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Official Calls Seizure of Iran’s Assets in Canada ‘Economic Terrorism’ (tasnimnews, Sep 15, 2019)
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/09/15/2096437/official-calls-seizure-of-iran-s-assets-in-canada-economic-terrorism
“Spokesman for Iran’s Guardian Council Abbasali Kadkhodaei condemned a recent move by Canada to sell $30 million worth of Iranian assets as “a blatant example of economic terrorism”.
“Economic terrorism is a method in which Western governments seize or confiscate other nations’ economic sources and interests through misusing legal tools without fair legal procedures,” Kadkhodaei said on his Twitter account on Saturday evening.
“Canada’s seizure of Iranian state properties is a blatant example of state economic terrorism,” he added in his tweet.
“Canada’s action is contrary to generally recognized principles of international law, including the principle of sovereignty,” the spokesman stated.
He further called on the Iranian Judiciary to take a countermeasure against the Canadian government.
The comments came after a report by Global News said Canada has gifted some $30 million worth of Iranian assets to the victims of terrorist attacks in which Iran says has not been involved.
According to a document filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice revealed in August, the victims have received their share of the money earned through the sale of two Iranian-owned buildings in Ottawa and Toronto.
The valuable Ottawa property, sold for $26.5 million, was used as the Iranian Cultural Center, and the Toronto building, sold for $1.85 million, served as the Center for Iranian Studies, the Global News reported.
In addition to the $28 million earned from the sale of the two properties, the victims were also awarded a share of some $2.6 million seized from Iran’s bank accounts. Documents also list a Toyota Camry and Mazda MPV.
In particular, they include the family of Marla Bennett, a US citizen killed in a 2002 bombing that rocked the Hebrew University in Jerusalem al-Quds.
The attacks are mostly blamed on Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements Hamas and Hezbollah. The families claimed that the Iranian government supported the two organizations and was therefore responsible for their actions.
Iran has denied any role in the attacks which the courts have based their cases to appropriate the country’s frozen assets.”
Wow. You can bet that if this could happen despite Dear Leader being grand poo-bahh the evidence was rock solid.
Thank you Khan for the good news.
EXCLUSIVE: Iranian drones launched from Iraq carried out attacks on Saudi oil plants (mee, Sep 15, 2019)
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-iranian-drones-launched-iraq-carried-out-attacks-saudi-oil-plants
“The strikes which paralysed the Saudi oil industry on Saturday morning, forcing it to halve its output of crude oil, were made by Iranian drones launched from Hashd al-Shaabi bases in southern Iraq, a senior Iraqi intelligence official has told Middle East Eye.
The attacks on Abqaiq and Khurais, two key Aramco facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia, were in retaliation for Israeli drone strikes on Hashd al-Shaabi bases and convoys in August, which were co-ordinated and funded by the Saudis, the official said.
“The latest attack comes for two reasons: another message from Iran to USA and its allies that as long as its siege on Iran continues no one will have stability in the region. However, the second more direct reason is a strong Iranian revenge for the recent Israeli attacks by drones launched from SDF-controlled areas in Syria against pro-Iranian Hashd bases,” he said.
“These Israeli drone attacks were supported and financed by the Saudis. That is why the recent attack was the most devastating, while the previous attacks were more symbolic and inflicted little harm,” the official said.
In August, five drone attacks on the Iranian-trained Hashd militia were launched from Kurdish bases under the control of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) areas of northeastern Syria, MEE reported at the time.
The drones struck bases, weapons depots and a convoy belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi, killing one fighter and severely wounding another.
Iraqi intelligence said the strikes were planned when Saudi Minister of State for Gulf Affairs, Thamer al-Sabhan, visited the SDF in Syria in June.
Drone seen over Kuwait palace
The Iraqi intelligence official refused to say which bases Saturday’s drones were launched from.
However, he confirmed that the distance between southern Iraq and the Saudi oilfields was about half the distance the drones would have had to fly had they been launched from Houthi bases in northern Yemen.
He said the drones had to travel between 500km and 600km, where as if they had been fired from Houthi bases they would have had to cover a distance of between 1,100km and 1,300km.
The flight path of the drones travelling south west from Iraq to the eastern oilfields of Saudi Arabia would have taken them over the sea or through Kuwait’s airspace.
Kuwait media reported on Saturday that a three-metre drone was sighted flying above the Dar Salwa palace in the centre of Kuwait City.
Alrai newspaper said that a three-metre-long unmanned aircraft, which came from the sea, descended to an altitude of 250 metres above the palace.
The drone hovered near the beach of Al Badaa and headed to the city of Kuwait.
MEE was unable to confirm whether this was connected to the attack on the Saudi oil installations.
Kuwait’s government said on Sunday that it was investigating the drone sighting.
“The security leadership has started the necessary investigations over the sighting of a drone over the coastline of Kuwait City and what measures were taken to confront it,” the cabinet said on its Twitter account.
It said Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah directed military and security officers to tighten security at vital installations in the Gulf OPEC producer and to take all necessary measures “to protect Kuwait’s security”.
Iraqi denial
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, however the official said: “It was not the Houthis. These were Iranian drones launched from Hashd al-Shaabi bases.”
The embattled Iraqi government was forced on Saturday to issue a statement denying the drone attacks on Saudi facilities came from its territory.
The statement issued by the prime minister’s press office read: “Iraq denies what has been reported by the news media and the social media about the use of its territories to launch an attack on Saudi oil installations using drones.
“It asserts its constitutional commitment to preventing the use of its territories for aggression against its neighbours, brothers and friends.
“The Iraqi government will deal firmly and decisively with whoever attempts to violate the constitution.
“A committee composed of relevant Iraqi parties has been formed in order to pursue information and follow up developments.”
‘Between the rock and a hard place’
For months, Iraq Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has been desperately attempting to prevent his country from being used as a battleground in a proxy war between the US and Iran.
Earlier this year, the US military signalled its intention to him to strike an airfield held by Iraqi Hezbollah after drone strikes on oil facilities in the Gulf.
Abdul Mahdi was reported by witnesses to the exchange to have told the Americans that he could not stop them striking wherever they wanted, but neither could he prevent retaliatory strikes by Iranian backed militias on US troops and bases in Iraq.
The US strike on Iraqi Hezbollah never took place. Instead, the US allowed Israel to use its drones from SDF bases in northeastern Syria.
In August, Abdul Mahdi came under huge pressure to publicly accuse Israel of launching drones to attack targets on Iraqi terrritory.
“Our prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi is between the rock and a hard place,” the Iraqi intelligence source told MEE.
“He told both the Iranians and the Americans Iraq is exhausted after decades of wars, conflicts and civil war.
“Dragging it into the centre of the proxy war between Iran on one side and the USA and its regional allies on the other will risk irreparable damage to its stability and unity with huge implications for the whole region.”
However, the prime minister’s pleas have been in vain. “Neither side is listening,” the official said.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of leading the attacks on Saudi Arabia and denounced Tehran for engaging in false diplomacy.
“Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy,” Pompeo said in a Twitter post, referring to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.
“Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo tweeted, offering no evidence of the origin of the attacks, according to the Reuters news agency.”
Trump says U.S. is ‘locked and loaded’ for potential response to Saudi oil attack (reuters, Sep 15, 2019)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-attacks/trump-says-u-s-is-locked-and-loaded-for-potential-response-to-saudi-oil-attack-idUSKBN1W00SA
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States was “locked and loaded” for a potential response to the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, after a senior official in his administration said Iran was to blame…”
Egypt forces kill group of terrorists in North Sinai, four policemen wounded: Ministry (ahram, Sep 15, 2019)
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/347802/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-forces-kill-group-of-terrorists-in-North-Sin.aspx
“Egyptian security forces have killed a group of suspected terrorists in North Sinai who were plotting to carry out a series of attacks against police and army troops in the border region, the interior ministry said.
The men were killed after they opened fire from their vehicle on security forces who approached them in the Galabana area, the ministry said in a statement.
The terrorists were found in possession of ammunition, automatic weapons and materials used in making explosive devices, it said.
The ministry did not reveal the number or the identity of the suspects but said all of them were killed, adding that another terrorist was killed nearby after he opened fire on security forces.
A total of four policemen were injured in the two shootouts, it added.
The ministry released photos of bloodied bodies with their faces concealed lying on the ground.
Egypt is fighting an Islamist militancy based in North Sinai which intensified in 2013 following the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Crushing the militants, who have mainly targeted police and army personnel, and restoring security has been a key priority of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
Egyptian security forces launched an extensive security operation in February 2018 to eliminate the militants, killing hundreds of them in raids ever since.”
More than 100 militants killed, wounded in deadly assaults of the Afghan, U.S. forces in Paktika (khaama, Sep 15, 2019)
https://www.khaama.com/more-than-100-militants-killed-wounded-in-deadly-assault-of-the-afghan-u-s-forces-in-paktika-04046/
“The Afghan and U.S. forces conducted counter-terrorism operations in South-eastern Paktika province, killing or wounding at least 120 Taliban militants.
The 203rd Thunder Corps said the Afghan security forces conducted the operations with the support of U.S. air power in Warmama district.
The statement further added that the security forces killed at least 90 Taliban militants during the operations and wounded at least 20 others.
Furthermore, the 203rd Thunder Corps said the security forces also destroyed 23 motorcycles, a tractor and some weapons during the operations.”
Uzbekistan to become full member of Turkic Council (aa, Sep 15, 2019)
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/uzbekistan-to-become-full-member-of-turkic-council/1584173
“Secretary general of the Turkic Council announced on Sunday Uzbekistan ratified the Nakhchivan Agreement and the country would join the Turkic Council.
“With this [ratification], the Republic of Uzbekistan will become a full member of the Turkic Council,” Baghdad Amreyev said in an official statement.
Nakhchivan Agreement paved the way for establishing the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking Countries (Turkic Council) in 2009, where members cooperate in the field of economy, foreign policy, security issues, social and humanitarian affairs…”
“How US foreign policy aids Chinese interests: Sanctions-hit Iran agrees to let China invest $280 billion in its oil, gas and petrochemical sectors. China will deploy at least 5,000 troops to “protect” its projects. It will import oil at discounted prices.”
China and Iran flesh out strategic partnership
https://www.petroleum-economist.com/articles/politics-economics/middle-east/2019/china-and-iran-flesh-out-strategic-partnership
Hindu temples, shops vandalised in Pakistan
AMRITSAR: A frenzied mob on Monday vandalised Hindu communit ..
“A frenzied mob on Monday vandalised Hindu communitiy’s temples, schools and shops in Ghotki city in Sindh province of Pakistan after a minor student accused his Hindu teacher of blasphemy.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/71140660.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst