Russia, Germany and UK urge restraint as Iranian threat puts Middle East on edge

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A banner displaying pictures of Israeli army officials with their faces encircled by a red crosshair icon, hang in Tehran on April 2, 2024 following an Israeli strike in Damascus that demolished the consular annex of Iran's embassy, killing at least 13 people, including two Iranian Revolutionary Guards generals and five personnel from the force. (AFP)
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Iranians attend the funeral of seven Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike on the country's consular annex in Damascus, which Tehran blamed on Israel, on April 5, 2024, during their funeral procession in Tehran. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel, putting the Middle East region on edge as Israel warned that it will strike back. (AFP/File)
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(L to R) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, British foreign minister David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. (Agencies)
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Updated 12 April 2024
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Russia, Germany and UK urge restraint as Iranian threat puts Middle East on edge

  • “Iran should instead work to de-escalate and prevent further attacks,” said Cameron
  • Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that Israel would respond directly to any attack by Iran

MOSCOW: Russia, Germany and Britain on Thursday urged countries in the Middle East to show restraint and Israel said it was preparing to “meet all its security needs” in a region on edge over an Iranian threat to strike Israel.

The German airline Lufthansa, one of only two Western carriers flying to Tehran, extended a suspension of its flights to the Iranian capital and Russia warned against travel to the Middle East.
Iran has vowed revenge for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus that killed a top Iranian general and six other Iranian military officers, ratcheting up tension in a region already strained by the Gaza war.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Israel “must be punished and it shall be,” saying it was tantamount to an attack on Iranian soil.
The “imperative for Iran to punish this rogue regime” might have been avoided had the UN Security Council condemned the strike and brought the perpetrators to justice, Tehran’s mission to the United Nations said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was keeping up its war in Gaza but making security preparations elsewhere.
“Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively,” he said in comments released following a visit to an air force base.




A view of the consular annex of Iran's embassy in Damascus, Syria, that was demolished by an Israeli airstrike on April 1, 2024, killing at least 13 people, including two Iranian Revolutionary Guards generals and five personnel from the force. (AP)

Iran has signalled to Washington that it will respond to Israel’s attack in a way that aims to avoid major escalation and it will not act hastily, Iranian sources said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that Israel would respond directly to any attack by Iran, Gallant’s office said.
Conflict has spread across the Middle East since the eruption of the Gaza war, with Iran-backed groups declaring support for the Palestinians waging attacks from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. Tehran has avoided direct confrontation with Israel or the United States, while declaring support for its allies.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian to urge “maximum restraint” to avoid further escalation.
Russia’s foreign ministry told citizens they should not travel to the Middle East, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
“Right now it’s very important for everyone to maintain restraint so as not to lead to a complete destabilization of the situation in the region, which doesn’t exactly shine with stability and predictability,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing.

‘Potential for miscalculation’
British foreign minister David Cameron said on Thursday he had made clear to Amirabdollahian that Iran should not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict.
“I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence,” Cameron said on X.

 

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken called counterparts including the Turkish, Chinese and Saudi foreign ministers “to make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate.”
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday Iran was threatening to launch a “significant attack in Israel,” and that he had told Netanyahu that “our commitment to Israel security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is iron-clad.”
The US expects an attack by Iran against Israel but one that would not be big enough to draw Washington into war, a US official said late on Thursday.
Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the OPEC group and oil prices stayed near six-month highs on Thursday.
Late on Wednesday, an Iranian news agency published an Arabic report on the X platform saying the air space over Tehran had been closed for military drills, but then removed the report and denied it had issued such news.
Lufthansa said it would probably not fly to Tehran before April 13. Austrian Airlines said it was still planning to fly on Thursday but was adjusting timings to avoid crew having to disembark for an overnight layover.
Iranian air space is also a key overflight route for Emirates’ and Qatar Airways’ flights to Europe and North America.
Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Aeroflot and Air Arabia, among the airlines that fly to Tehran, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Turkiye stages artillery strikes on Kurd fighters in Iraq

Updated 6 sec ago
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Turkiye stages artillery strikes on Kurd fighters in Iraq

ISTANBUL: Turkiye staged new artillery strikes against Kurdish separatist positions in northern Iraq, the defense ministry and Iraqi sources said Saturday.
While President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this month said operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Iraq were coming to an end, a security source in northern Iraq said the latest overnight shelling was “intense.”
“In line with our right to self-defense... air operations were carried out against terrorist targets in northern Iraq, in the Gara, Qandil and Asos regions,” Turkiye’s defense ministry said in a statement.
The Turkish army named 25 targets including PKK “caves, bunkers, shelters, stores and installations.” Turkiye and most of its western allies consider the PKK to be a terrorist group. It has been fighting the Turkish state since 1984.
Kamran Othman, a member of the Community Peacemakers Teams (CPT) group working in Iraqi Kurdistan, said the attacks lasted about 45 minutes and there were no civilian victims of the shelling.
The Turkish army said it had “neutralized several terrorists.”
CPT says it has recorded more than 230 artillery shelling incidents since June 15, some of which have started fires on agricultural land and hit civilians.
Turkiye says it wants to establish a security zone in northern Iraq and Syria to prevent militant incursions.

22 dead in shelling of Sudan’s besieged El-Fasher: medic

Updated 13 min 51 sec ago
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22 dead in shelling of Sudan’s besieged El-Fasher: medic

  • El-Fasher has become a key battleground in the 15-month-long war
  • A doctor at the city’s Saudi Hospital said “bombardment of the livestock market and the Redayef neighborhood killed 22 people and wounded 17“

PORT SUDAN: Besieging Sudanese paramilitary forces pounded El-Fasher on Saturday, witnesses said, killing 22 people in Darfur’s last city outside their control, according to a hospital source.
El-Fasher has become a key battleground in the 15-month-long war pitting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the regular army.
The battle for the North Darfur state capital, seen as crucial for humanitarian aid in a region on the brink of famine, has raged for more than two months.
Witnesses said El-Fasher had come under heavy artillery bombardment by the RSF on Saturday.
“Some houses were destroyed by the shelling,” one witness said.
A doctor at the city’s Saudi Hospital told AFP on condition of anonymity that “bombardment of the livestock market and the Redayef neighborhood killed 22 people and wounded 17.”
It was the deadliest reported bombardment since the start of the month, when 15 civilians were killed in the shelling of another city market.
Intense fighting for El-Fasher erupted on May 10, prompting a siege by the RSF that has trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Last month, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an end to the siege.
US mediators are to make a new attempt in Switzerland next month to broker an end to the fighting. The talks are due to open on August 14.
Previous negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have failed to put an end to the fighting which has displaced millions, sparked warnings of famine and left swathes of the capital Khartoum in ruins.


Egypt’s presence at Gaza talks highlights its ‘pivotal role’ in region, says analyst

Updated 28 min 12 sec ago
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Egypt’s presence at Gaza talks highlights its ‘pivotal role’ in region, says analyst

  • Meeting in Rome fuels hope amid concerns that Israel is sabotaging peace negotiations

CAIRO: The presence of Egyptian delegates at a scheduled meeting in Rome to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza underscores Cairo’s “pivotal role” in the region, political analyst and MP Osama Al-Ashmouni told Arab News on Saturday, adding that it also shows Egypt’s unquestionable commitment to the Palestinian cause.

Egypt — along with Qatar and the US — has been involved in months of mediation efforts aimed at ending the war that has raged in the Gaza Strip for more than nine months.

A senior source told the Cairo News Channel that a meeting involving Egyptian, US, and Qatari officials and the head of Israeli Intelligence will take place in Rome on Sunday, in the hopes of developing an agreement that would immediately halt military engagements and guarantee the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The source said Egyptian authorities have stressed the importance of reaching an agreement that ensures the free movement of Gaza’s citizens and a complete withdrawal from the Rafah crossing.

Al-Ashmouni told Arab News that Egypt “has been a stalwart supporter of the Palestinian cause throughout its history, offering tremendous support to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and their quest to reclaim their occupied land and establish a Palestinian state.”

Al-Ashmouni added that Israel “consistently disseminates falsehoods and continues its deceptive practices and lies, whether in distorting Egypt’s role in supporting the Palestinian cause or by trying to portray itself as the victim, thereby reversing the roles of victim and perpetrator.

“It is crucial for attendees at the Rome meeting to recognize this, as the conscience of the free world should not heed the fabrications spread by the Israeli propaganda machine, despite the international community’s passive stance on Israel’s actions, which include crimes against humanity and war crimes against the unarmed Palestinian people in Gaza.”

Al-Ashmouni expressed his hope that the negotiations in Rome would prove effective, although he anticipates that Israel will continue what he called its policy of sabotaging peace negotiations.

Journalist Mahmoud Mosalam, a member of the Egyptian Senate, told Arab News that Egypt plays a crucial role in mediation talks amid “intense accusations by Israel and other parties who would prefer Egypt to withdraw from the role.”

Mosalam added: “They allege that Egypt is facilitating arms smuggling to the resistance, and some American media outlets falsely claim that Egypt has altered texts from previous negotiations.”

He hopes the negotiations in Rome, which will also include Palestinian and Italian officials, “will be fruitful and help Gaza emerge from its severe crisis, a situation akin to actual genocide.”

He added that the recent outpouring of global support for the Palestinian people gives them an opportunity that they must seize and said it is inevitable the war will end, which would present the Palestinian leaders with “significant responsibilities,” including the reconstruction of Gaza and the reorganization of the Palestinian administration in preparation for a “comprehensive resolution” of the Palestinian issue.


Heat wave forces Iran to shutter government offices and banks. Electricity consumption soars

Updated 27 July 2024
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Heat wave forces Iran to shutter government offices and banks. Electricity consumption soars

  • Banks, offices, and public institutions across the country close to protect people’s health and conserve energy, due to extreme temperatures

TEHRAN: A heat wave blanketing Iran has forced authorities to cut operating hours at various facilities Saturday and order all government and commercial institutions to shutter on Sunday.
The temperature ranged from 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) to 42 C (about 107 F) in the capital, Tehran on Saturday, according to weather reports.
State-run IRNA news agency said banks, offices, and public institutions across the country would close on Sunday to protect people’s health and conserve energy, due to extreme temperatures and that only emergency services and medical agencies would be excluded.
Authorities also cut working hours on Saturday in many provinces due to the sweltering heat, IRNA reported, adding that high temperatures, over 40 C (104 F), have been registered in Tehran since Friday.
Iranian media warned people to stay indoors until 5 p.m. local time.
Authorities also said electricity consumption reached record levels of 78,106 megawatts on Tuesday.
Nournews, close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported Wednesday that Iran’s temperature is rising at twice the pace of the global temperature which has increased by more than one degree compared to the long-term average. Meanwhile, Iran has become warmer by 2 degrees over the past 50 years, the agency said.
Last year, Iran ordered a two-day nationwide holiday due to increasing temperatures.


170 killed in days-long Israeli operation, says Gaza civil defense

Updated 27 July 2024
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170 killed in days-long Israeli operation, says Gaza civil defense

  • Deir Al-Balah is one of the areas most populated with displaced families, and said over 100 others were wounded

GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Saturday that Israel’s military operation around Khan Yunis has killed about 170 people and wounded hundreds since it started on Monday.
“Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in the Khan Yunis area, we are talking of approximately 170 martyrs and hundreds of wounded,” agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
He said many people had been displaced again on Saturday as the Israeli operation continued.
“The questions is where will these residents go?” Basal said.
“Anyone who sees the situation in Khan Yunis will witness thousands of people spread out on the ground, on the roads, in areas that unfortunately are not suitable for living.
“With no other options available, they are exposing themselves to death.”
Earlier on Saturday the military issued new evacuation orders for residents of the southern city, after retrieving the bodies of five Israelis and warning of new operations.
The United Nations said more than 180,000 Palestinians have fled Khan Yunis since the Israeli operation began on Monday.
The evacuation orders and “intensified hostilities” have “significantly destabilized aid operations,” it added, reporting “dire water, hygiene and sanitation conditions” across the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military said it launched the operation to halt rocket fire from the area, which already saw heavy fighting earlier this year.
On Wednesday, it said troops had retrieved the bodies of five Israelis from the area.
They had been killed during the Hamas attacks of October 7 and their bodies taken back to Gaza, the military said.
On Saturday, it ordered residents from more parts of Khan Yunis “to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi” — the second such adjustment made to the safe zone within a week.