Reuters has learned that the US and the United Arab Emirates hope to have a letter of agreement on the sale of American of F-35 stealth fighter jets to the Arab state in time for UAE National Day on December 2. A close ally of America, the UAE has long been interested in purchasing the jets and was promised it would be able to do so upon normalizing relations with Israel.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed Tuesday that the next US leader must accept Tehran’s demands, ruling out compromise as Donald Trump vies for reelection.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of abusing the Palestinian people and lashed President Trump and Persian Gulf nations as “collaborators” during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday.
US President, Donald Trump voiced optimism that more peace agreements to normalize ties between Israel and Arab countries are possible when he addressed the opening session of the 75th UN General Assembly. As the General Debate is taking place mostly virtually this year due to COVID-19, Trump delivered his speech from the White House.
President Trump will impose sanctions on China if Beijing authorizes arms sales to Iran following his move to dismantle the 2015 nuclear deal and renew international sanctions on Tehran.
The US is sending around 100 extra troops to Syria to protect against increasing Russian aggression and signs of renewed activity from ISIS in the region, the New York Times (NYT) reported Friday. The newly deployed soldiers will be added to a contingent of some 500 American troops in Syria. Additional military hardware will also be sent and there will be more fighter jet patrols.
The United States has imposed sanctions on more than two dozen people and entities involved in Iran’s atomic activities or its missile and conventional weapons programs, as Washington unilaterally seeks to enforce a UN arms embargo against the Middle East country.
Leaked documents suggest that one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest friends used a prominent British bank to launder millions of dollars and evade Western sanctions. Separately the company of U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly benefited from laundered money, but officials denied those charges.
The Trump administration announced Monday that its sanctions on Chinese companies which use Muslim Uighur slave labor could affect up to $250 million worth of goods that come from the Xinjiang region of China, the Western Journal reports.
In a reflection of the COVID-19 crisis and ensuing governmental measures, Global debt/GDP skyrocketed to an all-time high in the first quarter of 2020, Zero Hedge reports. Overall debt for the non-financial sector has jumped from 241% of global GDP at the end of 2019 to 252% of global GDP now. This is the biggest jump ever recorded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
Europe is racing to contain rising coronavirus infections and prevent more hospitalizations and deaths. Authorities in several countries announced new restrictions, sparking protests in Spain, which saw one of the lockdowns.
Mass protests were held for the sixth straight Sunday in Belarus following the detention of a grandmother, who became a symbol of resistance against longtime President Alexander Lukashenko. As many as 100,000 people rallied in Minsk amid mounting pressure on Lukashenko to step down and allow fair and free elections.
The United States hopes to move forward with naming Qatar as a major non-NATO ally, a status that provides foreign nations with benefits in defense trade and security cooperation, a senior US official said on Thursday.
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier safely transited on Friday through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important chokepoint for oil shipments, the U.S. Navy said, as tensions with Iran continue to simmer.
Saudia Arabia has reportedly enough mineable uranium ore reserves to produce nuclear fuel, raising fears of a possible nuclear arms race with regional rival Iran.
Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has spoken to the United Nations Human Rights Council despite Belarussian efforts to prevent her and other critics from giving speeches. During Friday’s turbulent session of the Geneva-based U.N. body, she demanded that the country’s authorities end violence against protestors and organize a free and fair presidential election.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has announced it is deploying additional troops to the nation’s eastern border with China because it says there are rising tensions in the wider Asia-Pacific region, the Epoch Times reports. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the announcement on the ministry website on Thursday, but did not specify the nature of the new threats or where the additional troops would be stationed.
As the US believes Iran has continued to develop nuclear weapons, and as the United Nations arms embargo on Iran expires next month, the State Department announced Wednesday that it is pressing forward with “snap back” sanctions that are provided for under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran Nuclear deal, Fox News reports. Under the terms of the JCPoA, snapback sanctions can be re-imposed if Iran is perceived to be violating the terms of the agreement. However, as the Trump administration withdrew from the JCPoA in 2018, UNSC members Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia have unequivocally stated the US has no authority to unilaterally enforce snapback sanctions once the current embargo is lifted on October 18.
Hungary’s fiercely anti-migration Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says his nation is facing “a second wave of coronavirus infections” and will keep its borders closed to most foreigners, despite European Union concerns about that decision.
Political and social unrest is rising in Belarus after a protest organizer was charged with undermining national security. Authorities in have linked Maria Kolesnikova to what they view as attempts to destabilize the former Soviet nation.