This comes as the withdrawal of the foreign forces which is scheduled to be completed by September 11 have increased concerns among the international community…reports Asian Lite News
As the United States declares its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Turkey is interested in taking control of Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport if North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies permit.
Khaama Press reported that Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said that Turkish forces have agreed to take the control of the Hamid Karzai International Airport if allies provide support.
“500 Turkish forces in Afghanistan will take the control and responsibility of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, if financial, logistic and political support is provided by the allies,” Akar said in a meeting with its NATO allies.
This comes as the withdrawal of the foreign forces which is scheduled to be completed by September 11 have increased concerns among the international community and the diplomatic mission’s presence in Afghanistan.
Pentagon officials had earlier said that Pakistan had allowed the US military to use its airspace and given ground access so that it could support its presence in Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi refuted the claim and said that the country would not provide its military bases to the US for future counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan and also not allow drone attacks inside Pakistan.
Whereas, according to the New York Times, some American officials believe the negotiations have reached an impasse for now. The US intelligence agency CIA did use a base in Pakistan to launch drone strikes against militants but “was kicked out of the facility in 2011, when US relations with Pakistan unraveled,” the report said.
“Some American officials (told the newspaper) that negotiations with Pakistan had reached an impasse for now. Others have said the option remains on the table and a deal is possible,” the report explains.
According to NYT, William J. Burns, the CIA director, recently made an unannounced visit to Islamabad to meet the chief of the Pakistani military and the head of the directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence. US Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin also has had frequent calls with the Pakistani military chief about getting the country’s help for future US operations in Afghanistan. (ANI)
Imran Khan, along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has clearly refused to facilitate the US with any airbase to operate from Pakistani soil…reports Hamza Ameer
As the US gears up to end its longest fought war in Afghanistan and withdraw its troops from the country, the Joe Biden administration is in deliberations with Pakistan to provide the US access to its airspace and a drone base, which would be used to keep an eye on the situation in Afghanistan after the troops withdrawal and also to make sure that it does turn into a terrorist base again.
However, Pakistan does not seem to be ready to facilitate the US to station itself in Pakistani bases to operate drones, like it did previously.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has clearly refused to facilitate the US with any airbase to operate from Pakistani soil.
While Islamabad seems to be sticking to its position of not allowing the US to operate from any of its bases, US’ demand continues to assert the Pakistani military, intelligence and diplomatic channels to give access to airspace and airbases, insisting that they would be used for surveillance purposes in Afghanistan only.
Pentagon was the first to announce that Pakistan had allowed the US troops to station there and use its airspace to operate surveillance drones, a claim that has been categorically rejected by the Pakistani government.
In a latest development, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has confirmed that he had detailed discussions with Pakistan in the military, intelligence and diplomatic channels to make sure that Afghanistan never again becomes a base from which terrorist groups could attack the US.
“We’ve had constructive discussions in military, intelligence and diplomatic channels with Pakistan about the future of America’s capabilities to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a base from which al-Qaeda, ISIS or any other terrorist group can attack the United States. But in terms of the specifics, what that would look like will have to remain in those private channels as we work through them,” Sullivan said.
US troops in Afghanistan.
“What I will say, we are talking to a wide range of countries about how we build effective over the horizon capacity both from intelligence and defense prospective to be able to suppress terrorism threat in Afghanistan,” he added.
The US has been working on exploring options to maintain military and intelligence footprint in the region to tackle a possible terrorist resurgence in Afghanistan.
It is for this that the US is seeking bases in neighboring countries of Afghanistan where it can ensure surveillance and can also target terrorists through drones.
But Pakistani government officials have said that since the US does not enjoy the kind of leverage it did in the past, it cannot force Pakistan.
“The US has long suspended military and security assistance as well as the Coalition Support Fund (CSP). In the past, the US did use this as a bargaining chip. Now, the US is left with fewer options such as keeping Pakistan in the FATF grey list. Rest it has no option,” a Pakistan government official said.
Since the outbreak of armed insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits have always remained soft targets for militants and their masters sitting across the Line of Control. The cataclysm that visited Kashmir in the early 1990s wounded Kashmir’s society so deep, it’s yet to heal … A special report Ashok Nath
Soon after the militants appeared in the streets of the Valley in 1989, they started targeting Kashmiri Pandits which led to their mass exodus from their own homeland. Even after 30-years of insurgency, Kashmiri Pandits continue to be in the line of fire and whenever ultras get a chance to kill any KP they don’t miss it.
On June 2 this year, militants killed a BJP councilor, Rakesh Pandita, in south Kashmir’s Tral area, his native village. Pandita had gone to meet a friend when militants fired at him. He died on the spot; his friend’s daughter, was injured in the attack.
The deceased was living in a secure accommodation in Srinagar and was provided with two personal security officers. But they were not accompanying him when he went to visit his friend. In June 2020 militants shot dead Ajay Pandita, another Kashmiri Pandit, Sarpanch, of Lukbawan village in Larkpora area of south Kashmir in Anantnag district. He had no security cover and was busy in his orchard when he was fired upon.
Targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley started in 1989. On September 13, 1989, militants drew the first blood by killing Kashmir’s BJP leader Tika Lal Taploo. It was followed by the killing of Neel Kanth Ganjoo – a retired judge who had sentenced founder of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Maqbool Bhat, to death— Ganjoo was shot dead outside the J&K High Court in Srinagar on November 4, 1989. Journalist-lawyer Prem Nath Bhat was killed in cold blood in south Kashmir’s Anantnag town on December 27, 1989.
Ultras also killed Lassa Koul, then director of Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar, a government broadcasting organization. In the beginning of 1990, hit lists of Pandits were in circulation. Waves of panic hit the community, especially after a local newspaper published an anonymous message, allegedly from the Hizb-ul Mujahideen, asking Kashmiri Pandits to leave
According to the figures dished out by a Kashmiri based Pandit organisation, Kashmir Pandits Sanghasrh Samiti (KPSS) as many as 399 Pandits have been killed in the Valley since the eruption of militancy in J&K in 1990. However, the government puts the number of KPs killed in militant attacks at 219.
Despite facing threats a few families of Kashmiri Pandits decided to stay back in the Valley, but it didn’t go well with the militants and their handlers. To ensure that no Pandit stays in Kashmir, militants carried out tow massacres of KPs one in 1998 and another in 2003.
On the intervening night of January 25 and 26 in 1998 as many as 23 unarmed Kashmiri Pandits were killed mercilessly by militants in their native village, Wandhama, in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. These families paid a heavy price for choosing to stay behind.
The slain, included family members of four families and at least 5 guests, who had come from Jammu to visit their relatives.
Quoting the lone survivor, Vinod, son of Badri Nath, the locals said that he had miraculously escaped as he hid himself under a pack of heavy straw nearby to his home. “There was hue and cry everywhere, they dragged and shot all my family members,” Vinod, then 14-year old, according to the locals, had told the police.
Though a case was registered in this regard, but it was closed in 2008 for non-evidence. According to the details provided by the police the massacre was carried out by 21 foreign militants and 20 of them were killed in different encounters with the Indian security forces.
On March 23, 2003, as many as 24 Kashmiri Pandits, including 11 women and two children, were gunned down by militants at Nadimarg village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Chuni Lal Raina, who survived the carnage, had revealed that on that fateful night the ultras entered the village called the unarmed victims out and took them near the temple. They were lined up and shot in the head.
Nadimarg was a KP majority village, now abandoned. It had nearly 50 Pandit families before the eruption of militancy in 1990. Pandits were owners of fertile farms and fruit orchards which were considered best in south Kashmir and lived in relative peace despite the exodus of nearly 35-40 families. At the time of massacre, around 10 families were living in the village.
According to Rediff.com, on January 4, 1990, a local newspaper had published a press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen. The group had urged young people to wage jihad for secession from India and accession to Pakistan. The release had also ordered Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Valley.
The press release was followed by a campaign launched to provoke Muslim population to fight for Azadi. Inflammatory speeches were made from loudspeakers of mosques, posters were stuck on the houses and shops of Kashmiri Pandits ordering them to either embrace Islam or leave the Valley. KPs were left with no other option but to leave everything behind and move out.
Columnist Shaista Masood in an article written in Wire in 2018 had given a first person account of how she saw militants killing Kashmiri Pandits in cold blood. She had written about an incident which she witnessed on June 15, 1997, when she was 17-years old. “I along with my sister and father were on a bus to Jammu. We were a few kilometers away from a small valley, Gool, where a Kashmiri-speaking Muslim majority has lived since migrating in the drought of 1880.”
She has written about how the bus was stopped by the gunmen and how Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims were segregated and how three KPs were shot dead in cold blood.
Like Shaista there are many Muslims in Kashmir who witnessed the cold blooded murders of KPs. Ones who could muster courage have spoken their heart out but many have just concealed such incidents within their hearts, fearing reprisal. Caught in crossfire Past 30-years of turmoil has left Kashmir soaked in blood. In 1989 and 1990, militants targeted and killed both Muslims and Pandits who they thought were close to the ruling establishment, the state’s bureaucracy, the armed forces, intelligence agencies, and so on.
Anyone suspected of being an informer, irrespective of his religion had to face militant bullets. Grenade attacks carried out by the ultras left many civilians injured or dead. Guerillas carrying guns had the license to kill anyone, especially the workers of mainstream political parties.
Even in 2021, political workers or the people close to establishment are at the receiving end as militants find it easy to kill them.
After 1990, as many as 62,000 KP families were registered as migrants, out of which 40,000 were in Jammu and 20,000 were in Delhi, with the remaining spread across the rest of the country. These families faced lot of hardships after their forces exodus from Kashmir. They braved all odds to settle in different parts of the country. But many of them still wish o return to their homeland. After migrating they sold their properties at very low costs and most of them claim that these were distress sales.
During the past few years, Kashmiri Pandits have been demanding that government should resettle them in the Valley in secure zones so that the history is not repeated. Proposal to set up separate colonies was moved by the BJP led central government in 2015 but the then J&K government led by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), succumbed under the pressure of separatists and not much headway was made to build these townships.
Many things changed in Kashmir after August 5, 2019—when the Indian government announced its decision to abrogate J&K’s special status and bifurcated it into two union territories—the efforts are afoot to develop separate colonies for Kashmiri Pandits so that they can return to the Valley and live without any fear.
The government has already built some structures in central, south and north Kashmir and these areas have been designated as separate zones for Kashmiri Pandits, who want to return to their homeland.
On March 17, this year Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy had informed the Parliament that 520 Kashmiri migrants have returned to the Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 to take up jobs under the Prime Minister’s special package.
Reddy had stated that a total of nearly 3,800 migrant candidates have returned to Kashmir in the last few years to take up the PM package jobs. “The provision of special jobs for the Kashmiri migrant youths under the PM package is an important part for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants, who left the Valley in 1990s due to militancy,” he had said.
Ground situation in Kashmir has improved considerably but militants are making every possible attempt to keep the minorities away from the Valley and are leaving no opportunity to create fear psychosis.
On December 31, 2020 militants shot dead a 65-year-old jeweller in Sarai Bala area of Srinagar. The goldsmith Satpal Nischal, son of Amarnath Nischal, owner of Nischal Jewellers living in Indira Nagar area in Srinagar, was fired upon by the militants at his shop. The deceased was a non-state subject but was living in Kashmir for the past 50 years. He had received the Domicile certificate just a few days before his killing.
In February this year militants tried to create fear by attacking the son of the owner of a famous eatery, Krishna Dhaba, at Sonawar in uptown Srinagar. Akash Mehra (22), son of Ramesh Kumar Mehra, was fired upon by the ultras when he was busy with his work. After battling for life for many days Mehra succumbed to his injuries. The attack was carried out on the day when the delegation of envoys from 23 countries was visiting Kashmir.
It is one of the 9 High Impact Community Development Projects in the island nation with Indian grant assistance…reports Asian Lite News
India is developing a bottled water plant in Maldives to enhance water security and promote sustainable development at the island level.
This is part of the High Impact Community Development Projects taken up by India in the Maldives.
On Wednesday, a Twitter post of the High Commission of India in Maldives thanked the Government of President Ibrahim Solih for India’s participation in the project.
“Thankful to Govt of President @ibusolih for the honour to participate in setting up a ‘Bottled-Water Plant’ at #Hoarafushi that will enhance water security in the northern Atolls & promote sustainable dvpt at island level #WorldOceansDay,” the High Commission of India said in the Twitter post.
The bottled water plant at Horafushi is one of the 9 High impact Community Development Projects in the island nation being built with Indian grant assistance. The projects were announced in July last year.
The plant is being developed under MVR 8 million Grant Assistance from India.
The primary objective of the plant is to enhance water security and promote climate resilience in Horafushi and the region.
The benefits of the project include reducing cost of living by making drinking water more affordable, reducing the use of single-use plastic on the island and creating jobs and commercial opportunities for local islanders.
Besides, the project once complete will also help communities to become resilient in facing climate change and demonstrating sustainable development at island level.
The water bottling plant will contribute positively to provide a reliable, sustainable and healthier drinking water source to the island and the surrounding region.
Under the High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) scheme, apart from the bottled water plant at Hoarafushi, 3 fish-processing plants are being set up in Addu city and work on development of Addu Tourism Zone in Feydhoo, Meedhoo, Hithadhoo, Hulhudhoo and Maradhoo have been undertaken. (INN)
Even amid the times of Covid-19, both sides have maintained bilateral cooperation…reports Asian Lite News
Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay called on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed ways to boost bilateral ties.
Both leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral topics including in the areas of economic investment and financial cooperation.
India and Sri Lanka are important partners in trade and investment. India’s exports to Sri Lanka amounted to $5.3 billion in 2015-17 whereas its imports from the country were at $743 million.
Trade between the two countries grew particularly rapidly after the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement which came into force in March 2000.
Besides, the relationship between both sides is rooted in history, culture, and people-to-people ties. The ties have been enhanced over the years with regular bilateral visits from both ends.
Even amid the times of Covid-19, both sides have maintained bilateral cooperation through virtual meetings.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March spoke on phone with Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The leaders reviewed topical developments and the ongoing cooperation between both countries in bilateral and multilateral forums.
Both the leaders agreed to maintain regular contact between relevant officials, including in the context of the continuing COVID-19 challenges. The Indian prime minister reiterated the importance of Sri Lanka to India’s Neighbourhood First policy.
In February, before the second wave of the pandemic took over in India, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Rajapaksa visited the country for a five-day visit during which he held talks with Prime Minister Modi to explore ways to further boost bilateral ties.
A host of issues, including fulfilling the aspirations of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, the situation in the Indian Ocean Region and ways to boost defence and trade ties were discussed during the meeting.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited India in November last year for his first official overseas trip after taking charge of the top office. (INN)
A demonstrator stacks bags on a street as a barricade during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar(ians)
The people fled after “indiscriminate attacks by security forces against civilian areas…reports Asian Lite News
At least 100,000 people in eastern Myanmar are on the run because of violent “attacks” by the army, the United Nations estimates.
Kayah state, on the border with Thailand, is particularly badly affected, according to a statement by the UN mission in Myanmar, dpa reported.
The people fled after “indiscriminate attacks by security forces against civilian areas,” read the statement, which was dated from Tuesday.
“This crisis could push people across international borders seeking safety, as already seen in other parts of the country,” it said.
The effort to deliver aid to these people had been hampered by “ongoing insecurity, travel restrictions imposed by security forces, and poor road conditions.”
Since the military coup in early February, Myanmar has been mired in chaos and violence.
The generals ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest ever since.
According to estimates by the prisoners’ aid organisation AAPP, more than 850 people have been killed in ongoing protests against the junta.
According to the prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh as cited by the media, the documents could not be passed to the defence due to third party privacy concerns….reports Asian Lite News
The prosecution counsel in the corruption trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been criticised by the Jerusalem District Court for not passing case files to the defence counsel, the Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.
According to the prosecutor Yehudit Tirosh as cited by the media, the documents could not be passed to the defence due to third party privacy concerns. However, Judge Rivkah Friedman-Feldman found the justification insufficient and said the prosecution had lost the defence’s confidence in its vetting process.
Meanwhile, the defence counsel needs the requested documents to prove that Walla communications CEO Ilan Yeshua intervened with news coverage to support other politicians and power-brokers, and not just to clear Netanyahu of corruption allegations.
Netanyahu has been under investigation on suspicion of using government powers to manipulate media coverage and taking expensive gifts from billionaire friends.
In the court proceedings, several disputes have ensued between the prosecution and defence counsel over the transfer of necessary documents. Last year, the state prosecution turned over six new documents to Netanyahu’s defence team, claiming that it previously didn’t know the documents existed. (ANI/Sputnik)
like Prof. Sajjad Raja, Chairman of the National Equality Party Jammu Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan & Ladakh (NEP JKGBL)
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) slammed the Imran Khan-led government for continuing with the policy of subjugation of the Gilgit Baltistan region … reports Kaliph Anaz
The National Equality Party (JKGBL) is organising a march in front of Pakistan High Commission in London on Thursday (10 June 2021) at 12:30 pm to protest against the human rights violations in Gilgit Baltistan & Pak Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The organisor’s said the maximum number allowed at gather is 30 and appealed all the supporters to wear face masks.
People at Pakistan occupied Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are in the receiving end since the new government under Imran Khan came to power. Prominent politicians from the region like Prof. Sajjad Raja, Chairman of the National Equality Party Jammu Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan & Ladakh (NEP JKGBL) and rights activist Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza are seeking the help of British politicians including Prime Minister Boris Johnson to intervene.
Prof. Raja said that his party is concerned with the fact that the people of PoJK and Gilgit Baltistan experience gross violation of their basic human rights as guaranteed by article 20 of the Declaration of Human Rights and as reinforced by Article 21 of ICCPR.
“In Pakistani occupied areas people continue being subjected to arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions and enforced disappearances by authorities,” he was quoted as saying.
The National Equality Party (JKGBL) is organising a march in front of Pakistan High Commission in London on Thursday (10 June 2021) at 12:30 pm to protest against the human rights violations in Gilgit Baltistan & Pak Occupied Jammu and Kashmir
“In Kashmir Valley, Human Rights violations were unheard of before 1990 until Pakistan started sending in her armed militants who plunged Kashmir into a living hell; any human rights violations there stem from Pakistani infiltration,” said Prof. Raja. The political activist from PoK said, “We are gravely concerned that the world has never paid any attention to the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the people of Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan living under Pakistani occupation where people have no constitutional rights to demand for other rights. Instead, laws such as the National Action Plan, ATA and Schedule 4 are used ruthlessly to stop people from taking part in any peaceful assembly”.
Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza, a human rights activist based in Glasgow has written a letter to Prime Minister Johnson to intervene in the issue.
“I have written a letter to PM Boris Johnson and requested him to intervene in the issue that is of great concern to us,” Dr Mirza said. “The Pakistani Supreme Court has directed the Pakistani government to make an amendment in the Gilgit Baltisan order in 2018 and conduct elections in the region. During the election period, they have asked the Pakistani government to form an interim government in the region.”
He said that Pakistan Supreme Court ruling is illegal since Gilgit Baltistan is not a constitutional part of Pakistan.
“Gilgit-Baltistan has its own legislative assembly and an election commission hence there is no justification for meddling with its electoral process. They can decide on when they want to have an election. To conduct an election through Pakistani Election Commission is an infringement on the rights of Gilgit Baltistan people,” said Dr Mirza.
Dr Mirza also said that Pakistan is plundering the natural and mineral resources of Gilgit Baltistan which include gold, marble, emerald, copper sulphate, iron, antimony, uranium 238, ruby, topaz, quartz, Sulphur and oil.
“The people if Gilgit Baltistan have no freedom of speech. Anyone who braves to raise his or her concern about the well-being of the people or the dangers to the environment are charged under the Anti-Terrorist Act also known as Schedule Four.”
He said that scores of our human rights activists and environmentalists who have been vocal about Pakistan’s injustices and exploitation of the natural recourses are serving long jail terms.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) slammed the Imran Khan-led government for continuing with the policy of subjugation of the Gilgit Baltistan region. Lamenting the disenfranchisement of people in Gilgit Baltistan.
The HRCP said the 2018 order annulled the Gilgit Baltistan Council which had local representation, and gave too many powers to the country’s Prime Minister.
Secretary of State reiterates support for returning to the nuclear accord, with which UN inspectors said Iran was complying before Trump pulled out the US, reports Asian Lite News
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “hundreds” of US sanctions will remain on Iran even if the United States rejoins a nuclear accord.
The US has been engaged in indirect talks with Iran about reversing former president Donald Trump’s exit from the 2015 nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“I would anticipate that, even in the event of a return to compliance with the JCPOA, hundreds of sanctions remain in place, including sanctions imposed by the Trump administration,” Blinken told a Senate hearing.
“If they are not inconsistent with the JCPOA, they will remain unless and until Iran’s behavior changes,” he said.
The discussions in Vienna, brokered by European diplomats, have been locked in dispute on which sanctions to lift.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
The Biden administration is ready to end the sweeping measures imposed by Trump — including an effort to stop all of Iran’s oil exports — if it reverses the steps away from the nuclear deal that it took to protest the last administration’s sanctions.
But Iran has insisted on a removal of all sanctions — while the Biden administration has insisted that some will remain if they were imposed over other concerns, including human rights and Iran’s support for extremist movements.
Blinken reiterated support for returning to the nuclear accord, with which UN inspectors said Iran was complying before Trump pulled out the United States.
Asked about concerns that Iran did not declare all activities from before the nuclear deal, Blinken said: “Plain and simple, we would be in an even better place to insist on it answering those questions if we had managed to get Iran back into compliance with the JCPOA and if we were part of it, too.”
Photo shows a corner of Natanz nuclear plant, some 300 kilometers south of Tehran, Iran.(Xinhua/Liang Youchang)
“But regardless, it needs to answer those questions. It needs to come clean about past activities,” Blinken said.
Meanwhile, the US told Iran on Tuesday that it must let the UN atomic agency continue to monitor its activities, as laid out in an agreement that has been extended until June 24, or put wider talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal at risk.
The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran reached a three-month agreement in February cushioning the blow of Tehran’s decision to reduce its cooperation with the agency by ending extra monitoring measures introduced by the 2015 deal.
Under that new side agreement, which on May 24 was extended by a month, data continues to be collected in a black-box-type arrangement, with the IAEA only able to access it at a later date. It is unclear whether the agreement will be extended again; the IAEA has said such negotiations are getting harder.
“We strongly encourage Iran to avoid any action that would prevent the collection of or IAEA access to the information necessary for it to quickly re-establish … continuity of knowledge,” a US statement to a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors said.
“Such action would, at a minimum, seriously complicate ongoing efforts to reach an understanding on how Iran can return to compliance with its JCPOA commitments in return for a similar US resumption,” it added, referring to the 2015 deal by its full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Indirect US-Iran talks on reviving the deal are due to resume in Vienna this week. The data covered by the separate IAEA-Iran agreement includes real-time uranium enrichment levels as well as whether centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium, remained in storage and the production of centrifuge parts.
The monitoring group said that an ammunition depot thought to belong to the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah was also hit in the same area….reports Asian Lite News
At least eight members of the Syrian government forces and their allied militiamen are dead after Israeli airstrikes on central and southern Syria, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.
The Britain-Based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the killed included members of the “National Defence” forces, DPA reported.
It added that the Israeli strikes, which took place shortly before midnight (2100 GMT), hit posts east of the village of Khirbet al-Tin in the countryside of Homs.
The monitoring group said that an ammunition depot thought to belong to the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah was also hit in the same area.
It further said that explosions occurred near the Dabaa Military Airport.
The official Syrian news agency Sana had first reported that Israeli fighter jets hit targets in Syria late on Tuesday night.
The agency cited military sources as saying that the rocket attacks hit central and southern areas of the country, without providing specifics.
Israeli soldiers operate an artillery battery
According to a Lebanese security source, the Israeli planes used Lebanese airspace to also hit targets south of Damascus.
The Observatory confirmed that loud explosions were heard on the outskirts of Damascus International airport as well as as near the air force battalion in the Dmeir region.
It added that explosions were heard in the provinces of Hama and Latakia.
So far, there has been no official comment from Israel.
Israeli strikes in Syria have been seen as an attempt to prevent Iran, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s main allies, from building up its military influence in the region.
