Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • World powers gather for Warsaw Middle East summit expected to pressure on Iran


World powers gather for Warsaw Middle East summit expected to pressure on Iran

1 / 4
Saudi's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir attending the Middle East conference at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. (Reuters)
2 / 4
 Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the start of the meeting in Warsaw. (Screengrab)
3 / 4
A family photo from the start of the conference in Warsaw. (Reuters)
4 / 4
Iranian communities in Europe hold a rally to protest against Iranian government's human rights violations during a global summit focused on the Middle East and Iran in Warsaw. (Reuters)
Updated 14 February 2019
SARAH GLUBB
Follow

World powers gather for Warsaw Middle East summit expected to pressure on Iran

  • Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir attends the opening ceremony
  • Hundreds protest against the Iranian regime ahead of the meeting
Updated 14 February 2019
SARAH GLUBB

WARSAW: US, Arab and Israeli leaders gathered Wednesday in Warsaw for a conference expected to pile pressure on Iran.

The event is attended by about 60 countries and the agenda also covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fight against Daesh, Syria and Yemen. 

But the bulk of the focus will be on Iran, and how to curtail the regime’s aggressive foreign policy in the region. 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz greeted the attendees at the opening ceremony, including Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir.

The Kingdom’s ambassador to the US, Prince Khalid bin Salman, said Saudi Arabia joined the conference “to take a firm stand against forces that threaten the future of peace and security in the region.”

“Especially the world's leading sponsor of terrorism: the Iranian regime that continues to destabilize our region and launch ballistic missiles against civilians,” Prince Khalid said.

Ahead of the two-day meeting, hundreds of people took part in an Iranian opposition demonstration in Warsaw on Wednesday. Speakers at the event included the former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

“The Iranian regime has been facing a popular uprising in Iran for a year and has not been able, despite using all kinds of repression, to control or quell this uprising, so it has once again started to export terrorism to the world and plan terrorist operations,” Sanabargh Zahedi, Chairman of the Judicial Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, told Arab News.

“We now want to confront this phenomenon and call upon the international community to take firmer steps against this regime.”

Pressure has been growing on Iran since Donald Trump last year withdrew the US from a deal designed to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

European powers stuck with the accord and their unhappiness at Trump’s move was reflected by a reduced presence in Warsaw.

Predictably, Iran also voiced its disapproval at the meeting. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad said: “It is another attempt by the United States to pursue an obsession with Iran that is not well-founded.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President Mike Pence will headline the conference on Thursday.

Netanyahu is keen to build closer ties with Arab countries which share his concern of the Iranian threat in the region, particularly the presence of Iranian proxy militias in Syria where Israel carried out further strikes on Monday.

“We are operating every day … against Iran and its attempts to establish its presence in the area,” said Netanyahu.

Ahead of the summit he met with Oman’s foreign minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, in rare public talks with an Arab leader.

The Omani minister said people in the Middle East have “suffered a lot” because they stick to the past. He said Wednesday's meeting reflects a “new era” for the region.

The US is also hoping to make progress with a peace plan for Israel and Palestine. Trump adviser Jared Kushner will make a rare speaking appearance at the conference, possibly to offer hints of what the deal may include.

Nathan Tek, US State Department spokesman in the Middle East, told Arab News that the broad agenda of the conference, will reinvigorate efforts to address the region’s many challenges by “revitalizing our alliances and partnerships.”

“From weapons proliferation and humanitarian crises, to terrorism and energy security, these issues and others pose serious threats to stability in the region and to security around the world,” he said. 

“(The conference) will provide countries an opportunity to share their assessments of the region and offer ideas on how to solve our shared problems.”

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is attending the event, said he wanted to focus on ending the crisis in Yemen, AFP reported.

Hunt met Tuesday evening in Warsaw jointly with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior officials from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are both supporting the Yemeni government against the Iran-backed Houthis as part of a regional military coalition.

Hunt said he hoped to expand on a seven-week ceasefire that has largely held in the crucial port city of Hodeida.

“We now have a shortening window of opportunity to turn the ceasefire into a durable path to peace - and stop the world's worst humanitarian crisis,” Hunt said.

 

******

 

Day one of the Warsaw Middle East Conference as it happened

All times in GMT

6 p.m.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz greet the attendees including Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir.

5.45 p.m

The opening ceremony for the two day conference gets under way in Warsaw. 

5.40 p.m.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US, Khalid bin Salman, said Saudi Arabia joins the  Warsaw Summit "to take a firm stand against forces that threaten the future of peace and security," in particular Iranian.

3 p.m.

Hundreds of people attend an anti -Iran demonstration in Warsaw.

Sanabargh Zahedi, Chairman of the Judicial Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, told Arab news: 

"The Iranian regime has been facing a popular uprising in Iran for a year and has not been able, despite using all kinds of repression, to control or quell this uprising, so it has once again started to export terrorism to the world and plan terrorist operations.

"We now want to confront this phenomenon and call upon the international community to take firmer steps against this regime."

2.45 p.m.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Oman's foreign minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah ahead of the Warsaw meeting.
In a video released by Netanyahu's office, the Omani foreign minister, said people in the Middle East have "suffered a lot" because they stick to the past. He said Wednesday's meeting reflects a "new era" for the region.

Topics: Middle East Conference Adel Al-Jubeir Mike Pompeo

Related

Middle-East
Israel’s Netanyahu meets Oman’s foreign minister in Warsaw
Update
Middle-East
Palestinian chief negotiator Erekat says will not attend Warsaw conference

Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says

Updated 22 December 2024
Follow

Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says

Updated 22 December 2024
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding that he was briefing President-elect Donald Trump’s team on the risk.
Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel’s assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
“It’s no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, ‘Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine’,” Sullivan said.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
“It’s a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It’s a risk that I’m personally briefing the incoming team on,” Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with US ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hard-line Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran’s oil industry. Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran’s “weakened state.”
“Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions for the long term,” he said.

Netanyahu says Israel will continue to act against the Houthis

Updated 50 min 2 sec ago
Reuters
Follow

Netanyahu says Israel will continue to act against the Houthis

  • On Thursday, Israeli jets launched a series of strikes against energy and port infrastructure in Yemen
  • Response to hundreds of missile and drone attacks launched by Houthis since start of Gaza war
Updated 50 min 2 sec ago
Reuters

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue acting against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, whom he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order, and called on Israelis to be steadfast.
“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis,” he said in a video statement a day after a missile fired from Yemen fell in the Tel Aviv area, causing a number of mild injuries.
On Thursday, Israeli jets launched a series of strikes against energy and port infrastructure in Yemen in a move officials said was a response to hundreds of missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis since the start of the Gaza war 14 months ago.
On Saturday, the US military said it conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Houthis in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Netanyahu, strengthened at home by the Israeli military’s campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon and by its destruction of most of the Syrian army’s strategic weapons, said Israel would act with the United States.
“Therefore, we will act with strength, determination and sophistication. I tell you that even if it takes time, the result will be the same,” he said.
The Houthis have launched repeated attacks on international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023, in support of the Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Palestine Yemen Gaza Houthis

Related

video
Middle-East
American pilots in ‘friendly fire’ incident as US military hits Houthi targets in Sanaa
Update video
Middle-East
Yemen’s Houthis say Israeli strikes kill 9 after missile attack

Iraq PM says Mosul airport to open in June, 11 years after Daesh capture

Updated 22 December 2024
AFP
Follow

Iraq PM says Mosul airport to open in June, 11 years after Daesh capture

  • On June 10, 2014, the Daesh group seized Mosul
Updated 22 December 2024
AFP

BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Sunday ordered for the inauguration of the airport in second city Mosul to be held in June, marking 11 years since Islamists took over the city.
On June 10, 2014, the Daesh group seized Mosul, declaring its “caliphate” from there 19 days later after capturing large swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria.
After years of fierce battles, Iraqi forces backed by a US-led international coalition dislodged the group from Mosul in July 2017, before declaring its defeat across the country at the end of that year.
In a Sunday statement, Sudani’s office said the premier directed during a visit there “for the airport’s opening to be on June 10, coinciding with the anniversary of Mosul’s occupation, as a message of defiance in the face of terrorism.”
Over 80 percent of the airport’s runway and terminals have been completed, according to the statement.
Mosul’s airport had been completely destroyed in the fighting.
In August 2022, then-prime minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi laid the foundation stone for the airport’s reconstruction.
Sudani’s office also announced on Sunday the launch of a project to rehabilitate the western bank of the Tigris in Mosul, affirming that “Iraq is secure and stable and on the right path.”

Topics: Iraq Mosul

Related

Middle-East
‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret
video
Middle-East
WATCH: Rebuilding of Mosul’s famous leaning minaret nears completion

Turkiye’s top diplomat meets Syria’s new leader in Damascus

Updated 22 December 2024
AFP
Follow

Turkiye’s top diplomat meets Syria’s new leader in Damascus

  • Hakan Fidan had announced on Friday that he planned to travel to Damascus to meet Syria’s new leaders
  • Turkiye’s spy chief Ibrahim Kalin had earlier visited the city on December 12, just a few days after Bashar Assad’s fall
Updated 22 December 2024
AFP

ANKARA: Turkiye’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, Ankara’s foreign ministry said.

A video released by the Anadolu state news agency showed the two men greeting each other.

No details of where the meeting took place in the Syrian capital were released by the ministry.

Fidan had announced on Friday that he planned to travel to Damascus to meet Syria’s new leaders, who ousted Syria’s strongman Bashar Assad after a lightning offensive.

Turkiye’s spy chief Ibrahim Kalin had earlier visited the city on December 12, just a few days after Assad’s fall.

Kalin was filmed leaving the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, surrounded by bodyguards, as broadcast by the private Turkish channel NTV.

Turkiye has been a key backer of the opposition to Assad since the uprising against his rule began in 2011.

Besides supporting various militant groups, it has welcomed Syrian dissenters and millions of refugees.

However, Fidan has rejected claims by US president-elect Donald Trump that the militants’ victory in Syria constituted an “unfriendly takeover” of the country by Turkiye.

International sanctions on Damascus must be lifted “as soon as possible” to allow Syria to get back on its feet and refugees to return home, Fidan said.

“The sanctions imposed on the previous regime need to be lifted as soon as possible,” he said, adding: “The international community needs to mobilize to help Syria get back on its feet and for the displaced people to return.”

During a joint press conference, Al-Sharaa said that all weapons in the country would come under state control including those held by Kurdish-led forces.

 

Armed “factions will begin to announce their dissolution and enter” the army, Sharaa said during a press conference with Fidan, adding “we will absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control, whether from the revolutionary factions or the factions present in the SDF area,” referring to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Syria alone was responsible for overthrowing Bashar Assad, Fidan also said.

“This victory belongs to you and no one else. Thanks to your sacrifices, Syria has seized a historic opportunity,” he said. Turkiye has repeatedly dismissed claims it had any hand in the lightning 12-day rebel offensive that ended with Assad’s overthrow on December 8.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria Turkiye Ahmed Al-Sharaa

Related

Middle-East
Turkey says it has no preconditions for dialogue with Syria
Special
Middle-East
Turkey shelves Syrian offensive after Russian objection

Druze leader Jumblatt paves way for Lebanese-Syrian relationship without Assad

Updated 22 December 2024
NAJIA HOUSSARI
Follow

Druze leader Jumblatt paves way for Lebanese-Syrian relationship without Assad

  • Ahmed Al-Sharaa: ‘Syria’s interference in Lebanese affairs was negative’ in the past
  • Walid Jumblatt said Assad’s ouster should usher in new constructive relations between Lebanon and Syria
Updated 22 December 2024
NAJIA HOUSSARI

BEIRUT: Syria’s new leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, vowed in a meeting in Damascus on Sunday not to negatively interfere in neighboring Lebanon.

A major political and religious delegation headed by prominent Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt met with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham leader Al-Sharaa at the People’s Palace.

This marks the first visit of a Lebanese political figure to Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.

Al-Sharaa made a series of unprecedented statements about Lebanese-Syrian ties following decades of strained and sometimes bloody relations with the former Syrian regime.

Al-Sharaa said, “Syria was a source of concern and disturbance for Lebanon, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” adding that “the former Syrian regime killed Kamal Jumblatt, Bashir Gemayel, and Rafik Hariri.”

He emphasized that Syria, in its new era, would “stay at equal distance from everyone in Lebanon” and no longer engage in “negative interference in Lebanon.”

Al-Sharaa said that “Lebanon needs a strong economy and political stability that Syria will support” and called on the Lebanese to "erase from their memory the legacy of the old Syria in Lebanon.”

The international community was unable to solve the Syrian problem over 14 years, Al-Sharaa said.

“We took a different path because we believe that people can claim their rights by taking matters into their own hands only,” he added.

Commenting on Hezbollah’s years-long involvement in Syrian affairs in support of Assad’s regime, he said: “This is a new chapter with all components of the Lebanese people, regardless of previous stances.”

Jumblatt saluted the Syrian people for their “great victories and for getting rid of oppression and tyranny.”

He said: “We have a long way to go, and we are suffering from Israeli expansion, so I will present a memorandum on Lebanese-Syrian relations on behalf of the Democratic Gathering.”

Jumblatt believes that “the crimes committed against the Syrian people are similar to those committed in Gaza and Bosnia-Herzegovina and constitute crimes against humanity,” adding that “it is worth referring the matter” to international inquiries.

The delegation headed by Jumblatt included Sheikh Akl of the Unitarian Druze Community, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, Taymour Jumblatt, Druze MPs and religious figures.

Jumblatt said: “We hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations will return through the embassies and that all of those who committed crimes against the Lebanese will be held accountable.

“We also hope that fair trials will be held for all those who committed crimes against the Syrian people.”

Also on Sunday, the Lebanese Public Prosecution said that it received a telegram from the American judiciary regarding the arrest of Maj. Gen. Jamil Al-Hassan, director of administration for the Air Force Intelligence under the collapsed Assad regime.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that several officers from the Assad regime fled to Lebanon in the early hours following the collapse of the regime, utilizing illegal crossings managed by Hezbollah.

Those who entered Lebanese territory illegally included members of the Fourth Division, previously led by Maher Al-Assad, including officers of various ranks.

Security reports indicated that “several of them were apprehended while in possession of hundreds of thousands of dollars and quantities of gold, and the detainees were subsequently handed over to the Lebanese General Security.”

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi confirmed last week that “some Syrian figures crossed overland into Lebanon, and some of them traveled via Beirut airport.”

He also said that photos of wanted Syrian officers had been disseminated to Lebanese air, sea, and land ports for their capture.

In a telegram circulated through Interpol, the US judiciary accuses Gen. Hassan of “war crimes, including genocide committed against the Syrian people by dropping explosive barrels.”

The international warrant has been disseminated to security services, which, as stated by a security source, are currently engaged in efforts to “ascertain whether Hassan is present in Beirut, in anticipation of his arrest and subsequent transfer to the judiciary.”

In a related incident on Sunday, unknown gunmen kidnapped Col. Ahmed Khair Beyk of the Syrian army on the Beirut Airport Road.

A security source linked the kidnapping to “drug and Captagon trafficking,” stating that “the perpetrators are a gang involved in the drug trade.”

Beyk had previously served as an aide to Brig. Gen. Ghassan Bilal in the Syrian army’s Fourth Division.

In other developments, the issue of detainees and opponents of the Syrian regime, held in Lebanese prisons for years, has resurfaced following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.

Their families held a sit-in in downtown Beirut on Sunday to demand general amnesty.

The protesters called for “speeding up trials and releasing their sons, notably the religious leaders among them.”

The number of detainees stands at 350, including 180 Lebanese and 170 Syrians, many of whom were arrested for supporting the Syrian opposition and labeled as terrorists.

On the other side of the border, the Lebanese Red Cross received seven Lebanese citizens at the Naqoura crossing.

They had been kidnapped by Israeli forces that infiltrated Lebanese territory and subjected them to interrogation.

The Israeli army claimed through its spokesperson Avichay Adraee that the forces of the 188th Brigade uncovered a large Hezbollah combat complex that contained eight weapons depots above and below ground, connected through a network of underground tunnels.

Communication and electrical devices, anti-tank missiles aimed at northern Israeli towns, explosives, computers, and other items were found, said the spokesperson.

The complex was destroyed, and the weapons were seized.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria Ahmed Al-Sharaa

Related

Analysis
Middle-East
What Israel’s capture of Syrian territory as Assad fell signifies for the Middle East
Middle-East
Syria’s new rulers name HTS commander as defense minister

Latest updates

Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says
Troubled Manchester United humiliated by Bournemouth
Netanyahu says Israel will continue to act against the Houthis
Pakistani naval ships visit Kuwait and Iraq, conduct joint exercises in Arabian Gulf
Minorities fear targeted attacks in post-revolution Bangladesh

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.