Iran Won't Enrich Uranium Beyond 60% Even If Nuclear Talks Fail: Official
Good day from REEDNEWSARABWORLD for Monday, December 27, 2021! What's driving the news: Iran says its nuclear program is designed for industrial needs of its people, and even if the talks in Vienna fail, it won't enrich uranium more than 60% (weapons grade is 90%)... The eighth round of the Vienna talks starts today... Iran fires 16 ballistic missiles in a drill and said it was a warning to Israel.. The UK condemned Iran's missile launch as a "threat to regional and international security" -- "We call on Iran to immediately cease its activities"... Yemen's Houthis send a deadly strike into a Saudi city and the Saudi-led coalition hits back with a large-scale operation... Jared Kushner has raised more than $3 billion for his new investment firm (UAE and Qatar are not interested, Saudi Arabia is)... Women can't travel more than 45 miles in Afghanistan without a close male relative (new Taliban rule), and Burger King opens its ninth restaurant in Iraq (Kirkuk)... News from UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, even the Netherlands, and More.
Iran's atomic boss Mohammad Eslami says Iran "has no plans" to enrich uranium beyond 60%. That's less than weapons grade, but far more than it agreed to in the 2015 nuclear deal, 3.67%.
Alarabiya, Iran says won't enrich uranium beyond 60 percent if nuclear talks fail.
Asharq Al-Awsat, Iran Says It Seeks to Use Domestic Nuclear Fuel for Power Plant.
Iran is insisting that it be allowed to export its crude oil. As nuclear talks resumed in Vienna on Monday, Iran pressed its position and said the United States and its allies must promise to allow the exports.
Iran's foreign minister made it clear Iran wants this eighth round of talks to focus on its sanctions-hit oil industry. The aim, he said, is to get to the "point where Iranian oil is being sold easily and without any barriers and its money arrives in Iran's bank accounts."
Associated Press, Iran insists on crude exports as Vienna talks resume.
Iran fired 16 missiles in a test to warn Israel, and its Revolutionary Guards chief said "Make the slightest mistake, we will cut off their hand." The United Kingdom protested, and an Irani vice president said "the time when they (Britain) were all-powerful has elapsed.". The missile drill came after last week's meeting between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Israel's prime minister, Naftali Bennett.
Alarabiya, Iran fires 16 missiles during annual drills in warning to Israel.
Asharq Al Awsat, Britain Condemns Iran for Firing Ballistic Missiles During Drills.
Tehran Times, British anger at Iran ballistic missiles understandable: Veep.
Yemen's Houthi rebels fired a projectile into Marib's southern Al Jubah district and killed at least four people. The opposing coalition struck back by destroying a military vehicle in Sanaa that killed three Houthi crew.
Menafn, Houthi-Fired Projectile Hits Market in Yemen's Marib, Four Killed
Alarabiya, Arab coalition air strikes destroy vehicle killing three Houthi militia.
Japan Today, Saudi-led coalition launches 'large-scale' Yemen operation after deadly strike.
The Saud-led coalition said Yemen's Houthis are "militarizing" Sanaa airport and using it as a center for launching ballistic missiles and drones toward the kingdom. A coalition spokesman said "Hezbollah is training the Houthis to booby trap and use drones."
France 24, Iran, Hezbollah aid Yemen rebel strikes: Saudi-led coalition
Jerusalem Post, Saudi coalition shows footage of alleged Hezbollah involvement in Yemen war
The Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen has fired 430 ballistic missiles and 851 armed drones since the war started, killing 59 Saudi civilians. The Saudi-led coalition cited the total count since the war in Yemen began in 2015.
Reuters, Houthis have fired 430 missiles, 851 drones at Saudi Arabia since 2015 - Saudi-led coalition.
A monitoring group says the United States has significantly decreased military action across the globe. The U.S. carried out 439 aerial attacks in 2021, a 54% drop from 2020 under President Donald Trump. The vast majority of the strikes were in Afghanistan, before U.S. forces left. A caveat is that the numbers don't include clandestine strikes by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Business Insider, US military strikes fell 54% in Biden's first year compared to Trump's last, monitoring group says.
Senior diplomats from Iran and Oman held their eighth round of strategic consultations in Tehran. Iran's deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri and Oman's Sheikh Khalifa al-Harthy led their delegations, and they emphasized that the two countries continue to share diplomatic ties dating back 50 years to the Pahlavi period in Iran. Oman has better relations with Iran than some other Gulf states, and Bagheri said he wants to develop better relations with the other countries. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Oman has an embassy in Tehran and Iran has an embassy in Muscat.
Tehran Times, Iran, Oman hold 'strategic consultations.'
A United States senator fears a new arms race in the Middle East. Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said reports that Saudi Arabia, with China's help, is developing a ballistic missile are "deeply alarming." Markey is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its Middle East subcommittee. "Reports that China is aiding Saudi Arabia's ballistic missile program are deeply alarming, but not surprising," he wrote on Twitter.
Newsweek, Saudi Arabia-China Ballistic Missile Deal 'Deeply Alarming,' Senator Says.
Saudi Arabia will send aid and contributions to Malaysia which is wracked by flooding and fearful of a second wave of floods. Saudi minister Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd Abdulaziz said the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center will provide the assistance. The Malaysian Armed Forces so far have evacuated almost 33,000 flood victims.
The Star, Malaysia. Floods: Saudi Arabian prince expresses intent to assist Malaysia.
Qatar is pumping $40 million into Indonesia's health sector and food industry. Qatar's Fund for Development will support the program for two years, working with local partners for better medical access and to help raise living standards for the Indonesian people.
Doha News, Qatar donates 40 million dollars to Indonesia to support health sector.
A court in the Netherlands has sentenced a 41-year-old man to four years after he was found guilty of firing 29 bullets at Saudi Arabia's embassy in The Hague. Using an automatic weapon, the man fired at the embassy in November 2020. He had tried to get a visa to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj and said the embassy refused him. The judge in the case convicted the man of attempted murder and ordered treatment for mental disorders.
Ajel News, Netherlands sentences 4-years-jail for man after shooting Saudi Arabia's embassy.
In the latest of a string of drug busts, Dubai police seized more than a million Captagon pills smuggled into the city and hidden in 66 boxes of plastic lemons. The drug is popular among militias in Syria, who use it to stay awake and as a euphoric when fighting. Lebanon and Syria are the centers of the drug shipments to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. In this case, Dubai's anti-narcotics force arrested four suspects and seized the drugs worth $16 million. The four suspects are Arabs but their nationalities were not revealed.
Ya Libnan, Dubai police seizes over 1 million Captagon pills smuggled in fake lemons.
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, has raised more than $3 billion in committed funding for his new global investment firm, Affinity Partners. Kushner hopes to create an "investment corridor" between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Specific investors have not been disclosed, but earlier reports said Kushner, who helped broker deals between Israel and Arab states while serving in the Trump White House, was turned down by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates but is in talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund..
Reuters, Jared Kushner investment firm Affinity raises $3 billion in committed funding.
The Taliban has denied that a deal has been struck for Qatar and Turkey to jointly operate airports in Afghanistan. Earlier reports said Qatar and Turkey had reached agreement on how to proceed, and were said to be planning meetings of technical groups. A spokesman for the Taliban's transport ministry, however, said no final agreement has been reached. Qatar and Turkey hope to run the airport in Kabul and other Afghan cities.
ANI (Asian News International), Taliban deny deal with Turkey, Qatar to jointly run Kabul airport.
Afghanistan's Taliban said that women traveling longer distances in the country must be accompanied by a close male relative. The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice said women traveling more than 45 miles shouldn't be offered a ride. The ministry also called on vehicle owners to refuse rides to women not wearing headscarves. People were also asked to stop playing music in their vehicles.
Agence France Presse, No long-distance road trips for Afghan women without male escort: Taliban.
Scores of World Bank workers in Afghanistan are being fired by the Taliban because it couldn't pay them. It's not clear how many World Bank employees are affected, but there are 15,000 contract employees of the bank in Afghanistan. No official announcement was made, but media reports said firings have already started. The United States has announced it will provide Afghanistan with $144 million in assistance, but not for the Taliban.
Republic World, Taliban, Unable to Pay Salaries Due to 'Shortage of Money,' Lays Off World Bank Employees.
ExxonMobil and Qatar have joined to explore and produce oil and gas off the divided island of Cyprus, but Turkey says it will "never allow." The eastern Mediterranean is an energy hotspot, and ExxonMobil and Qatar now have concluded two contracts with Nicosia. Turkey said a section of the licensed area violates its continental shelf, and that "Turkey will never allow any foreign country, company, or ship to engage in hydrocarbon exploration activities in its maritime jurisdictions."
Agence France Presse, ExxonMobil, Qatar sign Cyprus gas deal despite Turkey opposition.
A conference of rabbis from Islamic nations meeting in Istanbul were surprised and whisked off to Ankara to meet with Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish leader met with the group for two hours and spoke in "very strong terms" against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. He reiterated the Turkish stance that denying the Holocaust is a crime against humanity.
JTA (Jewish Telegraph Agency), Erdogan flew rabbis into Ankara, spent two hours talking with them.
Israel plans to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights, claimed by Syria but Israeli-controlled. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the government will invest more than $300 million and create two new settlements to consolidate the nation's hold on the area. The Golan Heights were captured from Syria more than five decades ago. The United States recognizes Israel's sovereignty but the international community regards it as Israeli-occupied.
Associated Press, Israel plans to double settlement in Golan Heights.
Lebanon needs six or seven years to recover from "misdeeds, theft, corruption, and failures by the system." Lebanese President Michel Aoun said a much-needed "intellectual and practical" change will be required for the country, which is in the third year of an economic meltdown. Aoun said "What the Lebanese people are suffering and living today is a result of deeds by those in power in the past who were entrusted with citizens' lives."
Al Jazeera, President Aoun: Lebanon needs 'six to seven years' to exit crisis.
Tunisia's president warns that assassination plots are being prepared in the country and there's even a recorded phone call that specifies the date. President Kais Saied didn't say who the plotters were, but urged people in Tunis to be vigilant against "the plots of some traitors." He said Tunisia's interior minister told him about the recording of the phone call, but he gave no further details. Saied ousted the government and suspended parliament on July 25, 2021.
TRT World, Tunisian President: Assassination plots planned against officials.
Libya's interim government continues to be recognized by Western powers that called for a new polling date to be set quickly. After Libya postponed its scheduled December 24 elections, the fate of the Government of National Unity (GNU) has become a main source of disagreement in the fallout over the collapse of the election. An electoral commission proposed pushing back the December date by one month, but there is no agreement yet on a January 24 date.
Reuters, Western powers say Libya's interim government still valid.
Russia's Vladimir Putin and Egypt's Abdel Fattah El Sisi spoke and said they will increase efforts to settle the crisis in Libya. They agreed to "counter and undermine armed militias and terrorist organizations and put an end to illegitimate foreign meddling in Libyan affairs." Libya's elections were to have taken place December 24, but polarizing candidates, political wrangling, and a surge in militia fighting upset the process.
The National, Egypt and Russia say they will increase efforts to end the crisis in Libya.
The governor of Iraq's Najaf province has resigned, following the resignation of another governor as Iraqis demonstrated against corruption and living conditions. Louai al-Yasseri resigned from his leadership in Najaf, in central Iraq. The governor of Nasiriya province in the south had quit the day before, following violent suppression of the protesters.
Al Jazeera, Governor of Iraq's Najaf province resigns after mass protests.
Tens of thousands of protesters continue to rally in Khartoum two months after a military coup. The protesters are demanding that soldiers "go back to the barracks." Waving flags, beating drums, dancing and chanting, huge crowds called for transition to civilian rule while communications were severed and security forces fired tear gas.
Agence France Presse, Tens of thousands in Sudan anti-coup rallies as tear gas fired.
Burger King, the American fast food chain, officially opened its ninth restaurant in Iraq, at the Time Center Mall in Kirkuk. The restaurants were introduced in Iraq in 2019 and now have three branches in Baghdad, three in Sulaymaniyah, one in Erbil, one in Duhok, and one in Kirkuk.
Iraqi News, Burger King opens 9th branch in Iraq.
MORE: Egypt holds talks with South Korea to produce locally K2 main battle tank, Defense News... Internet disrupted in Sudan's Khartoum, roads blocked ahead of protest, Reuters... Iraq continues to kill, capture IS members as effectiveness questioned, Al-Monitor... Lebanon's top Christian cleric issues election plea, Reuters... Groups call for protests against Libya's poll cancellation, Associated Press... Bustling bars, surging business: Dubai sees a post-vax boom, Associated Press... Somali President, PM trade accusations over delays to ongoing elections, Reuters.
NEWS YOU MISSED:
Are the arguments to loosen Saudi Arabia's riyal from the dollar justified? Why has Saudi Arabia continued to justify its fixed peg currency regime? The questions and their answers will have a significant effect on both domestic business and on foreign investors operating in the kingdom, Dr. Mohamed Ramady writes.
Arab News, The centrality of the Saudi fixed peg currency regime.
Libyans are as divided as ever. The problems for postponing last week's planned election started with the very way the electoral rules were decided. An interview with Tim Eaton, analyst with the British think tank Chatham House.
NPR (National Public Radio), Why elections in Libya have been delayed.