|
TOP STORIES
Draft legislation responding to U.S. President Donald
Trump's refusal to certify the Iran nuclear deal would set tough new
terms for the pact, including restoring sanctions if Iran tests a
ballistic missile able to carry a warhead or bars nuclear inspectors
from any sites... The draft, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, was in the
works on Oct. 13 when Trump announced he would not formally certify
that Tehran was complying with the international nuclear pact, and
called on Congress to write legislation to toughen it. Since then,
Corker has met with Senate Democratic colleagues, at least some of
whom would have to back the legislation for it to pass.
Saudi Arabia supports U.S. President Donald Trump's
stance on Iran after he decided not to certify that Tehran is
complying with a nuclear accord, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel
al-Jubeir said on Tues U.S. President Donald Trump broke ranks with
other major powers this month by refusing to formally certify that
Tehran is complying with the deal, even though international
inspectors say it is. Jubeir said the nuclear deal had shortcomings,
and that he agreed with Trump's assessment that Iran was working to
destabilise the region and was funding militant organisations.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that US
sanctions against Iran targeted the country's "malign
behaviors" and were aimed at helping the Iranian people take
control of their government. Tillerson told a New Delhi press
conference after talks with India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj
that the United States would not block "legitimate"
business activities with Iran by India or any other ally... Tillerson
said US actions also sought to limit Iran's other "destabilizing
activities" in the Middle East, including its ballistic missile
development, "their export of arms to terrorist
organisations" and involvement in conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
The Trump administration is realizing that changing Iran
policy is difficult-not because Washington's problems with Iran are
unclear but because they cannot be addressed without changing the
United States' broader policy in the Middle East. In particular, if
Washington does not rethink its strategy toward Syria, U.S. Iran
policy will remain ineffective.
CONGRESS & IRAN
Beyond our tactical successes in the fight against the
Islamic State, the United States is still dangerously lacking a
comprehensive strategy toward the rest of the Middle East in all of
its complexity. This is the unfortunate legacy that the Obama
administration left for its successor. President Trump's call this
month for a broader strategy to confront Iran's malign influence
across the Middle East was an encouraging indication that the
administration recognizes the problem.
TERRORISM AND EXTREMISM
There will always be those that
ridicule the idea of a pact between Iran and al-Qaeda, due to the
Shiite/Sunni divide, but it has been proven many times over, how
Shiite Iran will side with radical Sunni groups such as al-Qaeda (AQ)
when it comes to fighting a common enemy, and al-Qaeda will do the
same, especially when the target is their most hated enemy the US.
The belief by certain commanders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC), is if they could persuade al-Qaeda to come on side in
any future conflict with the West, with the offer of financial
assistance and weapons, as well as the use of the IRGC's vast terror
and sleeper network; with the aid of Hezbollah, the result would be
catastrophic. In July 2002, soon after the US invasion of Afghanistan,
Osama bin Laden went on the run. Seeking a safe haven, the al-Qaeda
leader crossed the border near Zabol with his close advisor Ayman
al-Zawahiri, and making contact with the IRGC, he was given a safe
house.
While there have been many losers from
the Syrian civil war, the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah
has emerged as an undisputed winner, making significant advances in
its military capabilities. This development, along with the impetus
of Iran's nefarious regional role - now explicitly recognized by
President Trump's new policy as an urgent challenge - poses a severe
threat to an already deeply unstable Middle East. Left unchecked, it
is likely to prompt a third Lebanon war - one that would be worse
than anything we have seen previously. Since the 2006 Second
Lebanon War with Israel, Hezbollah, the crown jewel in Iran's strategy
of regional warfare by terrorist proxy, has been unwavering in its
determination to reconstitute itself as a viable military force in
Lebanon. By subduing the Lebanese population and infiltrating the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), the group has resurrected its military
presence across the country, especially in the south.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran has sentenced to death a person found guilty of
providing information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior
nuclear scientists, Tehran's prosecutor said on Tuesday.
Dolatabadi did not identify the defendant, but Amnesty
International said on Monday that Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian
doctor who studied and taught in Sweden, had been sentenced to death
in Iran on espionage charges. At least four scientists were
killed between 2010 and 2012 in what Tehran said was a program of
assassinations aimed at sabotaging its nuclear energy program.
Relatives of Iranian academic and university lecturer
Ahmadreza Djalali said he was unfairly sentenced to death for alleged
espionage a year after his arrest in Tehran. Djalali's wife Vida
Mehrannia, who lives in Sweden with their two children, told Amnesty
International that his physical and mental health have sharply
deteriorated since he was detained. She added: "We are calling
for his release because he has not committed any crime." Djalali
holds dual Iranian-Swedish nationalities.
MILITARY MATTERS
Fleeing grinding poverty and unemployment, thousands of
Afghan Shi'ites have been recruited by Iran to defend the head of the
Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad. "For me it was just about
money," Shams, a former fighter, told Agence France Presse.
Hurman Rights Watch says the Iranians refuse to provide accurate
figures, but estimates there are nearly 15,000 Afghans fighting for
Fatemiyoun. Shams, a 25-year-old member of the Hazara ethnic group,
went to Syria twice in 2016 to fight in a conflict that has now been
raging for more than six years. "I went there (Iran)
because I was jobless and it was a way to get money for my
family," said Shams. "My idea was to find a job in Iran. I
had no plan to go to fight in Syria but after a month of being
jobless I decided to go. "They were encouraging us saying 'you
will be a freedom fighter and if you return to Iran alive you can
stay with a 10-year residence permit'."
IRAQ CRISIS
Iran opened a border crossing with the Kurdistan region
of Iraq Wednesday after having closed it following last month's vote
in favor of independence in the Kurdish area, Iranian state media
reported. Iran backs the Shi'ite-led central government in
Baghdad in its opposition to Kurdish secession, and Iranian-backed
militias assisted government forces when they seized a number of
Kurdish cities last week. The decision comes on the same day as
the Kurdish Regional Government offered to put their independence
drive on hold, stepping up efforts to resolve a crisis in relations
with Baghdad via dialogue rather than military means.
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment