EU expands Iran sanctions over crackdown, Russia drones

A local resident sits outside a building destroyed by Russian, Iranian-made, drones after an airstrike on Bila Tserkva, southwest of Kyiv. (File/AFP)
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Updated 14 November 2022
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EU expands Iran sanctions over crackdown, Russia drones

  • Four members of the squad who detained Amini were also put on the blacklist
  • The bloc in addition included the head of the Guard’s airforce Amir Ali Hajjizadeh and the Qods drone maker

BRUSSELS: The EU on Monday hit more than 30 senior Iranian officials and organizations with sanctions over the crackdown on protesters and supply of drones to Russia.
The bloc targeted Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and the head of Iran’s ground forces Kiyumars Heidari among those it said were responsible for the repression of demonstrations after the death of Mahsa Amini.
Four members of the squad who detained Amini were also put on the blacklist.
Among the organizations hit was state broadcaster Press TV, which was accused of of airing “forced confessions of detainees.”
“The EU strongly condemns the unacceptable violent crackdown of protesters,” EU chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
“We stand with the Iranian people and support their right to protest peacefully and voice their demands and views freely.”
Tehran has warned of a “proportionate and firm” response to the EU over the expanded sanctions.
Last month the EU hit Iran’s “morality” police, Revolutionary Guard and IT minister in a first wave of sanctions over the crackdown.
The EU ministers meeting in Brussels also signed off on adding the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami to a blacklist over supplies of Iranian drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.
The bloc in addition included the head of the Guard’s airforce Amir Ali Hajjizadeh and the Qods drone maker.
The EU last month already slapped asset freezes and visa bans on another Iranian drone maker and three top military officials over deliveries of kamikaze drones used to strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
A senior EU official said the bloc was probing reports over the possible delivery of ballistic missiles by Iran to Russia and would sanction Tehran further if it sent the arms.
Borrell said so far that Brussels had “no evidence” over the supplies of ballistic missiles.
Brussels has faced a tricky balancing act over its response to Tehran as the EU is mediating a push to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Those efforts to get Iran and the United States back onboard with the agreement have largely stalled.
“It is not in a good track, you know, stalemate, but the work continues,” Borrell said.


Syria fights ‘catastrophic’ fires for fourth day

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Syria fights ‘catastrophic’ fires for fourth day

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities said some 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest had “turned to ash” in wildfires as firefighters from neighboring Jordan arrived Sunday to battle a fourth day of blazes in the province of Latakia.
Syrian emergency workers have faced tough conditions including high temperatures, strong winds, rugged mountainous terrain in the coastal province and the danger of explosive war remnants, in a country worn down by years of conflict and economic crisis.
An AFP correspondent in Latakia’s Rabiaa region saw emergency workers battling a blaze near homes, while vast swathes of forest and olive groves were burnt and smoke filled the air over a long distance.
Jordanian civil defense teams crossed into Syria on Sunday morning, the Syrian ministry for emergencies and disaster management said, after Turkiye sent assistance a day earlier.
Minister Raed Al-Saleh said on X that “hundreds of thousands of forest trees over an estimated area of around 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) in 28 locations have turned to ash.”
He later decried “a real environmental disaster” at a press conference in the province.
More than 80 teams including civil defense personnel have been helping battle the blaze, he said, noting local organizations and residents were also providing assistance, in addition to teams and firefighting aircraft from neighboring Jordan and Turkiye.
Saleh said it would take days to declare the blazes completely extinguished once the fire was brought under control, calling them “catastrophic.”
Syria’s defense ministry said the air force was assisting, publishing images of a helicopter collecting and dropping water.
Jordan’s public security directorate said in a statement that the “specialized firefighting teams from the civil defense... have been provided with all the modern equipment and machinery necessary to carry out their duties to the fullest extent.”
Swathes of forested area and farmland have burnt and some villages evacuated as the fires raged including near the Turkish border.
The United Nations deputy envoy to Syria Najat Rochdi said in a statement Sunday on X that Damascus “needs more international assistance” to face the fires.
A statement from the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula said that “UN teams are on the ground conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs.”
Nearly seven months after the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, Syria is still reeling from more than a decade of civil war that ravaged the country’s economy, infrastructure and public services.
With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.
In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization told AFP that Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”

UK foreign secretary discusses ties with Kuwaiti crown prince, prime minister

Updated 06 July 2025
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UK foreign secretary discusses ties with Kuwaiti crown prince, prime minister

  • David Lammy, Kuwaiti officials discussed ways to enhance relations between London and Kuwait
  • Both countries’ respective ambassadors attended meetings, alongside other officials

LONDON: UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met separately with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah during his visit to Kuwait.

Lammy and the Kuwaiti officials discussed on Sunday ways to enhance relations between London and Kuwait.

Kuwait’s Ambassador to the UK Bader Al-Munaikh, UK Ambassador to Kuwait Belinda Lewis, Kuwait’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Europe Sadeq Marafi, and Kuwait’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya attended the meetings.

Lammy visited the Middle East over the weekend, landing first in Syria and meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani. The foreign secretary is the first British official to visit Damascus in 14 years.


Palestinian armed group in Gaza admits to coordination with Israel

A Palestinian, wounded by Israeli fire while seeking aid on Friday, receives treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Updated 06 July 2025
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Palestinian armed group in Gaza admits to coordination with Israel

  • Yasser Abu Shabab said his group, known as the Popular Forces, was able to move freely in zones under Israeli military control
  • European Council on Foreign Relations think tank describes Abu Shabab as head of a criminal gang in Rafah that has been suspected of looting aid trucks

GAZA CITY: The head of a Palestinian armed group opposed to Hamas and accused of aid looting in the Gaza Strip confirmed Sunday it was coordinating with the Israeli military in an interview with public radio.
Yasser Abu Shabab said his group, known as the Popular Forces, was able to move freely in zones under Israeli military control and communicated their operations beforehand.
“We keep them informed, but we carry out the military actions on our own,” he said in an interview with Makan, Israel’s Arabic-language public radio broadcaster.
Abu Shabab also said his group had received “logistical and financial support from several parties,” without mentioning Israel directly.
“There are things we can’t talk about publicly.”
Last month, the Israeli authorities admitted to providing support to armed Palestinian groups opposed to Hamas in Gaza, without naming them, though local media reports identified the group in question as Abu Shabab’s.
“It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time.
Knesset member and ex-defense minister Avigdor Lieberman, however, accused the government of “giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons.”
The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank describes Abu Shabab as the head of a criminal gang in the Rafah region of southern Gaza that has been suspected of looting aid trucks.
Abu Shabab did not address the accusation in his radio interview, and stressed that the only goal of his militia was to defeat Hamas and to provide an alternative for governance in the Gaza Strip.
“We do not belong to any ideology or political organization,” Abu Shabab said in the interview, adding that he was seeking to eradicate Hamas’s “injustice” and “corruption.”
“We will continue to fight, no matter the bloodshed,” he added. “Right now, Hamas is dying. They know their end is near.”
Abu Shabab has drawn the ire of Hamas, which has ruled over the Gaza Strip since 2007. On Wednesday, a Hamas military court gave him 10 days to turn himself in to be tried for treason, among other charges.
On Sunday, a coalition of Palestinian clans accused the Popular Forces of “shamelessly collaborating with the enemy.”
“They are rejected by all our people,” the coalition said in a statement.
“We will show no mercy to them or to anyone who follows in their footsteps by aiding the occupation. They will be treated as they deserve to be: traitors and collaborators.”


Abu Dhabi crown prince holds talks with Brazilian president on sidelines of BRICS summit

Updated 06 July 2025
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Abu Dhabi crown prince holds talks with Brazilian president on sidelines of BRICS summit

  • Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan emphasized that the 50-year bond highlights the UAE and Brazil’s commitment to collaboration
  • Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva underscored the strength and depth of the bilateral relations between Abu Dhabi and Brasilia

LONDON: Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, discussed ways to strengthen ties between the UAE and Brazil during a meeting on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS Summit.

Sheikh Khaled emphasized the UAE’s pride in its strategic relationship with Brazil, a pioneering partnership built on decades of cooperation, mutual respect, and shared interests, the Emirates News Agency reported.

He stressed that the 50-year bond highlights both nations’ commitment to collaboration and sustainable development.

BRICS was founded in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa became a member the following year, and in late 2023 Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE accepted invitations to join.

Rio de Janeiro is hosting the 17th edition of the summit on Sunday and Monday.

The Brazilian president underscored the strength and depth of the bilateral relations between his country and the UAE.

The meeting was attended by several Emirati officials, including Reem Al-Hashimy, minister of state for international cooperation; Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, minister of foreign trade; and UAE Ambassador to Brazil Saleh Ahmad Salem Alsuwaidi.


Influential far-right minister lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza war policy

Updated 06 July 2025
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Influential far-right minister lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza war policy

  • Bezalel Smotrich’s comments come a day before Israeli leader is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump

JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.

Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.

.”.. the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime.”

The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.

The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.

Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to UN estimates.

Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.

Pressure

Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.

The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.

The war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the war, a humanitarian crisis has unfolded, and much of the territory lies in ruins.