ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Click to see the full-size map Last night,  clashes erupted between Iraqi government forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga, a military force of the separatist Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), in the countryside of Kirkuk city in northern Iraq. The city and its oil-rich countryside are now controlled by KRG forces. In turn, government troops are aiming to restore the federal govrnment control over the area. The KRG-linked media argues that the Peshmerga is defending a democratic will of the Kirkuk people [Kirkuk has never been an official part of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region]. The federal government says that it’s going to restore the law and order in the area. Indeed, the oil is one of the key reasons behind  the ongoing tesnsions: The specificity of Iraq is that oil reserves are located mainly in two areas – the north (Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk) and south (field near the ports of the Persian Gulf). The main export routes for Iraq are through the Persian Gulf and Turkish

Fighter jets on the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in Hong Kong this month. The United States and South Korea started a 10-day joint naval exercise on Monday in which the carrier is taking part. Credit Vincent Yu/Associated Press About 40 ships, including the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, are conducting training maneuvers in the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan. Nuclear-powered USS Tucson and USS Michigan submarines are also at port in South Korea. According to  Yonhap  news agency, US strike team will conduct the training along with the South Korean warships and aviation, including the Sejong the Great Aegis ship and P-3 “Orion” anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. F-15K, FA-18 and A-10 jets will also to take part in the drills, along with Apache AH-64E, Lynx and AW-159 Wild Cat helicopters. The US also deployed a Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) plane to closely monitor the North Korea’s ground and naval forces. The maneu

On October 14, an official source from the Syrian Foreign Ministry told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the Syrian Arab Republic demands an “immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the Syrian territories”. The official sources also condemned the ongoing Turkish Army operation in Syria’s Idlib governorate, and called it a “flagrant violation of international law”. According to SANA, the Syrian official noted that the Turkish Army units were escorted by a terrorist group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), when they entered Idlib. “The international community should pay more attention to and take firm stance in order to oblige Turkey to end its support to terrorism which managed to shed the blood of Syrian people and destabilize the region and the entire world,” SANA quoted the sources. The official source told SANA that the Turkish Army operation “has nothing to do with what has been agreed upon by the guarantor states during the latest round of

Written by  Prof. James Petras ; Originally appeared at  Global Research Multiple wars ravage the Middle East. Turkey has inserted itself into the middle of most of these regional conflicts and ended up a loser. Under  President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , Turkey has intervened and formed alliances with a rogue’s gallery of imperial warlords, terrorists-mercenaries, Zionist expansionists, feudal potentates and obscure tribal chiefs, with disastrous economic, political and military consequences for the Turkish nation. In this paper we will discuss Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies and behavior over the past decade.  We will conclude with lessons for middle range powers, which might help in future decisions President Erdogan’s Domestic Disasters Throughout the early decade of the 21 st  century, Erdoğan  made a strategic alliance with an influential semi-clandestine organization led by a cult-leading cleric,  Fethullah Gülen , who was conveniently self-exiled in the US and

In a rare, successful attack on one of the most advanced US offensive weapons, a US drone has reportedly been shot down over Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Voice of Jihad)  reports  that Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) said to be operated by the United States. The UAV above is believed to be a MQ-9 Reaper with a price tag of $10.5 million. The aircraft can stay airborne up to 36 hours with 1.7 tons of missiles and bombs. The wreckage of the plane is said to have been seized by the Mujahideen. So far, there has been no comment from from the US military. The location of the downed drone is in Kunduz, a city in northern Afghanistan. The attack may have been in retaliation for a US drone strike which yesterday killed 14 ISIS militants in the Kunar province, a northern boarder region in Afghanistan. According to  The Guardian , “Abdul Ghani Musamim, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told the Associated Press

US president’s anti-Iran speech pile of delusional claims: Rouhani Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says US President Donald Trump’s speech against the Islamic Republic was nothing more than insults and delirious talk. “Mr. Trump’s remarks on Iran…contained nothing but expletives and a pile of delusional allegations against the Iranian nation,” Rouhani said in a televised speech on Friday moments after Trump delivered a speech outlining US strategy on the Islamic Republic. The US president refused to certify the 2015 international nuclear agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and warned he might ultimately terminate it, in defiance of other world powers and undermining a landmark victory of multilateral diplomacy. Trump said he would choose not to certify that Tehran is complying with the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Trump also said his goal is to ensure Iran would never obtain a nuclear

In A World Gone Crazy   THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary EMBARGOED UNTIL 5:00AM on October 13, 2017 *_PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMPS NEW STRATEGY ON IRAN_*   "It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Irans government end its pursuit of death and destruction. President Donald J. Trump" President Donald J. Trump, in consultation with his national security team, has approved a new strategy for Iran. It is the culmination of nine months of deliberation with Congress and our allies on how to best protect American security. *"_HIGHLIGHTS_"* *""* *"Core Elements of the Presidents New Iran Strategy"* * The United States new Iran strategy focuses on neutralizing the Government of Irans destabilizing influence and constraining its aggression, particularly its support for terrorism and militants. * We will revitalize our traditional alliances and regional partnerships as bulwarks against Iranian subversion and restore a

On October 14, heave clashes between Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) broke out inside the Turkmen Shiite Tuz Khurmatu town 50km south of Kirkuk city, according to Iraqi sources. Initial reports claimed that Peshmerga units opened fire on the Dah Dah Hussainiya hall in al-Askari neighborhood of Tuz Khurmatu town. A Hussainiya is a hall used for Shiite commemoration ceremonies, and its considered by Shiites a holy place just like Mosques.  Follow Iraq Day   @iraq_day Replying to @iraq_day Video shot seconds ago clashes continue in Tuz Khurmato between  # Peshmerga  and  # PMU . 22:58 - 13 Oct 2017   6 6 Replies     27 27 Retweets     14 14 likes Twitter Ads information and privacy Iraqi sources reported that local PMU fighters in Tuz Khurmatu town destroyed a vehicle of the Peshmerga during the clashes. In turn, Peshmerga shelled PMU positions inside the town with mortars.