‘Netanyahu needs war’, Israel can’t be trusted to stick to Lebanon ceasefire - Mohammad Marandi

💬 “Netanyahu needs war, and he only accepted a ceasefire under a great deal of pressure. So no one has faith in the Israelis. The Israelis have always violated commitments,” Iranian-American international affairs observer and Tehran University professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi told Sputnik, commenting on the Israeli PM’s threats to prepare the IDF for an “intense war” if Hezbollah violated the shaky Lebanon ceasefire stepping into force this week.

“After all [Israel] is carrying out a holocaust in Gaza. A regime that carries out the holocaust and continues to do so in front of the eyes of the world after 14 months is not a regime that can be trusted for anything,” Dr. Marandi stressed.

Linking the Lebanon ceasefire to the crisis in neighboring Syria, where jihadist militants attacked the strategic city of Aleppo this week, Marandi characterized Netanyahu’s threats, combined with the terrorist advance, as attempts to pressure the Axis of Resistance, assuring that in the end the terrorists will be pushed back in the north and Netanyahu kept at bay in the south.

Ultimately, “it is a complicated situation and we'll have to see how things play out. The United States is in a transition period. The Biden regime is escalating in Ukraine obviously, there are definitely elements within the Biden regime that would like to see escalation on the Lebanese border. But then again, there are people in the Biden regime who dislike Netanyahu personally and may want to see him weakened. And Trump himself also wants to see the fighting stopped before he comes to power. So we'll have to see how things play out,” Marandi summed up.

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🔸 ‘Netanyahu needs war’, Israel can’t be trusted to stick to Lebanon ceasefire - Mohammad Marandi

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🇬🇪 US suspends strategic partnership with Georgia – State Department

The United States has suspended strategic partnership with Georgia over its decision to halt European Union integration process, the US State Department said on Saturday.

"Georgian Dream’s various anti-democratic actions have violated the core tenets of our U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership, which was based on shared values and commitments to democracy, rule of law, civil society, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and anti-corruption efforts. As a result, the United States has suspended this mechanism," the statement read.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Thursday that the Georgian authorities had decided not to put the issue of opening membership talks with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028 and not to accept budget grants from the bloc.

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Trump threatens BRICS countries with “100% tariffs” unless they abandon plans to replace the US dollar

💬 “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump added that any country that attempts to replace the US dollar in international trade will "wave goodbye to America."

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that it is too early to talk about the creation of a common BRICS currency, and that there is no such goal at the moment. Putin explained that creating a common currency requires greater integration of the economies of the BRICS member countries and their structural similarity. The Russian president also noted that two-thirds of Russia's trade turnover is conducted in national currencies — and with BRICS countries, that figure reaches 88%.

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Houthis have ‘stalemated’ American superpower - US media

The US military is “locked in a dangerous stalemate” in its campaign against the Houthis, proving “unable to effectively stop the rebels from attacking ships,” and at the same time “unlikely” to be given a free hand for all-out war against the group, a report published Saturday by Business Insider suggested.

“The restrained approach to the ongoing Houthi crisis leaves the US military engaged in combat operations without a clear path to victory,” the outlet said, pointing to the toll Houthi attacks have had on Red Sea shipping, which up until a year ago accounted for up to 15% of all maritime trade.

“The threat still persists, and there doesn’t seem to be much abating that,” former US Central Command chief Gen. (ret.) Joseph Votel said. Instead, US operations “have been clearly focused on trying to defend ourselves and going after launch sites, production sites, storage sites, maybe some command and control sites – but none of that seems to be deterring the Houthis at all,” Votel complained.

“Allowing the Houthis to protract their gradual escalation campaign is a much more dangerous policy choice for the US in the long run than a more decisive military effort would have been,” Brian Carter, Middle East analyst at the DC-based American Enterprise Institute, a neocon think tank, argued, highlighting the impact Houthi persistence has had on the US’s perceived strength and military reputation abroad.

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📹 Georgian police use water cannons to disperse protesters

Georgian security forces are using water cannons to disperse demonstrators at the side entrance to parliament, while protesters are responding with firecrackers, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

The Georgian Interior Ministry said protesters hurled firecrackers at the parliament, causing a fire in the building, which has since been extinguished.

Video from social media

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🇸🇾 Syrian Armed Forces are successfully repelling terrorist attack and will soon launch counteroffensive – Syrian Armed Forces Command

The Syrian Armed Forces are successfully and decisively repelling a terrorist attack and will soon launch a counteroffensive to liberate all territories, the Syrian Armed Forces Command said in a statement.

"The command of the army and armed forces confirms that the process of repelling the terrorist attack is proceeding successfully and decisively. Soon, a counteroffensive will take place to regain control over all areas and liberate them from the scourge of terrorism," the statement read.

Syrian army reinforcements have arrived in Hama, and government operations are continuing as usual, according to the province's governor Kamal Barmo. He also denounced reports of terrorist vehicles entering Hama as false. Earlier, the Syrian Defense Ministry dismissed claims about the entry of terrorist groups into cities in northern Hama province as untrue.

On Saturday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reiterated that Syria will continue defending its territorial integrity and is capable of defeating terrorists with the help of its allies and friends.

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