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Lebanon’s information minister quits to ease Saudi dispute

By
IFP Media Wire
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George Kordahi stated he had quit before the French president visited Riyadh in the hope Emmanuel Macron would help ease the crisis sparked by the Lebanese TV host-turned-politican’s critical remarks about Saudi Arabia’s role in the Yemen war.

Saudi Arabia expelled Lebanon’s envoy to the kingdom, recalled its ambassador to Beirut and banned Lebanese imports after Kordahi’s comments which Riyadh said were a symptom of the wider issue of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon.

Other Persian Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, followed Saudi Arabia’s lead with similar measures against Lebanon.

Kordahi, a Christian whose Marada party is backed by Hezbollah, had refused to resign in the weeks afterwards even as Prime Minister Najib Mikati asked him to put “national interest” first.

“I understood from Mikati … that the French want my resignation to take place ahead of his (Macron’s) visit,” Kordahi told a news conference, adding he believed Mikati had assurances that Macron would discuss Lebanon’s ties with Riyadh.

His resignation also aimed to prevent any punitive action against the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese living in Persian Gulf Arab states, he noted.

Officials: Iran nuclear talks to break on Friday with formal meeting

By
IFP Media Wire
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The meeting of Iran, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China is in a format known as the Joint Commission which has bookended previous rounds of talks.

The Iranian official said the meeting would be held around noon (1100 GMT). The aim is to resume the talks next week, the European diplomat noted.

“The Europeans want to return to their capitals for consultations … We are ready to stay in Vienna for further talks,” an Iranian official close to the talks told Reuters.

On the fourth day of indirect US-Iran talks on bringing both nations fully back into the deal, the United States and Iran both sounded pessimistic about the chances of reinstating the deal, which former US President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.

Lavrov: Moscow to react if US imposes new sanctions

By
IFP Media Wire
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“If new, ‘high impact’ as they said sanctions will follow, we will react, of course,” the top diplomat said.

“We have no choice but to react. How we react – well, we’ll see,” he added.

“I don’t want to make guesses now what the West will resolve upon,” he went on to say.

“They are threatening with some financial sanctions, new sectoral reprisals. This is a dead-end road, and eventually it will backfire on the initiators of these illegitimate unilateral measures,” he stated.

In comments on Victoria Nuland’s words about the sanctions that have not been used before, he said “There is a first time for everything”.

“There were also sanctions like never before previously. Our Western colleagues simply have absolutely lost the culture of dialogue, diplomatic negotiations, arrival at a consensus, the ability to creatively look for a balance of interests,” the top diplomat went on to say.

According to Lavrov, Western nations are imposing sanctions if something goes against their will, and not only against Russia.

“We can see negotiations underway almost everywhere, if they involve the countries that don’t share the West’s approaches, sanctions are used as a threat, and then imposed if someone does not listen to somebody,” Lavrov continued.

‘A Hero’ wins best original screenplay and foreign language film of 2021 by NBR

By
IFP Media Wire
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Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” has been named the best film of the year by the National Board of Review.

Anderson also won best director honors and the film’s stars Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman were picked for their breakthrough performances in the coming-of-age comedy.

The National Board of Review is an organization comprised of film enthusiasts, academics and film professionals that dates back to 1909.

Both Will Smith (best actor) and Aunjanue Ellis (best supporting actress) won for their performances in the Richard Williams drama “King Richard”. The title of best actress went to newcomer Rachel Zegler for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”.

Other picks included Ciarán Hinds as best supporting actor for “Belfast”; Asghar Farhadi for the script to “A Hero”; and best adapted screenplay to Joel Coen for “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, which was also chosen for Bruno Delbonnel’s cinematography.

Disney’s “Encanto” took best animated feature; “A Hero” won for best foreign language film; Questlove’s “Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could not Be Televised)” took best director honors; and Jeymes Samuel’s “The Harder They Fall” won for best ensemble. A freedom of expression honor will go to the animated refugee documentary “Flee”.

The awards will be handed out in a gala dinner on Jan. 11, with Willie Geist hosting. Last year, the National Board of Review chose Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” as the best film of 2020.

NGOs to UN: Yemenis need ‘justice’ for war crimes and abuses

By
IFP Media Wire
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Hamid Reza Babaee, [12/3/2021 11:51 AM]
NGOs to UN: Yemenis need ‘justice’ for war crimes and abuses

 

More than 60 international non-governmental groups on Thursday urged the United Nations to ensure war crimes and human rights abuses in Yemen’s conflict are documented and investigated to ensure accountability.

The groups, which included Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, called on the UN General Assembly “to move quickly and establish a new international accountability mechanism for Yemen” to collect and preserve evidence of war crimes and rights abuses.

“The suffering already inflicted on civilians in the country demands this step to address impunity in the ongoing conflict and send a clear warning to perpetrators on all sides that they will be held accountable,” the groups’ joint statement to the UN’s 193 member states read.

“The people of Yemen need justice. And justice begins with investigations and accountability. The time to act is now,” it added.

The groups said there was precedent for such a mechanism in UN steps taken to document and analyze war crimes and rights abuses in Syria’s conflict and against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

The mechanism would also fill a void left by the dissolution in October of a UN panel of experts that documented and reported on crimes by all sides in Yemen, established in 2017 by the UN Human Rights Council, the groups stated.

They accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of pushing council members to vote against renewing the panel’s mandate, “dealing a serious blow to accountability efforts”.

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a war against the Arab world’s most impoverished nation in March 2015. The war has been seeking to restore power in Yemen to Riyadh’s favorite officials.

The death toll of the war, now in its seventh year, will reach an estimated 377,000 by the end of 2021, according to a recent report from the UN’s Development Programme.

The fighting has seen some 80 percent of the population, or 24 million people, relying on aid and assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need.

Vienna talks: European negotiators plan returning to capitals for consultations

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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According to Tehran-based Meher News Agency, sources also say after two meetings between the working groups assessing Iran’s proposals, upon a request by the European parties to the Vienna talks, the Joint Commission of the JCPOA – the Iran nuclear deal- will probably take place later on Friday.
Previously, the parties to the negotiations said they would convene a session on the two Iranian drafts on the removal of sanctions and Iran’s nuclear activities on Thursday so that the Western sides would announce their stance on the documents.
This comes as reports coming out of Vienna say the European sides are widely divided and China and Russia objected to the matter.
The latest rounds of the Vienna negotiations between Tehran and the P4+1 group of countries- Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany- on the removal of the sanctions on Iran started several days ago.

Man wanted for $400mn fraud extradited to Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Head of International Affairs of Police and Director General of Interpol in Iran Brigadier General Hadi Shirzad said on Thursday that the accused is the leader of a group with 15 members.

Shirzad explained that the group swindled traders, money changers, importers and exporters by setting up fake domestic and international companies, adding that the case involves many plaintiffs.

He said an extradition order was issued by a Russian court thanks to the special cooperation by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran’s Judiciary, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Moscow, and especially Interpol in the Russian capital.

Upon arrival in Tehran, the defendant claimed that he was unaware of the case against him, saying he had fulfilled all the tasks he was paid for.

Iran FM: We do not trust US and E3

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Hoeesein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone call with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi.

He added that on the one hand the US officials call for talks and say they want to return to the nuclear deal, JCPOA, and on the other hand, they place new sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies. Amir Abdollahian said what matters is that these negotiations produce results and the Western parties show their seriousness and good faith at the negotiating table and in practice.

He underscored that Iran welcomes serious talks and a good agreement.

The two sides also talked about bilateral ties and regional as well as international developments.

Amir Abdollahian congratulated Hayashi on his appointment as Japan’s foreign minister and conveyed the greetings of Iran’s president to the high-ranking Japanese officials. The Iranian foreign minister also thanked Japan for its humanitarian assistance in the fight against Covid-19. Amir Abdollahian referred to the presence of four million Afghan refugees in Iran, saying “Fortunately, two and a half million Afghan refugees have been vaccinated so far, and Iran is ready to send Japanese humanitarian aid to the Afghan people”.

Amir Abdollahian also said the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is worrying on the eve of winter and stressed the need to send humanitarian aid to the country.

He said, “Under these circumstances, all countries should rush to help the Afghan people and we are also ready to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan by air or land”.

Amir Abdollahian also reviewed the various aspects of bilateral relations between Tehran and Tokyo and announced the readiness of the Islamic Republic to expand relations in economic, trade, humanitarian, environmental and health fields. He emphasized, “We can increase our cooperation in all areas”.

The Japanese foreign minister also said in the telephone conversation that his country is ready for expanding bilateral ties with Iran in the fields of health, environment and tourism and other areas.

Hayashi also welcomed the idea of sending Japan’s urgent relief aid to Afghanistan.

Yoshimasa Hayashi underlined the importance of the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan and respecting the rights of women and ethnic minorities and also the importance of eradicating terrorism in the country.

The Japanese foreign minister welcomed the beginning of the Vienna talks and called for both sides to show flexibility to reach a mutual agreement.

He also extended the high-ranking Japanese officials’ greetings to Iran’s president and invited Amir Abdollahian to visit Japan.

Source: Iran, China stances in Vienna force European side to back down

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

According to the source, one of the heads of the European delegations criticized Iran for adopting a strict approach in the negotiations.

According to Fars News Agency, the source adds that in response to this baseless criticism, the Iranian delegation warned against any threats during the talks.

The unnamed source also says the head of China’s negotiating team referred to the West’s dual approach to nuclear proliferation and criticized the recently signed AUKUS security pact under which the United States and Britain will help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

The reactions of the Iranian and Chinese delegations forced the representative of the European countries to back down, the source stated.

Talks between Iran and the P4+1 group – Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany- are still ongoing in Vienna with Tehran insisting that the dialog must lead to the removal of all sanctions against Iran if the other parties want the Islamic Republic to return to its commitments.

Iran: Israel showing true colors as Vienna talks advance

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Thursday that as the Vienna talks advance, Israel is once again showing its true colors by calling for the negotiations to be halted immediately.

Khatibzadeh said the regime’s reaction is not surprising because “dialog is always despised by the regime whose genesis is based on war, tension, and terror.”

He added that diplomatic delegations present in Vienna will not take instruction from Beit Aghion.

In a phone call on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to immediately terminate negotiations in the Austrian capital.

Israel has been a fierce opponent of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and heavily lobbied former United States President Donald Trump to scrap the deal.

Israel hailed Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and his re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran.

The regime now seems to have once again intensified its efforts and lobbying campaign to derail the dialog in Vienna where top negotiators from Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are trying to find a way to remove sanctions against Iran and allow the United States to return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

The Israeli regime has tried to derail Iran’s atomic program through assassination of a number of Iranian nuclear scientists and several sabotage operations against atomic facilities of the Islamic Republic, but to no avail.

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