TEHRAN, Iran: Iran’s supreme leader says Europeans should not be trusted, based on their inability to save the 2015 nuclear deal that the US unilaterally withdrew from last year.
Since then, US sanctions have kept Iran from selling its oil abroad and have crippled its economy.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke Thursday, a day after Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani attended the UN General Assembly in New York.
Khamenei says: “Europeans did not fulfill any of their commitments, and this is the strongest reason that they shouldn’t be trusted.”
There had been hope European mediation could help salvage the Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers.
But Khamenei said Europeans were as hostile toward Iran as the US, and that European mediation had provided little so far beyond “long speeches.”
Iran’s supreme leader says Europe should not be trusted
Iran’s supreme leader says Europe should not be trusted
- US sanctions have kept Iran from selling its oil abroad and have crippled its economy
- There had been hope European mediation could help salvage the Iran’s nuclear agreement with world powers
EU warns Israel suspending Gaza NGOs would block ‘life-saving aid’
BRUSSELS: The EU warned Wednesday that Israel's threat to suspend several aid groups in Gaza from January would block "life-saving" assistance from reaching the population.
"The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form," EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib posted on X, after Israel said several groups would be barred for failing to provide details of their Palestinian employees.
"IHL (international humanitarian law) leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need," Lahbib wrote.
NGOs had until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims to prevent "hostile actors or supporters of terrorism" operating in the Palestinian territories, rather than impede aid.
Israeli authorities announced Tuesday that organisations which "refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees in order to rule out any links to terrorism" had received notice that their licences would be revoked as of January 1, with an obligation to cease all activities by March 1.
Israel has not disclosed the number of groups facing a ban, but it has specifically called out Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for failing to meet the rules. It accused the medical charity of employing two individuals with links to Palestinian armed groups.
The Israeli government told AFP earlier this month that 14 NGO requests had been rejected as of November 25.
Several NGOs said the new rules will have a major impact on aid distribution in Gaza, with humanitarian organisations saying the amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate.
While an accord for a ceasefire that started on October 10 stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week that on average 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, which corresponds to around 600 daily.
