German Defense Minister: Planned US Withdrawal 'Regrettable'

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks prior to the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks prior to the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)
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German Defense Minister: Planned US Withdrawal 'Regrettable'

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks prior to the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks prior to the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)

The German government's reaction so far to the US decision has been restrained. Still, Rolf Muetzenich, a senior figure in the governing coalition's junior party, the center-left Social Democrats, suggested that "armaments cooperation will have to be evaluated in a new light."

Muetzenich, the head of the party's parliamentary group, told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that "capriciousness and pressure" could not be "the basis for working together in partnership."

His comments drew criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party. Lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter told news agency dpa that "there is no adequate and affordable replacement so far" in Europe for the US defense industry's high-tech products. He argued that there also are checks and balances on Trump in the US.

Another lawmaker, Henning Otte, said the Social Democrats shouldn't talk up "further alienation within the alliance."

Part of the plan announced by US Defense Secretary Mark Esper includes moving the headquarters of US European Command to Mons, Belgium from Stuttgart, Germany . Esper said the Pentagon was also looking into moving U.S. Africa Command out of the German city.

Africa Command said in a statement Friday that it "has been told to plan to move" and has started doing so, though added it would "likely take several months to develop options, consider locations, and come to a decision."

Africa Command, which was established in Stuttgart in 2008 after being unable to find a location in Africa, said it would "first look at options elsewhere in Europe, but will also consider options in the United States" for its new home.
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Russian Veto Brings End to UN Panel Monitoring Enforcement of North Korea Nuclear Sanctions

Russia's Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia addresses the Security Council on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Russia's Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia addresses the Security Council on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Russian Veto Brings End to UN Panel Monitoring Enforcement of North Korea Nuclear Sanctions

Russia's Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia addresses the Security Council on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Russia's Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia addresses the Security Council on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Russia vetoed a UN resolution Thursday in a move that effectively abolishes the monitoring by United Nations experts of sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, though the sanctions themselves remain in place.

Russia’s turnaround on the monitoring -- which it repeatedly agreed to in the past -- prompted Western accusations that Moscow was acting to shield its weapons purchases from North Korea for use in its war against Ukraine, in violation of the UN sanctions.

The vote in the 15-member council was 13 in favor, Russia against, and China abstaining. The Security Council resolution would have extended the mandate of the panel of experts for a year, but Russia’s veto will halt its operation. The UN sanctions against North Korea still remain in force.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council before the vote that Western nations are trying to “strangle” North Korea and that sanctions have proven “irrelevant” and “detached from reality” in reining in the country's nuclear program.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the council after the vote that Russia’s veto was nothing more than “the attempt by one council member to silence the independent objective investigations” into North Korea’s sanctions violations.

He said Russia acted because “the panel began reporting in the last year on Russia’s blatant violations of the UN Security Council resolutions.”

White House national security spokesman John Kirby condemned Russia’s veto as a “reckless action” that undermines sanctions imposed on North Korea, while warning against the deepening cooperation between North Korea and Russia, particularly as North Korea continues to supply Russia with weapons as it wages its war in Ukraine.

“The international community should resolutely uphold the global nonproliferation regime and support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and independence against Russia’s brutal aggression,” Kirby told reporters.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said Russia’s veto follows arms deals between Russia and North Korea in violation of UN sanctions, including “the transfer of ballistic missiles, which Russia has then used in its illegal invasion of Ukraine since the early part of this year.”

The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking — so far unsuccessfully — to cut funds and curb its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The last sanctions resolution was adopted by the council in December 2017. China and Russia vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

The Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years.


Russia Arrests Another Suspect in Concert Hall Attack That Killed 143

A Russian woman mourns and places flowers at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, six days after a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 28 March 2024. (EPA)
A Russian woman mourns and places flowers at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, six days after a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 28 March 2024. (EPA)
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Russia Arrests Another Suspect in Concert Hall Attack That Killed 143

A Russian woman mourns and places flowers at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, six days after a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 28 March 2024. (EPA)
A Russian woman mourns and places flowers at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, six days after a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 28 March 2024. (EPA)

Russia's top investigative body said Thursday that another suspect has been detained as an accomplice in the attack by gunmen on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 143 people.

A statement from the Investigative Committee said the latest person detained was involved in financing Friday's attack on the Crocus City concert hall in which gunmen shot people who were waiting for a show by a popular rock band and then set the building on fire. It did not give further details of the suspect's identity or alleged actions.

Officials previously said that 11 suspects had been arrested, including four who allegedly carried out the attack. Those four, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

A faction of the ISIS group has claimed responsibility for the massacre. But Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have persistently claimed, without presenting evidence, that Ukraine and the West had a role in the attack.

The Investigative Committee statement said it has “confirmed data that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack received significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, which were used in preparing the crime.”

Ukraine denies involvement and its officials claim that Moscow is pushing the allegation as a pretext to intensify its fighting in Ukraine.

Health officials said Thursday that about 70 people remain hospitalized from injuries in the attack, many of them in severe condition.


Türkiye Opposition Aims to Hit Back at Erdogan in Local Elections

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech during a campaign rally ahead of nationwide municipality elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP)
Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech during a campaign rally ahead of nationwide municipality elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye Opposition Aims to Hit Back at Erdogan in Local Elections

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech during a campaign rally ahead of nationwide municipality elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP)
Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech during a campaign rally ahead of nationwide municipality elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP)

Bruised and fractured by Tayyip Erdogan's victory in 2023 general elections, Türkiye’s opposition aims to land a blow in Sunday's local polls, with the future of its biggest hope, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, tied to the outcome.
The nationwide municipal votes on March 31 could reinforce President Erdogan's control after two decades running Türkiye, or signal change in the NATO member's deeply divided political landscape.
The results are likely to be shaped in part by economic woes driven by rampant inflation, and by Kurdish and Islamist voters weighing up the government's performance and their hopes for political change, Reuters said.
Opposition hopes of transformation were fuelled by local election results in 2019 when they defeated Erdogan's AK Party in the main two cities, Istanbul and Ankara, which had been run by the AKP and its Islamist predecessors for 25 years. But Erdogan bounced back last year, retaining the presidency and winning a parliamentary majority with nationalist allies despite voters' concerns about a cost-of-living crisis. In response, a broad opposition alliance splintered. Polls show Imamoglu and the AKP candidate, former minister Murat Kurum, in a close race in Istanbul, a city of 16 million, where Erdogan made his name as mayor in the 1990s. The incumbent opposition mayor leads in the capital Ankara. Erdogan has been seeking a bigger role for Türkiye on the world stage and sought to repair frayed ties with many nations in recent years, including in the Middle East. But during campaigning he said Turks should vote for the AKP to defend against unspecified enemies.
"Those who cannot stomach Türkiye’s increasing power in the region and world, or its principled and fair stance, are currently waiting in ambush," he said on Monday at a rally in the northern province of Tokat.
"In 2019 when Erdogan and AK Party lost Istanbul, it was a big blow and it was a scratch on Erdogan's reputation. Up until then he was unbeatable, invincible," said Yetkin Report analyst Murat Yetkin, describing a win in Istanbul as vital for Erdogan.
"If he does so, that means that he will be able to extend and endorse his power to local administrations," he said, with analysts saying Erdogan may then bid to change the constitution to enable him to stand as president again in 2028.
An Imamoglu victory would however revitalize the opposition, said political analyst Berk Esen of Sabanci University.
"If the opposition candidate can win in Istanbul then at least the main opposition party will be able to gain sufficient strength to challenge Erdogan in the coming years," he said.
It was a message that Imamoglu sought to convey.
"Türkiye’s destiny is in your hands," Imamoglu said in an appeal to young Turks in Istanbul. "You can change what is going wrong in Türkiye with one vote."
"The playing field is tilted in favor of the ruling alliance," said Esen. "Imamoglu is basically fighting alone."
ECONOMY, GAZA SWAYING VOTERS
Erdogan's prospects appear to have been dented by a rise in support for the Islamist New Welfare Party due to its hardline stance against Israel over the Gaza conflict and dissatisfaction with the Islamist-rooted AKP's handling of the economy. Erdogan's rhetoric against Israel has been harsh but Ankara has maintained commercial ties with Israel, drawing criticism from Welfare, which has tapped into anger among Turks who want the government to be more active in supporting Palestinians.
"If we, the Welfare Party, were in power, Israel would not be able to attack Gaza," the party's deputy leader Mehmet Altinoz told Reuters, calling for a trade embargo on Israel.
Polls indicate Welfare's support may have doubled to some 5%, eating into votes that may otherwise have gone to the AKP.
"They have a more radical, anti-Israeli stance and this makes them popular among radical Islamists," said Yetkin. Erdogan's prospects of winning back Istanbul may also depend on Kurdish voters, many of whom are expected to put aside party loyalty and back Imamoglu, according to pollsters.
For other voters, the local elections offer an opportunity to give their verdict on the government's economic performance. Turks have been struggling with soaring prices for years, with annual inflation still near 70% despite a major U-turn in economic policy after last year's elections that lifted the key interest rate a massive 4,150 basis points to 50%.
While the economy may be a key factor influencing voters nationwide, the focus of attention will be on Istanbul and the message it gives on the direction that Türkiye is taking.
"If he loses this election, the legend of Ekrem Imamoglu would be in great trouble," said MAK Research head Mehmet Ali Kulat. But victory for him will change the picture.
"Imamoglu would become an important actor in Turkish politics for the next 20 years and very likely be a candidate in the next presidential election."


Ukraine Destroys 26 Russian Drones in Latest Overnight Strike

Police secure the site of shelling near residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 27 March 2024, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Police secure the site of shelling near residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 27 March 2024, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
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Ukraine Destroys 26 Russian Drones in Latest Overnight Strike

Police secure the site of shelling near residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 27 March 2024, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV
Police secure the site of shelling near residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 27 March 2024, amid the Russian invasion. EPA/SERGEY KOZLOV

Ukrainian forces shot down 26 out of 28 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, Kyiv's military said on Thursday.
The Iranian-made drones were destroyed over parts of eastern, southern and southeastern Ukraine, the air force added.
The Zaporizhzhia region's governor said on Telegram that two women had been wounded when debris struck a residential neighborhood in the regional capital, reported Reuters.
Prosecutors in the eastern Kharkiv region said a restaurant, a store and offices were damaged by debris from three drones.
The air force added that Russia's overnight attack included several types of missiles. The military's southern command reported on Telegram that those launched from planes over the Black Sea had "lost their combat capability".
Odesa region governor Oleh Kiper said Russia carried out a separate missile strike later in the morning but that no injuries had been reported. He did not specify the target.
Russia has launched regular air strikes on population centers far behind the lines of its two-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.


Philippines Affirms Iran frees Filipino Crew of Seized Oil Tanker

The Greek-owned St. Nikolas oil tanker seized by Iran
The Greek-owned St. Nikolas oil tanker seized by Iran
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Philippines Affirms Iran frees Filipino Crew of Seized Oil Tanker

The Greek-owned St. Nikolas oil tanker seized by Iran
The Greek-owned St. Nikolas oil tanker seized by Iran

The Filipino government said on Wednesday that all crew members of the oil tanker that was seized in the Gulf of Oman in January, have returned to the country.

This came while the government seeks to secure the release of other Filipino seafarers held hostage by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Red Sea.

On January 11, Iran’s navy had seized the Greek-owned St. Nikolas off the coast of Oman. It was carrying 18 Filipino crew members and one Greek, against the backdrop of tension between Iran and its arch enemy, the United States.

In Manila, Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the Greek crew member was released the following week.

Tehran began freeing the Filipino crew in batches at the end of January after a replacement crew was hired from Russia and other countries.

De Vega said the last of the Filipino crew returned to Manila last week.

“They were not hostages... but they were not allowed to leave without replacements,” de Vega said of the Filipino crew.

The Marshall Islands-flagged ship was carrying 145,000 tons of oil from Iraq and heading to Türkiye when it was seized. It has been anchored in the vicinity of the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

Iran's state media said the seizure was in retaliation to the “theft” of Iranian oil by the United States from the same tanker, at the time named the Suez Rajan.

-Seamen Captured by Houthis

Manila is still seeking the release of 17 Filipinos taken hostage by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis in November after the rebels seized their ship in the Red Sea.

In a separate incident, two Filipino crew members were killed and three others injured in a Houthi missile attack on their ship in the Gulf of Aden on March 6.

The Houthis began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea last November, a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

De Vega said Manila was “encouraged by the developments such as the UN resolution calling on a ceasefire in Gaza.”

“Hopefully there will be peace in the Middle East and the Houthis will release them (Filipino seamen),” he said.

-Suez Rajan Saga

Attention began focusing on the Suez Rajan in February 2022, when the group United Against Nuclear Iran said it suspected the tanker carried oil from Iran's Khargh Island, its main oil distribution terminal in the Arabian Gulf. Satellite photos and shipping data analyzed at the time supported the allegation.

For months, the ship sat in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore before suddenly sailing for the Texas coast without explanation.

In September, Empire Navigation pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine over a case involving the tanker.

The vessel discharged its cargo to another tanker in August, which released its oil in Houston as part of a Justice Department order.

It was sentenced to three years of corporate probation.

The US Treasury has said Iran’s oil smuggling revenue supports the Quds Force, the expeditionary unit of the Revolutionary Guard that operates across the Mideast.

In the meantime, Iran has seized two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, including the Advantage Sweet, Suezmax crude tanker that had been chartered by US firm Chevron.

-US Crude Oil Seized by Iran

On March 6, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Iran will unload about $50 million worth of crude from the Advantage Sweet, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker seized last year.

The unloading of the cargo follows a court order by Iran's judiciary which stated the move is in retaliation to US sanctions preventing the sale of critical medicine for Iranian victims of a rare skin disease.

The United States insists that medicines and humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions.


Iran Sentences Police Officer to Death for Killing Man During 2022 Protests

Protests following the killing of Samak in the city of Bandar Anzali (Fars news agency)
Protests following the killing of Samak in the city of Bandar Anzali (Fars news agency)
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Iran Sentences Police Officer to Death for Killing Man During 2022 Protests

Protests following the killing of Samak in the city of Bandar Anzali (Fars news agency)
Protests following the killing of Samak in the city of Bandar Anzali (Fars news agency)

An Iranian court has sentenced a police chief in northern Iran to death after he was charged with the killing of a man during the widespread demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, local media reported Wednesday.

Rights groups based outside of Iran said Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead by Iranian security forces after honking his car horn in celebration of Iran's loss to the United States in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.

According to AFP, Samak succumbed to injuries he sustained after being hit by shotgun pellets during a rally in the northern city of Bandar Anzali on Nov. 30, 2022.

Local police chief Jafar Javanmardi was arrested in December 2022 following Samak’s death. At the time, the lawyer for the victim's family, Majid Ahmadi, said that the police official was charged with “violating the rules for firearms usage, resulting in the death of Samak.”

He said this is the third time a military court sentences the official to death “in accordance with the Islamic law of retribution, known as the 'qisas' law.”

In mid-January, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said the Supreme Court had annulled two initial death sentences and referred Javanmardi’s case to another court.

At the time, Gilan province, where Bandar Anzali is located, was a flashpoint of the nationwide protest movement that shook Iran after Amini, 22, died in custody in September 2022 following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women.

On March 8, a report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission said Iran’s “repression of peaceful protests” and “institutional discrimination against women and girls” has led to human rights violations, some of which amount to crimes against humanity.

“The mission has established that many of the serious human rights violations amount to crimes against humanity – specifically those of murder; imprisonment; torture; rape and other forms of sexual violence; persecution; enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts,” it said.

The Fact-Finding Mission also found that Tehran arbitrarily executed at least nine young men from December 2022 to January 2024, after summary trials which relied on confessions extracted under torture and ill-treatment.

Credible figures suggest that as many as 551 protesters were killed by the security forces, among them at least 49 women and 68 children. Most deaths were caused by firearms, including assault rifles.


Rouhani Reveals Details of Meeting Aimed at Easing Tension with IRGC Leaders

Rouhani meets with the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards after winning a second presidential term. (Archives - Iranian Presidency website)
Rouhani meets with the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards after winning a second presidential term. (Archives - Iranian Presidency website)
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Rouhani Reveals Details of Meeting Aimed at Easing Tension with IRGC Leaders

Rouhani meets with the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards after winning a second presidential term. (Archives - Iranian Presidency website)
Rouhani meets with the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards after winning a second presidential term. (Archives - Iranian Presidency website)

Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani revealed the circumstances of a meeting aimed at “calming tensions” with five senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guards, two weeks before the start of his second presidential term in early August 2017, following the defeat of the current president, Ebrahim Raisi, in his first electoral race.

Rouhani recounted that the former head of foreign operations in the IRGC, Qassem Soleimani, asked him at the end of the meeting to name a defense minister from among the officers of the Corps.

However, a month after the meeting, Rouhani presented Brigadier General Amir Hatami, an Iranian army officer, as Minister of Defense, excluding his first Defense Minister, Hossein Dehghan, who belonged to the IRGC. It was the first time that the Iranian president appointed an army leader as minister of Defense, after merging the Ministry of the Revolutionary Guard with the Ministry of Defense in 1989.

Rouhani’s words confirm the various reports about Dehghan’s continuation or departure from the ministerial lineup and the Iranian president’s desire to transfer the position to an army commander.

He said that he chose his entire ministerial team after seeking the advice of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It is known that the president is obliged to obtain prior approval from the spiritual leader in naming five ministers. Those include the ministers of Defense, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Culture and Information.

The new account of the tense relationship between the IRGC and the previous government comes days after the publication of a book by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in which he revealed that he and Rouhani were not informed of the attack on the Ain al-Assad base, while former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and American leaders received messages from Tehran regarding intentions to bomb US forces with ballistic missiles.

Tension reached its peak during the 2017 presidential elections, when Rouhani described the Revolutionary Guards as “the government that owns the gun”, criticizing in particular the IRGC missile activities a few months after the signing of the nuclear agreement in July 2015.


US Doesn't Support Pakistan-Iran Gas Pipeline Project Going Forward

Iranian welders work on the pipeline to transfer natural gas from Iran to Pakistan, in Chabahar, near the Pakistani border, southeastern Iran (Iranian Oil Ministry)
Iranian welders work on the pipeline to transfer natural gas from Iran to Pakistan, in Chabahar, near the Pakistani border, southeastern Iran (Iranian Oil Ministry)
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US Doesn't Support Pakistan-Iran Gas Pipeline Project Going Forward

Iranian welders work on the pipeline to transfer natural gas from Iran to Pakistan, in Chabahar, near the Pakistani border, southeastern Iran (Iranian Oil Ministry)
Iranian welders work on the pipeline to transfer natural gas from Iran to Pakistan, in Chabahar, near the Pakistani border, southeastern Iran (Iranian Oil Ministry)

The US said on Tuesday it does not support a Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project from going forward and cautioned about the risk of sanctions in doing business with Tehran.
The Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, known as the Peace Pipeline, is a long-term project between Tehran and Islamabad, and has faced delays and funding challenges for several years. The pipeline would transport natural gas from Iran in the Arabian Gulf to neighboring Pakistan and India.
Iran and Pakistan had signed a five-year trade plan in August 2023 and set a bilateral trade target at $5 billion.
Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said this week that his country was seeking a US sanctions waiver for the gas pipeline from Iran, according to Reuters.
Earlier, the spokesperson for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said that it is the sovereign decision of the Pakistani government to move forward on the project.
She said Pakistan has also conveyed to the US authorities the importance of this project for its energy security.
On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller told reports, “We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran runs the risk of touching upon and coming in contact with our sanctions, and would advise everyone to consider that very carefully.”
He added, “The assistant secretary made clear last week, we do not support this pipeline going forward.”
Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia told the House Foreign Affairs committee last Wednesday in a hearing that importing gas from Iran would expose Pakistan to US sanctions.
A few weeks ago, Pakistan and Iran engaged in tit-for-tat strikes when they exchanged drone and missile strikes on militants bases on each other's territory.
Washington's relations with Iran have been thorny for a long time and the US has issued multiple rounds of sanctions on Iranian entities.
Pakistan and the US have had a complicated relationship over the years, bound by Washington's dependence on Pakistan to supply its troops during its long war in Afghanistan but plagued by accusations Islamabad played a double game.
Some Pakistani politicians have also accused Washington of meddling in Pakistan's domestic politics, charges that Washington denies.

 


Report: Nearly 100 People Still Missing after Moscow Attack

Cadets of the Fire and Rescue College stand in front of at a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue in the Moscow Region, Russia, March 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Cadets of the Fire and Rescue College stand in front of at a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue in the Moscow Region, Russia, March 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Report: Nearly 100 People Still Missing after Moscow Attack

Cadets of the Fire and Rescue College stand in front of at a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue in the Moscow Region, Russia, March 27, 2024. (Reuters)
Cadets of the Fire and Rescue College stand in front of at a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue in the Moscow Region, Russia, March 27, 2024. (Reuters)

As many as 95 people are still missing after last week's attack near Moscow when gunmen sprayed concertgoers with automatic weapons and set the venue on fire, a Russian news outlet reported on Wednesday.

The official toll from the attack on Crocus City Hall now stands at 140 dead and 182 wounded. But the Baza news service, which has good contacts in Russian security and law enforcement, said 95 more people appeared in lists compiled by the emergency services based on appeals from people about missing relatives.

"These lists include people with whom relatives have not been able to get in touch since the terrorist attack, but who are not on the lists of wounded and dead," Baza said. "Some of these people died, but have not yet been identified."

Russian investigators said the attack was carried out by four shooters using Kalashnikov automatic weapons. More than 500 rounds were found at the scene.

The shooting began shortly before the Soviet-era rock group "Picnic" was set to play to a full house of 6,200 people. More than 200 people could have been in the blazing building moments before the roof collapsed, Baza reported on Saturday, citing emergency service sources who reviewed surveillance footage.

Russian social media channels have been flooded in the days since the shooting with appeals to help find victims.

Gathering in a Telegram chat called "Crocus. Help Center," friends and relatives shared names of missing concertgoers and offered support.

"Was there anyone on the list named Igor Valentinovich Klimenchenko?," one user wrote on Saturday night. "Can someone send the list of victims?"

The name Klimenchenko was not on the list of confirmed dead published by Russia's emergencies ministry.

'Very worried'

Another person wrote in the same chat that their uncle worked not far from Crocus and hadn't been in touch since the attack. "I'm very worried," the nephew wrote on Saturday night.

Local media in the Bryansk region, southwestern Russia, reported on Wednesday that a woman was still searching for her son, Dmitry Bashlykov, a schoolteacher in Moscow who went to the "Picnic" concert with a friend who managed to escape.

Bashlykov's name was not on the emergencies ministry list.

Several missing persons have since been confirmed dead, like 15-year-old Arseny, who went to the concert with his mother, Irina Vedeneyeva.

The SHOT Telegram channel on Sunday published a photo of Arseny that it said he sent his grandmother shortly before the concert began, along with appeals from the "grief-stricken pensioner" to help find him. His mother had already been confirmed dead, SHOT said.

In the photo, Arseny stands in a black hooded sweatshirt in front of a poster for Picnic, which SHOT said was his favorite band. On Monday, the channel wrote that Arseny's body had been found and identified by his relatives.

The names of both mother and son are on the list of confirmed dead published by Russia's emergencies ministry.


Turkish Relief Agency Presents Two Ships to Take Aid Direct to Gaza

Palestinians sit amid debris following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians sit amid debris following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Turkish Relief Agency Presents Two Ships to Take Aid Direct to Gaza

Palestinians sit amid debris following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians sit amid debris following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Turkish aid agency Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) presented two new vessels on Wednesday meant to take aid directly to Gaza where Palestinians face famine almost six months into Israel's devastating military campaign.

Türkiye, which has denounced Israel for its offensive in densely populated Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire, has sent tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid there since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, and aims to increase it during the current Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

IHH Chairman Bulent Yildirim inspected the new ships, purchased for a Gaza aid project dubbed "International Freedom Flotilla", in Istanbul's port and said that one of the vessels, the Anadolu (Anatolia), had a capacity of 5,500 tons.

The Anadolu is to be loaded with aid items while the other vessel will carry humanitarian personnel including doctors.

It was not immediately known when the ships would depart for Gaza or where or how they would deliver aid once there. Türkiye has so far sent its aid to Gaza through neighboring Egypt.

In 2010, the IHH sent an aid vessel to Gaza in an attempt to breach an Israeli blockade, but it was intercepted by the Israeli military in a deadly offshore raid which touched off a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Currently, aid agencies say only about a fifth of needed supplies are entering Gaza as Israel persists with an air and ground offensive that has shattered the coastal Hamas-ruled enclave, pushing parts to the verge of famine.

They say that deliveries by air drop or by sea directly onto Gaza's beaches are no substitute for increased supplies coming in by land via Israel or Egypt.

Israel says it puts no limit on the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and blames problems in it reaching civilians within the enclave on UN agencies, which it says are inefficient. Aid groups blame Israel's blockade and red tape.

In the 2010 incident, nine pro-Palestinian activists aboard the aid ship were killed and a tenth died in 2014 after years in a coma.

Turkish-Israeli relations have historically been rocky due to disputes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.