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Beijing says Washington, allies exaggerating China threat

By
IFP Media Wire
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China is opposed to the Quad security dialogue because it creates “discord” among countries of the Asia-Pacific region, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has announced.

Speaking to reporters Monday and commenting on the meeting of Quad leaders hosted by US President Joe Biden on Friday, spokesewoman Hua Chunying accused ‘some states’ of exaggerating the danger supposedly posed by China.

“We drew attention to the quadripartite dialogue between Australia, India, the United States and Japan at the highest level, and are strongly opposed to these individual countries causing discord in China’s relations with the states of the region,” Hua said, speaking to reporters.

At Friday’s meeting, Biden told reporters that the Quad represents four “democratic partners who share a world view and have a common vision for the future”.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described that vision as encompassing “a region that we wish to be always free from coercion, where the sovereign rights of all nations are respected and where disputes are settled peacefully and [in] accordance with international law”.

Chinese media slammed the meeting, with an editorial in the Global Times warning that if the three countries following the US strategy of “containing China” “go too far”, they “will become cannon fodder as China will resolutely safeguard its interests”.

For his part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian noted that any “closed” and “exclusive clique” of nations targeting other countries in Asia would be “doomed to fail”, and stressed that Beijing was interested in “solidarity and cooperation”, not conflict, among regional countries.

Last week, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated that China would “never invade or bully others, or seek hegemony”, and called for other countries to join China in promoting “win-win cooperation in conducting international relations” instead of “forming small circles” or thinking in terms of “zero-sum games”.

The Quad is one of over half-a-dozen bilateral and regional alliances formed by the United States to take on and try to hem in China. Earlier this month, Washington’s relations with its French allies took a hit after the US, the UK and Australia secretly created yet another security pact known as AUKUS without informing anyone.
The status of Taiwan and the South China Sea are two of the major hotspots driving tensions between Beijing on one side and the US and its allies on the other. The People’s Republic has repeatedly slammed Washington over its meddling in Taiwanese affairs, and considers the island an integral part of China destined for eventual peaceful reunification.

In the South China Sea, China lays claim to wide swathes of the strategic and resource-rich maritime territory, with other countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines contesting these claims. The US, which is not a party to the territorial dispute, has nevertheless expressed its support to claimants other than China, and regularly sails warships through the region. Beijing, which established a regional dialogue for settling the territorial disputes in the early 2000s, has asked the US to mind its own business and to keep its fleet out of Chinese waters.

China has castigated the construction of nuclear submarines by non-nuclear weapon states as a violation of the non-proliferation regime, China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun told a session of the UN Security Council on Monday.

“China objects to [the] utilitarian approach to the non-proliferation treaty or the application of the double standards there to. <…> assisting non-nuclear weapons states in building nuclear submarines not only will intensify the arms race to the detriment of international non-proliferation regime as well as international and regional security and stability,” China’s permanent representative said.

“It also runs counter to the spirit of the NPT,” the diplomat stressed. The Chinese government “has scrupulously upheld the moratorium and has never waived in its support for [the] Treaty at the political level,” the ambassador added.

Iran to resume issuing tourist visas

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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That’s according to Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft, Seyyed Ezatollah Zarghami.

He wrote on Twitter, “I thank the president for his wise and supportive stance towards the tourism industry at the government meeting and the order to expedite the issuance of tourist visas. Yesterday, the proposed governors all presented a program on tourism. This is very good.”

Meanwhile, the National Corona Management Headquarters has issued a directive that says tourist visas for travelers across international borders are permissible within the framework of the Passenger Traffic Guidelines of the Foreign Ministry. The decree emphasizes that direct and indirect entry of Iranians and foreign nationals from/to land borders and also air borders by presenting a vaccine card, negative PCR test and observing the protocols and instructions approved by the Ministry of Health is allowable from the first of October this year. Iran stopped issuing tourist visas in April 2016 due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus and the suspension of most international flights and the closure of land borders following the approval of the National Corona Headquarters, but medical, business and study visas were issued non-stop.

Trump attacks Biden for ‘humiliating, destroying US’

By
IFP Media Wire
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Trump on Monday seized on the Homeland Security secretary’s admission that more than 12,000 Haitian migrants had been released into the US and the Biden administration’s bungled military withdrawal from Afghanistan to say “we are a Nation humiliated like never before”.

”All 17,000 illegal immigrants who entered our Country from Haiti and other places unknown have now been released into our Country with no vetting, checking, or even minimal understanding of who they are,” Trump said in a statement released in an email.

“Some are very sick with extremely contagious diseases, even worse than the China Virus. They are not masked or mandated, but just let free to roam all over our Country and affect what was just a year ago, a great Nation,” he continued.

“Now we are a Nation humiliated like never before, both with the historically embarrassing ’withdrawal’ from Afghanistan, and our Border where millions of people are pouring in. Our Country is being destroyed!,” the 45th commander in chief added.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted on Sunday that more than 12,000 Haitians who had been living in a makeshift encampment under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, have been released into the US.

He told “Fox News Sunday” that 12,400 migrants were having their asylum claims heard by an immigration judge while roughly another 5,000 are being processed by DHS.

Mayorkas said the number could exceed 5,000 as other cases are processed.

“It could be even higher. The number that are returned could be even higher. What we do is we follow the law as Congress has passed it,” he added.

Many of the migrants being released into the US may have coronavirus because the Biden administration is not requiring them to be tested or be vaccinated after they enter the US illegally.

The migrants being freed are given orders to report to an immigration judge in 60 days, but Fox News’ Chris Wallace pointed out that the Justice Department estimates that 44 percent of those released will miss their appearances.

“We have enforcement guidelines in place that provide the individuals who are recent border crossers who do not show up for their hearings are enforcement priorities and will be removed,” Mayorkas responded.

Crowds of migrants from South America arrived in Texas earlier this month seeking asylum, but the numbers soon swelled into the thousands, leaving the Biden administration scrambling to respond to the humanitarian crisis.

The US also deported about 2,000 of the migrants back to Haiti, and another 8,000 returned to Mexico voluntarily.

The camp was finally cleared out last Friday.

The Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of last month turned into a debacle as crowds of Afghans streamed to the Kabul airport to escape and hundreds of American citizens were left behind.

A Daesh suicide bomber took advantage of the chaos to kill 13 US service members.

Iranian Illustrator Juxtaposes Omar Khayyam & Fyodor Dostoevsky in Painting

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The works by Mahshid Darabi are on display on the sidelines of the Iranian book and literature stall at Moscow International Book Fair.

Darabi, who has illustrated several Iranian books, is presenting her work as part of a training workshop at the Iran stall.

“There is exceptional interest in Iranian poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam in Russia and the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky is also loved in Iran,” she said.

“I tried to create an imaginary space with the aim of cultural interaction between the two neighboring countries. For this purpose, I painted each of these individuals while they are reading each others’ books.”

Iranian Illustrator Juxtaposes Omar Khayyam & Fyodor Dostoevsky in Painting

She explained that, in her work, Khayyam is reading the Brothers Karamazov and Dostoevsky is reading a translation of the Iranian poet’s Rubaiyat in Russian.

Darabi added that they are placed against a background of Iranian and Russian architecture as well as ships passing between the two countries in the Caspian Sea.

Also in the foreground, Darabi has painted herself doing the painting and a woman, wearing Russian traditional clothes, serving tea to the guests.

Darabi has an M.A. in illustration from Tehran University of Art and frequently uses acrylic techniques for her paintings.

Syria: Turkey supporting terrorists in Idlib

By
IFP Media Wire
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Mekdad has lashed out at the United States and Turkey for occupying territories in the Arab country, calling on Washington and Ankara to withdraw their forces and stop “plundering” the country’s wealth.

He said Syria’s campaign against terrorism will continue until the entire Syrian territories are purged of the menace, emphasizing no external aggression or pressure will deter it.

“History will record the fact that the Syrian nation not only defended their homeland and civilization in their struggle against terrorism, but also the whole international community,” the senior Syrian diplomat added.

Mikdad noted that the Damascus government is working to end the foreign occupation of its territories by all means guaranteed in international law.

The Syrian foreign minister also condemned oppressive economic sanctions imposed against his country and other states like Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and Yemen, stating that the bans negatively impact human rights, kill people and deprive them of their basic rights to health, food and life.

“It is no secret to anyone that Syria was among the countries most affected by terrorist attacks sponsored militarily, financially, and logistically by states known for their support of terror. Acts of terrorism have resulted in the murder of innocent people, insecurity, destruction of essential infrastructure, plunder of national resources and caused humanitarian crises in a country that was proud of its achievements. Syria recorded economic growth of more than 9.5 percent in the year 2010 prior to the outbreak of the crisis.
“Thanks to the sacrifices and heroism of our people and armed forces, and assistance of our friends and allies, we have scored exceptional gains in the campaign to confront and eliminate terrorism,” Mikdad continued.

He went on to say that the Turkish government continues to support terrorism in Idlib, turning the northwestern Syrian province into a sanctuary for foreign terrorists.

Mikdad pointed out that various war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as forced displacement, assaults on locals, and collective punishment of people by deliberately and repeatedly cutting off water to more than a million citizens of Hasakah city, have been committed by Turkish troops and their allied militants.

He lambasted the deployment of foreign troops on Syrian soil without the consent of the Damascus government as illegal and a gross violation of the international law, the Charter of the United Nations and all Security Council resolutions that demand respect for Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.

“Therefore, the occupation of Syrian territories by Turkish and American forces under false pretexts, and their theft of Syrians’ wealth must end immediately and unconditionally. Syria will work determinedly and persistently to end such occupation, and will utilize all means guaranteed in the international law to this end,” Mikdad noted.

The US military has stationed forces and equipment in eastern and northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.

Damascus, however, says the unlawful deployment is meant to plunder the country’s resources.

Former US president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in Syria for its oil.

After failing to oust the Syrian government through proxies and direct involvement in the conflict, the US government has now stepped up its economic war on the Arab country.

This comes as Turkey has also deployed forces in Syria in violation of the Arab country’s territorial integrity.

Ankara-backed militants were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish military forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) away from border areas.

Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.

The Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria says the Turkish offensive has killed hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children since it started.
Turkey has played a major role in supporting terrorists in Syria ever since a major foreign-backed insurgency overtook the country more than ten years ago.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials have said the Damascus government will respond through all legitimate means available to the ongoing ground offensive by Turkish forces and allied Takfiri militants in the northern part of the war-battered Arab country.

Khatibzadeh: Iran does not tolerate Israel near its borders

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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khatibzadeh-Iran

Saeed Khatibzadeh said Ilham Aliyev’s remarks are surprising because they come at a time when Tehran and Baku have good relations based on mutual respect and there are normal channels through which the two sides can talk at the highest level. 

Khatibzadeh added that the Iranian and Azeri foreign ministers also engaged in serious and meticulous discussions over the same issue and related matters on the sidelines of the UN recent General Assembly in New York.  According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, the top diplomats agreed to continue the talks. 

Khatibzadeh reiterated that Iran has always opposed any occupation of territory and stressed the need for respecting the territorial integrity of countries and internationally recognized borders. He said good neighborliness is a key matter and all neighbors are expected to observe it.  

He added that the recent Iranian military drills along the northwestern border was a sovereign issue and was aimed at protecting regional security. He however said that Iran will not tolerate the Israeli regime’s presence near its borders even if it’s ceremonial and the Islamic Republic will do anything that it takes to protect its national security.

Beirut blast investigation halted for second time

By
IFP Media Wire
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On Monday, Tarek Bitar was forced to suspend the probe after ex-Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk, one of multiple officials under investigation, filed a complaint against him last week.

The court will decide whether Bitar will continue his investigation into the port blast that killed more than 200 people, wounded around 7,500, and caused widespread devastation in the capital on August 4, 2020. It was later revealed that the blast detonated at a warehouse storing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive substance, which sat there for around six years before the disaster.

If the judiciary removes the top judge, Bitar will become the second investigator to be dismissed since the launch of the inquiry. His predecessor, Fadi Sawan, was removed in February after ex-ministers accused of negligence complained that he was acting out of his jurisdiction.

Last month, Bitar issued the ex-caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, a subpoena after he failed to turn up to his inquiry. However, the secretary general of Lebanon’s parliament told the judge that his order was an excessive use of power.

The blast also caused significant political instability in Lebanon, with Diab resigning from his PM role amid major protests in the days after the explosion. Lebanon has only just announced a new government, headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, which put an end to 13 months of political deadlock.

On the blast’s anniversary, masses marched through Beirut to commemorate the tragedy. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters descended on the streets and burned barricades outside of the Lebanese parliament to demonstrate against the injustice of no senior politicians having yet been held accountable for the disaster.

UK army on standby over fuel crisis

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Fuel prices in the country have reached highest level in eight years and several petrol stations ran dry amid panic buying.

The army is on standby with soldiers at “increased preparedness” to help deliver fuel if necessary, the defence secretary has said.

It comes after long queues continued in many places on Monday after some motorists apparently ignored pleas to stop panic-buying.

Army tanker drivers will now receive specialised training ahead of any possible deployment.

“The men and women of our armed forces stand ready to alleviate the transport pressures where they are felt most,” stated Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

“That is why I have authorised their increased preparedness so they are ready to respond if needed,” he added.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng issued the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) request, the mechanism for armed forces to lend support in times of need.

He said the fuel industry expected demand to return to normal “in the coming days”, but that “it’s right that we take this sensible, precautionary step”.

“The UK continues to have strong supplies of fuel,” he added.

“However we are aware of supply chain issues at fuel station forecourts and are taking steps to ease these as a matter of priority,” he stated.

“If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localised demand for fuel,” he noted.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has also authorised an extension to ADR driver licences, which allow drivers to transport goods, such as fuel.

It will apply to licences expiring between 27 September and 31 December, and extend their validity until 31 January 2022.

“Extending ADR licences will further help ease any pressures on fuel drivers by removing the need for refresher training courses and ensuring they can keep providing their vital service on our roads,” Shapps said.

Petrol retailers have been hoping for a return to normal after motorists drained pumps over the weekend – but there appeared to be little sign of that on Monday.

Environment Secretary George Eustice has announced there were signs panic-buying was “calming down” and that motorists were “getting back to normal buying habits”.

Speaking on Sky News programme The Great Debate, he said demand was about 50% higher than normal on Saturday but that it was now around 20% above average.

A joint statement from the likes of BP, Shell UK, Esso Petroleum/ExxonMobil and Wincanton also urged drivers to buy fuel normally.

“There is plenty of fuel at UK refineries and terminals, and as an industry we are working closely with the government to help ensure fuel is available to be delivered to stations across the country,” they said.

“As many cars are now holding more fuel than usual, we expect that demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days, easing pressures on fuel station forecourts. We would encourage everyone to buy fuel as they usually would,” they continued.

“We remain enormously grateful to all forecourt staff and HGV drivers for working tirelessly to maintain supplies during this time,” they added.

The panic-buying has led to industries from taxi drivers to the meat processing sector – and even non-league football – facing difficulties and prompted calls for health workers to get priority.

The British Medical Association said there was a real risk that some would not be able to get to work.

Unison called on ministers to use emergency powers to “designate fuel stations for the sole use of key workers” – a call backed by the Royal College of Nursing.

“The Government has to take control. It’s no good ministers wasting time on a pointless blame game or pretending there’s no problem,” noted Unison general secretary Christina McAnea.

“Essential staff must be able to get to their jobs so they can continue to provide the services so many rely upon,” McAnea added.

The Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA), representing two-thirds of all UK forecourts, said that with many drivers’ tanks now full it was watching for an “easing of demand”.

The crisis mushroomed after the disclosure last week that a small number of petrol stations had seen supply disrupted due to the nationwide shortage of HGV drivers.

Some retailers, such as Asda and EG group, have been restricting sales to £30 a time.

Even if the frenzy does abate, motorists could face another headache as the price of Brent crude oil continues to climb.

It rose for a sixth day on Tuesday to hit a three-year high of over $80 a barrel – likely to lead to higher prices at the pumps.

Iran Hits Back at Israel over “False” Accusations

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Iran Hits Back at Israel over “False” Accusations

Iran’s UN mission has slammed the “false” and “baseless” accusations of the Israeli prime minister against the Islamic Republic.

On Monday, Naftali Bennet repeated the regime’s past allegations that Iran is violating its IAEA obligations and moving toward a nuclear weapon. 

Bennet also accused Iran of arming proxies in the region with armies of drones in preparation for attacks on Israel. 

In response, the Iranian mission said the regime is trying to “cover up its expansionist and destabilizing policies and its criminal behavior in the region”.

The mission said Israel has committed all four “core” crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, defined in international law.

The mission said instances of such crimes are waging at least 15 wars on regional countries and on Gaza, including the 11-day aggression earlier this year that killed 256 Palestinians, many of them children and women, and keeping an inhumane blockade on the coastal strip.

The mission said it is blatant for Israel to try to pose Iran’s conventional weapons capabilities, or its civilian nuclear program, as a threat to the region, while the regime itself maintains the most sophisticated conventional weapons along with various weapons of mass destruction, including an arsenal of nukes.   

“He [the Israeli PM] … openly violated the UN charter and once more employed a language of threat against my country. He should not have any illusions about our ability and will to defend our security and our interests…. We have shown that we will not hesitate to use our inherent right to defend ourselves against any threat at any time,” the mission said.

The Iranian mission also addressed the UAE’s repetition of its “unfounded” claim to the three southern Iranian islands of Abu Mousa, the Lesse Tunb and the Greater Tunb.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its fixed and fundamental position that it does not recognize any dispute between Iran and the Emirates [on the ownership of the islands]. These three islands have been inseparable parts of the Iranian soil and any claim to the contrary is strongly rejected,” the mission said.

ICC says to focus on Taliban, Daesh war crimes; ignoring US’s

By
IFP Media Wire
-

A statement on the ICC website on Monday said the request was being made to the court’s judges in light of developments since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last month.

Karim Khan, who took over in June, stated the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover meant war crimes were no longer likely to be investigated properly.

A lawyer for alleged victims of US torture in Afghanistan was “stunned” after Khan announced he would “deprioritise” the investigation into American forces, a probe that has long enraged Washington.

The ICC had already spent 15 years looking into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan before opening a full investigation last year.

The Hague-based ICC’s inquiry had been put on hold in 2020 after the now-deposed government in Kabul announced it would try to investigate war crimes allegations itself.

Set up in 2002 to tackle the world’s worst crimes, the court has the authority to step in where national governments are unable or unwilling to bring people to justice for war crimes.

But Khan said that the “current de facto control of the territory of Afghanistan by the Taliban, and its implications [including for law enforcement and judicial activity in Afghanistan] represents a fundamental change in circumstances necessitating the present application”.

The ICC’s limited resources and the need to focus on cases most likely to result in convictions meant he would now narrow his focus in Afghanistan, Khan added.

“I have therefore decided to focus my office’s investigations in Afghanistan on crimes allegedly committed by the Taliban and the Islamic State – Khorasan Province and to deprioritise other aspects of this investigation,” he continued.

The ICC prosecutor specifically mentioned the deadly August 26 attack on Kabul airport claimed by Daesh in more than 100 Afghan civilians were killed and 13 US service members.

The court had found there was a reasonable basis to believe war crimes had been committed between 2003 and 2014, among them suspected mass killings of civilians by the Taliban, as well as suspected torture of prisoners by Afghan authorities and, to a lesser extent, by US forces and the CIA.

But the United States is not a party to the ICC, and imposed sanctions against the office of the prosecutor for investigating the role of US forces.

Shifting the focus of the probe could help mend the court’s relationship with Washington.

If the request is approved, the investigation will face an uphill battle to gather evidence, as the Taliban rulers appear unlikely to cooperate in the same way as the governments in place since the Taliban’s last period in power ended in 2001.

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