military – The Milli Chronicle https://www.millichronicle.com Factual Version of a Story Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:15:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://media.millichronicle.com/2018/11/12122950/logo-m-01-150x150.png military – The Milli Chronicle https://www.millichronicle.com 32 32 Indonesia Demands U.N. Probe into Peacekeeper Deaths in Lebanon Strikes https://www.millichronicle.com/2026/04/64472.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:14:56 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/?p=64472 Yogyakarta — Indonesia called on the United Nations to conduct a direct investigation into the deaths of three of its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon following Israeli strikes, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday, citing concerns over the safety of U.N. personnel amid escalating regional hostilities.

Indonesia’s U.N. representative, Umar Hadi, made the request during an emergency Security Council meeting on Tuesday, urging an independent inquiry rather than relying on explanations provided by Israel.

The call comes after two separate incidents over the weekend in southern Lebanon that killed Indonesian troops serving under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).The Indonesian foreign ministry said earlier this week that ongoing Israeli military operations in the region had placed U.N. peacekeepers at significant risk.

The deaths occurred during a period of intensified violence that also saw Lebanese journalists and medical personnel killed in Israeli strikes.One of the victims, Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, died in an attack on Sunday.

Local media reported that he is survived by his wife and child. In his hometown in Yogyakarta, relatives gathered to mourn, with family members saying his body had yet to be returned to Indonesia.

Indonesia’s initial response to the deaths drew criticism domestically, particularly on social media, where users questioned the lack of clarity regarding the cause of the incident. Authorities had initially described the event as resulting from “indirect artillery fire.”

Preliminary findings cited by U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix indicated that a roadside explosion struck a convoy carrying two Indonesian peacekeepers on Monday.

The Israeli military said its internal review found no evidence that its forces had placed explosive devices in the area or conducted operations there at the time.

Indonesia is among the largest contributors to U.N. peacekeeping missions, with more than 2,700 personnel deployed as of 2024. The country has also pledged troops for a potential U.N.-mandated multinational stabilization force in Gaza.

]]> Spectre of ‘tactical’ nuclear attack risks normalising weapons of mass destruction https://www.millichronicle.com/2022/10/spectre-of-tactical-nuclear-attack-risks-normalising-weapons-of-mass-destruction.html Tue, 11 Oct 2022 20:26:30 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/?p=30714

But tactical weapons are still seen as a last resort on the battlefield – for a military facing a threat conventional weapons cannot neutralise

US President Joe Biden warned last week that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is now the highest since the Cuban Missile Crisis as Russia and North Korea engage in sabre-rattling on the use of “tactical” nuclear weapons. Such weapons are less destructive than “strategic” weapons designed to wipe out entire cities. But analysts worry that this talk of tactical weapons risks normalising weapons of mass destruction.

Nuclear-armed authoritarian states are increasingly invoking the spectre of using “tactical” nuclear weapons. North Korea said on Monday that it had simulated a “tactical” nuclear attack on South Korea. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly hinted at using tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine as Moscow suffers heavy losses on the battlefield.

“Until this summer, people talked about nuclear weapons without really specifying what type they were – but then people started using this word ‘tactical’ increasingly often,” said Jean-Marie Collin, spokesman for the French branch of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Battlefield Weapons

Tactical nuclear weapons differ from the more commonly known “strategic” weapons principally due to the “technicalities” of physics, noted Alexandre Vautravers, a defence analyst and editor of specialist publication the Swiss Military Review.

Whereas a nuclear ballistic missile hits hard on all front –including the force of the blast, thermal impact, radiation and electromagnetic disturbances – a tactical nuclear weapon seeks to “maximise the shock wave while minimising other undesirable effects”, Vautravers said, noting that such a weapon might be preferable if the country deploying it later “needs to get its troops across the affected area”.

Tactical nuclear weapons are also easier to transport on the battlefield than strategic missiles, which are stored in silos or specially designed submarines or planes.

Another key difference between tactical and strategic nuclear devices is the military objective of using the weapon, said Fabian Rene Hoffman, a research fellow at the Oslo Nuclear Project at the University of Oslo.

In theory, the purpose of strategic weapons is to “directly target other countries to prevent them attacking, while tactical warheads are supposed to be used to aid specific battlefield objectives”, said Jana Baldus, a nuclear arms control specialist at the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt.

Tactical nuclear weapons are seen as more precise and more limited in their effects: “The explosion takes place on the ground or at a very low altitude; the objective is to destroy infrastructure or a precise target – and the effects can be limited to a radius of a few hundred metres to a few kilometres,” Vautravers explained.

But tactical weapons are still seen as a last resort on the battlefield – for a military facing a threat conventional weapons cannot neutralise, or a target too big for conventional missiles to hit. As such, they could be used to destroy a large military base or a column of tanks advancing towards the front.

Trivialising Nukes?

Nuclear weapons have not been used on the battlefield outside of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and there has since been something of an international taboo against their use.

“There’s a significant chance that people today would think of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as tactical nuclear weapons,” Baldus said.

But the “line between the tactical and strategic is really artificial”, she said. “The US and Russia have had plenty of debates about what’s ‘tactical’ and what’s ‘strategic’ – but they’ve never been able to agree.”

This ambiguity is reflected in NATO’s own definitions of nuclear forces, which vary widely by country. For France, NATO’s definition of a “strategic” nuclear weapon is linked to intention, to the “doctrine of deterrence rather than to technical characteristics”. For Russia, a strategic nuclear weapon is defined by reach – notably, weapons “designed to engage objects in geographically remote strategic regions (over 5500 km)”.   

Some analysts warn that thinking of some nuclear weapons as less catastrophic than others minimises the risks to make the prospect of a “limited” nuclear deployment more tolerable.  

According to Hoffman, the increasing public use of the word “tactical” has a “highly political motive, which is to legitimise the use of nuclear weapons in a conflict”.

The term produces an “unconscious bias by making people think there is a type of nuclear weapon that is more acceptable than others because its use would be limited to military objectives”, Baldus said.  

This is a particularly dangerous argument because it tends to lull people into forgetting that all nuclear weapons – whether tactical or strategic – are “weapons of mass destruction”, said Collin.

And the relative power of nuclear weapons should not be underestimated, he said.

“It’s worth noting that the biggest conventional weapon in the US arsenal, known as MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb), has a destructive power equivalent to 11 tonnes of TNT whereas the least powerful of the supposedly ‘tactical’ Russian nuclear weapons has the destructive power of 300 tonnes of TNT,” Collin said.

Moreover, Russia’s fixation on tactical nuclear weapons risks setting off a new arms race. France currently has only strategic nuclear weapons. The US, meanwhile, has decommissioned its tactical arsenal in favour of conventional weapons.

But if Moscow continues invoking the threat of using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Europe, that could well push other nuclear powers to bolster their own “tactical” stockpiles. And the more weapons of mass destruction are in circulation, the greater the risk that they will eventually be used.

This article was translated from the original in French.

 

]]> Saudi Arabia to invest over $20 bln in domestic military industry over next decade https://www.millichronicle.com/2021/02/saudi-arabia-to-invest-over-20-bln-in-domestic-military-industry-over-next-decade.html Sat, 20 Feb 2021 08:23:47 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2021/02/saudi-arabia-to-invest-over-20-bln-in-domestic-military-industry-over-next-decade/ Riyadh (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia will invest more than $20 billion in its domestic military industry over the next decade as part of aggressive plans to boost local military spending, the head of the Kingdom’s military industry regulator said on Saturday.

The Gulf state wants to develop and manufacture more weapons and military systems domestically, aiming to spend 50 percent of the military budget locally by 2030.

“The government has put a plan that we will be investing in excess of $10 billion in the military industry in Saudi Arabia over the next decade and equal amounts on research and development,” Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Ohali told a defense conference in Abu Dhabi.

He also said the Kingdom plans to increase military research and development (R&D) spending from 0.2 percent to around 4 percent of armaments expenditure by 2030.

]]> China and Iran near secretive political and military partnership https://www.millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership.html Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:49:16 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership/ by Hassan Mahmoudi

China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Sanctions imposing maximum pressure on the clerical regime, backed by internal economic crises, have laid the ground for an explosive society drained by dire livelihood as well as infightings at the top of this regime.

The Iran-China-Russia deal

To find a light at the end of this dark tunnel, the regime intends to tie with China and Russia to take advantage of their international and political potentials to break its economic deadlock and to block any potential uprising.

On July 12, speaking at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’s session in Majlis (parliament) Iran regime’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said, “When Mr. Xi Jinping visited Tehran in 2015 and met with Khamenei, this was the overture of the 25-year cooperation accord.”

Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council shed light on the role of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in this sell-off deal involving the transfer of Kish Island, along with military and intelligence cooperation between the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the Chinese government and said, “The 25-year cooperation document with China went through after (Khamenei) sent a special message and a special messenger (to China) and met with the Chinese President”.

He said the deal was to remedy the regime’s turmoil and added, “Today, our situation forces us to inject more hope to the society. If hopelessness prevails, there could be social riots. In this regard having relation with China and Russia can provide paths to new opportunities”.

Tehran also intends to use this concession to China as a tool to block the extension of the UN armed embargo which will be voted on by UNSC in September this year using China and Russia as vetoing countries. On the other hand, China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Simon Watkins, a British economic journalist, highlights the security aspect of this document and writes, “another element that will change the entire balance of geopolitical power in the Middle East has been added to the deal.

Last week, the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] agreed to the extension of the existing deal to include new military elements that were proposed by the same senior figures in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the intelligence services that proposed the original deal, and this will involve complete aerial and naval military co-operation between Iran and China, with Russia also taking a key role,” one of the Iran sources told OilPrice.com last week.

According to the Iranian sources, part of the new military co-operation includes an exchange of personnel between Iran, and China and Russia, with up to 110 senior Iranian IRGC men going for training every year in Beijing and Moscow, and 110 Chinese and Russians going to Tehran for their training.

In this document, China is introduced as “the permanent Iran oil buyer”. The Iranian regime will sell its oil, gas, and petrochemical products to China 12% cheaper than the market price. It grants China a double discount of 6-8% too. Accordingly, China will be buying Iran’s oil products at least 32% cheaper than its true value in global markets.

Prior to an economic deal, this is a military deal to preserve the Islamic Republic from its downfall. The regime is not able to buy military equipment and no country is allowed to sell such equipment to Iran. This document will grant unlimited access to Iran’s bases to Russian and Chinese military forces, they will have the permission to transfer advanced military equipment into Iran.

Iranians please to oppose this deal with protests

A local source from Isfahan said, “To this regime, national interest is not important. It just thinks of its own survival. It is our nation’s duty to rise and act and stop this deal with our protests”.

A citizen from Shiraz said, “This deal with China is much worse than the Turkman Chai Deal in 1828 and the Golestan Deal in 1813 they wanted to impose on Iran in two wars with the Russian tsarism”.

But for the people of Iran this does not come as a surprise, as they have the experience of 41 years of treachery against their anti-monarchy revolution by this regime, suffering from tortures and killings as well as squandering of the countries resources and assets.

It is for years that they had distanced themselves from this regime and expressed their abhorrence of it by street protests and years of uprisings. They do not see their hopes and future in this regime and its agenda.

Amid the coronavirus spread, the mullahs’ regime hoped that the voice of protests would be hushed. But both in Iran and abroad this voice is rising again.

Iranian patriots leaving outside the country intend to stage their annual international conference on July 17 in support of human rights and protests of the Iranian people.

Hundreds of MPs, politicians, and distinguished international dignitaries have expressed their support for this global summit and will participate in it to voice themselves with the desire and will of the people of Iran for a free, secular, and democratic country in peace with the world and its neighbors.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a Sweden-based social analyst, researcher, independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics. He tweets under @hassan_mahmou1. 

]]> China and Iran near secretive political and military partnership https://www.millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-2.html Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:49:16 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-2/ by Hassan Mahmoudi

China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Sanctions imposing maximum pressure on the clerical regime, backed by internal economic crises, have laid the ground for an explosive society drained by dire livelihood as well as infightings at the top of this regime.

The Iran-China-Russia deal

To find a light at the end of this dark tunnel, the regime intends to tie with China and Russia to take advantage of their international and political potentials to break its economic deadlock and to block any potential uprising.

On July 12, speaking at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’s session in Majlis (parliament) Iran regime’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said, “When Mr. Xi Jinping visited Tehran in 2015 and met with Khamenei, this was the overture of the 25-year cooperation accord.”

Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council shed light on the role of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in this sell-off deal involving the transfer of Kish Island, along with military and intelligence cooperation between the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the Chinese government and said, “The 25-year cooperation document with China went through after (Khamenei) sent a special message and a special messenger (to China) and met with the Chinese President”.

He said the deal was to remedy the regime’s turmoil and added, “Today, our situation forces us to inject more hope to the society. If hopelessness prevails, there could be social riots. In this regard having relation with China and Russia can provide paths to new opportunities”.

Tehran also intends to use this concession to China as a tool to block the extension of the UN armed embargo which will be voted on by UNSC in September this year using China and Russia as vetoing countries. On the other hand, China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Simon Watkins, a British economic journalist, highlights the security aspect of this document and writes, “another element that will change the entire balance of geopolitical power in the Middle East has been added to the deal.

Last week, the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] agreed to the extension of the existing deal to include new military elements that were proposed by the same senior figures in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the intelligence services that proposed the original deal, and this will involve complete aerial and naval military co-operation between Iran and China, with Russia also taking a key role,” one of the Iran sources told OilPrice.com last week.

According to the Iranian sources, part of the new military co-operation includes an exchange of personnel between Iran, and China and Russia, with up to 110 senior Iranian IRGC men going for training every year in Beijing and Moscow, and 110 Chinese and Russians going to Tehran for their training.

In this document, China is introduced as “the permanent Iran oil buyer”. The Iranian regime will sell its oil, gas, and petrochemical products to China 12% cheaper than the market price. It grants China a double discount of 6-8% too. Accordingly, China will be buying Iran’s oil products at least 32% cheaper than its true value in global markets.

Prior to an economic deal, this is a military deal to preserve the Islamic Republic from its downfall. The regime is not able to buy military equipment and no country is allowed to sell such equipment to Iran. This document will grant unlimited access to Iran’s bases to Russian and Chinese military forces, they will have the permission to transfer advanced military equipment into Iran.

Iranians please to oppose this deal with protests

A local source from Isfahan said, “To this regime, national interest is not important. It just thinks of its own survival. It is our nation’s duty to rise and act and stop this deal with our protests”.

A citizen from Shiraz said, “This deal with China is much worse than the Turkman Chai Deal in 1828 and the Golestan Deal in 1813 they wanted to impose on Iran in two wars with the Russian tsarism”.

But for the people of Iran this does not come as a surprise, as they have the experience of 41 years of treachery against their anti-monarchy revolution by this regime, suffering from tortures and killings as well as squandering of the countries resources and assets.

It is for years that they had distanced themselves from this regime and expressed their abhorrence of it by street protests and years of uprisings. They do not see their hopes and future in this regime and its agenda.

Amid the coronavirus spread, the mullahs’ regime hoped that the voice of protests would be hushed. But both in Iran and abroad this voice is rising again.

Iranian patriots leaving outside the country intend to stage their annual international conference on July 17 in support of human rights and protests of the Iranian people.

Hundreds of MPs, politicians, and distinguished international dignitaries have expressed their support for this global summit and will participate in it to voice themselves with the desire and will of the people of Iran for a free, secular, and democratic country in peace with the world and its neighbors.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a Sweden-based social analyst, researcher, independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics. He tweets under @hassan_mahmou1. 

]]> China and Iran near secretive political and military partnership https://www.millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-3.html Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:49:16 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-3/ by Hassan Mahmoudi

China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Sanctions imposing maximum pressure on the clerical regime, backed by internal economic crises, have laid the ground for an explosive society drained by dire livelihood as well as infightings at the top of this regime.

The Iran-China-Russia deal

To find a light at the end of this dark tunnel, the regime intends to tie with China and Russia to take advantage of their international and political potentials to break its economic deadlock and to block any potential uprising.

On July 12, speaking at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’s session in Majlis (parliament) Iran regime’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said, “When Mr. Xi Jinping visited Tehran in 2015 and met with Khamenei, this was the overture of the 25-year cooperation accord.”

Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council shed light on the role of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in this sell-off deal involving the transfer of Kish Island, along with military and intelligence cooperation between the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the Chinese government and said, “The 25-year cooperation document with China went through after (Khamenei) sent a special message and a special messenger (to China) and met with the Chinese President”.

He said the deal was to remedy the regime’s turmoil and added, “Today, our situation forces us to inject more hope to the society. If hopelessness prevails, there could be social riots. In this regard having relation with China and Russia can provide paths to new opportunities”.

Tehran also intends to use this concession to China as a tool to block the extension of the UN armed embargo which will be voted on by UNSC in September this year using China and Russia as vetoing countries. On the other hand, China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Simon Watkins, a British economic journalist, highlights the security aspect of this document and writes, “another element that will change the entire balance of geopolitical power in the Middle East has been added to the deal.

Last week, the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] agreed to the extension of the existing deal to include new military elements that were proposed by the same senior figures in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the intelligence services that proposed the original deal, and this will involve complete aerial and naval military co-operation between Iran and China, with Russia also taking a key role,” one of the Iran sources told OilPrice.com last week.

According to the Iranian sources, part of the new military co-operation includes an exchange of personnel between Iran, and China and Russia, with up to 110 senior Iranian IRGC men going for training every year in Beijing and Moscow, and 110 Chinese and Russians going to Tehran for their training.

In this document, China is introduced as “the permanent Iran oil buyer”. The Iranian regime will sell its oil, gas, and petrochemical products to China 12% cheaper than the market price. It grants China a double discount of 6-8% too. Accordingly, China will be buying Iran’s oil products at least 32% cheaper than its true value in global markets.

Prior to an economic deal, this is a military deal to preserve the Islamic Republic from its downfall. The regime is not able to buy military equipment and no country is allowed to sell such equipment to Iran. This document will grant unlimited access to Iran’s bases to Russian and Chinese military forces, they will have the permission to transfer advanced military equipment into Iran.

Iranians please to oppose this deal with protests

A local source from Isfahan said, “To this regime, national interest is not important. It just thinks of its own survival. It is our nation’s duty to rise and act and stop this deal with our protests”.

A citizen from Shiraz said, “This deal with China is much worse than the Turkman Chai Deal in 1828 and the Golestan Deal in 1813 they wanted to impose on Iran in two wars with the Russian tsarism”.

But for the people of Iran this does not come as a surprise, as they have the experience of 41 years of treachery against their anti-monarchy revolution by this regime, suffering from tortures and killings as well as squandering of the countries resources and assets.

It is for years that they had distanced themselves from this regime and expressed their abhorrence of it by street protests and years of uprisings. They do not see their hopes and future in this regime and its agenda.

Amid the coronavirus spread, the mullahs’ regime hoped that the voice of protests would be hushed. But both in Iran and abroad this voice is rising again.

Iranian patriots leaving outside the country intend to stage their annual international conference on July 17 in support of human rights and protests of the Iranian people.

Hundreds of MPs, politicians, and distinguished international dignitaries have expressed their support for this global summit and will participate in it to voice themselves with the desire and will of the people of Iran for a free, secular, and democratic country in peace with the world and its neighbors.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a Sweden-based social analyst, researcher, independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics. He tweets under @hassan_mahmou1. 

]]> China and Iran near secretive political and military partnership https://www.millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-4.html Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:49:16 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-4/ by Hassan Mahmoudi

China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Sanctions imposing maximum pressure on the clerical regime, backed by internal economic crises, have laid the ground for an explosive society drained by dire livelihood as well as infightings at the top of this regime.

The Iran-China-Russia deal

To find a light at the end of this dark tunnel, the regime intends to tie with China and Russia to take advantage of their international and political potentials to break its economic deadlock and to block any potential uprising.

On July 12, speaking at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’s session in Majlis (parliament) Iran regime’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said, “When Mr. Xi Jinping visited Tehran in 2015 and met with Khamenei, this was the overture of the 25-year cooperation accord.”

Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council shed light on the role of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in this sell-off deal involving the transfer of Kish Island, along with military and intelligence cooperation between the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the Chinese government and said, “The 25-year cooperation document with China went through after (Khamenei) sent a special message and a special messenger (to China) and met with the Chinese President”.

He said the deal was to remedy the regime’s turmoil and added, “Today, our situation forces us to inject more hope to the society. If hopelessness prevails, there could be social riots. In this regard having relation with China and Russia can provide paths to new opportunities”.

Tehran also intends to use this concession to China as a tool to block the extension of the UN armed embargo which will be voted on by UNSC in September this year using China and Russia as vetoing countries. On the other hand, China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Simon Watkins, a British economic journalist, highlights the security aspect of this document and writes, “another element that will change the entire balance of geopolitical power in the Middle East has been added to the deal.

Last week, the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] agreed to the extension of the existing deal to include new military elements that were proposed by the same senior figures in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the intelligence services that proposed the original deal, and this will involve complete aerial and naval military co-operation between Iran and China, with Russia also taking a key role,” one of the Iran sources told OilPrice.com last week.

According to the Iranian sources, part of the new military co-operation includes an exchange of personnel between Iran, and China and Russia, with up to 110 senior Iranian IRGC men going for training every year in Beijing and Moscow, and 110 Chinese and Russians going to Tehran for their training.

In this document, China is introduced as “the permanent Iran oil buyer”. The Iranian regime will sell its oil, gas, and petrochemical products to China 12% cheaper than the market price. It grants China a double discount of 6-8% too. Accordingly, China will be buying Iran’s oil products at least 32% cheaper than its true value in global markets.

Prior to an economic deal, this is a military deal to preserve the Islamic Republic from its downfall. The regime is not able to buy military equipment and no country is allowed to sell such equipment to Iran. This document will grant unlimited access to Iran’s bases to Russian and Chinese military forces, they will have the permission to transfer advanced military equipment into Iran.

Iranians please to oppose this deal with protests

A local source from Isfahan said, “To this regime, national interest is not important. It just thinks of its own survival. It is our nation’s duty to rise and act and stop this deal with our protests”.

A citizen from Shiraz said, “This deal with China is much worse than the Turkman Chai Deal in 1828 and the Golestan Deal in 1813 they wanted to impose on Iran in two wars with the Russian tsarism”.

But for the people of Iran this does not come as a surprise, as they have the experience of 41 years of treachery against their anti-monarchy revolution by this regime, suffering from tortures and killings as well as squandering of the countries resources and assets.

It is for years that they had distanced themselves from this regime and expressed their abhorrence of it by street protests and years of uprisings. They do not see their hopes and future in this regime and its agenda.

Amid the coronavirus spread, the mullahs’ regime hoped that the voice of protests would be hushed. But both in Iran and abroad this voice is rising again.

Iranian patriots leaving outside the country intend to stage their annual international conference on July 17 in support of human rights and protests of the Iranian people.

Hundreds of MPs, politicians, and distinguished international dignitaries have expressed their support for this global summit and will participate in it to voice themselves with the desire and will of the people of Iran for a free, secular, and democratic country in peace with the world and its neighbors.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a Sweden-based social analyst, researcher, independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics. He tweets under @hassan_mahmou1. 

]]> China and Iran near secretive political and military partnership https://www.millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-5.html Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:49:16 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-5/ by Hassan Mahmoudi

China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Sanctions imposing maximum pressure on the clerical regime, backed by internal economic crises, have laid the ground for an explosive society drained by dire livelihood as well as infightings at the top of this regime.

The Iran-China-Russia deal

To find a light at the end of this dark tunnel, the regime intends to tie with China and Russia to take advantage of their international and political potentials to break its economic deadlock and to block any potential uprising.

On July 12, speaking at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’s session in Majlis (parliament) Iran regime’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said, “When Mr. Xi Jinping visited Tehran in 2015 and met with Khamenei, this was the overture of the 25-year cooperation accord.”

Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council shed light on the role of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in this sell-off deal involving the transfer of Kish Island, along with military and intelligence cooperation between the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the Chinese government and said, “The 25-year cooperation document with China went through after (Khamenei) sent a special message and a special messenger (to China) and met with the Chinese President”.

He said the deal was to remedy the regime’s turmoil and added, “Today, our situation forces us to inject more hope to the society. If hopelessness prevails, there could be social riots. In this regard having relation with China and Russia can provide paths to new opportunities”.

Tehran also intends to use this concession to China as a tool to block the extension of the UN armed embargo which will be voted on by UNSC in September this year using China and Russia as vetoing countries. On the other hand, China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Simon Watkins, a British economic journalist, highlights the security aspect of this document and writes, “another element that will change the entire balance of geopolitical power in the Middle East has been added to the deal.

Last week, the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] agreed to the extension of the existing deal to include new military elements that were proposed by the same senior figures in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the intelligence services that proposed the original deal, and this will involve complete aerial and naval military co-operation between Iran and China, with Russia also taking a key role,” one of the Iran sources told OilPrice.com last week.

According to the Iranian sources, part of the new military co-operation includes an exchange of personnel between Iran, and China and Russia, with up to 110 senior Iranian IRGC men going for training every year in Beijing and Moscow, and 110 Chinese and Russians going to Tehran for their training.

In this document, China is introduced as “the permanent Iran oil buyer”. The Iranian regime will sell its oil, gas, and petrochemical products to China 12% cheaper than the market price. It grants China a double discount of 6-8% too. Accordingly, China will be buying Iran’s oil products at least 32% cheaper than its true value in global markets.

Prior to an economic deal, this is a military deal to preserve the Islamic Republic from its downfall. The regime is not able to buy military equipment and no country is allowed to sell such equipment to Iran. This document will grant unlimited access to Iran’s bases to Russian and Chinese military forces, they will have the permission to transfer advanced military equipment into Iran.

Iranians please to oppose this deal with protests

A local source from Isfahan said, “To this regime, national interest is not important. It just thinks of its own survival. It is our nation’s duty to rise and act and stop this deal with our protests”.

A citizen from Shiraz said, “This deal with China is much worse than the Turkman Chai Deal in 1828 and the Golestan Deal in 1813 they wanted to impose on Iran in two wars with the Russian tsarism”.

But for the people of Iran this does not come as a surprise, as they have the experience of 41 years of treachery against their anti-monarchy revolution by this regime, suffering from tortures and killings as well as squandering of the countries resources and assets.

It is for years that they had distanced themselves from this regime and expressed their abhorrence of it by street protests and years of uprisings. They do not see their hopes and future in this regime and its agenda.

Amid the coronavirus spread, the mullahs’ regime hoped that the voice of protests would be hushed. But both in Iran and abroad this voice is rising again.

Iranian patriots leaving outside the country intend to stage their annual international conference on July 17 in support of human rights and protests of the Iranian people.

Hundreds of MPs, politicians, and distinguished international dignitaries have expressed their support for this global summit and will participate in it to voice themselves with the desire and will of the people of Iran for a free, secular, and democratic country in peace with the world and its neighbors.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a Sweden-based social analyst, researcher, independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics. He tweets under @hassan_mahmou1. 

]]> China and Iran near secretive political and military partnership https://www.millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-6.html Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:49:16 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-6/ by Hassan Mahmoudi

China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Sanctions imposing maximum pressure on the clerical regime, backed by internal economic crises, have laid the ground for an explosive society drained by dire livelihood as well as infightings at the top of this regime.

The Iran-China-Russia deal

To find a light at the end of this dark tunnel, the regime intends to tie with China and Russia to take advantage of their international and political potentials to break its economic deadlock and to block any potential uprising.

On July 12, speaking at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’s session in Majlis (parliament) Iran regime’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said, “When Mr. Xi Jinping visited Tehran in 2015 and met with Khamenei, this was the overture of the 25-year cooperation accord.”

Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council shed light on the role of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in this sell-off deal involving the transfer of Kish Island, along with military and intelligence cooperation between the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the Chinese government and said, “The 25-year cooperation document with China went through after (Khamenei) sent a special message and a special messenger (to China) and met with the Chinese President”.

He said the deal was to remedy the regime’s turmoil and added, “Today, our situation forces us to inject more hope to the society. If hopelessness prevails, there could be social riots. In this regard having relation with China and Russia can provide paths to new opportunities”.

Tehran also intends to use this concession to China as a tool to block the extension of the UN armed embargo which will be voted on by UNSC in September this year using China and Russia as vetoing countries. On the other hand, China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Simon Watkins, a British economic journalist, highlights the security aspect of this document and writes, “another element that will change the entire balance of geopolitical power in the Middle East has been added to the deal.

Last week, the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] agreed to the extension of the existing deal to include new military elements that were proposed by the same senior figures in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the intelligence services that proposed the original deal, and this will involve complete aerial and naval military co-operation between Iran and China, with Russia also taking a key role,” one of the Iran sources told OilPrice.com last week.

According to the Iranian sources, part of the new military co-operation includes an exchange of personnel between Iran, and China and Russia, with up to 110 senior Iranian IRGC men going for training every year in Beijing and Moscow, and 110 Chinese and Russians going to Tehran for their training.

In this document, China is introduced as “the permanent Iran oil buyer”. The Iranian regime will sell its oil, gas, and petrochemical products to China 12% cheaper than the market price. It grants China a double discount of 6-8% too. Accordingly, China will be buying Iran’s oil products at least 32% cheaper than its true value in global markets.

Prior to an economic deal, this is a military deal to preserve the Islamic Republic from its downfall. The regime is not able to buy military equipment and no country is allowed to sell such equipment to Iran. This document will grant unlimited access to Iran’s bases to Russian and Chinese military forces, they will have the permission to transfer advanced military equipment into Iran.

Iranians please to oppose this deal with protests

A local source from Isfahan said, “To this regime, national interest is not important. It just thinks of its own survival. It is our nation’s duty to rise and act and stop this deal with our protests”.

A citizen from Shiraz said, “This deal with China is much worse than the Turkman Chai Deal in 1828 and the Golestan Deal in 1813 they wanted to impose on Iran in two wars with the Russian tsarism”.

But for the people of Iran this does not come as a surprise, as they have the experience of 41 years of treachery against their anti-monarchy revolution by this regime, suffering from tortures and killings as well as squandering of the countries resources and assets.

It is for years that they had distanced themselves from this regime and expressed their abhorrence of it by street protests and years of uprisings. They do not see their hopes and future in this regime and its agenda.

Amid the coronavirus spread, the mullahs’ regime hoped that the voice of protests would be hushed. But both in Iran and abroad this voice is rising again.

Iranian patriots leaving outside the country intend to stage their annual international conference on July 17 in support of human rights and protests of the Iranian people.

Hundreds of MPs, politicians, and distinguished international dignitaries have expressed their support for this global summit and will participate in it to voice themselves with the desire and will of the people of Iran for a free, secular, and democratic country in peace with the world and its neighbors.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a Sweden-based social analyst, researcher, independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics. He tweets under @hassan_mahmou1. 

]]> China and Iran near secretive political and military partnership https://www.millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-7.html Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:49:16 +0000 https://millichronicle.com/2020/07/china-and-iran-near-secretive-political-and-military-partnership-7/ by Hassan Mahmoudi

China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Sanctions imposing maximum pressure on the clerical regime, backed by internal economic crises, have laid the ground for an explosive society drained by dire livelihood as well as infightings at the top of this regime.

The Iran-China-Russia deal

To find a light at the end of this dark tunnel, the regime intends to tie with China and Russia to take advantage of their international and political potentials to break its economic deadlock and to block any potential uprising.

On July 12, speaking at the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission’s session in Majlis (parliament) Iran regime’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif said, “When Mr. Xi Jinping visited Tehran in 2015 and met with Khamenei, this was the overture of the 25-year cooperation accord.”

Mesbahi Moghadam, a member of the Iranian regime’s Expediency Council shed light on the role of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in this sell-off deal involving the transfer of Kish Island, along with military and intelligence cooperation between the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the Chinese government and said, “The 25-year cooperation document with China went through after (Khamenei) sent a special message and a special messenger (to China) and met with the Chinese President”.

He said the deal was to remedy the regime’s turmoil and added, “Today, our situation forces us to inject more hope to the society. If hopelessness prevails, there could be social riots. In this regard having relation with China and Russia can provide paths to new opportunities”.

Tehran also intends to use this concession to China as a tool to block the extension of the UN armed embargo which will be voted on by UNSC in September this year using China and Russia as vetoing countries. On the other hand, China uses this deal to have privilege on US on its trade agreements with this country.

Simon Watkins, a British economic journalist, highlights the security aspect of this document and writes, “another element that will change the entire balance of geopolitical power in the Middle East has been added to the deal.

Last week, the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] agreed to the extension of the existing deal to include new military elements that were proposed by the same senior figures in the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the intelligence services that proposed the original deal, and this will involve complete aerial and naval military co-operation between Iran and China, with Russia also taking a key role,” one of the Iran sources told OilPrice.com last week.

According to the Iranian sources, part of the new military co-operation includes an exchange of personnel between Iran, and China and Russia, with up to 110 senior Iranian IRGC men going for training every year in Beijing and Moscow, and 110 Chinese and Russians going to Tehran for their training.

In this document, China is introduced as “the permanent Iran oil buyer”. The Iranian regime will sell its oil, gas, and petrochemical products to China 12% cheaper than the market price. It grants China a double discount of 6-8% too. Accordingly, China will be buying Iran’s oil products at least 32% cheaper than its true value in global markets.

Prior to an economic deal, this is a military deal to preserve the Islamic Republic from its downfall. The regime is not able to buy military equipment and no country is allowed to sell such equipment to Iran. This document will grant unlimited access to Iran’s bases to Russian and Chinese military forces, they will have the permission to transfer advanced military equipment into Iran.

Iranians please to oppose this deal with protests

A local source from Isfahan said, “To this regime, national interest is not important. It just thinks of its own survival. It is our nation’s duty to rise and act and stop this deal with our protests”.

A citizen from Shiraz said, “This deal with China is much worse than the Turkman Chai Deal in 1828 and the Golestan Deal in 1813 they wanted to impose on Iran in two wars with the Russian tsarism”.

But for the people of Iran this does not come as a surprise, as they have the experience of 41 years of treachery against their anti-monarchy revolution by this regime, suffering from tortures and killings as well as squandering of the countries resources and assets.

It is for years that they had distanced themselves from this regime and expressed their abhorrence of it by street protests and years of uprisings. They do not see their hopes and future in this regime and its agenda.

Amid the coronavirus spread, the mullahs’ regime hoped that the voice of protests would be hushed. But both in Iran and abroad this voice is rising again.

Iranian patriots leaving outside the country intend to stage their annual international conference on July 17 in support of human rights and protests of the Iranian people.

Hundreds of MPs, politicians, and distinguished international dignitaries have expressed their support for this global summit and will participate in it to voice themselves with the desire and will of the people of Iran for a free, secular, and democratic country in peace with the world and its neighbors.

Hassan Mahmoudi is a Sweden-based social analyst, researcher, independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iranian Politics. He tweets under @hassan_mahmou1. 

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