After being absent as a geopolitical force to be reckoned with in the Middle East for almost two decades, Russia is now seeking ways to downscale Washington's presence in the region by becoming a pillar of regional security. And it seems that this time around Moscow has every chance to become the undisputed leader across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

It's safe to say that Washington's grand plan for the redrawal of the regional map, and especially its proxy designs in Syria, have all failed. Syria's leader, President Bashar al-Assad, is now steps away from reclaiming all of Syria's territory. This development has serious regional implications, as it proves to regional players that if you have consistency in the policies you pursue and if you have just the right allies on your side, the tide can be turned in your favor, no matter how much meddling Washington throws your way. At certain points, it seemed that all was but lost for Damascus over the course of the Syrian war, but yet, here we are. This shows that Russia is the only serious partner that actually fulfills its obligations to its partners. This is an important sign that the balance of power in the Middle East is changing significantly, which results in its influence growing across the region, from Morocco to Pakistan.

UPDATE: The Department of Justice has responded to video footage of a DOJ employee discussing the "resist" movement within the agency. The video was captured by investigative journalism organization, Project Veritas, as part of an explosive series on the "Deep State."

A Department of Justice spokesperson said, "These allegations are deeply concerning. Department policy prohibits misuse of government resources to advance personal interests. We are looking into this immediately and have referred this matter to the Inspector General as well."

DOJ paralegal, Allison Hrabar, was asked by an undercover Project Veritas journalist whether or not her fellow DOJ employees were doing anything to "fight against Trump."

"Um, yeah, I mean a lot of us talk about it, so most of them are like vaguely politically involved, so they might support candidates and do fundraisers, and some of them canvas," she replied. "And there's a lot of talk about how we can like, resist from inside and there's a lot of, kind of like, push back."

Hrabar is also a leader for the D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and back in June, she made headlines when she led an unhinged protest against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson at a Mexican restaurant.

Months after unilaterally tearing up the internationally recognized Iran deal, the US is looking to cut a "new treaty" with the Islamic Republic. But will Iran accept? And can Washington's words be trusted?

The US is looking to negotiate a treaty with Iran to regulate its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, US special envoy for Iran Brian Hook said on Wednesday.

"The new deal that we hope to be able to sign with Iran, and it will not be a personal agreement between two governments like the last one: we seek a treaty," he said, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting in New York next week, chaired by President Donald Trump.

Hook admitted, however, that Iranian leaders, for some inexplicable reason, did not seem interested in talking with the US - even though President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo generously expressed their willingness to negotiate with Tehran. In order to convince Tehran to talk, Hook threatened it with "stronger measures" than the crippling sanctions already imposed by the US.

Jeremy Corbyn's top adviser has questioned whether the 'deep state' is maneuvering to block any possibility of a Labour government under his leadership, because the establishment deplores his approach to foreign policy.

Corbyn adviser Andrew Murray has not, to date, been granted a parliamentary security pass, and asks in an article he's penned in the centre-left publication, the New Statesman, whether such a move is a "political stunt" committed by the "deep state," in an attempt to prevent a Corbyn administration ever coming into power.

Murray has questioned whether the Mail on Sunday revelations he's been refused "Commons security clearance" in addition to being "banned from entering Ukraine," is all just a "curiously-timed episode."

The Labour adviser writes:

"We are often told that the days of secret state political chicanery are long past and we must hope so. But sometimes you have to wonder - this curiously timed episode seems less rooted in a Kiev security scare than in a political stunt closer to home."

The former chair of Stop the War and current chief of staff to Unite, general secretary Len McCluskey, references the Mail on Sunday, which claims a Ukrainian secret service officer told them Murray's Ukraine ban is because he's "part of Putin's global propaganda network."

Israel doesn't want to allow the public to witness what's happening in Gaza, the head of an EU Parliament delegation told RT, after being barred from entering the enclave. He called Israel's actions there "a war crime."

The group from the European Parliament was scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday but was denied access. The delegates said they were planning to monitor the humanitarian situation "caused by a decade of blockade" there during their three-day mission. According to delegation head Neoklis Sylikiotis, an MEP from Cyprus, the main reason behind the Israeli decision "is not to bring the European community into the Gaza Strip."

"For me what happens in the Gaza Strip is a war crime. We have to give this message to the international community. [Israeli] settlements are a war crime," the politician told RT.

Israeli authorities have repeatedly denied the delegation access to Gaza since 2011.
In a statement released earlier on the EU Parliament website, Sylikiotis called the Israeli decision "arbitrary and unacceptable," saying it is clear that Israel is "ashamed and afraid" of letting the European experts witness "the dire situation" in Gaza.

The terrorist organization ISIS is on the rise in Afghanistan, and the group's fighters may soon increase to 10,000 in the country, Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya warned at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday.

"At the center of our attention is an outbreak of terrorist activity in the Afghan wing of ISIL [ISIS], whose ranks are growing largely due to foreign combatants with experience in the battlefield in Syria and Iraq," Nebenzya said. "According to our information, the number of ISIL supporters can reach 10,000 individuals."

According to the diplomat, Russia is concerned about Daesh's attempts to reach agreement with the Taliban and other organizations in an effort to coordinate operations. According to him, it is necessary to leverage proactively the sanctions mechanisms of the UN Security Council. In this regard, Moscow advocates adopting additional barriers to anticipate terrorist activity in the country by targeting individuals and entities accomplices in the operations of ISIS.

For Nebenzya, the fight against ISIS militants in Afghanistan has everything to be more effective if there is a real union of regional and international efforts against the group.

At this time, Moscow is working to develop ties both with Kabul and with the Taliban, those elements of the Taliban which are opposed to ISIS and Al Qaeda, and whom the US formerly referred to as the so-called 'Northern Alliance', some 15 years ago.

Despite widespread speculation a few months ago that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be kicked out of the Ecuadorian embassy by the country's new leadership, his asylum seems to be safe for now, his lawyer told RT.

In recent months, Ecuador has made it clear that the asylum granted to Assange would not be revoked, Jennifer Robinson, a long-time lawyer for the activist, said. But he remains cut off from all communication and kept in what is effectively solitary confinement with no access to outdoor areas.

His health is deteriorating, and the UK authorities have made sure that he won't get treatment without leaving the embassy, she said.

England vs Russia on Russian soil in the football World Cup this summer would have been more entertaining than the dreary, farcical charade the two countries have been playing out since March. The Skripal Saga - The Salisbury Poisonings - Putin's personal chemical warfare attack on the UK... The only thing really worth saying about it is that it's just more sound and fury, signifying nothing. Be that as it may, the mainstream anglophone media has capitalized on this mendacity because it's a useful distraction from the major geopolitical changes underway, as well as the socio-economic and planetary upheaval resulting from, or mirroring, the chaotic world system transition we're undergoing.

Flush with paranoid conspiracy theories and lewd speculation, what the media's narratives about this nonsense lack - as usual - is all-important context. In 2003, the US and UK launched a reckless invasion and occupation of Iraq under the pretext that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction (which, specifically, included chemical weapons) aimed at London. Russia demanded evidence of such before that war, warning that chaos would result from such a flagrant breach of international law, and was ignored.

The US and UK later launched a proxy war against neighbouring Syria by funding, arming and training an 'internationalist brigade' of 'Muslim liberators', and, once that 'softened up' the country, the anglo-American establishment were 'weapons-hot' to swoop in and 'decapitate the regime' in August 2013 under the pretext that Bashar Al-Assad had 'used chemical weapons against his own people'. Russia again intervened, but this time was listened to (likely because Russia already had a military foothold in the country via its long-term air defence contracts, not because the US Congress and UK Parliament suddenly 'saw the light' and agreed to adhere to international law). The OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) certified that the Syrian state was chemical weapon-free, and the matter was apparently dropped.

With Turkey's military presence in northern Syria and its support of militant groups in Idlib, it was to be expected that the Syrian Army offensive in the region would be postponed until a compromise was reached between Erdogan and Assad's allies, as I explained earlier. Russian president Vladimir Putin held talks with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan, for the third time in less than a month, in Sochi on September 17th. They agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib; later, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed to journalists there would not be a large military operation in the province.

According to Russian diplomatic sources who spoke with Al-Watan newspaper, the Russian-Turkish agreement will be implemented in three stages:

1. The first stage will go into effect by mid October to create a 15 to 20 km weapons-free zone along the contact line between militant groups and government forces. All radical groups, including ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra/Al Qaeda will have to leave this zone, which will be patrolled jointly by Russian and Turkish military units.
2. In the second stage the heavy weapons will be collected from the region until November 10 and the militants will leave civilian areas.
3. In the third stage, lasting to the end of this year, state institutions will resume activities in Idlib.

Notice that for the completion of all three stages, the cooperation of militant groups is necessary. This is the point that may result in the partial or complete collapse of the demilitarization efforts - but that is not necessarily a failure.

Weeks of negotiations with the Trump administration have ended with carmaker Volkswagen (VW) agreeing to cease most of its operations in Iran, said US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, as cited by Bloomberg.

"Volkswagen has told us they will comply with US sanctions on Iran," said Grenell, adding: "We are pleased with this decision because Iran diverts its economic resources away from its people to spread violence and instability across the globe."


Grenell explained the automaker will still be allowed to do some business in Iran under a humanitarian exception.