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Pompeo Accuses Iran of Using its Embassies to Plot Terror Attacks

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)
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Pompeo Accuses Iran of Using its Embassies to Plot Terror Attacks

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused on Tuesday Iran of using its embassies to plot terrorist attacks in Europe and warned Tehran that its actions have "a real high cost" after it threatened to disrupt Mideast oil supplies.

"Just this past week there were Iranians arrested in Europe who were preparing to conduct a terror plot in Paris, France. We have seen this malign behavior in Europe," Pompeo said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.

The US official said the administration takes the arrest of the diplomat "very seriously" and sees it as evidence that Iran is using diplomatic compounds in Europe and elsewhere as cover to plot terrorist attacks.

The official dismissed Iranian suggestions that it was a "false flag" operation intended to falsely accuse Iran of terrorism.

Meanwhile, Germany ordered on Wednesday that an Iranian diplomat held over a bomb plot be remanded in custody on charges of foreign intelligence activities and conspiracy to murder.

German prosecutors said that these charges did "not preclude" his extradition requested by Belgium.

The suspect, a Vienna-based accredited Iranian diplomat whom opposition groups have named as Assadollah Assadi, 46, was one of several suspects detained in Germany, Belgium and France over a plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris on June 30.

They had planned to bomb the rally by the exiled National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) group in Villepinte near Paris that was attended by several US politicians.

Assadi was believed to be a member of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which is tasked with the "observation and fight against opposition groups inside and outside Iran", the prosecutors' statement said.

They said Assadi had in March ordered a married couple living in Antwerp "to carry out an explosives attack" on the annual rally and had handed them the explosives in a June meeting in Luxembourg.

The couple were arrested in Brussels on the day of the rally by Belgian security services who said they found them in possession of 500 grams (about one pound) of the volatile explosive TATP and a detonator.

They were identified only as Amir S., 38, and Nasimeh N., 33, and as being Belgian nationals of Iranian origin.

French police arrested another three people but later released two of them, French legal sources said.

US President Donald Trump over two months ago abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal in which Iran had pledged to halt most nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.

Washington considers Iran to be the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism because of its links with the “Hezbollah” party in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories and other networks in Iraq and Yemen.

News of the bomb plot broke in the week Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was visiting Switzerland and Austria to rally European support for the endangered nuclear agreement.

The Paris rally by the NCRI was attended by Trump's personal lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who both urged "regime change" in Iran.

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World

Talks Held on the Future of Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan Claims Full Control of the Region

In this video grab taken from a handout footage and released by the Russian Defense Ministry on September 21, 2023, Armenian civilians arrive at Russian military base near Stepanakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
In this video grab taken from a handout footage and released by the Russian Defense Ministry on September 21, 2023, Armenian civilians arrive at Russian military base near Stepanakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
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Talks Held on the Future of Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan Claims Full Control of the Region

In this video grab taken from a handout footage and released by the Russian Defense Ministry on September 21, 2023, Armenian civilians arrive at Russian military base near Stepanakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)
In this video grab taken from a handout footage and released by the Russian Defense Ministry on September 21, 2023, Armenian civilians arrive at Russian military base near Stepanakert in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. (Photo by Handout / Russian Defense Ministry / AFP)

Representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijan government met for talks Thursday to discuss the future of the breakaway region that Azerbaijan claims to fully control following a military offensive this week.
Azerbaijan’s state news agency said the talks had ended but provided no details on whether an agreement was reached. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities and the news agency earlier said the talks between regional leaders and Azerbaijan's government would focus on Nagorno-Karabakh’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.
The talks in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh came after local Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to lay down their weapons following an outbreak of fighting this week in the decades-long separatist conflict. Authorities in the ethnic Armenian region that has run its affairs without international recognition since fighting broke out in the early 1990s declared Wednesday that local self-defense forces will disarm and disband under a Russia-mediated cease-fire.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev trumpeted victory in a televised address to the nation, saying his country’s military had restored its sovereignty in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On Tuesday, the Azerbaijan army unleashed an artillery barrage and drone attacks against outnumbered and undersupplied pro-Armenian forces, which have been weakened by a blockade of the region in the southern Caucasus Mountains that is recognized internationally as being part of Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said at least 200 people, including 10 civilians, were killed and more than 400 others were wounded in the fighting. The figures could not immediately be independently verified.
Azerbaijan’s move to reclaim control over Nagorno-Karabakh raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume between it and Armenia, which have been locked in a struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994.
The hostilities worsened an already grim humanitarian situation for residents who have endured shortages of food and medicine for months as Azerbaijan enforced a blockade of the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
The UN Security Council scheduled an urgent meeting Thursday on the Azerbaijani offensive at the request of France.
On Thursday, authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijan of violating the cease-fire agreement by firing on Stepanakert in the disputed region, according to Russian news agency Interfax. Azerbaijan's defense ministry said allegations of an attack were "completely false," the Azerbaijan news agency reported.
In a phone call Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Aliyev that the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh should be guaranteed, according to Russian state news agency Tass. Aliyev apologized to Putin during the phone call for the death of Russian peacekeepers in the region on Wednesday, Tass said, citing the Kremlin press service. Russia’s defense ministry said some of its peacekeepers were killed, though it didn’t say how many or whether it happened before or after the start of the cease-fire.
On Thursday, Russia's defense ministry reported that about 5,000 civilians in the region had been evacuated to a camp operated by Russian peacekeepers to avoid the fighting. Many others gathered Wednesday at the airport in Stepanakert hoping to flee the region.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech that fighting had decreased following the truce, emphasizing that Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh are fully responsible for residents' security.
Pashinyan, who has previously recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, said Armenia wouldn’t be drawn into the fighting. He said his government didn’t take part in negotiating the deal, but “has taken note” of the decision made by the region’s separatist authorities.
He again denied any Armenian troops were in the region, even though separatist authorities said they were in Nagorno-Karabakh and would pull out as part of the truce.
Protesters rallied in the Armenian capital of Yerevan for a second day Wednesday, blocking streets and demanding that authorities defend Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US was “deeply concerned” about Azerbaijan’s military actions. “We have repeatedly emphasized the use of force is absolutely unacceptable,” he said, adding that the US was closely watching the worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
During another war that lasted six weeks in 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed broad swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories that were held for decades by Armenian forces. More than 6,700 people died in the fighting, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement. Moscow deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the region.
The conflict has long drawn in powerful regional players, including Russia and Turkey. While Russia took on a mediating role, Turkey threw its weight behind longtime ally Azerbaijan.
Russia has been Armenia’s main economic partner and ally since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and has a military base in the country.
Pashinyan, however, has been increasingly critical of Moscow’s role, emphasizing its failure to protect Nagorno-Karabakh and arguing that Armenia needs to turn to the West to ensure its security. Moscow, in turn, has expressed dismay about Pashinyan’s pro-Western tilt.
The Kremlin said Putin spoke by phone with Pashinyan on Wednesday, welcoming the deal to end the hostilities and start talks.
The separatists’ quick capitulation reflected their weakness following the Armenian forces’ defeat in the 2020 war and the loss of the only road linking the region to Armenia.
While many in Armenia blamed Russia for the defeat of the separatists, Moscow pointed to Pashinyan’s own recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.
“Undoubtedly, Karabakh is Azerbaijan’s internal business,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Azerbaijan is acting on its own territory, which was recognized by the leadership of Armenia.”
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Aliyev and “condemned Azerbaijan’s decision to use force ... at the risk of worsening the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and compromising ongoing efforts to achieve a fair and lasting peace,” the French presidential office said.
Macron “stressed the need to respect” the cease-fire and “to provide guarantees on the rights and security of the people of Karabakh, in line with international law.”
Azerbaijan presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said the government was “ready to listen to the Armenian population of Karabakh regarding their humanitarian needs.”
In announcing its military operation Tuesday, Azerbaijan aired a long list of grievances, accusing pro-Armenian forces of attacking its positions, planting land mines and engaging in sabotage.
Aliyev insisted that the Azerbaijani army struck only military facilities during the fighting, but separatist officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said Stepanakert and other areas came under “intense shelling.”
Significant damage was visible in the city, with shop windows blown out and vehicles apparently hit by shrapnel.
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said Armenian forces fired at Shusha, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan’s control, killing one civilian.

World

Greek State Workers Strike against Government Labor Law Plans

Protesters take part in a demonstration in front of the parliament building against the government's planned labor reforms, in Athens, Greece, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Protesters take part in a demonstration in front of the parliament building against the government's planned labor reforms, in Athens, Greece, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
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Greek State Workers Strike against Government Labor Law Plans

Protesters take part in a demonstration in front of the parliament building against the government's planned labor reforms, in Athens, Greece, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Protesters take part in a demonstration in front of the parliament building against the government's planned labor reforms, in Athens, Greece, September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Greek public sector workers including teachers, doctors and transport staff walked off the job on Thursday to protest against labor law changes to the conservative government plans, months after it was re-elected.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government says the overhaul would eliminate undeclared work and boost employment overall, but the opposition says it is an assault on workers' rights and would create "barbaric" conditions, Reuters said.
Trains and buses were operating on reduced hours during the one-day nationwide strike called by Greece's largest public sector union ADEDY. State hospitals operated on emergency staff and many schools closed.
Workers were expected to rally in central Athens and later march to parliament to coincide with a debate and vote.
"We demand the bill's withdrawal," said ADEDY, which represents about half a million workers.
The walkout is the first against Mitsotakis' government since he was re-elected in June.
The bill would allow full-time employees to get a part-time second job and work up to 13 hours a day unless certain terms apply such as conflict of interest. It also enables employers to implement a six-day working week if needed.
According to the bill, an employee can be fired within the first year of work without warning or remuneration, unless agreed otherwise.
It allows a probation period of up to six months, but also obliges employers to provide detailed terms of work.
Employers face a fine up to 10,500 euros ($11,175) if they fail to declare an employee's extension of working hours or change of shifts.
The bill introduces fines and a six-month jail term against those who obstruct employees from working during a strike.
Lawmakers with the main opposition, the Syriza leftist party which is expected to elect a new leader on Sunday, said earlier this week that the government was pushing "a secret agenda" against workers.
Greece's Communist Party KKE has called the bill "monstrous".

World

US Warns of Russian-Modified Drones Aiding Iran

Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US Air Force Central, holds a press briefing at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi (AP)
Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US Air Force Central, holds a press briefing at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi (AP)
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US Warns of Russian-Modified Drones Aiding Iran

Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US Air Force Central, holds a press briefing at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi (AP)
Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US Air Force Central, holds a press briefing at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi (AP)

A top Air Force commander in the Middle East has warned that Russia’s modification of Iranian drones could boost Tehran’s military capabilities and raise risks across the Middle East.

Washington accuses Tehran of supplying Moscow with drones, which have become a major feature of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and are in regular use in Syria. Iran denies sending drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

“I think there's a risk that... as Russia accepts the drones from Iran, as it modifies those weapons, that some of that technology gets shared back with Iran (and) gives them additional capabilities,” Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US Air Force Central, told a press briefing, according to AFP on Wednesday.

“I see the implications of that relationship playing out a little bit in Syria. Who would have ever thought that the Russian Federation would need to go to Iran for military capability? And yet we're there,” he added.

Drones have become a focal point of military strategy for both Russia and Iran, which are under heavy Western sanctions.

Tehran last month unveiled its “Mohajer-10” attack drone, and Russian President Vladimir Putin gave North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a gift of drones when he visited Moscow last week.

“I'm concerned about the level of collaboration that might happen between Russian forces and the amount of cooperation and collusion between Russia and Iran that's playing out in Syria,” Grynkewich told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

“That is something that we watch very closely,” he continued. “That burgeoning relationship is of a military concern to me.”

Tehran has been a primary supporter of Damascus. It has helped push groups loyal to it, most notably the Lebanese Hezbollah, to fight in Syria alongside government forces.

The conflict in Syria, which started 12 years ago, has killed at least half-a-million people, displaced millions more and destroyed the country’s infrastructure.

World

Russia Strikes Cities from East to West Ukraine, Starting Fires and Killing at Least Two

23 July 2023, Ukraine, Odesa: A general view of the destruction caused by Russian airstrikes. Photo: Ukrinform/dpa
23 July 2023, Ukraine, Odesa: A general view of the destruction caused by Russian airstrikes. Photo: Ukrinform/dpa
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Russia Strikes Cities from East to West Ukraine, Starting Fires and Killing at Least Two

23 July 2023, Ukraine, Odesa: A general view of the destruction caused by Russian airstrikes. Photo: Ukrinform/dpa
23 July 2023, Ukraine, Odesa: A general view of the destruction caused by Russian airstrikes. Photo: Ukrinform/dpa

Air alerts sounded again and again in Kyiv and residents headed to shelters early Thursday morning, as a massive Russian attack on at least six cities across Ukraine killed at least two people, started fires and wounded at least 21.
In the southern city of Kherson, near the front lines, two people were killed and at least five injured after a strike hit a residential building, said regional Governor Oleksand Prokudin.
Seven people were injured in Kyiv, including a 9-year-old girl, reported Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, and some residential and commercial buildings were damaged, The Associated Press said.
At least six strikes hit the Slobidskyi district of Kharkiv, damaging civilian infrastructure, said regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov. The city’s mayor added that two people had been sent to hospitals.
Seven were injured and at least one person was rescued from under rubble in Cherkasy, in central Ukraine, according to Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
An industrial zone was hit in western region of Lviv, damaging buildings and starting a fire, but no information on casualties was immediately available, Klymenko added.
Regional Governor Vitalii Koval reported strikes in the city of Rivne in the northwest region of the same name, without immediately providing details

World

Raisi Says Iran Has ‘No Problem’ with IAEA Inspections

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (AP)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (AP)
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Raisi Says Iran Has ‘No Problem’ with IAEA Inspections

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (AP)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (AP)

Iran has no issue with the UN nuclear watchdog's inspection of its nuclear sites, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Wednesday, days after Tehran barred multiple inspectors assigned to the country.

“We have no problem with the inspections but the problem is with some inspectors ... those inspectors that are trustworthy can continue their work in Iran,” Raisi told a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Iran's move was a response to a call led by the United States, Britain, France and Germany at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors earlier this month for Tehran to cooperate immediately with the agency on issues including explaining uranium traces found at undeclared sites.

“Tehran's decision was in reaction to some unfair statements by the Western members of the IAEA,” Raisi said.

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi has condemned Iran's “disproportionate and unprecedented” move.

Tehran's move, known as “e-designation” of inspectors, is allowed; member states can generally veto inspectors assigned to visit their nuclear facilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and each country's safeguards agreement with the agency governing inspections.

World

Russia’s War in Ukraine ‘Aggravating Geopolitical Tensions,’ UN Chief Says

Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia speaks as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and United Nations Security Council members listen during a ministerial level meeting of the Security Council on the crisis in Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, September 20, 2023. (Reuters)
Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia speaks as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and United Nations Security Council members listen during a ministerial level meeting of the Security Council on the crisis in Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, September 20, 2023. (Reuters)
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Russia’s War in Ukraine ‘Aggravating Geopolitical Tensions,’ UN Chief Says

Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia speaks as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and United Nations Security Council members listen during a ministerial level meeting of the Security Council on the crisis in Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, September 20, 2023. (Reuters)
Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia speaks as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and United Nations Security Council members listen during a ministerial level meeting of the Security Council on the crisis in Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, September 20, 2023. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday that Russia's war in Ukraine "is aggravating geopolitical tensions and divisions, threatening regional stability, increasing the nuclear threat, and creating deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world."

Guterres was first to address the Security Council meeting on Ukraine taking place during the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended in person for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Before the meeting started, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia argued against Zelenskiy addressing the council, which is chaired by Albania for September, before the 15 members.

"I want to assure our Russian colleagues and everyone here that this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency," Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama told Nebenzia. "There is a solution for this. If you agree, you stop the war and President Zelenskiy will not take the floor."

The Security Council has met dozens of times on Ukraine over the past 19 months but is unable to take any action as Russia is a veto power.

World

Iran’s Parliament Passes a Stricter Headscarf Law Days after Protest Anniversary

Iranian women, some without the mandatory headscarf, walk in a street in Tehran, Iran, 13 September 2023. (EPA)
Iranian women, some without the mandatory headscarf, walk in a street in Tehran, Iran, 13 September 2023. (EPA)
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Iran’s Parliament Passes a Stricter Headscarf Law Days after Protest Anniversary

Iranian women, some without the mandatory headscarf, walk in a street in Tehran, Iran, 13 September 2023. (EPA)
Iranian women, some without the mandatory headscarf, walk in a street in Tehran, Iran, 13 September 2023. (EPA)

Iran's parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to impose heavier penalties on women who refuse to wear the mandatory headscarf in public and those who support them.

The move came just days after the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the morality police for violating the country's dress code. Her death in custody ignited months of protests in which many called for the overthrow of Iran's theocracy.

The 70-item bill extends punishments to business owners who serve women not wearing the mandatory headscarf, known as hijab, and activists who organize against it. Violators could face up to 10 years in prison if the offense occurs in an organized way.

The bill, which was approved by 152 lawmakers in Iran's 290-seat parliament, requires ratification by the Guardian Council, a clerical body that serves as constitutional watchdog. It would take effect for a preliminary period of three years.

The demonstrations sparked by Amini's death on Sept. 16, 2022, died down early this year following a heavy crackdown on dissent in which more than 500 protesters were killed and over 22,000 detained.

But many women continued to flaunt the rules on wearing hijab, prompting a new campaign to enforce them over the summer. Iran's clerical rulers view the hijab law as a key pillar of the country and blamed the protests on Western nations, without providing evidence.

The protesters said they were motivated by anger over the dress code as well as what they see as the corruption and poor governance of the country's

World

Azerbaijan and Armenian Forces Reach Ceasefire Deal for Nagorno-Karabakh

A view shows civilians during an evacuation performed by Russian peacekeepers at an unknown location following the launch of a military operation by Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inhabited by ethnic Armenians, in this still image from video published September 20, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows civilians during an evacuation performed by Russian peacekeepers at an unknown location following the launch of a military operation by Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inhabited by ethnic Armenians, in this still image from video published September 20, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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Azerbaijan and Armenian Forces Reach Ceasefire Deal for Nagorno-Karabakh

A view shows civilians during an evacuation performed by Russian peacekeepers at an unknown location following the launch of a military operation by Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inhabited by ethnic Armenians, in this still image from video published September 20, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows civilians during an evacuation performed by Russian peacekeepers at an unknown location following the launch of a military operation by Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inhabited by ethnic Armenians, in this still image from video published September 20, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

A ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan was reached on Wednesday to end two days of fighting in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region, local authorities and Azerbaijani officials said.

The agreement was to go into effect at 1 p.m. local time (0900 GMT), and talks between Azerbaijani officials and the breakaway region's ethnic Armenian authorities on its “re-integration” into Azerbaijan were scheduled to take place on Thursday in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh.

The deal was reached through negotiations with the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the region, local officials said. It envisions the withdrawal of Armenian military units and equipment from Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as disarming the local defense forces, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry confirmed.

It comes a day after Azerbaijan launched military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh and used heavy artillery fire on Armenian positions there, an attack that local officials said killed or wounded scores of people, The Associated Press reported.

Azerbaijan has called the artillery fire an “anti-terrorist operation” and said it will continue until the separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh dismantles itself and “illegal Armenian military formations” surrender.

It claimed to be only targeting military sites but significant damage is visible on the streets of the regional capital, Stepanakert, with shop windows blown out and vehicles punctured, apparently by shrapnel.

The blasts reverberated around Stepanakert every few minutes on Wednesday morning, with some explosions in the distance and others closer to the city.

The escalation has raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which for more than three decades have been locked in a struggle over the mountainous territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The most recent heavy fighting there occurred over six weeks in 2020.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry announced the start of the military operation hours after it reported that four soldiers and two civilians died in land mine explosions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The ministry did not immediately give details but said that front-line positions and the military assets of Armenia’s armed forces were being “incapacitated using high-precision weapons,” and that only legitimate military targets were being attacked.

Russia's defense ministry said Wednesday that its peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh had evacuated more than 2,000 civilians, but did not give details on where they were taken.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, however, denied that its weapons or troops were in Nagorno-Karabakh and called reported sabotage and land mines in the region “a lie.” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashiyan alleged that Azerbaijan’s main goal is to draw Armenia into hostilities.

Ethnic Armenian officials in Nagorno-Karabakh said in a statement that Stepanakert and villages in the region were “under intense shelling.” The region’s military said Azerbaijan was using aircraft, artillery and missile systems, as well as drones in the fighting.

Residents of Stepanakert moved to basements and bomb shelters, and the fighting cut off electricity. Food shortages persisted in the area, with limited humanitarian aid delivered Monday not distributed due to the shelling, which resumed in the evening after halting briefly in the afternoon.

Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Geghan Stepanyan said Wednesday that 32 people, including seven civilians, were killed and more than 200 others were wounded. Stepanyan earlier said one child was among those killed, and 11 children were among the wounded.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said Armenian forces fired at Shusha, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan’s control, from large-caliber weapons, killing one civilian.

Neither claim could be independently verified.

World

Tornadoes Kill 10 People in Eastern China

This aerial view shows damaged buildings after a tornado hit the city of Suqian, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on September 20, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings after a tornado hit the city of Suqian, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on September 20, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
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Tornadoes Kill 10 People in Eastern China

This aerial view shows damaged buildings after a tornado hit the city of Suqian, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on September 20, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings after a tornado hit the city of Suqian, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on September 20, 2023. (Photo by AFP)

Two tornadoes within hours killed 10 people and seriously injured four others in eastern China, state media said Wednesday.
The first tornado hit parts of Suqian city in Jiangsu province on Tuesday afternoon, state broadcaster CCTV said. It destroyed 137 homes and damaged crop land and pig farms. Five people died and four were injured.
A second tornado in the evening killed five people in Yancheng city, which is in the same province about 190 kilometers southeast of Suqian, The Associated Press reported.
Videos posted online of the first tornado showed cars that had been tossed about, including at least one flipped onto its side, and debris swirling in the air above a several story-high building.
CCTV said that power and road service had been restored in the Suqian area.
Tornadoes are rare in China but have caused deaths in Jiangsu in recent years. One person in the province was killed in a tornado last year and four died in 2021. Another tornado killed eight people in the city of Wuhan the same day.

World

Moscow-Tehran Ties Have Reached New Level, Says Russian Defense Minister

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Tehran (Reuters)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Tehran (Reuters)
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Moscow-Tehran Ties Have Reached New Level, Says Russian Defense Minister

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Tehran (Reuters)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Tehran (Reuters)

Relations between Russia and Iran have reached a new level despite opposition from much of the Western world, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during his visit to Teheran on Wednesday.

"We are aiming at an entire range of planned activities, despite opposition from the United States and its Western allies," the Interfax news agency cited Shoigu as saying.

Shoigu, who arrived in Tehran on Tuesday, was invited to Iran by Major General Mohammad Bagheri, who serves as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Iran's state news agency, IRNA, reported.

“Relations between Russia and Iran are developing dynamically in the field of defense,” Shoigu said during his meeting with Bagheri.

“Today, we have an opportunity to discuss in detail topical issues of bilateral military cooperation,” the Russian minister said.

“Iran is Russia’s strategic partner in the Middle East,” he stressed.