ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Saudi troops at their base in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden in 2015. IMAGE: Reuters Germany banned all weapon sales to Saudi Arabia the Economic Ministry announced on November 19 th . This follows Germany’s decision to halt any new arms sales,  however old ones were to still continue.  This could possibly be significant, since Saudi Arabia imported more weapons than any other country in 2017.  However, it is questionable how significant, since 84% of the Kingdom’s weapons purchases were from the US and the UK. Furthermore, Germany’s foreign minister said Berlin banned 18 Saudi nationals from entering Europe’s border-free Schengen zone because they are believed connected to Khashoggi’s killing. Heiko Maas said there are still “more questions than answers.” It is unclear who the 18 individuals are, but Maas said they are allegedly connected to the incident. According to Maas, Germany made the decision to ban the individuals in “close coordination” with France and the UK.

FILE IMAGE Sputniknews reports ( source ): According to the Turkish media outlet Haberturk, Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was met by four people in the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul. Neither Turkish, nor Saudi authorities have commented on the report yet. Turkish news website Haberturk has released the first quotes from alleged audio recordings of Jamal Khashoggi’s last moments before he was killed in the Saudi Consulate General in the city of Istanbul on 2 October. “Release my arm! What do you think you are doing?” Khashoggi reportedly said at the consulate’s visa department after one of the four men grabbed his arm. They then allegedly took the journalist to the consulate’s administrative unit, where three more people joined them. Haberturk claims that one of those three Saudis was Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, the purported leader of the 15-member hit squad. “Traitor! You will be brought to account,” the voice, which sounds like Mutreb, is heard sh

The US military  released a photo report  showing a U.S. Army Special Forces Multi-Purpose Canine team, which was involved in a military operation to support the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor. The photos were reportedly made on October 11-12, 2018 when the US-backed force was advancing on ISIS positions in the Hajin area in the Euphrates Valley. Despite an active US support, the SDF was not able to deliver a devastating blow to the terrorist group in the area. Hajin remains the key ISIS stronghold in the war-torn country. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image

IMAGE: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP Written by  Victor Vic  exclusively for  SouthFront Together with the migration crisis the crime rate in European countries found an increase. Following investigations by security agencies, it was found that a large number of attackers were refugees entering Europe in this migration wave. After the investigations, it was found that a large number of attackers recently arrived in Germany and proclaimed themselves as Muslims. After thorough investigations, it was found that they were part of organized terrorist cells, operating outside, but also within European countries. German authorities have responded to this creating new security policies. These include a series of procedures that track the activity of terrorist suspects and monitor phone calls and internet activities. This phenomenon has taken has had such an impact, that it had the German Federal Government change its course and invest more in security and police. Thus, it can be deduced from t

Click to see the full-size image On November 16, 2 Argentine citizens with alleged links to Lebanon’s Hezbollah were arrested, Argentina’s security ministry said in a statement. The development took place ahead of the G20 summit due to take place in Buenos Aires at the end of the month. According to released data, the two men, 23 and 25 y.o, were arrested in a residence in the capital. Police seized several weapons, including a rifle, a shotgun and a number of pistols, as well as an image of the Hezbollah flag and a photo of the movement’s leader Hassan Nasrallah. Police stated that they had discovered evidence of travel abroad but provided no details on this issue. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image In July, Argentina froze the assets of the Barakat Group (also known as the Barakat Clan). This is a criminal organization, which is allegedly linked to Hezbollah. The Barakat Group operates in the area known as the “Triple border” made up

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: US NAVY / Reuters On November 5 th , Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa claimed that the country “will consider” hosting US warships if Washington were to ask to use the largest Spratly Islands in the South China Sea for security purposes. Yen De-Fa was answering hypothetical questions of a member of the opposition, Johnny Chiang in the Legislative Yuan. According to the Defense Minister, US warships could also possibly be allowed to dock at Taiping island, which is under Taipei’s control for humanitarian operations. Yen told Chiang that despite the island being for humanitarian purposes, the Taiwan government would consider using it for regional security if that suited the country’s interests. “If it is based on security concerns that would affect the region, we will consider that,” Yen said. “This must also be in line with our national interests.” According to Chiang, the regular presence of US aircraft carriers in the South China Sea

The Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs released  a study on the Human Cost of the Post-9/11 US Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan . Syria was not included in the study. Neta C. Crawford carried out the research. Overall, according to the study between 480,000 and 507,000 people have been killed in all of the conflicts. These include counts and estimates of direct deaths caused by war violence. The deaths in Syria, so far, are near 500,000 more, since 2011, with the US officially joining in August 2014. From the table it becomes apparent that even with the highest estimations in Iraq, the US and its allies have lost more troops than the “enemy.” However it should be noted that there are massive civilian casualties in all conflicts, with the one in Iraq outnumbering soldier deaths by a fair margin. Thus, the chances of being killed in a war if a person is a civilian in the Middle East is higher than they are a soldier or a militant. That

As reported last week, shortly after SWIFT caved to US pressure and defied the EU announcing it would cut off a selection of Iranian banks, on Monday, the US Treasury said the Iranian Central Bank has been officially cut off the SWIFT financial messaging system. The disconnection, which comes at a time when Iran’s economy is reeling and its currency is tumbling as a result of restricted oil exports (albeit offset by numerous temporary waivers for top Iranian oil clients), will made it far more difficult for the Islamic Republic to settle import and export bills. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the move is “the right decision to protect the integrity of the international financial system”, and comes after several days planning by SWIFT. Steven Mnuchin ✔ @stevenmnuchin1 I understand that SWIFT will be discontinuing service to the Central Bank of Iran and designated Iranian financial institutions. SWIFT is making the right decision to protect the integ