ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

In the coming days, president Trump is expected to announce that he will decertify the Iran Nuclear Deal, a step that potentially could cause the historic Obama-era accord to unravel. Under the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to limit its disputed nuclear program in return for the easing of economic sanctions. Realizing the dire threat that such a move presents for its economy – not to mention Iranian oil exports –  Iran has escalated the rhetoric,  and overnight it warned the United States that U.S. regional military bases “would be at risk” if further sanctions were passed or if the US designated its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist group. On Friday the  Financial Times reported  that Donald Trump is expected to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group,  as part of a new hardline strategy against the Islamic republic. Mr Trump is expected to announce new measures against Iran, including the prospect of additional targeted sanctions, the desig

On October 7, the Syrian pro-government radio station Sham FM claimed that 8 US soldiers were killed after two US-led coalition helicopters crashed near the western dam of al-Hasakah governorate. According to Sham FM, the two US-led coalition helicopter took off from the SDF military base in Tell Beydar village in the northern al-Hasakah countryside. Sham FM. Click to see the full-size image However, US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon Spokesman for the US-led coalition denied that any US helicopter crashed in Syria. Colonel Dillion confirmed that all the helicopters of the US-led coalition in Syria are operational.  Moreover, local sources also confirmed to South Front that no US helicopter crashed in Syria on October 6.  Follow OIR Spokesman   ✔ @OIRSpox Reports of Coalition/US aircraft crash/collision in Syria is FALSE. All Coalition/US aircraft accounted for. 20:51 - 7 Oct 2017   20 20 Replies     152 152 Retweets     193 193 likes Twitter Ads info

FILE IMAGE: Jaish al-Izza member The US has resumed its support to few Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups in Idlib governorate after 2 months of pausing it, the Syrian opposition news website Enab Baladi reported on October 8. According to the report, the US Military Operation Center in Turkey, named by Turks “MOM”, resumed its support for Jaish al-Nasser in Idlib. Jaish al-Nasser is considered one of the main allies of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda). However, the US didn’t resume its support for Jaysh al-Izza, another ally of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib governorate. The report claimed that the US paused its support to the FSA groups that refused to take part in the Astana talks and to the FSA groups that supported the HTS attack in the northern Hama countryside. However, these claims are untrue as Jaish al-Nasser was the key HTS ally in its attack on the northern Hama countryside back in March not only Jaysh al-Izza.

The United States spends billions of dollars every year on military aid to foreign governments around the world to increase American influence. The US Army is creating permanent units dedicated to  advising foreign forces . The Army personnel are more often engaged in training and building local security forces rather than doing the fighting for them. The service needs a dedicated element to focus on advisory role without interfering with the combat capability of fighting units. It is implementing the plans to create six new, permanent, fully-trained brigades that can be deployed around the world as professional advisers. Instead of having to other militaries, such as the Iraqi ground forces, the US Army can now turn to specialized advisory units, manned by experienced soldiers with special training. The objective is to avoid problems created by the current training programs when chunks of combat brigades have been deployed to serve as trainers and advisers to local forces degradi

FILE IMAGE The US official asked NATO to deploy more troops to support the new US strategy in Afghanistan, the Afghan News TV channel Tolo reported on October 7. Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison told reports at a briefing in NATO HQ in Brussels that the US is looking for 1,000 additional troops from NATO to support the additional 300 US troops who are on their way Afghanistan. Hutchison added that the US have made a “specific” request regarding the type of troops needed in Afghanistan, not just a general request. “We are going to be much more efficient by asking people for specific expertise areas. So we’re not just saying we want 50 more troops from Denmark, we’re saying we want 50 more troops with technology or capability to fix machines or run tanks,” Hutchison said. The US request is a part of the US administration new policy in Afghanistan that’s focused on military actions. The US request also comes is the 16th anniversary of US intervention i

A Lebanese soldier carries his weapon as he stands at an army post in the hills above the Lebanese town of Arsal, near the border with Syria, Lebanon September 21, 2016. Picture taken September 21, 2016. . (photo credit:MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS) On Saturday, the Intelligence Gathering Division of the Lebanese State Security announced in an official statement that it has arrested three members of an Israel Mossad cell in Lebanon over the last few days. Wikipedia:  Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security). According to the Intelligence Gathering Division, the Mossad cell worked between Bourj el-Barajneh municipality in the southern suburbs of Beirut city and Deir Koubel village in Aley District of Mount Lebanon. “The security operation begin by arresting two suspects in Bourj el-Barajneh and Hadath, and resumed in Frida

On October 7, the Saudi authorities announced that a gunman attacked the royal al-Salam palace in Jeddah city. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) agency said that “at 3:15 pm on Saturday, an outpost of the Royal Guard, located in front of the western gate of the Peace Palace in Jeddah, came under fire by a person who got out of a Hyundai car”. SPA reveled that two guards of the al-Salam palace sergeant ”Hammad bin Shallah al-Mutairi”, and soldier “Abdullah bin Faisal al-Subaie” were killed in the attack. Three other guards were injured in the attack according to the source. The Saudi authorities identified the attacker as “Mansur bin Hassan bin Ali al-Fahid al-Amiri”, a 28-year-old Saudi national. According to SPA, al-Amiri was armed with an Ak-47 rifle and three Molotov fire grenades. Meanwhile, Reuters news agency reported that the US embassy in Saudi Arabia warned US citizens there “to exercise caution” around the al-Salam Palace in Jeddah city. The US embassy warning was issued ri

On Saturday, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) released an official statement threatening Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups that are planning to enter Idlib governorate from Turkey. HTS claimed in the statement that the upcoming military operation of the Turkish Army and the FSA will be backed by the Russian Army. HTS said that “Idlib will not be a picnic” for the FSA, and added that its fighters and suicide bombers are ready to face the FSA. HTS used a very aggressive language in the statement. It even threatened to turn the sons of FSA fighters to orphans, and their wives to widows. Click to see the full-size image From its side, Fateh Hasson the leader of Homeland Liberation Movement denied that Russia will back the upcoming FSA operation against HTS in Idlib governorate in an interview with the Russian news agency Sputnik. However, Hasson revealed that Russia did indeed propose to support the FSA operation in a perverse meeting. In a related development, the Turki