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Saudi Arabia leads Arab nations in condemning Iran, Hezbollah

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Saudi Arabia lead Arab nations in condemning Iran, Hezbollah

Arab League foreign ministers meet in Cairo to discuss Iranian threat to the region

In a swift move Saudi Arabia has led Arab foreign ministers in condemning Iran and Lebanese group Hezballah at an extraordinary Arab League meeting held in Cairo on Sunday. The meeting was held at the behest of Saudi Arabia amid heightened tension with Iran over developments in Lebanon and ongoing war against Yemen.

The Arab foreign ministers’ meeting were also important with the recent resignation of Lebanese PM Saad Hariri in a surprise announcement made from Riyadh. He is currently cooling his heels in Paris, a journey connived by Saudi and French administrations. Hariri cited Iran and Hezballah for meddling in regional affairs and expressed fear of a plot to assassinate him.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir told the foreign ministers of the region that his country “will not stand by and will not hesitate to defend its security” in the face of Iranian “aggression.” He further said, “Any leniency in dealing with their policies would only encourage them more, so we must stand together,” Jubeir said, referring to Iran.

He alleged that Iran was aiming “to destabilise and fuel sectarian rift” on the region “and drive a wedge between ourselves and our people”.

He further said “”This swift response reflects the gravity of the situation our countries are facing … as a result of the ballistic missiles violations of Iran and the blunt interference in the domestic affairs of Arab countries.”

Earlier, Saudi Arabia alleged Iran for supplying long range missiles to Houthi Ansarallah in Yemen, who had recently conducted attack on Riyadh airport. Saudi authorities claimed of destroying the missile before reaching its destination while Houthis said that the missile hit the target successfully. Saudi Arabia called it an Iranian aggression against its territory.

During the meeting Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa was quite vocal against Hezbollah saying it was “in total control” of Lebanon. He reportedly alleged that “Iran’s biggest arm in the region at the moment is the terrorist [Hizballah] arm.”

While addressing the Arab foreign ministers Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that they will raise the matter with UN Security Council and other international organizations. He alleged, “Iranian threats have gone beyond all limits and pushed the region into a dangerous abyss.”

He even went on saying that missile which was fired by Houthis towards Riyadh was “Iranian made” and called is as an “unacceptable Iranian message”.

However, the Egyptian diplomat said that Arab League was “not declaring war on Iran at this stage.” He  said that Arab League  was not asking the Security Council to meet, but  they were “just briefing the council and maybe the next stage would be for us to meet and call for a Security Council meeting and submit a draft Arab resolution [against Iran].”

AFP reports that Saudi Arabia requested for Arab League foreign ministers’ meeting to discuss “the violations committed by Iran in the Arab region, which undermines security and peace … around the globe.”

The Arab League accused Hezballah of “supporting terrorism and extremist groups in Arab countries with advanced weapons and ballistic missiles,” in its declaration.  It said Arab nations will provide details to the SC of Tehran’s violations for arming Houthi rebels in Yemen. The declaration called Hezbollah as “terrorist organisation”.

Earlier in the day, Iran’s foreign Minister Javad Zarif told state media in Antalya, a Turkish resort city, on the sidelines of a meeting with his Russian and Trukish counterparts, “Unfortunately countries like the Saudi regime are pursuing divisions and creating differences and because of this they don’t see any results other than divisions.” The trilateral foreign ministers meeting was discussing the issues related to Syrian situation.

Saudi Arabia allege Iran of instigating and supporting Yemen’s Houthis and opposition groups in Bahrain where Saudi forces were “helping” Al-Khalifa regime to crush the “protesters” and even denying them right to practice their religion. Majority Shias were denied to organise religious meetings commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in the month of Muharram recently.

According to Riyadh’s official  Al-Arabia.net, in a separate meeting with editors of Egyptian newspapers, the Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said that Qatar’s crisis is small matter and and there are more important matters to attend to. Observers believe that he tried to belittle the gulf crisis triggered after Saudi led quartet cut ties with Qatar earlier in June.

Some of the threats he mentioned include the Iranian threat to Arab national security, the fight against terrorism, the Syrian crisis, Libya, yemen’s stability, internal development and implementation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia.

The Cairo meeting was not attended by Lebanese foreign minister Gerban Basil. Instead Antoine Azzam, country’s representative to the Arab League participated in the foreign ministers’ meeting.

Hezballah is part of the coalition government in Lebanese government. PM Saad Hariri, a Sunni leader belongs to Future Movement. President Michel Aoun, has refused to accept Hariri’s resignation and accused Saudi Arabia of holding him against his will. Hariri and Saudi Arabia deny the allegations.

Iran has been helping Iraq and Syria with military advisors in their fight against Daesh (IS) and other terrorist groups. Both countries have recently announced about achieving major successes in their fight against terrorist groups with Wahabi ideology. These groups were allegedly supported by Saudi Arabia, US and Israel.

Recently BBC has carried an investigation on how US and its allies shifted Daesh terrorists from Raqqa, Syria and the way they didn’t allow Russia to bomb the fleeing terrorists from Raqqa. US weapons drop to terrorists was also caught in camera in Iraq. Israel had also admitted providing medical support to the “civilians” injured in Syria. Syria and Iraq have been alleging these countries for their hand-in-glove role in spreading terrorism in the region.

According to Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst has said that Saudi Arabia had convened the Cairo meeting in a bid to “consolidate its position in a divided Arab region.”

He further says, “The Arab world is divided and a lot of countries convened to Cairo today don’t see eye to eye with Saudi Arabia on its ways and means or how it plans to confront Iran in the region.”

“That doesn’t mean they agree to the escalation of Iranian interference in various Arab countries, but paradoxically it was the incompetence and the division among those Arab countries that was the main factor why Iran is able to expand its influence in the region,” added Bishara.

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Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Justin Trudeau shares video of his Diwali celebrations

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

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Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.

Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.

Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”

On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.

Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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Iran says 2 soldiers killed in Israeli air strikes

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

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The Iranian Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes that targeted military bases.

Iran stated that its air defenses effectively countered the attack, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of two soldiers and some areas suffering limited damage.

The Israeli military conducted strikes on Iranian military sites after 2 am on Saturday, responding to what they cited as ongoing attacks by Iran and its allies in the region.

Following the strikes, the Israeli military announced they had successfully completed the mission and achieved their objectives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the precise targeting of military sites in Iran to neutralize immediate threats to Israel.

“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” the Israel Defence Force posted on X.

Iran’s air defense headquarters acknowledged the hits on bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran but asserted that these attacks were effectively repelled, with investigations ongoing to assess damages. Moreover, Iran indicated its readiness to retaliate against any Israeli aggression, stating that Israel would face proportional consequences for its actions.

Iran expressed its intentions to respond to the Israeli attacks on its military bases, condemning the actions as a violation of international law and the UN Charter’s principles on the use of force.

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, attributing the escalation to Israel and urging the UN Security Council to intervene for peace and security.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised that Iran should refrain from retaliating against Israel, advocating for restraint on all sides to prevent further escalation.

“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to restrain. Iran should not respond,” the PM said at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The United States advised Iran to halt its attacks on Israel to cease the ongoing violence and break the cycle of conflict, underlining the importance of de-escalation.

“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the Israeli operation throughout its development and execution by his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.

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