TEHRAN: Iran will respond to the European Union’s “final” draft text to save a 2015 nuclear deal by midnight on Monday, its foreign minister said, calling on the United States to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues.
After 16 months of fitful, indirect US-Iranian talks, with the EU shuttling between the parties, a senior EU official said on Aug. 8 it had laid down a “final” offer and expected a response within a “very, very few weeks.”
While Washington has said it is ready to quickly seal a deal to restore the 2015 accord on the basis of the EU proposals, Iranian negotiators said Tehran’s “additional views and considerations” to the EU text would be conveyed later.
“Our answer will be given to the EU tonight at 12 midnight...There are three issues that if resolved, we can reach an agreement in the coming days,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, suggesting Tehran’s response would not be a final acceptance or rejection of the EU proposal.
“We have told them that our red lines should be respected...We have shown enough flexibility...We do not want to reach a deal that after 40 days, two months or three months fails to be materialized on the ground.”
Diplomats and officials told Reuters that whether or not Tehran and Washington accept the EU’s “final” offer, neither is likely to declare the pact dead because keeping it alive serves both sides’ interests.
Amirabdollahian said that “the coming days are very important” to see whether the United States will show flexibility over the remaining three issues.
“It would not be end of the world if they fail to show flexibility...Then we will need more efforts and talks...to resolve the remaining issues,” he said.
The stakes are high, since failure in the nuclear negotiations would carry the risk of a fresh regional war with Israel threatening military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran develop a nuclear weapons capability.
Tehran, which has long denied having such ambition, has warned of a “crushing” response to any Israeli attack.
“Like Washington, we have our own plan B if the talks fail,” Amirabdollahian said.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump reneged on the deal reached before he took office, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh US sanctions, spurring the Islamic Republic to begin breaching its limits on uranium enrichment.
The 2015 agreement appeared on the verge of revival in March after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and US President Joe Biden’s administration in Vienna.
But talks broke down over obstacles including Tehran’s demand that Washington provide guarantees that no US president would abandon the deal as Trump did.
Biden cannot promise this because the nuclear deal is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally binding treaty.
“They need to adopt a realistic approach about guarantees. Regarding the two other remaining issues, they have shown some relative flexibility verbally, but it needs to be mentioned in the text,” Amirabdollahian said.
Iran says to deliver ‘final’ nuclear talks proposal Monday
https://arab.news/2ushd
Iran says to deliver ‘final’ nuclear talks proposal Monday
- Iran may accept a final compromise worked out in Vienna to save the landmark 2015 deal
- Tehran said US agreed to two of its demands
Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun seems increasingly likely to be Lebanon’s new president
- On eve of latest attempt by MPs to agree on a candidate, reports suggest Hezbollah’s preferred candidate ‘may announce his withdrawal’
- French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives in Beirut and is expected to attend the parliamentary presidential election session on Thursday
BEIRUT: A day before the Lebanese parliament was due to assemble to discuss the election of a president — an office that has remained vacant for more than 26 months — there was a flurry of activity on Wednesday including intensified discussions, communications and declarations.
Reports in the afternoon suggested that Hezbollah’s preferred candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, “may announce his withdrawal from the presidential race,” leaving army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun as the leading contender.
The day was marked by a visit from French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, who arrived in Beirut on Tuesday evening and was expected to attend the parliamentary presidential election session on Thursday.
He held meetings with several political and parliamentary figures, during which he reportedly recommended Aoun for “consideration without any preconditions.” This was in relation to the bloc of Hezbollah and Amal Movement MPs who opposed the general’s nomination on the grounds that his election would require a constitutional amendment because he still serves in his capacity as commander of the army.
The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, was quoted after meeting the French envoy as saying: “Hezbollah will not stand in the way of the Lebanese people’s consensus on the name of a president for the republic.”
Media estimates suggest that Aoun, if he secures the support of Hezbollah and Amal, would win 95 votes in the 128-member parliament. This level of support would mean a constitutional amendment is not needed.
Events leading up to Thursday’s session suggested all parliamentary blocs are committed to attending, which would ensure the quorum required for the election is reached. The presidency has been vacant since former president Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022. Previous attempts to appoint a successor failed amid disagreements between political factions about suitable candidates.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he was feeling “joy for the first time since the presidential vacancy as, God willing, we will have a new president for the republic tomorrow,” raising hopes that the office might finally be filled.
One political observer said there is now the real possibility that “all members of parliament, regardless of their political affiliations, would choose their candidate within the framework of consensus and understanding during the voting sessions, which will remain open as confirmed by the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, until” a decision is reached.
This renewed optimism was in contrast to the prior skepticism about the possibility that parliamentary blocs would be able to successfully convene a session to elect a president, given their previous failures to reach a consensus on a candidate who could secure a majority in the first round of voting.
The electoral session on Thursday will be the 13th of its kind. During the previous one, in June 2024, the candidate favored by Hezbollah and its allies, former minister and Marada Movement leader Suleiman Frangieh, who was close to the Assad regime in Syria, faced the candidate favored by the Free Patriotic Movement and opposition parties, former Minister of Finance Jihad Azour, who is director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the International Monetary Fund.
During that session, Frangieh received 51 votes in the first round of voting and Azour 59. When the totals were announced, Hezbollah and Amal MPs withdrew from the session, thereby depriving it of the quorum required for a second round of voting, as stipulated by the constitution.
Against this background of long-running political divisions resulting in deadlock within the parliament, and in light of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the number of presidential candidates has dwindled from 11 to just a few names. Aside from Aoun, Frangieh and Azour, the other candidates whose names continued to circulate to varying degrees on Wednesday included Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces party, which heads the parliament’s biggest Christian bloc. However, he is fiercely opposed by Hezbollah.
Less-discussed candidates include the acting chief of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, Elias Al-Bayssari; MP Ibrahim Kanaan, who resigned from the Free Patriotic Movement to join the Independent Consultative Parliamentary Gathering; and former ambassador Georges Al-Khoury, a retired brigadier general. Al-Khoury has the support of Maronite Patriarchate, Speaker Berri and the Free Patriotic Movement, but the majority of the opposition rejects his candidacy.
MP Neemat Frem, who has presented a political and economic vision for the country, is also a candidate. He is on good terms with the Patriarchate and the opposition. Others include Farid Al-Khazen, who is also on good terms with Berri and close to the Patriarchate, and Ziad Baroud, a human rights activist and former minister of interior who is seen as a consensus candidate.
The parliamentary blocs continued to hold talks on Wednesday afternoon to discuss preferred candidates. Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam said: “Starting today, there has been a significant shift toward having Joseph Aoun as a president.”
During a meeting on Wednesday, the Maronite Archbishops Council called for “a national parliamentary awakening that leads tomorrow to the election of a president who brings together the country’s sons and daughters within the framework of national unity, solidarity and reform, allowing Lebanon to regain its leading role in the East.”
The archbishops said: “The opportunity has become appropriate and available for national deliberation on the importance of Lebanon’s progress toward a positive neutrality that saves the country from the damage of conflicts and drives it toward a healthy cycle of one fruitful national life.”
UAE adds 19 individuals, entities to terrorism list over Muslim Brotherhood links
- Designation is part of UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle terrorist financial networks
LONDON: The UAE designated 19 individuals and entities as terrorists on Wednesday due to their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is classified as a terror group in the UAE.
Abu Dhabi placed 11 individuals and eight entities on the country’s Local Terrorist List, the WAM news agency reported. All the organizations are based in the UK, while the individuals, except two, are Emirati nationals.
The decision is part of the UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle networks associated with the direct and indirect financing of terrorism, according to WAM.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia also classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group.
The list of individuals as published by WAM includes:
1. Yousuf Hassan Ahmed Al-Mulla — Current nationality: Sweden, former nationality: Liberia.
2. Saeed Khadim Ahmed bin Touq Al-Marri — Nationality: Turkiye/UAE.
3. Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: Sweden/UAE.
4. Ilham Abdullah Ahmed Al-Hashimi — Nationality: UAE.
5. Jasem Rashid Khalfan Rashid Al-Shamsi — Nationality: UAE.
6. Khaled Obaid Yousuf Buatabh Al-Zaabi — Nationality: UAE.
7. Abdulrahman Hassan Munif Abdullah Hassan Al-Jabri — Nationality: UAE.
8. Humaid Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Jarman Al-Nuaimi — Nationality: UAE.
9. Abdulrahman Omar Salem Bajbair Al-Hadrami — Nationality: Yemen.
10. Ali Hassan Ali Hussein Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.
11. Mohammed Ali Hassan Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.
The list of entities as published by WAM includes:
1. Cambridge Education and Training Center Ltd. — Based in: UK.
2. IMA6INE Ltd. — Based in: UK.
3. Wembley Tree Ltd. — Based in: UK.
4. Waslaforall — Based in: UK.
5. Future Graduates Ltd. — Based in: UK.
6. Yas for Investment and Real Estate — Based in: UK.
7. Holdco UK Properties Limited — Based in: UK.
8. Nafel Capital — Based in: UK.
Israel military says body of only one hostage found in Gaza
- The troops recovered the body of hostage Youssef Al-Zayadna from an underground tunnel in Rafah
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military clarified on Wednesday that its troops had recovered the body of only one hostage, not two as previously announced by Defense Minister Israel Katz.
In a statement, the military said: “The troops located and recovered the body of hostage Youssef Al-Zayadna from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip and returned his body to Israel.” Katz earlier said that the remains of Zayadna’s son, Hamza, had also been found.
Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza
- IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from rain
Geneva: The Red Cross called Wednesday for safe and unhindered access to Gaza to bring desperately needed aid into the war-torn Palestinian territory wracked by hunger and where babies are freezing to death.
Heavy rain and flooding have ravaged the makeshift shelters in Gaza, leaving thousands with up to 30 centimeters of water inside their damaged tents, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
The dire weather conditions were “exacerbating the unbearable conditions” in Gaza, it said, pointing out that many families were left “clinging on to survival in makeshift camps, without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets.”
Citing the United Nations, the IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from the rain and falling temperatures.
Those deaths “underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there,” IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain said in a statement.
“I urgently reiterate my call to grant safe and unhindered access to humanitarians to let them provide life-saving assistance,” he said.
“Without safe access — children will freeze to death. Without safe access — families will starve. Without safe access — humanitarian workers can’t save lives.”
Chapagain issued an “urgent plea to all the parties... to put an end to this human suffering. Now.”
The IFRC said the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was striving to provide emergency health services and supplies to people in Gaza, with an extra sense of urgency during the cold winter months.
But it warned that “the lack of aid deliveries and access is making providing adequate support all but impossible.”
It also lamented the “continuing attacks on health facilities across the Gaza Strip,” which it said meant people were unable to access the treatment they need.
“In the north of Gaza, there are now no functioning hospitals,” it said.
The IFRC stressed that the closure of the main Rafah border crossing last May had had a dramatic impact on the humanitarian situation, warning that “only a trickle of aid is currently entering Gaza.”
South Syria fighters reluctant to give up weapons: spokesman
- Daraa became known as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising after protests erupted there in 2011 against Assad’s rule
- Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups from the southern province of Daraa formed on December 6 to help topple Assad
Bosra: Fighters in southern Syria who helped topple President Bashar Assad are reluctant to disarm and disband as ordered by the country’s new rulers, their spokesman told AFP.
An Islamist-led offensive ripped through Syria from the north and into Damascus on December 8, bringing to a sudden end five decades of rule by the Assad clan.
On December 25, the country’s new Islamist rulers said they had reached an agreement with rebel groups on their dissolution and integration under the defense ministry.
New leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa said the authorities would “absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control.”
But a spokesman for the Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups from the southern province of Daraa formed on December 6 to help topple Assad, said the alliance did not agree.
“We’re not convinced by the idea of dissolving armed groups,” said its spokesman Naseem Abu Orra.
“We’re an organized force in the south... headed by officers who defected” from Assad’s army, he told AFP in Daraa’s town of Bosra.
“We can integrate the defense ministry as a pre-organized entity... We have weapons, heavy equipment,” he said.
Abu Orra said the group, led by local leader Ahmed Al-Awdeh, included thousands of men, without any Islamist affiliation.
Awdeh has good relations with former Assad ally Russia, as well as neighboring Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, sources close to his group said.
Daraa became known as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising after protests erupted there in 2011 against Assad’s rule.
As they spread across the country, government forces cracked down on the demonstrators, triggering defections from the army and one of the deadliest wars of the century.
After losing swathes of territory to rebels and jihadists, Assad’s forces clawed back control of much of the country with the backing of Iran and Russia.
Daraa returned to government control in 2018, but under a deal mediated by Russia, rebels were allowed to keep their weapons and continue to ensure security in their region.
Then, after more than 13 years of civil war that had killed more than half a million people and ravaged the country, everything changed.
In the north of Syria, an Islamist-led rebel coalition called Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) moved rapidly out of its bastion on the Turkish border to seize second city Aleppo from Assad’s forces on December 1.
Its fighters then advanced southwards toward the cities of Hama and Homs on their way to the capital.
“We... decided to begin liberating the south of the country to reach Damascus” from the other direction, Abu Orra said.
He said they elaborated their own military plans in Daraa, but there was “some coordination” with HTS in the north.
Several witnesses have told AFP that they saw Awdeh’s men, recognizable by their headdress typical of southern Syria, posted near the Central Bank and in several neighborhoods in the early hours of December 8.
By then, Assad had already fled the country, former officials have told AFP.
“It was chaos but we were briefly able to take control of vital institutions to ensure their protection,” Abu Orra said.
He said the Southern Operations Room also stood guard outside several embassies, including those of Egypt and Jordan, and led some foreign diplomats to a prominent hotel to ensure their safety.
He said “several foreign countries” had called Awdeh to request his help.
When HTS forces arrived in town at the end of the afternoon, the Southern Operations Room withdrew to Daraa to avoid “chaos or armed clashes,” Abu Orra said.
Two days later, Awdeh met Syria’s new leader Sharaa. But he did not attend the December 25 meeting during which other rebel factions agreed to disband and join a future army.
