Middle East

A senior United Nations official who deals directly with Syrian affairs has told Al-Akhbar that the Syrian government had no involvement in the alleged Ghouta chemical weapons attack: “Of course not, he (President Bashar al-Assad) would be committing suicide.” When…

The Iranian government is reportedly seeking a sweeping agreement that would end crippling U.S.-led economic sanctions. The New York Times reports Iranian leaders decided on the strategy after President Obama’s recent letter to the new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, promised…

Deutsche Welle, Press Release Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry for Syria, has demanded a stop to the delivery of weapons to Syria. Most of the arms delivered will be used to commit war crimes, Pinheiro…

By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan The likelihood of peace in Syria remains distant, as the civil war there rages on. But the grim prospect of a U.S. strike has been forestalled, if only temporarily, preventing a catastrophic deepening of…

By Jasmin Ramsey Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is slotted to meet with his British counterpart William Hague at the U.N. General Assembly later this month. Credit: UN Photo/Kate Schafer WASHINGTON, Sep 17 2013 (IPS) – In the wake of…

Deutsche Welle, Press Release Ex-UN arms inspector: Get rid of Assad’s arsenal Former UN arms inspector Rolf Ekéus tells DW why it’s unlikely that the expected UN report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria will include a smoking…

Nobody would be crazy enough to press the nuclear button, right? We would like to think that we’re living in modern times and factions in conflict are rational and reasonable people incapable of unleashing a nuclear war, but the scenario…

Academics write to EU chief to demand no sell-out on settlment funding ban BRICUP and AURDIP | 12 September 2013 | Academics across Europe express outrage at Israeli/US pressure on EU Over 500 academics, including researchers from 13 European Union member states, have…

President Obama has asked Congress to delay its vote on authorizing military force in “Syria”http://www.democracynow.org/topics/syria while the United States weighs a potential diplomatic breakthrough with Russia. In a national address from the White House Tuesday night, Obama said the United…

Democracy Now! As President Obama prepares to address the nation on his push for congressional backing of a military strike on Syria, the Assad regime has accepted a Russian initiative to put its chemical weapons under international control. Could the…