Follow Voice of America - Middle East, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/voanews18 Sun, 01 Oct 2023 05:18:01 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XghXLxD4QSvrezdsCmHakzH More than 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia since Azerbaijan's military operation to retake control of Nagorno-Karabakh, the United Nations said, while thousands more endured long hours of delay in a huge traffic jam at the border. "Many are hungry, exhausted and need immediate assistance," Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, said on social media late Friday. "International help is very urgently required." Italy said Armenia had asked the European Union for temporary shelters and medical supplies to help it deal with the refugees. Siranush Sargsyan, a freelance journalist who has been reporting on the flight of the ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, told Reuters that thousands of people — their belongings crammed into cars, trucks and tractors — were stuck on the mountain highway leading to Armenia. Many required urgent medical attention, Sargsyan said. "As you can see, we are still stuck on the road," said Sargsyan."This exodus is already unbearable physically because we have already spent 16 hours on this road ... It seems in the next 24 hours we still won't be able to reach the border." Following a lightning Azerbaijani offensive that returned the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, many of Karabakh's 120,000 Armenians began what became a mass exodus toward Armenia, saying they feared persecution and ethnic cleansing despite Azerbaijan's promises of safety. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated mainly by Armenian Christians who set up the self-styled Republic of Artsakh three decades ago after a bloody ethnic conflict as the Soviet Union collapsed. One refugee vowed to return home eventually. "The world should not believe that we are willingly leaving Artsakh, ever," she said. "We fought till the very end, with our blood, with our lives to protect our country." Azerbaijan said that one of its servicemen was killed by sniper fire from Armenian forces in the border district of Kalbajar, but the alleged incident was denied by Armenia.]]> Sat, 30 Sep 2023 19:55:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XghXLxD4QSvrezdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XghQScJj2a7TOzdsCmHakzH Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. What Happens to Immigration if US Government Shuts Down? With congressional leaders gridlocked over the nation’s budget and the deadline to pass spending bills fast approaching, the federal government could shut down on October 1. And that could affect some immigration services and visa programs. If the federal government closes, only essential personnel will be working. All other federal workers will not be allowed to work. So how will that affect immigration in the U.S.? VOA’s Immigration reporter Aline Barros. Why Immigrants Are More Optimistic Than US-Born Americans Despite any hardships they might face, immigrants in America are more optimistic than U.S.-born Americans, according to a new survey of 3,358 immigrant adults. “They said, ‘You know, I face challenges here in the U.S., but it's far better than where I came from. And I have this belief that things will be better for my children,’” says Shannon Schumacher, a senior survey analyst at KFF, a nonprofit organization focused on health policy formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Whether that's their education, their safety, their economic opportunities — on a number of measures, they think that they're better off and their children are better off.” Produced by Dora Mekouar. After Lull, Asylum-Seekers Adapt to US Immigration Changes A group of migrants from China surrendered to a Border Patrol agent in remote Southern California as gusts of wind drowned the hum of high-voltage power lines. They joined others from Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere in a desert campsite with shelters made from tree branches. The Associated Press reports. Second Texas City at ‘Breaking Point' as Migrants Flood Border, Mayor Says The surge of migrants crossing the U.S. border from Mexico has pushed the city of El Paso, Texas, to "a breaking point," with more than 2,000 people per day seeking asylum, exceeding shelter capacity and straining resources, its mayor said Saturday. "The city of El Paso only has so many resources and we have come to ... a breaking point right now," Mayor Oscar Leeser said. Reuters reports. Eagle Pass, Texas, Sees Continuing Influx of Migrants The Eagle Pass area in Texas continues to experience an influx of migrants — the majority from Venezuela, the largest displacement in the Western Hemisphere and the second-largest globally, trailing only behind the Syrian refugee crisis, per the U.N. refugee agency. U.S. border authorities said they are managing the situation, but the noticeable rise in migrant arrivals in Eagle Pass has strained local resources and overwhelmed already crowded facilities. VOA’s Immigration reporter Aline Barros. VOA Day in Photos: Asylum-Seekers Journey through Mexico to Eagle Pass, Texas Asylum-seekers waiting on the banks of the Rio Bravo River after crossing during their journey through Mexico to Eagle Pass, Texas, in Piedras Negras, Mexico, Sept. 26, 2023. Immigration around the world Illegal Migration to Greece Surges, Sparking Measures to Shield Borders Thousands of migrants have made their way illegally into Greece from Turkey, using rickety rafts to cross the Aegean Sea, the narrow waterway between the two countries. United Nations data in September shows sea arrivals have already more than doubled the roughly 12,000 migrants who were caught trying to illegally enter Greece last year. Illegal entries along the land border and the massive Evros River, which snakes along the rugged frontiers of the two countries in the northeast, also count record increases of more than 65% in the last two months alone, police said. Produced by Anthee Carassava. Australian Lawmakers Urge Outside Help for Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Refugees Seven Australian lawmakers have toured a refugee camp in Armenia, as thousands of ethnic Armenians flee their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. Forces from Azerbaijan took control of the contested region last week. The delegation of Australian lawmakers visited Armenia this week and toured a camp for those fleeing the unrest. Produced by Phil Mercer. Pakistani Vocational School Helps Afghan Women Refugees Build Businesses In a small workshop in the bustling northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, a dozen Afghan women sit watching a teacher show them how to make clothes on a sewing machine. Reuters reports. Charity Urges Court to Force Australia to Repatriate Detainees in Syrian Refugee Camp Australia’s decision not to repatriate more than 30 women and children from a detention camp in northeast Syria is facing a legal challenge. The women are the wives and widows of Islamic State fighters and have been held in custody for the past four years. Produced by Phil Mercer. Medics: Hundreds Dead From Dengue Fever in War-Torn Sudan Outbreaks of dengue fever and acute watery diarrhea have "killed hundreds" in war-torn Sudan, medics reported Monday, warning of "catastrophic spreads" that could overwhelm the country's decimated health system. In a statement, the Sudanese doctors' union warned that the health situation in the southeastern state of Gedaref, on the border with Ethiopia, "is deteriorating at a horrific rate," with thousands infected with dengue fever. Produced by Agence France-Presse. Violence, Human Rights Violations Risk Future Stability of Syria United Nations investigators say that human rights violations and abuse in Syria are sowing the seeds for further violence and radicalization, despite diplomatic efforts to stabilize the situation in the country, including through its readmission to the League of Arab States. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. Senior US Officials Travel to Armenia as Karabakh's Armenians Start to Leave Senior Biden administration officials arrived Monday in Armenia, a day after ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh began fleeing following Azerbaijan's defeat of the breakaway region's fighters in a conflict dating from the Soviet era. Reuters reports. Spain Turns to Tractors to Tackle Migrant Unemployment, Farm Labor Shortage Spain's agricultural sector is threatened by an aging population and a shortage of farm labor. Now a program in Catalonia is training migrants, largely from Africa, to operate tractors to help them gain meaningful employment. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Alfonso Beato in Barcelona. Videographer and Video Editor: Alfonso Beato. News brief — A government shutdown would affect the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s ability to respond to cyberattacks; protect and save lives on land, at sea, and in the air; secure the nation’s borders and critical infrastructure; deploy across the country to help Americans recover from disasters, among others.]]> Sat, 30 Sep 2023 15:04:24 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XghQScJj2a7TOzdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhAgGYmHIVQAKCY3L745TL_ Dozens of people from around the world lined up on a sunny morning this week in front of a former mental health hospital in Berlin to apply for asylum in Germany. There were two older women from Moldova. A young man from Somalia sat next to them on a bench. A group of five young Pakistanis chatted loudly, standing behind two pregnant women from Vietnam. The newcomers are among more than 10,000 migrants who have applied for asylum in the German capital this year, and are coming at a time when Berlin is running out of space to accommodate them. "The situation is not very good at the moment," Sascha Langenbach, the spokesperson for the state office for refugee affairs in Berlin, said in an interview this week. "This is much more than we expected last year." The former mental health hospital in Berlin's Reinickendorf neighborhood was turned into the city's registration center for asylum-seekers in 2019 and can house up to 1,000 migrants. But it's full. Officials have put an additional 80 beds in a church on the premises. Beyond that, there are another 100 asylum shelters in Berlin, but those are at capacity too. Berlin's state government says it will open a hangar at the former Tempelhof airport to make space for migrants, put up a big tent at the asylum seekers' registration center, and open a former hardware store and hotels and hostels in the city to provide another 5,500 beds for more migrants the city is expecting will come through the end of the year. There are also not enough places in kindergartens and schools. In addition to the asylum seekers, Berlin has also taken in another 11,000 Ukrainian refugees this year who fled Russia's war. The lack of space and money for migrants and Ukrainian refugees isn't unique to Berlin. It's a problem across Germany, where local and state officials have been demanding more funds from the federal government without success. More than 220,000 people applied for asylum in Germany between January and August — most of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Moldova and Georgia. In all of 2022, 240,000 people applied for asylum in Germany. That's a far cry from the more than 1 million people who arrived in Germany in 2015-16. But Germany has also taken in more than 1 million Ukrainians since the outbreak of the war in 2022. Unlike others who arrive, Ukrainians immediately receive residency status in Germany and the 26 other European Union countries. While Germans welcomed asylum seekers with flowers, chocolates and toys when they first arrived in 2015, and many opened their homes to house Ukrainians in 2022, the mood toward new arrivals has profoundly changed since then. "After two years of the (coronavirus) crisis, then the Ukraine war with its increasing prices for basically everything — heating, gas, also food — it's sometimes pretty tough to convince people that they have to share places and capacities with people who just arrived," Langenbach said. Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, has been successfully exploiting Germans' hardening attitudes toward migrants. Polling now puts it in second place nationally with around 21%, far above the 10.3% it won during the last federal election in 2021. AfD's rise in the polls and the party leaders' relentless anti-migrant rhetoric, including calls to close Germany's borders to prevent migrants from entering, have put pressure on the national and state governments and other mainstream parties to toughen their approach toward migrants. On Wednesday, Germany's interior minister announced the country would increase border controls along "smuggling routes" with Poland and the Czech Republic to prevent irregular migrants from entering. In June, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended plans to stop migrants from entering the EU altogether until their chances of getting asylum have been reviewed, arguing that the bloc's existing arrangements on sharing the burden of asylum seekers among the different European countries is "completely dysfunctional." Germany has been taking in more migrants than most other European countries, but other countries such as Turkey and Lebanon, which shelter millions of migrants from Syria, have taken in more refugees as a percentage of their population. Despite the changing sentiment toward migrants in Germany, those who make it and apply for asylum are generally grateful to be here. Abdullah al-Shweiti, from Homs, Syria, recently arrived in Berlin and was waiting for the results of his medical checkup at the asylum welcome center. He said he was relieved to be "in a safe place." The 29-year-old said he had run away from home because his family's house had been bombed in the war and he didn't want to fight in the army. He said he'd paid 3,000 euros ($3,180) to smugglers who helped him get from Lebanon to Europe. He took the Balkans route, trekking with other young Syrians north via Bulgaria through forests. They traveled on foot, by taxi and by bus until smugglers dropped them off in the German capital. Mirbeycan Gurhan, a Kurdish man from Bingol in eastern Turkey, said he'd fled suppression by Turkish authorities. He paid 6,000 euros ($6,360) for smugglers to arrange a flight from Ankara to Belgrade, Serbia, and then a car to Germany. "I hope I will have a better future here. I hope I can find work," the 24-year-old said with a shy smile as his uncle, who applied for asylum in Berlin four years ago, stood next to him and translated. Michael Elias, head of the Tamaja company that runs the asylum registration center in Berlin, said the arrival of migrants from all over the world is simply a reflection of the many crises around the globe, such as climate change and wars, and that Germany needs to be prepared for even more people to arrive. "Yes, a lot of people are coming here, but look at what's going on in the world," Elias said. "We must simply anticipate that we're not an island of the fortunate here, that things will reach us too."]]> Sat, 30 Sep 2023 09:00:45 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhAgGYmHIVQAKCY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgzCsoGJlpKXylmFkX7M1Jw Five years ago Monday, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Istanbul. U.S. intelligence has pointed to Saudi leadership as being responsible. Meanwhile, U.S.-Saudi ties continue to normalize, disappointing some press freedom and rule-of-law advocates. VOA’s Laurel Bowman reports.]]> Sat, 30 Sep 2023 03:32:29 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgzCsoGJlpKXylmFkX7M1Jw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhP6-glVWeAnJs0ohxaO6Yr Libya's prosecutor general has ordered the arrest of four more officials, bringing to 12 the number held as part of an inquiry into this month's flood that killed thousands.  Flooding caused by hurricane-strength Storm Daniel tore through eastern Libya on September 10, leaving at least 3,893 people dead and thousands more missing.  The seaside city of Derna was the worst hit in the flash flood, which witnesses likened to a tsunami. The water burst through two dams and washed entire neighborhoods into the Mediterranean.  The four additional suspects, including two members of the Derna municipal council, were arrested for suspected "bad management of the administrative and financial missions which were incumbent upon them," said a statement issued overnight Thursday into Friday by the prosecutor general's office in Tripoli, western Libya.  On Monday, the office ordered the arrest of eight officials, including Derna's mayor, who was sacked after the flood.  Libya Prosecutor General Al-Seddik al-Sour belongs to the internationally recognized government in the country's west. A rival administration in the flood-stricken east is backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.  The eastern government has said it plans to host an international donors conference in Benghazi on October 10 to focus on the reconstruction of flood-ravaged areas, but its failure to involve the Tripoli government has drawn mounting criticism from donors.  Libya has been wracked by division since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.  'Separate' reconstruction plans  The United States called on Libyans to set aside their political differences and agree a framework to channel aid to eastern towns.  "We urge Libyan authorities now to form such unified structures — rather than launching separate efforts — that represent the Libyan people without delay," U.S. special envoy Richard Norland said in a statement Friday.   "A proposal to hold a reconstruction conference in Benghazi on October 10 would be much more effective if it were conducted jointly and inclusively," he said.  Norland echoed concerns expressed by the United Nations that mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that foreign aid is spent accountably.  "Libyans need to be assured public funds are used transparently, accountably, and that assistance goes to those in need," the U.S. envoy said.  On Thursday during talks with the European Commission, U.N. envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said he had called for funds to be monitored.  "I ... emphasized the need for a joint assessment of reconstruction needs of storm-affected areas to ensure the utmost accountability in the management of reconstruction resources," he said.  On Friday, the eastern authorities said they would begin paying compensation to people affected by the disaster, which a U.N. agency has said uprooted more than 43,000 people.  People whose homes were destroyed would receive $20,500 in compensation, Faraj Kaeem, the eastern administration's deputy interior minister, said separately.  He said those with partially destroyed homes would get about half that amount and those who lost furniture or household appliances would be given one-fifth.  The eastern administration announced on Wednesday the creation of a fund for the reconstruction of Derna.  The authorities have yet to specify how the new fund will be financed, but the eastern-based parliament has allocated about $2 billion to reconstruction projects. ]]> Sat, 30 Sep 2023 03:10:06 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhP6-glVWeAnJs0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgvmDDrIhDmlF1cWWor9YPv Syrian Kurdish fighters and American forces have captured a senior member of the Islamic State group, a militant described as one of its "key facilitators," the force said Friday.  Mahmdouh Ibrahim al-Haji, also known as Abu Youssef, was taken into custody on Thursday in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, according to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, just days after the U.S. military said it had captured another IS operator in northern Syria.  According to a statement from the Syrian Kurdish fighters, al-Haji "was actively involved in enabling ... terrorist cells in the region." It added that the joint force raided his hideout west of Raqqa, "and successfully apprehended him."  Despite their defeat in Syria in March 2019, IS sleeper cells are still able to carry out deadly attacks that have killed scores of people over the past year.  The U.S. has approximately 900 troops in Syria focused on countering the remnants of IS, which had held a wide swath of the country until 2019.  IS declared a self-styled caliphate across the territory in Syria and Iraq that it seized in 2014. It was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017, following a three-year battle that left tens of thousands of people dead and cities in ruins.  United Nations experts said last month that IS still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq and that its fighters pose the most serious threat in Afghanistan today. ]]> Sat, 30 Sep 2023 01:11:08 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgvmDDrIhDmlF1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgWnRmaz4jEXF1cWWor9YPv Since Azerbaijan regained control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenian separatists, there has been a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from the enclave. The Armenian diaspora in the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California, is rallying to support the refugees and their plight. Genia Dulot reports.]]> Fri, 29 Sep 2023 20:43:52 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgWnRmaz4jEXF1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XjP8UQv6ndZKps0ohxaO6Yr A fire broke out Thursday at a car battery factory owned by Iran's Defense Ministry for the second time in less than a week, state media reported. No one was injured in the blaze, which erupted in an area where plastic waste is stored, state TV said. Iranian news outlets circulated photos and video footage of a column of black smoke rising into the sky north of the capital, Tehran. Iran's regular military and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard operate several factories across the country, many of which produce civilian goods. Iran has seen a series of fires and other mishaps in its military facilities over the years and often accuses its archenemy Israel of sabotage. Last month, Iran said Israel tried to sabotage its ballistic missile program through faulty foreign parts that could explode. Iran has been under heavy Western sanctions for several years that prevent it from importing a range of machinery and replacement parts, forcing it to build its own or source them on the black market. That has likely made industrial mishaps more common.]]> Fri, 29 Sep 2023 02:17:58 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XjP8UQv6ndZKps0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XjP8UQv6ndZKl1cWWor9YPv Lebanese police said Thursday that a food delivery driver who opened fire outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut last week allegedly did so because of a personal grudge against the guards at the compound. The police said they had arrested the suspect on Monday, identifying him only by his initials M.K., and that he later confessed to the shooting. They cited an alleged confession by him saying he was upset as the guards had insulted him two months earlier, when he came to deliver an order. The Associated Press could not independently verify that claim. No one was hurt in the shooting in Beirut’s northeastern Christian suburb of Aukar, which left at least five bullet holes in the wall next to the embassy entrance. Police said that during the arrest, security forces confiscated an AK-47, a knife and the suspect’s food delivery motorcycle. The rifle was allegedly hidden in a food delivery bag and the driver changed his route to reach the U.S. Embassy compound to avoid Lebanese army checkpoints on the main road. Lebanon has a long history of attacks against Americans. The deadliest one took place in October 1983, when a suicide truck bomber drove into a four-story building, killing 241 American service members at the U.S. Marine barracks at the Beirut airport. On April 18, 1983, a bombing attack on the U.S. Embassy killed 63 people, including at least 17 Americans. Top CIA officials were among those who died. U.S. officials blamed the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. After that attack, the embassy was moved from central Beirut to Aukar. A year later, on September 20, 1984, a suicide bomber struck the embassy compound in Aukar, killing himself and 14 others, prompting the embassy to close. The United States withdrew all diplomats from Beirut in September 1989 and did not reopen its embassy until 1991. In 2008, an explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle in northern Beirut, killing at least three Lebanese who happened to be near the car and wounding its Lebanese driver. An American passerby also was wounded. In 1976, U.S. Ambassador Francis E. Meloy Jr. and an aide, Robert O. Waring, were abducted and killed in Beirut. In 1984, William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, was abducted and killed by the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad group.]]> Fri, 29 Sep 2023 02:14:39 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XjP8UQv6ndZKl1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0Xh-I59FufvT-uzdsCmHakzH Israel finalized a $3.5 billion deal on Thursday to sell its cutting-edge Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany as the nation seeks to protect itself from the types of air assaults that have ravaged Ukraine. “We see from the daily Russian attacks on Ukraine how important air defense is in general,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters. “Air defense is essential, and particularly for us here in the center of Europe.” Pistorius hailed the Arrow 3 as “one of the best systems, if not the best.” Berlin plans to implement the anti-missile technology in late 2025 and integrate it into broader NATO air defense programs. Last year, Berlin also spearheaded the European Sky Shield Initiative, a sprawling air defense campaign that now covers 19 nations. The United States helped Israel build Arrow and in August green-lighted the German-Israeli deal. Yoav Gallant, Pistorius’ Israeli counterpart, said that “with two simple signatures today, we made history.” Gallant promised Berlin “a timely and effective delivery.” Gallant also reflected on how far Germany has come since the Holocaust, pointing out German contributions to Israel’s national security and sovereignty. He called the deal “a moving event for every Jew.” “Israel and Germany join hands today in building a safer future for both nations,” Gallant said. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press.]]> Thu, 28 Sep 2023 18:03:22 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0Xh-I59FufvT-uzdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0Xhw5-u9RLba0CejEQ2Mq9rY As the Biden administration presses to advance a potentially historic Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization deal, observers see problems if the U.S. promises too much to make the deal happen. The Biden administration is working with Saudi Arabia and Israel on a package of agreements and concessions that could enable the historic foes to normalize relations. Washington says there is still much to discuss for such an agreement to be reached.   But analyst David Ottaway of the Wilson Center in Washington is already raising questions about the prospective deal.   Writing in the Wilson Center’s Viewpoint Series, the senior Wilson scholar said that Saudi Arabia wants a formal security guarantee from the United States in return for normalizing diplomatic ties with Israel.    Washington has already provided $140 billion in military aid and has been Saudi Arabia’s main security partner, so Ottaway wonders why the Saudis want such an agreement now. “The U.S. only has two such agreements with countries outside NATO,” with Japan and South Korea, he writes. He says if President Joe Biden commits to a security guarantee, he will face “serious questions about when American intervention may become necessary. Nor is it clear what such an agreement would cover in terms of triggering a U.S. military response to what the Saudis themselves declare a foreign attack.”   Analysts like Trita Parsi, the executive vice president at the Washington-based Quincy Institute, point out that the Saudis not only want a security guarantee, but help on a nuclear program from the U.S.  Could this spark an arms race in the Middle East, he asks the institute’s online forum.   “If normalization happens without these concessions, it would be a different story," said Parsi. "But when we are adding these concessions in order to get that normalization, not only does this raise questions about how this advances U.S. interests. It also raises the question why this is needed if normalization is actually good for Saudi Arabia and Israel. Why is it needed for the U.S. to offer this level of concessions?”   Ellen Laipson, who directs international security at George Mason University in Virginia, points out that Biden has made diplomacy central to his presidency, but neither Israel nor Saudi Arabia appears to want strings attached to a deal.     “Israel and Saudi Arabia would be perfectly happy to get new commitments from the United States and it wouldn’t affect their policies towards Russia and China very much. They would insist on their freedom of action,” Laipson said. Observers say that if the United States helped Saudi Arabia on a nuclear program, it would draw the United States deeper into Middle East politics and heighten concerns that both Saudi Arabia and its foe Iran could acquire nuclear weapons.]]> Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:05:39 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0Xhw5-u9RLba0CejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhdQjAcvfO__SejEQ2Mq9rY Iraq's prime minister on Thursday visited injured patients and the families of victims in northern Iraq days after a deadly wedding fire killed around 100 people, as two more people died from their injuries and additional remains were recovered. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani arrived in Nineveh province early Thursday with a delegation of ministers and security officials, state television reported. He met with the wounded and family members of victims at Hamdaniyah Hospital and Al-Jumhoori Hospital. He later visited the Syriac Catholic Mar Behnam Monastery to express his condolences to victims. Around 250 panicked guests surged for the exits on Tuesday night in the Haitham Royal Wedding Hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya near Mosul after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames. Two critically burned victims — a 30-year-old woman and a 4-year-old child — died from their injuries in the hospital, a health official told The Associated Press on Thursday. The remains of a child and a woman were also recovered under the rubble at the wedding venue, according to a security official. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Authorities said around 100 people died in the incident, and the death toll is expected to rise further with at least 100 other people still injured, many of them critically burned. The venue's owners have been accused of violating safety protocols. The Mosul Municipality on Wednesday called for the closure of hotels, restaurants, and other venues that don't have safety approvals or have ignored warnings. Funeral processions continued Thursday at the Saint Behnam Syriac Catholic Church. A video circulating on Iraqi media and social media showed the bride and groom among the crowd mourning. The Interior Ministry said highly flammable building materials contributed to the disaster and accused the owners of violating safety and security protocols. The tragedy was the latest to hit Iraq's Christian minority, which has dwindled to a fraction of its former size over the past decade. A security official told the AP that one of the venue's owners and 13 workers and employees are currently under investigation. The official said that negligence caused the incident and that the government is preparing to compensate survivors and the families of victims. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. A government spokesperson said the authorities will conduct strict inspections of hotels, schools, restaurants and event venues to make sure they are complying with safety standards. One owner of the venue, Chonny Suleiman Naboo, told The Associated Press that an electrical fault caused the fire and denied that they had neglected safety procedures.]]> Thu, 28 Sep 2023 15:08:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhdQjAcvfO__SejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XiL6mngVVvTApVjH6qdYdAk The head of the self-declared separatist state in Nagorno-Karabakh said Thursday the entity will dissolve itself and cease to exist by the end of the year, as thousands more ethnic Armenians flee the region to Armenia. The decree from separatist leader Samvel Shakhramanyan follows last week’s operation by Azerbaijani forces to retake control of the area. Armenian authorities said more than half of the 120,000 ethnic Armenians who were living in Nagorno-Karabakh had crossed into Armenia by Thursday morning. The exodus that began Sunday and clogged the road to Armenia with cars came amid fears of reprisals, despite pledges from Azerbaijan to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region. Authorities in Azerbaijan on Thursday charged former Nagorno-Karabakh separatist leader Ruben Vardanyan with financing terrorism and illegal border crossing. The charges came a day after Azerbaijan’s State Border Service arrested Vardanyan and brought him to Baku. Vardanyan made his fortune in Russia as the owner of a major investment bank. He moved to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2022 and served as the region's head of government until he stepped down earlier this year. Nagorno-Karabakh is entirely within Azerbaijan but had been under ethnic Armenian control since 1994, until parts of it were reclaimed by Azerbaijan during a war in 2020. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. ]]> Thu, 28 Sep 2023 11:59:58 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XiL6mngVVvTApVjH6qdYdAk https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgnaZTRGcHBdJs0ohxaO6Yr The United States and Iran are denying reports that the two sides are engaged in secret negotiations following a prisoner exchange deal earlier this month that included the unlocking of billions of dollars of frozen Iranian funds. There are no direct or indirect talks scheduled, including any involving Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, a U.S. official told VOA on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters. The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday dismissed a report by a U.K.-based media outlet that authorities in Tehran had granted its negotiators permission to enter direct talks with Washington to ease sanctions in return for Iran slowing down its uranium enrichment program. "This type of news sensationalism and media games, which is often used to create a political atmosphere, lacks credibility," the ministry said, as reported by Iranian state media. However, Washington appears to be leaving open its door to negotiations. "We have always said that we are open to diplomacy with Iran. I don’t want to get into what any such talks might or might not look like, but diplomacy, we believe, is the best path to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in response to VOA’s question on whether the U.S. would be willing to engage in direct talks with Iran. There are a number of de-escalatory steps the U.S. wants Iran to take before talks, Miller added, including cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Meanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is demanding disciplinary action on current administration officials, including those linked to Robert Malley, President Joe Biden’s former special envoy to Iran. "The Biden administration should immediately cease its secret diplomacy with Iran and its dismantling of sanctions, and any officials linked to these emails should immediately have their security clearances pulled until these allegations are fully resolved and accountability is imposed," Cruz said in a statement Tuesday. Cruz released his statement in reference to media reports that the U.S. officials developed ties with a network of academics and researchers aiming to influence policy on Iran a decade ago. Cruz’s office did not respond to VOA’s request for evidence to back his claims of the administration’s "secret diplomacy." Malley has been on leave since June while his security clearance is under review amid an investigation into his handling of classified material. Diplomatic breakthrough In a major diplomatic breakthrough earlier this month, U.S. and Iranian officials concluded a deal in which five Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians accused of violating U.S. sanctions, and the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue. U.S. officials insist that negotiations on the swap were unrelated to efforts to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018. A year later, Iran began ignoring limitations on its nuclear program while still maintaining that its nuclear program is for civilian, not military, purposes. Many had hoped the prisoner exchange would pave the way to discussions on more substantive issues, and some observers believe that they have. There are ongoing talks to de-escalate tensions, said Sina Azodi, a researcher of U.S.-Iran ties and a lecturer at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, quoting sources. For the United States, Azodi told VOA, a key goal in these talks is to scale down Iran’s pace of uranium enrichment. Tehran announced in 2021 it was enriching uranium to 60%, which would shorten its so-called breakout time to build a nuclear weapon, which requires uranium that is enriched above 90%. Low-level talks Such talks could be happening indirectly at a lower-stakes level, not involving McGurk and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Bagheri-Kani, said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute. "The fact that the authorities from Qatar and Oman are saying this and are talking about putting forward suggestions to push forward with nuclear talks, to me suggests that's real," Vatanka told VOA, referring to the two countries who acted as interlocutors in the prisoner swap deal. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Qatar held separate bilateral meetings with Washington and Tehran that touched on Iran's nuclear program and U.S. concerns about Iranian drone transfers to Russia that are used to attack Ukraine. Those concerns and others, including preventing Iranian attacks on Americans in the Middle East, have been transmitted, said Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center. But apart from conversations earlier this year between Malley and Saeed Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, communications have been indirect. "I don't see any interest on the part of Brett McGurk to meet with the Iranians right now," Slavin told VOA. Geopolitically, conditions are not conducive to a JCPOA revival. The deal was negotiated with the P5+1 countries of the U.N. Security Council — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced sanctions on a network of entities and individuals it said was facilitating shipments and financial transactions in support of Tehran’s procurement of a critical component used in Iran's Shahed-136 drones the U.S. says are being used by Russia in Ukraine. ]]> Thu, 28 Sep 2023 03:28:14 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgnaZTRGcHBdJs0ohxaO6Yr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgkgCKwxKWFLiejEQ2Mq9rY Israel arrested five Palestinians in a plot allegedly hatched in Iran to target and spy on senior Israeli politicians, including Israel's far-right national security minister, the country's internal security agency said Wednesday. The Shin Bet security service alleged that an Iranian security official living in neighboring Jordan had recruited three Palestinian men in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and another two Palestinian citizens of Israel to gather intelligence about several high-profile Israeli politicians. The targets included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — a firebrand Israeli settler leader who oversees the country's police force in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultranationalist government — as well as Yehuda Glick, an American-born far-right Israeli activist and former member of parliament. The plan was foiled by Israeli intelligence officials, the Shin Bet said, without offering evidence. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations. Ben-Gvir, who draws inspiration from a racist rabbi, has provoked outrage across the wider Middle East for his particularly hard-line policies against the Palestinians, anti-Arab rhetoric and stunts and frequent public visits to the holiest and most contested site in the Holy Land. The hilltop compound in Jerusalem, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is at the emotional center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Glick is a leader in a campaign that pushes for increased Jewish access and prayer rights at the sacred Jerusalem compound, the holiest site in Judaism home to ancient biblical Temples. Today, the compound houses the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Since Israel captured the site in 1967, Jews have been allowed to visit but not pray there. Glick survived a 2014 Palestinian assassination attempt. The Shin Bet did not elaborate on the identity of the Iranian official in Jordan who allegedly orchestrated the plot. He is not in custody and apparently remains at large. But the Shin Bet accused three Palestinian men in the West Bank — identified as 47-year old Murad Kamamaja, 34-year-old Hassan Mujarimah and 45-year-old Ziad Shanti — of gathering intelligence and smuggling weapons into Israel. The security service also said that it charged two Palestinian citizens of Israel over their involvement in the plot. It did not specify how the men planned to target Ben-Gvir and the other politicians. Israel has considered Iran to be its greatest enemy since it became a Shiite theocracy during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran is a main patron of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, which Israel considers the most potent military threat on its borders, and also backs Palestinian Islamist militant groups in the Gaza Strip.]]> Thu, 28 Sep 2023 02:30:01 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XgkgCKwxKWFLiejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhBBFRbAvtdlXn9ye8UNv30 New Delhi’s bid to expand its economic and diplomatic clout beyond Asia received a major boost with the announcement at this month’s G20 summit of ambitious plans to develop a new trade route running from India through the Middle East to Europe. The so-called India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, is backed by the United States and is widely seen as a challenge to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has already developed major infrastructure projects in some of the same countries. But the proposal, involving a network of new shipping and rail lines, stands to shake up the existing order in other ways as well, not least by establishing new direct trade routes between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. For India, analysts say, the program offers a capstone to a yearslong effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to boost trade and forge ties with the Gulf states, the source of much of its oil and gas, and home to a large Indian diaspora. This “concerted effort has gained momentum over the past several years,” said John Calabrese, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. “India's vigorous efforts to strengthen economic cooperation with the Middle East have been met with open arms and reciprocation,” Calabrese added in an interview. “The Gulf states, in particular, view India as a rising power with great market and human capital potential.” Trade already growing Trade between India and the Arab world has seen sustained growth, already surpassing $240 billion a year. Bilateral trade between India and the United Arab Emirates alone amounted to $84 billion as of the end of March 2023, while trade with Saudi Arabia topped $53 billion. The region supplies approximately 60% of India's total crude oil imports. Calabrese sees the IMEC project as having strategic as well as economic value for India, carrying its strategic rivalry with China into new territory while offering countries in the Middle East an alternative to relying on China or the United States. “India's importance to the Gulf countries has risen as they chart a course for diversifying and balancing their relations with the world's major powers,” he said. Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, agreed that India can make significant diplomatic gains if it can navigate the hurdles posed in the Middle East by regional conflicts, historical animosities and competition from other global powers. India has already strengthened its ties with some of the most significant players in the region, from Egypt and Saudi Arabia to Israel, he told VOA. “What’s also notable is that while India’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Israel have really taken off, New Delhi’s ties with their respective longstanding rivals, Iran and the Palestinians, have not become fraught, even though they’ve become less robust,” he said. 'Nothing short of historic' India can also expect to establish closer links in Europe, where officials are enthusiastic about IMEC, which would establish new shipping routes between India and the United Arab Emirates, alongside a freight rail system traversing the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. From there, goods could be transported to European countries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the venture as "nothing short of historic," emphasizing that it would slash transit time between India and Europe by 40%. She underlined that IMEC represents the most direct link thus far connecting India, the Gulf and Europe. Saudi Arabia's Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih went further in his endorsement, likening IMEC to the “Silk Route and Spice Road.” The initiative is projected to incorporate essential infrastructure elements such as electricity cables and pipelines for clean hydrogen. “The goal is, of course, to strengthen India’s economy by facilitating more trade in more markets,” Kugelman said. “But also about deepening important partnerships and scaling up Indian investment in a region that New Delhi views as highly strategic — because of its location, its large Indian diaspora and high energy trade with India.” Kugelman sees the initiative as a natural extension of the growing strategic relationship between the United States and India, marked by new alliances, including the Quad, which also draws in Japan and Australia. “Their interests in the [Middle East] align, in terms of support for connectivity and commercial projects. And so, India's engagement there allows the U.S. and India to cooperate in a region outside the Indo-Pacific,” he said. “I do think that India's deepening footprint in the Middle East will introduce a new phase of great power competition.” Meanwhile, the Middle East could become a new battleground for India-China competition, Kugelman said. “Beijing has become a bigger player in the region in recent years, as seen by its strategic agreement with Iran and its brokering of the Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement deal,” he said. “India, working with the U.S. and its European partners, will want to push back against all that.”]]> Wed, 27 Sep 2023 23:33:48 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhBBFRbAvtdlXn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhV8RzothgZC-zdsCmHakzH Iran claimed on Wednesday it successfully launched an imaging satellite into space, a move that could further ratchet up tensions with Western nations that fear its space technology could be used to develop nuclear weapons. Iranian Communication Minister Isa Zarepour said the Noor-3 satellite had been put in an orbit 450 kilometers (280 miles) above Earth's surface, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It was not clear when the launch took place. There was no immediate acknowledgment from Western officials of the launch or of the satellite being put into orbit. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran has had a series of failed launches in recent years. The most recent launch was carried out by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has had more success. Gen. Hossein Salami, the top commander of the Guard, told state TV that the launch had been a "victory" and that the satellite will collect data and images. Authorities released footage of a rocket taking off from a mobile launcher without saying where the launch occurred. Details in the video corresponded with a Guard base near Shahroud, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of the capital, Tehran. The base is in Semnan province, which hosts the Imam Khomeini Spaceport from which Iran's civilian space program operates. The Guard operates its own space program and military infrastructure parallel to Iran's regular armed forces and answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It launched its first satellite into space in April 2020. But the head of the U.S. Space Command later dismissed it as a "tumbling webcam in space" that would not provide vital intelligence. Western sanctions bar Iran from importing advanced spying technology. The United States has alleged that Iran's satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and has called on Tehran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The U.S. intelligence community's 2022 threat assessment claims the development of satellite launch vehicles "shortens the timeline" for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology. Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says its space program, like its nuclear activities, is for purely civilian purposes. U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, say Iran abandoned an organized military nuclear program in 2003. Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. The program has seen recent troubles, however. There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh program, another satellite-carrying rocket. A fire at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in February 2019 killed three researchers, authorities said at the time. A launchpad rocket explosion later that year drew the attention of then-President Donald Trump, who taunted Iran with a tweet showing what appeared to be a U.S. surveillance photo of the site. Tensions are already high with Western nations over Iran's nuclear program, which has steadily advanced since Trump five years ago withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers and restored crippling sanctions on Iran. Efforts to revive the agreement reached an impasse more than a year ago. Since then, the IAEA has said Iran has enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels to build "several" nuclear weapons if it chooses to do so. Iran is also building a new underground nuclear facility that would likely be impervious to U.S. or Israeli airstrikes. Both countries have said they would take military action if necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has expressed willingness to return to the 2015 nuclear deal but says the U.S. should first ease the sanctions.]]> Wed, 27 Sep 2023 22:43:52 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhV8RzothgZC-zdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhR7aByJBzBscb1naedg1wr The United States will be admitting Israel into its Visa Waiver Program, or VWP, which will allow the entry of Israeli citizens into the country without a visa for up to 90 days, beginning November 30. The U.S.-Israel relationship has been tested recently by Washington's vocal opposition to Israel's judiciary overhaul plan and its policy toward Palestinians. This decision, however, is seen as a step forward for the Biden administration’s relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “The designation of Israel into the Visa Waiver Program is an important recognition of our shared security interests and the close cooperation between our two countries,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “This designation, which represents over a decade of work and coordination between the United States and Israel, will enhance our two nations’ collaboration on counterterrorism, law enforcement, and our other common priorities. Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program, and the stringent requirements it entails, will make both of our nations more secure.” The decision also allows U.S. travelers to enter Israel for 90 days without first obtaining a visa. To be admitted into the VWP, the United States requires countries to meet requirements on issues such as counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, document security and border management. Countries must also treat all U.S. travelers equally, regardless of other passports they hold. This means U.S. citizens who also hold Palestinian passports would need to be granted free passage at Ben Gurion Airport. “This important achievement will enhance freedom of movement for U.S. citizens, including those living in the Palestinian Territories or traveling to and from them,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in the joint statement with Mayorkas. Granting Israel access to the VWP has been met with backlash from some Palestinians who claim Israel has discriminated against and harassed Arab Americans at the border. Some Democratic lawmakers have also spoken out against Israel's admission into the program, alleging the country has failed to meet the requirement to treat all American citizens equally, regardless of other passports held. “Adherence to this important American tenet of reciprocity and equal treatment of all U.S. citizens is critical to the integrity of the Visa Waiver Program, and we are deeply concerned with the administration’s decision to move forward in violation of that principle,” said Senators Chris Van Hollen, Brian Schatz, Jeff Merkley and Peter Welch in a joint statement. “We will carefully monitor the situation to determine whether Americans continue to face discrimination based on their ethnicity, national origin, or religion.” J Street, the Washington-based liberal Jewish advocacy group, called Wednesday’s move a step in the right direction but expressed concern that Israel “does not meet the criteria for entry that every other country must meet.” “The Memorandum of Understanding signed with Israel in July does not require it to fully implement one system that all U.S. citizen visitors, including those who Israel deems residents of the West Bank, can use for purposes of visa waiver travel until May 1, 2024,” J Street said in a statement. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday to halt Israel's acceptance into the program. The motion to file suit was denied by a U.S. judge in Detroit, as proper notice of a lawsuit was not given to the Department of Homeland Security.]]> Wed, 27 Sep 2023 20:09:57 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XhR7aByJBzBscb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XjfHpSnM2YlieT5HJgy6HUf U.S. Senator Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of taking bribes from three New Jersey businessman, as calls for his resignation from his fellow Democrats escalated. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week accused Menendez, 69, and his wife of accepting gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for the senator using his influence to aid Egypt's government and interfere with law enforcement investigations of the businessmen. Menendez entered the plea at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona Wang in Manhattan. His wife, Nadine Menendez, 56, and businessmen Jose Uribe, 56, and Fred Daibes, 66, also pleaded not guilty. A third businessman, Wael Hana, 40, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. Menendez, one of two senators representing New Jersey, stepped down from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as required under his party's rules. But on Monday he said he would stay in the Senate and fight the charges. More than half of all U.S. Democratic senators — including Cory Booker, the junior senator from New Jersey — have called on Menendez, a powerful voice on foreign policy who has at times bucked his own party, to resign since the charges were unveiled on Friday. Democrats narrowly control the Senate with 51 seats, including three independents who normally vote with them, to the Republicans' 49. Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who would appoint a temporary replacement should Menendez step aside, has also called for him to resign. The indictment contained images of gold bars and cash that investigators seized from Menendez's home. Prosecutors say Hana arranged meetings between the senator and Egyptian officials — who pressed him to sign off on military aid — and in return put his wife on the payroll of a company he controlled. The probe marks the third time Menendez has been under investigation by federal prosecutors. He has never been convicted.]]> Wed, 27 Sep 2023 18:10:53 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0XjfHpSnM2YlieT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0Xgl8DMkWbEXGcb1naedg1wr Iran must take "de-escalatory steps" on its nuclear program if it wants to make space for diplomacy with the United States, starting by cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.  The comments by spokesperson Matt Miller at a briefing was the second time in recent days that the United States has criticized Iran for its decision to bar multiple IAEA inspectors assigned to the country, hindering the U.N. nuclear watchdog's oversight of Tehran's atomic activities.  The United States and many of its Western allies fear Iran's nuclear program may be a cover for developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies having such ambitions.  "Iran must take de-escalatory steps if it wants to reduce tensions and create a space for diplomacy," Miller said.  "Just in the last few weeks, we've seen Iran take steps to undermine the International Atomic Energy Agency's ability to do its work," Miller said. "So if Iran really is serious about taking de-escalatory steps, the first thing it (could) do would be to cooperate with the IAEA."  Miller said the steps he was talking about as a potential prelude to renewed U.S.-Iran talks, whether direct or indirect, had to do with the Iranian nuclear program, though he did not provide further details.  However, asked if he was saying Iran must take all such steps sought by the United States before Washington would agree to direct or indirect talks with Tehran, he replied: "I am not saying that."  The IAEA was responsible for verifying Iran's compliance with the defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal, under which Tehran curbed its nuclear program in return for the easing of U.S., European Union and U.N. sanctions.  Attempts to revive that deal, abandoned by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018, collapsed about a year ago, and Washington has been searching for a new way to get Tehran to restrain its program. ]]> Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:12:21 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/HHLvFfUM0Xgl8DMkWbEXGcb1naedg1wr