Turkey, Russia Hold Joint Patrol in Northeast Syria

Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)
Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)
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Turkey, Russia Hold Joint Patrol in Northeast Syria

Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)
Turkish officers talk with Russian officers near Turkish-Syrian border. (AP)

Russian Military Police held on Monday a joint patrol with Turkish forces in Syria's Ain al-Arab (Kobani).

The patrol was the 95th between the two forces in the region since both countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 2019.

It comprised eight Russian and Turkish military vehicles, accompanied by two Russian helicopters, and set off from Gharib village, east of Kobani.

The patrol toured the villages of Qarah Mogh, Jaishan, Kharabisan Tahtani and Baghdik to Khan village in the western countryside of Tel Abyad then returned to their set off position.

Separately, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced the killing of two members of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Euphrates Shield zone, under the control of Turkey and its loyal factions.

Turkey has recently targeted the Kurdish-led SDF sites in north and northeastern Syria by intensifying its artillery bombardment in Ain Issa, north of Raqqa, and in other sites in Hasakeh, extending to the countryside of Aleppo.

Meanwhile, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) activists documented the death of two SDF members and the injury of three others by a landmine explosion targeting their car while passing through Hisha town, north of Raqqah, on Sunday evening.

SOHR has reported 56 operations carried out by ISIS, including armed attacks and explosions, in areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration since early 2022.

According to the war monitor, the regime security services have arrested three new members of the “National Defense Forces” from al-Sokhnah town in the eastern countryside of Homs for “communicating with ISIS cells.”



Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran's atomic facilities.

"I think they're tapping us along," Trump told reporters after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday with a senior Iranian official.

Both Iran and the United States said on Saturday that they held "positive" and "constructive" talks in Oman. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.

The source, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions are aimed at exploring what is possible, including a broad framework of what a potential deal would look like.

"Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Asked if US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Trump said: "Of course it does."

Trump said the Iranians need to move fast to avoid a harsh response because "they're fairly close" to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden's term, but they made little, if any progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned.