A passenger plane bound for Kyiv has crashed close to Tehran's main international airport, killing 176 people. Video circulated by Iranian news agencies appears to show the Boeing 737-800 bursting into flame minutes after takeoff and plummeting to earth. There was no early indication the crash was linked to Iran's Wednesday morning missile strikes on bases in Iraq hosting US and coalition troops
Continue reading...Category Archives: Middle East and North Africa
Iran plane crash: footage appears to show burning wreckage – video
Footage released by Iran Press TV appears to show burning wreckage from moments after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed near Tehran.
The Ukrainian airliner, which had 176 people onboard, crashed soon after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport. Iran's Red Crescent said there was no chance of finding survivors
Why Iran crisis is unlikely to hit US consumers hard at the gas pumps
Rumors of Middle East war used to inevitably lead to soaring gas prices but fracking revolution has changed the market landscape
For many older Americans the thought of war in the Middle East will trigger memories of soaring gas prices and long lines at the pumps. But as US relations with Iran sink to a new low there is, as yet, no sign of panic.
Related: By killing Qassem Suleimani, Trump has achieved the impossible: uniting Iran | Dina Esfandiary
Continue reading...Iran crash: Ukraine Boeing with 176 onboard comes down near Tehran
Iranians, Canadians, Ukrainians, Swedes, Afghans, Germans and three Britons killed in crash, reports say
A passenger plane carrying 176 people bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has crashed a few minutes after taking off from Tehran’s main international airport.
Iran’s Red Crescent has said there was no chance of finding survivors, and Pir Hossein Kulivand, an Iranian emergency official, later told state TV all those on board were killed in the crash.
Continue reading...‘Wrong then, wrong now’: US clash with Iran echoes march to Iraq war
As a new Republican president seeks re-election, senior figures in Washington warn history may be repeating itself
A Republican president facing a tough re-election campaign and widely viewed as hopelessly out of his depth. Bureaucrats itching to turn US military firepower on a Middle Eastern regime they claim without evidence is plotting an imminent attack. Compliant sections of the media that put flag-waving jingoism ahead of skeptical scrutiny.
So it was in late 2002, when President George W Bush’s administration built unstoppable momentum towards invading Iraq, promising to destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that never existed. Nearly two decades later the potential target is not Iraq but Iran, with many of the same concerns over false pretexts and official lies.
Continue reading...Scott Morrison tells defence chief to ‘protect and defend’ Australians amid Iran’s bombing campaign
Australia appears set to remain in Iraq, even as other US allies such as Germany and Canada pull their troops out
Scott Morrison has told the chief of the Australian defence force “to take whatever actions are necessary” to protect Australian troops and diplomats in Iraq after Iran began bombing allied military bases. All defence and diplomatic staff in the country were now safe, Morrison said.
Australia’s military appears set to remain in Iraq as long as the US does, even as other allies such as Germany and Canada pull their troops out of the country.
Continue reading...Iran’s assault on US bases in Iraq might satisfy both sides
Tehran can show it has retaliated over the assassination of Qassem Suleimani, while US may shrug off limited nature of strike
The “severe revenge” Iran promised for the death of Qassem Suleimani was heralded on Wednesday morning by at least two waves of short-range missile attacks on bases in Iraq hosting US and coalition personnel.
The attacks will provide an opportunity for hawks inside the Donald Trump administration to ratchet up the conflict with Iran – but also potentially a pathway out of the crisis.
Continue reading...Iran: Suleimani funeral crush death toll rises to more than 50 – latest updates
Mourners are crushed in city of Kerman during procession for general killed by US drone strike
- Full report: dozens dead in crush at Suleimani procession
- Nikki Haley claims Democrats only ones mourning Suleimani
British ships and helicopters have been placed on standby in the Middle East in case there is a further military escalation of the Iran crisis, the defence minister told MPs in the Commons.
Ben Wallace said the UK had taken “urgent measures” to protect British nationals and interests in Iraq and other nearby countries should Iran retaliate after the assassination of Suleimani.
Related: British ships put on standby in Gulf, minister tells MPs
Iranian military forces have said they are prepared to use medium- to long-range missiles to attack US bases in the Middle East, in revenge for the assassination of Suleimani.
According to a report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, Iran has prepared 13 scenarios for retaliation, and the secretary of Iran’s national security council said that even the most limited of the options would be a “historic nightmare” for the US.
Related: Iran threatens to hit US bases with medium- and long-range missiles
Continue reading...Yemen heads list of countries facing worst humanitarian disasters in 2020
Venezuela also in top five as IRC’s David Miliband warns of devastating impact from war, floods, droughts and disease
Yemen has topped an annual watchlist of countries most likely to face humanitarian catastrophe in 2020, for the second year running.
Continued fighting, economic collapse and weak governance mean that more than 24 million Yemenis – about 80% of the population – will be in need of humanitarian assistance this year, according to analysis by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which found that another five years of conflict could cost $29bn (£22bn).
Continue reading...Libya chaos intensifies with drone massacre and rebel advances
Fears UN-backed government may be overrun as key territory lost to Libyan National Army
The nine-month assault on the UN-backed Libyan government has moved closer to a bloody climax, with the Tripoli administration reeling from the loss of key coastal territory to rebel forces, and a lack of international condemnation of a drone strike that massacred 30 of its military cadets.
Russia and the United Arab Emirates were continuing to pour arms into the country in support of the Libyan National Army rebel forces, led by Gen Khalifa Haftar.
Continue reading...Raab warns Isis would be only winner of war in Middle East – video
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the Middle East as he headed to Brussels for talks with his German and French counterparts.
Britain, Germany and France have called for a de-escalation of tension in the region following the assassination of the top Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani in a US drone strike last week
Continue reading...Footage shows packed crowds during Suleimani burial procession – video
Dozens of people have been killed in a crush in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman, where hundreds of thousands of mourners have gathered for the burial of the military commander Qassem Suleimani, according to state media.
The vast crowds in Suleimani's home town matched the huge turnouts in Baghdad, Tehran, Qom, Mashhad and Ahvaz in recent days to say farewell to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards external operations force, who was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq on Friday
Continue reading...Steep rise in civilians killed or injured in Libya by explosive weaponry
Data showing downward global trend in explosive harm comes amid fears over rising violence and threat of war in Middle East
Civilians killed or injured in Libya by explosive weapons rose by 131% last year, with the number of incidents at its highest since 2011, the year of the Benghazi uprising, according to new data seen by the Guardian.
Most of the 900 people who died or were hurt in explosions in the country in 2019 – up from 392 in 2018 – were victims of airstrikes, according to statistics from Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a charity based in London.
Continue reading...Japan issues arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn’s wife
Carole Ghosn accused of perjury, as Nissan says it will pursue former chairman who fled to Lebanon
Prosecutors in Japan have issued an arrest warrant for the wife of Carlos Ghosn for alleged perjury, as Nissan vowed to pursue its former chairman over his “serious misconduct” while head of the carmaker.
Tokyo prosecutors’ special investigation squad said Carole Ghosn – a vocal supporter of her husband during his long detention in Japan – was suspected of making a false statement during testimony to the Tokyo district court last April, according to Kyodo news agency. Details of the allegation were not immediately available.
Continue reading...Future of US military presence in Iraq in question amid confusion in Washington
US letter said troops would begin ‘onward movement’ from Iraq, but defense secretary insists no decision was made to evacuate
The future of the US military presence in Iraq is in question amid scenes of confusion in Washington, as the Trump administration scrambled to respond to Iraqi demands for the troops to leave after last week’s assassination in Baghdad of Iran’s top general, Qassem Suleimani.
The US-led coalition taskforce fighting Isis in Iraq delivered a letter to the Iraqi defence ministry on Monday saying preparations would begin right away “to ensure that movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner”.
Continue reading...Libyan general Khalifa Haftar’s forces seize key city of Sirte
Holding city would be a major gain for warlord in battle against Tripoli government
Libyan forces loyal to the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar said they had taken control of the strategic coastal city of Sirte in a rapid advance preceded by airstrikes.
Holding Sirte would be an important gain for Haftar, who since April has been waging a military offensive on the capital, Tripoli, home to Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
Continue reading...Here’s what could be lost if Trump bombs Iran’s cultural treasures
The US president has warned Iran he will obliterate its cultural sites. Here is our guide to the nation’s jewels, from hilltop citadels to a disco-ball mausoleum
If carried out, Donald Trump’s threat to target “cultural sites” in Iran would put him into an axis of architectural evil alongside the Taliban and Isis, both of which have wreaked similar forms of destruction this century. The Taliban dynamited Afghanistan’s sixth-century Buddhas of Bamiyan in 2001; Isis has destroyed mosques, shrines and other structures across Iraq and Syria since 2014, some in the ancient city of Palmyra. Not, you might have thought, company the US president would prefer to be associated with.
Does Trump know what would be lost? Probably not – but he’s hardly the only one. The fact that the country is rarely visited by western tourists is not due to a lack of attractions. With a civilisation dating back 5,000 years, and over 20 Unesco world heritage sites, Iran’s cultural heritage is rich and unique, especially its religious architecture, which displays a mastery of geometry, abstract design and pre-industrial engineering practically unparalleled in civilisation. This is is not just Iran’s cultural heritage, it is humanity’s.
Continue reading...Confusion over letter from US military signaling withdrawal of troops from Iraq – as it happened
Mark Esper says memo on US troops’ ‘onward movement’ from Iraq is not accurate and ‘there’s been no decision’
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Kari Paul here, logging off for the night. Here are today’s top events to make note of:
Pete Buttigieg is heading back to Iowa on Jan. 12 to do more campaigning ahead of the upcoming caucus there, his team announced on Monday.
According to the announcement, Buttigieg has now visited Iowa 21 times, with visits to 49 counties to hold 100 events across the state.
Continue reading...Oil prices top $70 a barrel amid fears over Suleimani retaliation
Rise in cost of crude after US attack on Iranian general could affect petrol price
Oil prices have climbed above $70 a barrel for the first time in four months amid fears that the US air strike that killed Iran’s top military commander may trigger a retaliation.
The global oil markets have risen by more than 5% to $70.73 a barrel since the attack that killed Qassem Suleimani in Iraq last week.
Continue reading...Carlos Ghosn ‘caught bullet train’ during escape from Japan
Border controls tightened as Japan investigates how ex-Nissan boss skipped bail
Reports have emerged about how the fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn managed to jump bail in Japan, as the country’s justice minister said border controls would be bolstered after the audacious escape.
The 65-year-old executive skipped bail nearly a week ago, fleeing Japan where he had been awaiting trial on multiple counts of financial misconduct, which he denies.
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