KUWAIT CITY: Iran’s neighbors have pledged they will not allow the use of their “soil or airspace” for any attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday, as Israel weighs a retaliation for the Islamic republic’s missile strike.
“All our neighbors have assured us that they won’t allow their soil or airspace to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Araghchi told a press conference in Kuwait, weeks after Iran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel.
Before Kuwait, Araghchi was in Bahrain on Monday as part of a regional tour that has also taken him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Egypt and Turkiye.
“We are monitoring closely the movements of American bases in the region and are aware of all their movements and flights,” Araghchi said, adding: “If Israel attacks Iran in any form, Iran will respond in the same format.”
The United States, Israel’s staunch ally, has military resources across the region including in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Araghchi also repeated Iran’s warnings against Israel not to attack its nuclear facilities.
“Attacking nuclear sites is a big international crime; even threatening (to attack) nuclear sites is a crime and against international rights,” he said.
“To defend ourselves and our nuclear sites, we have our own tools and methods, and we count on them,” the minister added.
Iran says neighbors won’t allow use of their ‘soil or airspace’ for attack
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Iran says neighbors won’t allow use of their ‘soil or airspace’ for attack
- Iran’s main envoy makes announcement as Israel weighs a potential retaliatory strike for Tehran’s October 1 missile attack
War knocked human development in Gaza back to 1955, UNDP says
- The UNDP said that by some measures the region’s poverty level was now approaching 100 percent as a result of the disruption
BERLIN: The war in Gaza has devastated the Palestinian economy, which is now 35 percent smaller than it was at the start of Israel’s invasion a year ago, while development levels in Gaza itself have collapsed to the level of the 1950s, the UN’s development agency said.
Launching a new study on the socioeconomic impacts of the war, which Palestinian officials say has claimed more than 42,500 lives, the UNDP’s Chitose Noguchi said that by some measures the region’s poverty level was now approaching 100 percent as a result of the disruption, with unemployment now at 80 percent.
“The state of Palestine is experiencing unprecedented levels of setbacks,” she said over a crackling line from Deir Al-Balah. “For Gaza, reversing development by an estimated 70 years to 1955.”
Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says war death toll at 42,718
- The toll includes 115 deaths in the previous 48 hours, according to the ministry
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Tuesday that at least 42,718 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 115 deaths in the previous 48 hours, according to the ministry, which said 100,282 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
UN: Poverty rate in Palestinian territories seen doubling to 74.3% this year
- The poverty rate had been 38.8 percent at the end of 2023 but another 2.61 million Palestinians fell into poverty this year
- Even if humanitarian aid is delivered each year, the Palestinian economy will not return to its pre-crisis levels for a decade or more
GENEVA: The poverty rate across the Palestinian territories will almost double this year to 74.3 percent after months of fighting in Gaza, according to a report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) released Tuesday.
“The immediate consequence of the war, not just in physical infrastructure destruction, but also in terms of poverty, livelihoods and loss of livelihoods, is enormous,” Achim Steiner, head of the UNDP, said.
The poverty rate had been 38.8 percent at the end of 2023 but another 2.61 million Palestinians fell into poverty this year, bringing the total to 4.1 million.
“It’s quite clear from this socio-economic assessment, that the level of destruction has set back the state of Palestine by years, if not decades, in terms of its development pathway,” Steiner said.
The study estimates that this year unemployment in the Palestinian territories could rise to 49.9 percent and that GDP will be 35.1 percent lower than without the war in Gaza.
He said that even if humanitarian aid is delivered each year, the Palestinian economy will not return to its pre-crisis levels for a decade or more.
Recovery will also require support to rebuild destroyed capital and the lifting of “stifling economic conditions.”
The study says Israel’s bombing campaign created 42 million tonnes of rubble in Gaza, creating major health risks. The destruction of solar panels is particularly dangerous given the lead and other heavy metals they release.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 last year which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel’s bombing and ground offensives in Gaza have killed 42,603 people, a majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN considers reliable.
Qatar’s emir heads to Berlin for talks aimed at boosting economic ties
- Germany seeks alternative energy sources post-Ukraine invasion
- Qatar has emerged as a mediator in regional conflicts
BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will host Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at a baroque palace just north of Berlin on Tuesday for talks aimed at deepening economic and diplomatic ties.
The energy-rich Gulf Arab state has increasingly become a strategic partner for Germany since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine forced Berlin to seek alternative sources of energy to Russian gas.
Qatar is also a key investor in the German economy, which could benefit from fresh funds as it faces its second consecutive year of contraction. One potential investment under discussion is Qatar’s possible purchase of a stake in Berlin’s main refinery, Schwedt, from Russia’s Rosneft.
Qatar has emerged as an important mediator in the Middle East, notably between Hamas and Israel. It played a role in the deportation of some Afghans from Germany. Global security issues are also on the agenda of talks, according to the German government.
“Germany has understood that the Gulf states have become a partner of necessity rather than a partner of choice,” said Sebastian Sons, a researcher at the Bonn-based Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient.
For Qatar, the partnership represents an opportunity to position itself as an essential global player, building alliances that provide protection and influence.
Scholz will host the emir at Meseberg Castle, with a meeting focused on deepening bilateral ties in energy, trade, and regional security, according to the chancellery.
Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi will accompany the emir, as will Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, the head of Qatar Investment Authority, which has over the past 15 years built up stakes in major German companies including Deutsche Bank , RWE and Volkswagen.
A turning point in bilateral relations was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Later that same year, Qatar reached a deal to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany starting in 2026, with the agreement spanning at least 15 years.
Iran’s FM meets with Bahrain’s king and foreign minister
- Iran’s FM Araghchi is on a tour of countries in the region
RIYADH: Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa held talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation at Al-Sakhir Palace on Monday.
The officials discussed ways to boost cooperation and the latest regional developments, the Bahrain News Agency reported.
They focused on efforts to deescalate tensions, reach peaceful solutions, and ensure regional security and stability, the BNA reported.
The Iranian FM also met with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Araghchi is on a tour of countries in the region, with Kuwait scheduled as his next stop.
