ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

A video, showing missiles’ launches from the S-300PMU-2 air defense system in Iran, has been for the first time published online. Photo: YouTube / prtrtur The first video, showing a process of missiles’ launches from the S-300PMU-2 air defense missile weapon system in Iran has been published online. Initially, information about signing a contract for supply of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia to Iran appeared in November 2015. At that date, CEO of the Rostec state corporation, Sergei Chemezov, said that Iranian military were going to receive four divisions of the S-300PMU-2. Previously, they were meant for Syria, but had not been handed over to the Arab country at a request of Israel. According to the Kommersant newspaper, the deal value was approximately $1 billion. The newspaper noted that the customer could get the weapon systems about 18 months after the contract’s conclusion that meant that the first S-300PMU-2s would be transferred to Tehran not earl

Written by Sophie Mangal; Originally appeared at GlobalResearch The U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had presented a preliminary version of the Pentagon’s new plan to rapidly defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria during a meeting of the White House Principals Committee, a Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said оn February, 28. The plan involves making a “devastating impact” on the terrorist group. According to Davis, the document calls on all the branches of the U.S. government, diplomatic, financial and intelligence elements of national power as well as cyber-security agencies to unite and intensify joint actions. The plan is transregional and is aimed at defeating such terror groups as Al-Qaeda and ISIS around the globe. It also proposes to increase the U.S. military contingent in Syria and to cut off terrorists’ funding. However, after close examination Pentagon’s proposals raise a lot of provocative questions and may come in for sharp criticism. First of all, some W

A Saudi strategic military base, located in Najran province in the southwestern part of the kingdom, was struck and destroyed by the Zalzal-2 missile, launched by the Houthi-Saleh alliance, according to pro-Yemeni sources. The alliance launched several Katyusha rockets on the Saudi Rajla military base and then totally destroyed it with the Zalzal-2 missile. There are no reports about the number of casualties, suffered by the Saudi side. On Monday, the Houthi-Saleh alliance launched missiles and artillery shells on the al-Shabakeh and al-Fawaz military bases of the Saudi Army, located in the provinces of Najran and Jizan in the southern part of the kingdom. As a result, the bases were destroyed. Meanwhile, the al-Beit al-Abya, al-Sudanieh and al-Jabaneh military bases, located in Jizan province, were also hit by the alliance’s missiles. Saudi troops suffered heavy losses in the attacks. At the same time, a Saudi border guard lost his life at the al-Hanjar military base, located in the

These maps show the military situation in Palmyra and its countryside: Click to see the full-size map Click to see the full-size map Photos of the Palmyra Citadel and the Roman Theater via ANNA news reporter Oleg Blokhin:

FORMER SEN. DAN Coats’s wife Marsha and professional sports came up more frequently than CIA black sites and NSA surveillance powers during the Director of National Intelligence nominee’s confirmation hearing with the Senate intelligence committee Tuesday. Coats served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence alongside many of the men and women tasked with assessing his readiness to lead the nation’s 17 intelligence agencies. The Indiana Republican announced his retirement in November 2015, before being asked by President Trump to take on the director of national intelligence job in January. His former colleagues kept things lighthearted during the unclassified session. Coats kicked off his testimony by comparing the DNI’s role to that of a head football coach. “There is a coach for offense, defense, special teams, one for quarterback and on and on it goes. But every team has a head coach. … I see the role of director of national intelligence as analogous for the head hole for th

The DPR and LPR authorities’ decree on compulsory registration of Ukrainian enterprises on the territory of the republics has entered into force. Photo: dnr-live.ru By Wednesday, the blockade of the Donbass still has not been lifted, and this means that on March 1, the decree of the heads of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) on compulsory registration of Ukrainian enterprises on the territory of the republics, which previously paid taxes to Kiev, has officially entered into force. In fact, the process was started yesterday, but formally the decree has become operative only today. The event was marked with a symbolic move – blue lights of the Donbass Arena stadium were turned on for the first time during several years of the war in Ukraine at the first minutes of spring 2017. Yesterday evening, it was reported that armed men blocked a distribution center in Donbass Arena and issuing points of the Humanitarian Staff of Rinat Akhmetov (

The newest Russian Uran-9 unmanned ground vehicle has been spotted in Syria. The Uran-9 unmanned ground vehicle (Photo: m.rusnext.ru) In January, Russian military expert and chief editor of the Arsenal Otechestva magazine, Viktor Murakhovsky, said that the usage of perspective models of combat robots by the Russian Armed Forces in Syria is already a well-established practice. At that time, he also noted that the newest Uran-9 robotic warfare system also could be tested in the Syrian Arab Republic. “It is not a secret that Russia tests a number of robotic products in Syria: not only the Uran-6 mine clearance systems, but also the Soratnik and Nerehta unmanned vehicles. With regard to the specific model, noticed by British media, – yes, I do not exclude that the Uran-9 and other systems may appear in Syria,” Murakhovsky told the RIA Novosti news agency in January. About a month later, it was reported that the Uran-9 was allegedly spotted in Syria ( source ). The Uran-9 unmanned gr

The leader of the Islamic State terrorist group urged his closest preachers to move terrorists’ bases and strongholds to mountainous and remote areas of Syria and Iraq. Photo: Getty Images Leader of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has admitted the defeat in the recent fighting in the course of his farewell speech, which was addressed to supporters of the terrorist organization, the Alsumaria TV-channel reported on Wednesday, citing its own source. The al-Baghdadi’s statement was directed to his closest preachers. The IS leader urged them to continue the fight, moving terrorists’ bases and strongholds to mountainous and remote areas of Syria and Iraq. According to the TV-channel’s source, high-ranking terrorists of the group have already fled from Mosul, which is the unofficial capital of the IS and besieged by the Iraqi Army, and moved to the direction of the Iraqi-Syrian border. Earlier on Wednesday, commander of the Iraqi Federal Police, Raid Shakir Jawdat