US and UK strike Houthi targets in Yemen after weeks of Red Sea attacks

US and UK strike Houthi targets in Yemen after weeks of Red Sea attacks

Post By World Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Gulf of Aden, Houthi rebels, Iran, Israel Hamas war, Middle East, military, Netherlands, Red Sea, shipping, UK, USA, Yemen

US and British forces struck rebel-held Yemen early on Friday after weeks of disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by Iran-backed Houthi rebels who say they act in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The pre-dawn air strikes add to escalating fears of wider conflict in the region, where violence involving Tehran-aligned groups in Yemen as well as Lebanon, Iraq and Syria has surged since the Israel -Hamas war began in early October.

Iran “strongly condemned” the strikes, which the United States, Britain and eight other allies said aimed to “de-escalate tensions”.

Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said that the Western strikes “will have no result other than fuelling insecurity and instability in the region”, while “diverting the world’s attention” from Gaza.

China said it was “concerned about the escalation of tensions in the Red Sea”, and news of the strikes sent oil prices up more than 2 percent.

The Houthis have carried out a growing number of attacks on what they deem to be Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea, a key international trade route, since October 7, when the Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the war which is still raging in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The rebels have controlled a major part of Yemen since a civil war erupted there in 2014 and are part of a regional Iran-backed “axis of resistance” against Israel and its allies.

Friday’s strikes targeted an airbase, airports and a military camp, the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV station said, with AFP correspondents and witnesses reporting they could hear heavy strikes in Hodeida and Sanaa.

“Our country was subjected to a massive aggressive attack by American and British ships, submarines and warplanes,” said Hussein al-Ezzi, the rebels’ deputy foreign minister.

“America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price and bear all the dire consequences of this blatant aggression,” he added, according to official Houthi media.

US President Joe Biden called the strikes a “defensive action” after the Red Sea attacks and said he “will not hesitate” to order further military action if needed.

With fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles, 60 targets at 16 Houthi locations were hit by more than 100 precision-guided munitions, US Central Command said in a statement.

Unverified images on social media, some of them purportedly of Al-Dailami airbase north of the rebel-held capital Sanaa, showed explosions lighting up the sky as loud bangs and the roar of planes sounded.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said at least five people had been killed.

‘Repeated warnings’

In a statement, Biden called the strikes a success and said he ordered them “against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways”.

Biden called the strikes a “direct response” to the “unprecedented” attacks by the Houthis which included “the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history”.

Blaming the Houthis for ignoring “repeated warnings”, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement the strikes were “necessary and proportionate”.

Britain’s defence ministry released footage of Royal Air Force jets returning to their Cyprus base after the mission, and US Centcom video showed warplanes apparently taking off from a sea-based carrier.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes “targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities”.

A joint statement by the United States, Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea said the “aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea”.

The Houthis said they will not be deterred.

“We affirm that there is absolutely no justification for this aggression against Yemen, as there was no threat to international navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam posted on X, formerly Twitter.

He said there was no threat to any vessels apart from “Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine”.

Prior to Friday’s strikes, Gerald Feierstein, a former US ambassador to Yemen, said bombing the Houthis would be “counterproductive”.

Strikes against the Houthis, who have weathered years of air raids by a Saudi-led coalition, would have little impact and would only raise their standing in the Arab world, said Feierstein of the Middle East Institute think-tank in Washington.

Saudi Arabia calls for ‘restraint’

Yemen’s neighbour Saudi Arabia is trying to extricate itself from a nine-year war with the Houthis, though fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the military operations,” a foreign ministry statement said after the US and British strikes.

Riyadh called for “self-restraint and avoiding escalation”.

US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, where they are part of an anti-jihadist coalition, have also faced stepped-up attacks since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, with Washington responding to several by bombing the sites of pro-Iran groups.

Israel has also stepped up strikes against targets in Syria, and has exchanged regular fire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah over its northern border.

Washington, which has said it seeks to avoid a spreading conflict, in December announced a maritime security initiative, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect shipping in the Red Sea route which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.

Twelve nations led by the United States warned the Houthis on January 3 of “consequences” unless they immediately stopped attacks on commercial vessels.

On Tuesday, however, the Houthis launched what London called their most significant attack yet, with US and British forces shooting down 18 drones and three missiles.

The final straw for the Western allies appeared to come early Thursday when the US military said the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into a shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden.

It was the 27th attack on international shipping in the Red Sea since November 19, the US military said.

The intensifying attacks have caused shipping companies to divert around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. Electric car manufacturer Tesla said it was suspending most production at its German factory because of a parts shortage due to shipping delays linked to Houthi attacks.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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Venezuela’s Zolfaghar boats are just the latest military equipment provided by Iran

Post By World Americas, Guyana, Iran, military equipment, Venezuela, weapons

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro launched military exercises near the border with Guyana on December 28, following weeks of crisis between the neighbouring countries over the Essequibo region. Amid the growing tensions, it emerged that Venezuela is in possession of Iran-made combat boats. The news isn’t surprising, given that Iran has provided the Venezuelan army with boats, drones, rockets and missiles for years.

Issued on: 10/01/2024 – 19:36

6 min

For decades, Venezuela has tried to claim Essequibo, a 160,000 km2 territory that is part of neighbouring Guyana. Rich in petrol and natural resources, this region represents two thirds of the overall surface area of Guyana. About a fifth of Guyana’s population lives in this contested region.

Tensions over Essequibo ratcheted up in September after Guyana made a call for bids from oil companies to exploit the region.

The situation got worse after Venezuela held a controversial referendum on December 3, asking the population about its claim on Essequibo. Maduro then ordered the state oil company to issue licenses authorising Venezuela to exploit the resources of the contested region.

Though the leaders of Venezuela and Guyana declared in mid-December that they had agreed not to use force against one another, on December 28 Maduro launched military exercises that involved bringing around 5,600 troops to the border region with Guyana. He called it a “response to provocation” by the United Kingdom, after the British sent the warship HMS Trent to Guyana. Georgetown said that the patrol vessel was going to participate in planned routine exercises.

Rapid Iranian combat vessels

It’s in this context that a video appeared on social media in late December showing Iranian combat vessels known as “Zolfaghar boats” filmed at the Puerto Cabello naval base in Venezuela.

This video was filmed in late December in the Puerto Cabello naval base in Venezuela.

The Zolfaghar boats are considered to be fast patrol crafts and can reach up to 52 knots per hour (or 96 km/h). They aren’t the fastest combat ships, but they are comparable to those used by Western countries. The Venezuelan Navy already showed off last summer that they were in possession of Zolfaghar boats.

On the left is the photo of Zolfaghar boats that the Venezuelan Navy publicised during the summer of 2023. On the right is a photo of Zolfaghar boats in the Persian Gulf that was published by Tasnim News, a media outlet with ties to the Revolutionary Guards, back in 2018. © France 24 Observers

There isn’t anything surprising about seeing Iranian boats in Venezuela. Iran and Venezuela have long enjoyed a good relationship, especially after former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. The two countries became even closer in 2005 when Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office as both leaders were anti-American and populist.

Slowly but surely, the two countries have developed their military cooperation. Iran first provided Venezuela with weapons in 2008. Aside from the Zolfaghar boats, Iran has also provided Venezuela with drones, rockets and missiles. The FRANCE 24 Observers team has compiled a list of some of the Iranian weapons that Venezuela has in its arsenal after studying images shared by the army and media.

Iranian drones, rockets and missiles in Venezuela

1 – Drones

Exporting drones has become one of Tehran’s specialties. A number of armed groups in places like Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza use Iranian drones, as do countries like Russia, Syria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tajikistan and Venezuela.

ANSU-200

Though Venezuela claims that the ANSU-200 is “homemade”, it is actually a copy of the Iranian Shahed 161 drone from the Simorgh drone family. These drones are themselves copies of the American RQ-170 drone. ANSU-200 is a reconnaissance drone with what are known as flying wings.

ANSU-100

The ANSU-100 is an Iranian attack drone assembled in Venezuela using Iranian pieces. While Venezuela calls the drone the ANSU-100, its real name, in Iran, is Mohajer-2. Mohajer drones have been developed and made in Iran since the late 1980s.

This is a photo of the Mohajer-2 drone taken during an exercise in Iran in 2016. © Tasnim

ANSU

The ANSU is a small mobile reconnaissance drone called a “Yazdan”. Once again, it is an Iranian-made drone.

The image on the left shows a military expo in Venezuela in July 2023. The image on the right shows a “Yazdan” drone on display in a military parade in Iran in 2022. © ISNA (photo on the right)

ANSU-500

This is an Iranian VTOL (vertical take off and landing) attack drone. It can carry four small bombs. Even though this model is called the ANSU-500 by Venezuela, its name in Iran is the “Shahin VTOL”.

The image on the right shows the “Shahin” drone on display by the Iranian military industry during a military expo in Belarus in May 2023. The image on the right shows the ANSU-500 drone in a military expo in Venezuela in 2023. © Oswaldo Monterola (photo at right).

Mohajer-6

The Mohajer-6 is a reconnaissance and attack drone that Iran has given to Venezuela. Even though it isn’t Iran’s most powerful attack drone, it can carry bombs or missiles.

2 – Missiles and rockets

Fajr-1 rockets and rocket-launchers

This is an old rocket launcher developed by Iran in the 1980s. Venezuela has equipped a number of its military vehicles and boats with this type of rocket launcher. The Fajr-1 is a 107 mm rocket. It can shoot more than eight kilometres. It’s an imitation of the “Type-63” Chinese rockets which were built in China in the 1960s.

These are Fajr-1 rocket launchers that were on display during military parades and military exercises in Venezuela in 2022. © Prensa FANB

موشک‌های Fajr-1 در قایق‌های IRGC، عکس گرفته شده در خلیج فارس در سال ۲۰۱۲. AFPموشک Fajr-1 در یک نمایشگاه نظامی در سال ۲۰۰۹ در ایران — The image on the left shows a Fajr-1 rocket launcher on display during a military expo in Iran in 2009. The image on the right shows Fajr-1 rocket launchers on boats belonging to Guardians of the Revolution in the Persian Gulf in 2012. © AFP (photo on the right).

Ghaem-1

Iran developed the Ghaem-1, which is a “Smart Miniature Bomb”. Weighing only 12kg, it can be carried by attack drones. It can hit targets between 12 to 40km away.

Nasr cruise missile

The Nasr is an Iranian short-range, anti-ship cruise missile, designed to be used from combat vessels. It can destroy small combat ships up to 35km away. Several images show that a number of Venezuelan combat ships are equipped with this system.

This shows a Nasr missile being fired in Venezuela during military exercises in July 2023.

This Iranian military ship fired this Nasr missile during an exercise in 2020. © ISNA

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Oil prices could spike 20%, possibly double if Middle East conflict disrupts Strait of Hormuz

Post By Oil and Gas Breaking News: Markets, business news, Goldman Sachs BDC Inc, Government and politics, Iran, Markets, Oil and Gas, United States

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The Middle East is on fire: What you need to know about the Red Sea crisis

Post By Politics Africa, Asia, Benchmarks, borders, Business and competition, Cargo, Conflict, drones, Energy, Exports, foreign policy, France, Insurance, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Israel Hamas war, Lebanon, Maritime transport, Markets, Middle East, military, missiles, Missions, Naval vessels, oil, Risk and compliance, Saudi Arabia, Sébastien Lecornu, Security, shipping, Syria, Terrorism, trade, United Kingdom, United States, War, Yemen

On October 7, Hamas fighters launched a bloody attack against Israel, using paragliders, speedboats and underground tunnels to carry out an offensive that killed almost 1,200 people and saw hundreds more taken back to the Gaza Strip as prisoners.

Almost three months on, Israel’s massive military retaliation is reverberating around the region, with explosions in Lebanon and rebels from Yemen attacking shipping in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Western countries are pumping military aid into Israel while deploying fleets to protect commercial shipping — risking confrontation with the Iranian navy.

That’s in line with a grim prediction made last year by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who said that Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza meant an “expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable,” and that further escalation across the Middle East should be expected.

What’s happening?

The Israel Defense Forces are still fighting fierce battles for control of the Gaza Strip in what officials say is a mission to destroy Hamas. Troops have already occupied much of the north of the 365-square-kilometer territory, home to around 2.3 million Palestinians, and are now fighting fierce battles in the south.

Entire neighborhoods of densely-populated Gaza City have been levelled by intense Israeli shelling, rocket attacks and air strikes, rendering them uninhabitable. Although independent observers have been largely shut out, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry claims more than 22,300 people have been killed, while the U.N. says 1.9 million people have been displaced.

On a visit to the front lines, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that his country is in the fight for the long haul. “The feeling that we will stop soon is incorrect. Without a clear victory, we will not be able to live in the Middle East,” he said.

As the Gaza ground war intensifies, Hamas and its allies are increasingly looking to take the conflict to a far broader arena in order to put pressure on Israel.

According to Seth Frantzman, a regional analyst with the Jerusalem Post and adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, “Iran is certainly making a play here in terms of trying to isolate Israel [and] the U.S. and weaken U.S. influence, also showing that Israel doesn’t have the deterrence capabilities that it may have had in the past or at least thought it had.”

Northern front

On Tuesday a blast ripped through an office in Dahieh, a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut — 130 kilometers from the border with Israel. Hamas confirmed that one of its most senior leaders, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in the strike.

Government officials in Jerusalem have refused to confirm Israeli forces were behind the killing, while simultaneously presenting it as a “surgical strike against the Hamas leadership” and insisting it was not an attack against Lebanon itself, despite a warning from Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the incident risked dragging his country into a wider regional war.

Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have spiked in recent weeks, with fighters loyal to Hezbollah, the Shia Islamist militant group that controls the south of the country, firing hundreds of rockets across the frontier. Along with Hamas, Hezbollah is part of the Iranian-led “Axis of Resistance” that aims to destroy the state of Israel.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Iran’s foreign ministry said the death of al-Arouri, the most senior Hamas official confirmed to have died since October 7, will only embolden resistance against Israel, not only in the Palestinian territories but also in the wider Middle East.

“We’re talking about the death of a senior Hamas leader, not from Hezbollah or the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards. Is it Iran who’s going to respond? Hezbollah? Hamas with rockets? Or will there be no response, with the various players waiting for the next assassination?” asked Héloïse Fayet, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations.

In a much-anticipated speech on Wednesday evening, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemned the killing but did not announce a military response.

Red Sea boils over

For months now, sailors navigating the narrow Bab- el-Mandeb Strait that links Europe to Asia have faced a growing threat of drone strikes, missile attacks and even hijackings by Iran-backed Houthi militants operating off the coast of Yemen.

The Houthi movement, a Shia militant group supported by Iran in the Yemeni civil war against Saudi Arabia and its local allies, insists it is only targeting shipping with links to Israel in a bid to pressure it to end the war in Gaza. However, the busy trade route from the Suez Canal through the Red Sea has seen dozens of commercial vessels targeted or delayed, forcing Western nations to intervene.

Over the weekend, the U.S. Navy said it had intercepted two anti-ship missiles and sunk three boats carrying Houthi fighters in what it said was a hijacking attempt against the Maersk Hangzhou, a container ship. Danish shipping giant Maersk said Tuesday that it would “pause all transits through the Red Sea until further notice,” following a number of other cargo liners; energy giant BP is also suspending travel through the region.

On Wednesday the Houthis targeted a CMA CGM Tage container ship bound for Israel, according to the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea. “Any U.S. attack will not pass without a response or punishment,” he added.

“The sensible decision is one that the vast majority of shippers I think are now coming to, [which] is to transit through round the Cape of Good Hope,” said Marco Forgione, director general at the Institute of Export & International Trade. “But that in itself is not without heavy impact, it’s up to two weeks additional sailing time, adds over £1 million to the journey, and there are risks, particularly in West Africa, of piracy as well.”

However, John Stawpert, a senior manager at the International Chamber of Shipping, noted that while “there has been disruption” and an “understandable nervousness about transiting these routes … trade is continuing to flow.”

“A major contributory factor to that has been the presence of military assets committed to defending shipping from these attacks,” he said.

The impacts of the disruption, especially price hikes hitting consumers, will be seen “in the next couple of weeks,” according to Forgione. Oil and gas markets also risk taking a hit — the price of benchmark Brent crude rose by 3 percent to $78.22 a barrel on Wednesday. Almost 10 percent of the world’s oil and 7 percent of its gas flows through the Red Sea.

Western response

On Wednesday evening, the U.S., Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom issued an ultimatum calling the Houthi attacks “illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing,” but with only vague threats of action.

“We call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” the statement said.

Despite the tepid language, the U.S. has already struck back at militants from Iranian-backed groups such as Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria after they carried out drone attacks that injured U.S. personnel.

The assumption in London is that airstrikes against the Houthis — if it came to that — would be U.S.-led with the U.K. as a partner. Other nations might also chip in.

Two French officials said Paris is not considering air strikes. The country’s position is to stick to self-defense, and that hasn’t changed, one of them said. French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed that assessment, saying on Tuesday that “we’re continuing to act in self-defense.”

“Would France, which is so proud of its third way and its position as a balancing power, be prepared to join an American-British coalition?” asked Fayet, the think tank researcher.

Iran looms large

Iran’s efforts to leverage its proxies in a below-the-radar battle against both Israel and the West appear to be well underway, and the conflict has already scuppered a long-awaited security deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“Since 1979, Iran has been conducting asymmetrical proxy terrorism where they try to advance their foreign policy objectives while displacing the consequences, the counterpunches, onto someone else — usually Arabs,” said Bradley Bowman, senior director of Washington’s Center on Military and Political Power. “An increasingly effective regional security architecture, of the kind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are trying to build, is a nightmare for Iran which, like a bully on the playground, wants to keep all the other kids divided and distracted.”

Despite Iran’s fiery rhetoric, it has stopped short of declaring all-out war on its enemies or inflicting massive casualties on Western forces in the region — which experts say reflects the fact it would be outgunned in a conventional conflict.

“Neither Iran nor the U.S. nor Israel is ready for that big war,” said Alex Vatanka, director of the Middle East Institute’s Iran program. “Israel is a nuclear state, Iran is a nuclear threshold state — and the U.S. speaks for itself on this front.”

Israel might be betting on a long fight in Gaza, but Iran is trying to make the conflict a global one, he added. “Nobody wants a war, so both sides have been gambling on the long term, hoping to kill the other guy through a thousand cuts.”

Emilio Casalicchio contributed reporting.

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Iran blames Israel, US for deadly twin blasts near grave of Guards general Soleimani

Post By World Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Qassem Soleimani, USA

Iran blamed Israel and the United States on Wednesday for twin bomb blasts that killed at least 95 people in the country’s south, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike.

The two explosions — labelled a “terrorist attack” by state media and regional authorities — came amid high Middle East tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the killing of a Hamas senior leader in Lebanon on Tuesday.

The unclaimed attacks, which sparked fears of a widening conflict in the region, rattled global markets, where oil prices jumped more than three percent and sparked global condemnation.

“Washington says USA and Israel had no role in terrorist attack in Kerman, Iran. Really? A fox smells its own lair first,” the Iranian president’s political deputy, Mohammad Jamshidi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Make no mistake. The responsibility for this crime lies with the US and Zionist regimes (Israel) and terrorism is just a tool,” he added.

The United States had earlier rejected any suggestions that it or ally Israel were involved while Israel declined to comment.

“The United States was not involved in any way… We have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Asked about the blasts, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said: “We are focused on the combat with Hamas.”

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed “evil and criminal enemies” of the country for the attack and vowed a “harsh response”.

President Ebrahim Raisi, who scrapped a visit to Turkey on Thursday, condemned the “heinous” crime as the Islamic Republic of Iran declared Thursday a national day of mourning.

The blasts, about 15 minutes apart, struck near the Martyrs Cemetery at the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani’s southern hometown, as supporters gathered to mark his killing in a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency initially reported 103 people were killed while state television said 211 were wounded, some in critical condition.

Health minister Bahram Eynollahi later revised the toll, saying: “The exact number of the people killed in the terrorist incident is 95”.

He said the reason for the earlier figure of 103 was that some names “were wrongly registered twice”.

Three paramedics who rushed to the scene after the first explosion were among those killed, said Iran’s Red Crescent.

IRNA said the first explosion took place around 700 metres (yards) from Soleimani’s grave while the other was around one kilometre away.

Tasnim news agency, quoting what it called informed sources, said that “two bags carrying bombs went off” and “the perpetrators… apparently detonated the bombs by remote control”.

Online footage showed panicked crowds scrambling to flee as security personnel cordoned off the area.

‘Shocking cruelty’

State television showed bloodied victims lying on the ground and ambulances and rescue personnel racing to help them.

“We were walking towards the cemetery when a car suddenly stopped behind us and a waste bin containing a bomb exploded,” an eyewitness was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

“We only heard the explosion and saw people falling.”

By nightfall, crowds returned to the Martyrs Cemetery in Kerman chanting: “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”.

In Tehran, thousands gathered at the Grand Mosalla Mosque to pay tribute to Soleimani.

“We condemn today’s bitter terrorist incident… I hope the perpetrators of the crime will be identified and punished for their actions,” Soleimani’s daughter, Zeinab, said.

Soleimani headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, overseeing military operations across the Middle East.

The United Nations, European Union, and several countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Germany and Iraq denounced the blasts.

UN chief Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns” the blasts, his office said, and the EU said: “This act of terror has exacted a shocking toll of civilian deaths and injuries.”

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said that he spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to “convey condolences” and “condemned this terrorist attack in the strongest terms and expressed solidarity with the Iranian people”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote to Raisi and Khamenei that “the killing of peaceful people visiting the cemetery is shocking in its cruelty and cynicism.”

Iran ally Hamas denounced the “criminal attack” while the Saudi foreign ministry in Riyadh voiced “solidarity with Iran in this painful event”.

The blasts came a day after Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri — an Iran ally — was killed in a strike, which Lebanese officials blamed on Israel, on a southern Beirut suburb that is a stronghold of Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Wednesday’s bomb blasts were Iran’s deadliest since a 1978 arson Cinema Rex attack in the southwestern city of Abadan, which killed at least 377 people, according to AFP archives.

Previous plots

Iran has long fought a shadow war of killings and sabotage with arch-enemy Israel while also battling various jihadist and other militant groups.

In September, the Fars news agency reported that a key “operative” affiliated with the Islamic State group, in charge of carrying out “terrorist operations” in Iran, had been arrested in Kerman.

In July, Iran’s intelligence ministry said it had disbanded a network “linked to Israel’s spy organisation” that had been plotting “terrorist operations” across Iran, IRNA reported.

The alleged plots included “planning an explosion at the grave” of Soleimani, it said.

Soleimani, whom Khamenei years ago declared a “living martyr”, was widely regarded as a hero in Iran for his role in defeating IS in both Iraq and Syria.

Long seen as a deadly adversary by the United States and its allies, Soleimani was one of the most important powerbrokers across the region, setting Iran’s political and military agenda in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

(AFP)

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From Musk and Tusk to Swift: Figures who defined 2023

Post By World celebrity, chatgpt, culture, Donald Tusk, Elon Musk, Features, football, Iran, Nobel Prize, Retrospective 2023, taylor swift

From Iran to Hollywood, in the domains of space travel, football and tech, 2023 was a year shaped by strong personalities. Some inspired us, most made us reflect, and others occasionally annoyed us. As the year comes to an end, FRANCE 24 has selected some of the personalities leaving a mark on 2023.

Narges Mohammadi, fighting for human rights in Iran

Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”.

The journalist plays a key role in Iran’s “Women, Life, Freedom” movement garnering global attention since the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of Iran’s police in September 2022. The movement advocates for the abolition of mandatory hijab laws and the elimination of various forms of discrimination against women in Iran.

Arrested for the first time 22 years ago, Mohammadi has been held in Evin Prison, known for its mistreatment of detainees, since 2021.

From behind bars, where she has spent much of the last two decades on charges like “propaganda”, “rebellion”, and “endangering national security”, she continues her fight against what she terms a “tyrannical and misogynistic religious regime”.

At the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo, her 17-year-old twins living in exile in France since 2015 delivered her speech.

Donald Tusk, bringing Poland back into the fold

After eight years of nationalist rule by the Law and Justice Party (PiS), Poland’s Donald Tusk is back in his country’s top job.

Already having served as prime minister from 2007 to 2014, the committed europhile and former president of the European Council (2014 – 2019) promises to put his country solidly back on democratic rails.

His priorities are clear: to restore the rule of law and rebuild Poland’s credibility within the EU. His coalition also advocates abortion in a country where the practice is only permitted in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life or health of the mother.

However, Tusk will have to contend with Poland’s far right, which still retains meaningful political power despite losing the premiership.

Taylor Swift, shining so brightly

In a world where celebrity can be fleeting, Taylor Swift has never been far from the limelight. From Nashville to New York, the 34-year-old American singer has built a romantic-pop musical empire that has captivated millions of fans, known as “Swifties”, worldwide.

Named the Person of the Year 2023 by Time magazine on December 6, Swift, who started her career more than 15 years ago, boasts a long list of world records. Her albums frequently top the charts in the United States – since she debuted in 2006, 13 of her 14 albums have reached number one in US sales.

In October, Swift released concert film, “The Eras Tour”, which went on to become the highest-grossing concert film of all time, earning $249.9 million worldwide.

In September, the singer demonstrated her cultural force. After a short message on Instagram encouraging her 272 million followers to register to vote, the website she directed them to – the nonprofit Vote.org – recorded more than 35,000 registrations in just one day.

Committed to maintaining musical independence, the feminist icon re-recorded the tracks from her first six albums in 2019 to regain control of the rights after her former record label was acquired by music industry magnate Scooter Braun.

Hollywood’s striking writers and actors, fighting and winning

In May 2023, Hollywood ignited. The industry’s writers, followed by actors in July, went on strike. The stakes in the negotiations included both base and residual pay – which actors say has been undercut by inflation and the business model of streaming – and the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI) by studios.

The strike – the most significant since 1960 – paralysed film and series production for several months, costing the US economy at least $6 billion.

At the heart of the protest were fears that studios would use AI to generate scripts or clone the voices and images of actors without compensation. The strikers, supported by the public, refused to back down.

They chanted “When we fight, we win”, a slogan that has become the rallying cry for workers across the United States, from the automotive industry to hospitality. Prominent names in cinema join the picket lines, including actress and producer Jessica Chastain and “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston.

In September, the writers reached a salary agreement with the studios which included protections relating to the use of AI. Actors finally returned to sets in November after 118 days off the job.

Elon Musk, genius or man-child?

Elon Musk will leave 2023 an even more divisive figure than when he entered it. With a fortune of $250 billion, Musk has grand ambitions to conquer space, roads, and social networks.

Twitter, renamed X in late July after Musk bought the company in October 2022, has had a chaotic year: mass layoffs, a showdown with the EU over misinformation, controversy over certified accounts, and plummeting advertising revenues. Its survival is now an open question after Musk told advertisers who suspended their advertising over his repost of a tweet widely deemed anti-Semitic to “Go f—k yourself”.

Beyond X, Musk’s company SpaceX has been instrumental in the war in Ukraine with its satellite internet product Starlink. It has also made progress on the Starship Rocket, which could revolutionise space transportation. However, the two launches this year didn’t go as planned, raising concerns about the project’s feasibility.

In the workshops of Tesla, his electric car company, an international strike movement that is still gaining momentum has already tarnished his image.

Finally, his Neuralink project, which aims to develop brain implants to assist paralysed individuals or those with neurological diseases, has also faced criticism. Some experts believe the risks this project poses to are too high.

Whether you love him or hate him, it seems Musk can’t stay out of the headlines.

Jennifer Hermoso, the face of change for Spanish football

Until this summer, Jennifer Hermoso was only known by football enthusiasts. But the wave of support she received after the Women’s World Cup has made her a symbol.

As the Spanish player was being crowned world champion in Sydney, she was unexpectedly kissed on the mouth by Luis Rubiales, then president of the Spanish Football Federation. The image, broadcast live on television, circled the globe and sparked outrage.

A few days later, Hermoso broke her silence and denounced an “impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act”. She filed a complaint against Rubiales, who claimed it was just a consensual “little kiss”.

Official Announcement. August 25th,2023. pic.twitter.com/lQb18IGsk2

— Jenn1 Hermos0 (@Jennihermoso) August 25, 2023

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Official Announcement. August 25th,2023. <a href=”https://t.co/lQb18IGsk2″>pic.twitter.com/lQb18IGsk2</a></p>— Jenn1 Hermos0 (@Jennihermoso) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Jennihermoso/status/1695155154067087413?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Ultimately forced to resign, Rubiales was charged with sexual assault by the courts and suspended for three years from any football-related activity by FIFA. The scandal led to a boycott by Spanish players of the national team for several days until the federation promised “immediate and profound changes”.

Mortaza Behboudi, Afghan journalist fighting for press freedom

Most of 2023 unfolded behind bars for Franco-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi. His crime? Simply doing his job.

It all started on January 7 when he was arrested on charges of espionage in Kabul by the Taliban. During his 9 months in prison, he was regularly tortured and threatened with death.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and its support committee, created by his wife Aleksandra Mostovaja, moved heaven and earth to secure his release. Their determination eventually paid off, and he was released on October 18.

Working for French news outlets including France Télévisions, TV5Monde, Libération, and Mediapart, he already wants to return to Afghanistan. “My fight is to give a voice to those who don’t have it,” he told FRANCE 24.

According to the annual round-up compiled by RSF, 45 journalists were killed worldwide in connection with their work (as of 1 December 2023).

Rayyanah Barnawi, first Saudi woman in space

On May 21, Rayyanah Barnawi became the first Saudi woman to travel to the International Space Station. A biomedical science graduate, she dedicated her ten-day mission to the field of cancer stem cell research.

Her journey is an important symbol for Saudi Arabia, where women face restrictions. Barnawi is emblematic of a new generation of highly educated and ambitious Saudi women ready to take on important roles in the historically conservative society.

The journey is also part of the Saudi monarchy’s strategy to renew its international image.

Sam Altman, the father of ChatGPT

At 38, Sam Altman is one of the most prominent names in the tech world. He is the CEO of OpenAI, the San Francisco-based AI lab that created ChatGPT – a chatbot with 100 million weekly users now disrupting the technology ecosystem.

On top of being a prolific entrepreneur, Altman officially launched Worldcoin, a new cryptocurrency with an identity verification system using the human iris. Like Elon Musk, with whom he co-founded OpenAI in 2015, his grand ambition and sometimes controversial methods have earned him criticism. Some accuse him of prioritising security over innovation.

In November 2023, he was dismissed by the board of directors of OpenAI, only to be reinstated in his position after most of the company’s employees threatened to leave the group.

Watch moreSam Altman to return as OpenAI CEO after his tumultuous ouster

His activity is not restricted to entrepreneurship. In May, Altman invested $375 million in Helion, a nuclear fusion startup.

Barbie, a triumphant return

For better or worse, Barbie has been a icon since she first hit store shelves in 1959. The 29-centimetre doll has had an impact on generations of girls and women: long reviled by feminists, she had an image makeover in 2023.

This summer, Barbie experienced a triumphant return thanks to a film directed by Greta Gerwig starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Released in July, the film is a critical and commercial success praised for its intelligent script, impeccable performances, and feminist message.

Gerwig created a world where Barbie is a rebellious icon fighting against gender stereotypes, surrounded by strong and independent female characters.

In the process, Gerwig became the first woman to direct a film grossing more than a billion dollars at the box office. The 40-year-old capped off her stellar year by being named jury president at Cannes 2024.

This article is translated from the original in French.

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Women’s rights and women wronged in 2023

Post By World abortion, Afghanistan, Asia / Pacific, femicide, feminism, Iran, Retrospective 2023, Roe v. Wade, Taliban, Violence against women, women's rights

The year saw progress on women’s rights in some countries, such as Spain’s introduction of menstrual leave, France’s bid to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution and the arrival of the #MeToo movement in Taiwan. But there were also setbacks in 2023, from Taliban edicts tightening restrictions on Afghan women to what the UN called a “global epidemic of femicide”.

The year 2022 was marked by major convulsions in women’s rights across the world, from the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade to the “Woman, life, freedom” chants in Iran, which were followed by a massive government crackdown.

This year saw more gradual developments, from the continuing assaults on and pushback against diminishing abortion rights in the US to the steady disappearance of women from public life in Afghanistan.

FRANCE 24 looks back at some of the major developments in 2023 that left their mark on women’s rights across the world.

Spain becomes first European country to introduce menstrual leave

Spain’s Equality Minister Irene Montero after a parliamentary vote in Madrid, on December 22, 2022. © Thomas Coex, AFP

In February, Spain became the first European country to pass a law creating menstrual leave for women suffering from painful periods. Equality Minister Irene Montero – from the far-left Podemos party, part of the Socialist-led ruling coalition – called it “a historic day for feminist progress”.

The law, which passed by 185 votes in favour to 154 against, entitles employees experiencing period pain to time off, with the state social security system – not employers – picking up the tab.

As with paid leave for other health reasons, it requires a doctor’s approval. The length of sick leave was not specified in the law.

The new legislation also allows minors aged 16 and 17 to have an abortion without parental permission, reversing a requirement introduced by a previous conservative government in 2015.

The #MeToo wave reaches Taiwan’s shores

Chen Chien-jou, 22, during an interview in New Taipei City, Taiwan during the #MeToo movement crisis. © Sam Yeh, AFP

It was a Netflix series that triggered the #MeToo movement in Taiwan – more than five years after the Harvey Weinstein abuse case sparked the social media-driven awareness campaign in the US and many parts of the world.

“Wave Makers”, an eight-episode Netflix drama released in April, is a political thriller that revealed the inner workings of a fictional presidential campaign team – and how women in power on the island deal with sexual harassment.

The effect was instantaneous. Over the weeks that followed, several Taiwanese women broke social taboo to reveal their experiences at work. Female employees of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party kicked off the first major wave by accusing powerful politicians of sexual harassment and assault. The phenomenon spread to cultural and academic circles, with alleged victims accusing celebrities, doctors and professors.

A year after Roe v. Wade overturned, abortion battles rage in the US

Abortion rights demonstrators at rally in Washington, DC on June 24, 2023. © Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP

In its June 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court ended a half-century federal protection of abortion rights and allowed each state to legislate on the issue.

In 14 states, abortion has been outlawed, in some cases without exceptions for rape or incest. On the other hand, 17 states enacted laws or held referendums to protect abortion rights.

In other states, access to abortion is not prohibited, but is threatened by laws designed to restrict or prohibit the procedure. This is notably the case in Montana, Wyoming, Indiana and Ohio.

In April, a legal battle over the abortion pill opened a new front in the US battle for reproductive rights when a Texas district court judge invalidated the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion pill.

Days later, an appeals court struck down parts of the Texas judge’s ruling, but affirmed many restrictions on access to mifepristone, the abortion drug. The Justice Department under the Biden administration as well as the company manufacturing mifepristone sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, which temporarily halted any changes.

In December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by the FDA and mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories. A decision is expected by end-June 2024, making abortion rights a likely campaign issue ahead of the 2024 US presidential election in November.

South of the US border, Mexico decriminalises abortion

A demonstrator in favour of decriminalizing abortion in Mexico City on September 28, 2023. © Silvana Flores, AFP

Going against the grain of other Latin American countries and the US, Mexico decriminalised abortion across the country on September 6.

In a landmark judgement, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that criminal penalties for terminating pregnancies were unconstitutional.

Abortion was already decriminalised in a dozen of the country’s 32 states. The capital, Mexico City, was the first jurisdiction in Latin America to authorise abortions, in 2007.

Macron announces a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution

Placards read “My body my choice” (L) and “Abortion in the Constitution” at rally outside the Senate in Paris, February 1, 2023. © Ludovic Marin, AFP

In a speech on March 8, International Woman’s Day, President Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to put forward a bill enshrining abortion rights in France’s constitution.

The commitment was made during a tribute to feminist activist Gisèle Halimi, who played a key role in the passing of the 1975 Veil Act granting women the right to abortion and contraception.

Seven months later, the French president stepped up the pace, when he revealed that a draft project would be submitted to the State Council, France‘s highest administrative court, so that “by 2024, women’s freedom to have an abortion will be irreversible”.

Taliban slides into ‘gender apartheid’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ terrain

Afghan women wait to receive aid from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in Ghazni, Afghanistan on October 31, 2023. © Mohammad Faisal Naweed, AFP

The year began with a Taliban ban on Afghan women from working in national and international aid organisations. It ended with an edict forcing the closure of all-women beauty salons, one of the few places left in Afghanistan where women could gather outside their homes.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghan women’s rights have been steadily rolled back, exposing the impoverished country to the “most serious women’s rights crisis in the world”, according to Human Rights Watch.

The Taliban have “completely dismantled the system” that had been developed to respond to domestic and gender-based violence in Afghanistan, noted the New York-based rights organisation. The beauty salon ban spelled the closure of “one of the last havens for mutual support among Afghan women”. Around 60,000 women lost their jobs in the process.

In a joint report to UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, said the Taliban’s actions “could amount to gender apartheid”.

The report also noted that the severe discrimination “may amount to gender persecution – a crime against humanity”.

Iran toughens penalties for women defying hijab rules

A woman holds up a placard with a picture of Mahsa Amini at a solidarity demonstration in Hasakeh, in Syria's Kurdish northeast on September 25, 2022. — A woman holds up a placard with a picture of Mahsa Amini at a solidarity demonstration in Hasakeh, in Syria’s Kurdish northeast on September 25, 2022. © Delil Souleiman, AFP

On September 20, a few days after Mahsa Amini‘s first death anniversary, the Iranian parliament approved a bill increasing prison terms, fines and penalties for women and girls breaking the country’s strict dress codes.

Penalties were also increased for employers as well as management of shopping malls and small businesses for failing to enforce the dress code.

The legal measures came after nearly a year of protests that saw women appearing in public without their hijabs as anger over Amini’s death while in custody exploded on the streets across Iran.

Following a brutal crackdown on the protests, many Iranian women continued to record and post anti-hijab clips and posts on social media. The new measures include penalties for “mockery of the hijab” in the media and on social networks.

Before the bill becomes law, it must be approved by Iran’s powerful Guardian Council.

Morocco’s monarch nudges family code reform – again

On September 26, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI sent a letter to the country’s head of government, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, instructing the latter to ensure the revision of the country’s family code.

The letter followed a speech by the monarch on July 30, 2022 – marking the country’s annual “Throne Day” festivities, when Mohammed VI called for a revision of the Mudawana, Morocco’s family code.

The speech raised the hopes of Moroccan women – deprived of numerous rights such as inheritance, alimony and custody – to see enhanced gender rights in the kingdom.

In his letter to the prime minister, the king stated that the family code needed to adhere to the principle of “broad participatory consultation” with all concerned parties, including civil society activists and experts.

The king also asked the prime minister to speed up the reform so that a first version of the text could be presented to him within six months.

The family code, which had already reformed in 2004, has enabled joint responsibility between spouses, raised the minimum age of marriage to 18, granted women the right to request a divorce and the freedom to choose a husband without the authorisation of a guardian. But the weight of tradition and the discretion left to judges – much to the regret of women’s rights activists – have created a significant gap between the text and enforcement of the family code.

Feminicide hits global record high

A woman wears a mask during a “Not One Less” demo against feminicide outside Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina. © Luis Robayo, AFP

Around 89,000 women and girls were deliberately killed in 2022, the highest yearly number recorded in the past 20 years, according to a study by the Research and Trend Analysis Branch, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women.

In a joint statement issued ahead of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women called for an end to the “global epidemic of femicide”.

While #MeToo and other movements “have broken the silence and demonstrated that violence against women, girls and adolescents is happening throughout our communities, they have not always been followed by adequate reforms of laws and policies, nor have they produced much needed results and changes in women’s daily lives”, the statement noted.

This article has been translated from the original in French.

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How Houthi rebels are threatening global trade nexus on Red Sea

Post By Politics Air defense, Companies, Defense, Department, drones, Energy, Exports, France, Fuels, gas, global economy, Guido Crosetto, Insurance, Intelligence, Iran, Israel, Israel Hamas war, Italy, lloyd austin, Maritime, Middle East, military, missiles, Natural Gas, oil, Pentagon, petroleum, Ports, Saudi Arabia, Sébastien Lecornu, Security, shipping, Spain, supply chains, trade, United Kingdom, United States, War, Yemen

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The U.S. is mustering an international armada to deter Iranian-backed Houthi militias from Yemen from attacking shipping in the Red Sea, one of the world’s most important waterways for global trade, including energy cargos.

The Houthis’ drone and missile attacks are ostensibly a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, but fears are growing that the broader world economy could be disrupted as commercial vessels are forced to reroute.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a videoconference with 43 countries, the EU and NATO, telling them that “attacks had already impacted the global economy and would continue to threaten commercial shipping if the international community did not come together to address the issue collectively.”

Earlier this week, the U.S. announced an international security effort dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian that listed the U.K., Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain as participants. Madrid, however, said it wouldn’t take part.

The Houthis were quick to respond.

“Even if America succeeds in mobilizing the entire world, our military operations will not stop unless the genocide crimes in Gaza stop and allow food, medicine, and fuel to enter its besieged population, no matter the sacrifices it costs us,” said Mohammed Al-Bukaiti, a member of the Ansar Allah political bureau, in a post on X.

Here’s what you need to know about the Red Sea crisis.

1. Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking ships?

International observers have put the blame for the hijackings, missiles and drone attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have stepped up their attacks since the Israel-Hamas war started. The Shi’ite Islamist group is part of the so-called “axis of resistance” against Israel and is armed by Tehran. Almost certainly due to Iranian support with ballistics, the Houthis have directly targeted Israel since the beginning of the war, firing missiles and drones up the Red Sea toward the resort of Eilat.

The Houthis have been embroiled in Yemen’s long-running civil war and have been locked in combat with an intervention force in the country led by Sunni Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have claimed several major strikes against high-value energy installations in Saudi Arabia over the past years, but many international observers have identified some of their bigger claims as implausible, seeing the Houthis as a smokescreen for direct Iranian action against its arch enemy Riyadh.

After first firing drones and cruise missiles at Israel, the rebels are now targeting commercial vessels it deems linked to Israel. The Houthis have launched about 100 drone and ballistic missile attacks against 10 commercial vessels, the U.S. Department of Defense said on Tuesday.

As a result, some of the world’s largest shipping companies, including Italian-Swiss MSC, Danish giant Maersk and France’s CMA CGM, were forced to reroute to avoid being targeted. BP also paused shipping through the Red Sea.

2. Why is the Red Sea so important?

The Bab el-Mandeb (Gate of Lamentation) strait between Djibouti and Yemen where the Houthis have been attacking vessels marks the southern entrance to the Red Sea, which connects to the Suez Canal and is a crucial link between Europe and Asia.

Estimate are that 12 to 15 percent passes of global trade takes this route, representing 30 percent of global container traffic. Some 7 percent to 10 percent of the world’s oil and 8 percent of liquefied natural gas are also shipped through the same waterway.

Now that the strait is closed, “alternatives require additional cost, additional delay, and don’t sit with the integrated supply chain that already exists,” said Marco Forgione, director general with the Institute of Export and International Trade.

Diverting ships around Africa adds up to two weeks to journey times, creating additional cost and congestion at ports.

3. What is the West doing about it?

Over the weekend, the American destroyer USS Carney and U.K. destroyer HMS Diamond shot down over a dozen drones. Earlier this month, the French FREMM multi-mission frigate Languedoc also intercepted three drones, including with Aster 15 surface-to-air missiles.

Now, Washington is seeking to lead an international operation to ramp up efforts against the Iran-backed group, under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and its Task Force 153.

“It’s a reinsurance operation for commercial ships,” said Héloïse Fayet, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), adding it’s still unclear whether the operation is about escorting commercial vessels or pooling air defense capabilities to fight against drones and ballistic missiles.

4. Who is taking part?

On Tuesday, the U.K. announced HMS Diamond would be deployed as part of the U.S.-led operation.

After a video meeting between Austin and Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Italy also agreed to join and said it would deploy the Virginio Fasan frigate, a 144-meter military vessel equipped with Aster 30 and 15 long-range missiles. The ship was scheduled to begin patrolling the Red Sea as part of the European anti-piracy Atalanta operation by February but is now expected to transit the Suez Canal on December 24.

France didn’t explicitly say whether Paris was in or out, but French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu told lawmakers on Tuesday that the U.S. initiative is “interesting” because it allows intelligence sharing.

“France already has a strong presence in the region,” he added, referring to the EU’s Atalanta and Agénor operations.

However, Spain — despite being listed as a participant by Washington — said it will only take part if NATO or the EU decide to do so, and not “unilaterally,” according to El País, citing the government.

5. Who isn’t?

Lecornu insisted regional powers such as Saudi Arabia should be included in the coalition and said he would address the issue with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, in a meeting in Paris on Tuesday evening.

According to Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at Washington’s Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a number of Middle Eastern allies appear reluctant to take part.

“Where’s Egypt? Where is Saudi Arabia? Where is the United Arab Emirates?” he asked, warning that via its Houthi allies Iran is seeking to divide the West and its regional allies and worsen tensions around the Israel-Hamas war.

China also has a base in Djibouti where it has warships, although it isn’t in the coalition.

6. What do the Red Sea attacks mean for global trade?

While a fully-fledged economic crisis is not on the horizon yet, what’s happening in the Red Sea could lead to price increases.

“The situation is concerning in every aspect — particularly in terms of energy, oil and gas,” said Fotios Katsoulas, lead tanker analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“Demand for [maritime] fuel is already expected to increase up to 5 percent,” he said, and “higher fuel prices, higher costs for shipping, higher insurance premiums” ultimately mean higher costs for consumers. “There are even vessels already in the Red Sea that are considering passing back through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, even if they’d have to pay half a million dollars to do so.”

John Stawpert, a senior manager at the International Chamber of Shipping, said that while “there will be an impact in terms of the price of commodities at your supermarket checkout” and there may be an impact on oil prices, “there is still shipping that is transiting the Red Sea.”

This is not “a total disruption” comparable to the days-long blockage of the canal in 2021 by the Ever Given container ship, he argued.

Forgione, however, said he was “concerned that we may end up with a de facto blockade of the Suez Canal, because the Houthi rebels have a very clear agenda.”

7. Why are drones so hard to fight?

The way the Houthis operate raises challenges for Western naval forces, as they’re fending off cheap drones with ultra-expensive equipment.

Aster 15 surface-to-air missiles — the ones fired by the French Languedoc frigate — are estimated to cost more than €1 million each while Iran-made Shahed-type drones, likely used by the Houthis, cost barely $20,000.

“When you kill a Shahed with an Aster, it’s really the Shahed that has killed the Aster,” France’s chief of defense staff, General Thierry Burkhard, said at a conference in Paris earlier this month.

However, if the Shahed hits a commercial vessel or a warship, the cost would be a lot higher.

“The advantage of forming a coalition is that we can share the threats that could befall boats,” IFRI’s Fayet said. “There’s an awareness now that [the Houthis] are a real threat, and that they’re able to maintain the effort over time.”

With reporting by Laura Kayali, Antonia Zimmermann, Gabriel Gavin, Tommaso Lecca, Joshua Posaner and Geoffrey Smith.

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Does Israel have a vision for the day after Hamas?

Post By World euroviews, Hamas, Iran, Israel Hamas war, Israeli politics, Middle East

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

Hamas’ rule in Gaza may end due to its own strategic miscalculation, but the real question is what happens after, Shlomo Roiter Jesner writes.

On 7 October, Hamas militants shocked Israel and the world by perpetrating an act of terrorism deadly enough to be considered the worst act of violence against Jews since the Holocaust.

The depravity of the violence, which saw over 240 hostages taken and around 1,200 civilians murdered, provoked an Israeli military response more powerful than anything the decision-making ranks of Hamas would have anticipated, revealing the gravity of the strategic miscalculation made by the extremist group.

Although Hamas’ rule in Gaza was never Israel’s preference, it was seen by many as the best of the bad options available.

The 7 October events changed that strategic calculus completely, with Israel, the US and many European allies now concurring that the continuation of Hamas’ rule in Gaza is indeed untenable in the long term for both Israel and the region.

Following the 7 October attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a rare statement in which he clarified that “Hamas has started a brutal and evil war … What happened today is unprecedented in Israel, and I will see to it that it does not happen again.”

The status quo since 2006 to change once and for all?

This was far from the first skirmish with Hamas, which has historically seen a relatively small-scale flare-up with Israel every few months surrounding one issue or another.

The last of these was Operation Shield and Arrow in May, which saw Israel assassinating three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants, followed by rocket fire from Gaza and a targeted limited Israeli retaliation. These exchanges have traditionally ended with a settlement in which the baseline was that Hamas remain in power.

The difference now is the extent to which the Netanyahu government feels compelled to underscore that Hamas extremists governing Gaza is an unacceptable arrangement, which after being the status quo since 2006, must now change once and for all.

In 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza, removing 8,000 Israeli citizens who resided there in 21 settlements. A remaining 3,000 Israeli troops were removed gradually, following the eviction of its settlers, with the Israeli disengagement leaving Fatah in control of the Gaza Strip, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

In 2006, however, Hamas came to power in the last Palestinian election to date, which saw it violently seizing complete control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Small-scale conflicts and Israel’s default acceptance of Hamas’ control of Gaza suggested the existence of an equilibrium; Israel refrained from large-scale military operations and Hamas did not commit atrocities on the scale of 7 October.

That uneasy equilibrium was shattered by Hamas’ strategic miscalculation, a move which has ended the Israeli and international acquiescence towards Hamas’ rule and which may well culminate in the return of the PA to Gaza in one form or another.

Meanwhile, Iran and its proxies left Hamas out to dry

A primary component of Hamas’ mistake was its reliance on support from Iran and specifically its regional proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

While the early days of the war saw a big question mark regarding the support which Hamas could expect, the extent of Israel’s response, alongside a firm actionable response from Washington and European allies, made it clear that despite perhaps assurances received to the contrary, Iran had no intention of putting its meticulously constructed forward forces at risk.

Immediately following the attacks, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a carrier strike group to the Mediterranean led by the USS Gerald R Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, intending to deter opportunistic actions by Iran.

Despite this, Hezbollah could not stand by idly leading to the firing of missiles towards northern Israel, and even reports of attempted infiltrations from the air.

The response from Lebanon was very clearly carefully thought out, however, and despite the hundreds of thousands of missiles which Hezbollah reportedly has on Israel’s northern border, the scope of every individual attack or response was such that they could not be expected to draw Israel into a full-fledged conflict.

Make no mistake. Hezbollah’s decision not to open an additional front on Israel’s northern border was no accident and certainly was not the product of restraint.

Had it wanted to, Tehran could have easily escalated the situation with the help of the proxies it has carefully been rebuilding since the 2006 Second Lebanon War with Israel.

Rather, understanding the leeway in its response that Israel was being granted by the international community, and particularly the US, which finds itself amidst election season and therefore more careful to decisions that could be perceived as not “pro-Israel”, led the powers that be to decide otherwise.

That the status quo which has been in effect since 2006 cannot continue is now evident to all parties involved.

Proposed solutions are optimistic at best, naive at worst

Although optimism regarding the war’s end was expressed in light of a Qatar-negotiated ceasefire, which saw the release of some of the Israeli civilians held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners, the war itself is far from over, and indicatively, the discussion has already turned to the question of Gaza after Hamas.

Some have suggested a transition period in which Gaza would be in the hands of a United Nations-led international body, whilst it rebuilds its infrastructure and public services after fifteen years of Hamas neglect, before passing control of Gaza back to the PA.

This idea is unrealistic for many reasons, primary among which is the inability to rely on the UN to ensure the security situation remains stable, particularly in light of how Hezbollah has managed to build itself up in Lebanon under the watchful eye of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Others claim that this post-Hamas scenario presents an opportunity for Israel and the PA to return to the negotiation table and explore a peace process of sorts and even a return to the two-state solution.

This view has been shared in Israel by policymakers such as Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who argued domestically that, “in the end, the best thing is that the Palestinian Authority goes back into Gaza … It’s not ideal, and if you ask me what the exit strategy should be, it should be helping the international community help [the PA take control]”.

The lack of leadership in the ranks of the PA (President Abbas is 88 and ill, with no apparent successor) combined with no domestic legitimacy among Palestinians themselves, makes this perspective optimistic at best.

Netanyahu’s future is uncertain, too

Aside from promising the end to Hamas’s rule of Gaza, and despite the opportunity presented by Hamas’ gross miscalculation, Netanyahu and his government have yet to clarify a cohesive vision for Gaza post-Hamas.

Taken aback by the attack on 7 October which saw Israel’s seemingly impenetrable border security bypassed with ease, the Netanyahu government can no longer simply ensure its longevity by promising Israeli citizens “security”.

And while it is almost all but certain that Netanyahu will soon find himself ousted from the Likud leadership, as soon as the security situation finds itself stable enough for a party leadership race, it is far from clear that the incumbent Israeli government has any sort of idea at all what will happen to it, let alone what follows the inevitable demise of Hamas’ rule in Gaza.

Shlomo Roiter Jesner is the president and co-founder of the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum. He is also the CEO of London-based F&R Strategy Group, a geopolitical consultancy at the intersection of politics and business.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at [email protected] to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

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Kamala Harris at climate summit: World must ‘fight’ those stalling action

Post By Politics Aid and development, Al Gore, barack obama, Climate change, Climate law, Coal, cop28, diplomacy, donald trump, dubai, Elections, emissions, Energy, energy efficiency, foreign policy, Fossil fuels, gas, Governance, Inflation, Inflation Reduction Act, Iran, Israel, Joe Biden, John Kerry, John Podesta, Kamala Harris, Mahmoud Abbas, misinformation, Natural Gas, Negotiations, oil, Pipelines, Platforms, Policy, REACH, Remedies and commitments, Renewable Energy, United Arab Emirates, United States, War

DUBAI — The vast, global efforts to arrest rising temperatures are imperiled and must accelerate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told the world climate summit on Saturday.

“We must do more,” she implored an audience of world leaders at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai. And the headwinds are only growing, she warned.

“Continued progress will not be possible without a fight,” she told the gathering, which has drawn more than 100,000 people to this Gulf oil metropolis. “Around the world, there are those who seek to slow or stop our progress. Leaders who deny climate science, delay climate action and spread misinformation. Corporations that greenwash their climate inaction and lobby for billions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies.”

Her remarks — less than a year before an election that could return Donald Trump to the White House — challenged leaders to cooperate and spend more to keep the goal of containing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach. So far, the planet has warmed about 1.3 degrees since preindustrial times.

“Our action collectively, or worse, our inaction will impact billions of people for decades to come,” Harris said.

The vice president, who frequently warns about climate change threats in speeches and interviews, is the highest-ranking face of the Biden White House at the Dubai negotiations.

She used her conference platform to push that image, announcing several new U.S. climate initiatives, including a record-setting $3 billion pledge for the so-called Green Climate Fund, which aims to help countries adapt to climate change and reduce emissions. The commitment echoes an identical pledge Barack Obama made in 2014 — of which only $1 billion was delivered. The U.S. Treasury Department later specified that the updated commitment was “subject to the availability of funds.”

Meanwhile, back in D.C., the Biden administration strategically timed the release of new rules to crack down on planet-warming methane emissions from the oil and gas sector — a significant milestone in its plan to prevent climate catastrophe.

The trip allows Harris to bolster her credentials on a policy issue critical to the young voters key to President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign — and potentially to a future Harris White House run.

“Given her knowledge base with the issue, her passion for the issue, it strikes me as a smart move for her to broaden that message out to the international audience,” said Roger Salazar, a California political strategist and former aide to then-Vice President Al Gore, a lifetime climate campaigner.

Yet sending Harris also presents political peril.

Biden has taken flak from critics for not attending the talks himself after representing the United States at the last two U.N. climate summits since taking office. And climate advocates have questioned the Biden administration’s embrace of the summit’s leader, Sultan al-Jaber, given he also runs the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil giant. John Kerry, Biden’s climate envoy, has argued the partnership can help bring fossil fuel megaliths to the table.

Harris has been on a climate policy roadshow in recent months, discussing the issue during a series of interviews at universities and other venues packed with young people and environmental advocates. The administration said it views Harris — a former California senator and attorney general — as an effective spokesperson on climate.

“The vice president’s leadership on climate goes back to when she was the district attorney of San Francisco, as she established one of the first environmental justice units in the nation,” a senior administration official told reporters on a call previewing her trip.

Joining Harris in Dubai are Kerry, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi and John Podesta, who’s leading the White House effort to implement Biden’s signature climate law.

Biden officials are leaning on that climate law — dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act — to prove the U.S. is doing its part to slash global emissions. Yet climate activists remain skeptical, chiding Biden for separately approving a series of fossil fuel projects, including an oil drilling initiative in Alaska and an Appalachian natural gas pipeline.

Similarly, the Biden administration’s opening COP28 pledge of $17.5 million for a new international climate aid fund frustrated advocates for developing nations combating climate threats. The figure lagged well behind other allies, several of whom committed $100 million or more.

Nonetheless, Harris called for aggressive action in her speech, which was followed by a session with other officials on renewable energy. The vice president committed the U.S. to doubling its energy efficiency and tripling its renewable energy capacity by 2030, joining a growing list of countries. The U.S. also said Saturday it was joining a global alliance dedicated to divorcing the world from coal-based energy.

Like other world leaders, Harris also used her trip to conduct a whirlwind of diplomacy over the war between Israel and Hamas, which has flared back up after a brief truce.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Harris would be meeting with “regional leaders” to discuss “our desire to see this pause restored, our desire to see aid getting back in, our desire to see hostages get out.”

The war has intruded into the proceedings at the climate summit, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas both skipping their scheduled speaking slots on Friday. Iran’s delegation also walked out of the summit, objecting to Israel’s presence.

Kirby said Harris will convey “that we believe the Palestinian people need a vote and a voice in their future, and then they need governance in Gaza that will look after their aspirations and their needs.”

Although Biden won’t be going to Dubai, the administration said these climate talks are “especially” vital, given countries will decide how to respond to a U.N. assessment that found the world’s climate efforts are falling short.

“This is why the president has made climate a keystone of his administration’s foreign policy agenda,” the senior administration official said.

Robin Bravender reported from Washington, D.C. Zia Weise and Charlie Cooper reported from Dubai.

Sara Schonhardt contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.

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