LONDON: Former US Secretary of State John Kerry said the Iran nuclear deal “is working” and that the world risks becoming a “less safe” place if the US lets it fall apart after President Donald Trump’s decision last month to not re-certify the agreement.
“It is important to note the simple things. The Iran nuclear agreement is working. It is doing precisely what it is set up to do,” he said on Monday in London.
Kerry was the key US representative alongside diplomats from the UK, France, Russia, Germany and China in the negotiations that led up to the Iran deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015. The deal placed limits on Iran’s nuclear program in return for the easing of economic sanctions on the country.
The decision on the agreement’s future now rests with the US Congress, which has 60 days from Oct. 15, to decide whether to uphold the deal as it stands or demand amendments to it.
Kerry warned an audience at Chatham House that if congress does not re-certify the deal, the US could lose its credibility internationally; Iran may potentially return to its nuclear enrichment program and it could result in Arab countries in the region embarking on an arms race.
“As a child of the Cold War,” he said, “it is really sad for me to see our country and our president putting this issue in such peril.”
Trump has frequently referred to the Iran deal as the “worst deal” he’s ever seen, arguing that the ability to monitor and inspect whether Iran was keeping to the terms of the deal was “weak”. He has been critical of “sunset clauses” that expire after a certain time period which he said would allow Iran to eventually develop its own nuclear weapons.
“We got weak inspections in exchange for no more than a purely short-term and temporary delay in Iran’s path to nuclear weapons,” he said in a statement on Oct. 13.
Kerry said Trump’s stance is not based on any evidence at all, saying the IAEA has asserted that Iran is compliant with the terms of the deal. “The decision to de-certify was made without relevance to any fact whatsoever in respect to this agreement,” he said.
“There is no evidence that merits de-certification,” he said, adding “it is beyond me” how congress — which was not part of the original negotiations — is now being called upon to “fix” the deal.
Kerry has previously referred to Trump’s decision as “dangerous”, accusing him of creating an “international crisis”, in a statement on Twitter last month.
While answering audience questions, Kerry also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line opposition to the Iran deal, saying that the Israeli leader had previously urged Barack Obama during his presidency to bomb Iran.
“Bombing Iran doesn’t necessarily stop Iran having a nuclear bomb,” he said, adding that such a move would only give Iran a reason for wanting a weapon to defend themselves.
“What is this rush for war? It doesn’t make sense,” Kerry said.
Netanyahu shifted his stance last week during his visit to the UK, calling for “flaws” in the deal to be fixed, rather than demanding the outright cancelation of the agreement.
Kerry said that the nuclear deal does not mean the international community is ignoring the “serious problems” it has with some of Iran’s policies, such as its interference in Yemen; its human rights track record or the country’s attempts to import equipment for its rock and missile development.
“It is better to deal with a country that doesn’t have a nuclear weapon, than if it does. It’s a simple proposition,” Kerry said.
“You are better off with it (the deal) than without it. We are moving in the right direction and we have to keep moving in the right direction.”
Don’t alter the Iran nuclear deal — it’s working, says Kerry
Don’t alter the Iran nuclear deal — it’s working, says Kerry
Palestinian patients in Gaza dying due to lack of medical supplies, equipment: American surgeon
- Dr. Mark Perlmutter spent three weeks treating patients in Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals
- He was inside Nasser Hospital when Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas finance chief Ismail Barhoum
LONDON: An American surgeon working in Gaza has described the dire conditions in hospitals, saying Palestinian patients have died due to a lack of medical supplies and equipment.
Dr. Mark Perlmutter, who spent three weeks treating patients in Al-Aqsa and Nasser hospitals, told the BBC that doctors are operating without soap, antibiotics or X-ray facilities.
“The small community hospital, Al-Aqsa, is a tenth the size of any of the facilities in my home state — maybe smaller — and it did well to manage those horrible injuries,” he told the broadcaster following his second trip to the Palestinian enclave.
“Nevertheless, because of lack of equipment, many, many of those patients died, who would certainly not have died at a better-equipped hospital.”
He described treating severely wounded children, including a 15-year-old girl hit by Israeli machinegun fire while riding her bicycle and a boy, the same age, who was in a car with his grandmother after receiving warnings to evacuate from the north.
“They were both macerated and shredded by Apache gunships,” Perlmutter said. “The girl will be lucky if she keeps three of her limbs.”
Perlmutter was inside Nasser Hospital when an Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas finance chief Ismail Barhoum.
He said Barhoum was receiving medical treatment and had a right to protection under the Geneva Convention. The Israeli military said he was in the hospital “in order to commit acts of terrorism.”
With most hospitals in Gaza barely functioning, Perlmutter praised the commitment and dedication of the Palestinian medical staff, which he said go above and beyond the efforts of foreign doctors like himself.
“They all abandon their families, they volunteer and often work without pay. We get to go home in a month, which they don’t,” he said.
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, has called the situation in Gaza “dire,” noting that humanitarian aid remains blocked at border crossings.
Israel’s onslaught has killed more than 15,000 Palestinian children in Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry has said, adding that since Israel broke a ceasefire and resumed its strikes on March 18, 921 Palestinians have been killed.
Perlmutter warned that if the Israeli attacks continue, hospitals operating without urgent medical supplies will see more wounded Palestinians die from treatable injuries.
Lebanon makes arrests over rockets fired at Israel
- Lebanon’s General Security agency said it had “arrested a number of suspects, and the relevant authorities have begun investigations with them”
BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities said Sunday several suspects had been arrested after rockets were fired at neighboring Israel earlier this month, testing a fragile November ceasefire.
Lebanon’s General Security agency said it had “arrested a number of suspects, and the relevant authorities have begun investigations with them to determine responsibility and take the appropriate legal measures.”
Militant group Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war with Israel last year, has denied involvement in the rocket fire that took place on March 22 and 28.
It however prompted an Israeli strike on Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold for the first time since the truce went into effect in November.
Gaza rescuers say recovered 15 bodies after Israel fire on ambulances
- Bodies of eight medics from the Red Crescent, six members of Gaza’s civil defense agency and one employee of a UN agency were retrieved
- One medic from the Red Crescent remains missing
GAZA CITY: The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday it had recovered the bodies of 15 rescuers killed a week ago when Israeli forces targeted ambulances in the Gaza Strip.
Bodies of eight medics from the Red Crescent, six members of Gaza’s civil defense agency and one employee of a UN agency were retrieved, the Red Crescent said in a statement.
It said one medic from the Red Crescent remained missing.
The group said the those killed “were targeted by the Israeli occupation forces while performing their humanitarian duties as they were heading to the Hashashin area of Rafah to provide first aid to a number of people injured by Israeli shelling in the area.”
“The occupation’s targeting of Red Crescent medics ... can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law, which the occupation continues to violate before the eyes of the entire world.”
In an earlier statement the Red Crescent said the bodies “were recovered with difficulty as they were buried in the sand, with some showing signs of decomposition.”
Gaza’s civil defense agency also confirmed that 15 bodies had been recovered, adding that the deceased UN employee was from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also known as UNRWA.
The incident occurred on March 23 in Rafah city’s Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood, close to the Egyptian border, just days after the military resumed its bombardments of Gaza following an almost two-month-long truce.
On Saturday, the Red Crescent had accused Israeli authorities of refusing to allow search operations to locate its crew.
The Israeli military acknowledged its troops had opened fire on ambulances.
It told AFP in a statement this week that its forces had “opened fire toward Hamas vehicles and eliminated several Hamas terrorists.”
“A few minutes afterwards, additional vehicles advanced suspiciously toward the troops” who “responded by firing toward the suspicious vehicles,” it said, adding that several “terrorists” were killed.
“Some of the suspicious vehicles... were ambulances and fire trucks,” the military statement said, citing “an initial inquiry” into the incident.
It condemned “the repeated use” by “terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip of ambulances for terrorist purposes.”
Tom Fletcher, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that since resumption of hostilities on March 18, Israeli air strikes have hit “densely populated areas,” with “patients killed in their hospital beds. Ambulances shot at. First responders killed.”
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Saturday that at least 921 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel resumed its large-scale strikes.
Jordanian authorities arrest 10 drug traffickers in major anti-narcotics operations
- Among most significant arrests was that of notorious suspected synthetic cannabis dealer in Irbid Governorate
AMMAN: Jordan’s Anti-Narcotics Department arrested 10 alleged drug traffickers and smugglers in five high-profile cases as part of an ongoing crackdown on drug-related crimes across the country, a spokesperson for the Public Security Directorate announced on Sunday.
Among the most significant arrests was that of a notorious suspected synthetic cannabis dealer in Irbid Governorate.
Authorities also detained three individuals said to be involved in the production and distribution of the potent “Joker” drug, which is a synthetic cannabinoid, also known as a neocannabinoid, which are designer drugs that mimic the effects of cannabis.
A raid on the main suspect’s apartment led to the seizure of 6 kg of the substance, along with hazardous chemicals used in its manufacture. Three additional suspects were arrested in Ramtha District on suspicion of assisting in the operation.
In Aqaba Governorate, an alleged drug dealer was apprehended in possession of 60 hashish pills, while another suspected trafficker in Madaba Governorate was caught with 10 palm-sized sheets of hashish, a quantity of crystal meth, and a weapon after resisting arrest.
Meanwhile, authorities in Mafraq Governorate arrested an individual found with half a kilogram of crystal meth.
Additionally, security forces intercepted a suspicious package arriving in Amman from an unamed neighboring country. Upon inspection, they discovered 10,000 narcotic pills. Further investigations led to the arrest of three individuals connected to the case.
The Public Security Directorate reaffirmed its commitment to combating drug trafficking and bringing perpetrators to justice, emphasizing that efforts to dismantle criminal networks will continue nationwide, Jordan News Agency reported.
Morocco’s $728m ‘water highway’ faces sustainability concerns
- The project succeeds in heading off immediate threat to the water supply of the country’s most populous region
KENITRA: Morocco is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on tapping northern rivers to supply water to parched cities farther south but experts question the sustainability of the project in the face of climate change.
The North African kingdom has spent $728 million so far on what it dubs a “water highway” to redirect the surplus flow of the Sebou River to meet the drinking water needs of capital Rabat and economic hub Casablanca, according to official figures.
In the future, it plans to tap other northern rivers to extend the project to the southern city of Marrakech.
FASTFACT
Morocco has long suffered from extreme disparities in rainfall between the Atlas mountain ranges and the semi-arid and desert regions farther south.
Officials say the project has been a success in heading off the immediate threat to the water supply of the country’s most populous region.
“Transferring surplus water from the Sebou basin in the north allowed us to prevent about 12 million people from running out of water,” said senior agriculture ministry official Mahjoub Lahrache.
In late 2023, the capital Rabat and its surrounding region came perilously close to running out of water when the main reservoir supplying the city ran dry.
Morocco has long suffered from extreme disparities in rainfall between the Atlas mountain ranges and the semi-arid and desert regions farther south.
“Fifty-three percent of rainfall occurs in just seven percent of the national territory,” Water Minister Nizar Baraka told AFP.
In the past, rainfall in the Atlas ranges has created sufficient surplus flow on most northern rivers for them to reach the ocean even in the driest months of the year.
It is those surpluses that the “water highway” project seeks to tap.
A diversion dam has been built in the city of Kenitra, just inland from the Atlantic coast, to hold back the flow of the Sebou River before it enters the ocean.
The water is then treated and transported along a 67-kilometer (42-mile) underground canal to supply residents of Rabat and Casablanca.
Inaugurated last August, the “water highway” had supplied more than 700 million cubic meters (24.7 billion cubic feet) of drinking water to the two urban areas by early March, according to official figures.
But experts question how long the Sebou and other northern rivers will continue to generate water surpluses that can be tapped.
The kingdom already suffers from significant water stress after six straight years of drought.
Annual water supply has dropped from an average of 18 billion cubic meters in the 1980s to just five billion today, according to official figures.
Despite heavy rains in the northwest in early March, Morocco remains in the grip of drought with rainfall 75 percent below historical averages.
The dry spell has been “the longest in the country’s history,” the water minister said, noting that previous dry cycles typically lasted three years at most.
Rising temperatures — up 1.8 degrees Celsius last year alone — have intensified evaporation.
Experts say that climate change is likely to see further reductions in rainfall, concentrated in the very areas from which the “water highway” is designed to tap surplus flows.
“Future scenarios indicate that northern water basins will be significantly more affected by climate change than those in the south over the next 60 years,” said water and climate researcher Nabil El Mocayd.
“What is considered surplus today may no longer exist in the future due to this growing deficit,” he added, referencing a 2020 study in which he recommended scaling back the “water highway.”
Demand for water for irrigation also remains high in Morocco, where the farm sector employs nearly a third of the workforce.
Researcher Abderrahim Handouf said more needed to be done to help farmers adopt water-efficient irrigation techniques.
Handouf said the “water highway” was “an effective solution in the absence of alternatives” but warned that climate challenges will inevitably “create problems even in the north.”
“We must remain cautious,” he said, calling for greater investment in desalination plants to provide drinking water to the big cities.
