UNITED NATIONS: The UN chief warned world leaders on Tuesday that Lebanon was on “the brink” as clashes escalated between Israel and Hezbollah, ahead of US President Joe Biden’s final appearance at the global body’s signature annual event.
The gathering of dozens of world leaders, the high point of the diplomatic calendar, comes as Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes killed 558 people — 50 of them children.
“We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
The annual flurry of speeches and face-to-face diplomacy kicked off as Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati headed to New York after UN Security Council member France called for an emergency meeting on the crisis.
As the toll in Lebanon climbed and focus shifted away from the situation in Gaza, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned “senseless and incomprehensible” inaction by the UN against Israel.
The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell warned “we are almost in a full-fledged war.”
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, again warned against a full-blown ground invasion of Lebanon, with a senior US official promising to bring “concrete” ideas for de-escalation to the UN this week.
It is unclear what progress can be made to defuse the situation in Lebanon as efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, which Israel has relentlessly pounded since October 2023, have come to nothing.
Guterres cautioned against “the possibility of transforming Lebanon (into) another Gaza,” calling the situation in the embattled Palestinian territory a “non-stop nightmare.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon hit back at the UN chief, calling the General Assembly debate an “annual charade of hypocrisy.”
“When the UN Secretary General speaks about the release of our hostages, the UN assembly is silent, but when he speaks about the suffering in Gaza, he receives thunderous applause,” Danon said.
Since last year’s annual gathering, when Sudan’s civil war and Russia’s Ukraine invasion dominated, the world has faced an explosion of crises.
The October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel and the ensuing violence in the Middle East has exposed deep divisions in the global body.
Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group think tank said he expected many leaders to “warn that the UN will become irrelevant globally if it cannot help make peace.”
With Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas expected to address the General Assembly this week, there could be combustible moments.
Abbas took his seat alongside the Palestinian delegation in alphabetical order for the first time after the delegation received upgraded privileges in the assembly in May.
On Tuesday, representatives of Turkiye, Jordan, Qatar, Iran and Algeria are slated to take the podium to press for a Gaza ceasefire after nearly one year of war.
“The level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible and morally intolerable,” Guterres said in his speech to the General Assembly, adding that “a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to a ‘get out of jail free’ card.”
Ukraine will also be on the agenda Tuesday when President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a UN Security Council meeting on Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“I invite all leaders and nations to continue supporting our joint efforts for a just and peaceful future,” Zelensky told the UN on Monday.
“Putin has stolen much already, but he will never steal the world’s future.”
It is unclear if the grand diplomatic gathering can achieve anything for the millions mired in conflict, poverty and climate crisis globally.
“Any real diplomacy to reduce tensions will take place behind the scenes,” Gowan said.
“This may be an opportunity for Western and Arab diplomats to have some quiet conversations with the Iranians about the need to stop the regional situation spinning out of control.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has called for an urgent meeting of Arab leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly over the crisis in Lebanon.
UN chief warns Lebanon on ‘brink’ as world leaders gather
https://arab.news/rzjrq
UN chief warns Lebanon on ‘brink’ as world leaders gather
- “We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said
- Annual flurry of speeches kicked off as Lebanon’s PM Mikati headed to New York after UNSC France called for an emergency meeting on the crisis
Kurdistan regional government commemorates 37th anniversary of Anfal genocide
- The event paid tribute to the tens of thousands of Kurds who were systematically targeted and killed by the former Iraqi regime during the 1988 Anfal campaign
DUBAI: The Kurdistan Regional Government held a ceremony to mark the 37th anniversary of the Anfal genocide, Iraq state news reported on Monday.
Organized by the Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, the event paid tribute to the tens of thousands of Kurds who were systematically targeted and killed by the former Iraqi regime during the 1988 Anfal campaign.
Named after the eighth sura of the Qur’an, “Anfal” became a codename for a brutal military operation led by Saddam Hussein’s cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid — infamously known as “Chemical Ali.”
Over the course of several months, Iraqi forces conducted mass executions, used chemical weapons, and destroyed more than 2,000 Kurdish villages. Entire families were arrested, displaced, or disappeared, with many perishing due to disease, malnutrition, or exposure after being forcibly relocated.
Kurdish officials called for continued recognition of the Anfal as an act of genocide and reaffirmed their commitment to preserving its memory for future generations.
EU announces $1.7 billion in new aid for Palestinians
LUXEMBOURG: The European Union on Monday announced a new three-year financial support package for the Palestinians worth up to 1.6 billion euros.
“We are stepping up our support to the Palestinian people. EUR1.6 billion until 2027 will help stabilize the West Bank and Gaza,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X.
Paris denounces Algiers’ order to expel 12 French officials as diplomatic dispute reignites
- Relations between France and Algeria sharply deteriorated last summer when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara
PARIS: France’s foreign minister said Monday that Algerian authorities gave 12 French state officials 48 hours to leave the country.
Jean-Noel Barrot denounced the decision, saying it appeared as “a response to the arrest of three Algerian nationals suspected of serious offenses on French soil.”
French counterterrorism prosecutors said the Algerians were arrested Friday and handed preliminary charges of “kidnapping or arbitrary detention … in connection with a terrorist undertaking.” They are allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, or Amir DZ, a known critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on TikTok.
An Algerian consular official is among the three arrested, according to French media.
Barrot called on Algerian authorities “to abandon” measures to expel the French officials “who have no connection with the current legal proceedings,” in a written statement.
“If the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately,” Barrot said.
In an interview with French national news broadcaster France Television, Boukhors said he was abducted in April 2024 in a Paris suburb and released 27 hours later.
He said he saw a car in front of his home, with four people he said were acting like false police officers. Some wore police armbands and put him in handcuffs. They brought him to a remote place in the Paris region. “That’s when I felt and confirmed that they were kidnappers. I had fallen into the trap,” he said.
He was told he would be meeting an Algerian official, which never happened, and was later released, the influencer said.
According to French media, Boukhors lives in France since 2016 and was granted the status of political refugee in 2023.
Relations between France and Algeria sharply deteriorated last summer when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara — a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algiers and is based in refugee camps in southeastern Algeria.
Tensions further peaked after Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is an outspoken critic of Islamism and the Algerian regime, in November. He has since been sentenced to five years in prison.
However, tensions started easing in the past two weeks, following a phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune during which they both agreed to revive bilateral relations, according to a statement by the Elysee Palace.
Barrot traveled to Algeria earlier this month, a visit meant to show the diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries.
Hamas will free hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed
- Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar
- Senior Hamas official accuses Israel of obstructing progress toward a ceasefire
CAIRO: A senior Hamas official said on Monday that the Palestinian group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a “serious prisoner swap” and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza.
Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar – two nations working alongside the United States to broker a ceasefire in the besieged territory.
“We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid,” Taher Al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, said.
However, he accused Israel of obstructing progress toward a ceasefire.
“The issue is not the number of captives,” Nunu said, “but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war.”
“Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation (Israel) to uphold the agreement,” he added.
Israeli news website Ynet reported on Monday that a new proposal had been put to Hamas.
Under the deal, the group would release 10 living hostages in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.
The first phase of the ceasefire, which began on January 19 and included multiple hostage-prisoner exchanges, lasted two months before disintegrating.
Efforts toward a new truce have stalled, reportedly over disputes regarding the number of hostages to be released by Hamas.
Meanwhile, Nunu said that Hamas would not disarm, a key condition that Israel has set for ending the war.
“The weapons of the resistance are not up for negotiation,” Nunu said.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,574 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,944.
Iran FM to head to Moscow, discuss US nuclear talks
- The negotiations came weeks after US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for nuclear talks
Tehran: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to visit Moscow this week to discuss recent nuclear negotiations with the United States held in Oman, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday, ahead of a new round of talks planned for Rome.
On Saturday, Araghchi held talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, the highest-level Iranian-US nuclear negotiations since the collapse of a 2015 accord.
“Dr. Araghchi will travel to Moscow at the end of the week,” said spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, adding that the trip was “pre-planned” and would be “an opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to the Muscat talks.”
Iran and the United States separately described Saturday’s discussions as “constructive.”
The negotiations came weeks after US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for nuclear talks while warning of possible military action if Tehran refused.
Russia, a close ally of Iran, and China have held discussions with Iran in recent weeks over its nuclear program.
Moscow welcomed the Iran-US talks as it pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned that military confrontation would be a “global catastrophe.”
Another round of talks between Iran and the United States is scheduled for Saturday, April 19.
Iran has yet to confirm the location but the Dutch foreign minister and diplomatic sources said that the upcoming discussions would be held in the Italian capital.
The official IRNA news agency reported that they would be held in Europe, without elaborating.
Baqaei said the next set of talks would continue to be indirect with Omani mediation, adding that direct talks were “not effective” and “not useful.”
He had previously said that the only focus of the upcoming talks would be “the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions,” and that Iran “will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue.”
Late Sunday, IRNA reported that Tehran’s regional influence and its missile capabilities were among its “red lines” in the talks.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term in office, Washington withdrew from the 2015 agreement and reinstated biting sanctions on Tehran.
Iran continued to adhere to the agreement for a year after Trump’s withdrawal but later began rolling back its compliance.
Iran has consistently denied that it is seeking nuclear weapons.
Baqaei reiterated that Iran would host United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi in the coming days but noted that the details of his trip were still “to be decided on.”
In a post on X, Grossi confirmed that he would be heading to Tehran “later this week.”
“Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” he said.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency last visited Iran in November when he held talks with top officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian.
In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, which far exceeds the 3.67 percent limit set under the 2015 deal and is much closer to the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.
