Iran is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years. On Monday Iran accused the United States and the West of using technology to wage a “soft war” against the Islamic country. “I am suspicious about the drought in the southern part of the country,” said the head of Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism organization, Hassan Mousavi. In 2011, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the West... 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the West has been trying to blackmail Moscow into accepting a military intervention in Syria. On Monday, Lavrov said the Western threats to discontinue the UN unarmed observer mission to Syria if Russia does not agree to allow the West to use force in the country amounts to blackmail. “We will not be able... 

USNS Rappahannock. Fleet tankers or replenishment oilers are naval auxiliary ships with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds, which can replenish other ships while underway on the high seas. Rising tension in the Gulf has claimed a victim as a civilian boat came under fire from a US Navy ship after getting too close to an American tanker. One person was killed and three others wounded in the incident, say... 

Republican candidate Mitt Romney (L) and US President Barack Obama Iran’s amicable relations with Latin American states, in particular Venezuela, has become a sticking point in the US presidential campaign, with both leading contenders trading accusations on policies towards South American states allied with the Islamic Republic. The tit-for-tat began when Republican candidate Mitt Romney and his... 

A Russian Buk-M2 air defense system Russia says it has no plans to impose an arms embargo on Syria and intends to fulfill a contract for delivering air defense systems to the country. A senior Russian arms export official said on Wednesday that since the contract to deliver Syria the air defense systems were signed before the outbreak of unrest in the country, Moscow is obliged to fulfill its commitments. ”Russia... 

Tajikistan’s latest move to toughen its position in renewing the lease of the 201st Russian army base is connected with the activities, which the United States and China have been conducting in the former Soviet republic recently. As a result, Moscow may lose its influence in this country, Alexander Karavayev, deputy director of the Center for the Study of the former Soviet Union, Moscow State... 

Switzerland suspends arms shipments to the UAE over a report that Swiss hand grenades have ended up in the hands of militants groups in Syria. Switzerland has decided to suspend arms shipments to the United Arab Emirates following a report that Swiss-made hand grenades are being used by armed gangs in Syria. The measure was taken on Wednesday after the Sonntagszeitung newspaper published a photograph... 

A disturbing new report prepared by the Federal Security Service (FSB) states that in the past 3 weeks American rebel forces battling against the US government have “retaliated in force” after the massacre of at least 380 men, women and children attending a clandestine Michigan meeting held earlier last month who were targeted for annihilation by the Obama regime. According to this report, the... 

The world’s largest sailing ship, the Sedov, that started its world cruise in May, may not reach all of its destination ports. The Sedov has recently declined entering the Swedish ports of Göteborg and Malmo because the local authorities could arrest the ship. US officials said that they would arrest the ship if it called at the port of San Francisco. The ship was supposed to call at San Francisco... 

Admiral Panteleyev destroyer A group of Russia’s Pacific Fleet warships has arrived at the U.S. Pearl Harbor naval base to take part in the Rim of the Pacific international drills, a fleet spokesman said on Saturday. “During their long voyage from Vladivostok to Pearl Harbor, the warships’ crews held several firing drills, successfully destroying all the targets,” First-Rank Captain Roman Martov... 

Members of the terrorist Free Syrian Army An estimated 10,000 armed men equipped with highly-sophisticated weapons, including anti-tank missiles, have reportedly entered Syria to help fuel the unrest in the country, Press TV has learned. Informed sources in the Qusayr village in Homs say the terrorists crossed into Syria from the Lebanese border and that they have taken positions in the suburbs of... 

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan (C) speaks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) next to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) at the opening of a meeting on June 30, 2012, at the United Nations office in Geneva. The Syrian crisis is to be resolved by a transition government consisting of the current authorities and opposition leaders. The proposal was announced by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi... 

Diplomats try again for peace but on the ground in Syria it is now war. As his helicopter gunships rained death from the skies and his artillery pounded villages with rebel sympathies, President Bashar al-Assad stated the obvious: Syria is at war. “When one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory,” he told his cabinet, in the safety of his... 

Turkey has reportedly deployed tanks and armored vehicles to the Syrian border. Turkish officials have confirmed deploying anti-aircraft batteries in the area close to the border with Syria. This is the reply to Syria downing a Turkish reconnaissance aircraft in country’s territorial waters and the shooting at another plane. ­Turkish state TV reports 30 military trucks, including air-defense systems... 

It is now widely known that the Obama administration, with the help of its allies, is planning to launch an offensive against the Assad regime in Syria. The attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, with the help Israel, also seems to be on the cards. In such a situation, where Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have proven to be clear fiascos, the dwindling world economic scene can least afford another major...