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India: Three Soldiers Killed in Clash on Chinese Border

reporter 1222 — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 12:34:19 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Three Indian soldiers have been killed in a clash on the Chinese border, the Indian army said Tuesday following weeks of rising tensions and the deployment of thousands of extra troops from both sides.

Clash and face-offs flare on a fairly regular basis between India and Chinese government over their 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) border, which has never been properly demarcated, but no one has been killed in decades.

The Indian army said that there were “casualties on both sides”, but Beijing made no mention of any deaths or injuries as it swiftly laid the blame squarely on India for the incident.

“A violent face-off took place yesterday (Monday) night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers,” an Indian army spokesman said in a statement.

“Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation.”

An Indian army officer based in the region told AFP that there had been no shooting and that the officer killed had been a colonel.

“There was no firing. No firearms were used. It was violent hand-to-hand scuffles,” the officer said on condition of anonymity.

Beijing on Tuesday confirmed the incident and accused India of crossing the border and “attacking Chinese personnel”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Indian troops “crossed the borderline twice… provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in a serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides.”

The Indian army said the incident took place in the Galwan Valley in the high-altitude Ladakh region — which is just opposite Tibet.

Thousands of troops from the two nuclear-armed neighbors have been involved in the latest face-off since May.

On May 9, several Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a clash involving fists and stone-throwing.

The Chinese foreign ministry said only last week that a “positive consensus” on resolving the latest border issue was achieved following “effective communication” through diplomatic and military channels.

In a later statement, India’s foreign ministry had said the two sides would “continue the military and diplomatic engagements to resolve the situation and to ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas.”

But sources and Indian news reports suggested that India appeared to have effectively ceded to China areas that the People’s Liberation Army occupied in recent weeks, notably parts of the northern side of the Pangong Tso Lake and some of the strategically important Galway river valley.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have sought to ease tensions at summits over the past two years when they agreed to boost border communications between their militaries.

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Signs of tension reduction appearing in Persian Gulf

reporter 1222 — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 12:21:40 +0000

For nearly four decades, the Persian Gulf has not been calm and occasionally is the stage for Iran’s confrontation with the US and its regional allies because of America’s hostility toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. These tensions have sometimes led to direct military conflict.

Iran has been trying to challenge the US military power. The US also has hit Iran’s military and oil facilities, killing many Iranians, including hundreds of civilians in the past.

The Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman are a strategic route for supplying oil to world markets, and in this regards, oil tankers have been one of the main targets of military actions.

More than thirty years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, several oil tankers have exploded again in the region in recent months. Tensions and maritime conflicts and attacks on oil facilities have re-emerged in the region by US and its regional allies destabilizing acts and the return of US sanctions against Iran.

The White House’s unlawful withdrawal from the Iran’s nuclear deal (JCPOA), designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group, re-imposing sanctions on Iran and trying to drive Iran’s oil export to zero all are provocative and suspicious moves of the US that have fueled the regional tensions.

Recently to reduce tensions in the region, a number of countries have taken steps and traveled to Iran to mediate.

Trying to calm the region Iran has also tried to take steps by a series of new proposals to improve relations with Arab countries on the Persian Gulf.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested on May 26 signing a non- aggression pact with Persian Gulf littoral states during his three-day trip to Iraq. The suggested plan proves Iran to be right since security in the region would be achieved via cooperation of all regional countries and a desirable and stable regional discipline is obtainable without interference of foreign countries. The plan can become operational step by step in case of building confidence among regional countries.

Some speculation show that Oman and Iraq are likely trying to ease tensions between Tehran and some Persian Gulf states. In this regard, Iran’s Ambassador to Kuwait also announced on July 30 that some countries have accepted to join Iran’s proposed non-aggression pact.

Alongside with acceptance of some countries to join Iran’s proposed non-aggression pact, it was announced that a joint Iran-UAE Coast Guard meeting had been held in Tehran after six years and some reports indicated that two UAE banks have announced their readiness to cooperate with Iran, Khorasan Newspaper reported.

Russia and Qatar welcomed the proposal in June, and it now appears that Kuwait has been added to its supporters. In this regards, Iran’s Ambassador to Kuwait Mohammad Irani in an interview with Al Rai, Kuwaiti newspaper said that some countries have accepted to join Iran’s proposed non-aggression pact.

He did not explicitly mention the names of the countries, but said in his remarks that the proposal was not specific to Kuwait and would include all countries in the region. He also mentioned that some countries have responded positively to this plan, and Iran is awaiting response from other countries.

Simultaneously, Special Assistant to the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament for International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also referred to the recent visit of Omani foreign minister to Tehran and said that Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah had positive and constructive ideas on the subject of Iranian-Arab talks and the reduction of seizures and tensions during his visit to Tehran.

Foreign policy reporter of Etemad Newspaper wrote in his tweet quoting an Arab source: “In response to Washington’s request for joining an international coalition to protect commercial ships in the region, Kuwait stated that the situation in the region was not like Saddam Hussein’s, former President of Iraq when Kuwait united with the US against another regional state and will not allow its territory to be used to threaten Iran. Kuwait had earlier rejected the US request for deployment of four B-52 bombers in Kuwait.”

In addition to Iranian Foreign Minister’s plan of ‘non-aggression pact’, Russia also outlined plan for ‘collective security in Persian Gulf’ and presented it to the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly on 30 July 2019. Russia’s concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf has been distributed as an official document approved by the United Nations.

“In the current conditions, energetic and effective action is needed at international and regional levels in the interests of improving and further stabilizing the situation in the Persian Gulf, overcoming the prolonged crisis stage and turning this sub-region to peace, good neighborly relations and sustainable development,” the document said.

“Practical work on launching the process of creating a security system in the Persian Gulf may be started by holding bilateral and multilateral consultations between interested parties, including countries both within the region and outside of it, UN Security Council, LAS [League of Arab States], OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation], PGCC [Persian Gulf Cooperation Council],” the document added.

In a letter to the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, Russia said that it is “ready for cooperation with all interested parties to implement this and other constructive proposals”.

Russia’s plan and Iran’s proposal both seek to reduce tensions between the Persian Gulf states. There is only one difference between them that in the Russian plan, it also calls to establish security in the region from some countries outside the region. Russia has also emphasized in its plan that the region’s security system will be strengthened by its neighbors in the Persian Gulf only when foreign military presence in the region is reduced.

The regional non-aggression pact is expected to pave the way for neighboring countries to build trust and have constructive interaction.

Despite all pressures, diplomatic initiatives are being pursued by Iran and some regional and trans-regional countries to reduce tensions in the Middle East.

Tensions initially built up between US and Iran after the US President Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 Nuclear Deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and imposed severe sanctions against Tehran. Despite US policy of maximum pressure on Iran Trump administration claims that they are ready for talks with Iran but Tehran says it doesn’t trust on the White House and will resist in face of all pressures and there will be no talks with a party which has already violated many international agreements.

Tensions between Iran and the United States reached a record high after a US spy drone violated Iran’s airspace last month and ignored Iran’s warnings before being targeted by IRGC’s air defense.

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US pullout from Iran’s nuclear deal, main cause of regional tension

reporter 1222 — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 13:32:42 +0000

He made the remarks on Monday in an interview with IRNA and called on all world countries to make their utmost efforts in order to prevent incidence of tension in the region.

He, who has traveled to Chinese capital Beijing to participate in a conference, added, “with its unilateral withdrawal from JCPOA, US government has exacerbated tensions and worsened the situation in the region drastically.”

Therefore, all parties involved in Iran’s nuclear talk should prevent outbreak of war in the region, Kortunov highlighted.

“Although we know for sure that US President Donald Trump is not seeking war with Iran, countries should not allow these tensions to be exacerbated.”

As two top prominent political figures, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif can play a leading role in reducing tensions in the region significantly using diplomacy, he stated.

US government has dragged the situation into crisis and challenge after its withdrawal from JCPOA unilaterally, he said, adding, “now, time is ripe to find a solution for resolving disputes based on negotiation and diplomacy.”

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Iran calls for restraint as India-Pakistan tension heightens

reporter 1222 — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 12:30:24 +0000

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called on India and Pakistan to show restraint amid reports of heightened tension between the two sides.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic of Iran calls on the two countries to do more to reduce tension and resolve disputes and problems peacefully through dialogue.

He added that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as one of the victims of terrorism in the world, believes that the only way to fight terrorism and extremism is all-out and unbiased cooperation between all countries of the world.

Ghasemi’s comments came after India said it had conducted “preemptive” airstrikes against a militant training camp inside Pakistan, shortly after the Pakistani military accused New Delhi of violating its territory in the Kashmir region.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Indian Air Force jets conducted airstrikes against a militant training base in Balakot, Kashmir, on Tuesday.

According to an Indian government source, some 300 militants were killed in the strikes. Pakistan, however, has denied that there were any casualties.

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Russia warns of tension build-up in ME after US embassy move

reporter 1222 — Tue, 15 May 2018 08:30:08 +0000

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia is concerned about increase of tensions in the Middle East after planned US embassy move to al-Quds.

“The planned relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds may increase tension in the Middle East,” Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

“Yes, we have such fears. We have already talked about this before”, Peskov said, responding to a question if Russia has fears that the planned US embassy move may increase tension in the region.

The US intends to officially relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds on Monday to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment in 1948 — an event Palestinians refer to as the “Nakba” or the “The Catastrophe”.

Last December, Trump drew widespread condemnations and protests from across the Arab and Muslim world when he announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital.

Jerusalem al-Quds remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem — now occupied by Israel — might eventually serve as capital of an independent Palestinian state.

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Tensions Rise After Israel Blows Up Tunnel From Gaza

reporter 1222 — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 17:45:29 +0000

Tensions rose Tuesday after an Israeli operation to blow up a tunnel from the Gaza Strip killed seven Palestinian militants in one of the deadliest incidents since a devastating 2014 war.

The seven men, from the armed wings of Gaza’s rulers Hamas and allied group Islamic Jihad, were killed Monday when Israel blew up the tunnel it said had crossed into its territory and was intended for attacks, AFP reported.
They were being buried Tuesday in their respective neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya appeared at a funeral in central Gaza attended by a few thousand people, witnesses said, while senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya spoke at one in the southern part of the strip.
“(Hamas) knows how to manage the conflict with the enemy and how to get revenge and strike at the time and place that hurts the enemy,” Hayya said, according to a statement.
Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008 and the last conflict in 2014 was waged in part over tunnels from Gaza that were used to carry out attacks.
Israel said the operation was carried out on the Israeli side of the border and stressed it was not seeking a further escalation.
The operation comes at a sensitive time, with rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas pursuing a reconciliation accord aimed at ending their 10-year rift.
Hamas is due to hand over control of the enclave’s borders to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday under the deal mediated by Egypt and signed on October 12.
It is due to return the Gaza Strip to full PA control by December 1.
Both Haniya and Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah spoke of ensuring the reconciliation pact remains on track.
“The response to this massacre… is to move forward towards the restoration of national unity because the enemy realizes our strength is our unity,” Haniya said.
Senior PA official Mustafa Barghouti accused Israel of trying to disrupt the reconciliation bid.
Wednesday’s scheduled handover of the border crossings is a first key test of the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation deal.

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