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Qatari stocks plunged after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt announced that they would suspend air and sea travel to and from the Gulf nation.
The Iranian Regime is testing the US’s resolve in the south-eastern areas of Syria, as the Regime fights to take over the area that the combined forces have to take back from the so-called Islamic State.
Amir Toumaj, a Research Analyst at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and Caleb Weiss, a contributing writer, wrote an op-ed for FDD’s Long War Journal, in which they highlight that the Regime’s rush to seize reclaimed land in Syria, that belongs to the Syrians, is rightly irritating the Americans.
A third underground ballistic missile production factory has been built in Iran, who will continue to develop its missile program, according to semi-official Fars news agency.
Amirali Hajizadeh, senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and head of its airspace division said, “Iran’s third underground factory has been built by the Guards in recent years…We will continue to further develop our missile capabilities forcefully.”
On May 30th, a civil trial began to determine the fate of a 36-story office building on New York’s Fifth Avenue.
Attorney John Gleeson who represents the Alavi Foundation, a charity formed to promote the history and culture of Iran, told a jury that the U.S. government was seeking to destroy the Foundation by seizing the Manhattan skyscraper that provides most of its revenue. As the the trial began, Gleeson told jurors, ”Something is deeply wrong in this case. This misguided case is looking to wipe us off the face of the planet.”
In Senegal, thousands of men and women participate in prayer five times each day at the nearest mosque. Their shared faith is a large influence on Senegalese culture, of whom the majority are Sunni Muslim. However, some 50,000 people belong to the Shi’ite sect of Islam, which is a form of Islam many consider to be imported.
Senegalese Islam is traditionally Sunni Muslim.The most well-known of all the Sunni orders are the Mourids, or Murīdiyya which began after an anti-colonialism movement. Shi’ism has been a presence in Senegal since the late 1970s, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
U.S. aircraft dropped a series of leaflets warning pro-Syrian regime militia to avoid the deconfliction zone around a small base near the Tanf border crossing, which lies between Syria and Iraq, this past weekend, as pro-regime forces are reportedly conducting armed patrols in the vicinity of Tanf, say officials at the Pentagon.
U.S. Central Command officials say that the facility is being used by U.S. and British Special Forces to train Syrian opposition forces for the fight against ISIS. A 55-kilometer radius around the base is designated as the deconfliction zone.
A hearing was recently held by the U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee to discuss Iran’s influence and strategies, as well as their regional and global impact. Ilan Berman, Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council; Ray Takeyh, Ph.D., Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies Council on Foreign Relations; and Daniel L. Byman, Ph.D., Senior Fellow of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, all authorities on Iran, were called as witnesses by the subcommittee.
World attention has recently focused on foreign volunteers who have joined the ranks of the jihadist militias of the Islamic State and Al-Qaida by the thousands, after the beginning of the civil war in Syria, and especially since the advent of the Islamic State (ISIS) and its franchises in the Arab Middle East and Africa.
On Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared that Saudi Arabia’s monarchy faces “certain downfall” by its alignment with the US, and that its regime may be toppled sooner rather than later.
According to Reuters, at an event that marked the beginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan with a Koran reading, Khamenei said, “They will face certain downfall. They might stay for some time; it depends on how the believers of the community take action. If they act correctly, it will happen sooner. If they don’t [react], it might take longer.”An English transcript of his words was provided on his website During the religious gathering, Khamnei said, as well, “They will be gone, they can be toppled and can perish [or be destroyed]… there is no doubt about it… it is certain that it will happen.”
