Biden aide tells Israeli official diplomacy best way to keep Iran from getting nuclear bomb
Eyal Hulata is on a visit to Washington, which US officials said will allow the two allies to share intelligence
Updated 05 October 2021
Reuters
WASHINGTON D.C.: White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told his Israeli counterpart Eyal Hulata on Tuesday that President Joe Biden's administration believes diplomacy is the best way to make sure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, the White House said.
Sullivan also noted at the White House meeting that Biden “has made clear that if diplomacy fails, the United States is prepared to turn to other options,” the White House said.
Hulata is on a visit to Washington, which US officials said will allow the two allies to share intelligence and develop a “baseline assessment” of how far Tehran's nuclear program has advanced.
Asked what actions were under consideration and whether that included military options, a US official said “we'll be prepared to take measures that are necessary“ but did not elaborate.
The official said that Iran was “sending indications to a number of parties that they are preparing to come back to Vienna,” where the US and Iran held indirect talks earlier this year that stalled.
Sudan army breaks RSF siege on southern city Dilling
Army says its forces 'succeeded in opening the Dilling road after carrying out a successful military operation'
Victory comes as the military attempts to stem a sweeping paramilitary advance across the wider Kordofan region
Updated 3 sec ago
KHARTOUM: The Sudanese army said on Monday it had broken a long-running siege of Dilling, a city in the country’s south, where paramilitary forces had choked off access for more than a year and a half. Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has killed tens of thousands of people. The war has also left 11 million people displaced and triggered what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises. In its statement, the army said its forces “succeeded in opening the Dilling road after carrying out a successful military operation,” claiming they had inflicted “heavy losses” on the RSF. If confirmed, the advance would secure the army’s hold over both the northern and southern approaches to Dilling, located in South Kordofan state. The city lies halfway between Kadugli — the besieged state capital — and El-Obeid, the capital of neighboring North Kordofan, which the RSF has sought to encircle. Videos shared on social media showed army forces, said to be in Dilling, celebrating atop pick-up trucks as people ululated and cheered alongside them. AFP could not independently verify the army’s claim or the footage, and the RSF has not yet commented.
- Sweeping offensive -
The push around Dilling comes as the army attempts to stem a sweeping paramilitary advance across the wider Kordofan region. Since seizing the army’s last stronghold in western Darfur last October, the RSF has shifted its focus eastward, aided by its local allies, namely the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu. Since then, the paramilitary group has tightened its grip on West Kordofan, taken Heglig — home to Sudan’s largest oil field — and intensified its siege of Kadugli. A UN-backed assessment last year already confirmed famine in Kadugli, which has been under RSF siege for more than a year and a half. The assessment said conditions in Dilling were likely similar, but security issues and a lack of access have prevented a formal declaration. The UN has repeatedly cautioned that atrocities similar to those reported during the RSF offensive in El-Fasher — including mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and widespread looting — could spread into Kordofan. More than 65,000 people have fled the Kordofan region since October, according to the latest UN figures. Those escaping, particularly from South Kordofan, face “long and uncertain journeys” lasting up to 30 days and sleep “wherever they can,” according to Mercy Corps, one of the few aid groups operating there.
