Saudi Arabia reopens its embassy in Syria
...while new Iranian President visits Iraq on his first trip abroad and USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier leaves the Middle East.
Last few days have been quite eventful in the Middle East, but, if you read Western mainstream media (MSM), you will not know anything about these events. For instance, have you read/heard anything about the Arab League summit in Cairo earlier this week on The Guardian or CNN? Another important event that happened just a couple of days ago is the reopening of the Saudi embassy in Damascus (Syria), a historical step in the reconciliation between the two countries after 12 years of frosty diplomatic relations, as reported by the Middle East Monitor and Al Mayadeen. This follows the reopening of the Syrian embassy in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) one year ago, following the rapprochement between the two Arab countries earlier last year.
As Saudi Chargé d’Affaires, Abdullah Al-Harith, stated at a reception held at Damascus’s Four Seasons Hotel on Monday, the reopening of the Saudi embassy in Syria “represents an important moment in the history of relations between our two brotherly countries”, whereas Syria’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Raad, highlighted the “deep fraternal relations and social ties” between the two countries.
Another event worth mentioning is the first visit abroad of the new Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, who met with his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid in Baghdad yesterday, 11th September 2024, as reported by IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency). Pezeshkian’s choice for his first foreign trip is quite significant, as Iraq and Iran were sworn enemies for a long time, especially after the 14 July Revolution in Iraq in 1958, the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the Iran-Iraq war in the Eighties, with normalization of relations starting only in 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussein and the rise to power by pro-Iranian Shia factions in Iraq.
During his visit in Iraq, Masoud Pezeshkian met also with Iraqi Prime Minister (PM) Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani and, as reported by IRNA, they announced the signing of 14 cooperation agreements “in various economic, commercial, cultural and social fields”. In a joint press conference with the Iraqi PM, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian “emphasized the urgent need for implementing security cooperation agreements between” the two countries “to combat terrorism and adversaries that have previously targeted the stability and security of the region”. I am pretty sure that they were referring to the Outlaw US Empire, the new sworn enemy of both countries, though it has always been the “Great Satan” for Islamic Republic of Iran, since the 1979 Iranian revolution (with the “Little Satan” being Israel).
Speaking of the Outlaw US Empire, today Al Mayadeen and Associated Press have reported that USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, targeted multiple times by the Yemeni Armed Forces (source: Al Mayadeen), and USS Daniel Inouye destroyer are leaving the Middle East, after an extended deployment in the area. This may expose Israel to the Iranian retaliation for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Teheran at the end of July and it follows up on the US officials’ warning to Israel that “American aircraft carriers cannot remain in the region indefinitely”, as I reported 6 days ago in one of my previous article (see link below).
By the way, just yesterday Hossein Salami, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), stated that “the enemies will soon taste the revenge of their wickedness”, as quoted by IRNA.
However, it must be said that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier arrived in the Middle East area ~3 weeks ago and now it is stationed in the Gulf of Oman, with submarine USS Georgia remaining in the Red Sea, together with two US destroyers, whereas more US ships are stationed in East Med.
In the meantime, Turkey is taking a much tougher stance than the Outlaw US Empire on the Israeli shooting of Turkish-American human right activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi during a protest in the West Bank, on which I reported in my article in the link above. In fact, today The Guardian has reported that Turkey is seeking international arrest warrants over this case, but this Al Mayadeen article provides more details:
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation under domestic law, focusing on crimes committed against Turkish citizens abroad.
The case will seek to charge those responsible with “premeditated murder”, categorizing the act as a “crime against humanity”.
Turkey plans to take its pursuit of justice to the international level, requesting arrest warrants through Interpol’s red notice system.
[…]
In a bid to escalate the case further, Turkey will push for the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions to take immediate action, calling for the formation of an independent commission of inquiry.
The findings from this commission will be incorporated into ongoing legal proceedings, including genocide cases at the International Court of Justice and investigations at the International Criminal Court.
On the other hand the Outlaw US Empire has just asked Israel to review its military procedures, without even offering condolences to the family of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, as reported in this article by The Guardian:
The family of the American activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi said on Tuesday that neither the White House nor Joe Biden had called to offer condolences.
[…]
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, on Tuesday demanded an overhaul of Israeli military conduct in the occupied West Bank as they decried the fatal shooting of an American protester against settlement expansion, which Israel said was accidental.
[…]
Israel’s military said on Tuesday that its initial inquiry found it was highly likely its troops had fired the shot that killed her but that her death was unintentional, and it voiced deep regret.
The US president later told reporters “it ricocheted off the ground” and a US official said that was the conclusion of the Israeli investigation, the results of which were presented to the United States on Tuesday.
Eygi’s family called Israel’s preliminary inquiry “wholly inadequate” and demanded an independent US investigation.
Hamid Ali, Eygi’s partner, in response to Biden’s comments, said her death “was no accident and her killers must be held accountable.
“The White House has not spoken with us. For four days, we have waited for President Biden to pick up the phone and do the right thing,” Ali said.
[…]
“We are deeply offended by the suggestion that her killing by a trained sniper was in any way unintentional,” Eygi’s family said in a statement.
Indeed! I wonder how trained Israeli snipers can “accidentally” hit the head of a human right activist… or the heads of innocent Palestinian children and women taking refuge within hospitals and churches, as it has been reported several times!
On a final note, this morning Al Mayadeen has reported that the Outlaw US Empire, in an effort “to repair strained relations and counter global power shifts”, is backing the creation of two permanent seats at the UN Security Council (UNSC) “for African states, along with a rotating seat for small island developing states of the Pacific Islands”. Quite interesting timing for such an announcement, especially considering what the Arab League is proposing to table at the UN Security Council and General Assembly, as I reported in my penultimate article in the link below.
I am pretty sure that the Outlaw US Empire has sensed the growing discontent among African countries for its support to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank and now it is trying to turn the table and split the “Rest of the World”, by buying some countries, offering some seats at the UNSC, though changes to its composition require amending the UN charter, which needs to be approved by 2/3 of the UNGA and by the 5 UNSC Permanent Members with veto power.
The Outlaw US Empire is even sending $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt, as reported today by the Associated Press. What a coincidence!
thanks ismaele...
briefly, much of this can be summarized as the usa and friends losing the type of power and leverage they have had since the end of ww2 and the establishment of many important institutions... i think this trend will continue, but they still have a fair amount of power... many of the examples in your post are testimony to these 'slowly but surely' changes taking place.. i think many see the winds of change and being fickle players, are going with the direction the wind is taking them... very few seem guided by principles, but i could be wrong about that.. either way, the changes are positive...
what to do about israels wanton disregard for any sense of balance or perspective is unlikely to change soon, but even here, i had heard of a demonstration of 3/4 of a million israel citizens opposed to the present gov't policies.. maybe i have that wrong, but again - the people of these countries don't necessarily align with the leadership decisions being made at present.... look at germany and france for recent examples via the byelections and elections for more examples... people are saying no to what their leaders are pushing on them... that is ultimately very positive when their leaders are so off track..