Asian Central Banks To Adopt Iran's SWIFT Alternative As De-Dollarization Accelerates

In the latest shot fired in the growing rebellion against US dollar dominance, the nine-nation Asian Clearing Union (ACU) has agreed to use Iran's financial messaging system as an alternative to the dollar-denominated SWIFT system that has long served as the globe's financial nervous system.

"The secretary general of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) says Irans financial messaging system SEPAM will replace SWIFT, a dollar-based international system, in trade exchanges between ACU members beginning next month," Iran's IRNA News Agency reported.

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Israel worries US weapons for Ukraine are ending up in Iran's hands "IndyWatch Feed World"

A high-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander has told Newsweek that Israel is concerned over the risks of weapons provided by the United States and other Western nations to Ukraine ending up in the hands of Israel's foes in the Middle East, including Iran. With experts too backing these worries, the situation could mark yet another chapter in a long legacy of U.S. arms shipments being diverted, empowering adversaries of both Israel and the U.S. in another restive region, while the focus of Western governments is on the volatile conflict playing out in Eastern Europe. The Israeli commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic, said the diversion of weapons, such as the Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile system, was being monitored from paramilitary forces operating on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Israeli commander said pro-Russian formations were motivated to transfer captured U.S.-supplied weapons due to the close...

Sunday, 18 June

17:56

Saudi FM in Iran: We Hope Restoration of Diplomatic Relations Positively Affects Entire Islamic World "IndyWatch Feed War"

June 17, 2023 The Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan underscored Saturday the endeavor to restore the diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and the Islamic Republic, hoping that this development positively affects all the Muslim World. In a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hussein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, the Saudi top diplomat thanked []

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6/15/23 Connor Freeman on the New Israeli Settlements and the Latest on an Iran Deal "IndyWatch Feed War"

Download Episode.https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SCHM3111942714.mp3 Connor Freeman joined Antiwar Radio this week to run through some news from the Middle East. They started with the 4,000 new settlements Israel announced would be built in the West Bank. They then took a look at U.S.-Israeli relations under the Biden Administration more broadly before finishing with the latest developments with []

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Military Situation In Iraq On June 17, 2023 (Map Update) "IndyWatch Feed War"

Click to see full-size image

On June 17, Iraqi security forces arrested two ISIS commanders in Kirkuk;
On June 16, an Iranian border guard was killed by PEJAK terrorist group near Mariwan border;
On May 11, two Turkish servicemen were killed during the Operation Claw Lock in northern Iraq, according to the Turkish MOD.

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US Double Standards On World Press Freedom Day "IndyWatch Feed Nthamerica"

The following article was made possible by paid subscribers. Support independent journalism on whistleblowers and press freedom and become a subscriber with this special World Press Freedom Day offer.

For the United States government, World Press Freedom Day is an opportunity to further project an image of the U.S. as a supposed champion of journalism and human rights. But that projection is muddied greatly by the prosecution against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

An event was hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the UN headquarters in New York. It marked the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day.

Dr. Agns Callamard, the secretary general for Amnesty International, called attention to the double standard of so-called democratic countries while discussing challenges to protecting press freedom.

It is not just what is happening in Iran or in Russia that should worry us, although it should worry us a lot. It is also what is happening here [in the U.S.], Callamard said. Who is imprisoning Julian Assange? Who is creating more laws to curtail the freedom to protest? All of those indicators and trends are occurring within the so-called democracies of the world.

Callamard added, Sadly, the playbook of autocracy, of control over conscience, of control over speech, has been well-learned by our so-called democratic leaders.

President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have wielded the playbook of autocracy through deliberate acts of omissionby consistently dodging any attempts by reporters or civil society leaders to hold them accountable for pursuing the Assange case.

At the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 29, Biden highlighted Russias detention of Evan Gershkovich and the abduction of Austin Tice in Syria over a decade ago.

Then Biden proclaimed, Tonight, our message is this: Journalism is not a crime.

However, that message seems fraudulent as the U.S. government remains committed to prosecuting Assange and keeps him in jail.

Assange has been a target of surveillance and subject to some form of arbitrary detention for more than a decade. The journalism he oversaw as WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, which involved publishing classified documents from the U.S. government, effectively made him a target.

Last year, Blinken uttered the following on World Press Fre...

Monday, 19 June

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