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US says regularly briefs Israel over nuclear talks

By
IFP Media Wire
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He added that the US and Israel “see eye to eye” with regard to Iran’s nuclear program.

“We have had extensive and deep consultations with our Israeli partners. This has happened at every single level just about – the president with the prime minister, with the past – with the previous prime minister as well; Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken with his counterparts, now plural; and [Special Representative for Iran] Rob Malley and his team have engaged their Israeli counterparts as well,” Price stated at a press briefing on Wednesday.

“As talks were ongoing in Vienna, we briefed the Israelis before, after, and in some cases during each round to ensure we were conducting this diplomacy with transparency,” he continued.

According to Price, there is no doubt that the US sees eye to eye with Israel at a strategic level, claiming that both sides want to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, which Tehran has repeatedly denied throughout the years, and at the same time, has pushed for an end to the development and testing of nuclear weapons.

He made the remarks when asked to comment on a recent apparent shift in Israel’s stance on the multilateral attempts to restore the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In an interview with Foreign Policy published on Tuesday, Israeli minister for military affairs Benny Gantz hailed “the current US approach of putting the Iran nuclear program back in a box. I’d accept that”.

Voicing skepticism about the prospects of the Vienna talks, he said Israel would want to see a “viable US-led plan B” that includes broad economic pressure on Iran in case the talks fail.

“We have to connect China in this too, Asia has to play a role,” Gantz continued, adding, “Israel has no ability to lead a real plan B, we can’t put together an international economic sanctions regime. This has to be led by the US.”

He also touched on the Israeli regime’s “plan C” that would include military action against Iran, threatening, “If push comes to shove, we’ll get there … We’re not America, but we have our capabilities.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet also criticized his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, over his policy against Iran, saying on Tuesday that Israel “inherited a situation in which Iran is at the most advanced point ever in its race to the bomb. … The gap between [Netanyahu’s] rhetoric and speeches and actions is very big”.

Netanyahu cheered former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and his so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran, while publicly clashing with both Barack Obama and Joe Biden over their Iran policies.

Bennett, however, pledged to Biden last month that he will not openly lobby against a US return to the JCPOA.

The Vienna talks began three months after Biden assumed office. Biden had on numerous occasions slammed Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA and vowed to rejoin the landmark nuclear deal.

The talks hit a pause in late June after the election of Ebrahim Raeisi as Iran’s president. The Raeisi administration has voiced willingness to resume the talks, but stresses it rejects talks for the sake of talks and under pressure.

 

Source: Press TV

President Raisi calls for expansion of ties with Uzbekistan

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Raisi was speaking during a meeting with Uzbekistan’s President Shaukat Mirzayev in Tajikistan where he’s going to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit on Friday.

He said the current level of economic relations between Tehran and Tashkent is not the same as their political ties, and the Islamic Republic is interested in further expanding economic relations with Uzbekistan in line with its policy to deepen relations with the regional countries.

He congratulated his Uzbek counterpart on Uzbekistan’s forthcoming takeover of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s presidency.

Raisi said, “I believe that your positive and constructive outlook can bring many blessings to the region and the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization”.
He also spoke of the anti-Iran sanctions, saying “oppressive sanctions” did not hinder Iran’s progress, but Tehran is trying to remove them.

Raisi also added that Iran supports the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan with the participation of all ethnic and political groups.

Uzbek President Shaukat Mirzayev also expressed pleasure at meeting the Iranian president and referred to the experience of Raisi during his tenure as Iran’s judiciary chief and his good record in fighting corruption.

He said, “We will be very happy to use your experience in this field”.

He added that Uzbekistan is looking for an operational roadmap to expand economic relations with Iran, especially in the field of transportation, and to make the north-south communication corridor more active with a focus on the port of Chabahar.

Russia demands answers from US over ‘election interference’

By
IFP Media Wire
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Lavrov added the facts to substantiate the claims, which were recently communicated to the US ambassador John Sullivan, were quite serious.

“The data was given to him, this is serious enough. That’s all. We are waiting for an answer from our American colleagues as to why this is happening … I will not go into detail about these facts. The facts concerned the refusal of a number of western internet platforms to remove banned content … Specific facts were given to the US ambassador. He accepted this document as information that he promised to verify. But he said that they had no evidence that anyone was violating Russian law,” Lavrov told reporters.

Russia is ready to maintain a dialogue with NATO, one that should be professional, not hysterical, but the alliance continues to reject military negotiations outright, Lavrov added.

“In general, they totally refuse to conduct a military dialogue, which was suspended as a so-called punishment after the events in Ukraine and Crimea. We are ready to negotiate, but only professionally, without this emotional and half-hysterical tone,” Lavrov stated.

Lavrov also expressed confidence that opponents of the now-completed Nord Stream 2 will not stop their attacks.

“I have no doubt that attempts to attack this pipeline will continue. And although it is most zealously opposed by the minority, but this minority is aggressive – it is primarily the Baltics, Poland for obvious reasons, and a few more EU countries, that are simply guided by their anti-Russian motives,” Lavrov noted.

On 10 September, Russian gas giant Gazprom announced that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is also opposed by the United States and Ukraine, had been completed.

Source: RIA Novosti

China: US should not get away with killing Afghans

By
IFP Media Wire
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On August 29, two days after an explosion at the Kabul airport took the lives of dozens of American soldiers and Afghan citizens, the US carried out an airstrike targeting terrorists in a car, which was reportedly carrying explosives and posed an immediate threat to the airport. Although the US military originally reported no casualties apart from two terrorists in the car, the US media reported the air raid actually killed around ten innocent Kabul residents.

“In the face of the widespread skepticism and condemnation from the international community, the US should not seek to gloss over its mistake and (try to) get away with it. Instead, it should investigate and ascertain the truth and give a responsible explanation to the Afghan people and the international community,” the Chinese spokesperson stated, commenting on reports of the incident.

In September, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby reported that the US military had no doubts about the correctness of the airstrike in Kabul. At the same time, the military refrained from commenting on reports regarding civilian casualties, adding they needed to complete internal departmental checks first.

Source: Sputnik

US Capitol police seek Pentagon support ahead of pro-rioters rally

By
IFP Media Wire
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US police have asked the Pentagon to provide National Guard troops as supporters of former President Donald Trump return to Washington for a rally.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed the request on Wednesday, acknowledging that it was made in connection with a protest scheduled for Saturday over the alleged mistreatment of suspects in January’s Capitol riot. He added the Capitol Police Department (CPD) is seeking “manpower support” for the rally, and the request is being processed.

The CPD later issued a statement confirming that it had asked the Department of Defense to provide National Guard troops to be deployed should the need arise on Saturday.

About 26,000 National Guard troops were brought to Washington following the riot, and many were kept around the Capitol for months to ensure tight security during and after President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The fence ringing the Capitol was finally taken down in July, six months after the riot, but Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told reporters on Monday that it will be going back up for Saturday’s “Justice for J6” demonstration.

An overwhelming security presence may help support the narrative that Trump has incited violent and racist insurrectionists, who are a paramount threat to American democracy. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted on Wednesday that police had made “unprecedented preparations to address another attempt to defile our national purpose”.

It’s not clear how the protesters might threaten the “national purpose”. Only about 700 people are expected to attend Saturday’s event, according to a Department of Homeland Security estimate, and organizers have asked demonstrators not to wear clothing or carry signs supporting either Trump or Biden. The rally will protest over the treatment of more than 600 people arrested in connection with the Capitol riot.

At least six Republican members of Congress held a press conference in late July to decry the fact that hundreds of defendants have remained jailed for months while awaiting trial.

“These are political prisoners who are now being persecuted and bearing the pain of unjust suffering,” Representative Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) said.

Some of the detainees have reportedly suffered abuse at the hands of guards or other inmates. Gosar added some suspects have been held in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.

Source: RT

ICC okays investigation into bloody Philippine ‘war on drugs’

By
IFP Media Wire
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Judges said there was a “reasonable basis” to believe that the crime against humanity of murder had been committed in the crackdown, which has killed as many as tens of thousands of people.

Duterte pulled Manila out of the Hague-based court in 2019 after it launched a preliminary inquiry, but the ICC said it had jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member.

The ICC judges added the “so-called ‘war on drugs’ campaign cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation, and the killings neither as legitimate nor as mere excesses in an otherwise legitimate operation”.

Evidence suggested that a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population took place pursuant to or in furtherance of a state policy”, they announced in a statement.

The former ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had asked judges in June to authorise a full investigation into allegations that police unlawfully killed potentially tens of thousands of civilians.

The case will be taken up by her successor, Karim Khan, who took over shortly afterwards.

The drugs crackdown is Duterte’s signature policy initiative and he defends it fiercely, especially from critics such as western leaders and institutions that he says do not care about his country.

The firebrand leader was elected in 2016 on a campaign promise to get rid of the Philippines’ drug problem, openly ordering police to kill drug suspects if their lives were in danger.

At least 6,181 people have been killed in more than 200,000 anti-drug operations conducted since July 2016, according to the latest official data released by the Philippines in July this year. ICC prosecutors in court papers estimate the number of people killed to be between 12,000 to 30,000.

Prosecutors said Manila had not denied people were killed during police operations but “ instead consistently contended that these deaths resulted from officers acting in self defence”.

Duterte drew international censure when he pulled the Philippines from the court. The judges added that even though the Philippines had withdrawn as a state party to the court, the alleged crimes took place while Manila was still signed up to the Rome statute, so it could still investigate them.

Set up in 2002, the ICC is a so-called court of last resort and only becomes involved in the world’s worst crimes if its member states are unable or unwilling to do so. The investigation will also cover alleged killings in the southern Davao region between 2011 and 2016, when Duterte was mayor. They were allegedly committed by police officers and vigilantes, including a group calling themselves the “Davao death squad”.

“Persons involved in these killings in some cases appear to [be] the very same people that were later involved in the ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” ICC prosecutors continued.

The majority of victims were young men suspected of small-scale drug dealing or minor crimes such as theft and drug use “while gang members and street children were also killed”, prosecutors said.

The tough-talking Duterte has repeatedly claimed the ICC has no jurisdiction over him and that he will not cooperate with what he has called an “illegal” investigation, even threatening to arrest Bensouda at one point.

Rights groups welcomed the move, saying the ICC’s decision “offers a much-needed check” into Duterte’s deadly “war on drugs”.

“Victims’ families and survivors have reason to hope that those responsible for crimes against humanity could finally face justice,” added the Human Rights Watch researcher Carlos Conde.

Source: The Guardian

Iran president in Tajik capital for high-profile summit

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Raisi was greeted by Tajikistan’s Prime Minister Ghaher Rasoulzadeh.

He will address the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit on Friday.

There will also be a meeting between the Iranian delegation headed by the president and the Tajik officials. Raisi will hold talks with other heads of state on the sidelines of the meeting.

Before heading for Dushanbe, Raisi expressed hope the visit to Tajikistan will open a new chapter in bilateral ties. He added that Iran and Tajikistan will sign a number of deals including economic and agricultural agreements during his stay in Dushanbe.

The meeting is expected to focus on Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country in August. Fighting terrorism and extremism will also top the agenda of talks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Iran holds an observer status at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. But it’s trying to become a permanent member of the body.

China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russian, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Taliban mulling creation of regular armed forces in Afghanistan

By
IFP Media Wire
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Fasihuddin added that consultations on the matter are ongoing during a press conference in Kabul.

The US provided the Afghan security forces with $28 billion in weaponry between 2002 and 2017, with virtually all of this equipment now feared to have fallen into the Taliban’s hands. In July, US President Joe Biden claimed that hundreds of thousands of uniformed troops, nearly 300,000, were ready to defend Afghanistan. They, however, did not manage to stop the Taliban.

Last week, the Taliban announced that Panjshir, the last Afghan province not under the group’s control, had been taken over. The following day, the Taliban announced the composition of the new interim government of Afghanistan led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who has been on the UN sanctions list since 2001.

In early August, the Taliban stepped up their offensive against Afghan government forces and entered the capital, Kabul, on August 15, completing the takeover of the country. The events prompted a mass evacuation of western citizens and Afghans who had aided or worked for foreign troops and organisations.

Source: TOLOnews

Iranian Fuel Convoys Arrive in Lebanon

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The tankers carrying fuel oil entered the town of Hermel in southern Baalbek-Hermel Governorate on Thursday, reported Lebanon 24.

The Lebanese Al-Manar satellite television station also confirmed the news, saying 20 Iranian fuel tankers have arrived in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbullah, asked Lebanese people not to throng the path through which the convoys were passing in order to facilitate the trend of transferring the fuel.

On Monday, the Iranian convoys had arrived in a Syrian port from where they set sail for Lebanon.

Nasrallah had warned the US and Israel against attacking the Iranian fuel vessels, saying Hezbullh regarded the tanker ships as Lebanese soil.

UN concerned over North Korea missile launch

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Riviere said there was consensus among the group to condemn the test, which North Korea announced was launched using a “railway-borne missile system”.

“Everyone is very concerned about this situation,” de Riviere told several journalists after the 45-minute meeting.

“This is a major threat to peace and security, it’s a clear violation of the Council’s resolutions,” he continued, adding, that the missiles had fallen “within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.”

Pyongyang earlier confirmed that it launched the test on the same day Seoul became the first non-nuclear country to test a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

The missiles fired by North Korea were a test of a new “railway-borne missile system” designed as a potential counterstrike to any forces that threaten the country, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday.

The missiles flew 800km (497 miles) before striking a target in the sea off North Korea’s east coast on Wednesday, KCNA reported.

On Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese authorities noted they had detected the launch of two ballistic missiles from North Korea, just days after it tested a long-range cruise missile that analysts said could have nuclear capabilities.

The two Koreas have been in an increasingly heated arms race, with both sides unveiling more capable missiles and other weapons.

In a statement from London, the British Foreign Office condemned the test as a “clear violation” of Security Council resolutions and a “threat to regional peace and security”, as the United States has also done.

“We urge North Korea to refrain from further provocations, and to return to dialogue with the US,” the British statement reads.

North Korea has been steadily developing its weapons systems, raising the stakes for stalled talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals in return for US sanctions relief.

“The railway-borne missile system serves as an efficient counterstrike means capable of dealing a harsh multi-concurrent blow to the threat-posing forces,” said Pak Jong Chon, a North Korean marshal and member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, who oversaw the test, according to KCNA.

“(Pak) said that the deployment of the railway-borne missile system for action in accordance with the line and policies on modernising the army set forth at the eighth Congress of our Party holds very great significance in increasing the war deterrence of the country,” the KCNA added.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not oversee the test-firing, the report noted.

Photos released by state media showed an olive-green missile rising on a column of smoke and flame from the roof of a train parked on tracks in a mountainous area.

South Korea had reported the missiles were fired from the central inland area of Yangdok.

“Rail mobile missiles are a relatively cheap and reliable option for countries seeking to improve the survivability of their nuclear forces,” Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said on Twitter, adding, “Russia did it. The US considered it. It makes a ton of sense for North Korea.”

Mount and other analysts stated the system is likely to be constrained by North Korea’s relatively limited and sometimes unreliable rail network, but that it could add another layer of complexity for a foreign military seeking to track and destroy the missiles before they are fired.

According to KCNA, Pak noted there are plans to expand the railway-borne missile regiment to a brigade-size force in the near future and to conduct training to gain “operational experience for actual war”.

The army should prepare tactical plans for deploying the system in different parts of the country, Pak said.

It is unusual to see the sheer variety in missile delivery systems and launch platforms that North Korea develops, said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“It’s not very cost effective (especially for a sharply resource-constrained state) and far more operationally complex than a leaner, vertically integrated force,” he added on Twitter.

The railway-system test displayed on Wednesday could possibly set the stage for developing one capable of launching a larger, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Panda added.

He also noted that some of the missile systems displayed by North Korea may be about “technology demonstration”, which may not be fully deployed.

Source: Al-Jazeera

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