Sudan army chief rules out any compromise with RSF paramilitaries
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Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Mali arrests generals, French national accused in alleged destabilization plot
BAMAKO: Mali's military-led government has arrested two generals and a French national, accusing them of participating in an alleged plot to destabilize the West African nation, according to a government statement and state-owned media. Mali has endured over a decade of turmoil marked by Islamist insurgencies in its arid north along with political instability that culminated in a series of coups in 2020 and 2021 that brought current president General Assimi Goita to power. Sources told Reuters earlier this week that more than 30 soldiers and military officials had been taken into custody on suspicion of attempting to destabilize Goita's government. Mali's ministry of territorial administration, in a statement released late on Thursday, said those arrested included Yann Vezilier, a French citizen. France's once close relationship with its former colonies in West Africa's Sahel region has soured in recent years as military officers have overthrown civilian governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Paris has withdrawn French troops involved in an operation to combat Islamist militants there under pressure from the countries' new leadership. Mali, which cut military ties with France, has meanwhile turned to Russia for support. The ministry statement accused Vezilier of acting on behalf of French intelligence services to mobilize political and civil society figures and military officers. A French foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday that it had no official comment on Vezilier's arrest. Malian state media showed images of 10 other people detained for involvement in the alleged plot, including General Abass Dembele, who is the former governor of the central Mopti region, and General Nema Sagara, another leading military figure. The ministry did not specify how many people had been arrested in total but described them as 'a group of marginal elements' and said the situation was under control. Mali's military authorities have failed to keep their promise to hold elections. Instead, Goita was granted a five-year renewable term in June and political activities were suspended across the country. While Mali's military junta cited the civilian authorities' failure to put down Islamist uprisings in the north among its justifications for seizing power, security woes have persisted under Goita. The past few months have seen a surge of deadly attacks by Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an Al-Qaeda-linked group that also operates in Burkina Faso and Niger.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
UN says Israeli plan for settlement near East Jerusalem breaks international law
The UN human rights office said on Friday Israel's decision to build a new settlement near East Jerusalem was illegal under international law and that it put nearby Palestinians at risk of forced eviction, which it described as a war crime. Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved plans for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying the move would 'bury' the idea of a Palestinian state. Developing
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Diplomacy or Defiance: Iran's Rulers Face Existential Choice After US-Israeli Strikes
Weakened by war and diplomatic deadlock, Iran's clerical elite stands at a crossroads: defy pressure to halt its nuclear activity and risk further Israeli and US attack, or concede and risk a leadership fracture. For now, the republic establishment is focusing on immediate survival over longer-term political strategy. A fragile ceasefire ended a 12-day war in June that began with Israeli air strikes, followed by US strikes on three Iranian nuclear installations. Both sides declared victory but the war exposed the military vulnerabilities and punctured the image of deterrence maintained by a major Middle East power and Israel's arch regional foe. Three Iranian insiders told Reuters the political establishment now views negotiations with the US - aimed at resolving a decades-long dispute over its nuclear ambitions - as the only way to avoid further escalation and existential peril. The strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets, which included killings of top Revolutionary Guard commanders and nuclear scientists, shocked Tehran, kicking off just a day before a planned sixth round of talks with Washington. While Tehran accused Washington of "betraying diplomacy", some hardline lawmakers and military commanders blamed officials who advocated diplomacy with Washington, arguing the dialogue proved a "strategic trap" that distracted the armed forces. However, one political insider, who like others requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said the leadership now leaned towards talks as "they've seen the cost of military confrontation". President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that resuming talks with the United States "does not mean we intend to surrender", addressing hardliners opposing further nuclear diplomacy after the war. He added: "You don't want to talk? What do you want to do? ... Do you want to go (back) to war?" His remarks were criticized by hardliners including Revolutionary Guards commander Aziz Ghazanfari, who warned that foreign policy demands discretion and that careless statements could have serious consequences. Ultimately, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei holds the final say. Insiders said he and the clerical power structure had reached a consensus to resume nuclear negotiations, viewing them as vital to the republic's survival. Iran's Foreign Ministry said no decision has been made on the resumption of nuclear talks. DYNAMICS AND EXTERNAL PRESSURE US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned they will not hesitate to hit Iran again if it resumes enrichment of uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear weapons. Last week, Trump warned that if Iran restarted enrichment despite the June strikes on its key production plants, "we'll be back". Tehran responded with a vow of forceful retaliation. Still, Tehran fears future strikes could cripple political and military coordination, and so has formed a defense council to ensure command continuity even if the 86-year-old Khamenei must relocate to a remote hideaway to avoid assassination. Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC, said that if Iran seeks to rapidly rebuild its nuclear capacity without securing diplomatic or security guarantees, "a US–Israeli strike won't just be possible - it will be all but inevitable". "Re-entering talks could buy Tehran valuable breathing room and economic relief, but without swift US reciprocity it risks a hardline backlash, deepening elite divisions, and fresh accusations of surrender," Vatanka said. Tehran insists on its right to uranium enrichment as part of what it maintains is a peaceful nuclear energy program, while the Trump administration demands a total halt - a core sticking point in the diplomatic standoff. Renewed United Nations sanctions under the so-called "snapback" mechanism, pushed by three European powers, loom as a further threat if Tehran refuses to return to negotiations or if no verifiable deal to curb its nuclear activity results. Tehran has threatened to quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But insiders say this is a pressure tactic, not a realistic plan - as exiting the NPT would telegraph an Iranian race for nuclear bombs and invite US and Israeli intervention. A senior Western diplomat said Iran's rulers were vulnerable as never before, and any defiance was a gamble liable to backfire at a time of rising domestic unrest, impaired deterrence power and Israel's disabling of Iran's militia proxies in wars around the Middle East since 2023. MOUNTING ANXIETY Among ordinary Iranians, weariness over war and international isolation runs deep, compounded by a growing sense of failed governance. The oil-based economy, already hobbled by sanctions and state mismanagement, is under worsening strain. Daily blackouts afflict cities around the country of 87 million people, forcing many businesses to cut back. Reservoirs have receded to record lows, prompting warnings from the government of a looming "national water emergency." Many Iranians - even those opposed to the Shiite theocracy - rallied behind the country during the June war, but now face lost incomes and intensified repression. Alireza, 43, a furniture merchant in Tehran, said he is considering downsizing his business and relocating his family outside the capital amid fears of further air attack. "This is the result of 40 years of failed policies," he said, alluding to Iran's 1979 revolution that toppled the Western-backed monarchy. "We are a resource-rich country and yet people don't have water and electricity. My customers have no money. My business is collapsing." At least 20 people across Iran interviewed by phone echoed Alireza's sentiment - that while most Iranians do not want another war, they are also losing faith in the establishment's capacity to govern wisely. Despite broad discontent, large-scale protests have not broken out. Instead, authorities have tightened security, ramped up pressure on pro-democracy activists, accelerated executions and cracked down on alleged Israeli-linked spy networks - fueling fears of widening surveillance and repression. However, sidelined moderates have resurfaced in state media after years of exclusion. Some analysts see this as a move to ally public anxiety and signal the possibility of reform from within - without "regime change" that would shift core policies.
