Syria hails US lifting of sanctions as ‘positive step'
Syria on Saturday hailed the formal lifting of sanctions by the United States as a 'positive step' that will help its post-war recovery.
'The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the decision from the American government to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and its people for long years,' a foreign ministry statement said, adding that it was a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
33 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Warns of ‘Prolonged' War Against Iran
Israel's war against Iran, now in its second week, will be "prolonged", military chief Eyal Zamir said Friday as the arch rivals traded fire and European powers held talks with the country. "We must be ready for a prolonged campaign," Zamir told Israelis in a video statement, eight days after his country launched a massive wave of strikes it said aimed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran has denied. "We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude," said Zamir. "The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days still lie ahead." Iran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones, which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people. A hospital in the Israeli port of Haifa reported 19 injured, including one person in serious condition, after the latest Iranian salvo, which President Isaac Herzog said hit a mosque. Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people since June 13, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. As US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of entering the war between the two foes, top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany were meeting with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron said the Europeans were "putting a diplomatic solution on the table". On the ground, Israel's military said it struck missile launchers in southwestern Iran after overnight air raids on dozens of targets including what it called a "nuclear weapons project" research and development center. In Israel, sirens sounded in the afternoon after missiles were launched from Iran for the second time on Friday, with a military official saying that "approximately 20 missiles were launched towards Israel". Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted military sites and air forces bases. - 'Betrayal' of diplomacy - Trump has said he will decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in the fighting. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", while agreeing with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon". Western governments suspect Iran of seeking a nuclear weapons capability. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that while Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 percent, there was no evidence it had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead. "So, saying how long it would take for them, it would be pure speculation because we do not know whether there was somebody... secretly pursuing these activities," the agency's chief Rafael Grossi told CNN. "We haven't seen that and we have to say it." France's foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said that "military solutions are not long-term solutions" to ensure Iran respects its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Araghchi said Israel's attacks were a "betrayal" of diplomatic efforts to reach a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington. "We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process," he said. In an interview with German publication Bild, Israel's top diplomat Gideon Saar said he did not "particularly" believe in diplomacy with Iran. "All diplomatic efforts so far have failed," said Saar, whose country had supported Trump's 2018 decision to abandon a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. - 'Madness' - The UN Security Council convened on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. The escalating confrontation is quickly reaching "the point of no return", Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday, saying "this madness must end as soon as possible". UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile pleaded with all sides to "give peace a chance". Any US involvement in Israel's campaign would be expected to involve the bombing of an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo, using powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses. In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said authorities had restricted internet access to avoid "problems" like cyberattacks. Iranian authorities have arrested a European "who sought to spy on sensitive areas of the country", Tasnim news agency reported on Friday. Protests were held in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers, with demonstrators chanting slogans in support of their leaders, state television showed. "I will sacrifice my life for my leader," read a protester's banner, a reference to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Switzerland announced it was temporarily closing its embassy in Tehran, adding that it would continue to fulfil its role representing US interests in Iran.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
In Istanbul, top Arab League diplomats discuss Iran-Israel war
ISTANBUL: Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Istanbul late Friday to discuss the escalating war between Iran and Israel, Turkish state news agency Anadolu said, quoting diplomatic sources. The ministers were in Turkiye's largest city on the eve of weekend gathering of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was also slated to discuss the air war launched a week ago. Israel began its assault in the early hours of June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, triggering an immediate immediate retaliation from Tehran in the worst-ever confrontation between the two arch-rivals. Some 40 top diplomats are slated to join the weekend gathering of the OIC which will also have a session dedicated to discussing the Iran-Israel crisis, the Turkish foreign ministry said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva on Friday, will also attend and address the diplomats, the ministry said. Earlier on Friday, Araghchi said Tehran was ready to 'consider diplomacy' again only if Israel's 'aggression is stopped.' The Arab League ministers were expected to release a statement following their meeting, Anadolu said.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
US to move third aircraft carrier closer to Mideast conflict
WASHINGTON: The USS Gerald R. Ford will depart for Europe next week, a Navy official said Friday, placing a third American aircraft carrier in closer proximity to the Middle East as Israel and Iran trade strikes. Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran last week, and US President Donald Trump has said he is weighing whether to join Israel in the fight. 'The Gerald Ford carrier strike group will depart Norfolk (Virginia) the morning of June 24 for a regularly scheduled deployment to the US European Command area of responsibility,' the Navy official said. The US Carl Vinson carrier strike group has been operating in the Middle East since earlier this year, taking part in an air campaign against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. And a US defense official has confirmed that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ordered the Nimitz carrier strike group to the Middle East, saying it was 'to sustain our defensive posture and safeguard American personnel.' Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel's strikes on Iran within the next two weeks, citing a chance of negotiations to end the conflict. That deadline comes after a tense few days in which the US president publicly mulled hitting Iran and said that Tehran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an 'easy target.' Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path toward a deal to replace the nuclear deal with Iran that he tore up in his first term in 2018, but has since backed Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and military top brass. A key issue is that the United States is the only country with the huge 'bunker buster' bombs that could destroy Iran's crucial Fordo nuclear enrichment plant. A number of key figures in his 'Make America Great Again' movement have vocally opposed US strikes on Iran, and Trump's promise to extract the United States from its 'forever wars' in the Middle East played a role in his 2016 and 2024 election wins.
