War In Gaza; Mass chaos at college campuses across US as pro-Palestine protests intensify

 

HAPPENING NOW: Mass chaos breaks out at college campuses across the United States as pro-Palestine protests intensify.

Columbia, Harvard, USC, University of Texas at Austin and others are getting swarmed by protesters.

Police at USC are taking out their batons as the… pic.twitter.com/D35wVTCiZ8

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 24, 2024

 

According to a BBC report Police have arrested hundreds more protesters in locations across the US, as protests against the war in Gaza intensify across university campuses.

Some 108 arrests were made at Emerson College, Boston police told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Earlier, 93 people at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles were taken into custody on trespassing charges.

Universities across the US have seen a growing number of students walk out of class or try to set up encampments to protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

The latest arrests follow others at Columbia, Yale and New York University.

The arrests at USC were made as students gathered in Alumni Park - where the university's main-stage graduation ceremony is scheduled to take place next month.

Police officers in riot gear cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at the centre of the campus, preventing demonstrators from gathering.

Students received a 10-minute warning from police helicopters to disperse. Those who refused, were arrested on trespassing charges.

The protest was reported to have been largely peaceful at first, but then turned tense with the continued police presence.

As police tried to detain one woman, protesters threw water bottles at them and chanted, "Let her go!"

Protesters gathered around the officers, drowning out their warnings with "free Palestine" chants. Students, some wearing kaffiyehs were holding "liberated zone" signs, banging drums.

Elsewhere in the country, Boston police told CBS that three officers had been injured in the action in that city - one of them seriously, though their condition was not life-threatening. No protesters were hurt, police added.

Students are said to have been camping out since Sunday, allegedly ignoring warnings to leave.

Emerson College has not yet commented on the arrests. In a previous statement, it said it supported the right to peaceful protests - while urging activists to comply with the law.

Earlier, there were chaotic scenes on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin as hundreds of local and state police on horseback, holding batons, dispersed protesters.

Today, the United States is aiding and abetting the destruction of the Palestinian people. pic.twitter.com/NuS53C4XIX

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 24, 2024

Russia Influence in Sahel: United States to withdraw her forces from Niger Republic

The United States of America will withdraw its soldiers from Niger as the West African nation is increasingly turning to Russia and away from Western powers.

The US, French and NATO military presence in any region most especially in West Africa have been to further neo-colonialism, unimaginable exploitation and assassination of pro-people/masses leadership.

The new military juntas in the region ate cutting off military relationship with French and NATO leader America in favour of President Vladimir Putin led Russia Federation.

The US military presence in Niger Republic, except for distabilization  and America egos, it has no benefits for the people of West Africa. It was established mainly against the defeating prospect of Nigeria becoming a region power.

With US and French military bases, the region hse witnessed insurgency of ISWAP/BOKO HARAM among many othes wrecking havocs across many counties in the region .The US has the reportd of how these TERRORISTS are been trained and armed.

According to a Latest report, the US Department of State agreed to pull out about 1,000 troops from the country that has been under military rule since July 2023, US media reported late on Friday.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine met on Friday, the reports said, with Washington committing to begin planning an “orderly and responsible” withdrawal of its troops from the country.

The US built a military base in Niger to combat armed groups that pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the Sahel region, which also includes Burkina Faso and Mali.

The major airbase in Agadez, some 920km (572 miles) from the capital Niamey was used for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations.

Known as Air Base 201, it was built at a cost of more than $100m. Since 2018, it has been used to target ISIL fighters and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate.

While maintaining a line of communication with the military government in Niger, the US military had started preparing for the possibility of having to withdraw, with US General James Hecker saying last year that Washington is probing “several locations” elsewhere in West Africa to station its drones.

Nigerien state television reported that US officials would visit next week. There was no public announcement from the State Department on the withdrawal and officials said no timeline had yet been set.




Niger announced in March that it had suspended a military agreement with the US and would pursue a withdrawal of its soldiers.

The US is being forced to withdraw from Niger as it is not favoured either by the ruling military or by the population that is rejecting post-colonial forces. Protesters took to the streets in the capital earlier this month to demand the departure of US forces.


Like the military rulers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, the West African nation had kicked out French and European troops following the military takeover.

All three countries have now turned to Russia for support, with Moscow confirming earlier this month that it has sent military trainers and an air defence system and other military equipment to Niger as it deepens its security ties.

Along with armed groups, the conflict-ridden Sahel region is also becoming an influential route for drug trafficking, with the United Nations saying 1,466kg (3,232 pounds) of cocaine were seized in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger compared with an average of just 13kg (28.7 pounds) between 2013 and 2020.

Iranian Observer: US want Iran to allow Israel a symbolic strike to save face

 

Both Israeli political and military leaders in their series of war meeting agreed that Iran's direct attack against Israel must not go without response.

World leaders have been calling for restraint in between the two countries .

Over 300 missiles and projectiles were fired by Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel in retaliation to Israel's bombing of Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria.

⚡️BREAKING

The US contacted Iran, asking it to allow Israel a symbolic strike to save face, an Iranian official told the Cradle pic.twitter.com/VxLyOm5XlH

— Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) April 16, 2024

Pentagon to ‘take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin

Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, three times over the weekend.

During their most recent call, they reviewed “the successful combined operation by the United States, Israel and their partners to defend Israel from these unprecedented attacks by Iran and its proxies,” he said.

Ryder also said “that while the United States does not seek escalation, we will continue to take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel”.

He later added that US aircraft were involved in intercepting more than 80 of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fired at Israel.

“We’re going to continue to stay in close consultation with our Israeli partners, as we have done throughout the weekend,” Ryder said, adding, “We don’t seek wider regional conflict.”

Source: Aljazeera news

Israel—Iran Confrontation: We’ll continue to support the defence of Israel — US

United States' Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on Monday said Washington does not want to see any escalation in hostilities with Iran but will continue to defend Israel.

“We don’t seek escalation, but we’ll continue to support the defence of Israel and to protect our personnel in the region,” Blinken said at the start of a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim.

“What this weekend demonstrated is that Israel did not have to and does not have to defend itself alone when it is the victim of an aggression, the victim of an attack,” he added, calling Iran’s actions “unprecedented”.

Blinken also said he was involved in a series of talks over the past 36 hours, seeking to coordinate a diplomatic response that would prevent a regional crisis.

G7 nations have also reinstated their commitment to back and support Israel.

Islamic Republic of Iran says it warned US its bases will be targeted if it backed an Israeli response

The Islamic Republic of  Iran has warned US its bases will be targeted if it backed an Israeli response against Tehran.

According to Mohammad Bagheri who is the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, an Israeli response to the Iranian military operation would be “much bigger”, Tasnim reports.

The Iranian news agency quoted him as saying that the reason for last night’s attack was that Israel had crossed Iran’s red lines.

Bagheri added that Iran has conveyed a message to the US through the Swiss embassy that if it participated “in further aggressive Zionist moves through its bases or military assets across the region, and this is proven to us, its bases and assets and personnel in the region will have no security”.

He added: “We will see it as aggressor as well and react accordingly.”

Cuba: Havana denounces destabilizing attempts from the U.S.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced that U.S.-based terrorist groups are encouraging actions against the country's internal order, taking advantage of the harsh situation the island is undergoing.

On X social media the Head of State also informed that some people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the deficit in the national power service and the distribution of food.

Enemies of the Cuban revolution are trying to use such context with destabilizing purposes, Diaz-Canel stressed.

From Santiago de Cuba, the First Secretary of the Party Committee in that eastern Cuban province, Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, referred to the concerns of citizens about food distribution and electricity supply.

Beatriz Johnson also published in X that a group of people from the Antonio Maceo district in that eastern city were attended to. They showed dissatisfaction with the electricity supply and food distribution, she confirmed.

President Díaz-Canel pointed out that in the last few hours we have seen how terrorists based in the United States, whom we have denounced on several occasions, have encouraged actions against the country’s internal peace and order.

In this regard, the president said that “the willingness of the authorities of the Communist Party of Cuba, the State and the Government is to attend to the demands of our people, listen, talk, explain the numerous steps being taken to come out of the current hardships, always in an atmosphere of tranquility”.

The President reaffirmed that “in the midst of the conditions of a U.S. blockade that intends to suffocate us, we will continue working in peace to get out of this situation”.

Source 

The Struggle Continues: Sowore Departs for USA after Five Years

Sowore

Later today I will be returning to the US after almost five years of my unlawful, unjust and inhuman detention by the corrupt Nigerian political system since August 2019. Omoyele Sowore said as he is set to leave the country.

In his words: 'I was arrested, assaulted, tortured and detained for demanding that Nigerians deserved a nation that they can truly call their own. I was charged with treason - and after 5 years the APC government was forced to withdraw its trumped up charges against me."

"If the government thought that keeping me detained, and later restricting my movement would break my spirit, and cause me to renounce my commitment to fighting for the downtrodden Nigerian people, they are mistaken. "

"In the last five years, I have been denied the ability to visit my family, missing out on precious moments with my darling wife and wonderful children. I lost my brother to gunmen on Nigeria’s roads. My mother’s health deteriorated, due to the emotional toll of the government’s unrelenting assault on my person. My associates have faced arrest, and some imprisonment. "

"I stand today to declare that I am unbowed. My commitment to Nigeria is unshakable. My resolve to continue to fight for the betterment of the Nigerian nation and to demand accountability from her leaders will never be compromised. "

"Everything we said five years ago about the need for a radical restructuring of the Nigerian nation and the need for a revolution in our approach to politics and governance has come to pass. Corruption remains high and Nigerians are worse off today than they were five years ago. Inflation is making it difficult for people to put food on the table. Nigeria’s currency has been devalued by almost 100%. "

'I am under no illusions about what the future holds. I commuted myself to the mission of helping to create a Nigeria that fulfills its promise and realizes its potential, over 30 years ago. I have suffered greatly for that commitment. My family, colleagues, and associates who have stood by me throughout this journey have endured great pain and privations as well. "

Sowore further said: "For those who wonder what my next steps will be - I say this: I believe now, as I did over 30 years ago when I began this journey, that the vision of creating a just and egalitarian society must be established during my lifetime. "

"My trip today to reunite with my children and courageous and supportive wife is only for a short while. I will return to Nigeria to continue my struggle for the total liberation of our people from the shackles of the current corrupt, self serving political class. I will also be returning to face headlong, the remaining truckload of bogus criminal and civil cases that have been thrown at me since my detention in 2019."

'Let me use this opportunity to thank my family, lawyers particularly Femi Falana SAN, colleagues, and fellow revolutionaries at home and abroad who have stood firmly by my side, against all odds. "

The socio political and human rights activist optimistically added: "Nigeria will be free. Nigerians will see a nation that is free of corruption, that has leaders whose only interest is in uplifting the people and creating an environment where our people can realize their potential. "

"I remain committed to this ideal. It is a commitment that I have dedicated my life to, and my resolve to stay the path and keep on with the fight remains strong!"

#RevolutionNow

Whoever Bola A. Tinubu that attended Chicago state University never graduated (VIDEO)

 US, EU, OTHERS ASK TINUBU TO VACATE ASO ROCKS

#SPECIALMILITARYOPERATION: Russia targets US and European arms shipments in Ukraine

The Russian Ministry of Defense destroyed US and European military equipment depots using naval "Kaliber" missiles, and reported the surrender of 265 Ukrainian militants at the "Azovstal" plant.

Russia announced today, Tuesday, the targeting of US and European arms shipments, near the city of Lvov, in western Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement: "have been targeted and the destruction of American and European arms shipments near the city of Lvov missiles, naval aircraft CALIBER."

According to the statement, high-precision air missiles of the Russian Air Force hit two command posts and a communications center, including the 30th mechanized brigade in the Bakhmut region, 28 military assembly areas, and two depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The United States provides a number of European countries led by Germany and Britain Kyiv sophisticated weaponry.

The statement stated that 265 Ukrainian militants, including 51 seriously wounded, surrendered and laid down their weapons, after they were trapped in the Azovstal factory in Mariupol.

Russia announced yesterday, to reach an agreement with the Ukrainian military in the factory area "Azovstal" to evacuate the wounded to medical institutions in the People's Republic of Donetsk.

Also, the Russian Defense Ministry indicated that its forces had killed, during the past 24 hours, "more than 470 extremist militants, and disabled 68 units of military equipment."

Mariupol: Captured Ukrainian Commander says US-supplied Javelins ‘useless’

RT: The Kiev troops defending Mariupol couldn’t fire a single US-made missile, the captured officer claims

The US-made Javelin anti-tank systems have been praised for their effectiveness by Washington officials and have been turned by Western Media into a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance in the conflict with Russia. But a commander of the Ukrainian marines, who ended up being captured during the fighting for Mariupol, has revealed to RT that the hardware doesn't really live up to the claims.

“The Javelins didn’t prove useful, especially in urban warfare,” Colonel Vladimir Baranyuk, the commander of Ukraine’s 36th Naval Infantry Brigade, said.

“We couldn't even launch one. I think it's completely useless in an urban environment, as something always gets in the way,” he explained.

Baranyuk's unit was also armed with Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAWs), supplied by Britain, but these also had their flaws, according to the officer.

“As for the NLAW missile launchers, well, we used them more often than the Javelins, but it has its own issue with the battery draining in cold conditions, making it impossible to launch,” he said.

Shoulder-fired Javelin missiles are equipped with infrared guidance and are said to be adopt a “top attack” trajectory to strike the roof of a tank, which is its most vulnerable part. Just like NLAWs, they're a “fire-and-forget” weapon, meaning that the missile guides itself to its target.

More than 5,000 Javelins have been supplied to Kiev by Washington. Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri said last week that it accounted for a third of the US stockpile of those systems. London, for its part, has already armed the Ukrainian military with over 4,000 NLAWs and other anti-tank missiles.

“The Javelin… have proven to be very, very effective in this fight,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in April, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.

An image of Christianity’s Virgin Mother Mary with a Javelin has become an internet meme during the conflict, with US President Joe Biden boasting earlier this week of Ukrainian parents calling their newborn kids “Javelin or Javelina” in honor of the American system.

Baranyuk and his marines had been tasked with guarding the northern outskirts of Mariupol, a strategic port city in the southeast of Ukraine, from the advancing Russian forces.

The commander was captured during a failed attempt to flee the city, which he claims he attempted together with several loyal men after realizing that Kiev's promises to send help to his encircled troops were lies.

Mariupol has seen the heaviest fighting during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and suffered immense destruction. The city is now almost entirely controlled by Russian forces, with the Azovstal steel plant - where Kiev servicemen and nationalist fighters of the notorious Azov Battalion are holed up, now being the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance.

Russia attacked its neighboring state following Ukraine's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, signed in 2014, and Moscow's eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join NATO. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

Source: RT

Russian President Putin Readt to Negotiate with the US-Led NATO, Ukraine only 'part' of the problem says Kremlin

President Vladimir Putin of Russia is “willing to negotiate” over demands for security guarantees with the West, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, highlighting that the issue surrounding Ukraine is only “part” of the overall problem.

Peskov noted that negotiations have consistently been at the top of the president’s list of priorities. “President Putin has always been demanding negotiations and diplomacy”, Peskov said to CNN, adding that it was the Kremlin which originally “initiated the issue of guarantees of security.”

He said: “Ukraine is just part of the problem, it’s part of the bigger problem of security guarantees for Russia,” the spokesman continued, emphasizing that Putin is “willing” to engage on a wider range of subjects.

Peskov’s comments were met by with a positive response in Washington, where US Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre welcomed the chance for dialogue.

We are open to diplomacy. That door to diplomacy is open, as we have said,” she noted. “And so … that’s what we want to be headed towards.”

Peskov’s comments on Monday night echoed similar statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who earlier that day had highlighted Russia’s desire for effective dialogue with the West.

“We will develop a dialogue on aspects that are currently practically important, with our Western, primarily American, colleagues,” Lavrov declared.

These recent comments from the Russian officials coincide with an announcement on Tuesday morning from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Russian response to US-led NATO regarding security proposals is nearing completion.

On December 17 last year, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a draft agreement between Russia and NATO members presenting Moscow’s security demands, namely the guarantee by the US-led military bloc of its non-expansion east into Ukraine and a limit to the deployment of troops and weapons to the bloc’s eastern flank, in effect returning NATO forces to where they were stationed in 1997.

Moscow received an official written response from Washington on January 26. However, shortly after the text arrived, Putin lamented that all of Russia’s fundamental demands were ignored.

Source

China says US ‘fanning threat of war’, Ukraine social and economy dealt a serious blow

Intelligence reports claiming a Russian invasion could be imminent have hit the Ukrainian economy hard

Claims from Western politicians and spy agencies that Russian bombs could start falling on Ukraine at any moment as part of an all-out invasion have dealt a heavy social and economic blow to Kiev, Beijing has claimed.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin weighed in on the standoff on the border between the two Eastern European nations, arguing that Washington has contributed to rapidly rising tensions.

“Over the last few days, the US has been fanning the threat of war, artificially creating a tense atmosphere, which has dealt a serious blow to the economy, social stability and living conditions of the people of Ukraine,” he said.

According to the diplomat, Washington has also increased “the resistance to advancing negotiations and dialogue among the parties concerned.”

Wang’s remarks come amid an impasse between East and West in recent months, with a number of leaders repeatedly warning that Russia could soon order an invasion of Ukraine. Officials in Washington have even gone so far as to claim that Moscow could launch the attack during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Earlier this week, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby announced that the US is becoming increasingly concerned about the “burgeoning relationship between Russia and China” and Beijing’s “tacit support” for Moscow on issues of European security.

The Kremlin has repeatedly insisted that it has no aggressive intentions against Ukraine. On Tuesday, Moscow’s Ministry of Defense announced that its troops had wrapped up their training drills in Belarus near the Ukrainian border, and would begin the process of returning to their permanent bases.

Amid rumors that an incursion into Ukraine is imminent, Moscow has sought to obtain security guarantees that would limit both NATO’s expansion closer to its borders and its presence in Eastern Europe.

Following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympic Games earlier this month, the Kremlin published a joint declaration in which both sides called for an end to the US-led military bloc’s expansion. “The parties oppose the further expansion of NATO and call for the North Atlantic Alliance to refrain from ideological approaches from the time of the Cold War,” the statement read.

The two nations have emphasized the importance of their partnership in an array of spheres, such as their booming trade, energy, economics, and defense. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Xi is fully on board with Moscow’s pursuit of attaining security assurances from the West, noting in December that the Chinese leader is “naturally well aware of and understands the main issue: the concerns Russia has on its western borders.”

However, several analysts have speculated that this seemingly budding collaboration between Moscow and Beijing may not be as developed when compared to blocs such as NATO.

RT

Moscow rejects Washington concerns about Ukraine as smokescreen

President Putin

Russia on Monday  vehemently condemned and rejected the U.S. claims of a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine.

Kremlin added that it could be a ruse intended to cover up what it described as Ukrainian leadership's aggressive intentions.

According to the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov who dismissed U.S. media allegations of Moscow's purported plans to invade Ukraine as part of efforts to discredit Russia. 

Peskov maintained that troop movements on Russia's own territory shouldn't concern anyone.

Ukraine complained earlier this month that Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops not far from the two countries' borders after conducting war games in an attempt to further pressure its ex-Soviet neighbor. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and has supported a separatist insurgency that broke out that year in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking to Ukraine's foreign minister this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that Russia's "playbook" was to build up forces near the border and then invade, "claiming falsely that it was provoked."

Peskov sought to turn the tables on Ukraine and the West, arguing that the expressions of concern by the U.S. and its allies may "camouflage aggressive intentions in Kyiv to try to solve the problem of the southeast by force."

He accused the Ukrainian military of increasingly frequent shootings across the tense line of contact in the east and added that Moscow is strongly worried about the U.S. and other NATO countries providing Ukraine with weapons.

"The number of provocations has been growing, and those provocations have been conducted using the weapons that NATO countries sent to Ukraine," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. "We are watching it with a grave concern."

Russia has cast its weight behind the separatist insurgency in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland known as Donbas that has left more than 14,000 people dead. But Moscow has repeatedly denied any presence of its troops in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday also criticized what he described as "bellicose rhetoric" by Ukrainian military officials, charging that it could "reflect a desire to conduct provocations and turn the conflict into a hot phase."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba rejected the Russian allegations of Ukraine's plans to launch an attack on Donbas as part of Moscow's "disinformation."

"Let me state it officially: Ukraine does not plan a military offensive in the Donbas," Kuleba said on Twitter. "We are devoted to seeking political & diplomatic solutions to the conflict."

In a strongly-worded statement, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) scathingly criticized the U.S. State Department of spreading "absolute lies" about a purported Russian buildup near Ukraine.

"The Americans are painting a horrible picture of Russian tank armadas crushing Ukrainian cities," it said in Monday's statement. "It's surprising to see a speed at which a formerly respectable foreign policy agency is turning into a mouthpiece of mendacious propaganda."

The SVR alleged that it was Ukraine that was beefing up its forces near Russia and Belarus.

The Russian spy agency also accused the U.S. and the European Union of encouraging "the sense of permissiveness and impunity" in Ukraine, comparing the situation to Western expressions of support to Georgia before the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.

Russia routed the Georgian army in the brief conflict that erupted when Georgia attempted to reclaim control over a Russia-backed separatist province. Moscow then recognized the independence of Georgia's two separatist provinces after the war.

Source

United States warns Israel its attacks on Iran nuclear program are counterproductive — NYT

It is no long a new apotheosis that threatening Iran by America and allies, economy sanctions or "economy Terrorism" as Tehran called it has always been counterproductive and by continuing doing so America is only putting all it's Allies in the region at risk, although Washington has repeatedly claims all options are on the table.

In contrast, the he officials of the United States have warned Israel that its attacks against the Iranian nuclear program are counterproductive and have enabled Tehran to rebuild an even more efficient enrichment system, according to the New York Times report Sunday.

NYT, citing officials familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussion between Washington and Jerusalem, as the Biden Administration continues to try and bring Iran back into the nuclear deal, the report said that Israeli officials have dismissed the warnings, saying they have “no intention of letting up.”

While in the last 20 months there have been four explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities attributed to Israel, along with the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, the report said Washington officials have cautioned their Israeli counterparts that while such efforts may be “tactically satisfying,” they are “ultimately counterproductive.” And that Iran has managed to resume enrichment within months, often installing newer machines that can enrich uranium far faster.

However, the officials said Israel appeared unmoved by the arguments, and this was one of the many areas on which the US and Israel disagree regarding efforts to thwart Tehran’s drive to build nuclear weapons.

Further complicating matters was the fact that Iran has apparently managed to improve its defenses, particularly in the cyber field, the report said. As a consequence, cyber attacks like the Stuxnet attack that crippled centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear enrichment site for more than a year, an attack widely reported to be a joint US-Israeli effort, have become “much harder now to pull off.”

The major concern now was how close Iran has come to being able to build a nuclear weapon since then-US president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018.

This week, with Iran set for talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had again increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Iran’s stockpile, as of November 6, was many times in excess of the limit laid down in the agreement with world powers, said the IAEA report. Such highly enriched uranium can be easily refined to make atomic weapons, which is why world powers have sought to contain Tehran’s nuclear program.

The Vienna-based agency told members that it is still not able to verify Iran’s exact stockpile of enriched uranium due to the limitations Tehran imposed on UN inspectors earlier this year.

The IAEA has been unable to access surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites or of online enrichment monitors and electronic seals since February. The agency’s chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press this month that the situation was like “flying in a heavily clouded sky.”

Sunday’s NYT report said that since abandoning the agreement, Iran had managed to reduce its breakout time to a bomb from about a year to just a few weeks.

“Before Mr. Trump decided to scrap the deal, Iran had adhered to the limits of the 2015 agreement — which by most estimates kept it about a year from ‘breakout,’ the point where it has enough material for a bomb. While estimates vary, that buffer is now down to somewhere between three weeks and a few months, which would change the geopolitical calculation throughout the Middle East,” the report said.

US officials have publicly warned that Iran’s violations are making it increasingly unlikely that there can be a return to the 2015 deal as it was.

The US envoy for Iran Robert Malley warned Friday that Tehran was approaching the point of no return for reviving a nuclear deal after it boosted its stocks of enriched uranium before the talks resume this month.

“The time will come if Iran continues at this pace with the advancements they’ve made, [it] will make it impossible even if we were going to go back to the JCPOA to recapture the benefits,” Malley told the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain, referring to the deal by its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“Iran’s advances are spreading alarm across the region… that’s what’s making the clock tick faster and making all of us say that the time is short for a return to the JCPOA,” Malley said.

And I want to be clear, because there’s no ambiguity about what they seem to be doing now, which is to drag their feet on the nuclear talks and accelerate the progress in their nuclear program,” he added.

The US envoy said he was not encouraged by the statements from the new Iranian government of President Ebrahim Raisi, which earlier on Friday accused Washington of conducting a “propaganda campaign” against the country.

With the possibility of a return to the 2015 deal fading, the US was examining the possibility of hammering out an interim deal with Iran, the New York Times report said, confirming a separate report last week. “Inside the White House, there has been a scramble in recent days to explore whether some kind of interim deal might be possible to freeze Iran’s production of more enriched uranium and its conversion of that fuel to metallic form — a necessary step in fabricating a warhead,” the Times said. “In return, the United States might ease a limited number of sanctions. That would not solve the problem. But it might buy time for negotiations, while holding off Israeli threats to bomb Iranian facilities.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised the prospect of an interim agreement with Iran, to allow more time for nuclear negotiations, in talks with his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata, the Axios news site reported last week.

A pair of American sources said Sullivan and Hulata were just “brainstorming,” and that the proposal was suggested by an unspecified European ally of the US.

The US sources said the proposal was for Iran to suspend a disallowed nuclear activity such as enriching uranium to 60 percent, in exchange for the US and allied countries releasing some frozen Iranian money, or issuing sanctions waivers on humanitarian goods.

An unnamed Israeli official cited in the Axios report said Hulata told Sullivan he was against the idea and Israel’s concern was that any interim agreement could become permanent, allowing Iran to maintain its nuclear infrastructure and supply of uranium it has built up.

While Israel has been more direct, staying her readiness to attack Iran’s nuclear program and allocating billions of dollars to IDF to prepare and train for a potential strike, the United States has been trying to reassure its allies in recent days that if diplomacy fails, other options are available.

“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Manama event, which was put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure,” he said.

However, Iran has proven on several occasions that they are not soft power. In retaliation for the assasination of general suleimani Tehran fired precision missiles from their territories and they successfully destroyed American military base in northern Iraq. On another occasion the Houthi forces in Yemen flew barrages of Armed drones into Aramco oil field in Saudi Arabia crippling oil production, Iran was behind the attack.

Any aggressive act against Iran will yeild response from Tehran no matter how and irrespective of who is the aggressor and may not halt the Persia nuclear programs for the time being.

Currently, Iran is not known to  possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and has been signatory to treaties repudiating the possession of WMDs including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 

Iran has first-hand knowledge of WMD effects as over 100,000 Iranian troops and civilians were victims of chemical weapons during the 1980s Iran–Iraq War.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Says US, E3, PGCC statement worthless to reply

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said the US, the E3 and the PGCC statement is worthless and deserves no reply.

According to the report by IRNA,  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying a recent anti-Iran statement by the United States, the E3 - Britain, France and Germany - as well as the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council is not worth answering.

Khatibzadeh, while addressing reporters said such a meeting and statement is a fake and illegitimate showoff that does not deserve any reaction.


According to him, the US administration who violated UN Resolution 2231 and withdrew the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is responsible for the current situation in respect of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

 "The United States is the only country in the world that has a dark history of using nuclear weapons and it is also the one that intervenes in other countries internal affairs and now the US is trying to create a crisis and propagate against Iran." He said


While referring to certain Arab states in the region, he noted that these countries, which are responsible for the invasion of Yemen, are not in a position to put forward baseless accusations against other nations in order to get rid of the responsibility of their crimes.

Robert Malley, the US Special Representative for Iran, and representatives of three European powers, as well as envoys from PGCC states, met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week to discuss the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The participants issued a statement, attempted to reiterate their unfounded charges on Iran's regional influence, and continued their Iranophobic policy.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatibzadeh pointed to comments made by his French counterpart Anne-Claire Legendre, warning that political officials' taking stances with the purpose of affecting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will definitely tarnish the reputation of the international body and question the legitimacy of the agency's moves.


France has called on the IAEA Board of Governors to convey "a strong message" to the Islamic Republic in their next session on November 24.


The Iranian spokesman further condemned the US's new sanctions on six Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity, underlining that such a failed policy to put more pressure on Iran shows the Americans' dismay.

The United States Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday that it has put names of six Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity into the sanction list, claiming that they have tried to affect the 2020 presidential elections in the United States.

On Saturday, American  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast.

This is a pledge coming as negotiations remain stalled over Tehran’s atomic deal with world powers. His comments in Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appeared aimed at reassuring America’s Arab allies in the Gulf as the Biden administration tries to revive the nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” Austin told attendees at an event put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure.”

Authorities in Tehran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, though U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized weapons program until 2003. 

How Irregular movements of Russian troops, equipments near Ukraine border prompt concern in U.S., Europe

Washington Post reports at the weekend confirmed that  a renewed buildup of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border has raised concern among some officials in the United States and Europe who are tracking what they consider irregular movements of equipment and personnel on Russia’s western flank.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's defence ministry on Monday denied any media report of a Russian military buildup near its border, saying it had not observed an increase in forces or weaponry, Reuters reported on Monday

"As of November 1, 2021, an additional transfer of Russian units, weapons and military equipment to the state border of Ukraine was not recorded," the Ukrainian defence ministry said in a statement.

However, accordint to the WP reports, the US  officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the troop movements have reignited concerns that arose in april, when the largest buildup of troops by russia near the ukrainian border in years sparked an international outcry.

The renewed movements of russian forces in the area come as the kremlin embraces a harder line on ukraine. Russian officials from president Vladimir Putin on down have escalated their rhetoric in recent months, attacking kyiv’s western ties and even questioning its sovereignty. 

Putin has warned that any expansion of NATO military infrastructure on ukrainiayn territory represents a “red line” for moscow.

The situation also comes as the simmering 7½-year conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region enters a new stage. On Oct. 26, Ukraine’s military confirmed it had used a Turkish-made drone against a position in Donbas, the first time Kyiv has employed the technology in combat, prompting an outcry from Moscow.


Relations between Moscow and NATO are especially tense. Russia suspended its mission to NATO in Brussels on Oct. 18 after the alliance expelled eight members of the Russian mission on accusations of espionage.


What the Russian forces gathering near the Ukrainian border are doing is unclear.


Videos have surfaced on social media in recent days showing Russian military trains and convoys moving large quantities of military hardware, including tanks and missiles, in southern and western Russia.

"The point is: It is not a drill. It doesn’t appear to be a training exercise. Something is happening. What is it?” said Michael Kofman, director of the Russia studies program at the Virginia-based nonprofit analysis group CNA.

Officials in the United States and Europe began noticing the movements particularly in recent weeks, after Russia concluded a massive joint military exercise with Belarus known as Zapad 2021 on its western flank in mid-September.

According to Kofman, publicly available satellite imagery shows that forces from Russia’s 41st Combined Arms Army, normally based in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, didn’t return to Siberia after the exercises, and instead linked up with other Russian forces near the Ukrainian border. Kofman also said footage posted online appears to show that Russia’s 1st Guards Tank Army, an elite unit based outside Moscow, is moving personnel and materiel toward Ukraine.

Read more on Washington Post

US Navy nuclear engineer, his wife arrested for trying to sell submarine secrets to foreign power

A Maryland-based Navy nuclear engineer and his wife have been arrested on charges of selling secret information about the design of nuclear power warships to someone they thought was a foreign power but was actually an undercover FBI agent.

The Justice Department claims Jonathan Toebbe, through his Pentagon-issued national security clearance, had access to restricted data about naval nuclear technology and used that access to send a package to a foreign government on April 1, 2020. After that, the affidavit alleged he began corresponding with someone he believed to be an agent of another country, but who was an undercover FBI agent. Court documents claim the Navy engineer agreed to sell this restricted data to the undercover agent for $10,000 in cryptocurrency.

Toebbe and his wife, Diana, then allegedly went to West Virginia, where the Navy engineer placed a memory card inside half a peanut butter sandwich, with his wife on the lookout. According to the Justice Department, the card contained restricted data about submarine nuclear reactors.


Based on the criminal complaint, the engineer at one point suspected a trap, but continued with more such "dead drops."


"I am sorry to be so stubborn and untrusting, but I can not agree to go to a location of your choosing," the engineer said, according to a criminal complaint. "I must consider the possibility that l am communicating with an adversary who has intercepted my first message and is attempting to expose me."


Attorney General Merrick Garland said the complaint "charges a plot to transmit information relating to the design of our nuclear submarines to a foreign nation."


"The work of the FBI, Department of Justice prosecutors, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Department of Energy was critical in thwarting the plot charged in the complaint and taking this first step in bringing the perpetrators to justice," Garland said.




CBS News

#EndBlockadeAgainstCuba: We must not tire, we cannot be defeated says NMSC

PRESENTATION BY THE NIGERIA MOVEMENT TO THE AFRICA 2021 VIRTUAL CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA  FACILITATED BY THE CUBAN INSTITUTE OF FRIENDSHIP WITH THE PEOPLES, HAVANA, HOLDING  ON OCTOBER 7, 2021.

We must not tire, we cannot be defeated!

1. Revolutionary greetings to all delegates of the African Solidarity Movements and Friendship Associations with Cuba participating at this special virtual conference facilitated by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) We note with regret that due to the COVID-19 pandemic which made large physical gatherings unsafe, the 7th African Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba scheduled for Mozambique, could not hold.

2. We salute President Fernando Gonzalez and the entire team of dutiful and committed members of ICAP for their sacrifices and faithfulness to the ideals of the Cuban Revolution in sustaining the commendable tradition of solidarity and friendship with us the African people and our organisations in the defence of humanity.

3. The Nigeria Movement speaks here with painful feelings but fond memories of two unforgettable comrades who departed after our 2019 conference. We lost in May 2020 Comrade AbdulKareem Aka-Motajo – who at his demise was the President of the Nigeria-Cuba Friendship and Cultural Association and a leader of the Nigeria Movement of Solidarity with Cuba. Then in September, 2021 we lost the immediate past Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria – Companero Carlos Trejo Sosa. Both comrade Motajo and Ambassador Trejo were instrumental to the successful hosting of the 6th African Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba which held in Nigeria from September 23 – 25, 2019. In a part of the tribute to Ambassador Trejo by the Nigeria Movement, we had said: Ambassador Trejo meant everything to us in the Nigeria Movement of Solidarity with Cuba. He was the initiator of uniting the various groups in Nigeria with relations or association with Cuba under the banner of a single solidarity movement. He was also central to the inauguration of the Nigeria Movement of Solidarity with Cuba. Companero Trejo was a lively, resourceful, highly knowledgeable, widely experienced and friendly personality with whom we shared pleasantries and confidence! These comrades are unforgettable.

4. We should at this virtual Conference affirm that the relationship between Nigeria and Cuba is symbiotic and deeply rooted in shared historical and cultural heritage. It is not possible to speak of Cuba and the Cuban without reference to the tremendous influences of African, especially, Nigerian cultures. Hence, at these times of the tightening of the criminal US Blockade against Cuba with over 243 punitive economic, financial and commercial measures, targeted at crippling the Cuban people, we the Nigeria Movement cannot be indifferent. We are resolved to stand with Cuba as a DUTY to defend the Cuban people and the unparalleled gains of the Cuban Revolution. We declare to the whole world that Cuba is never, and will never be alone!

5. We acknowledge that despite the hardship that Cuba is facing as a result of the blockade, the sudden outbreak of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 and the ill-fated US plot of insidious protest and campaigns of internal destabilisation aimed at collapsing the Revolution, the Cuban people have remained firm and resolute in the defence of truth, principles and ideals of Humanity! Cuba’s role and the sacrifices of her medical brigades in saving lives in over 57 countries, remains an exemplary and unparalleled achievement, for which the Cuban White Shirts deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

6. \At this point in addressing solidarity with Cuba and facing the future together in the defence of Humanity, permit me to reiterate the ACTION PLAN FOR THE AFRICAN MOVEMENT OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA as adopted at the 6th AFRICAN CONTINENTAL MEETING OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA.

The plan which as a result of the pandemic has largely not been implemented,   is to:

• Promote the legacy of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and the Cuban People in Africa, in the form of conferences, commemorative activities, panels, political events in different countries.

• Expand the solidarity movement in Africa to include amongst others, all graduates of Cuba and their families.

• Strengthen and increase the relationship between political forces, trade unions, youth organizations, women's organizations and friendship associations with Cuba.

• Strengthen the links amongst the solidarity organizations with Cuba in the different countries of the continent by encouraging the exchange of experiences.

• Address the people and Congress of the United States with requests to end the illegal and inhuman blockade against Cuba, the Helms Burton Act, the activation of its Title III and the illegal occupation of Guantanamo by the United States.

• Perform, on the 17th of each month, actions demanding the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States government, the end of the aggressive escalation and the return of the territory occupied by the illegal Naval Base in Guantanamo. These should include sending letters to the US government, marches in front of US Embassies/ Consulates, among others.

• Engage the Parliament in every African country and the African Union to approve Resolutions demanding that America ends its illegal and inhuman blockade against Cuba and its illegal occupation of Guantanamo.

• Reinforce actions of solidarity, information dissemination and support for the cause of the Palestine and Saharawi peoples and solidarity with former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the Bolivarian Revolution.

• Promote brigades, caravans, and socio-political groups in all countries through Amistur, on the 60th anniversary of ICAP and the Cuban Revolution.

• Build International Volunteer and Solidarity Work Brigades with Cuba.

• Develop communication strategies including television, radio, social networks, and other platforms for the dissemination of the Cuban reality.

• Intensify the use of social networks as platform to denounce hostile policies against Cuba and in response to disinformation campaigns against the Cuban people.

• Support Cuban collaborators, especially doctors, in different countries and popularize the impact of their work in various communities.

• Draw up strategies for the creation of solidarity organizations with Cuba in those African countries where they are not yet established.

• Prioritize the rejuvenation of the structures that make up the Solidarity Movement with Cuba in a creative and comprehensive way.

CONCLUSION:

The solidarity actions with Cuba, is like a marathon race in which we must not tire so long as imperialism does not tire   or is defeated. As you know, a people united by noble ideas and whose hearts beat in unison for the development of humanity, can never be defeated! There is victory for us!!  Solidarity, forever!!!

Cuba Will Outlive the US Criminal Blockade!

Ever Onward to the Cuban Revolution!

 

Comrade ABIODUN AREMU

For and on behalf of the Nigerian Movement of Solidarity with Cuba

NIGERIA MOVEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA

c/o Pascal Bafyau Labour House, NLC Headquarters, FCT Abuja

E-mail: [email protected]

*Members of the Nigeria
 Movement of Solidarity with
Cuba @ the African Continental
Virtual Conference of Solidarity
with Cuba held yestday
October 7, 2021*

United States to spend $319 million on new Consulate General in Lagos, Nigeria

The American government (US Department Of States) has approved a $319 million contract for the building of a new U.S. Consulate General in the Eko Atlantic, developed by South Energyx Nigeria Limited in collaboration with Lagos State government.

According to a report from the US Department of State on Tuesday, the 12.2-acre site for the new Consulate General would be handled by the awardee of the contract, Pernix Federal, LLC of Lombard, Illinois.

The US Department of State’s Capital Security Construction Program, known as the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, which was established in 1999 awarded the contract while the design architect for the project is Ennead Architects of New York. 

The aim of the new Consulate General is to “provide a modern, resilient platform for diplomacy in Nigeria and is expected to be completed in 2027.”

 The report indicated that the Eko Atlantic as “the location will provide the future diplomatic campus and its neighbors with access to sustainable, modern infrastructure, including an 8.5 km seawall designed to protect the city from rising sea levels and coastal erosion.”

Since its establishment, the OBO has completed up to 168 new diplomatic facilities and currently has more than 50 active projects, either in design or under construction worldwide.