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U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Heightens Global Tensions

The ship, currently between Iceland and the British Isles, has been accused of breaking US sanctions and shipping Iranian oil. It has historically transported Venezuelan crude oil. The United States has seized a Russian‑flagged oil tanker linked to Venezuela after a prolonged pursuit across the Atlantic, marking one of the most assertive enforcement actions under Washington’s sanctions program. The vessel, previously known as Bella‑1 and later renamed Marinera , was intercepted after evading an earlier boarding attempt near Venezuelan waters. U.S. military aircraft and naval units tracked the ship for weeks as it traveled across the Atlantic, at times shadowed by Russian naval vessels. Officials say the tanker was part of a network used to transport sanctioned Venezuelan and Russian oil. Its capture underscores Washington’s efforts to disrupt what it describes as illicit energy shipments that help sustain both governments. The operation comes at a delicate geopolitical moment, wit...
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Iraqi Militias Cross into Syria to Support Government Forces

 

Hundreds of fighters from Iran-backed Iraqi militias crossed into Syria overnight to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, Syrian and Iraqi sources said on Monday. At least 300 fighters, primarily from the Badr and Nujabaa groups, crossed late on Sunday using a dirt road to avoid the official border crossing, two Iraqi security sources said.

"These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north," a senior Syrian military source said, adding the fighters had crossed in small groups to avoid airstrikes. Iran's constellation of allied regional militia groups has long been integral to the success of pro-government forces in subduing rebels who rose up against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, and they have long maintained bases in Syria.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday Syria's military was capable of confronting the rebels but, referring to the regional militia groups Tehran backs, he added that "resistance groups will help and Iran will provide any support needed". Syrian government and Russian warplanes intensified attacks on Monday in areas held by rebels in the northwest, residents and rescue workers said, including a strike on a displaced people's camp that killed seven.

The lightning rebel assault last week caught many in the region unaware, dealing Assad his biggest blow in years and reigniting a conflict that had appeared frozen for years after civil war front lines stabilized in 2020. Although Russia has been focused on the war in Ukraine since 2022, it retains an air base in northern Syria. The main Iran-backed group, Lebanon's Hezbollah, has been focused on its own war with Israel since the Gaza conflict began last year.

The rebels include mainstream groups backed by Turkey, as well as the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which was formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda. Turkey also has a military presence in a strip of Syrian territory along its border. Kurdish-led forces that Ankara calls terrorists, but which fought Islamic State militants with U.S. help, hold territory in the northeast.

Any prolonged escalation in Syria risks further destabilizing a region already roiled by the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, with millions of Syrians already displaced and with regional and global powers backing rival forces in the country.




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