JEDDAH: The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, said on Monday US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was taking the right approach on Iran.
Gargash wrote on his official Twitter account, several hours after a policy speech on Iran by Pompeo, that united efforts were the right way to show Iran the “futility of its incursions and expansionism.”
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry also affirmed full support for the United States’ strategy toward Iran.
“Pompeo’s [strategy] which reflects the determination to confront the danger of Iranian policies that undermine security and stability in the region and to overcome the shortcomings of the nuclear agreement. And praised the continued efforts of the United States to strengthen regional and international peace and security and its relentless efforts to take all possible measures to prevent the spread of chaos, tension and crisis resolution in the region,” a statement from Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry read.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the Kingdom of Bahrain considers itself in a single position with the United States of America in the face of the Iranian threat, addressing Iran’s attempts to export violence and terrorism and stressing the need for Iran to respond to all efforts to achieve peace and resolve conflicts in the region and to remove them from nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. The immediate cessation of support for terrorist militias and adherence to international laws and norms and non-interference at all in the internal affairs of the States of the region,” the statement added.
The statement comes after Pompeo laid out 12 demands for Iran and said relief from economic sanctions would only come when Washington had seen tangible shifts in Iran’s policies.
UAE, Bahrain support Pompeo’s list of demands for Iran
UAE, Bahrain support Pompeo’s list of demands for Iran
- A senior UAE official says United States is taking the right approach on Iran
- Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry also affirms full support for Washington's strategy toward Iran.
Algeria inaugurates strategic railway to giant Sahara mine
- The mine is expected to produce 4 million tons per year during the initial phase, with production projected to triple to 12 million tons per year by 2030
- The project is financed by the Algerian state and partly built by a Chinese consortium
ALGEIRS: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday inaugurated a nearly 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) desert railway to transport iron ore from a giant mine, a project he called one of the biggest in the country’s history.
The line will bring iron ore from the Gara Djebilet deposit in the south to the city of Bechar located 950 kilometers north, to be taken to a steel production plant near Oran further north.
The project is financed by the Algerian state and partly built by a Chinese consortium.
During the inauguration, Tebboune described it as “one of the largest strategic projects in the history of independent Algeria.”
This project aims to increase Algeria’s iron ore extraction capacity, as the country aspires to become one of Africa’s leading steel producers.
The iron ore deposit is also seen as a key driver of Algeria’s economic diversification as it seeks to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons, according to experts.
President Tebboune attended an inauguration ceremony in Bechar, welcoming the first passenger train from Tindouf in southern Algeria and sending toward the north a first charge of iron ore, according to footage broadcast on national television.
The mine is expected to produce 4 million tons per year during the initial phase, with production projected to triple to 12 million tons per year by 2030, according to estimates by the state-owned Feraal Group, which manages the site.
It is then expected to reach 50 million tons per year in the long term, it said.
The start of operations at the mine will allow Algeria to drastically reduce its iron ore imports and save $1.2 billion per year, according to Algerian media.
