Israel - Iran - Conflict News

Last Update: 26 April in the evening.

Quotation from an article published by The National in the Emirates on 26 April:

A military confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria is becoming increasing likely, US Defence Secretary James Mattis warned on Thursday [26 April] as his Israeli counterpart was visiting Washington to discuss the threat.

Mr Mattis delivered his warning of yet another military conflict in the Middle East at a hearing in Congress. Asked if Israel and Iran were edging toward military confrontation, he said: “I can see how it might start, but I am not sure when or where.”

"I think that it's very likely in Syria because Iran continues to do its proxy work there through Hezbollah.”

He accused Iran of not only expanding and strengthening its presence in Syria but also “bringing advanced weapons for Hezbollah through Syria”.

Israel, he said “will not wait to see those missiles in the air and we hope Iran would pull back”.

The Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who met US national security adviser John Bolton and Mr Mattis on Thursday, also warned of a confrontation with Iran.

"Any site in which we see an Iranian attempt to achieve a military foothold in Syria will be struck. We won't let that happen, regardless of the price," he told the [Saudi owned] Arabic news website Elaph.

Israel said it carried out air strikes against Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria in February after one its F16 fighter jets was downed near the Syrian border.







صاعد حرب الظل بين إيران وإسرائيل.. الحرس الثوري مستمر يواصل
تعزيز تواجده بسوريا.. تل أبيب: ما تفعله طهران "خط أحمر"ـ

Proxi-war between Iran and Israel looming.

The Revolutionary Guards are permanently
consolidating their presence in Syria.

Tel Aviv: Tehran [must not cross] the "Red Line".




روسيا: الدفاع الجوي التابع لقاعدة "حميميم" أسقطت أهدافًا مجهولة الهوية

Russia: Air defense of Hamimim base downed unidentified [propelled] targets.

علنت وزارة الدفاع الروسية، أن وسائل الدفاع الجوي التابعة لقاعدة حميميم أسقطت
أهدافًا جوية صغيرة الحجم مجهولة الهوية، دون وقوع إصابات أو أضرار مادية.ـ

Russia's ministry of defense announced that its air defense at Hamimim base downed small sized propelled targets without [suffering] human or material damage.

[Editor's Note: According to the Arab source this news should have been spread today, 25 April, by Russia Today TV. A Russian news broadcast tonight showed missile parts that should belong to intercepted missiles used by the joint US-British-French attack on Syrian facilities allegedly related to chemical weapons production and deployment.]

[Al-Bawaba البوابة, with main offices in Amman and Dubai, on 24/25 April 2018]


Additional Information:

In an interview with the Jerusalem Post the former chief of Mossad, Danny Yatom, spoke about the "Iranian Threat". That interview was published some days ago on 15 April.

One special point mentioned here is the Iranian drone which had entered into Israel and had been destroyed by Israeli forces.

As Yatom puts it, the unmanned object was armed with explosives and was an almost identical replica of some US drone that had fallen into the hands of Iranian military much earlier. If such drone had exploded in Israel, it would have been difficult to directly relate the attack to Iran or its ally Hezbollah.

An interesting quotation from that interview:

“We were alone in the battle.... The [US-British-French] attack on the weekend was purely symbolic and a drop in the ocean. The strike should have hit Assad’s palace in order to truly scare him.”




Russia plans to deliver an anti-aircraft missile system, known as the S-300, to Syria in the near future, Russian Defense Ministry’s Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi told reporters on Wednesday [25 April].

"Russian experts will continue to train Syrian military servicemen, particularly teaching them to use the new missile defense systems that are planned to be delivered to Syria in the near future," he said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

Russia's sale and pending delivery of these weapons to the Syrian government has been a source of tension between Moscow and Jerusalem. Israel fears the S-300 would hamper its ability to attack military sites in Syria that are dangerous to the Jewish State and would therefore allow Iran to strengthen its military foothold in that country.

"This is by far the most advanced weapons system in air defense in Syrian hands so far," said Brig. Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion, "so theoretically it is an entrenchment to the apparent freedom of action that the Israeli air force enjoys over Syria’s sky.”

..........

[Russia's ambassador to Israel] Shein said the idea of the S-300 delivery - on which Russia has yet to decide - was a result of the punitive April 14 missile strikes by US, British and French forces on Syria.

[Quotations from the Jerusalem Post on 25 April 2018]

Editor's Note: An earlier blogspot of "blueprint news" already reported about Russian plannings to support Syria with the installation of a missile production near some Russian base.




محللون‭: ‬سوء‭ ‬فهم‭ ‬النيات‭ ‬بين‭ ‬ايران‭ ‬وخصومها‭ ‬قد‭ ‬تؤدي‭ ‬الى‭ ‬حرب‭ ‬واسعة‭ ‬واسرائيل‭ ‬الأكثر‭ ‬استنفاراً

Analysts: A misunderstanding of intentions between Iran and its adversaries
could lead to an extended war and Israel's biggest mobilization.

[Azzaman الزمان, Iraqi newspaper published in London, Baghdad and Beirut, on 25 April 2018]

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Recent visitors to "blueprint news".





Visitors from Japan and Russia are referring to World War II.

Israel's Poisoned Anniversary

While Israel is officially celebrating the 70th anniversary of its existence, a debate is rising on the failure of former Israeli governments to come to terms with Israel's Palestinian neighbours. The blame is being put especially on the actual administration of prime minister Netanyahu who is furthermore accused of turning the eyes of the public away from his own corruption scandal to an immediate danger from Iran.

An Arabic broadcast by Al-Jazeera in Qatar two days ago reminded of King Hussein of Jordan who had become a reliable friend to Israel's former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin during their negotiations when both politicians had tried to solve the regional problems between Jews and Palestinians. This, however, ended with the assassination of Rabin in 1995, committed by an ultranational Jew with relations to the environment of Israel's secret service Mossad and who therefore succeeded to come close enough to his victim. During the lifetime of Rabin the militant confrontation between Palestinian citizens and Israeli soldiers came to a halt. I still remember some German TV report from that time where Palestinians declared that even their children had stopped throwing stones at soldiers and which had become a traditional amusement since the foundation of the Jewish state.

Now, some former chiefs of Mossad are speaking out against the long-standing failure of Israeli politicians to come to terms with the Palestinians, saying that Israel is the only nation in the world whose borders are not defined ......




This is a must read !

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Canadian visitor to "blueprint news" based near the Gulf of Alaska.

Israeli F-15 Ordered Home amid Tensions with Iran

The Israeli Air Force has decided to scale back its participation in the Red Flag exercise in Alaska amid increasing tensions on Israel’s northern border.

“In light of the situational assessment by the Air Force it was decided to adjust the planes’ participation in the exercise,” read a statement by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, stressing that nonetheless, “Israel’s first participation in the Red Flag exercise in Alaska will take place as planned.” [IDF = Israel Defense Forces]

According to a statement by Air Force public affairs officer Kitsana Dounglomchan, Israel’s Air Force decided not to send F-15 fighter jets to the two-week-long drill, which will run between April 26 - May 11, out of Eielson Air Force base in Fairbanks and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.

[Quotation from Jerusalem Post on 22 April, 2018, at 16:04 local time]

Israeli Navy names new SA'AR 6 warships arriving from Germany.

On Sunday, Israeli Navy Commander Maj.-Gen. Eli Sharvit announced that the four ships would be named "Magen," "Oz," "Independence" and "Triumph". The decision on the names was determined by a forum headed by the Navy, led by Sharvit.

..........

Israel is highly dependent on the sea, with over 90% of Israel’s imports arriving via the sea, and while the country’s navy is relatively small compared to other IDF corps, it has a significant amount of territory to protect since the expansion of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from 40 miles to 150 miles from shore years ago.

While there is no hermetic protection on the sea, due to the threat posed by Hezbollah’s arsenal of Grad rockets and other longer-range projectiles, the navy has upgraded its weapons and defensive systems on its entire combat fleet.

“You can how see the ships are taking shape these days,” Sharvit said. “The arrival of the ships is expected to significantly change the face of the Navy."

“The Navy will employ tools with new capabilities that we do not possess today with excellent and precise defense and attack capabilities for their mission, headed by the defense of the strategic assets of the State of Israel at sea,” he continued.

The construction of the four “Sa'ar-6” class warships was agreed to in a 430 million euro deal between Israel and the German company ThyssenKrupp in 2015.

The first ship is expected to arrive at the end of 2019 with the last by 2021.

Existing Sa’ar-5 and Sa’ar 4.5 ships are being upgraded with the integration of new radars and electronic warfare systems, Israel is set to receive new Dolphin-class submarines and new Sa’ar-6 Corvettes in coming years which are set to be operational by 2021. The Sa’ar 6 will have a crew of 70 sailors, a range of 2500 miles, and advanced capabilities able to deal with a wide range of threats including Iron Dome short range defense missile launchers and Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missile naval defense system.

They are set to defend Israel’s offshore natural gas reserves as well as other strategic maritime assets.

“The bread and butter of the Sa’ar 6 are its defense and offensive capabilities,” a senior officer stated in February. “I wish we could have this ship on our waters, right now.”




..... and some submarines in addition.

[Quotation from Jerusalem Post on 22 April, 2018, at 17:02 local time]




صحيفة تتوقع أن يكون الرد الإيراني على "إسرائيل" في 15 مايو

Some journal predicts the Iranian response to "Israel" for May 15.

Photo above: Iranian Revolutionary Guards

[Palestine Today فلسطين اليوم on 22 April 2018]

Israel - Iranian Attack Imminent ?

Important Update included on April 19



صحيفة نيويورك تايمز: ضربات إيرانية وشيكة على إسرائيل

New York Times : Iranian blows on Israel are imminent.

كشف مصدر أمني عن عملية وشيكة تحضر لها إيران للهجوم على إسرائيل بواسطة طائرات دون طيار

Some security source revealed an imminent operation that presents itself as an Iranian attack on Israel by unmanned aircraft.

ونقلت صحيفة "يديعوت أحرونوت" الإسرائيلية، عن المصدر الذي لم تذكر اسمه، تحذيره من أن "إسرائيل سترد بقوة على أي عملية انتقام إيرانية ضدها تنفذ من الأراضي السورية"، مشيراً إلى أنه من الممكن أن توجه إيران ضربات داخل إسرائيل عن طريق طائرات دون طيار

The newspaper quoted the Israeli " Yediot Aharonot " as saying that the source which did not mention its name is warning that " Israel will respond strongly to any Iranian retaliation operation against it from Syrian territory ", indicating the possibility that Iran went inside Israel to strike with unmanned aircraft.

[Addyar الزيار, Lebanon, late evening news on 17 April 2018]

There are other Arabic news centers that published similar information at about the same time. But remember: This news is of Israeli origin and has not been confirmed by independent sources so far.

Shortly after that, the Lebanese source published further information on their Facebook site:



روسيا تقترح ردا على الاسد اقامة معمل الصواريخ قرب قاعدة العسكرية الروسية على الساحل

Russia proposes to support al-Assad in the installation of a missile production site near Russia's military base in the coastal area.


Quotation from an article published by Asharq Al-Awsat (The Middle East) on 17 April 2018:

Israel struck an Iran-operated air base in Syria, a senior Israeli military official confirmed on Monday, as Israeli sources reported that Israel sent a clear message to Russia that the sale of the advanced S-300 missile defense system to the Syrian regime will cross a red line. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said his country will sooner or later respond to the recent crime and aggression of Israel.

It was the first time we attacked live Iranian targets in Syria, both facilities and people, the Israeli military source admitted to New York Times.

This is the first time an Israeli official admits to directly targeting Iranian forces in Syria, given that Israel usually refrains from commenting on any reports about targets.

The official indicated that Israel targeted the Iranian drone command center at the T4 air base in Syria on Monday, in response to an Iranian drone entering Israeli airspace earlier in Febraury.

During the attack, Israel killed 14 people, seven of which were Iranian advisers, including a Colonel who led the drone unit operating out of T4, east of Homs.

That's the attack "blueprint news" already referred to in an earlier blogspot. It should have taken place on Monday 9 April 2018.

The official noted that the armed Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace "opened a new period," saying that “this is the first time we saw Iran do something against Israel, not by proxy."

This was the second time T4 was targeted. Round one occurred on February 10, when an Iranian drone launched by a Revolutionary Guards Force operating out of Syria’s T4 air base was shot down with a missile from an Israeli Apache helicopter that was following it after it penetrated Israeli airspace.

Reports stated that the drone’s flight path and Israel’s “intelligence and operational analysis of the parts of the Iranian unmanned vehicle” indicated that “the aircraft was carrying explosives” and that its mission was “an act of sabotage in Israeli territory.”

Israeli Media outlets discussed that Israel's admission to the nature of the drone's mission brings the Israeli-Iranian conflict out into public.




The above photo is showing armed Syrian police
on a truck in the town of Douma, Damascus area.

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London visitor interested in Iran.

Syria - US Shelling Damascus

This morning US, British and French forces launched an attack on military bases operated by the Syrian national army of president Basher Assad. Three attacks were intended to disable Syria's capability to apply chemical weapons.




A composite map of Syrian military bases related to chemical weapons
research or storage and which were targeted by a joint US-British-French
airstrike. The US Pentagon claimed the destruction of all targets and said
allied forces applied 103 cruise missiles. Russia claimed the interception
of 71 missiles and which is rejected by the alliance. However, a total of
$ 164 million for the cruise missiles only was burnt within one single hour
in a country already devastated and divided between different militias and
regular troops.




US president Donald Trump announcing airstrikes on Syrian military bases.
Notification made by Syrian army spokesman on a Damascus TV channel.
Damascus TV shows demonstration of regime supporters. [AFP, Paris]




US airstrike on Syrian base in the outskirts of Damascus. Gunfire and detonations.
[Al-Hadath الحدث, news channel of Al-Arabiya العربية in Dubai]


تركيا: أمريكا لم تستخدم قاعدة إنجريليك في ضربات سوريا

Turkey: America didn't use Incirlik [air] base to hit Syria.

الحرس الثوري الإيراني: على واشنطن أن تترقب تبعات عدوانها على سوريا

Iran's Revolutionary Guard: Washington has to await
the consequences for its aggressions towards Syria.

[Sputnik, Arabic language service of the Russian news center on 14 April 2018]


سرائيل: الضربات بقيادة أمريكا في سوريا فرضت الخط الأحمر في سوريا

Israel: The blows in Syria [on behalf of] the US
leadership are imposing a " red line " on Syria.

[Euronews, Arabic language service on 14 April 2018]

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US visitor coming to this site with a Sony Playstation.

Dangers of a Global Conflict

US president Trump's confusing messages tweeted the day before, led to uncertainty among America's friends and foes. Even if it's only " a macho contest between Trump and Putin " as Bloomberg View put it only some hours ago, there are rising fears that Trump might trigger off a military conflict with Russia, the main ally and military partner of Syria's Assad regime and which is most probably responsible for a chemical warfare scenario effecting many innocent Syrian civilians.



" Alpha males. No longer shaking hands. "





Vassily Nebenzia, Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations, said he “cannot exclude” war between the United States and Russia and urged Washington and its allies to refrain from military action against Syria.

“The immediate priority is to avert the danger of war,” he told reporters. “We hope there will be no point of no return,” the envoy said.

..........

Moscow is estimated to have dozens of aircraft at its Hmeymim air base in Syria including fighters and bombers, as well as 10 to 15 warships and support vessels in the Mediterranean.

The Syrian government and Russian forces in Syria possess truck- mounted surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapons systems.

..........

Russian ships had left the Tartus naval base in Syria, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian lawmaker as saying. Vladimir Shamanov, who chairs the defense committee of the lower house, said the vessels had departed the base for their own safety, which was “normal practice” when there were threats of attack.

Any U.S. strike would probably involve the Navy, given the risk to aircraft from Russian and Syrian air defenses. A U.S. guided-missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, is in the Mediterranean.

[Quotings from a Reuters news agency report, updated early in the morning on 13 April 2018]




Russische Kriegsschiffe verlassen syrischen Hafen Tartus.

Russian warships leaving Syrian port of Tartus.

Photo above: French president Macron confirms there are proves that
Basher Assad's military used chemical weapons in a populated area.

[Welt, German online news on 13 April 2018, 01:39 am]


And by the way, there are as well quickly rising tensions between Iran, the other ally of Assad's regime, and Israel. After a recent Israeli air raid that was targeting joint Iranian-Syrian operations, the traditional US partner Israel is now awaiting retaliation from Iran for the death of its military advisers in Syria. Such, a most dangerous confrontation is building up between Russia and Iran on one side and the US and its proxy Israel on the other side while, at the same time, a chaotic situation results from the absence of clearly defined strategic positions regarding US engagement in the Middle East.




بروكنجز: خلاف إسرائيلي أمريكي حول سوريا

Brookings Doha Center: Disagreement between Israel and the US about Syria.



This is referring to a basic disagreement between the US and Israel, particularly with regard to the policy toward Iran and Syria, and which shadowed the relation between both countries during the presidency of Barack Obama. It was the reason for Israel to welcome the election of Donald Trump as Obama's successor.

The Brookings Institute of Studies, a US related think-tank, now comes to the conclusion that Trump's policy in the Middle East is essentially the same as Obama's policy, which is essentially about reducing engagement or US involvement in the region's conflicts and thorny issues. This is marked by Trump's desire to withdraw US troops from Syria.

[El-Balad البلد, Lebanese news service on 12 April 2018]

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Visitor to "blueprint news" coming from the Lake of Geneva in Switzerland.

Israel Awaiting Iranian Retaliation

After an Israeli attack on some Iranian airfield and drone operations facility in Syria and which killed seven military advisers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Israel is now awaiting Iranian retaliation. Iranian sources already made clear that this would not go unanswered.




تأهب إسرائيلي تحسباً لرد إيراني

Israel is preparing for a foreseeable Iranian response.

[Al-Bayan البيان from the United Arab Emirates on 12 April 2018]




نتانياهو يحذر ايران: "لا تختبروا عزيمة اسرائيل"ـ

Netanyahu warning Iran " Don't test Israel's determination ".

[swissinfo , Arabic language evening news on 11 April 2018]




For the original article: Israel's Attack on Syrian T-4 Airbase 'Won't Go Unpunished' – Iranian Journalist

[Sputnik, journalist opinion from government related Russian news service in its evening news on 11 April 2018]

Israel Confronting Iran - Background

مواجهة جديدة.. إسرائيل لن تغادر سماء سوريا ولن تسمح ل"حزب لله"بالانتصار

New confrontation ... Israel will not leave the sky over Syria
and will not allow Hezbollah to score a victory.

وتملك روسيا وسوريا غرفة عمليات مشتركة مع إيران لمراقبة المعارك الدائرة في سورية ولرصْد التحركات في السماء. وتغطي هذه الرادارات الحدود التركي والعراق والمنطقة الواقعة تحت الاحتلال الأميركي في شمال شرقي سوريا وكذلك اسرائيل. وتتم مراقبة كل طائرة نفاثة تنطلق من المطارات العسكرية الاسرائيلية عن كثب وفي الوقت الفعلي، بما في ذلك حركة الطائرات الأكثر تطوراً - وأغلى طائرة في العالم التي ـيبلغ ثمنها بين 125 و112 مليون دولار تم بناؤها من قبل شركة "لوكهيد مارتن" التي تملكها اسرائيل وهي الــ ف35

Russia and Syria are controlling a joint operations room [together] with Iran for regional combat surveillance in Syria and for the observation of airborne movements. These radar [facilities] are covering the Turkish border, Iraq and the region in North-East Syria which is practically occupied by the US and equally [by] Israel. The surveillance realizes attentively and in real time all jet planes that are leaving military airfields in Israel, including the traffic of the most developed planes - and the most expensive plane in the world which is coming at a price of 112-125 million [US]$ from "Lockheed Martin" into the possession of Israel as F-35 Stealth Fighter.

[Lebanon24 لبنان on 1st April 2018]


Please Note:
The Lebanese article quoted above is referring to a most recent confrontation between Israel and Iran on March 25, 2018, when such F-35 fighter jets had allegedly "undetected" entered Iranian air space and approached Iranian nuclear sites. In the following days, Russia had denied that such thing could really happen.

For more information read my related blogspot from March 30.

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Visitor from the Baltic states in Eastern Europe interested in Iran.

Mixed Signals from North Korea

日外长：朝鲜正准备核试验 日朝会谈需慎重

Japan's foreign minister : North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test.
Japanese - North Korean talks need to be cautious.

In a speech held in the Japanese town of Kochi on March 31, foreign minister Kōno mentioned ongoing work at a North Korean nuclear test site where it seems that damage from an earlier test is being urgently repaired.

这可能是河野鉴于美国提供的卫星照片而作出的发言

This is probably a statement in the speech of [foreign minister] Kōno that is referring
to satellite photos provided by the US.

[ZaoBao 早报—早晚全新, Singapore, on March 31, 2018]


Related blogspot providing further information: Kim Jong-un in Beijing

Israeli Reconnaissance Flight into Iran

الجريدة الكويتية: مقاتلات إسرائيلية نفذت طلعات فوق مواقع نووية فى إيران

Kuwaiti Newspaper : Israeli fighter [ jets ]
appeared above some nuclear sites in Iran.

[Youm7 اليوم السابع, Egypt, on March 29, 2018]


The Kuwaiti newspaper الجريدة الكويتية was the first to report on the incursion of two Israeli F35 stealth fighter jets into Iran where they allegedly circled high above sites that are considered to be linked with the Iranian nuclear program.

The warplanes should have remained undetected by Russian radar facilities in Syria when they passed over Syria and Iraq on their way to Iran. This is being denied by the Russian ministry of defense.

A comprehensive report on that incident has been published today by Daily Pakistan.
Read the Pakistani article..







This comes only days after Israel admitted having bombed
a Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007 as a warning to Iran.

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Kim Jong-un in Beijing

Last Update: March 29



传金正恩秘密抵华 北京封路迎贵宾

News are spreading that Kim Jong-un is on a secret visit to China.
Beijing roads receive the distinguished guest.


有指金正恩将在北京钓鱼台国宾馆，与中国领导人会面

There are indications that Kim Jong-un resides at Diaoyu Terrace
national guest house in Beijing and is meeting with Chinese leaders.

It is said that Kim Jong-un arrived by train at Beijing's Dandong railway station around 22:00 in the evening. He is expected to stay in Beijing on an "unofficial visit" from March 25-28, 2018.

[Kwonghwa 光华, Malaysia, on March 27, 2018]




North Korean motorcade leaving the national guest house early in the morning.
[阿波罗新闻 on March 27, 2018]




Kim Jong-un and China's leader Xi JinPing meeting together with their wives in
the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. [XinHua 新华社 on March 28, 2018].


The next day, on March 28, Reuters news agency comes about
with an evaluation of Kim Jong-un's unexpected visit to Beijing:
With secretive China trip, North Korea's Kim builds bargaining power.


我们希望朝鲜政治稳定、经济发展、人民幸福， 支持以委员长同志为首的朝鲜劳动党带领朝鲜人民沿着社会主义道路不断前进， 支持朝鲜同志为发展经济、改善民生所作积极努力。

We hope for North Korea's political stability, the development of its economy and the happiness of its people. We support [our] comrade at the head of the commission to become the first in the North Korean Worker's Party to guide the North Korean people to continuously proceed along the road of socialism. We support the North Korean comrade in developing economy and improving the people's energetic efforts.

China's leader Xi JinPing quoted from People's Daily - overseas edition 人民日报海外版—海外网 on March 28, 2018.




Chinese language TV station using material from Mainland China's Central TV CCTV.




North Korea Is Firing Up a Reactor. That Could Upset Trump’s Talks With Kim.

A NewYork Times headline on March 27, 2018, referring to the recently completed
nuclear reactor in the Yongbyon area and that should be able to produce plutonium.




朝鲜传正探讨与日俄举行峰会的可能性

North Korea makes known that it is searching for
the possibility of a summit with Japan and Russia.

[ZaoBao 早报—早晚全新, Singapore, on March 29, 2018]

The headline from Singapore is referring to an article published by the Japan based "North Korean - Japanese News" from March 29.

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Visitor to "blueprint news" coming from Macao, the town where the North Korean
Kim Jong-nam had been living before he was killed with a nerve agent by hired
personnel while waiting for his flight home at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia.
The assassination was allegedly staged on behalf of Kim's brother Kim Jong-un.

Libya - Gaddafi's Son for President

أدلة وتسجيلات... سيف الإسلام القذافي يفجر مفاجأة في أول حوار بعد إعلان ترشحه

Evidence & registrations : Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi's striking surprise
in the first conversation after the declaration of his candidacy.

فجر سيف الإسلام القذافي، نجل الرئيس الليبي الراحل، معمر القذافي، مفاجآت عديدة ووجه تهديدات لشخصيات عديدة في أول حوار له بعد إعلان ترشحه لرئاسة ليبيا.ـ

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi : The son of deceased Libyan president Muamar al-Gaddafi striking in a manifold surprise and an intimidating aspect of manifold identities in the first conversation with him after his declaration of candidacy for Libya's presidency.




بعد ترشحه للرئاسة... سيف الإسلام القذافي يخاطب

After his candidacy for presidency:
Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi is speaking.

[Sputnik , Arabic language service, on March 24, 2018]


As the chaotic situation in Libya is seen as a serious threat to the internal security of neighbouring countries, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt are highly interested in finding a political solution which would help to establish a stable administration in Libya. Only some days ago the Egyptian daily Egypt Today wrote:

“Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former Libyan president, enjoys the support of major tribes in Libya, so he can run for the upcoming presidential election due in 2018,” said Libyan Tribal Chief and spokesperson of the Gaddafi family, Basem al-Hashimi al-Soul to Egypt Today.

“Saif al-Islam will run for the upcoming presidential election which may take place in mid-2018,” Soul revealed to Egypt Today in December.

Further to Soul’s comments, Libyan Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala stated at the Valdai Club panel discussion in Russia on Wednesday: “We believe that the presidential election will be held in the middle of 2018.”

Soul told Egypt Today that Saif al-Islam has already prepared his platform, which he intends to declare soon. “The platform includes some procedures that Saif al-Islam hopes the United Nations would adopt to help Libya move from the incumbent transitional period to stability.”

“Saif al-Islam plans to impose more security and stability, in accordance with the Libyan geography and in coordination with all Libyan factions,” Soul stated.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria convened in Tunisia on Saturday to resume discussions over the security and political developments of Libya. Libya has become the largest security threat facing the Egyptian state, along with Tunisia and Algeria. The frequent failures of international reconciliation attempts and the fall of weapons into the hands of different militant groups have forced Egypt to play a major role in seeking to solve the Libyan crisis.

Previously, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi met with Libya’s Chairman of the Presidential Council, Fayez al-Sarraj, to discuss the political accords necessary to preserve Libya’s unity and integrity.

[Egypt Today, quotation from an article published on March 19, 2018]


Now, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi is willing to make a statement in the frame of allegations that former French president Nicolas Sarkozy received money from his father, the toppled Libyan president Muamar al-Gaddafi, and which Sarkozy transferred to his party in order to finance his own election campaign in 2007.



L'ex-président français Nicolas Sarkozy en
quittant sa garde à vue mercredi 21 mars 2018.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy while
leaving his custody on Wednesday March 21, 2018.

Nicolas Sarkozy a été mis en examen mercredi soir dans le cadre de l'enquête sur le financement libyen présumé de sa campagne électorale de 2007. L'ex-président français nie les faits qui lui sont reprochés.

Wednesday evening [i.e. March 21] Nicolas Sarkozy was interrogated in the frame of suspected financing of his 2007 election campaign by Libya. The former French president denies the accusations he is being reproached with.

L'ancien chef de l'Etat, qui avait été placé en garde à vue mardi matin à Nanterre, a été mis en examen pour "corruption passive", "financement illégal de campagne électorale" et "recel de fonds publics libyens" et placé sous contrôle judiciaire, a précisé une source judiciaire.

The former head of state had been put into custody and under legal control on Monday morning [i.e. March 19] and interrogated for "passive corruption", "illegal financing of an election campaign" and for "receiving public funds belonging to Libya under a false pretext".

[RTL Suisse on March 24, 2018]

US Tariffs - China Strikes Back

Last Update: March 25, 2018

It didn't take long for the Chinese government to respond to protective tariffs US president Trump imposed on China. The Economic Survey Network 经济观察网 and which is related to the Beijing University of Technology 北京理工大学 wrote:




中国开始反击！中美贸易战爆发，全球化的冬天正在来临？

China Starts Striking Back !
Outburst of a Sino-US War of Trade.
The Winter of Globalization already in Progress ?

几个小时后，中国开始了反击。上午7点，中国商务部发布了针对 美国进口钢铁和铝产品232措施的中止减让产品清单并征求公众意见， 拟对自美进口部分产品加征关税，以平衡因美国对进口钢铁和铝产品 加征关税给中方利益造成的损失。该清单暂定包含7类、128个税项产品， 按2017年统计，涉及美对华约30亿美元出口。

Some hours later, China started striking back. At 7 o'clock in the morning China's trade ministry announced to target US import of steel and aluminium products by using 232 steps to suspend and reduce [the availability of] products [specially] requested by public opinion and contained on a detailed list that was drafted because of raised tariffs on part of products imported by the US. Balanced Chinese benefits would [otherwise] suffer from losses due to the raised US tariffs on steel and aluminium products. The [Chinese] list would temporarily contain 7 sorts of and 128 [single] taxed products. According to 2017 statistics, US exports to China make up for about 300 million US$.

[Economic Survey Network 经济观察网, Beijing, on March 23, 2018]




The above list is comprising 120 US products for which protective tariffs of 15% have been
fixed by China's ministry of trade. These products comprise fresh and dried fruit products
as well as wine among other goods. The overall value of such goods imported by China
makes up for some 9.77 million US$.

Another group of US products, including pork meat and recovered aluminium products, are
subject to a different tariff of 25%. The total volume of trade for these products makes up
for some 19.92 million US$.

[Chinanews Network 中国新闻网 on March 23, 2018]




贸易战不打了！中国经济沙皇与美国财长同意谈判和解收场

A war of trade doesn't really hit !
China's economy "tsars" and America's [wealthy tycoons] agree to talks and a to [untie the knots].

This brandnew video from a Hong Kong source is partly using cartoons to explain the disadvantages of a war of trade. It was published on March 24, 2018.

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



Visitor to "blueprint news" coming from Hanoi, Vietnam.

N Korea - Chinese Wishful Thinking ?

Yesterday, March 13, and on the occasion of his visit to Miramar naval base in S. California, US president Donald Trump expressed his hopes for an "outstanding" development in the North Korean issue. This refers to an eventual meeting between Trump and the N Korean leader Kim Jong-un before May 2018.

It was the same day, Trump fired his foreign secretary, the rather moderate Rex Tillerson, and replaced him with CIA director Mike Pompeo, a notorious falcon when it comes to respond to North Korean aggression.

The Chinese source "China News Network", however, doesn't refer to such latest news from the White House and is quoting instead Trump's comment on the planned meeting with Kim, even one day after the US president made his widely unexpected move.




特朗普称5月前与金正恩会面

Trump says he will meet with Kim Jong-un before May.

特朗普：朝鲜半岛问题有望产生“非常积极”的结果

Trump: The Korean peninsula issue will
hopefully deliver an "outstanding" result.

[China News Network 中国新闻网 on March 14, 2018]

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



US visitor to "blueprint news" reminding the end of World War II.




My newsblog, including the experimental Chinese language site, is being screened
by some Chinese visitor(s) on a daily basis. Any direct identification of Chinese
visitors, however, remains a rare event, even though different points of access to
the internet could be detected in different parts of China in the past.

Iran - Israel Preparing for War

Since tensions between Israel and Iran began to rise over the military presence of Iran and its regional ally Hezbollah in Syria, a war between both adversaries has become increasingly realistic.



Photo above: Israeli air force helicopter

صحيفة: ضربات أمريكية إسرائيلية محتملة في سوريا

Newspaper: Joint US-Israeli strikes possible in Syria.

قالت صحيفة كويتية إن سوريا باتت في مرمى ضربات أمريكية وإسرائيلية وشيكة، ونقلت عن مصادرها أن رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي بنيامين نتنياهو ناقش مع الرئيس دونالد ترامب خلال لقائهما منذ أيام في واشنطن، خطة إسرائيلية موسعة.ـ

A Kuwaiti newspaper said that Syria is now a target of imminent US-Israeli strikes and that its sources reported that Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed extended Israeli plannings with president Donald Trump during their meeting in Washington some days ago.

[Sputnik - Arabic News quoting the Kuwaiti newspaper الجريدة on March 10, 2018]




Sputnik on March 6, 2018: Israel notifies the US that it prepares for military activities.




كاتب إسرائيلي: حرب مع إيران قد لا تتعارض مع مصالح روسيا

Israeli journalist: A war with Iran might not be in conflict with Russian interests.

[Arabi 21 quoting the Israeli newspaper Maariv on March 11, 2018]




Algérie Patriotique, Algier, on February 20, 2018:
Israel's army is preparing for a long-standing war with Iran in 2018.

This article is referring to an interview which Israel's chief of operations Tsahal,
general Nitzan Alon (photo above), granted to the pro-Israeli website i24 News.