Iraq
Saturday 23 January 2021
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“Pompeo’s allegations come although all the US’ previous such accusations, including those made by former president George W. Bush’s administration — during which al-Qaida’s 9/11 attacks against the US took place — have been discredited.”
Key al-Qaida leaders, supporters and several members of Osama bin Laden’s family took refuge in Iran, and some stayed there for years. -
“For centuries, Syria has been a country where various ethnic and religious groups peacefully coexisted and safely coexisted ... This cannot but cause respect. We are convinced that such historical traditions should be fully preserved and continued.”
The Assad regime in Syria has relied heavily on religious sectarianism since seizing power in a 1970 coup d’etat. Ethnic minorities also have been systematically disenfranchised. -
“A senior Iranian judge says INTERPOL Red Notices have been issued for the prosecution of dozens of military and political officials of the United States, including President Donald Trump, on charges of planning and implementing a terrorist attack in the Iraqi capital that assassinated Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani and his companions.”
INTERPOL has denied receiving the request and stated that it does not consider requests for red notices that it believes are “political.” -
“This is part of the US-Israeli war on resistance movements in the region ... When we say we are not active in Germany, we are being 100% honest.”
For years, Germany classified only the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Thus the group’s political wing was able to maintain a presence in Germany, and European authorities have found evidence that it engages in fundraising and money laundering operations there. -
"On the night of January 8, Iran launched a missile strike on the American military infrastructure in Iraq. The number of victims of this attack was not disclosed."
Sputnik’s claim is a rehash of a debunked claim that Iran’s attack killed 80 American troops in Iraq. Coalition forces from U.S.-allied countries at the bases reported no casualties. The U.S. initially said no one was hurt but later confirmed that 110 suffered traumatic brain injuries. -
“The device enables ‘momentary’ detection of the virus with 70- to 80-percent accuracy and has been tested throughout a 10-day-long period across at least 10 hospitals before being unveiled.”
The device appears to be some form of dowsing rod. Dowsing is a pseudo-scientific method of finding hidden substances or objects. Dowsing has been tested under controlled conditions and found to be a hoax. -
“You will be judged by God, then you will know what kind of a man he was. Haj Qassem Soleimani, he was a man who prayed all night and fasted all day. He only fights in a place where the enemies of God and humans are, he never lifted his hand against any Muslim, he never lifted a weapon in the face of any Muslim.”
As a general of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, Soleimani waged war against Muslims of various sects in several countries. -
"In this situation, we cannot exclude that the American military and intelligence agencies took advantage of the story of the disturbances near the U.S. Embassy in Iraq in their corporate interests and simply framed Donald Trump, who did not fully understand the significance of the figure of Qassem Soleimani, who has the status of a national hero in Iran."
Trump learned who Soleimani was from a major interview failure during his presidential campaign in 2015, his decision to strike was backed by an American intelligence community assessment and aimed at preventing a major Iranian attack. -
“The Americans are using ISIS as a scarecrow. At the same time they are feeding ISIS, encourage them, protect ISIS leaders and help them move from one area to another.”
The United States has declared the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” a terrorist organization. There is abundant evidence the U.S. has played a leading role in defeating the group, including killing its leaders and significantly reducing of its numbers. -
“The president cannot make decisions regarding such companies (private military companies); it is simply impossible.”
Putin has publicly approved of using private military companies abroad, awarded Russia’s Order of Courage to Wagner’s commander, and praised Wagner for military success in Syria. -
“A cause for serious concern is the situation in southern Syria, where U.S.-controlled bandit formations, operating in the 55-kilometer al-Tanf zone, continue to prevent the evacuation of the Syrian civilians from the Rubkan camp. The main reason for the actual failure of the U.N. Plan is the failure of American side to fulfill its obligations. Despite numerous U.S. promises to influence the illegal armed groups under their control, the militants sabotaged early notifications of the planned action, limited the duration of the humanitarian convoy’s stay, engaged in extortion, and directly threatened families wishing to leave the camp.”
The Pentagon rejected these accusations as “patently false,” and independent analyst and sources in the Rukban camp told Polygraph.info the Russian and Syrian claims are false. -
"Actually, it doesn’t exist anymore. As a military and political organization, the Islamic State has been destroyed both in Syria and Iraq. The units and sleeper cells that still remain don’t pose a threat as they are unlikely to revive IS. The killing of al-Baghdadi is more important as a symbol indicating the group’s defeat.”
While Islamic State (IS) has suffered setbacks in Iraq and Syria, there is strong evidence that the terrorist group might be recovering, especially after the escape of IS prisoners from detention in Syria. IS also has active movements throughout the world.