Region

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that sanctions against Iran would soon be "increased substantially" after Tehran said it had exceeded a limit on enriched uranium reserves under a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by Washington. 

"Iran has long been secretly 'enriching,' in total violation of the terrible $150 billion deal made by John Kerry and the Obama Administration," Trump said on Twitter.

"Remember, that deal was to expire in a short number of years. Sanctions will soon be increased, substantially!"

Former secretary of state Kerry spearheaded the diplomacy that led to the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The deal promised sanctions relief, economic benefits and an end to international isolation in return for stringent curbs on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.

But Tehran says it has lost patience with perceived inaction by European countries more than a year after Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement, reimposing stinging sanctions.

Tehran announced on Monday it had surpassed 4.5 per cent uranium enrichment — above the 3.67 per cent limit under the accord — though still far below the 90 per cent necessary for military purposes.

President Hassan Rouhani said in May that Iran would roll back its commitments under the deal in stages every 60 days in an effort to force the other parties to deliver on their side of the bargain.

As tensions rose, the United States dispatched a naval carrier, bombers and extra troops to the region to counter perceived threats from Iran.

Trump said last month he had called off a retaliatory military strike against Iran at the last minute after the Islamic republic shot down a US drone that it said had crossed into its airspace, a claim denied by Washington.

AL RIMELA, Sudan — Amidst mounds of sand capped by handwritten signs naming the dead, Khadom embraces the tomb of her son, one of the more than 200 killed in Sudan's months-long turmoil.

It was an April morning when a freshly-shaven Al Moez drank his tea before heading out to the office from the modest home he shared with his parents in Al Rimela, southern Khartoum.

"The building was under surveillance by the all-powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS)," Khadom told AFP.

Shortly after he arrived at work, a colleague started to take pictures with his mobile phone from a window of their office.

Out of nowhere, a bullet pierced the window and lodged itself in the heart of Al Moez who was standing nearby. The 45-year-old died on the spot.

Like dozens of others who lost a son, uncle or brother, the family has paid a high price for Sudan’s revolution that toppled its longtime autocratic ruler Omar Al Bashir in April.

And now Al Moez’s family want justice.

His parents have called for an official investigation and for his killer to pay the “eye for an eye” penalty.

But Khadom says there is little chance the case will come to trial or that the NISS will be found guilty.

Anti-regime protests which first broke out on December 19 after the tripling of bread prices have cost the lives of more than 200 demonstrators, according to doctors close to the protest movement.

Gatherings have been staged in front of the homes of the “martyrs”, whose portraits have been painted on walls across the capital.

Outside a rundown apartment block in central Khartoum, two little boys, Ahmed and Asir, are often seen waving small Sudanese flags at motorists.

“Blood for blood, we don’t want compensation!” they chant if security forces pass by in their pickups.

Their uncle, Ali, 25, was felled by a bullet in the back on June 3, the day gunmen in military uniform brutally dispersed the sit-in outside army headquarters that was in place since April 6.

More than 100 lives were lost that day alone and over 500 people wounded, according to the doctors.

“My brother died a martyr. We’re proud and I’m also prepared to die for the revolution,” said Yussef, 35, as tears welled up in his eyes.

‘Blood has not been shed in vain’ 

Eman, 24, also lost a brother in the massacre at the sit-in, which the protesters had initially launched to demand Bashir’s ouster and later to call on the generals to transfer power to a civilian administration.

A student in England, Mattar was back to visit the family and had just celebrated his 26th birthday when he decided to spend a night with the demonstrators at the sit-in.

“They killed him without mercy,” said Eman, whose brother’s fate evoked a campaign of solidarity on social media under the hashtag #blueformattar. 

“Mattar gave his life. Now things in Sudan must change.”

Last Friday, crowds of jubilant Sudanese took to the streets to celebrate a landmark deal between protest leaders and ruling generals aimed at turning the page on seven months of political unrest.

Protest leaders said they had agreed on a transition period of three years and three months, with the first 21 months presided over by a military nominee, and the last 18 months by a civilian.

Demonstrators greeted the breakthrough with chants of “the martyrs’ blood has not been shed in vain” and “civilian rule, civilian rule”.

But Yussef, at the centre of the protests from the outset, said he would keep demonstrating because nothing significant would come from Sudan’s military.

“We still have a long way to go for a new Sudan... We must keep up the fight for future generations,” he said, glancing over at his sister’s boys Ahmed and Asir.

VALLETTA — Forty-four migrants, including women and children, plucked from their stricken vessel in the Mediterranean arrived in Malta Tuesday after charity boat Alan Kurdi handed the shipwreck victims over to the Maltese coastguard on the high-seas.

Malta agreed to take in those rescued by the boat operated by German charity Sea-Eye and sent a vessel to pick them up.

"The group, which includes four women and three children, was brought to land by the Armed Forces of Malta which transferred the migrants in international waters," a Maltese government source told AFP. 

"We're going to process them," the source said. There was no mention of a deal to send them on to other European Union countries given that they were rescued in Malta's search and rescue area.

The Alan Kurdi last week rescued 65 shipwrecked migrants attempting the perilous journey from North Africa, handing them over to Malta after Italy's hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini closed his country's ports to the vessel.

Sea-Eye said it was alerted to the plight of the latest migrants off the Libyan coast by Tunisian fishermen and a civilian search plane.

The rescued migrants said they had left Zuwara in Libya early Saturday.

Maltese authorities asked a nearby freighter to coordinate the rescue of their wooden boat. The freighter asked the Alan Kurdi to take the migrants on board.

The children are 15 months, three and five years old. The people come from Syria, Libya, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Guinea, it said.

"A 15-month-old baby should never have to be in such a life-threatening situation," said Sea-Eye spokeswoman Carlotta Weibl.

Italy mulling warship patrols 

The 65 migrants the Alan Kurdi handed over to Maltese authorities on Sunday have already been sent on to other European Union countries, as they were not rescued in the area of Malta's responsibility.

An Italian customs vessel on Tuesday separately brought 47 rescued migrants into Sicily’s Pozzallo port, Italian media reported.

The migrants had been headed to Lampedusa, an Italian island between Sicily and Libya, but there was no space for them there as hundreds of migrants continue to arrive by their own means or are rescued by authorities.

Salvini has vowed to close Italian ports to charity rescue ships, which he accuses of helping people smugglers.

Interior ministry figures showed that 395 migrants have arrived in Italy since the end of June. 

Italian media reported that this year barely one in 10 migrants and asylum seekers has been brought into Italy by charity vessels — the vast majority arrived by other means.

Salvini on Monday said he wanted to deploy military vessels to stop migrant vessels arriving.

Half of the migrants landed in Pozzallo are Tunisian, Italian media reported. Salvini has written to the Tunisian authorities urging a new bilateral deal on handling migrants, including using ferries to repatriate them.

Captains risk Italian ire 

Italy and Malta have repeatedly criticised Europe’s “case-by-case” approach to migrant rescues, which means shipwreck victims spend days or weeks at sea while countries try to agree where they should go.

The Alan Kurdi, which had been banned from entering Maltese and Italian waters, is the third rescue vessel in a week to make headlines.

Some 41 people were finally allowed to step off migrant rescue charity Mediterranea’s Italian-flagged Alex, which arrived at the port on Saturday in an overnight operation that saw the ship seized by authorities. 

The boat’s captain Tommaso Stella is being investigated for allegedly aiding illegal immigration. 

Salvini last month issued a decree that would impose fines of up to 50,000 euros ($57,000) for the captain, owner and operator of a vessel “entering Italian territorial waters without authorisation”.

Authorities on Lampedusa in late June seized a rescue ship belonging to German aid group Sea-Watch, which had forced its way into port with dozens of rescued migrants on board, and arrested its captain, Carola Rackete.

An Italian judge subsequently ordered her freed on bail, saying she had been acting to save lives, a decision which sparked Salvini’s ire but may have encouraged the Alex crew. 

She still faces charges of helping people smugglers and resisting the authorities after forcing her way past Italian customs vessels.

Libya, which has been wracked by chaos since the 2011 uprising that killed Muammar Qadhafi, has long been a major transit route for migrants, especially from sub-Saharan Africa, desperate to reach Europe.

TEHRAN — European powers urged Iran on Tuesday to reverse its move to increase uranium enrichment, as a French envoy arrived in Tehran to boost efforts to save a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

The accord between Iran and world powers promised sanctions relief, economic benefits and an end to international isolation of the Islamic republic in return for stringent curbs on its nuclear programme.

But Tehran says it has lost patience with perceived inaction by European countries more than a year after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement.

The European parties to the deal along with the EU's diplomatic chief on Tuesday called on Tehran to reverse breaches of the agreement.

"The foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom and the [EU] High Representative express deep concern that Iran is pursuing activities inconsistent with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA)," they said in a statement, using the deal's official name.

"It must act accordingly by reversing these activities and returning to full JCPoA compliance without delay."

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), tasked with inspections, while Iran consistently lived up to its commitments under the deal until recently, it is now in breach of two of them.

Rising tensions 

French President Emmanuel Macron sent his top diplomatic adviser to Tehran after Iran announced on Monday it had passed 4.5 per cent uranium enrichment — above the 3.67 per cent limit under the agreement though still far below the 90 per cent necessary for military purposes.

Emmanuel Bonne arrived in the Iranian capital on Tuesday afternoon, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

A meeting with Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, is planned for Wednesday morning.

Bonne is “to piece together a deescalation” strategy, the French presidency’s office said.

The 2015 deal had been described as a triumph of diplomacy against unilateralism and a major step to counter proliferation.

But after the US withdrew in May 2018 and reimposed stinging sanctions on Iran, especially on its banking and oil sectors, the future of the accord became uncertain.

As the Iranian economy went into free fall, Tehran demanded that the other parties to the deal, especially France, Germany and Britain, deliver the promised economic benefits and help it bypass US sanctions.

However, it gradually became clear that this was no simple task, and Iran — whose economy is heavily dependent on oil sales — changed tack and said it would reshape its policy of “strategic patience”.

In May, a year after Trump’s withdrawal, President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran would roll back its commitments under the deal in stages every 60 days in an effort to force the other parties to deliver on their side of the bargain.

As tensions rose the United States dispatched a naval carrier, bombers and extra troops to the region to counter perceived threats from Iran.

US, Europe ‘deceiving us’ 

Last month Trump said he had called off a retaliatory military strike against Iran at the last minute after Tehran shot down a US drone that it said had crossed into its airspace, a claim denied by Washington.

The US president on Tuesday said Iran is “doing a lot of bad things”.

“They’d better be very careful,” he told reporters at the White House.

The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed this month that Iran has exceeded a 300-kilogramme limit on enriched uranium reserves, another cap that was imposed by the deal.

Macron on Saturday held an hour-long conversation with Rouhani in which he said he wanted to “explore the conditions for a resumption of dialogue between all parties”. 

On Monday, the White House confirmed that Macron and Trump had talked about the standoff.

The two leaders “discussed ongoing efforts to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon and to end Iran’s destabilising behaviour in the Middle East”, the White House said in a statement.

While immensely popular to begin with, the nuclear deal has now lost some of its appeal among supporters in Iran.

“The US and the European countries are deceiving us... We wasted six years investing in our relationship with Europe,” Majidi, a salesman in Tehran, told AFP, adding that the best option now is to pull out of the deal immediately.

SANAA — A court run by Yemen's Huthi rebels on Tuesday sentenced 30 academics, trade unionists and preachers to death for allegedly spying for the Saudi-led coalition, a judicial source said.

The men, among 36 defendants tried by the criminal court in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, have been in custody for at least the past year, the source told AFP.

“The criminal court today [Tuesday] issued a verdict condemning 30 people to death on charges of spying for the aggression countries,” the source said, adding that the other six were acquitted.

He said the men were convicted of supplying the coalition with information on locations for air strikes.

Amnesty International condemned the verdicts, saying they had targeted “political opposition figures” in “sham trials”.

Among those condemned to death was Yussef Al Bawab, a 45-year-old father of five and linguistics professor, who had been “arbitrarily arrested in late 2016”, it said in a statement.

“Since the Houthi de facto authorities assumed control of the justice system in 2015, they have progressively utilised the Sanaa-based SCC [Specialised Criminal Court] to target persons they deem to be opponents or even just critics,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty's Middle East research director.

The military coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015, a few months after the Iran-aligned Shiite Houthi rebels captured Sanaa.

The coalition backs the internationally-recognised government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. 

Since the Houthis took control of the capital in September 2014, their courts have issued several death sentences for spying.

In May last year, a Sanaa court sentenced two men to death for spying for Riyadh, while in January, the same court condemned to death 22-year old mother Asmaa Al Omeissy and two men on charges of aiding the United Arab Emirates, a key partner in the coalition.

On Tuesday, the supreme court commuted Omeissy's death penalty to 15 years in jail, a judicial source in Sanaa said. There was no decision yet on the two men sentenced with her.

Yemen's conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, relief agencies say, and left millions displaced and in need of aid.

CAIRO — Egypt has asked international police agency Interpol to track down a 3,000-year-old Tutankhamun artefact that was sold in London for $6 million despite fierce opposition from Cairo, government officials said.

Christie's auction house sold the 28.5 centimetre relic for £4,746,250 ($5,970,000, 5,290,000 euros) to an unknown buyer in early July at one of its most controversial auctions in years.

But less than a week after the sale, Egypt's National Committee for Antiquities Repatriation (NCAR) said after an urgent meeting that national prosecutors had asked Interpol “to issue a circular to trace” such artefacts over alleged missing paperwork.

“The committee expresses its deep discontent of the unprofessional behaviour of the sale of Egyptian antiquities without providing the ownership documents and the evidences that prove its legal export from Egypt,” the NCAR said in a statement.

The committee — headed by Minister of Antiquities Khaled El Enany and attended by his predecessor Zahi Hawass as well as officials from various ministries — also called upon Britain to “prohibit the export of the sold artefacts” until the Egyptian authorities were shown the documents.

It suggested the issue could have an impact on cultural relations, by referencing “the ongoing cooperation between both countries in the field of archaeology, especially that there are 18 British archaeological missions are working in Egypt”.

The NCAR added it had hired a British law firm to file a “civil lawsuit” although no further details were given. 

 ‘Stolen from Karnak’ 

The London sale of the head of “Boy King” Tutankhamun angered Egyptian officials at the time and sparked a protest outside Christie's by about a dozen people who held up signs reading “stop trading in smuggled antiquities”.

Hawass told AFP that the piece appeared to have been “stolen” in the 1970s from the Karnak Temple complex just north of Luxor and the Egyptian foreign ministry asked the UK Foreign Office and the UN cultural body UNESCO to step in and halt the sale.

But such interventions are rare and made only when there is clear evidence of the item's legitimate acquisition by the seller being in dispute.

Christie's argued that Egypt had never before expressed the same level of concern about an item whose existence has been “well known and exhibited publicly” for many years.

“The object is not, and has not been, the subject of an investigation,” Christie's said in a statement to AFP.

The auction house has published a chronology of how the relic changed hands between European art dealers over the past 50 years and told AFP that it would “not sell any work where there isn't clear title of ownership”.