Latest news with #MiddleEastPeace
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal to travel to West Bank in historic visit
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, is expected to visit the West Bank this weekend, marking one of the most senior Saudi officials to do so since 1967. The top Saudi diplomat will lead an Arab delegation that will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other officials from the Palestinian Authorities (PA) during their one-day visit, according to Palestinian Ambassador to Riyadh, Mazen Ghoneim. Ghoneim said the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and 'other countries' would also be part of the visit. In comments to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ekhbariya, Ghoneim said the talks would focus on Arab efforts for a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. Saudi Arabia and France are expected to co-host a conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York next month, where Paris is scheduled to recognize Palestinian statehood. Manal Radwan, a senior advisor to the Saudi foreign minister, said regional peace begins with recognizing the State of Palestine 'not as a symbolic gesture, but as a strategic necessity.' Speaking earlier this month at a preparatory UN session ahead of the June conference, Radwan said: 'Civilians continue to pay the price of a war that must end immediately. The escalation in the West Bank is equally alarming. Despair grows deeper by the day.' She added: 'This is precisely why we must speak not only of ending the war but of ending a conflict that has lasted nearly eight decades.'
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Canadian PM Carney speaks with Saudi's bin Salman
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday, according to a statement from Carney's office. "The leaders discussed energy security and deepening bilateral trade. They agreed on the imperative of a sustainable peace in the Middle East," the statement said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Looking Back On Oslo One Last Time
Camp David II ended in utter failure in 2000. However, what concerns us most, here, is how extremists' campaigns undercut the talks and contributed to that failure. In addition to the fact that they were held during the last year of Clinton's term, both Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat were outdoing one another with their displays of weakness and haste to achieve, in one fell swoop, outcomes that suit one side but not the other. Obsessed with opinion polls according to frequent press reports, Barak behaved as though he were in a position to impose a take it or leave it ultimatum: either Arafat accepts Israel's terms for a permanent and final settlement or there would be no agreement. However, his governing coalition was falling apart, and things worsened after Barak's lengthy negotiations with Assad came to nothing. To Arafat, the ideal 'solution' would neither kill the peace process nor lead to a settlement. Fearing the one-upmanship of his rivals, Arafat was determined not to offer anything that could leave him embroiled in a quagmire, especially since Israel's negotiations with Assad had marginalized him further. It is true that Ehud Barak went further than any Israeli prime minister had been willing to go at the time, but his offer did not come close to meeting terms Yasser Arafat felt he could accept, especially with regard to the status of Jerusalem. While he received no explicit outside encouragement to accept Barak's proposal, Arafat seemed obligated to take Muslim governments' positions and reactions into account. As for granting the Palestinians an absolute right of return, this was a demand that no Israeli who worries about the demographics of the 'Jewish' state could accept, especially since there was nothing appealing about the state of inter-religious, sectarian, and ethnic relations in neighboring Arab countries. Soon after the summit collapsed, Ariel Sharon made his visit to the Temple Mount and the Noble Sanctuary, and the Second Intifada erupted. The man who had been deemed 'unelectable' was thus elected, and security became synonymous with politics. Under the pretext of ensuring security, Sharon began building the apartheid wall; talk of a 'two-state solution' came to be seen as nonsensical, and most Israelis became convinced that peace was anathema to security. Terrorist operations resumed with the Second Intifada, with dozens of attacks launched in major cities, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades emerged from the ranks of Fatah. More than 1,200 people were killed and many more wounded as a result of these attacks, while Israeli forces stormed Palestinian cities in Area A, violating the Oslo Accords. As this intifada raged on and the Israeli crackdown continued with it, New York was rocked by the attacks of 9/11, strengthening the tendency of those who oppose Palestinian rights to conflate the Palestinian struggle with Islamist terrorism. Their task was made easier by the scenes, in some Palestinian camps, of gunshots fired in celebration of al-Qaeda's attack. However, it was with the Karine A Affair of 2002- when the Israelis intercepted a ship carrying an arms shipment that they alleged had been bound for the Palestinian Authority- that relations were completely and irreparably severed. With the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia during the 2002 Beirut Summit, the Arab states offered recognition in exchange for peace. However, the Syrian regime, as well as the Lebanese regime under its thumb at the time, prevented Arafat from taking part in the deliberations. Worse than that, on the opening day of the Summit, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Passover, Hamas carried out what had been the largest ever attack of its kind, killing over thirty Israeli civilians and injuring 140 others in Netanya. As a result, rather than feeling compelled to engage with the nascent peace plan, or at least finding themselves on the defensive, Israel and the Sharon government ignored the summit entirely. Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield and besieged Arafat in his compound, with no regard for its obligations under the Oslo Accords. As his health deteriorated, Arafat passed away shortly afterward amid rumors that he had been poisoned. True, Gaza remained under occupation even after Israel's unilateral withdrawal in 2005, since Israel retained full control over all entry and exit points. However, this state of affairs was not inevitably bound to endure. Any progress in the peace process would have surely left an impact, though it is likely that change would have come gradually or unevenly. However, the exact opposite happened: Israel imposed a blockade and suffocated the Gaza Strip following Hamas's victory in the 2006 elections, and that was before Tel Aviv tightened its grip further after Hamas took control of the Strip through a bloody coup in 2007. With its takeover of the Strip, the Islamist movement withdrew Gaza from the contractual commitments of the Oslo Accords and the responsibilities that came with it. While Israel has always been ready to renege on its commitments, Hamas had now offered the Jewish state the pretext of facing a party that does not recognize its right to exist in the first place, opposes peace, and whose 1988 charter insists that 'Jihad is the only solution for the Palestinian cause.' Oslo has essentially ended, and only lukewarm attempts have been made to revive the peace process. In 2007, President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were brought together at the Annapolis Summit for talks overseen by President George W. Bush. However, Iran and Hamas called for a boycott of the summit and 'popular action' to delegitimize the talks, while Israeli radicals waged their own political and media war against it, and the talks failed to pave a practical path forward. Later, in 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tried to resume negotiations, but these talks collapsed after just a few months. Foiling the Oslo process would not have demanded all of this effort if one of the parties had been unequivocally opposed to any peace agreement from the outset.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump says he believes US is close to reaching a new Iran nuclear deal as he confirms he told Israel not to disrupt the talks
President Donald Trump believes his administration is 'very close to a solution' on an Iran nuclear agreement and he has personally warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to disrupt the talks, he said on Wednesday. Trump cautioned his close ally last week that any move to upend the negotiations would be 'inappropriate,' he told reporters. Sources familiar with the discussions echoed Trump's optimism and told CNN that they are closing in on a broad agreement that could be clinched when the US and Iran meet next, most likely in the Middle East. But concerns about Israel derailing the process are clearly high. Asked about reports that he warned Netanyahu against disrupting the talks during a phone call last week, Trump said, 'Well, I'd like to be honest. Yes I did.' He added: 'It's not a warning – I said I don't think it's appropriate.' Trump said that his team is having 'very good discussions' with Iran. Talks have taken place over the last several weeks led by special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and moderated by Oman. 'Right now, I think they want to make a deal. And if we can make a deal, I'd save a lot of lives,' Trump said. Trump's candid admission about the Netanyahu call follows CNN reporting last week that the US obtained new intelligence suggesting Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Netanyahu has long been a staunch opponent of any kind of deal with Tehran and he applauded Trump's decision in his first term for the US to exit the nuclear agreement agreed to by President Barack Obama in 2015. The stakes are enormously high – an Israeli strike could undo the progress the US has made, risk triggering a wider regional conflict and ruin Trump's chances of achieving a major foreign policy breakthrough as progress on brokering ceasefires in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza has stalled. Trump's comments come after Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson expressed openness to compromises, telling CNN on Monday that there are 'so many ways' an agreement on the future of its nuclear program could be reached. Still, the issue of whether Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium remains the key sticking point. And Trump himself acknowledged Iran 'still (has) to agree to the final stages of a document.' The fifth round of talks, which took place in Rome on Friday, dealt more heavily with the question of enrichment. 'Everyone is feeling good,' a Trump administration official said following the talks in Rome. 'We have a much better understanding of everyone's positions.' The Trump administration had demanded Iran stop all uranium enrichment, which Witkoff has said 'enables weaponization' and called a red line in the talks. Uranium, a key nuclear fuel, can be used to build a nuclear bomb if enriched to high levels. Iran has advanced its nuclear program in recent years but also maintains that its program is peaceful. Iran says it is willing to commit not to enrich uranium to weapons-grade as part of an agreement but has said it would reject an outright ban on all enrichment. Trump – who said that he wants a 'very strong document' – seemed to indicate on Wednesday that the current talks have included discussions on increased inspections inside Iran and the dismantling of at least a part of Iran's nuclear program. 'I want it very strong where we can go in with inspectors. We can take whatever we want, we can blow up whatever we want, but nobody getting killed. We can blow up a lab, but nobody's going to be in the lab, as opposed to everybody being in the lab and blowing it up,' Trump said. Trump administration officials, including Witkoff, have said publicly said that the US red line is any Iranian enrichment. But Trump's comments on Wednesday indicated that he may be open to allowing limited enrichment with inspectors as a solution to the impasse. Previously, US officials have also floated the idea of Iran importing enriched uranium, rather than doing so in the country – a notion that Iran has repeatedly rejected. The current discussion includes the US possibly investing in Iran's nuclear power program and standing up a consortium – expected to include nations from the Middle East and the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency – that would produce enriched uranium for Iran's reactors, explained one of the sources. But nothing has been agreed to regarding Iran's civilian nuclear energy program, a White House official said. Iran's ballistic missile program is not a part of the current discussion, despite some administration officials initially pressing for it to be included. Given how far the talks have advanced at this point sources did not expect an expansion of the topics under discussion. Witkoff in early May suggested that topics other than the nuclear file were 'secondary' issues. 'We don't want to confuse the nuclear discussion because that to us is the existential issue,' he told Breitbart at the time. Following the Rome talks, the two sides brought the latest proposals to their countries' respective leaders to confer and are planning to meet again soon, most likely in the Middle East. The goal is to strike an overall deal at the next meeting between the two sides that lays out specific markers for implementation but also leads to follow-up discussions on technical details, White House officials and sources familiar with the ongoing discussions said. Witkoff and Michael Anton, the director of policy planning at the State Department, have been taking the lead on all talks in addition to a technical team that has begun working out more specific details for an agreement. However, it is widely expected the technical team will take over and be far more involved once a broad agreement is struck. Despite Trump touting the expectation of 'good news' in the near future, progress in the negotiations has been bumpy at times. In the fourth round of talks, the US shared a proposal with Iran outlining some of the key requirements the Trump administration is looking for in a deal. But at one point an idea under discussion, which the negotiators on both sides appeared to support, was rejected by Trump, said a source familiar with the matter. And while Trump is projecting confidence that a deal is on the horizon, he also claimed on Wednesday that the situation 'could change at any moment – could change with a phone call.'
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump says he believes US is close to reaching a new Iran nuclear deal as he confirms he told Israel not to disrupt the talks
President Donald Trump believes his administration is 'very close to a solution' on an Iran nuclear agreement and he has personally warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to disrupt the talks, he said on Wednesday. Trump cautioned his close ally last week that any move to upend the negotiations would be 'inappropriate,' he told reporters. Sources familiar with the discussions echoed Trump's optimism and told CNN that they are closing in on a broad agreement that could be clinched when the US and Iran meet next, most likely in the Middle East. But concerns about Israel derailing the process are clearly high. Asked about reports that he warned Netanyahu against disrupting the talks during a phone call last week, Trump said, 'Well, I'd like to be honest. Yes I did.' He added: 'It's not a warning – I said I don't think it's appropriate.' Trump said that his team is having 'very good discussions' with Iran. Talks have taken place over the last several weeks led by special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and moderated by Oman. 'Right now, I think they want to make a deal. And if we can make a deal, I'd save a lot of lives,' Trump said. Trump's candid admission about the Netanyahu call follows CNN reporting last week that the US obtained new intelligence suggesting Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Netanyahu has long been a staunch opponent of any kind of deal with Tehran and he applauded Trump's decision in his first term for the US to exit the nuclear agreement agreed to by President Barack Obama in 2015. The stakes are enormously high – an Israeli strike could undo the progress the US has made, risk triggering a wider regional conflict and ruin Trump's chances of achieving a major foreign policy breakthrough as progress on brokering ceasefires in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza has stalled. Trump's comments come after Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson expressed openness to compromises, telling CNN on Monday that there are 'so many ways' an agreement on the future of its nuclear program could be reached. Still, the issue of whether Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium remains the key sticking point. And Trump himself acknowledged Iran 'still (has) to agree to the final stages of a document.' The fifth round of talks, which took place in Rome on Friday, dealt more heavily with the question of enrichment. 'Everyone is feeling good,' a Trump administration official said following the talks in Rome. 'We have a much better understanding of everyone's positions.' The Trump administration had demanded Iran stop all uranium enrichment, which Witkoff has said 'enables weaponization' and called a red line in the talks. Uranium, a key nuclear fuel, can be used to build a nuclear bomb if enriched to high levels. Iran has advanced its nuclear program in recent years but also maintains that its program is peaceful. Iran says it is willing to commit not to enrich uranium to weapons-grade as part of an agreement but has said it would reject an outright ban on all enrichment. Trump – who said that he wants a 'very strong document' – seemed to indicate on Wednesday that the current talks have included discussions on increased inspections inside Iran and the dismantling of at least a part of Iran's nuclear program. 'I want it very strong where we can go in with inspectors. We can take whatever we want, we can blow up whatever we want, but nobody getting killed. We can blow up a lab, but nobody's going to be in the lab, as opposed to everybody being in the lab and blowing it up,' Trump said. Trump administration officials, including Witkoff, have said publicly said that the US red line is any Iranian enrichment. But Trump's comments on Wednesday indicated that he may be open to allowing limited enrichment with inspectors as a solution to the impasse. Previously, US officials have also floated the idea of Iran importing enriched uranium, rather than doing so in the country – a notion that Iran has repeatedly rejected. The current discussion includes the US possibly investing in Iran's nuclear power program and standing up a consortium – expected to include nations from the Middle East and the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency – that would produce enriched uranium for Iran's reactors, explained one of the sources. But nothing has been agreed to regarding Iran's civilian nuclear energy program, a White House official said. Iran's ballistic missile program is not a part of the current discussion, despite some administration officials initially pressing for it to be included. Given how far the talks have advanced at this point sources did not expect an expansion of the topics under discussion. Witkoff in early May suggested that topics other than the nuclear file were 'secondary' issues. 'We don't want to confuse the nuclear discussion because that to us is the existential issue,' he told Breitbart at the time. Following the Rome talks, the two sides brought the latest proposals to their countries' respective leaders to confer and are planning to meet again soon, most likely in the Middle East. The goal is to strike an overall deal at the next meeting between the two sides that lays out specific markers for implementation but also leads to follow-up discussions on technical details, White House officials and sources familiar with the ongoing discussions said. Witkoff and Michael Anton, the director of policy planning at the State Department, have been taking the lead on all talks in addition to a technical team that has begun working out more specific details for an agreement. However, it is widely expected the technical team will take over and be far more involved once a broad agreement is struck. Despite Trump touting the expectation of 'good news' in the near future, progress in the negotiations has been bumpy at times. In the fourth round of talks, the US shared a proposal with Iran outlining some of the key requirements the Trump administration is looking for in a deal. But at one point an idea under discussion, which the negotiators on both sides appeared to support, was rejected by Trump, said a source familiar with the matter. And while Trump is projecting confidence that a deal is on the horizon, he also claimed on Wednesday that the situation 'could change at any moment – could change with a phone call.'
