DUBAI: The United States will respond with military force if its interests are attacked by Iran, the US Iran envoy said on Thursday as Arab leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia to discuss what they see as the threat from Tehran amid rising tensions.
But US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, said US actions taken so far in the Gulf region, which include repositioning military assets, have had the “desired deterrent effect on the (Iranian) regime’s risk calculations.”
The US military has sent forces, including an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers, to the Middle East in a move that US officials said was made to counter “clear indications” of threats from Iran to American forces in the region.
Hook was speaking to reporters by phone ahead of emergency summits of Arab leaders in the Saudi city of Makkah due on Thursday to discuss drone strikes on oil installations in Saudi Arabia and attacks on four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the UAE coast earlier this month.
Hook said the US was waiting for results of the investigation into the tanker attacks off the UAE coast before discussing a proper response
Tehran has denied involvement in either attack.
The US is pursuing what it calls a “maximum pressure campaign” of sanctions against Iran to reduce its revenue streams from oil and other economic activities, in an attempt to curb what it sees as Tehran’s disruptive policies in the region.
Responding to a question about China and India importing Iranian oil and whether it was possible for them to keep importing small amounts, Hook said there would be no more exceptions granted to sanctions against Iran oil imports.
“There will be no more oil waivers granted,” he said, adding that any oil imported by any country beyond waiver limits that ran from November last year to May, would be subject to sanctions.
Trump also said that Iran’s economy is suffering from US sanctions and that the country is becoming a “weakened nation.”
As tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate, Trump claims Iran wants to make a deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says, however, that negotiating with the US would bring nothing but harm.
He said Wednesday that his country will not negotiate on issues related to its military capabilities. He insists that Iran isn’t looking to acquire nuclear weapons — not because of sanctions or the United States, but because they are forbidden under Islamic Sharia law.
At the White House on Thursday, Trump told reporters: “If they want to talk, I’m available.”
Meanwhile, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Thursday that the threat from Iran is not over but quick action from the United States has helped deter it.
“I don’t think this threat is over, but I do think you can make at least a conditional claim that the quick response and the deployment and other steps that we took did serve as a deterrent,” Bolton told reporters during a visit to London.
Asked whether he was at odds with President Donald Trump, who said earlier this week that the US was not looking for regime change in Iran, he said: “The policy we’re pursuing is not a policy of regime change. That’s the fact and everybody should understand it that way.”
Bolton said there was some prospect that evidence Iran was behind attacks this month on oil tankers in the Gulf would be presented to the United Nations Security Council next week.
“I don’t think anybody who is familiar with the situation in the region, whether they have examined the evidence or not, has come to any conclusion other than that these attacks were carried out by Iran or their surrogates,” he said.
US will respond with military force if its interests are attacked by Iran: Brian Hook
US will respond with military force if its interests are attacked by Iran: Brian Hook
- Hook says US waiting for results of investigation into tanker attacks off UAE coast before discussing proper response
- The Iran envoy said the US repositioning of military assets has had desired deterrent effect on Iranian regime
Nigeria’s former leader Buhari to be buried on Tuesday, official says
LAGOS: Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in a London clinic on Sunday aged 82, will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday, the state governor said.
Buhari, a former military ruler after a coup in the 1980s, returned to frontline politics to become the first Nigerian president to oust an incumbent through the ballot box in 2015. He was re-elected for a second term four years later.
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and government officials were in London on Monday to organize the repatriation of the former president’s remains.
Katsina state governor Dikko Umaru Radda said after consultation with Buhari’s family it was agreed the body would arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday for burial the same day in his home town of Daura.
Among those who paid tribute to Buhari was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who posted on X platform that “his wisdom, warmth and unwavering commitment to India–Nigeria friendship stood out.”
Buhari earned a devoted following for his brand of anti-corruption conviction politics, especially in Nigeria’s largely Muslim north.
He referred to himself as a “converted democrat” and swapped his military uniform for kaftans and prayer caps.
Ibrahim Babangida, another former military ruler who toppled Buhari in a coup in 1985, said he knew Buhari as a deeply spiritual and humble man.
“We may not have agreed on everything — as brothers often don’t — but I never once doubted his sincerity or his patriotism,” Babangida said in a statement.
After leaving office in 2023, Buhari spent most of his time in Daura, away from the public eye.
His successor Bola Tinubu inherited a country grappling with double digit inflation, foreign exchange shortages, economic hardship, low oil production and insecurity that had spread to most parts of Nigeria.
Buhari’s supporters, however, viewed him as Nigeria’s conscience because he had a reputation for shunning the corruption and ostentatious lifestyles often associated with the country’s political elites.
To his critics, Buhari was “an absentee landlord — a leader who governed by delegation, who disappeared for long stretches (often to London for medical treatment), and whose aloofness felt like abandonment,” the local BusinessDay newspaper said.
BBC’s Gaza documentary breached accuracy guideline, review finds
- “Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone” was pulled after it was discovered that the 13-year-old son of a Hamas official was the narrator of the documentary
- Review found the program breached a guideline on accuracy that deals with misleading audiences but no other breaches of the BBC’s editorial guidelines, including on impartiality
LONDON: A BBC documentary about children’s lives in Gaza narrated by the 13-year-old son of a Hamas official breached its editorial guidelines on accuracy, an internal review by the British public broadcaster said on Monday.
The investigation, however, found there were no other breaches of the BBC’s editorial guidelines, including on impartiality, and no evidence that outside interests “inappropriately impacted on the program.”
The BBC removed “Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone” from its online platform in February, five days after it was broadcast, saying it had “serious flaws.” The documentary was made by independent production company HOYO Films.
A review found the program breached a guideline on accuracy that deals with misleading audiences.
The background on the narrator’s father — a minister in the Hamas-run government in Gaza — was “critical information,” which was not shared with the BBC before broadcast, the review found.
Gaza’s health ministry says more than 58,000 people have been killed since the start of the war on Oct. 7 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza.
The BBC’s coverage of the war has been heavily scrutinized throughout the conflict, with both supporters of Israel and its critics saying the broadcaster had failed to strike the right balance.
“Regardless of how the significance or otherwise of the Narrator’s father’s position was judged, the audience should have been informed about this,” said the report by Peter Johnston, BBC Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie said the report identified a significant failing in relation to accuracy.
“We will now take action on two fronts – fair, clear and appropriate actions to ensure proper accountability and the immediate implementation of steps to prevent such errors being repeated,” Davie said in a statement.
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,213
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower on Monday, falling 39.31 points, or 0.35 percent, to end the day at 11,213.59.
The total trading turnover on the benchmark index reached SR4.54 billion ($1.21 billion), with 60 stocks advancing and 190 declining.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also retreated, shedding 5.46 points, or 0.38 percent, to close at 1,436.97.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu declined by 80.73 points, or 0.29 percent, closing at 27,356.89. Of the listed stocks, 22 advanced while 56 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Alistithmar AREIC Diversified REIT Fund, with its share price rising by 9.91 percent to SR9.43.
Other top performers included Saudi Industrial Investment Group, which saw its share price rise by 4.56 percent to SR17.42, and Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Co., which saw a 4.48 percent increase to SR29.40.
On the downside, Emaar The Economic City posted the steepest drop of the day, falling 4.12 percent to SR13.73.
Naseej International Trading Co. fell 4.03 percent to SR102.50, and MBC Group Co. dropped 3.79 percent to SR34.02.
On the announcements front, Jarir Marketing Co. reported estimated net profits of SR197.2 million for the first half of 2025, marking a 15.2 percent increase from the same period last year.
In a statement on Tadawul, the company attributed the estimated increase to a 4.5 percent rise in gross profit, driven by higher sales of after-sales services along with improved profit margins and an increase in other income.
Jarir’s shares gained 1.27 percent, closing at SR12.79.
Advanced Petrochemical Co. also announced its estimated financial results for the same period. The firm’s net profits were estimated to reach SR82 million, up by 95.2 percent from the same period last year.
The company said that the increase was driven by an 8 percent rise in net revenues, lower propane and purchased propylene prices.
Advanced Petrochemical Co. also announced the completion of construction and successful operational launch of its Propane Dehydrogenation plant, capable of producing 843,000 tonnes of propylene annually, along with two PolyPropylene plants operated by Advanced Polyolefins Industry Co. with a combined capacity of 800,000 tonnes per year.
The facilities, located in Jubail Industrial City, mark a significant milestone in the company’s expansion in the petrochemical sector, according to a statement.
APOC, a joint venture between Advanced Global Investment Co. and SK Gas Petrochemical Pte., will begin contributing to Advanced Petrochemical Co.’s consolidated financial results starting in the third quarter of 2025.
Advanced Petrochemical shares closed 0.32 percent higher at SR31.48.
111 monsoon-related deaths in Pakistan since late June: disaster agency
- Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods
ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains in Pakistan have been linked to more than 110 deaths including dozens of children since they arrived in late June, according to government figures released Monday.
Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods.
In late June, at least 13 tourists were swept to their deaths while sheltering from flash floods on a raised river bank.
In its latest report, the disaster agency said 111 people including 53 children have been killed, with the highest number of deaths in the most populous province of Punjab.
Meanwhile, the national meteorological service has issued a warning for further heavy rainfall in the northern and eastern regions of the country, with the potential for urban flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage due to strong winds.
Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.
The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers.
But it brings with it flooding, landslides and causes buildings to collapse.
South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting the highly complex monsoon.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.
In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods submerged a third of Pakistan and killed 1,700 people, with some areas yet to recover from the damage.
In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.
Greek govt calls for EU farm scandal probe
- In May, investigators searched the Athens offices of OPEKEPE and seized documents and electronic equipment
- They indicated that “a significant number” of people had gained payment rights between 2019 and 2022
ATHENS: The Greek government on Monday called for a special parliamentary committee to probe a European Union farm subsidies scandal, reportedly involving tens of millions of euros, that has seen at least two ministers put under EU investigation.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said the ruling conservative party would request an investigation into the 27-year operation of the Greek authority for the payment of common agricultural policy aid (OPEKEPE).
“Our proposal concerns the period from the establishment of OPEKEPE in 1998 until today in order to investigate the dysfunctions, identify the problems, and ensure complete transparency,” Marinakis told reporters.
An investigation by EU prosecutors has shown widespread abuse of funds at OPEKEPE, which according to the government annually disburses 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) to nearly 650,000 farmers. Reports said prosecutors suspect tens of millions of euros have been siphoned off.
The investigation period is mostly under the current government, which came to power in July 2019. But the government argues that the fraud has lasted decades.
In nearly 30 years, the Greek state has paid more than 2.7 billion euros in fines, Marinakis said.
Greece’s ruling New Democracy party has a large enough majority in parliament to create the committee on its own.
Last month, a minister who had formerly held the agriculture portfolio resigned, after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office sent a case to parliament on the alleged involvement of two former ministers in Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government in the misappropriation of EU funds.
Three junior ministers and another senior government official also submitted their resignations.
In May, investigators searched the Athens offices of OPEKEPE and seized documents and electronic equipment. They indicated that “a significant number” of people had gained payment rights between 2019 and 2022, mainly by falsely claiming public land.
