Maduro: Venezuela is ready for dialogue with the United States

EL UNIVERSAL

Friday March 27, 2015  10:02 AM

"Venezuela is ready for dialogue based on respect and terms of equality among States with the government of President Barack Obama wherever, whenever, and however he wants; I state it as President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: we are ready," stressed on Thursday Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro reckoned that respect was pivotal to engage in such dialogue.

"If President Obama wants to shake this hand, the hand of a Venezuelan, of a patriot son of Bolívar, son of Chávez, then I am ready, I am ready to shake his hand, to talk to him looking into his eyes in equal terms," the President added.

Maryam Rajavi describes Arab countries action in confronting Iranian mullahs as essential and inevitable

NCRI - Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the joint action by Arab countries against the Iranian regime’s occupation and aggression in Yemen as an extremely essential and inevitable united action which the Iranian Resistance had previously called for.

Rajavi called for the thorough expansion of this just and legitimate defense against religious fascism in Iran and its mercenaries throughout the region including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.

She added that the root cause of the crises in the region is the mullahs’ regime, recognized as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. As such, Rajavi pointed out that the only viable solution is resolve against this regime, its eviction from the region, and the toppling of the clerical regime in Iran.

Since 12 years ago, the Iranian Resistance -- that itself was the first whistle blower on mullahs projects to acquire a nuclear bomb -- has repeatedly warned that the Iranian regime’s interferences in Iraq and other countries in the region is one hundred times more dangerous than its nuclear program.

Mrs. Rajavi reiterated that the rationale behind the growing aggression of the regime in the region is to cloak its irreparable crises and its total bankruptcy.

She added that the policy of appeasement and conciliation towards this regime has encouraged the mullahs in their aggressive policies.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
March 26, 2015

U.S. Airstrikes Support Iraqi Efforts to Retake Tikrit from IS

WASHINGTON – The United States has begun airstrikes to support Iraqi government efforts to recapture the city of Tikrit from Islamic State jihadists, overcoming earlier resistance to its intervention.

“At the request of the government of Iraq, coalition forces are providing support to Iraqi security forces as they combat ISIL in and around Tikrit,” said Colonel Patrick Ryder, spokesperson for U.S. Central Command responsible for operations in the Middle East.

“To be clear, the coalition is only coordinating with the government of Iraq and the Iraqi security forces; we do not coordinate our operations in any way with Iran or Iranian-backed militias,” Ryder said in a statement on Wednesday.

U.S. support in Tikrit includes air raids, intelligence, and advice.

The air strikes began cautiously on Wednesday, reflecting American concerns about the presence of Iranian military in the scenario, after operations to retake Tikrit came to a standstill last week.

According to the New York Times, both the Iraqi government and Shiite militias had previously assured the United States that its intervention was not necessary.

The announcement of support from the U.S. led coalition came as the Iraqi armed forces and local Sunni tribes fight together with Iranian-backed Shiite militia for control of Tikrit.

The United States has consistently denied coordinating with or providing support to Iranian-backed militias, and reiterated that military assistance is limited to the mostly Shiite Iraqi army.

However, the offensive on Tikrit is led by about 20,000 Shiite militiamen trained and armed by Iran and, according to local sources, under the command of Iranian General Qasem Suleimani, head of Al Quds Brigade.

The Shiites, the Iraqi army and Sunni tribals have made advances in recent days but failed to regain control of the city.

Capturing Tikrit, a city located in the heart of the Sunni Iraq, is critical to advancing on Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and under IS control since June 2014.

At Least 4 Dead, 19 Wounded in Landmine Explosion in Ukraine

KIEV – At least four people were killed and 19 wounded when a passenger bus swerved over a landmine when trying to avoid a government checkpoint in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military command reported on Thursday.

Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoli Stelmaj said that the accident took place when the bus abruptly turned to avoid the security post near Artiomovsk, a town controlled by Kiev, while en route to the pro-Russian separatist-held city of Gorlovka.

According to DAN, the news agency of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk, the bus driver decided to bypass the stop after the Ukrainian military blocked the way to Gorlovka.

Deputy Chief of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry’s regional office in Donetsk region Ilya Kiva wrote on his Facebook page that shortly after the accident, separatist militias attacked the area with mortar fire, obstructing the evacuation of the wounded.

Kiva reported that the bus driver was unhurt and was apprehended by the police.

Although a cease-fire went into effect on Feb. 15 between the involved parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, hostilities have not ceased.

Schlumberger fined $232.7mn for breaking Iran, Sudan sanctions

AFP - 25 March 20 15 - French-US oil services giant Schlumberger Ltd. was fined $232.7 million by the Justice Department Wednesday for violating sanctions on Iran and Sudan.


Fully owned subsidy Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings Ltd. admitted guilt to one count of 'knowingly and willfully conspiring to violate' the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act, under which US sanctions are applied, the department said.
According to the charges, the company’s Texas-based drilling and measurements unit provided services to Iran and Sudan between 2004 and 2010 and tried to hide the fact from authorities.

While Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, was allowed to work in both Iran and Sudan, the Department said the US Drilling and Measurements unit was not.
Justice authorities said the company as well tried to hide the fact that the US unit was doing the work.
'Over a period of years, Schlumberger Oilfield Holdings Ltd. conducted business with Iran and Sudan from the United States and took steps to disguise those business dealings, thereby willfully violating the US economic sanctions against those regimes,” said John Carlin, US assistant attorney general for national security.
'The guilty plea and significant financial penalty in this case underscore that skirting sanctions for financial gain is a risk corporations ought not to take,' he said in a statement.
The penalty includes Schlumberger forfeiting $77.6 million of the unit’s earnings from its Iran and Sudan business, and a $155.1 million criminal fine, the largest ever for a violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

US issues terror alert against possible attacks in Kampala

Iran news in brief, 24 March 2015