Given gaps, inconsistencies, Syria's declarations on chemical weapons programme not considered 'accurate and complete'
news.un.org | 2020-12-11
Outstanding issues related to Syria's initial declaration of its chemical weapons stockpile and programme cannot be considered "accurate and complete", the head of the world body monitoring States' implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention told the Security Council on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1079882

Joe Biden Might Have Good Instincts, but His Foreign Policy Team Doesn't
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-12-11
Ted Galen CARPENTER | Considerable controversy has emerged in both the foreign policy community and the news media over whether Joe Biden's administration will reflexively restore America's pre-Trump approach to international affairs. On no issue is that question more crucial than with respect to Syria, and on no issue is it more imperative that Biden repudiate the legacy of the Obama administration. A failure to take that step will cause the United States to become even more deeply mired in the Syrian quagmire. Not only would such an unwise course create another endless U.S. war similar to the interventions in A…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/12/11/joe-biden-might-have-good-instincts-but-his-foreign-policy-team-doesnt/

Lebanon: UN-backed tribunal sentences Hezbollah militant in Hariri assassination
news.un.org | 2020-12-11
The UN chief on Friday took note of five concurrent life sentences handed down to a Hezbollah militant, convicted in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, fifteen years ago.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/12/1079892

OPCW executives praised whistleblower and criticized Syria cover-up, leaks reveal
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-12-10
Documents obtained by The Grayzone show that OPCW executives privately criticized the manipulation of a Syria chemical weapons probe, and supported a dissenting veteran inspector. One official, however, feared helping the "Russian narrative." These private admissions further expose the public whitewash of the Douma cover-up, and undermine the ongoing attacks on the whistleblowers who challenged it.
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/12/10/opcw-executives-praised-whistleblower-and-criticized-syria-cover-up-leaks-reveal/

Will Joe Biden "Revise" U.S Agenda in Syria? Use Terrorism Pretext to "Keep Boots on the Ground"?
Ahmad Salah | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-10
The mayhem of the presidential elections left the American policy-makers locked in heated arguments about the future of the US domestic and foreign policy alike. One of the most pressing issues on the agenda is the Middle East developments, especially …
globalresearch.ca/will-washington-review-double-standards-syrian-file/5731783

Video: Turkey Strikes against Kurdish SDF Forces in Northern Syria
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-09
The situation in the northern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and al-Hasakah is once again escalating amid speculations on the upcoming Turkish advance in the area. | In recent weeks, the Turkish military and its proxies increased the intensity of strikes on …
globalresearch.ca/video-turkey-strikes-against-kurdish-sdf-forces-in-northern-syria/5731653

Tehran sanctions US ambassador to Yemen in tit-for-tat move after Washington blacklisted Iranian envoy to Houthis
rt.com | 2020-12-09
Iran has announced sanctions against the US ambassador to Yemen, Christopher Henzel, in retaliation for Washington imposing similar penalties on Iran's envoy to the country's Houthi rebels a day earlier. | The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced its move on Wednesday, accusing Henzel of playing a "pivotal role" in Yemen's humanitarian crisis, according to a statement carried by local media. | The ministry also accused Henzel of helping propagate the Yemeni civil war, arming and bankrolling the Saudi-led coalition, and of frustrating Yemen's political process towards conflict resolution. | The US amba…
rt.com/news/509167-iran-sanctions-us-ambassador-yemen/

Iran imposes sanctions on US envoy to Yemen
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-09
TEHRAN, Dec. 09 (MNA) — Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Wed., emphasizing pivotal role of US Ambassador to Yemen Christopher Hansel in humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and placed his name on Iran's sanctions list.
en.mehrnews.com/news/166996/Iran-imposes-sanctions-on-US-envoy-to-Yemen

Iran ready to strengthen economic ties with Bolivia
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-09
TEHRAN, Dec. 10 (MNA) — The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic to La Paz voiced Iran's readiness to expand cooperation with Bolivia in the field of production.
en.mehrnews.com/news/166987/Iran-ready-to-strengthen-economic-ties-with-Bolivia

Iran Arrests People Involved in Killing of Nuclear Scientist
telesurenglish.net | 2020-12-09
The Special Aide to the President of the Parliament in International Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, claimed that Iranian authorities had arrested people involved in the murder of scientist nuclear Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Nov. 27. | RELATED: | The US Imposes Sanctions on Iran's Ambassador to Yemen | "The perpetrators of this assassination, some of whom have been identified and even arrested by our security apparatus, will not escape justice and will be dealt with severely," Abdollahia…
telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Arrests-People-Involved-in-Killing-of-Nuclear-Scientist-20201209-0008.html

Khaji, Pedersen discuss latest Syrian affairs
Mehr News Agency | en.mehrnews.com | 2020-12-09
TEHRAN, Dec. 09 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister's Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs held a phone conversation with the UN Special Envoy for Syria when the two sides conferred on Syrian affairs.
en.mehrnews.com/news/166972/Khaji-Pedersen-discuss-latest-Syrian-affairs