Category World News

The United Nations nuclear watchdog must first define “post-war conditions” governing access to sites hit by military attacks, Iran has rejected calls to allow inspections of nuclear facilities bombed during attacks by the United States in June.

Tehran’s head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday that it would not permit inspections of US facilities until the IAEA established a set of guidelines for such visits, according to Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

The agency should make those changes public so that we can take appropriate action, Eslami said.

Tehran has since formally informed the IAEA of its position, insisting that laws must be “defined and codified” in the event of a military attack on nuclear facilities that are protected by international law.

The US military used bunker-buster munitions to bomb three significant Iranian nuclear installations during a 12-day conflict with Israel in June. The wave of attacks claimed the lives of more than 430 people and injured thousands more, according to Iran’s Ministry of Health.

The strikes came shortly after Israel’s surprise attack on Iran, which claimed the lives of numerous Iranian civilians, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, and targeted several sites connected to nuclear programme.

Tehran denies attempting to detonate a nuclear weapon.

Despite this, it is widely believed that Israel has an unproven nuclear arsenal.

IAEA inspectors stationed in Iran were fired after the attacks, accusing the organization of failing to condemn them.

“installations containing dangerous forces, such as dams, dykes, and nuclear electrical generating stations,” according to the Geneva Conventions.

Eslami argued that if the IAEA explicitly stated that it would support or tolerate military action against nuclear sites that are protected, it should do so.

However, he said, “If such attacks are not permitted, they must be condemned, and once condemned, the post-war conditions must be clarified,” adding that Iran would not accept “political and psychological pressure” to impose inspections prior to that taking place.

No legal effect of nuclear agreement

Eslami also criticized a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday regarding nuclear non-proliferation, calling the statements Tasnim described as completely unprofessional and illegal.

The legality of Resolution 2231, which approved the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, was a hot button issue.

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, informed the UNSC that Resolution 2231 “ceased to have any legal effect or operative mandate.”

Representatives from China and Russia echoed his position.

According to the state-run news agency IRNA, Iravani said Iran remained committed to “principled diplomacy and genuine negotiations.” He also held France, the United Kingdom, and the US accountable for taking steps to restore trust.

Morgan Ortagus, a US representative at the meeting, claimed Iran would only be willing to engage in direct and meaningful dialogue.

She said, “First and foremost, Iran cannot be an enrichment country.”

Despite receiving severe medical advice, two other prisoners in the United Kingdom have recently put their protests on hold because they have serious health issues. Four prisoners in the United Kingdom are still on a hunger strike.

The hunger strikers Kamran Ahmed, Heba Muraisi, Teuta Hoxha, and Lewie Chiaramello, who are still unaccounted for, were being treated for the third time on Saturday after starting to refuse food, according to the protest group Prisoners For Palestine.

The group stated on Tuesday that “the remaining four will continue to refuse food in response to [their] demands.”

The hunger strikers want immediate release, a fair trial, and for the UK to outlaw Palestine Action, which it declared a “terror” group in July. The pro-Palestinian group claims that the UK government is a toxic perpetrator of Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

They demand that all Elbit, Israel’s largest weapons producer, websites be shut down, as well as putting an end to alleged censorship of their communication.

The statement stated that the remaining strikers were adding to their list of demands, including that Muraisi be transferred from a prison in northern England to Bronzefield prison in Surrey, where she has connections in London, and that they should have access to the same courses and activities as sentenced prisoners.

According to Prisoners For Palestine, Chiaramello is experiencing confusion, dizziness, and weakness while engaging in an intermittent hunger strike that he refuses to eat every other day because he is diabetic.

The prisoners are accused of participating in a 2012 break-in that involved the spray-painting of two military aircraft at an Elbit-run UK factory near Bristol and at an Oxfordshire Royal Air Force base. They deny the charges brought against them, including violent disorder and burglary.

“Excruciating pain”

Two of their fellow prisoners announced a pause to their strike on Friday after suffering grave health effects, and the pledge to continue with the strike.

Qesser Zuhrah, a 20-year-old woman who Prisoners For Palestine claimed she had halted her hunger strike after 48 days of abstaining from it, was complaining about “continuous excruciating pain in her abdomen.”

After staff at the prison refused her an ambulance for more than 18 hours last week, leading to protests outside the jail before she was taken to the hospital, she decided to pause the hunger strike.

Zuhrah, whose lawyers claimed she had lost 13 percent of her body weight, made a statement informing the government that she intended to resume the hunger strike. “We will undoubtedly return to battle you with our empty stomachs in the new year,” she warned the government.

After the hunger strike forced them to use a wheelchair due to severe weakness and brain fog, another prisoner, Amu Gib, resumed eating.

MP claims that the government is “cruel.”

Zuhrah and Gib were praised by Sultana, who now runs the Your Party, for “blank the cruelty of a Labour government wanting them to die.”

She stated in a statement that they “refused to give them that… and will resume in the new year,” and that they had demanded immediate bail for the organization.

She stated that the four remaining strikers were “at a critical point,” refusing to eat until their demands are met, UK complicity ends, and Palestine is free.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) heard a proposal from Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris on Monday that would end the nation’s nearly three-year conflict, which has caused the worst humanitarian crisis in history, resulting in the displacement of 14 million people.

After a power struggle between Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the country erupted into civil war in April 2023.

Rights groups are urging opposing sides to strike a deal to end the bloodshed following the recent massacres in Sudan’s Darfur region.

What is Idris’s Sudanese peace plan?

The UN, the African Union, and the League of Arab States all monitored the transitional government’s prime minister, Idris, who suggested an immediate ceasefire in Sudan.

He suggested that the territory it controls be completely deserted by RSF troops.

Analyst Jihad Mashamoun told the Anadolu news agency in November that the RSF and its allies possessed roughly 40% of Sudan. The majority of the Darfur and Kordofan regions are included in this.

More than 1,500 people were killed when the RSF seized control of El-Fasher, the state capital, in October. Additionally, it has control over significant infrastructure, including the Heglig oilfield, which was seized on December 8 and close to the South Sudanese border.

The SAF controls the remaining 60%, including Khartoum, the capital. It is in charge of eastern Sudan, including Port Sudan along the Red Sea, its de facto administrative capital, northern states, and some areas of central Sudan. Additionally, air power is retained. The Sudanese army reported on Monday that it had taken control of a town in North Kordofan state southwest of the city of al-Rahad.

After their withdrawal, Idris, who was appointed by the army in May, suggested that the RSF members be vetted and placed in camps. He claimed that the strategy would bring back RSF fighters who are not accused of war crimes.

He made the promise to hold free elections following a transitional period to promote “inter-Sudanese dialogue.”

He claimed that the goal of this was to end a decades-long cycle of violence in Sudan. “This is not about winning a war.”

The UNSC has not yet cast a vote on the proposal, and discussions are still raging.

What was the RSF’s response to the peace plan?

Hemedti’s adviser Al-Basha Tibiq announced that the RSF had rejected Idris’s plan.

Tibiq claimed in a statement posted on Facebook that the strategy was “nothing more than a recycling of outdated exclusionary rhetoric” that was unrelated to the military chief’s statement, al-Burhan.

The RSF’s proposed withdrawal from the territory it controls, according to Tibiq, is “closer to fantasy than politics.”

Regional mediators have been urging on a different plan, which al-Burhan had previously rejected, alleging that the United Arab Emirates’ participation had made it more favorable to the paramilitaries and the army.

The UAE is accused of arming the RSF by Sudan’s transitional government.

The US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE have all been collaborating with the Quad group to mediate between the SAF and the RSF.

The UAE has consistently refuted claims that the RSF was arming and funding it, and in March, it condemned Sudan’s decision to file a case with the International Court of Justice, calling the allegations “cynical publicity stunt.”

What position does the Quad hold here?

The US Ambassador to the UN, Jeffrey Bartos, urged the RSF and SAF to accept an alternative plan for a humanitarian truce, which The Quad supports.

Before Idris took the stage to address the UNSC, Bartos urged both belligerents to “accept this plan without conditions immediately.”

A three-month truce would be a step toward a permanent ceasefire, improved humanitarian access, and the start of a political process for a civilian-led transition, the Quad stated in a statement in September.

The RSF announced in early November that it would accept the Quad’s request for a truce, but the conflict has continued.

Idris made a direct reference to the Quad’s support for a truce, saying that his peace proposal was “homemade” rather than “imposed on us.”

What are the opinions of experts on the peace plan?

The novelty of the message, according to Al-Rashid Muhammad Ibrahim, lies in its lucidity and reframing of the conflict in Sudan as an act of aggression, according to Al-Rashid Muhammad Ibrahim, who directs the Center for International Political Relations Studies in Khartoum.

According to political analyst Faisal Abdel Karim, any initiative must be accepted by the opposing side, which is the RSF in this instance. The international and regional powers that control the Sudanese landscape must also support the plan, he added.

He claimed that some aspects of the plan are reasonable while others are not.

In Antonio Guterres’ absence, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was requesting the peace plan during a briefing session, according to political analyst Al-Wathiq Kameir.

When the prime minister of a war-torn nation addresses a hall dominated by heads of missions or their deputies at a time when the holidays, which include Christmas and the end of the year, are politically dead, “it becomes questionable,” Kameir said.

What other ways has the peace plan been reacted to?

The 22-member Arab League’s secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, praised the peace plan on Wednesday.

Gheit called for “positive engagement” with the proposal in a statement released by the league outlining the plan’s “highly significant political, humanitarian, and security messages.”

What is going on in Sudan?

After the paramilitary forces launched more attacks in the area of El-Fasher, fighting between the RSF and the army has gotten worse in recent weeks.

After an 18-month siege that ended residents without access to food, medicine, and other essential supplies, the RSF began the escalation around El-Fasher in October. In its takeover of the city, the organization was accused of carrying out numerous sexual assaults, kidnappings, and mass murders.

Fighting has continued despite the peace plan. The RSF claimed that it has regained control of the Kordofan town Alouba, a crucial center for the region’s violent population.

On the other hand, North Darfur state’s SAF claimed to have destroyed an RSF convoy.

1,700 people reportedly fled to White Nile state, east of Kordofan, according to reports from Sudanese officials on Wednesday, with many of them attempting to flee to Kosti.

According to Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, Kosti’s resources are already strained, with about two million refugees and displaced people living there.

The authorities are urging the international community and any other local or international organizations to help with this situation, especially [given] the severe cuts in funding for the UN organizations specialized in providing] aid to Sudan, Vall said.

Sudan’s civilian government was overthrown by the RSF and the SAF in 2021, but tensions escalated into a power conflict between al-Burhan and Hemedti as a result of tensions over RSF integration and control of the transition.

14 million people have been forced to flee their homes to avoid the bloody fighting that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Bronwen Maddox, the director of the Chatham House, identifies the obstacles that are stopping the “new Middle East” project of Donald Trump.

The Libyan army’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, has been killed in a plane crash in Turkiye while returning from an official visit to Ankara.

Turkish officials said the private aircraft, which was heading back to Tripoli on Tuesday, requested an emergency landing due to an electrical failure just minutes after takeoff, but then lost contact.

The crash, which also killed four senior Libyan military officials and three crew members, has sent shockwaves across Libya, where General al-Haddad was seen as a unifying figure amid deep political divisions. The Libyan government has announced three days of national mourning.

Here is what we know so far:

Who was Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad?

General al-Haddad was Libya’s chief of the General Staff, the highest-ranking military officer in the country’s armed forces.

General al-Haddad worked within the United Nations-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli to bring together competing armed factions.

Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina said people in Libya were mourning al-Haddad, whom he said was a key figure in efforts to unify the country’s fractured military. “He really was someone who tried to build up the military institutions, especially in western Libya, a place that is divided with powerful armed groups and militias controlling vast areas of land,” Traina, reporting from Tripoli, said.

“You have powerful armed groups, militias controlling different parts of land. They hold a huge influence on the government. He refused to let these militias hold sway on the government,” Traina added, and was seen as “someone that people could rally behind and support to try to bring some kind of unity to Libya.”

General al-Haddad had served in that post since 2020 and was seen as a key figure in efforts to unify Libya’s divided military structures, a crucial element of broader attempts to stabilise the country, which descended into chaos following the toppling of its long-term leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Al Jazeera’s Traina said General al-Haddad was one of the first military officials who joined the rebel forces in the revolution that toppled Gaddafi.

Libya is currently divided between the internationally recognised government based in Tripoli and the rival administration in the east led by military commander Khalifa Haftar.

“He was a very charismatic and strong leader. General Mohammed was someone who was respected by all sides,” Al Jazeera’s Traina said. “He was someone who believed in the rule of law, always talked about values of democracy, and wanted to transition Libya into civilian rule.”

Al-Haddad’s death is being mourned in the eastern part of Libya governed by a rival administration, including Haftar, who expressed sorrow and offered his condolences.

During his Turkiye trip, al-Haddad held talks in Ankara with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler, and his Turkish military counterpart, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. Ankara has cultivated close military and economic ties with the Tripoli-based administration, but recently, Ankara has moved to strengthen relations with the eastern administration led by Haftar.

What do we know about the plane crash?

Burhanettin Duran, Turkiye’s head of communications, said the Dassault Falcon 50 jet departed Ankara Esenboga Airport at 17:17 GMT on Tuesday, bound for Tripoli.

At 17:33 GMT, it notified air traffic control of an electrical malfunction and declared an emergency, according to his statement. The jet was 37 years old, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.

Controllers directed the aircraft back towards Esenboga and initiated emergency protocols, but it vanished from radar at 17:36 GMT while descending to land, and communication was lost, Duran said.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said had earlier reported that the plane requested an emergency landing while flying over Ankara’s Haymana district.

Yerlikaya added that the wreckage was later located near Kesikkavak village in the area. Search and rescue teams reached the crash site after operations were launched by the Interior Ministry.

The Interior Minister later said that authorities had recovered cockpit voice and flight data recorders, collectively known as black boxes. An investigation is under way to “fully clarify” the cause of the crash, he told reporters in Ankara.

Investigations into the cause are continuing with the participation of all relevant agencies, Duran said. Turkiye has appointed four prosecutors to lead the probe, and Yerlikaya noted that 408 personnel were deployed for the search and recovery effort.

A group of military officials from Libya is carrying out inspections at the crash site, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu.

Were other people killed in the crash?

Yes. All people on board died in the crash. In addition to al-Haddad, seven others died in the crash, including four senior Libyan military officials and three crew members.

Among the Libyan officials killed were:

• General al-Fitouri Ghraibil, head of Libya’s ground forces.
• Brigadier General Mahmoud al-Qatawi, director of the Military Manufacturing Authority.
• Muhammad al-Asawi Diab, senior military adviser.
• Muhammad Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer.

What are the reactions to al-Haddad’s death?

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah described the incident as a “tragic loss”.

“This great tragedy is a great loss for the nation, the military establishment, and all the people,” he said. “We have lost men who served their country with sincerity and dedication and were an example of discipline, responsibility, and national commitment.”

In a statement from the eastern Libyan armed forces, commander Haftar expressed “deep sorrow over this tragic loss” and offered condolences to General al-Haddad’s family, tribe, and city, as well as “to all the Libyan people”.

What’s next?

In a statement, Libya’s Government of National Unity announced a three-day mourning period, during which flags will be flown at half-staff across all state institutions, and all official ceremonies and celebrations will be suspended.

Austria’s former defence attache to Libya, Wolfgang Pusztai, said the death of al-Haddad was “very significant” and a major blow for Dbeibah.

“Al-Haddad hails from Misrata, an important merchant city about three hours east of Tripoli, just like Dbeibah, and the key role of al-Haddad was to ensure the loyalty of the mighty militias of the city of Misrata to the government,” Pusztai told Al Jazeera.

“Misrata is the most important military power in western Libya, and this might really trigger some problems for Dbeibah, if this loyalty is broken in the future.”

Libya’s Presidential Council has appointed General Salah Eddine al-Namrush as the acting chief of staff for the Libyan army until General al-Haddad’s replacement is announced.

Palestinian Christians fear that Israeli violence and settlement expansion will squander their place in Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations. Nida Ibrahim of Al Jazeera reports from Bethlehem, where Jesus’ birthplace is threatened by illegal settlements.