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You won't hear this from the US govt: Iran is open to working with Saudi Arabia

Darius Shahtahmasebi
RT
Thu, 22 Nov 2018 16:23 UTC
Map ME
© Getty Images/JeanUrsula
Washington's rhetoric regarding Iran paints the picture of an evil nation hellbent on destroying the world. In reality, it appears that Tehran would prefer dialogue with its rivals, which is unacceptable to the US.

Tuesday's White House Statement from President Trump on "Standing with Saudi Arabia" was an outright condemnation of Iran and a total free pass for Saudi Arabia.

Iran is to blame for almost every issue in the Middle East, including the war in Yemen, according to the statement. The US-made and supplied bombs raining down on Yemeni school buses, with some 85,000 children dying in the process, is simply because of Iran. Not only is Iran responsible for the bloodshed in Yemen, Tehran has further helped "dictator Bashar Assad" in Syria kill "millions of his own citizens." The official death toll of the Syrian war is under one million, and certainly the various jihadist groups, including Islamic State (IS), share responsibility for that figure.

"The Iranians" have also killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the Middle East. Iran not only shouts "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" but it is also considered "the world's leading sponsor of terror."

It is curious enough that firstly, in a statement about Saudi Arabia, the term "world's leading sponsor of terror" is not gifted to the prime sponsors of Al-Qaeda and IS. Secondly, the fact that Trump himself put that term in inverted commas seems to suggest that even he doesn't quite believe that one to be true.

Comment: Audience programming predisposes thinking patterns concerning Iran - even to the level of governments. Accusations without proof of guilt are easier to believe than declarations of innocence which are harder to prove - perhaps not at all.

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Arrow Down

Former Brexit Sec Raab would rather scrap Brexit than accept May's deal, others agree

Adam Bienkov
Business Insider
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
Dominic Raab
© Jeff Overs/BBC via Getty ImagesFormer Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab
It would be better to scrap Brexit and stay in the European Union rather than accept Theresa May's Brexit deal, the former Brexit Secretary has said.

Dominic Raab, who quit the government last week in protest over the terms of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, told the Today programme on Friday morning that May's deal would leave Britain tied to EU customs and trade rules without any democratic oversight over them.

"If you just presented me terms, this deal or EU membership, because we would effectively be bound by the same rules without control or a voice over them, then yes this would be even worse than that," Raab said.

Raab joins a growing list of leading Conservative Brexiteers who have suggested in recent weeks and months that it would be better to remain in the EU rather than accept what the prime minister has agreed with Brussels.

Comment: See also:

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Arrow Down

Iranian FM: Iran won't renegotiate nuclear deal, despite US sanctions, just because Trump wants it


RT
Thu, 22 Nov 2018 21:10 UTC
Javad Zarif
© Reuters/Murad SezerIran FM Javad Zarif
Iran has no intention of renegotiating the nuclear deal, the nation's foreign minister says, as it already spent more than two years in negotiations and came to a conclusion that was solidified by a UN Security Council resolution.

Speaking at the 'MED Dialogues' conference in Rome on Thursday, Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran will not simply sit back at the table with the US, because he already spent 2.5 years negotiating with former US Secretary of State John Kerry and other political figures and experts.

"We negotiated a very good deal," he said, noting that Tehran came to an agreement with the US, not simply the administration of the moment. "Why should we resume another talk just because somebody doesn't like it? Just because somebody hates his predecessor? That's not the reason you engage in diplomacy." That comment was in response to US President Donald Trump pulling out of the deal agreed by his predecessor Barack Obama.

In all of this, Zarif said, the Iranian people will "see less and less possibility of relying on the promises that are made to them, and I think that will be very difficult for the international community."

Comment: Trump is pretty much 'out on his own limb' for the withdrawal decision. Europe did not rally to his position. Israel and Saudi Arabia agreed but neither were part of the P5+1 deciders (the US, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany). See also:

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Beaker

Tehran outraged at US 'Iranian chemical weapons' claims, points out US, Israeli programs


Sputnik
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 13:26 UTC
Chemical weapons facility
© AP/Alfonso Perez
Earlier, the US representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons accused Tehran of failing to declare its chemical weapons capabilities, and charged the country with pursuing the development of such weapons "for offensive purposes."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi has dismissed Washington's claims about a secret Iranian chemical weapons program, promising that Tehran would thoroughly debunk the allegations in the coming days.

"Once again America has leveled groundless accusations against Iran...which we strongly reject," Ghasemi said in a statement published on the Foreign Ministry's website on Friday.

"Based on [OPCW] Conference procedure, the Iranian mission to the OPCW will give an appropriate response to these baseless accusations at the end of the general debates," he promised, without specifying the precise date. The current OPCW session will wrap up next Friday.

Turning the US allegations around on them, Ghasemi pointed to the US' own acknowledged chemical weapons program, and to suspicions that Israel, which signed but never ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, may also have access to such weapons.

Comment: The US-Israel make accusations they cannot prove, coupled with committing the same violations themselves. These ploys serve no one, not even on a distraction level.

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No Entry

France: Sanctions, travel ban on 18 Saudis suspected in the murder of Khashoggi


Middle East Eye
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 03:43 UTC
Mbs/Macron
© AFPCrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman • French President Emmanuel Macron
France announced on Thursday it had imposed sanctions, including travel bans, on 18 Saudi citizens linked to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and warned that more could follow depending on results of the current investigation.

"The murder of Mr Khashoggi is a crime of extreme gravity, which moreover goes against freedom of the press and the most fundamental rights," the French foreign ministry said in a statement. "France asks that all light be shed on the manner in which such an act may have been committed. It expects from the Saudi authorities a transparent, detailed and exhaustive response."

Comment: Economics: the moral modifier

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Russian Flag

Foreign Ministry: If you won't listen to Russia's diplomacy, listen to its military


RT
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 14:39 UTC
Russian DM/military
© Aleksandr Kondratuk/SputnikRussian Defense Minister and military personnel
Russia still hopes the US will refrain from an ill-advised move over the pivotal arms control accord, the INF, but those unwilling to listen to diplomatic language will be less dismissive of the military, Moscow warns.

US President Donald Trump's plan to ditch the decades-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) has been creating a stir for over a month. Some US allies have lashed out at Washington for the potentially dangerous move which could also hurt Europe's security.

Russia hopes the US can take a "sober" look at global security and refrain from making any "ill-advised" moves, director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Ermakov, told media. However, Russia is prepared for any decision the US makes.

Comment: Sell war and you sell war equipment. An absence of treaties increases risk and threat believability. See also:

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Laptop

French revolt: War declared on Google as military replaces search engine with 'untrackable' Qwant

Felix Allen
The Sun
Tue, 20 Nov 2018 06:01 UTC
Qwant
© Wired
France has declared war on Google to avoid becoming a "digital colony" of the US, according to reports. The French Army ministry and parliament are switching computers and handheld gadgets to use the rival Qwant search engine which they claim is more secure.

Qwant, a French and German owned web service, promises not to track its users like Google and others.

MP Florian Bachelier said: "We have to set the example. Security and digital sovereignty are at stake here, which is anything but an issue only for geeks." He chairs the National Assembly's cybersecurity and digital sovereignty task force, which was set up in April to protect firms from hackers and end France's reliance on foreign tech giants.

Officials and politicians are said to be very concerned with the dominance of US and Chinese firms and the concept of "digital sovereignty", including a country's control over its citizens data, reports Wired.

Comment: 'Promises' and 'claims'...more or less nails it down, oui?

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Stock Up

Russia-Austria trade grows almost 60%, approaches pre-sanctions record highs


RT
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 10:10 UTC
Russia trade banner
© Maria Corte Maidagan/DeloitteRussian Trade
The volume of trade between Russia and Austria has been steadily growing, reaching $4.2 billion since January year-on-year, said Russia's trade representative in Austria Aleksandr Potemkin.
"Solid steps have been made towards strengthening of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Austria over the past two years. Among EU countries that are the main trade and economic partners of Russia with trade turnover exceeding $4 billion, Austria is the first in terms of growth."
Potemkin noted that this year Russian-Austrian trade may exceed the highest level of the "post-crisis period" of $5.1 billion recorded in 2013. It could probably even reach the record level seen in 2008 of $5.4 billion, he said. That growth was achieved mostly thanks to Russia's exports, the trade envoy said, noting that: "In first three quarters of 2018 it doubled, while import was up almost 18 percent."

Trade between Russia and the European Union started to improve in early 2017 despite trade barriers from mutual sanctions introduced almost five years ago.

Comment: Russia and Austria are increasing their good relationship. See also:

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Network

Art of the deal? Turkey may turn US Patriot missiles into 'bargaining chip'


RT
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 18:42 UTC
Patriot air defense missile systems
© Inquam Photos / Ovidiu Micsik/ ReutersUS Patriot air defense missile systems
Despite many spats between Washington and Ankara, Turkey signaled that it is open to buying US-made Patriot air defense missile systems. The move may be part of a sophisticated Turkish bargaining game, experts say.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesperson said that Ankara would "seriously evaluate"the possibility of purchasing Patriot missiles should the White House make "a good offer."

Turkey held lengthy talks to acquire Patriot missiles for several years. Negotiations with Washington stalled two times - first in 2013 when Ankara announced that will buy a Chinese air defense system, and then in 2017 when it eventually chose to buy cutting-edge Russian S-400 air defense systems instead.

US lawmakers claimed that Erdogan's deal with the Russians would undermine NATO's security. The defiant Turkish leader signed the contract anyway. In response, Congress passed a law delaying the shipment of 100 F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. This followed a series of high-profile spats, with Erdogan even calling on Turkish citizens and other nations to dump the US dollar.
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Eye 2

Saudi Arabia dismisses 'baseless' Amnesty report on torture and sexual harassment of human rights activists


Sputnik
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 17:39 UTC
saudi skyline
© CC BY-SA 4.0 / B.alotaby / Riyadh Skyline
On Tuesday, Amnesty International said in a report that Saudi Arabian authorities have tortured and sexually harassed detained human rights activists, including a number of women.

Saudi Arabia stated Friday that the reports about torture, issued by the human rights watchdogs Amnesty International, were 'baseless', the Ministry of Media said in a statement.

"The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia categorically and strongly denies the allegations made by them. The wild claims made, quoting anonymous 'testimonies' or 'informed sources', are simply wrong," the ministry said.

The ministry's statement comes after Amnesty International released a report on Tuesday in which it claimed that "the activists were repeatedly tortured by electrocution and flogging, leaving some unable to walk or stand properly."

The torture allegations come with Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammad facing international condemnation over the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
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