Iran carrier begins direct flights to Venezuela

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s second largest airline has begun direct flights to Venezuela, as the two countries cultivate closer ties in the face of U.S. sanctions.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency says Mahan airline’s first flight to Venezuela left Tehran on Monday carrying a Foreign Ministry delegation.

The United States blacklisted Mahan in 2011 after accusing it of providing support to the Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The carrier recently halted flights to Germany and France due to U.S. sanctions over its alleged military transport flights to Syria, where Iran supports President Bashar Assad’s forces.

President Donald Trump restored tough sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement last year, and has increased sanctions on Venezuela to pressure the government to hand over power to the opposition.

https://lex18.com/ap-world-news/2019/04/08/iran-carrier-begins-direct-flights-to-venezuela/

Syria Pledges to Regain ‘Every Inch’ of the Golan From Israel

Syria vowed to get back “every inch” of the Golan Heights from Israel in the aftermath of the United States recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the area.

“Syria will liberate the occupied Golan by all means, and all choices are on the table,” said the country’s foreign minister, Walid Muallem, on Thursday.

“US President Donald Trump’s decision on the occupied Syrian Golan has a single effect, as it only enhanced the US isolation,” he said. “Our right in the occupied Syrian Golan is firm and can’t be denied by the passage of time, and every inch of the occupied Syrian territories will be liberated.”

He added, “We have will and determination, and our war since 2011 is to protect Syria’s sovereignty and independence and to liberate every inch of its territories.”

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Monday said it was “a matter of the greatest regret that our allies, the United States, are in clear contravention of UN [Security Council] Resolution 497.”

The unanimously passed resolution in 1980 labeled that Israel’s annexation of the Golan as “null and void.”

“We should never recognize the annexation of territory by force,” said Hunt, acknowledging that Israel is “an ally and a shining example of democracy in a part of the world where that is not common.”

https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/04/07/syria-pledges-to-regain-every-inch-of-the-golan-from-israel/

Turkey’s Erdogan to discuss possible operation in Syria with Putin: RIA

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he planned to discuss a possible Turkish military operation in Syria when he visits Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

Erdogan has vowed to crush U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters east of the Euphrates in Syria and said last year that preparations were complete for an operation.

Turkey, Washington’s main Muslim ally within NATO, considers Syria’s YPG Kurdish militia an enemy and has already intervened to sweep the fighters from territory west of the Euphrates in military campaigns over the past two years.

“Our preparations on the border are finished, everything is ready for an operation. We can begin it at any moment. I will discuss this issue among others face-to-face (with Putin) on my visit to Russia,” Erdogan was cited as saying.

https://www.worldusheadlines.com/2019/04/08/turkeys-erdogan-to-discuss/

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