Trump Regime Aiming to Blockade Iran and Venezuela?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-05
International law is clear. Blockades are undeclared acts of war. | No nation may legally use this tactic against another state unilaterally or with coalition partners. | UN Charter provisions are binding international law. Article 39 authorizes the Security Council alone to …
globalresearch.ca/trump-regime-aiming-blockade-iran-venezuela/5685571

Iran Says Will Not Tolerate 'Offenses' in Gulf
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-05
Iran runs security in the Strait of Hormuz and will no longer tolerate "maritime offenses" there, the country's foreign minister said Monday, a day after it seized a second oil tanker near the strategic waterway that it accused of smuggling fuel. | RELATED: | Iran Seizes Another Oil Tanker Smuggling Fuel: Gov't | Tanker traffic through the Strait has become a focus for an increasingly tense standoff between Washington and Tehran, into which Britain has also been dragged, and the United Sta…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Says-Will-Not-Tolerate-Offenses-in-Gulf-as-UK-Joins-US-led-Maritime-Security-Patrol-20190805-0007.html

Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif Drives Trump to Insanity
M. K. Bhadrakumar | globalresearch.ca | 2019-08-05
At a time when the Trump administration has no problem negotiating with the secretary of the Russian national security council Nikolai Patrushev, who is technically under US sanctions since April 2018, the cut and thrust of Washington's move to …
globalresearch.ca/irans-zarif-drives-trump-insanity/5685632

In Wake of Nuclear Treaty Collapse, Putin Says if US Pursues Previously Banned Missiles, Russia Will Also
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-05
"The collapse of the INF Treaty last Friday opens up a Pandora's Box of dangerous possibilities." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/russia-if-us-nuclear-missiles-treaty.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/05/wake-nuclear-treaty-collapse-putin-says-if-us-pursues-previously-banned-missiles?cd-origin=rss

Deadlock over Iranian cargo ships exposes deep crisis of Brazilian ruling class
wsws.org | 2019-08-05
As the Bolsonaro government aligns itself ever more closely with US imperialism, the ruling class is growing nervous of provoking a social explosion…
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/05/braz-a05.html

US to ring China with missiles in nuclear arms race
wsws.org | 2019-08-05
With the potential deployment of US nuclear missiles just minutes in flight-time from the Chinese mainland, the region's huge population will live under the specter of nuclear annihilation.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/05/miss-a05.html

Iran's Interests in China's One Belt One Road Policy
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-08-03
The Chinese economy has recently boosted its foreign exchange earnings and substantially increased its currency reserves. The increase in China's foreign exchange reserves and resources has provided the government with the opportunity to become one of the major actors in the supply of international relations and the global economy. China is one of the emerging …
uwidata.com/4707-irans-interests-in-chinas-one-belt-one-road-policy/

US scrapping of INF treaty heightens threat of nuclear war
wsws.org | 2019-08-03
The formal abrogation of the treaty declared on Friday sets the stage for the testing and deployment of medium-range missiles against both Russia and China.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/03/inft-a03.html

'La vacuna contra el unilateralismo': el Movimiento de Países No Alineados se reúne en Venezuela para resistir contra la tiranía del dólar
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2019-08-02
Cobertura de The Grayzone desde la conferencia ministerial del Movimiento de Países No Alineados (Mnoal), donde representantes de más de…
thegrayzone.com/2019/08/02/movimiento-de-paises-no-alineados-venezuela-dolar/

Ship of Fools: Britain, America and the Iranian Oil Tanker Incidents
T.J. Coles | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-02
Taking over from Britain's colonial role in exploiting the country, the US has bullied and tried to intimidate Iran for decades. The ongoing pretext for strangling Iran economically is that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency repeatedly finds no evidence for this repeated US-led lie. Then-US President Barack Obama's Task…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/02/ship-of-fools-britain-america-and-the-iranian-oil-tanker-incidents/

In Memoriam: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Dies at 32
Matt Korda | thenation.com | 2019-08-02
In Memoriam: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Dies at 32…
thenation.com/article/intermediate-range-nuclear-forces-treaty-inf-obituary/

UN chief laments ending of Cold War-era disarmament treaty
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-02
Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his "deep regret" on Friday that the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia came to an end.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1043691

US Withdrawal from INF Treaty Creates Greater Nuclear Instability
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-02
Sec. of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US is unilaterally withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which could have been re-negotiated if the US had acknowledged its own responsibility for the treaty's problems…
therealnews.com/stories/us-withdrawal-from-inf-treaty-creates-greater-nuclear-instability

US Sanctions Iran's Foreign Minister; Move Seen as Rebuke of Diplomatic Offer
Jason Ditz | theantimedia.com | 2019-08-01
The latest US sanctions on Iran are very specific, hitting FM Javad Zarif, blocking all property and financial interests he has in the US.

US Sanctions Iran's Foreign Minister; Move Seen as Rebuke of Diplomatic Offer

Nechirvan Barzani and the New Structure of Erbil-Tehran Relations
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-08-01
Dissatisfied with the Shah's confirmation of the 1975 Algiers Agreement, Kurdish Iraqi parties had initiated close and friendly relations with the Islamic Revolution's leaders from the beginning, having seen themselves as victims of the former government's deal. The Long war (1980-1988) between Iraq and post-revolution Iran was another opportunity for a closer relationship between the …
uwidata.com/4613-nechirvan-barzani-and-the-new-structure-of-erbil-tehran-relations/

Gunboat diplomacy in the Persian Gulf
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-01
The United States and Britain are ensuring that tensions remain high in the Straits of Hormuz as they continue beating the drums of war against Iran. | A second British warship arrived in the Strait of Hormuz on July 29, tasked with escorting British-flagged commercial vessels between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. | This latest escalation follows a number of incidents since June 13 when two oil tankers (one Japanese, the other Norwegian) were hit by explosives and caught fire. The US immediately blamed Iran for the attacks, accusing it of trying to disrupt oil supplies. | A few days later a US spy drone…
greenleft.org.au/content/gunboat-diplomacy-persian-gulf

Thanks Miranda Devine, but we will win abortion reform
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-01
Thank you Miranda Devine for your wild overreaction to the bill before NSW parliament to treat abortion as a health issue ("Vote Libs, get Greens", Daily Telegraph, July 31), as it will no doubt lose you and News.com support. | It must also surely rank as top fake news of the week. Far from being "one of the most dangerous radical abortion bills on the planet", the bill is modelled on existing Queensland and Victorian law. | Moreover, your view that Coalition MPs' support for basic health care for women is somehow a Labor-Green plot is equally bizarre. This bill is not about late-term abortions, as you suggest. I…
greenleft.org.au/content/thanks-miranda-devine-we-will-win-abortion-reform

Candidates, Your Views on the Middle East? You Have 30 Seconds
Alex Emmons | theintercept.com | 2019-08-01
If you blinked, you might have missed it. | Across the five hours of Democratic primary debates split between two nights this week, the presidential hopefuls discussed the future of U.S. foreign policy for no more than 25 minutes. | Other policy areas had it worse. There were no questions either night on Puerto Rico, for example, or LGBT issues, or reproductive rights. But the scant attention to foreign policy was striking precisely because it's the area in which a president has the most power to change things on their own. If the next president wants to rejoin the Paris climate agreement or renegotiate the Iran…
theintercept.com/2019/08/01/candidates-your-views-on-the-middle-east-you-have-30-seconds/

Hormuz Strait Coalition
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-07-31
Following the outbreak of a tanker crisis between the UK and Iran, the U.S. has decided to take on the role of the main mediator in the conflict and has made an attempt to knock together an international coalition for guarding the Hormuz Strait. CONTEXT Tensions in the Hormuz Strait are running practically unabated already …
uwidata.com/4579-hormuz-strait-coalition/

2nd Democratic Debate, Pt. 1: The Moderate/Progressive Divide Came Through (1/3)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-07-31
The first part of the second democratic debate showed a non-rancorous divide on how to beat Trump and fresh discussions first-use of nuclear weapons and for getting out of Afghanistan…
therealnews.com/stories/second-demcoratic-debate-part-one-the-moderate-progressive-divide-came-through-1-3

Warren Backs "No First Use" Nuclear Policy as Buttigieg Calls for Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-31
While most of Tuesday's debate focused on domestic issues, Democratic candidates were briefly asked about nuclear weapons policy and the war in Afghanistan. Senator Elizabeth Warren defended her "no first use" policy on nuclear weapons, despite criticism from Montana Governor Steve Bullock. Meanwhile, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper sparred on whether the U.S. should withdraw from Afghanistan after 18 years of war.
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/31/cnn_debate_foreign_policy_mehdi_hasan

Dear Moderators of the Presidential Debates
Lawrence Wittner | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-07-30
You mass media folks lead busy lives, I'm sure. But you must have heard something about nuclear weapons — those supremely destructive devices that, along with climate change, threaten the continued existence of the human race. Yes, thanks to popular protest and carefully-crafted arms control and disarmament agreements, there has been some progress in limiting …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/07/dear-moderators-of-the-presidential-debates/

Who Will American Soldiers Fight With in Saudi Arabia?
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-07-30
President Donald Trump's Administration is getting ready to deploy hundreds of servicemen to Saudi Arabia as tensions with Iran are mounting, CNN said in a report quoting a well-informed official at the Pentagon. He revealed that some 500 soldiers would be sent to Prince Sultan airbase to the south of Riyadh. US is preparing to …
uwidata.com/4554-who-will-american-soldiers-fight-with-in-saudi-arabia/

Diplomacy Instead of a Disaster in Iran
Paul Kawika Martin | peaceaction.org | 2019-07-18
Washington, D.C. — July 18, 2019 — In response to reports of the U.S. shooting down an Iranian drone, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement: "Because of the Trump administration's policy of maximum provocation towards Iran, America stands on the precipice of another blunderous …
peaceaction.org/2019/07/18/diplomacy-instead-of-a-disaster-in-iran/