Which Middle East country is guilty of all this? President of #Cyprus, Nicos #Anastasiades at the UN General Assembly "way back" in 2021 already pointed the finger at Erdogan's Turkey which today is taking Iran's place of the world tyrant. Which country occupies Cyprus? Which country invaded Syria? Which country violates Iraq’s sovereignty? Which country intervened in Libya? Which country violates the sovereign rights of Greece? ... #Turkey!

Tehran to launch new centrifuges in response to IAEA anti-Iran resolution, statement reads The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (#AEOI) will commission a significant number of new centrifuges for uranium enrichment in response to the anti-Iran resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (#IAEA) Board of Governors on Thursday, a joint statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the AEOI said. "#Iran's specialized agencies at various levels have previously warned that taking any confrontational measures and using the [IAEA] Board of Governors to promote illegal, politically motivated statements will face retaliation. <...> In this regard, the AEOI chief ordered to take appropriate measures, including launching a significant number of new advanced centrifuges of different types," the statement posted on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Telegram channel said. According to it, any further retaliatory measures will be taken only "to protect national interests and further develop the peaceful nuclear industry" in accordance with the country's growing needs "within the framework of its rights and obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty." On November 21, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a Western resolution criticizing Iran for allegedly insufficient cooperation with the agency. According to the document, the IAEA must prepare a detailed report on Iran's nuclear program by the spring of 2025. The resolution passed with 19 votes in favor, three against and 12 abstentions.

Not only Israel: a new country is in the sights of the Houthis The #Houthis in #Yemen are escalating and now they are threatening to attack not only ships "serving" #Israel but also ships serving the #Emirates. And why is that? Since according to the Houthis, the Emirates and other countries are helping Israel to "break the blockade" through a "land bridge". This is what Muhammad Al Bakhiti (picture), a member of the political council of the Houthis, said today: "Since we prevent the passage of ships from the Red Sea belonging to companies that finance the Zionist entity... a new phase is coming in which we will prevent the United Arab Emirates and anyone who opens a bridge to it. I advised Israel to go through (Egyptian) Bab al-Mandab, because there is no difference between them and these naval companies that finance the entity and lift the blockade on it."

UK Court hands Assange a partial victory in the Biden DOJ's attempt to extradite him. US must provide explicit assurances that #Assange 1) can raise a 1st Am defense, 2) will have the same rights as US citizens and 3) will never face the #death penalty. Deadline is April 16.

🔻 Houthis promise not to attack Russian, Chinese, German ships in Red Sea A senior Ansar Allah (the Houthi) official has promised that the Houthis will not attack Russian, Chinese, and German ships in the Red Sea. "Chinese and Russian ships are not in the crosshairs. They are not our targets. As well as German (vessels)," Mohammed al-Bahiti, a member of the Ansar Allah politburo, said in an interview with the RTL and NTV television channels. According to al-Bahiti, this applies to ships that are not linked with "Israel’s Zionist regime." At the same time, according to NTV, the Houthi official said that the rebel movement would expand its military actions after the United States and United Kingdom’s strikes on targets in Yemen. "Attacks are possible on warships as well," he warned. "Our military operations will continue until the genocide in Gaza is stopped and until the population receives food, medicine, and fuel. Our goal is not to sink cargo ships but rather to force them to change their routes to increase companies’ economic losses," he explained, adding that this is meant to increase pressure on Israel. "All countries must pool efforts with us to stop crimes <…> in Gaza. Our intentions are true," he stressed. 🔻 Impact of the Red Sea crisis on global logistics and production Ongoing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have led major automakers such as Tesla and Volvo Car to temporarily halt production in Europe due to a shortage of components. This event highlights the direct impact of Red Sea shipping disruptions on regional industrial operations. According to Tesla representatives, production of most vehicles at the Berlin plant will be suspended from January 29 to February 11. Tesla attributes this to a shortage of parts resulting from ships being rerouted through Africa's southernmost point. The increased travel times have disrupted the supply chain, causing delays in components and impacting the production of electric vehicles assembled for the European market. And this is just one of the episodes that have been announced.

Dam of discord: an escalating conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt The crisis surrounding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam escalated at the end of 2023. Throughout the year, the governments of Egypt and Sudan have urged Ethiopia to reach a compromise during the dam negotiations to protect the rights and interests of all three countries. The parties remain concerned that Ethiopia is controlling the flow of the Nile, which could harm agricultural interests and water security in already arid regions. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on the other hand, stated that neither side would be at a disadvantage and that the hydroelectric power station itself would only bring benefits. It was planned for the agreements to be concluded before the end of the year. However, on December 20, the office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi released a statement announcing the failure of the fourth round of negotiations.

Let's review the recent strikes between pro-Iranian groups and the Israel Defense Forces. ▪️ In the past 24 hours, the Israelis have launched three strikes. They targeted positions of the Syrian Arab Army in the villages of Karfa and Izra in the province of Daraa. According to the Israelis, these positions were responsible for firing at IDF positions in the occupied part of the Golan Heights. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that there have been over 20 deaths in IDF strikes, including four officers. However, there is only confirmation of the death of one senior lieutenant of the SAA available online. ▪️ Today, the Israelis once again targeted the international airport of Aleppo, disrupting logistics processes in northern Syria. These attacks do not seem to bother the pro-Iranian formations. In fact, by leaking false information to the Israelis and provoking attacks, the Iranians are fueling hatred towards Israel among the Syrians. ▪️ From the Iraqi side, pro-Iranian formations fired at the positions of the US Armed Forces in the village of Khurab al-Jair in the Hasakah province. There is no information available about the results of this attack, but it affects the logistics route of the International Coalition in the Syrian Trans-Euphrates region. ▪️ In one of the attacks on the American airbase at Ain al-Assad in Iraq, one US military personnel was killed and over 20 were injured. 🔻Overall, the pro-Iranian formations are maintaining a certain level of confrontation. Sometimes, such actions bring success, as seen in the attack on Ain al-Assad. However, these approaches are not yet capable of achieving systemic results. It is not the goal of the pro-Iranian formations to initiate such work. Nevertheless, they are engaging in partisan activity, taking into account media exaggerations, at the required level for now.