Red Cross to 'Drastically' Cut Afghan Operations After Attacks

Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer
Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer
TT
20

Red Cross to 'Drastically' Cut Afghan Operations After Attacks

Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer
Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer

The International Committee of the Red Cross will "drastically" reduce operations in war-torn Afghanistan after seven of its employees were killed in attacks this year, the aid group said on Monday.

The announcement underlines the deteriorating security for aid groups in Afghanistan, where the ICRC has been operating for more than 30 years and has been running its fourth biggest humanitarian program.

“Exposure to risk has become our greatest challenge and concern,” Monica Zanarelli, head of the ICRC in Afghanistan, told a news conference in the capital, Kabul.

“We have no choice but to drastically reduce our presence in Afghanistan,” she said, adding that the decision would particularly affect operations in the north, where facilities in Kunduz, Faryab, and Balkh provinces would be closed or downsized.

Red Cross officials said the assessments are ongoing and could not say how many of its 1,800 staff would be affected.

The humanitarian group will close its facilities in the northern city of Maimana, the capital of Faryab province, and in Kunduz province, also in the north and a hotbed of Taliban activity.

Operations in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif will be scaled back.

The group has suffered a series of deadly attacks in northern Afghanistan, where Taliban and ISIS group militants have intensified their assaults on police and troops.

In February six ICRC employees were killed when their convoy came under insurgent attack in the northern province of Jowzjan.

Two of their colleagues were abducted in a separate incident and only released by their captors last month.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction or killings, but Jowzjan police have blamed local ISIS jihadists who are making inroads in the country.

In the most recent attack, a Spanish physiotherapist working for the ICRC in northern Afghanistan last month was shot and killed by a wheelchair-bound patient.

Lorena Enebral Perez, 38, was shot inside the aid group's rehabilitation center in Mazar-i-Sharif, where she treated disabled children, women and men including amputees.

Two people were arrested over the deadly attack, including the 21-year-old shooter whom police said was a "regular patient".

Last December a Spanish Red Cross employee was abducted when workers from the charity were traveling between Mazar-i-Sharif and neighboring Kunduz. He was released several weeks later.

The ICRC has around 1,800 staff including 120 international aid workers in Afghanistan -- helping wounded and disabled people, supporting hospitals, making prison visits and assisting prisoners to maintain contact with their families.

In many areas such as the north, they are the only international organization providing such services.

"We understand the consequences to stop our activities in the north but we have no choice," Zanarelli added.

She said the organization was not leaving Afghanistan but to prevent more losses the "necessity of reviewing our presence is strongly requested".

The spreading conflict has combined with an increase in criminality, making for more “blurred lines” between the various armed groups which complicate efforts to safely provide aid, Zanarelli said.

“I would say there are more gray areas than there were in the past, and this is certainly what is affecting our capacity to assess our security,” she said.

According to US military estimates, the government controls no more than 60 percent of the country, with the rest either controlled or contested by the Taliban and other insurgent groups.



Iran Says it's Ready for Nuclear Talks with the US but only if Washington Rebuilds Trust

Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, waits for the start of the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, file)
Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, waits for the start of the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, file)
TT
20

Iran Says it's Ready for Nuclear Talks with the US but only if Washington Rebuilds Trust

Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, waits for the start of the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, file)
Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, waits for the start of the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, file)

Iran is ready to engage in talks on its nuclear program with the United States, but only if Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust, a senior Iranian diplomat said Thursday, ahead of a key meeting with European officials.

That meeting will be the first since a ceasefire was reached after a 12-day war waged by Israel against Iran in June, which also saw US B-52 bombers strike nuclear-related facilities in the Islamic Republic.

The discussions will bring Iranian officials together with officials from Britain, France and Germany — known as the E3 nations — and will include the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. A similar meeting had been held in the Turkish city in May.

Iran's conditions In a social media post, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Thursday that for talks with the Unites States, Tehran would seek that “several key principles” be upheld, The AP news reported.

These include “rebuilding Iran’s trust — as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States," he said, adding there could be no room “for hidden agendas such as military action, though Iran remains fully prepared for any scenario.”

Washington would have to respect and recognize Iran’s rights under the international agreement known as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, including the right to enrich uranium “in line with its legitimate needs” and the lifting of crippling economic sanctions on Iran.

The talks in Istanbul will be held at the deputy ministerial level, with Iran sending Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, the other of Iran's two deputy foreign ministers.

A show of strength Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview Thursday that Tehran would not back down from uranium enrichment. Before the war in June, Iran was enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

“Our enrichment will continue, and we will not give up this right of the Iranian people,” Araghchi said in a video posted on the state TV’s Telegram channel.

Iran’s top diplomat said the Istanbul talks with the European parties are necessary, especially after the 12-day war, to make them aware that Iran’s positions remain strong.

“The world must know that there has been no change in our stance,” he said. "We will continue to firmly defend the rights of the Iranian people to peaceful nuclear energy, especially regarding enrichment.”

Araghchi also said that Iran has always been ready to advance its peaceful program within a reasonable and logical framework. “We have never hesitated to build trust with countries that may have concerns,” he said, “but at the same time, Iran’s demand is that its right to peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment, be respected.”

High stakes European leaders have threatened to trigger a “snapback” mechanism included in a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which would reimpose sanctions that were lifted in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany were signatories to the 2015 deal. The US withdrew in 2018 during the first term of President Donald Trump, who insisted the agreement wasn’t tough enough.

Iranian officials have warned that a move to reimpose sanctions would have consequences. Gharibabadi said earlier this week that it could force Tehran to withdraw from key non-proliferation agreements.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Araghchi accused the E3 of hypocrisy, saying they failed to uphold their obligations under the 2015 deal while supporting Israel’s recent strikes on Iran.

In last month's conflict, Iran responded to Israeli and US strikes with missile attacks, including a strike on a US base in Qatar, which Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted was not directed at the Qatari state.

In an interview with Al Jazeera that aired on Wednesday, Pezeshkian said Iran is prepared for another war and accused Israel of attempting to assassinate him during a June 15 meeting of Iran's national security council in Tehran.

Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program will continue within the framework of international law and insisted the country has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.

“Our nuclear capabilities are in the minds of our scientists,” he said, emphasizing Iran’s position that future negotiations must be rooted in mutual respect, not threats.

The aftermath of war According to Iran's official judicial news agency Mizan, at least 13 Iranian nuclear scientists were killed during the June Israel-Iran war.

The extent of the damage to Iran's nuclear sites from the war has not been publicly revealed but a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Thursday the country’s nuclear industry would recover.

“Our nuclear industry is deeply rooted. What has roots cannot be harmed by attack or pressure — it will grow back and thrive again,” state TV quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying.

The UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA — reported in May that Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% had grown to over 400 kilograms (882 pounds). That material, just below weapons-grade level, remains a central concern for the West.

After the June war, Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA, following legislation signed by Pezeshkian.

The road ahead remains uncertain. While European officials say they want to avoid further conflict and are open to a negotiated solution, they have warned that time is running out.