LONDON: A meeting of Arab foreign ministers in London heard how the reopening of the country’s ports had given a boost to the international humanitarian effort underway in the country.
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hosted the meeting which was attended by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and his counterparts from the UAE and Oman. Thomas Shannon, the US undersecretary of state for foreign affairs, and UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed also attended.
“I welcome the steps taken toward reopening the ports of Hodeidah and Salif and the resumption of UN flights to Sanaa airport,” said Johnson.” The UK will continue to press for humanitarian and commercial access to be restored to all ports, so that the already dire humanitarian situation does not deteriorate further.”
Alistair Burt, the UK minister of state for the Middle East welcomed the progress that had been made toward reopening air and sea links to the country and stressed that uninterrupted commercial and humanitarian access was vital to prevent a famine in the country.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the stakeholders, known as the “Quint,” expressed “full support for Saudi Arabia and its legitimate security concerns” and underlined that the firing of ballistic missiles by Houthi forces into neighboring countries posed threats to regional security and prolonged the conflict.”
“Ministers discussed ways of enhancing inspection mechanisms to prevent weapons smuggling into Yemen, while ensuring unimpeded movement of goods into and throughout Yemen,” the statement said.
A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since March 2015.
The coalition closed air, land and sea access to Yemen on Nov. 6, two days after Houthi militias fired a missile toward Riyadh that was intercepted.
Meeting of Arab foreign ministers in London charts progress of Yemen relief effort
Meeting of Arab foreign ministers in London charts progress of Yemen relief effort
Trump warns Iran of ‘very traumatic’ outcome if no nuclear deal
- Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump threatened Iran Thursday with “very traumatic” consequences if it fails to make a nuclear deal — but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was skeptical about the quality of any such agreement.
Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month” from Washington’s negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.
“We have to make a deal, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal,” Trump told reporters.
“This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don’t make a deal.”
Trump — who is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to pressure Iran — recalled the US military strikes he ordered on Tehran’s nuclear facilities during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in July last year.
“We’ll see if we can get a deal with them, and if we can’t, we’ll have to go to phase two. Phase two will be very tough for them,” Trump said.
Netanyahu had traveled to Washington to push Trump to take a harder line in the Iran nuclear talks, particularly on including the Islamic Republic’s arsenal of ballistic missiles.
But the Israeli and US leaders apparently remained at odds, with Trump saying after their meeting at the White House on Wednesday that he had insisted the negotiations should continue.
- ‘General skepticism’ -
Netanyahu said in Washington on Thursday before departing for Israel that Trump believed he was laying the ground for a deal.
“He believes that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake last time when they didn’t reach an agreement, may create the conditions for achieving a good deal,” Netanyahu said, according to a video statement from his office.
But the Israeli premier added: “I will not hide from you that I expressed general skepticism regarding the quality of any agreement with Iran.”
Any deal “must include the elements that are very important from our perspective,” Netanyahu continued, listing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups such as the Palestinian movement Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“It’s not just the nuclear issue,” he said.
Despite their differences on Iran, Trump signaled his strong personal support for Netanyahu as he criticized Israeli President Isaac Herzog for rejecting his request to pardon the prime minister on corruption charges.
“You have a president that refuses to give him a pardon. I think that man should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said on Thursday.
Trump has repeatedly hinted at potential US military action against Iran following its deadly crackdown on protests last month, even as Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman.
The last round of talks between the two foes was cut short by Israel’s war with Iran and the US strikes.
So far, Iran has rejected expanding the new talks beyond the issue of its nuclear program. Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, and has said it will not give in to “excessive demands” on the subject.
