7. ARABIAN PENINSULA AND THE GULF OF BASRA / ARAP YARIMADASI VE BASRA KÖRFEZİ

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1 MIDDLE EAST / SOUTH ASIA DAILY BULLETIN GÜNLÜK ORTADOĞU / GÜNEY ASYA BÜLTENİ 30 JULY 2010 / 30 TEMMUZ 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS / İÇİNDEKİLER 1. IRAQ / IRAK 2. IRAN / İRAN 3. ISRAEL - PALESTINE / İSRAİL FİLİSTİN 4. EGYPT / MISIR 5. LEBANON / LÜBNAN 6. SYRIA / SURİYE 7. ARABIAN PENINSULA AND THE GULF OF BASRA / ARAP YARIMADASI VE BASRA KÖRFEZİ 8. SOUTH ASIA / GÜNEY ASYA PAKISTAN / PAKİSTAN INDIA / HINDISTAN AFGHANISTAN / AFGANISTAN 1

2 1. IRAQ / IRAK An informed source has revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Iran has sent a stronglyworded message to its allies in the Islamic Supreme Council which is led by Ammar al- Hakim and Al-Sadr Trend which is led by Muqtada al-sadr to the effect that they have no choice but to accept Nuri al-maliki, the outgoing prime minister and leader of the State of Law Coalition [SLC], as the candidate to head the next government. The source, which is a leading member in the Iraqi National Alliance [INA] that is led by Al-Hakim, said the Iranian message said "you will accept Al-Maliki even if he hits you on your heads." According to this source, Muqtada al-sadr "was banned from traveling to Arbil to meet several political parties in the country." Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, the source added that Al-Sadr wanted to travel to Arbil "but pressures exerted on him by Iran prevented him from traveling because of his recent stands which rejected Al-Maliki and because he was getting close to Al-Iraqiya List which is led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi." The source refused however to provide more details. Al-Sadr met Allawi in Damascus before two weeks and it was reported that they agreed to meet again in Arbil where they would be joined by Kurdistan Region President Masud Barzani and Al-Hakim. But a leading member in Al-Sadr Trend asserted to Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Sadr "does not allow any pressures to be exerted on him by any side and he acts freely in his political approaches." He denied that Iran did actually ban him from traveling to Arbil and said "all the trends are exercising their freedom to act. Even if there are American or Iranian agendas inside the country, they will not be at the expense of the national ones." He stressed that "there is no objection" to the pressures to have Al-Maliki prime minister "but on condition there are guarantees from him that he will change his government's policy. Since Al-Maliki has not done so, therefore his nomination for a second term is unacceptable to the Trend." Asked if pressures were exerted on Al-Sadr before he traveled to Damascus and which he resisted, the source said "no pressures were exerted. Muqtada al-sadr decided to travel to Damascus in response to an invitation from Syrian President Bashar al-assad and he met Iraqi leaders so as to facilitate the atmospheres 2

3 and end the political crisis. What he wanted did actually happen. As to Arbil's visit too, Al-Sadr spoke to Barzani who invited him but Al-Sadr has not decided its date yet." The Iranian position supporting Al-Maliki probably explains his SLC's optimistic stand about his chances of winning the nomination of the National Alliance which is made up of his coalition and the INA. Leaders from the latter are stressing that the alliance is on the verge of collapse because of Al-Maliki's insistence on being the National Alliance's sole candidate for heading the next government. In this context, Hasan al-shammari, a leading member in Al-Fadilah Party, one of INA's components, said the "collapse of the alliance between the SLC and INA is very likely if the SLC insists on its sole candidate for prime minister which most INA blocs reject." On his part, Adnan al-sarraj, a leading SLC member, said the coming few days would see a quick return to negotiations between the two alliances so as to come out with a single candidate from the National Alliance, stressing that the latter would not collapse. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Alliance "will remain cohesive and nominate Al-Maliki for prime minister." (Asharq Alawsat) Sixteen people, including nine security force members, were killed and 14 wounded on Thursday in a string of attacks in the Iraqi capital's Sunni district of al-adhamiyah, the interior ministry said. Assailants set ablaze the bodies of three soldiers in al-adhamiyah after shooting them dead, the ministry said. Three homemade bomb attacks on different routes to the scene of the shooting killed 13 more people, including three soldiers and three policemen, and wounded 14, among them seven police and two civil defense members, it said. Series of attacks The ministry said the attacks all took place within a 15-minute timeframe. 3

4 Also on Thursday, three soldiers were killed and 12 wounded when an insurgent detonated a car bomb near an army base in al-sharqat, 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province, a police officer said. In the western city of Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, two roadside bombs targeting Iraqi army patrols killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded eight others, police and hospital officials in the city said. In the northern city of Mosul, a bomb attached to a police vehicle killed one policeman and injured two others, a police official in the city said. Mosul has remained a hotbed of insurgent activity even as levels of violence have decreased in other areas of Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned of the dangers of an upsurge in violence as negotiations on forming a new governing coalition drag on, more than four months after the country held a parliamentary election. More than seven years after the U.S.-led invasion, insurgents are increasingly targeting Iraqi security forces, as all but 50,000 U.S. troops prepare to leave the country by the end of August. As part of a security agreement between the United States and Iraq, all American troops must leave Iraq by the end of No explosion of violence Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview aired Thursday he would bet "everything" that there would be no explosion of sectarian violence when U.S. combat troops leave Iraq next month. Biden, in an interview recorded Wednesday as he welcomed home one of America's most combat-tested brigades from Baghdad, said he could not "guarantee" anything but believed that serious violence was unlikely. "I'm willing to bet everything that there will be no such explosion," Biden said in an interview with the NBC "Today" show. 4

5 "We'll still have 50,000 battle-tested combat troops in Iraq... going from leading in combat to supporting the Iraqi combat capability. "I think neither I nor (U.S. commander) General (Ray) Odierno nor the Pentagon nor the people who have been on the ground so many times think that is likely to happen." Biden has repeatedly called on Iraq's divided factions to unite and form a government following months of tortuous political negotiations. This week however, Iraq's political crisis deepened, as parliament indefinitely postponed only its second session since March elections, extending the deadlock that has prevented the formation of a new government. (Al Arabiya) Iraq s Vice President Adel Abdulmahdi and Kurdistan Prime Minister Barham Saleh stressed on the importance of speeding up the formation of the national government, according to a statement of Abdulmahdi s office. Abdulmahdi received on Thursday night (July 29) Prime Minister of Iraq s Kurdistan region, Barham Saleh, to discuss the current political impasse in Iraq and efforts to form the government, said the statement received by Aswat al-iraq news agency. Differences are heating up among the al-iraqiya, which obtained 91 seats, and Maliki s Dawlat al-qanoon (State of Law), which came second with 89 seats, to win the post of prime minister for the new government. Incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki s bloc struck a coalition with Ammar al-hakeem s Iraqi National Alliance (INA), together having 159 seats, in a bid to form the largest parliamentary bloc, a matter viewed by Allawi s al-iraqiya as a twisting of democracy on the grounds that his bloc was the largest one with votes in the elections and consequently it has the right to form a government. (Aswat al-iraq) 5

6 Kurds have a clear vision that Kirkuk is an indivisible part of the Kurdistan Regional Government although others might have a different viewpoint, according to KRG Prime Minister Burham Saleh on Thursday. Despite the fact that our Arab and Turkmen brothers oppose our view that Kirkuk is part and parcel of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, the Kurds will eventually be triumphant in finding a legal and constitutional solution that would win them their rights back, said Saleh in a press conference during a brief visit to Kirkuk. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is related to the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk city and other disputed areas. Kurds seek to include the city in the autonomous Iraq s Kurdistan region, while Sunni Muslims, Turkmen and Shiites oppose the incorporation. The article currently stipulates that all Arabs in Kirkuk be returned to their original locations in southern and central Iraqi areas, and formerly displaced residents returned to Kirkuk, 250 km northeast of Baghdad. The article also calls for conducting a census to be followed by a referendum to let the inhabitants decide whether they would like Kirkuk to be annexed to the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region or having it as an independent province. These stages were supposed to end on December 31, 2007, a deadline that was later extended to six months to end on June (Aswat al-iraq) A vehicle ban was imposed in the city of Talafar as a precautionary measure against possible suicide attacks in the city, an official police source said on Friday. Security authorities received intelligence information assert that armed groups plan to implement suicide attacks in Talafar today (July 30) which coincides the assume of power by Baath party in Iraq, the source told Aswat al-iraq news agency. The authorities imposed a ban on vehicles, bikes and bicycles in the city as of Friday morning, he added, noting that security forces have intensified their deployment around mosques, shrines and other important places. 6

7 Talafar is 60 km northwest of Mosul, the capital of Ninewa, which lies 405 km north of Baghdad. (Aswat al-iraq) Security forces killed a policeman after mistaking him for a suicide bomber west of Mosul city on Thursday, according to a local security source. A force from the Oil Pipelines Protection (OPP) shot down a policeman near the Strategic Line in al-mahlabiya district, west of Mosul, by mistake, the source told Aswat al-iraq news agency. The policeman, who was on a leave of absence from duty, was speedily driving his private car into an OPP post. Suspecting the policeman was a suicide bomber targeting them, the OPP personnel, who were standing in a line to receive their salaries, opened fire on him, killing him instantly, the source elaborated. Mosul, the capital city of the violence-stricken multi-ethnic province of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. (Aswat al-iraq) Five improvised explosive devices went off in the area of al-adhamiya, northern Baghdad, leaving 16 people killed and 14 others wounded, according to a security source on Thursday. The IEDs ripped through the Omar bin Abdulaziz street, al-adhamiya, northern Baghdad, leaving 16 six army soldiers, three policemen and seven civilians killed and 14 others, including seven policemen, wounded, the source told Aswat al-iraq news agency. A short while after the blasts, gunmen waged an attack on a checkpoint on the same street, sparking clashes with the security forces in the area, he said. The source added that the gunmen escaped after a brief exchange of fire with the checkpoint soldiers. Security forces cordoned off the area and denied pedestrians and vehicles movement on the street, he noted. (Aswat al-iraq) 7

8 The Iraqi justice ministry s reformatory department on Thursday released 186 prisoners from its jails in Baghdad and other provinces after they were acquitted by Iraqi courts, a ministry s official source said. A total 186 imprisoned on charges of involvement in armed operations, murder and robbery were released for lack of sufficient evidence to indict them, the source told Aswat al-iraq news agency. The reformatory department has 32 jails in Baghdad and other provinces of Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Three of those jails in Baghdad, Thi-Qar and al- Muthanna are for women. (Aswat al-iraq) A delegation representing Indian companies is visiting Basra to learn about the investment opportunities in the province, a media source said. The delegation, which consists of a number of Indian companies, held on Thursday talks with the second deputy governor, Ahmad al-hasni, on investment opportunities in different fields in Basra, the source told Aswat al-iraq news agency. Al-Hasni expressed hope to sign a memorandum of understanding in economic, investment and trade fields. Basra is 590 km south of Baghdad. (Aswat al-iraq) A close source to the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut said on Thursday that competition between the United States and Iran is at it's fiercest over the formation of the next Iraqi government. 8

9 "The United States is seeking the formation of an Iraqi government as soon as possible to enable it's withdrawal from the country with minimal losses. Iran however insists on their own political interests, primarily that the head of the next government has ties with Iran and is committed to ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq." "Iran has deep links and relations in Iraq through a number of Sunni and Shiite politicians. The recent move of the Sadrist Current towards an alliance with Iyad Allawi shows that Iran has cards to play in the process, and has began to place them on the table. Iran feels safer in Iraq than Washington does, which is accelerating the withdrawal of American troops, in order to devote more energy to other areas such as Afghanistan. " " The sporadic attacks that Iraq is witnessing should be a message to the conflicting parties." the source said, pointing out that: "The violence in Iraq is for the attention of all forces in the Iraqi arena". The source stressed that "The Iraqi government will not be formed in the near future and will witness more obstacles before being formed." The debate continues over the party which is authorized to form the next government. The Al-Iraqiya bloc confirms its right, based on Article 76 of the Constitution while the two Shiite alliances insist on this right based on the interpretation of the Federal Court. The State of Law bloc insists on nominating only one candidate, the outgoing Prime Minister, Nuri al-maliki, for the Prime Minister's post. The Iraqi National Coalition demanded that it names more than one candidate for the post, as some forces within the coalition, particularly the Sadr Movement led by the cleric Muqtada al-sadr, oppose the nomination of al-maliki for a second term. The Iraqi National coalition informally nominated former Prime Minister, Ibrahim al- Jaafari, and the outgoing Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi for the post. The Iraqi parliamentary elections were held on the 7th of March, and the results of the elections were announced on the 26th. 9

10 The al-iraqiya List led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, won 91 seats, followed by the State of Law coalition, led by outgoing Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki with 89 seats. The Iraqi National Alliance won 70 seats and the Kurdistan Alliance List came fourth, obtaining 43 seats. Since the announcement of the electoral results, Iraq has witnessed an increased political mobilization, particularly among the winning blocs, in order to form a parliamentary bloc that can form the new government, or at least agree on naming the next prime minister. This has resulted in the alliance of the State of Law coalition, led by outgoing Prime Minister, Nuri Al-Maliki and the INA, led by Ammar Al-Hakim. (Peyamner News Agency- PNA) U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged Iraq's politicians, still unable to agree on a new government, to "get on with the business of governing" as U.S. troops prepare to end their combat mission. Despite the deadlock in Baghdad, the U.S. military has kept its withdrawal timetable on track. It is due to reduce the size of its forces in Iraq to 50,000 troops by August 31, when they will formally move to a more advisory role supporting Iraq's security forces. "By the end of 2011, all of America's forces will leave Iraq, and its security will be wholly in the hands of its government and its people," Biden told members of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, at a ceremony at Fort Drum in New York as he welcomed them home from Iraq. Biden said 1 million U.S. service members, including his own son, had been deployed in support of the Iraq war effort and had enabled Iraq to hold two successful elections. "Now their political leaders must fulfill their responsibility and get on with the business of governing," he said in one of the biggest speeches on Iraq by an Obama administration official. 10

11 But Iraq appeared no closer to a new government on Wednesday as lawmakers called off a scheduled session of parliament after political factions said they needed more time to decide on cabinet posts. Senior members of the administration have been speaking more forcefully in recent weeks about the need for Iraq's squabbling Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions to put aside their differences and form a government, nearly five months after parliamentary elections were held in March. Biden, Obama's point man on Iraq, has been in frequent telephone contact with Iraqi leaders and traveled to Iraq earlier this month to nudge them toward an agreement. IRAQ A "VALUABLE ALLY" Sunni Islamist insurgents have sought to exploit the power vacuum. There have been almost daily bombing and shooting attacks in which hundreds of Iraqis have died, although overall violence has dropped sharply since , when thousands of Iraqis were killed in sectarian blood-letting. In the latest attack, a bomb killed five Iraqis standing in a line to collect their pensions outside a state-owned bank in Baghdad's Sadr City slum on Wednesday. Biden's speech is part of an effort by the Obama administration to remind Americans that while Iraq may no longer be on the front pages of U.S. newspapers there are still tens of thousands of troops deployed there. Biden said Iraq's stability was vital to American interests as it was a "valuable ally" in the Middle East. The Iraq war, a major issue during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, now gets scant mention in the U.S. media, and the Obama administration is focused on turning around its troubled war effort in Afghanistan. With Americans still preoccupied with high unemployment and a stuttering economic recovery, the Iraq war has not figured much in the campaign for congressional elections in November. 11

12 While the Obama administration is struggling to win domestic support for its unpopular war in Afghanistan, Biden has held up Iraq as possibly one of its greatest achievements. The U.S. military has increasingly taken a backseat role in Iraq since pulling out of urban centers in June last year. But Pentagon officials have made clear that U.S. troops who remain in Iraq come September 1 will still be capable of conducting military operations. Some 4,400 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since U.S. forces invaded in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein, according to icasualties.org, a website that tracks U.S. military casualties there. (PNA) 2. IRAN / İRAN Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in a meeting with Irish Ambassador to Tehran Oliver Grunion lambasted the European Union for blind obedience to the United States' wrong policies on Iran. "The recent EU move showed how instable Europe is in its decision making and how much the EU is under the influence of the transatlantic policies in its foreign policy making," Mottaki said, criticizing the European Union's unconditional obedience of the US Congress decisions in imposing unilateral sanctions against Iran. The European Union approved a new set of unilateral embargos against Iran on Monday. The EU measures came in addition to the fourth round of sanctions adopted by the world powers against Iran on June 9. The measures include a ban on the sale of technology, equipment and services to hamper Tehran's exploration and production in the oil and gas sector. The fresh sanctions will also ban foreign trade and financial services. "Keeping in mind the EU's approaches in recent years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has decreased a noticeable volume of its relations with Europe," he added. 12

13 "We have proved with our rapid advancement in scientific, agricultural, aerospace, modern technological and other fields that without reliance on foreign support we can take such long strides," Mottaki said. Meantime, he emphasized that Iran is interested in expansion of ties with Europe and welcomes political ties with an independent EU in its foreign relations. Mottaki also emphasized that Iran is ready for expansion of relations with Ireland, arguing, "During the past few years the Islamic Republic of Iran's partners in Europe have been changing and the volume of our cooperation with our new partners has been increasing." The New Irish ambassador, for his part, described the two countries' relations as good. "During the course of the past few years noticeable efforts have been made aimed at expansion of relations and we hope to increase Ireland's cooperation with Iran in various fields," Grunion added. (Fars News Agency-FNA) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Iranian Envoy to Jakarta Mahmoud Farazandeh in a meeting on Thursday discussed ways to develop bilateral relations between the two Asian countries in all the various fields. Referring to the two countries' friendly ties, Farazandeh called for expansion of all-out ties between the two nations. During the meeting, the future visits to Jakarta of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani were reviewed by the two officials. Indonesian State Secretary Sudi Silalahi and Foreign Minister Marty Muliana Natalegawa were also present in the meeting. Iran's new Ambassador to Jakarta also submitted his credentials to the Indonesian president. (FNA) 13

14 A senior Iranian military commander warned the western countries against a military attack on certain Middle Eastern states, saying that in case of any raid on the region, they will pay a heavy price. "We advise American, British and Israeli commanders and analysts against another unwise act in order to avoid [future] humiliation and distress over failures in the Middle East because in this case they would have to pay a heavy price," Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said Wednesday. "Americans can be certain that in the event of a ground, naval or aerial attack against our country, they will be faced with a crushing and decisive response which will be much more fatal and crushing than their initial act [of aggression]," he said. Elsewhere, Pourdastan said that the increase in moral corruption, desertion and suicide among American forces deployed near the Iranian borders "attests to the failure and lack of discipline in the US military." The commander also said that the Iranian military had become one of the top ranking forces in the world due to its state-of-the-art military equipment and various drills. Earlier in April, Pourdastan had said that Iran's Ground, Air and Naval forces are ready to repel any potential threat against the country. "Armed Forces with full vigilance and preparedness enjoy the capability to respond to any threat," Pourdastan added. (FNA) Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced that the country has further tightened security measures alongside its borders after the recent terrorist attacks in the southeastern city of Zahedan. A string of security and intelligence measures have been taken in terms of border control and imposing restrictions on movement from neighboring countries, Mohammad Najjar said on Wednesday. 14

15 Iran's decision for intensifying security measures and entanglements alongside its borders followed two bomb blasts in front of the Zahedan Grand Mosque in Sistan and Balouchestan on July 15, which killed at least 27 people and injured over 270 more. The Pakistan-based Jundollah terrorist group, directly sponsored and supported by Washington, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Mohammad Najjar also said that nine individuals have been arrested in connection with the Zahedan terrorist attacks. "Two have been indicted and seven individuals are suspected of aiding and abetting the perpetrators of the attack," he said. The Iranian minster went on to reveal measures taken to immobilize terrorists, saying, "We blocked the path that these individuals used in a bid to counter them. In doing so clashes occurred in which nine rebels were killed." (FNA) Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stressed that the 'Tehran Declaration' signed by Iran, Turkey and Brazil on the swap of nuclear fuel between Iran and potential suppliers is still on the table, adding talks over the issue are likely to be held in September. Noting that talks will be held in September, Davutoglu told the CNN Turk channel that though the date might slightly differ, the fact remains that parties want Turkey to participate in the talks. Meantime Davutoglu said that Turkey's negative response to the anti-iran resolution has created no problems for it in its ties with Washington. He further said the latest UNSC resolution has had no effect on the validity of the Tehran Declaration, adding that talks were presently going on within the framework of the declaration at expert levels. After Iran announced to the IAEA last year that it had run out of nuclear fuel for its research reactor in Tehran, the Agency proposed a deal according to which Iran would 15

16 send 3.5%-enriched uranium and receive 20%-enriched uranium from potential suppliers in return, all through the UN nuclear watchdog agency. The proposal was first introduced on October 1, when Iranian representatives and diplomats from the Group 5+1 held high-level talks in Geneva. But France and the United States, as potentials suppliers, stalled the talks soon after the start. They offered a deal which would keep Tehran waiting for months before it could obtain the fuel, a luxury of time that Iran could not afford as it is about to run out of 20- percent-enriched uranium. The Iranian parliament rejected the deal after technical studies showed that it would only take two to three months for any country to further enrich the nuclear stockpile and turn it into metal nuclear rods for the Tehran Research Reactor, while suppliers had announced that they would not return fuel to Iran any less than seven months. Iran then put forward its own proposal that envisaged a two-staged exchange. According to Tehran's offer, the IAEA would safeguard nearly one third of Iran's uranium stockpile inside the Iranian territory for the time that it took to find a supplier. The western countries opposed Tehran's proposal. After West's opposition to Iran's proposal, Iranian, Brazilian and Turkish officials on May 17 signed an agreement named the 'Tehran Declaration' which presented a solution to the longstanding standoff between Iran and potential suppliers of nuclear fuel. According to the agreement, Iran would send some 1200 kg of its 3.5% enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for a total 120 kg of 20% enriched fuel. But again the western countries showed a negative and surprising reaction to the Tehran Declaration and sponsored a sanctions resolution against Iran at the UN Security Council instead of taking the opportunity presented by the agreement. Russia, France, and the US, in three separate letters, instead of giving a definite response to the Tehran Declaration, raised some questions about the deal, and the US took a draft sanctions resolution against Iran to the UN Security Council, which was later approved by the Council. 16

17 West's reaction not only surprised, but also angered Turkish and Brazilian officials who had started talks with Tehran at the US request. Ankara and Brasilia expected a positive reaction from the US and its western allies after they struck the nuclear swap deal with Tehran and they were astonished to see Washington's belligerent approach and adoption of fresh sanctions against Iran. The US-sponsored sanctions resolution was eventually approved at the UN Security Council on June 9, but with Brazil and Turkey's opposition and Lebanon's abstention. (FNA) Almanya Dışişleri Bakanı, Türk meslektaşıyla görüşmesinde, Türkiye nin İran Nükleer programındaki aracılığını takdir etti. Alman gazete Wolfsburger Allgemeine nin haberine göre, Alman Dışişleri Bakanı Guido Westerwelle, Türkiye ye yaptığı ikinci gezisinde, Türkiye nin İran ın Nükleer programında aracı rolünü takdir etti. Bu habere göre Westerwelle, Türk meslektaşı Ahmet Davudoğlu ile görüşmesinde, Eylül ayında bu görüşmelerin yeniden ele alınmasını umduğunu belirtti. Westerwelle ayrıca: Biz Türkiye ve Brezilya nın İran ı görüşmelere doğru yönlendirmesi doğrultusundaki adımlarını destekliyoruz dedi. Her iki bakan bu görüşmede ayrıca, İsrail in saldırısına uğrayan, Gazze ye yardım götüren Marmara Gemisi olayının soruşturulmasını da istedi. (FNA) Doğalgaz Taşıma Şirketi 8. Bölge Müdürü, Türkiye ye ihraç edilen doğalgaz hacminin günlük 90 milyon metrekübe kadar artacağını söyledi. Bu konuda açıklamada bulunan Veliyullah Dini, halihazırda Türkiye ye verilen doğalgaz miktarınnın günlük 30 milyon metreküp olduğunu, İran tesislerinin mevcut imkanlarıyla Türkiye ye en fazla günlük 40 milyon ve yıllık 15 milyar metreküp doğalgaz verilebileceğini belirtti. 17

18 Veliyullah Dini, İran dan Türkiye ye ve Avrupa ya doğalgaz ihracı miktarını yükseltmek amacıyla 6. boru hattının yapımına değinerek, bu hattın tamamlanmasıyla Türkiye ye günlük 80 ila 90 milyon metreküp doğalgaz verileceğini ve böylece bu ülkeye doğalgaz akışında önemli ölçüde artış meydana geleceğini haber verdi. (FNA) Avrupa Birliği Dışişleri Bakanı Sözcüsü, İran ın barışçıl nükleer çalışmaları hususunda yapılacak müzkerelere muhtemelen Türkiye ve Brezilya da katılacaklarının haberini verdi. Mehr haber ajansının Ria Novosti ajansına dayandırdığı habere göre, Avrupa Birliği, İran ile P5+1 arasında yaıpılacak müzakerelere muhtemelen Türkiye ve Brezilya da katılacaklarını ilan etti. Bu haberi veren AB Dışişleri Temsilcisi Catherine Ashton un Sözcüsü, bu husustaki kararın P5+1 üyeleri arasında yapılacak istişareleden sonra netleşeceğini ifade etti. Öte yandan Tükiye diplomatları tarafından yapılan bir açıklamada bu konuda henüz resmi bir istek almadıklarını kaydetmektedirler. İran Dışişleri Bakanı Meuçehr Mutteki ise daha önce verdiği bir demeçte, P5+1 grubun yapısının değişmesinin zaruri olduğunu söylemişti. (Mehr News Agency-MNA) İslami Şura Meclisi Başkanı, İran ın her zaman müzakereden yana olduğunu, buna karşın her zaman ABD masayı terk ettiğini söyledi. Mehr haber ajansının bildirdiğine göre, İran ın kuzeyinde yer alan Feridunkenar şehrinde katılıdığı şehitleri anma töreninde konuşma yapan İslami Şura Meclisi Başkanı Ali Laricani, ABD kongresine yeni sunulan bir bildirgede Siyonist rejiminin güvenliği garanti altın alındığını, bu bildirgede İran ın Siyonist rejimi için tehdit olarak görüldüğünü ve kendini korumak için korsan İsrail rejimin her çeşit seçeneğe başvurma hakkına verildiğini belirterek, düşmanı iyi tanımak için bu bildirgeyi iyi okumak ve anlamk gerektiğinin altını çizdi. 18

19 Bildirgede korsan İsrail in işgal ettiği toprakların yasak hakkı olarak tanındığını ve altı milyon Filistinlınin evsiz kalamarına işaret edilmediğini dile getiren İslami Şura Meclisi Başkanı, ABD nin Siyonist rejimine verdiği destek için bu bildirgenin iyi bir kanıt olduğunu hatırlattı. Konuşmasının diğer bölümünde ABD nin İran ile müzakere telebinde gösterdiği çifte standart davranışına işaret eden Ali Laricani, İran ın her zaman müzakereden yana olduğunu, buna karşın her zaman ABD masayı terk ettiğini ve İran karşıtı yaptırım kararı çıkarttığını söyledi. (MNA) İran Atom Enerjisi Kurumu başkanı Ali Ekber Salihi, İran'ın araştırma alanında ihtiyaç duyduğu nükleer yakıtın temin edilmesi konusunda kendilerine güvence verilmesi halinde İran'ın uranyumunu yüzde 20 oranında zenginleştirme işlemini gözden geçirmeye hazır olduğunu söyledi. Presstv'ye verdiği demeçte, İran'ın Tahran Araştırma Reaktörü'nün ihtiyacı olan nükleer yakıtı temin edinceye kadar uranyumu yüzde 20 oranında zenginleştirme işlemini sürdüreceğini söyleyen Salihi, "nükleer yakıtın başka kanallar tarafından temin edilmesi halinde İran o zaman bunu içeriden temin etmeye dayalı çabalarını gözden geçirebilir" dedi. İran'ın uluslar arası atom enerjisi kurumu ile nükleer silahların yasaklanması konvansiyonu olan NPT üyesi bir ülke olarak nükleer enerjiye sahip olmasının en tabii hakkı olduğunu söyleyen Salihi, İran'ın her zaman kendi ihtiyacı olan yüzde 20 oranında uranyum zenginleştirdiğini söylediğini hatırlatarak, "Ama, bu rezervdeki bütün uranyumları yüzde 20 zenginleştireceğiz manasına da gelmez" dedi. İran Atom Enerjisi Kurumu başkanı, Viyana grubuyla müzakere konusuna da temas ederek, İran'ın Tahran'da Türkiye ve Brezilya ile imzaladığı nükleer takas anlaşmasıyla ilgili olumlu cevaplar aldığını belirterek, bu sürecin tamamlanması halinde, görüşmelerin tarihinin de belirleneceğini bildirdi. 19

20 İran Atom Enerjisi Kurumu başkanı, İran ve 5+1 grubu ile müzakerelerin Ramazan ayından sonra yani Eylül ayına ertelendiğini de hatırlatarak, müzakerelerin Türkiye'de düzenlenme ihtimalinin yüksek olduğunu söyledi. (MNA) İran İstihabarat Bakanı Hüccetülislam Haydar Muslihi, İran İstihbaratı Bakanlığı nın yumuşak savaşla mücadelede başarılı olduğunu söyledi. Mehr haber ajansı muhabirinin İran ın kuzey bölgesinde yer alan Sari şehrinden bildirdiğine göre, İran İstihbarat Bakanı Hüccetülislam Muslihi, düzenlenen şehitler anma töreninde yaptığı konuşmada, İran karşıtı yaptırımların İran milletinin inançları üzerinde etkisi olmadığını ifade etti. Bakan Muslihi, tağut, dayatılan savaş döneminde ve bu dönemde İran halkı yaptırımla yaşadığını ve onu tecrübe ettiğini söylemekle, bu yaptırımların İran milletini dize getiremediğini belirtti. İran ın günden güne yükselen istihbarat, güvenlik ve savunma gücüne işaret eden İstihbarat Bakanı, İran İstihbarat Bakanlığı nın yumuşak savaşla ve düşmanla mücadelede başarılı olduğunu konuşmasına ekledi. Hüccetülialsm Muslihi, yüzlerce sivilin ölümünden sorumlu olan Rigi terör örgütünün lideri Abdulmalik Rigi'nin nasıl tutuklandığına da temas ederek, korsan rejim İsrail ile Amerika'nın desteğindeki bu terörist liderin tutuklanmasının bölgede Amerika üslerinin infiali ve kaygılarına neden olduğunu kaydetti. (MNA) İran gazının, Irak ve Suriye yoluyla Avrupa'ya transiti konusunda İran İslam Cumhuriyeti ile Irak arasında yeni tur görüşmelere başlandı. Mehr haber ajansı muhabirin röportaj veren İran Petrol bakanı yardımcılarından Cevat Avcı bu konuda Tahrah-Bağdat görüşmelerinin başladığını belirterek, Irak'ın ihtiyaç duyduğu gaz'ın İran tarafından karşılanabileceğini ve şu anda konunun görüşülmesi amacıyla iki ülke arasında ortak bir komisyonun oluşturulduğunu belirtti. 20

21 İran Petrol bakan yardımcısı, İran gazının, Irak ve Suriye yoluyla Avrupaya transiti konusunda da oluşturulan söz konusu ortak komisyonun iki hafta sürede çalışmalarını başlayacağını kaydetti. Avcı, ilk etapta Irak'a günlük 7 ila 8 milyon metreküp doğalgaz verilmesine İran hazır olduğunu ifade ederken, ikinci etapta bu miktarın 12 milyon metrekübe yükseltilebileceğini hatırlattı. (MNA) ABD Dışişleri Bakanlığı Sözcüsü Crowley, İran'a geçen ekim ayında sundukları takas teklifinin devamını getirmeye hazır olduklarını söyledi. Fransa ajansının haberine göre, ABD Dışişleri Bakanlığı Sözcüsü Philip Crowley, ülkesinin, İran'a geçen ekim ayında sundukları nükleer yakıt takasına dair teklifin devamını getirmeye hazır olduğunu söyledi. Sözcü, günlük basın toplantısında bir soru üzerine, "Tahran araştırma reaktörüyle ilgili ilk teklifimiz konusundaki ayrıntıların ve İran'ın nükleer programının doğasını tam olarak anlamaya dönük çabaları içeren daha geniş kapsamlı hususların İran ile devamını getirmeye hazırız." dedi. Sözcü Crowley, geçen ekim ayında İran ile yaptıkları görüşmenin benzerinin gelecek haftalarda yapılmasını umduklarını belirtti. (MNA) ABD, Avrupa Birliği (AB) ve Kanada'dan sonra Avustralya da İran a yönelik düşmanca tutum sergileyerek, "BM yaptırımlarının dışında" İran'a yeni yaptırımlar uygulayacak. Avustralya Dışişleri Bakanı Stephen Smith in yaptığı açıklamada, ülkesinin İran'a karşı düşmanca tutumunu, aralarında, bu ülkeyle petrol ve doğalgaz sektörlerinde yapılan iş anlaşmalarına sınırlamalar getirilmesinin de bulunduğu yeni yaptırımlar uygulama kararı aldıklarını duyurdu. İran'ın nükleer programını, "dünyanın önündeki en ciddi güvenlik sorunu" olarak niteleyen Smith, "Avustralya, bu yaptırımlar paketini uygulamaya koyarak, İran'ın nükleer 21

22 programıyla ilgili uluslararası yükümlülüklerini yerine getirmesini sağlamak için uluslararası toplumun yürüttüğü çabaların ön safında yer almıştır." dedi. Avustralya'nın uygulayacağı yaptırımlarla İran'daki mali ve ulaşım sektörlerindeki 110'dan fazla iş sektörüyle kişilere, seyahat ve mali yasaklar getirilecek. Getirilen yeni yaptırımlarla tüm silah ve füze, nükleer, kimyasal ve biyolojik silah geliştirilmesinde kullanılabilecek. Silahla bağlantısı bulunan bütün materyallerin İran'a satılması da yasaklanıyor. Gözlemciler, Avustralya'nın ilk kez İran ile petrol ve gaz sektöründe iş bağlantıları kurulmasını yasaklandığına dikkati çekiyor. (MNA) 3. ISRAEL - PALESTINE / İSRAİL FİLİSTİN Arab foreign ministers will hold crucial talks with Palestinian Mahmud Abbas on Thursday to decide whether he will begin direct negotiations with Israel amid pressure from the United States. Abbas has accepted holding only indirect talks with Israel, which has rejected his conditions for face-to-face negotiations. Thursday's meeting is expected to back Abbas's condition that Israel guarantee a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders between the Jewish state and east Jerusalem and the West Bank. "The issue is not US pressure, the issue is what is in the Palestinians' interests," Arab League official Hisham Yussef, who heads Secretary General Amr Mussa's office, told AFP. "Their interest from their perspective is clear -- they want to see progress in the proximity talks and we support them." Abbas also wants an end to settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israel acceded to US pressure to limit settlement building in the West Bank until September, when a moratorium ends. 22

23 The Palestinian leader repeated his conditions on the eve of the meeting in an interview with Egyptian newspaper editors, the official Egyptian MENA news agency reported on Thursday. Abbas will present the 13 foreign ministers of the Arab Peace Initiative committee with the results of the US-brokered indirect talks the Arab League approved in May for a fourmonth period. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to meet Abbas to discuss all the core issues of the decades-old conflict, and has accused the Palestinians of avoiding engaging in direct talks. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told an Arab newspaper this week that US President Barack Obama told the Palestinians in a letter that he will help found a Palestinian state only if they begin direct talks with Israel. Abbas suspended negotiations with Israel after its offensive on the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December 2008 in response to rocket fire. He has demanded that the talks pick up from where he left off with then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a condition rejected by Netanyahu's government. (Asharq Alawsat) The Arab League has declined to endorse an immediate resumption of direct Israeli- Palestinian negotiations, saying it needs further guarantees from the United States before approving talks. Arab foreign ministers said at a meeting in Cairo on Thursday that they agreed in principle to the direct talks, but only subject to certain "measures and conditions". "There is agreement, but [it is] agreement over the principles of what will be discussed and the manner of the direct negotiations," said Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-thani, the Qatari foreign minister. Amr Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general, said that direct negotiations should be preceded by "written guarantees" from the United States, particularly on the subject of Israeli settlements. 23

24 "We are not against negotiations," Moussa said. "But... we cannot accept talks with no preconditions." 'Decisions to be made' Moussa said on Thursday that Barack Obama, the US president, sent a letter to Abbas including "some guarantees". He did not reveal the contents of the letter, however, and said the Arab League had further questions for Obama, which were included in a letter sent to the US embassy in Cairo. The Palestinian Authority said any final decision about re-entering negotiations would depend on the US response. "There is a green light from the Arabs to go to direct negotiations if we receive terms of reference... in line with the letter," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, an aide to Abbas. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, travelled to the Egyptian capital on Thursday to discuss the issue with the Arab foreign ministers. Abbas wants a guarantee that the Israeli government will completely halt settlement construction in occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Settlement freeze Israel is currently nearing the end of a 10-month moratorium on new settlement construction in the West Bank, which is set to expire in September. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, warned on Wednesday that his government will collapse if he extends the freeze. Settlement construction in east Jerusalem continues unabated. "When I receive written assurances [about] accepting the 1967 borders and halting settlement [building], I will go immediately to the direct talks," Abbas said before the Arab League meeting. 24

25 The US state department said Obama would "carefully study" the requests in the Arab League's letter. "We feel the time is right [for direct talks]," said PJ Crowley, the state department spokesman. "We hope to have these negotiations begin quite soon, but obviously there are still decisions to be made." Direct talks have been suspended since Israel's three-week war in Gaza began in December The Arab League meeting comes the day after Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah met in Sharm al-shaikh to discuss the Arab-Israeli "peace process". (Al Jazeera) A Grad-type Katyusha rocket fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip struck close to an apartment building in a residential area of Ashkelon on Friday, while two mortar shells exploded in the western Negev just a few hours later. The Katyusha rocket hit the populated neighborhood just after 8:30 A.M., causing some damage to the nearby building and to a number of parked cars. There were no casualties in the incident, but at least two people were treated for shock. Residents said that the Color Red rocket alert sounded prior to the explosion. At around 12:30 P.M., two mortar shells hit the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. The attack on Ashkelon was one of the first to strike the southern city after months of quiet since Israel launched a three week military campaign in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in late 2008, called Operation Cast Lead in Israel. "No doubt this is the most serious event that happened since Operation Cast Lead," Ashkelon mayor Benny Vaknin told Israel Radio. The city is located about 12 km (7 miles) up the coast from the Gaza Strip and has some 125,000 residents. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement from his office: "Israel takes the firing on Ashkelon very seriously." 25

26 While rocket fire has continued since the devastating war, much of it has targeted smaller towns closer to the border. Four Qassam rockets and two mortar shells were fired at Israel last weekend, none of them causing any casualties as they hit open areas of the western Negev. Israel often carries out strikes against smuggling tunnels or outposts of the Islamist group Hamas after such attacks. No group in Gaza claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. Hamas has said it is trying to stop militants from firing at Israel, but smaller groups have continued the attacks. (Haaretz) Officials in Jerusalem believe that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will attempt to delay at all cost the beginning of direct peace negotiations with Israel, even after the Arab League gave the green light for the process at a special session on Thursday. A senior source in Jerusalem said that Abbas will likely wait until September, when Israel's temporary settlement freeze expires, before declaring his own decision on the matter. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Officials also assume that the Palestinian president will use the time to try to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue the free or to take other "equal" measures to that regard. The Arab League approved the holding of direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, but authorized Qatari Prime Minister Hamed Ben Jasem al-thani, who heads the committee, was somewhat vague about its conclusions at the press conference that followed the meeting in Cairo. "There is agreement, but only about the way the talks will be held and the subjects that will be discussed," he said. He added that Abbas was authorized to decide when the time is right for resuming the direct negotiations. 26

27 In addition, Al-Thani said, the Arab League is demanding clearer guarantees from the Americans than they have yet offered about the framework of the direct talks. About an hour prior to the Arab League's official announcement, Abbas addressed the gathering of the Arab states' representatives and asked them to back the continuation of proximity talks for the full four months that had originally been allotted for them. That was tantamount to asking the Arab League not to decide until September - when the settlement freeze put in place by Israel's government is due to end. Abbas said he is under heavy pressure - "never in my life have I experienced such pressure" - to agree to direct talks. And he may well have expected full support from the Arab states in resisting this pressure, as they have supported him steadfastly throughout the last few months. But the events of the past week could have given Abbas a clue as to what was coming: Jordan's King Abdullah met publicly with Netanyahu for the first time in over a year, and a meeting between President Shimon Peres and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak was scheduled for Sunday. The planned Peres-Mubarak meeting follows an announcement by Mubarak's spokesman on Wednesday about the receipt of American guarantees that could make it possible to resume direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. All this suggests that, with all due respect to the PA's wishes, the Arab League's major player are not looking for a confrontation with the administration in Washington. On the contrary: They are falling in line behind U.S. President Barack Obama like obedient soldiers with regard to Israeli-Palestinian peace. According to the Qatari prime minister, the Arab League unequivocally opposed direct negotiations in the past, but has changed its view in light of what he termed the current "Arab situation." "So long as Netanyahu is there, neither direct nor indirect talks will produce results," he said. "But we want to prove to the world that we are in favor of peace, without giving up on our rights." 27

28 It seems the main reason for the change in the Arab League's stance is what al-thani had to say next: The league is convinced that Israel does not seriously intend to make peace, and is merely trying to buy time, "but we are convinced that U.S. President Barack Obama is serious in his intention to make peace." This may be one of the most impressive achievements any American president has ever had in the Middle East: He pressured Arab states to back direct negotiations, and they did so, even at the cost of a minor confrontation with the Palestinians. Winning some brownie points at the White House was apparently enough to get the Arabs to withdraw their unconditional support for Abbas. State Department officials were pleased by the Arab League's decision, saying it will spur direct talks. A department spokesman termed the news from Cairo encouraging, adding that the Qatari prime minister had sent a letter to Obama on behalf of the committee on the Arab peace initiative. Ultimately, the spokesman stressed, the parties themselves will have to decide whether there is a basis for moving on to direct negotiations. But as far as the United States is concerned, he added, this is the right time. Responding to a question on preconditions for negotiations and how they may affect the start of the talks, the spokesman said there was still work to be done ahead of direct talks, but the U.S. was in touch with all the parties involved. (Haaretz) The United States said Thursday it was "encouraged" by signs of Arab support for direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, after the Arab League declared earlier that it would support the Palestinians if they decided to enter into such face-toface talks. "We're encouraged by what we've heard today coming out of Cairo," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters, adding that U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is hopeful the negotiations resume soon. 28