Iran - Khomeini's Secret Deal with the US

وثائق أميركية مسربة: الخميني استرضى كيندي وكارتر

[Released] U.S. documents: Khomeini appeased Kennedy and Carter.

The Arabic article from Al-Arabiya TV العربية was published on their website, today, June 3, 2016.

It is referring to recently declassified U.S. documents that suggest an unusual background story behind the grasp of power in Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini and his seemingly unchallenged introduction of an Islamic revolution.

Detailed information is available, as well, from BBC London on one of today's news websites under the headline:

Two Weeks in January: America's secret engagement with Khomeini



Here some quotations from that article published only some hours ago:

On 27 January, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini - founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, the man who called the United States "the Great Satan" - sent a secret message to Washington.

..........

In a first-person message, Khomeini told the White House not to panic at the prospect of losing a strategic ally of 37 years and assured them that he, too, would be a friend.

"You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans," said Khomeini, pledging his Islamic Republic will be "a humanitarian one, which will benefit the cause of peace and tranquillity for all mankind".

Khomeini's message is part of a trove of newly declassified US government documents - diplomatic cables, policy memos, meeting records - that tell the largely unknown story of America's secret engagement with Khomeini, an enigmatic cleric who would soon inspire Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism worldwide.

This story is a detailed account of how Khomeini brokered his return to Iran using a tone of deference and amenability towards the US that has never before been revealed.

The ayatollah's message was, in fact, the culmination of two weeks of direct talks between his de facto chief of staff and a representative of the US government in France - a quiet process that helped pave the way for Khomeini's safe return to Iran and rapid rise to power - and decades of high-stakes tension between Iran and America.

In the official Iranian narrative of the revolution, Khomeini bravely defied the United States and defeated "the Great Satan" in its desperate efforts to keep the Shah in power.

But the documents reveal that Khomeini was far more engaged with the US than either government has ever admitted. Far from defying America, the ayatollah courted the Carter administration, sending quiet signals that he wanted a dialogue and then portraying a potential Islamic Republic as amenable to US interests.

Khomeini had even earlier reached out to the U.S. for support when he had sent a private message to President Kennedy while being held under house arrest in Tehran in 1963.

For more information, you should read the whole story from BBC, London.

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CERN - Sounds of the Universe

Latest news from the particle accelerator facility of CERN, Geneva.

From techno beats to classical melodies, from jazz swinging to pop and rock riffs – the ATLAS experiment can play them all thanks to Quantizer.



This new platform translates ATLAS events into notes and rhythms, meaning one of the most complex scientific instruments in the world will not only search for new physics, but also generate music.

The Quantizer device was conceived by Juliana Cherston, a Master’s student in the Responsive Environments Group at the MIT Media Lab, and designed in partnership with ATLAS Doctoral student Ewan Hill from the University of Victoria. They have just released Quantizer on the web, providing real-time audio samples produced with the latest data.

Being convinced that any continuous data stream, received from constant measurement of time-dependent physical processes, could be transformed into some kind of music, I tried to combine the cosmic version of the ATLAS tunes with cosmic video visualisations produced by BBC. The original video is being accompanied by human composed relaxation music.

If you switch off the video sound manually and, instead, activate the below ATLAS tunes you will find a nice combination of galactic views and live music of natural origin. You might even like YouTube to find for you further visualisations of space and watch them in fullscreen mode while listening to the sounds from sub-atomic proceedings.






Activate cosmic ATLAS tunes from CERN

Hezbollah - Proceedings in Syria

Tonight, news is spreading about a prominent military commander for Hezbollah, Mustafa Badr Addin, and who had lost his life in Syria while fighting in an alliance with Iranian revolutionary guards and regular troops of the Assad regime. His funeral in Lebanon now made thousands of supporters take to the streets.




الآلاف يشاركون في تشييع جنازة مصطفى بدر الدين القائد العسكري البارز لحزب الله

Thousands participate in the public funeral of Mustafa Badr
Addin, the military leader starring in combat for Hezbollah.

[Source: BBC Arabic evening news on May 13, 2016]


Tonight, as well, the Arabic channel of Al-Jazeera covered the subject in their regular special "Behind the News ما وراء الخبر". Here some quotations from that program:




حزب الله تكبد خسائر كبيرة من مقاتليه و نخبة قادته العسكريين في سوريا

Hezbollah is suffering from big losses of its warriors and [from] the choice of its military leaders in Syria.

بدر الدين قتل في منطقة يحميها كل من النظام السوري و روسيا و إيران

The killing of Badr Addin happened in a region protected by the Syrian regime, by Russia and Iran.

بدر الدين كان مسؤول الوحدات المقاتلة لحزب الله في سوريا و شقيق زوجة عماد مغنية

Badr Addin was responsible for the fighting units of Hezbollah in Syria and brother of Imad Mughniyya's wife.

[Editor's Note: Imad Mughniyya had been an important member of the Hezbollah secret service. Mughniyya was held responsible for several terrorist attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets. He died in a car bombing in Damascus in 2008.]

بدر الدين هو المتهم الأول في اغتيال رئيس الوزراء اللبناني الأسبق رفيق الحريري

Badr Addin is the first suspect in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

الصحافة الإسرائيلية ترحب بمقتل بدر الدين و تقول إنه ضربة قاصمة لحزب الله

Israeli media are celebrating the death of Badr Addin and say that [his death] is a disastrous blow against Hezbollah.

..............................

Update for May 14, 2016:

Reminding Unfinished Business .....

UN envoy warns that Hezbollah expansion can threaten Lebanon.

[Headline of Washington Post on May 13, 2016]

Hezbollah’s involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq risks to spill over sectarian tensions into Lebanon where the Islamic State and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front are steadily expanding.

UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen expressed his serious concern at Hezbollah and other militias having not only continued but even increased their military activities since the Security Council ordered them to disband in 2004. He also expressed concern at the reported expansion of extremist groups within Lebanon, mostly in Palestinian refugee camps. All activities to be abandoned are seen as a general threat to the internal stability and sovereignty of Lebanon where the political wing of Hezbollah already holds two seats in the country's government.

So far the raw information from United Nations Security Council and which has been deployed, as well, by Al-Arabiya العربية the following day on May 14:



Above photo: Terje Roed-Larsen deals with implementation of
the 2004 Security Council resolution No. 1559 that is, among
other items, calling for disarmament and demobilization of all
militias operating in Lebanon.

Syria - Saudi Opinion

السعودية: "الأسد وإيران" و"الإرهاب" وجهان لعملة واحدة

Saudi-Arabia: "Assad and Iran" as well as "Terrorism"
are but two sides of the same coin.

حمّلت السعودية النظام السوري وإيران مسؤولية انتشار التطرف والنزعات الطائفية في المنطقة.ـ

Saudi Arabia blamed the Syrian regime and Iran responsible for the spreading of extremism and sectarian tendencies in the region.

وقال عبد الله المعلمي مندوب السعودية في مجلس الأمن إن استنجاد الأسد بمجموعات ترفع شعارات طائفية أوجد بيئة لتقوية التطرف في سوريا .ـ

Abdullah Al Mouallimi, Saudi representative in the Security Council, said that Assad is helping groups to raise sectarian slogans, thus creating an environment to strengthen extremism in Syria.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on May 12, 2016]


Editor's Note:

Ambassador Abdullah Al-Mouallimi is Saudi-Arabia's representative to the United Nations.

On January 4, 2016, the members of the UN Security Council had condemned in the strongest terms reported attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran, and its Consulate General in Mashhad in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in intrusions into the diplomatic and consular premises, causing serious damage. [saudimission.org].

Despite Security Council support in the above mentioned attack on Saudi diplomats and diplomatic premises, it should be noted that Saudi-Arabia's relations with the UN Security Council are rather tense, even though the country was elected as its temporary member in 2013.

On October 18, 2013, Saudi Arabia declined its election to the Security Council for the 2014-2015 period. In its statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited the failure of the Council to act in regard to the crisis in Syria, the continuing lack of a "just and lasting solution" to the situation in Palestine, and that the Council had failed to make the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone. Instead, Saudi-Arabia pleaded for a reformation of the Council that would enable the organization to carry out its duties and responsibilities. This was the first time in the Council's history that an already elected member would reject its membership. [unelections.org]

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Syria after Short Armistice

The Syrian conflict regains impetus after a 24-hours armistice negociated between U.S. secretary-of-state John Kerry and Russian minister Sergej Lavrov.




غارات روسية عنيفة على ريف إدلب وحلب

Fierce Russian incursions into Idlib and Aleppo district.

أغارت طائرات روسية وسورية على أحياء في حلب شمالي سوريا بعيد غارات مكثفة على الريفين الجنوبي والغربي للمدينة بمشاركة الطائرات الروسية التي قتلت 14 شخصا في بلدة بنّش بريف إدلب.ـ

Russian and Syrian planes launched an attack against Achiya in Aleppo [district], northern Syria, shortly after concentrated incursions into districts south and west of the town with the assistance of Russian planes that killed 14 people in the community of Bannesh in Idlib district.

[Source: Al-Jazeera الجزيبة on May 11, 2016]




Achiya / Aleppo - Results of an earlier bombing
reported by Al-Bawaba البوابة on May 8, 2016.
Three citizens should have died in that assault.




Earlier report from the shelling of Bannesh in Idlib district
and which came from El-Wehda الوحدة the day before on
May 10, 2016. The death toll reported at this time was 10
compared with 14 only some hours later.

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Pyongyang - Workers Party Congress

Celebrations for North Korea's 7th Workers Party Congress.
[XinHua news agency on May 11, 2016]




Pyongyang, May 7 (KCNA) -- The second-day sitting of the Seventh Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) took place on Saturday, May 7. This is the first fully translated video about congress proceedings provided by "Voice of Korea".

However, there is not much new in Kim Jong-Un's speech which is celebrating progress achieved by the Workers Party, as well as North Korea's peculiar and isolated way of getting along with all current economic and geopolitical challenges. Even though international media already stressed a remark made by North Korea's leader the day before and saying the country would only apply nuclear weapons when being attacked, no reliable facts about future plannings are available. Only one thing seems to be clear: There will be a 5-Years-Plan starting in 2016 and lasting until 2020.




For more substantial information on the Workers Party Congress and N Korea's current situation, here an Al-Jazeera special which could not be accused of taking sides in a subject that relates North and South Korea, China, Japan and the U.S.

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Aleppo - Hope for Relief

News Updates added below on May 6 / May 7, 2016:

An arrangement between the U.S. and Russia might finally bring relief for Aleppo, the town in northern Syria that, until now, suffered from incessant air-raids launched by forces of Basher Assad and his Russian allies.




هدوء في حلب بعد سريان الهدنة

Calming down in Aleppo after armistice entered into effect.

قال مراسل الجزيرة في حلب شمالي سوريا إن الهدوء عمّ المدينة في الساعات الأولى من صباح اليوم الخميس مع بدء سريان الهدنةغرد النص عبر تويتر التي اتفقت عليها الولايات المتحدة وروسيا، وقال النظام السوري إنه سيلتزم بها لمدة 48 ساعة.ـ

A correspondent for Al-Jazeera in Aleppo, northern Syria, reported a general calming down in the township during the first moments of Thursday morning [i.e. today, May 5] with the armistice entering into effect and the decision being "chanted" via Twitter regarding an arrangement between the United States and Russia and [a declaration] from the Syrian regime it would stick to [that arrangement] within 48 hours.

[Source: Al-Jazeera الجزيرة on May 5, 2016]

..............................



مجلس الأمن يحمّل نظام الأسد مسؤولية تدمير حلب

[UN] Security Council accuses Assad's regime of
being responsible for the devastation of Aleppo.

يعقد مجلس الأمن جلسة طارئة في هذه الأثناء لبحث الأوضاع في حلب وقد حمّل النظام السوري مسؤولية تدمير المدينة.ـ

The [UN] Security Council has called in an exceptional meeting [during the current period] for an evaluation of the situation in Aleppo and has [already] accused the Syrian regime of being responsible for the town's devastation.




اتفاق أميركي روسي.. الهدنة تشمل حلب

Agreement between America and Russia
... The cease-fire [should] include Aleppo.

واشنطن تأمل من موسكو الضغط على الأسد للالتزام بالترتيبات الجديدة

Washington is expecting Moscow to put pressure on Assad
with respect to [his] commitment to the new arrangements.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on May 4/5, 2016]

..............................

Latest News on May 6, 2016:




خسائر للنظام وحزب الله بحلب والغارات مستمرة

[Assad] regime and Hisbollah suffering losses in Aleppo in continued attacks.

أعلنت فصائل المعارضة السورية المسلحة أنها أسرت عناصر بجيش النظام وحزب الله اللبناني وسيطرت على بلدة خان طومان ومحيطها بريف حلب، كما أكد حزب الله فقد الاتصال بمجموعة من مقاتليه، في حين شن النظام غارات على ريف إدلب، واستمرت المعارك بريف دمشق.ـ

Armed Syrian opposition groups reported they captured members of regime troops and from Lebanese Hizbollah and took over control of Khan Tuman community [and its environment] in Aleppo [district] as was confirmed by Hisbollah who had lost contact with a group of their fighters while the regime attacked in the Idlib [district] and fighting continued in Damascus [district].


Editor's Note:

- As to the proceedings in the Idlib region, an Al-Jazeera TV special showed homeless civil victims whose make-shift dwellings were hit during an air-raid by Assad's air force. An overall death toll of 30 was simultaneously reported and that should include an unknown number of children.

- The Khan Tuman community, mentioned above, is located 15 km southwest of Aleppo city. The village of Khan Tuman has been taken by a group of "Islamic opposition fighters" on Friday, May 6, according to a later report by Al-Arabiya (May 7).

[Source: Al-Jazeera الجزيرة on May 6, 2016]

...............................

Latest News on May 7, 2016:




Photo from the archives: Iranian fighters in Syria


الحرس الثوري يقر بمقتل 13 مستشاراً إيرانياً قرب حلب

The Revolutionary Guards lost 13 Iranian advisers in combat near Aleppo.

قر الحرس الثوري الإيراني، اليوم السبت، بمقتل 13 مستشاراً عسكرياً إيرانياً قرب مدينة حلب السورية في أكبر خسائر تلحق بإيران على ما يبدو منذ أن أرسلت قوات لدعم رئيس النظام السوري بشار الأسد.ـ

On Saturday [i.e. May 7] the Iranian Revolutionary Guards lost 13 Iranian military advisers in combat near the Syrian town of Aleppo in the biggest Iranian losses since troops were sent to support the president of the Syrian regime Basher al-Assad.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on May 7, 2016]

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Southernmost visitor to " blueprint news " during the last year.
Occasional visits from the Christchurch region in New Zealand
had been earlier recorded as well.

Yemen - Fighting and Peace Talks

اليمن..الجيش والمقاومة يطردان "القاعدة" من مدينة المكلا

Yemen: Army and opposition are chasing
"Al-Qaeda" out of Al-Mukalla township.

أفاد مراسل قناة "العربية" في اليمن بأن الجيش والمقاومة دخلا مدينة المكلا في حضرموت بعد طرد مسلحي تنظيم القاعدة المتطرف منها.ـ

A reporter from [TV-]channel Al-Arabiya in Yemen informed that, both, army and opposition entered the town of Al-Mukalla in the Hadramaut [region] after chasing out fighters from the extremist organization of Al-Qaeda.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on April 24, 2016]




The UN envoy for Yemen has hailed a "constructive" first full day of peace talks but called for a halt to air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition and missile fire by Houthi rebels.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said firming up an April 11 ceasefire was essential to the success of the negotiations in Kuwait.

The envoy, who spent months getting the warring sides to the negotiating table, said Friday's talks had been "very constructive".

"There was a consensus on strengthening the ceasefire and the two sides were committed to the need to achieve peace and that this is the last opportunity," he said.

The United Nations hopes that the negotiations will end fighting across Yemen that has killed more than 6,800 people and driven more than 2.5 million from their homes since March last year.

The Houthis have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since September 2014 and their advance triggered a Saudi-led air campaign in support of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government.

As the talks got under way, military sources told the AFP news agency that the ceasefire was largely holding on the ground, although clashes were continuing around the flashpoint city of Taiz, where pro-government forces have been under rebel siege for months, and in Jawf province on the Saudi border.

[Source: Al-Jazeera الجزيرة English channel, on April 23, 2016. For the complete article click here.]

The North Korean Challenge

- Breaking News -
Important Update
on April 26, 2016.



美媒称朝鲜导弹试射遭惨败：发射车被炸毁

U.S. media reported North Korean missile test
ended in disaster: Launching vehicle blown up.

[Source: People's Network 人民网 on April 21, 2016]

The Chinese article is referring to an incident that happened on April 15, 2016, when the test of a BM-25 (Chinese source: KN-08) medium-range missile "Musudan" (Korean nickname: "dancer to the end of the water 舞水端") ended in disaster.

Only a few days earlier, on April 9, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un had confirmed that his country had successfully tested the engine of an intercontinental missile that would allow to deliver a nuclear blow to North America or South Korea. [Source: France 24 TV]



Recent missile tests followed earlier North Korean claims it was able to construct a mini-nuke fitting to North Korea's missiles. Such information was, as well, published by Chinese sources that doubted the efficiency of America's missile defence system Patriot-AC3 against mini-nukes directly delivered to their targets without any use of missiles at all.

..............................

OOPS! The North Korean propaganda video quoted only some days ago is not any longer available. Until further notice, you are only entitled to the North Korean TV test card. Videos, directly from the North, will soon be provided instead at this place !




[My original description of a composite video from specialized U.S. origin:
North Korean propaganda video featuring a satellite launch in 2009 and
mixed with the alleged Japanese reaction on an assumed missile attack
that could not be detected in time by expensive U.S. equipment.]


Now, you can even make your own choice of videos published by North Korea's Central TV. - Like it or not, that's up to you !



Breaking News Video on April 26, 2016, published by North Korea's Central TV:
Kim J.U. Guides Underwater Test-fire of Strategic Submarine Ballistic Missile.




..............................

Cooperation between Turkey and Iran

News Update added below for April 17.



أردوغان وروحاني يتفقان على العمل لحل أزمات المنطقة

Erdogan and Rouhani agree to work
for a solution of regional crises.

دعا الرئيس التركي رجب طيب أردوغان ضيفه الرئيس الإيراني حسن روحاني للعمل معا للمساعدة في مكافحة الإرهاب والطائفية في المنطقة، وإلى رفع العلاقات بين بلديهما، وتعزيز التعاون الاقتصادي.ـ

The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has called on his guest, the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, to cooperate in the support of fighting terrorism and separatism in the region and in enhancing relations between their countries, while intensifying economic cooperation.

وقال أردوغان لروحاني -الذي يقوم اليوم بزيارة رسمية إلى أنقرة، بعد أن شارك في أعمال القمة الإسلامية الـ13 التي عقدت في إسطنبول في اليومين الماضيين- إن على تركيا وجارتها إيران العمل معا للمساعدة في مكافحة الإرهاب والطائفية اللذين تعاني منهما المنطقة.ـ

And Erdogan said to Rouhani - who presented himself today on an official visit to Ankara after participation in the proceedings of the 13th Islamic Summit [Conference] uniting in Istanbul during the last two days - that Turkey [in agreement with] Iran is cooperating in support of the fight against terrorism and separatism from which the region is suffering.

[Al-Jazeera الجزيرة on April 16, 2016]


Even though attending the Istanbul conference along with over 30 other heads of state and government from Islamic-majority countries, Iran's president Rouhani did not attend the closing meeting in protest at the criticisms he had to face from other conference members. Today in Ankara, however, he signed eight cooperation documents together with Turkey's president Erdogan. A tiny beginning of what might become a closer cooperation between both countries.

Ankara, April 16, IRNA – In a ceremony in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey eight cooperation documents were signed here on Saturday.

The documents included an agreement between Iran and Turkey in connection with social security, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on preventing illegal entrance and exit of cultural works, a MoU on cooperation in protection of plants and botanical quarantine, a MoU between Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Turkish Higher Education Council and a MoU on cooperation between National Center for Measurement of Iran and Iran's Standard Institute and Industrial Researches and Turkey's Standard Institute.

[IRNA Islamic Republic News Agency, on April 16, 2016]

On the same day, April 16, European Union EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini arrived in Tehran for talks with high-ranking Iranian leaders about economic and cultural relations between the EU and Iran. In the aftermath of a nuclear deal reached by the 5+1 group in 2015, European investors are much interested in stable conditions of Iran's nuclear policy that would allow an intense financial engagement in Iran.



Tehran, April 16, IRNA – The visit of European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who arrived here on Saturday morning, is aimed at holding talks with top Iranian officials on revival of bilateral ties.

During her Tehran visit, Mogherini is heading a high-ranking diplomatic-economic delegation consisting of seven EU commissioners in the fields of energy, scientific research, the environment, sports and industry. The EU delegation is to hold serious talks with the Iranian officials to promote bilateral cooperation in those fields.

As this is the second visit to Tehran by Mogherini, it indicates the importance given to Iran by Europe and will provide the necessary ground for increasing bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic and scientific fields, between EU and Iran.

According to analysts, the Tehran trip happens in the event of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) programs to develop diplomatic, scientific and economic cooperation with Iran. The diplomats see JCPOA as success of diplomacy in solving an important international question.

Iran and the P5+1 - the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany - finalized the JCPOA on July 14, 2015, ending more than a decade of dispute over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.

Most analysts believe that the post-JCOPA era is a proper chance for Iran to obtain necessary modern technologies from other countries and introduce high potentials of its young generation as well to other nations in order to share their experiences in various scientific fields.

[IRNA Islamic Republic News Agency, on April 16, 2016]

...............................

News Update for April 17, 2016:

سوريا.. مقتل ضباط إيرانيين وإصابة جنرال رفيع في حلب

Syria ... Iranian officers died and General [Rafia] was wounded in Aleppo.

Editor's Note: The latest casualties are adding to earlier reported Iranian losses in northern Syria, including that of General Hamdani who died in 2015. Iranian special forces are fighting in favour of the Assad regime and are getting increasingly nervous by a recently established Saudi-Arabian engagement. Last February, Saudi-Arabia has already been warned by Iran's deputy chief of staff Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri after Saudi deployment of combat planes in Turkey intended to fight the Islamic State in Syria. Source: AFP / Naharnet (Lebanon) on February 14, 2016.

[Al-Jazeera / Gulf Eyes Network عيون الخليج / الجزيرة on April 17, 2016]

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Visitors from Germany - Their Favourite Downloads
Bevorzugte Downloads Deutscher Besucher






An English language site referring to Germany and which is popular abroad:

Egypt - Border Regulation for Strait of Tiran

Update added for April 15 and 24, 2016

These days King Salman of Saudi Arabia is on a state visit to Egypt to discuss items of common interest with president al-Sisi. In the frame of these talks border problems at the Strait of Tiran are being discussed.

The Strait of Tiran is giving access to the Gulf of Aqaba with its main ports of Eilat (Israel) and Aqaba (Jordan). After Israel's invasion during the War of Six Days the whole region had come under Israeli control. Only much later an agreement was reached that granted all nations involved an unlimited access to the Gulf without caring for any 12-nautical miles zone regulation which is impractible for this region marked by short distances.




مصر تفرج عن وثائق تثبت تبعية "تيران" و"صنافير" للسعودية

Egypt parts with documents assuring the possession
of " Tiran " and " Sanafir " [island] to Saudi-Arabia.

كشفت وزارة الخارجية المصرية عن عدة وثائق تم الاستناد إليها خلال المفاوضات على عودة جزيرتي "تيران" و"صنافير" للمملكة العربية السعودية.ـ

The Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs indicated that provision of documents has been finished in the frame of support for the negotiations about returning the islands of "Tiran" and "Sanafir" to the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia.

[Al-Arabiya العربية on April 12, 2016]





Update for April 15, 2016:

CAIRO – Last week’s visit to Egypt by King Salman of Saudi Arabia resulted in 22 agreements, including a $22 billion oil deal to prop up Egypt’s moribund economy. But the lavish aid came at a price: Egypt had to relinquish two Red Sea islands ceded to it by Saudi Arabia in 1950. The move exposed the Egyptian leadership’s narrative that the country remains a major regional power as a lie. Indeed, Egypt cannot even handle domestic challenges posed by a rapidly growing population dependent on unaffordable subsidies – a situation that jihadists are exploiting with much success. How did the country reach this point?

On the basis of Egypt's history since 1807 when the country freed itself from colonialism, the quoted article shows how Egypt step by step lost its economic and financial independence in a development finally leading to the current situation and which the Gulf Times article describes with its headline [ Egypt for Sale ].

[Gulf Times Online on April 15, 2016]


Update for April 24, 2016:

While Egypt's president Sisy faced much opposition in his own country for giving away Tiran and Sanafir, Saudi Arabia recently began to exploit its own diving sides in the neighbourhood of Tiran Island. The new holiday resort on Ras Sheikh Hamid might then open the Saudi coastline for tourism in competition with Egypt (Sharm al-Sheikh) and Israel/Jordan in the Gulf of Aqaba.



تعرف على "رأس الشيخ حميد" القريبة من تيران وصنافير

Knowledge about "Ras Sheikh Hamid" near Tiran and Sanafir.



تمتاز بمياه فيروزية صافية يعشقها محبو الغوص وجسر الملك سلمان سيجعلها تزدهر

[ Blessed with ] and loved for its turquoise waters, [ the
favoured diving spot ] at King Salman Bridge will flourish.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on April 24, 2016]

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Russian Iranian Shipping Canal

موسكو وطهران تبحثان حفر قناة ملاحية ستربط بين بحر قزوين والخليج العربي

Moscow and Tehran are searching [for a way to]
excavate some shipping canal that would connect
the Caspian Sea and the Arab Gulf.

أكد السفير الإيراني لدى روسيا مهدي سنائي السبت 9 أبريل/نيسان أن موسكو وطهران تجريان حاليا محادثات حول حفر قناة ملاحية ستربط بين بحر قزوين والخليج العربي.ـ

On Saturday 9th April, the Iranian ambassador to Russia, Mehdi Sanai, confirmed that Moscow and Tehran are actually advancing negotiations on the excavation of a shipping canal that would connect the Caspian Sea and the Arab Gulf.

وفي سياق متصل سبق أن قال وزير الخارجية الروسي سيرغي لافروف في 7 أبريل/نيسان إن كلا من روسيا وإيران وأذربيجان اتفقت على تكثيف المحادثات بشأن إقامة ممر "الشمال – الجنوب" للنقل، الذي سيمر جزء منه على طول الساحل الغربي لبحر قزوين من روسيا إلى إيران عبر الأراضي الأذربيجانية.ـ

And in this context Russia's minister of foreign affairs Sergej Lavrov earlier said on April 7 that Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan agreed [in their interest] to concentrate on talks concerning the installation of a "north to south" passage for transportation and which would pass through parts of [those countries] directly to the Arab coastal region from the Russian part of the Caspian Sea towards Iran, passing through Azerbaijan territory.

ويصل طول الممر، الذي يربط بين مدينتي سان بطرسبورغ الروسية ومومباي الهندية، إلى 7.2 كيلومتر، ومن المتوقع أن يقلص هذا الممر وقت وصول سفن من الهند إلى منطقة آسيا الوسطى وروسيا من 40 إلى 14 يوما.ـ

Such connecting a length of passage that [stretches] between urban Saint Petersburg in Russia and Mumbai in India [at a length of] 7.200 km. That canal is expected to reduce the time of shipment from India to the region of Central Asia and Russia from 40 to 14 days (*).

(*) Iran Daily on April 10 refers to an average 40 days turn for shipment from India to Moscow. A reduction to 14 days might then be due, as well, to additional ways of shipping on already existing Russian water ways and railroads within Russia and which should become connected with the planned Russian-Iranian canal, thus making up for a total of 7.200 km for the above-mentioned shipping connection between Saint Petersburg and Mumbai, India. In addition to faster shipment, traffic fees for the Suez Canal (Egypt) could be avoided as well as traffic jam at the Bosporus access to the Black Sea (Turkey).

[RT Russia Today - Arabic Service on April 9, 2016]

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俄罗斯将向伊朗出售防空导弹防北约精确打击

Russia is selling guided air defence missiles
to Iran, able to defend a precise NATO attack.

[Headline of Eastern News Network 东方新闻网 on April 7, 2016]




S-400 Air Defence Missiles [CCTV Forum]

The Chinese article quoted from CCTV is about the selling of Russian S-300 / S-400 missile defence systems to Iran which make up for a top item in specialized Chinese online news these days, together with Russia's delivery to Iran of SU-30SM combat planes, YAK-130 combat training planes and MI-8/17 helicopters.

S-400…在速度、精度等方面均优于美国的"爱国者AC-3"地空导弹系统。

The S-400 system ............ is an equal match for the U.S. "Patriot AC-3"
surface-air guided missile system in all aspects of speed and precision.
[A "laughing smiley" is included at this place in the original Chinese text.]

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Lebanese Minister Sentenced for Terrorism

لبنان.. الحكم على ميشال سماحة بالسجن 13 سنة

Lebanon - Michel Samaha sentenced to 13 years in prison.

[Al-Arabiya on April 8, 2016]


Michel Samaha, a former Lebanese information minister with close ties to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been imprisoned for planning attacks which is what we learned to name terrorism.

Michel Samaha was convicted of smuggling explosives into Lebanon and plotting assassinations with the help of Syrian security services. His sentence amounts to 13 years in prison according to Al-Arabiya. A related BBC article spoke of about 10 years.

Samaha was arrested in 2012 by a branch of Lebanese security forces known to be close to anti-Syrian factions. At the time his family said the detention was politically motivated.

In 2015 he was initially sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison but that conviction was later skipped and a retrial ordered.

During the trial, Samaha admitted having transported explosives but said he was the victim of entrapment, AFP news agency earlier reported.

Syria's conflict has had a major impact on neighbouring Lebanon, with parties split on supporting the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Lebanon hosts more than one million Syrian refugees and has seen sporadic violence since the outbreak of civil war in Syria.

Obama - Aftermath of Nuclear Security Summit

Obama addresses Nuclear Deal with Iran

President Obama spoke after the Nuclear Security Summit about the agreement with Iran, emphasizing that its effect on business dealings hinges on Iran’s behavior.



New York Times / Reuters video from 1st April 2016

Nuclear Terrorism Fears

Reuters video from 1st April 2016

Obama's evaluation of the Republican
runner for Presidency, Donald Trump

Link: Obama Rebukes Donald Trump’s Comments on Nuclear Weapons

New York Time article from 1st April 2016

President Barack Obama on Friday questioned Donald J. Trump's fitness for office after statements from the Republican front-runner that the United States and its allies should move away from decades of constraints on the use of nuclear weapons. " We don't want somebody in the Oval Office who doesn't recognize how important that is," President Obama said.

Speaking to reporters at the end of a summit meeting devoted to nuclear security, the president said the comments byTrump reflected a person who " doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally."

[Source: CNBC / New York Times on 1st April 2016]

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وثیقة مسربة حول "مشروع أمني" للقضاء على العرب في إيران

A [leaked] document about "security plannings" for the
[related] jurisdiction is concerning the Arabs in Iran.

ـ"المشروع الأمني الشامل لخوزستان" يهدف إلى تهجير عرب الأهواز

"General security plannings for Khuzestan [province]" are
targeting the expulsion of Arabs from Ahvaz [township].

Editor's Note:
Ahvaz is the capital of Khuzestan province in Southern Iran. Khuzestan is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is situated in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. The above mentioned document has been reportedly leaked by Arab activists. It seems Iraq is either preparing for an uprise of Arab separatists or for a possible invasion by an U.S. - Arab alliance. It should be noted that Iraqi invasion of Khuzestan was once at the beginning of a war between Iran and Iraq (1980–1988).

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on 2nd April 2016]

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