ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Pepe Escobar CENTCOM commander Army Gen. Joseph Votel channeled his full Dr. Strangelove in front of the US House Armed Services Committee this past Wednesday. "We need to look at opportunities where we can disrupt [Iran] through military means or other means." As Orwellian as our times may be, this still ranks as a declaration of war. With the inbuilt consequence of smashing to bits the UN nuclear deal struck with Iran in the summer of 2015. Joseph Strangelove did not bother to chainsaw his words. Iran is one of the greatest threats to the US today (Pentagon official doctrine; number four after Russia, China and North Korea). Iran has increased its "destabilizing role" and poses "the greatest long-term threat to stability" in the entire Middle East. Iran is sneaky; "I believe that Iran is operating in what I call a gray zone." And that’s "an area between normal competition between states — and it's just short of open conflict....

Source: anadoluajansi.com Turkish President Recep Erdogan has announced that Ankara is now preparing new military operations in Syria. “We have completed the first phase of the Euphrates Shield Operation with the cleaning of Syria’s al-Bab from terrorists. It is now over and there will be [operations] from now on. Right now, we are preparing for new operations to walk all over terror organizations in other regions. We will give new names to new operations. We have very good surprises for all terror groups, including the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party], YPG [the People’s Protection Units], DEASH [ISIS], FETÖ [Fethullahist Terror Organization], waiting for the spring. With God’s will, the upcoming months will be the dead winter of terrorists while it will be the spring of Turkey and the Turkish nation,” Hurriyetdailynews quoted Erdogan’s statement on a rally in the province of Trabzon on Monday. Erdogan’s statement clearly shows that Turkey is not going to limit its military involve...

T his map provides a general look at the military situation in Yemen on April 4, 2017. Click to see the full-size map

Syrian government forces have been developing an advance against ISIS terrorists along the Salamiyah-Palmyra highway in the province of Homs. Earlier this week, government troops captured the Abu Duhur Mountain west of the ash-Shair field. The advance was confirmed by the Syrian Defense Ministry. According to pro-government sources, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies are now aiming to capture the al-Mahr and ash-Shair areas. However, it is not clear how much government troops are really deployed for this task. So, all will depend on the ISIS ability to use their reinforcements in the area. Click to see the full-size map

Washington Post Makes Unfounded Claims Of Iranian Supplies To Insurgencies By Moon Of Alabama The Washington Post falls back into its 2005 mode of blaming Iran for the capabilities of a local insurgency. This time it is not Iraq where Iran is allegedly providing to insurgents, but Bahrain. Old and debunked claims are hauled up and propaganda from the U.S. proxy Sunni dictatorship is cited as "evidence". It is a top-right front-page story in the Sunday edition and thereby "important". It is also fake news. The headline: U.S. increasingly sees Iran’s hand in the arming of Bahraini militants .The core: The report, a copy of which was shown to The Washington Post, partly explains the growing unease among some Western intelligence officials over tiny Bahrain, a stalwart U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf and home to the Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Six years after the start of a peaceful Shiite protest movement against the country’s Sunni-led government, U.S. and European analysts now...

Originally appeared at ZeroHedge The global cyberwarfare scare washed ashore the British isles this weekend after UK nuclear power stations and airports were told to tighten defenses against terrorist attacks in the face of increased threats to electronic security systems, after intelligence agencies concluded terrorists could plant explosives in laptops and mobile phones that won’t be caught by normal security screenings. The Telegraph reports that British security services issued a series of alerts in the past 24 hours, warning that “terrorists may have developed ways of bypassing safety checks.” To be sure, there was no surprise as to the bogeyman behind the latest terror threat: intel agencies believe that ISIS and other terrorist groups have developed ways to plant explosives in laptops and mobile phones that can evade airport security screening methods. What is perhaps surprising, is that it is this latest intelligence which is said to be behind the recent bans, in both the US an...

Syrian government forces are rapidly advancing against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and its allied militant groups in northern Hama. Early on April 3, the Syrian Arab Army’s Tiger Forces and the National Defense Forces (NDF) advanced on militants in Maardes and fully liberated this important town. The development was confirmed by the Syrian military. The village of Iskanderiyah also fell into the hands of government forces. The Syrian Arab Army and the NDF also got control of the areas of Tal Zaydan and Abu Dhour. Government forces are now developing an advance in the direction of the town of Suran captured by militants in March. A militant vehicle destroyed by government forces ( source ): Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image A militant drone downed by government forces ( source ): Click to see the full-size image

What is going on: An explosion inside a train of the St. Petersburg Metro system killed at least 10 and injured over 50 people, according to media reports; The inident took place between Sennaya Square and the Institute of Technology; The explosion was likely a result of the activation of an IED with shrapnel; The Entire St. Petersburg Metro system shutdown. Bomb squads and rescuers are responding to the emergency; Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “The causes of this event have not been determined yet, so it’s too early to talk about [causes]. The investigation will show. Certainly, we will consider all possibilities: common, criminal, but first of all of a terrorist nature.” Livestream from the area:   Photos from the area: View image on Twitter  Follow Philipp Kireev   @mynameisphiIipp В Питере взрыв в метро 1:49 PM - 3 Apr 2017     308 308 Retweets     82 82 likes ...