Iran agrees to stop arming Houthis in Yemen as part of deal with Saudi Arabia – Wall Street Journal report

Iran agrees to stop arming Houthis in Yemen as part of deal with Saudi Arabia – Wall Street Journal report
A part of the guidance system to an Iranian Qiam ballistic missile on display in 2017 after then-US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley unveiled previously classified information intending to prove provided arms to Houthis. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 16 March 2023

Iran agrees to stop arming Houthis in Yemen as part of deal with Saudi Arabia – Wall Street Journal report

Iran agrees to stop arming Houthis in Yemen as part of deal with Saudi Arabia – Wall Street Journal report
  • WSJ report: Saudi Arabia expects Iran to respect a UN arms embargo meant to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis

DUBAI: Iran has agreed to stop sending weapons to its Houthi allies in Yemen as part of a deal to re-establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia that was brokered by China, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported, quoting US and Saudi officials.

Tehran’s move would hasten new efforts to achieve peace in Yemen, as it could put pressure on the militant group to reach a deal to end the conflict. A UN-sponsored truce in the country last year lasted only six months after the Houthis rejected calls for de-escalation and an extension to the ceasefire.

Tehran publicly denies that it supplies the Houthis with weapons, but UN inspectors have repeatedly traced seized weapons shipments back to Iran.

After last week’s rapprochement gestures by Saudi Arabia and Iran, officials from both countries said Iran would press the Houthis to end attacks on Saudi Arabia, the WSJ report noted.

ALSO READ: Saudi source reveals additional details about China-brokered deal with Iran

Saudi Arabia expects Iran to respect a UN arms embargo meant to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis, the report quoted a Saudi official as saying, and diminish the group’s ability to launch against the Kingdom and gain more ground in Yemen.

The agreement to resume Saudi-Iran relations “gives a boost to the prospect of a [Yemen] deal in the near future,” while Iran’s approach to the conflict will be “kind of a litmus test” for the success of last week’s diplomatic deal, according to a US official quoted by WSJ.

Hans Grundberg, the special UN envoy for Yemen, flew to Tehran this week to discuss with officials on how end the Yemen war and then on to Riyadh. Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian assured the UN diplomat that Tehran was ready to do more to help end the conflict in Yemen.

Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy to Yemen, also met with Saudi officials in an attempt to jumpstart peace talks.

Saudi Arabia and Iran also agreed to re-open their embassies and missions within two months, and affirmed ‘the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states.’

The warming up of Saudi-Iran relations was widely welcomed by the global community, with the European Union, in a statement, noting: “As both Saudi Arabia and Iran are central for the security of the region, the resumption of their bilateral relations can contribute to the stabilization of the region as a whole.”


Israel repeals law that banned four West Bank settlements

Israel repeals law that banned four West Bank settlements
Updated 11 sec ago

Israel repeals law that banned four West Bank settlements

Israel repeals law that banned four West Bank settlements
  • The original law, passed in 2005, mandated the evacuation of four Jewish settlements in the northern West Bank along with Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip
JERUSALEM: Israeli parliament on Tuesday repealed legislation that ordered the evacuation of four settlements in the occupied West Bank, one of the first major moves by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition.
The original law, passed in 2005, mandated the evacuation of four Jewish settlements in the northern West Bank along with Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip. The repeal would allow Jewish residents to return to these settlements on condition of approval by the Israeli military.
Since the 1967 war, Israel has established around 140 settlements on land Palestinians see as the core of a future state. Besides the authorized settlements, groups of settlers have built scores of outposts without government permission.
Most world powers deem settlements built in the territory Israel seized in the 1967 war as illegal under international law and their expansion as an obstacle to peace, since they eat away at land the Palestinians claim for a future state.
Yuli Edelstein, head of the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, hailed the move as “the first and significant step toward real repair and the establishment of Israel in the territories of the homeland that belongs to it.”

Jordan says Israel disavows behavior of top minister over flag of expanded borders

Jordan says Israel disavows behavior of top minister over flag of expanded borders
Updated 54 min 22 sec ago

Jordan says Israel disavows behavior of top minister over flag of expanded borders

Jordan says Israel disavows behavior of top minister over flag of expanded borders
AMMAN: Jordan got Israeli assurances that the behavior of a top cabinet minister who spoke at a podium which had a flag showing an expanded Israel that included Jordan did not represent their position, an official source said on Tuesday.
The source also told Reuters that top Israeli officials also conveyed that they rejected Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s move during a speech on Monday and that they respected Jordan’s borders and the peace treaty with Jordan.

Arab League chief, Russian deputy FM discuss regional issues, Ukraine war

Arab League chief, Russian deputy FM discuss regional issues, Ukraine war
Updated 21 March 2023

Arab League chief, Russian deputy FM discuss regional issues, Ukraine war

Arab League chief, Russian deputy FM discuss regional issues, Ukraine war

CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Sunday expressed his concerns at mounting violence in the occupied Palestinian territories.

His comments regarding Israeli government actions came during a meeting in Cairo with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

Their discussions also centered around other regional issues and Arab-Russian relations.

Aboul Gheit’s spokesman, Jamal Rushdi, said Bogdanov outlined Moscow’s stance on Syria, Yemen, Libya, and the economic and presidential vacancy crises in Lebanon. Iranian and Turkish policies toward the Arab region were also discussed.

Separately, during his assessment of an Arab strategic report by the Egyptian Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Aboul Gheit said the conflict in Ukraine and rivalries between the US and China were among the most alarming issues since the end of World War II.

“The Arabs are cautious in dealing with the Ukrainian crisis and its effects.

“All of this does not miss China, which is building a large naval power capable of competing with America in the Pacific Ocean and perhaps the world,” he added.


Lebanon fears repercussions of Syrian refugees staying in the country

Lebanon fears repercussions of Syrian refugees staying in the country
Updated 21 March 2023

Lebanon fears repercussions of Syrian refugees staying in the country

Lebanon fears repercussions of Syrian refugees staying in the country

BEIRUT: Brig. Gen. Elias Baissari, Lebanon’s acting director-general of General Security, on Monday spoke about what he called “a disturbing issue for the state and the Lebanese.”

On the matter of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Baissari stressed that the GS would continue its efforts to organize voluntary and safe trips back to Syria, which it has been doing since 2017. Coordination is also underway with UN High Commissioner for Refugees to resettle the refugees in a third country.

“I hope we can reach quick solutions given the negative repercussions of this issue on Lebanon,” Baissari said.

A few days ago, Hermel Bashir Khoder, the governor of Baalbek, addressed the representative of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon during a meeting held at Dar Al-Fatwa in Baalbek, saying: “You are displaced people, not refugees. This is your legal definition in the Lebanese state, and you have to respect the country that hosts you and respect its laws.”

Khoder added: “This is not a discriminatory stance, but the Lebanese have had enough.”

The coordinator of camps for displaced Syrians in the border town of Arsal, which hosts the largest number of camps in Lebanon, demanded increased contributions for the displaced and held Khoder responsible for their difficult conditions.

Khoder’s angered response to these demands was widely shared on social media and received praise from many Lebanese.

“I, as a governor, occupy one of the highest administrative jobs in the Lebanese state, and my salary is less than what one displaced Syrian in Lebanon gets,” he said. “The benefits that the displaced get are much greater than what the Lebanese employees get.”

The audience applauded Khoder, who objected to accusations that the Lebanese were discriminatory. 

“We are one people in two countries, not one people in one country. The time limit for the displaced has extended to 12 years, and displacement is not forever. We are hurting. You are our brothers, and we will never abandon you, but we have nothing more to offer you. Lebanese wages are way too low and we are carrying all the burden. We are not able to carry more responsibilities on our shoulders.”

Khoder told Arab News: “Not one official concerned with the affairs of Syrian refugees has ever contacted me.

“I simply expressed the pain experienced by every Lebanese, particularly those working in the public sector.”

He also expressed concerns about the issue of infrastructure within refugee camps.

“A foreign NGO asked me to allow it to establish extensions for a sewage network in one of the Bekaa camps. But we cannot accept the establishment of infrastructure in the camps. It may later lead to the construction of rooms instead of tents, and this is out of the question,” he noted.

According to the latest statistics announced in December by retired Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the former director-general of the GS, there are currently 2,80,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, while only 540,000 Syrians have voluntarily returned to their country since 2017.

Over 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon “do not wish to return to their country,” Ibrahim said.

A recent field survey conducted by the Deir Al-Ahmar Municipalities in cooperation with a statistical team revealed a significant increase in the percentage of births within the Syrian refugee camps in the region.

The survey included a statistical sample of 655 tents, with the total number of refugees occupying them amounting to 3,728, including 1,782 refugees under the age of 15, which constitutes 48 percent. This is, according to the survey, “much more than Lebanese families.”

The Lebanese state fears that attractive donations from international organizations to refugees have encouraged them to have children, remain in Lebanon and not return for fear of being stripped of international assistance.

The Lebanese government previously estimated that the refugees consume daily 500,000 bundles of bread and 5 million gallons of water. The funds the state has spent on refugees have amounted to $30 billion over the course of 11 years.

The statistical bulletin on the official website of the Ministry of Health indicates that in the year 2021, 100,000 births were recorded in Lebanon, 40 percent of which were Syrians. The statistics do not account for births that take place outside hospitals.

A UNHCR report stated: “In 2021, the vast majority of refugees continued to resort to negative coping strategies to survive, such as begging, borrowing money, not sending their children to school, reducing health expenses, or not paying rent.”

These “privileges” that the Lebanese believe that Syrian refugees enjoy in Lebanon have prompted many Lebanese, with the approaching month of Ramadan, to object to sharing aid with Syrian refugees.

“This year we will give aid to the Lebanese first, and what remains we will give to the Syrians,” a mosque employee told Arab News.


Qatar sends 4,000 World Cup huts to quake-hit Turkiye, Syria

Qatar sends 4,000 World Cup huts to quake-hit Turkiye, Syria
Updated 21 March 2023

Qatar sends 4,000 World Cup huts to quake-hit Turkiye, Syria

Qatar sends 4,000 World Cup huts to quake-hit Turkiye, Syria
  • Qatar says it had always planned to donate the mobile homes

DOHA: Qatar has sent 4,000 cabins built to house fans at last year’s World Cup to earthquake survivors in Turkiye and Syria, authorities said Monday.

The Associated Press watched as the latest batch of pre-fabricated cabins was loaded onto a cargo ship in the Arabian Gulf. The Qatar Development Fund began shipping cabins last month and says it will send a total of 10,000 to house people displaced by the Feb. 6 earthquake.

Qatar, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, says it had always planned to donate the mobile homes. They were needed to help house some of the 1.4 million fans who descended on the small country during soccer’s biggest tournament late last year.

The brightly colored cabins, each with thin walls, were designed to hold one or two people with twin beds, a nightstand, a small table and chair, air conditioning, a toilet and a shower inside. They went for around $200 a night — $270 with board — offering a budget option for visiting fans.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of Turkiye and Syria on Feb. 6, killing more than 52,000 people — the vast majority in Turkiye. More than 200,000 buildings in Turkiye either collapsed or were severely damaged, leaving millions homeless.

Qatar and other wealthy Gulf countries have joined the global effort to send aid to the stricken region.