Pompeo Attempts to Link Iran, Hezbollah to Crisis in Venezuela

“People don’t recognize that Hezbollah has active cells — the Iranians are impacting the people of Venezuela and throughout South America. We have an obligation to take down that risk for America and [what we’ll talk about is] how we do that in South America and all across the globe.” — Mike Pompeo

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Mike Pompeo | Venezuela Iran

WASHINGTON -- During a Wednesday night interview with FOX Business host Trish Regan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made several statements that raised eyebrows, such as claiming that Cuba had invaded Venezuela and “taken control” of the Venezuela’s “security apparatus” and that U.S. sanctions illegally imposed on Venezuela “aren’t aimed at the

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Netanyahu’s Bid to Win Reelection Could Lead to War with Syria and Hezbollah

Netanyahu announced his responsibility for the multiple bombings in Syria–an unprecedented break with Israel’s protocol of silence. He has used the army as an advertising tool for his forthcoming election.

Elijah Magnie
By Elijah Magnie
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, talks with Israeli soldiers at a military outpost during a visit at Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights overlooking the Israel-Syria border on, Feb. 4, 2015. Baz Ratner | AP

Elijah Magnier -- Israel has attacked Syria many times during the last seven years of war imposed on Syria. It has run red-lights and broken taboos in order to provoke the “Axis of the Resistance” inside Syria but has refrained from infuriating Hezbollah in Lebanon. Nevertheless, the most recent Israeli attack has pushed Syria and its allies beyond

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Analysts Doubt Authenticity of Israel’s Military Operation Against “Hezbollah Tunnels

“Netanyahu recognizes that Israeli military activity inside Israel does not lead to a confrontation. All he wants is to cause some suspense about the operation to divert attention from possible corruption charges.”

Motasem Dalloul
By Motasem Dalloul
Israel Hezbollah

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced suddenly on Tuesday morning the start of a massive military operation along the border with Lebanon. The reason, said the IDF, is to search for “offensive” tunnels dug by Hezbollah which, according to a report on Israeli Army Radio, are “penetrating Israeli soil and have been prepared for carrying out

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Russian Diplomat on Syria: Iran, Hezbollah Not Our Chess Pieces to Move

Faced with the defiance of Syria’s allies, Israeli occupation forces have grown increasingly desperate and attempted to not only whip up sectarian passions pitting Sunni Muslim Syrians against Shias, but have also blamed Iran for causing “millions” of refugees to flee to Europe.

Elliott Gabriel
By Elliott Gabriel

BEIRUT – In a signal of foreign powers’ inability to dictate terms to regional forces involved in the Syrian conflict, Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin has made clear that Russia has no intention to press resistance movement Hezbollah or Iranian military advisors to vacate Syria. The call to oust them from the country, along with

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US Efforts to Crush Middle East “Axis of Resistance” Are Just Making it Stronger

Iran, confident in its economic clout and ability to rebuke Washington’s attempts to isolate it, has actually sought to increase its support for other members of the Resistance Axis since the U.S.’ decision to exit the Iran deal and attempts to threaten and isolate Tehran.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
A Hezbollah supporter waves her group flags during an election campaign speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, April 13, 2018. (AP/Hussein Malla)

BEIRUT – Since taking office, President Donald Trump has shown himself to be committed to “crushing” the so-called Axis of Resistance in the Middle East, an alliance -- composed of Iran, Syria, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah -- that opposes the West’s and Israel’s vision for the region. Over the course of his presidency, Trump has targeted the Resistance

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Here’s Why the Trump Administration’s New Iran Sanctions Will Fail

Unilateral US sanctions as a means of regime change or radically changing regime behavior have a strong record of failure, especially when applied to states with pricey primary commodities like petroleum.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy think tank, in Washington, May 21, 2018. Pompeo issued a steep list of demands Monday that he said should be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal, threatening "the strongest sanctions in history" if Iran doesn't change course. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speech on new sanctions on Iran lays out a wide range of Iranian behavior he would like to change, and specified harsh US financial sanctions as his instrument. Pompeo, a Kansas oil man backed by the Koch brothers, is just a former congressman and a virulent Christian fundamentalist with white nationalist

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