عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

House Votes to Begin Impeachment Inquiry into Biden

Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
TT
TT

House Votes to Begin Impeachment Inquiry into Biden

Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

All eyes turned Wednesday night to the US House of Representatives which passed a resolution to formally authorize its ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Republicans are stepping up their efforts to formalize an impeachment inquiry into the President.
The Republican-controlled chamber approved 221-212 in a party-line vote, directing three House committees to continue their investigations to support Republicans' claims that Biden was directly involved and benefited from his son and brother's foreign business dealings.
With this move, Republicans officially launch a fierce electoral campaign season ahead of the 2024 elections during which they are expected to accuse the US President of corruption and exploiting his position to enrich his family.
“We’re not going to prejudge the outcome of this because we can’t,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Tuesday when commenting on the House vote. “It’s not a political calculation. We’re following the law and we are the rule of law team and I’m going to hold to that.”
And while the impeachment efforts target the President, the star of the probe remains his son, Hunter. Republicans seek to link Hunter's business deals with foreign countries to decisions his father made during his service as Vice President between 2008 and 2016.
They are therefore eager to question Hunter over his business dealings, and are also interested in the other cases he faces in US courts related to tax evasion and illegal gun possession.
Hunter Biden, who has described his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, has also been the subject of a years-long criminal investigation.
He faces federal charges that he lied about his drug use while buying a handgun and separate charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. He has pleaded not guilty to the gun charges, and his lawyer says he has repaid his taxes in full.
Earlier on Monday, Hunter Biden defied a committee subpoena to testify behind closed doors — saying he would testify only in public.
Last summer, one of Hunter’s former business partners, Devon Archer, told the House Oversight Committee that Hunter repeatedly put his father, then Vice-President, on speaker phone when talking to his partners, so that he could listen to the content of the conversation.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iran to Launch 'Advanced Centrifuges' in Response to IAEA Censure

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
TT
TT

Iran to Launch 'Advanced Centrifuges' in Response to IAEA Censure

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran said Friday it would launch a series of "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to a resolution adopted by the UN nuclear watchdog that censures Tehran for what the agency called lack of cooperation.

The censure motion brought by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States at the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) follows a similar one in June.

It came as tensions run high over Iran's atomic program, with critics fearing that Tehran is attempting to develop a nuclear weapon -- a claim the Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied.

The resolution -- which China, Russia and Burkina Faso voted against -- carried with 19 votes in favor, 12 abstentions and Venezuela not participating, two diplomats told AFP.

"The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued an order to take effective measures, including launching a significant series of new and advanced centrifuges of various types," a joint statement by the organization and Iran's foreign ministry said.

Centrifuges are the machines that enrich uranium transformed into gas by rotating it at very high speed, increasing the proportion of fissile isotope material (U-235).

"At the same time, technical and safeguards cooperation with the IAEA will continue, as in the past" and within the framework of agreements made by Iran, the joint Iranian statement added.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran's atomic energy organization spokesman, on Friday said the new measures are mostly related to uranium enrichment.

"We will substantially increase the enrichment capacity with the utilisation of different types of advanced machines," he told state TV.

Iran's retaliatory measures "are reversible if this (Western) hostile action is withdrawn or negotiations are opened," Tehran-based political analyst Hadi Mohammadi told AFP.

- 'Legal obligations' -

The confidential resolution seen by AFP says it is "essential and urgent" for Iran to "act to fulfil its legal obligations" under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ratified in 1970.

The text also calls on Tehran to provide "technically credible explanations" for the presence of uranium particles found at two undeclared locations in Iran.

In addition, Western powers are asking for a "comprehensive report" to be issued by the IAEA on Iran's nuclear efforts "at the latest" by spring 2025.

The resolution comes after the IAEA's head Rafael Grossi returned from a trip to Tehran last week, where he appeared to have made headway.

During the visit, Iran agreed to an IAEA demand to cap its sensitive stock of near weapons-grade uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity.

- 'Cycle of provocation' -

"Iran did not start the cycle of provocation -- the Western side could, without passing a resolution... create the atmosphere for negotiations if it really was after talks," the analyst Mohammadi said.

In 2015, Iran and world powers reached an agreement that saw the easing of international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

But the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and reimposed biting economic sanctions, which prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.

On Thursday, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi warned of Iran's potential next step.

"Iran had announced in an official letter to European countries that it would withdraw from the NPT if the snapback mechanism was activated, and the Security Council sanctions were reinstated," Gharibabadi said in a late-night interview with state TV.

The 2015 deal contains a "snapback" mechanism that can be triggered in case of "significant non-performance" of commitments by Iran.

This would allow many sanctions to be reimposed.

Tehran has since 2021 decreased its cooperation with the agency by deactivating surveillance devices monitoring the nuclear program and barring UN inspectors.

At the same time, it has ramped up its nuclear activities, including by increasing its stockpiles of enriched uranium and the level of enrichment to 60 percent.

That level is close, according to the IAEA, to the 90 percent-plus threshold required for a nuclear warhead and substantially higher than the 3.67 percent limit it agreed to in 2015.