News Story: Raziq Says Pakistan Positioning Insurgents Along The Durand Line

Kandahar police chief General Abdul Raziq (2015)

By Anisa Shahid

Pakistan has big plans for Afghanistan, has established large insurgent training camps on both sides of the Durand Line and have stationed militants along the de facto border, Kandahar police chief General Abdul Raziq told TOLOnews on Monday. 

Raziq also accused Iran, along with Pakistan, of supporting, equipping and training insurgents and said Pakistan is Afghanistan’s enemy. In line with this he called on the international community to increase pressure on Islamabad.

“They (Pakistan) have positioned terrorists on both sides of the Durand Line; they train them there and want to have control over the southern region and along Afghanistan’s shared borders with Iran and Pakistan. They want to weaken government and are involved in drug smuggling, the control of mines and with the money they earn in this way, they create terrorist centers here and finance them,” said Raziq.

According to him, Pakistan aims to transfer Quetta Council, known us Quetta Shura, to southern Helmand province where Taliban leaders and their families will be based.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: S. Korean military to share anti-chemical expertise with OPCW members

SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military unit tasked with chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) defense said Monday it will offer international training this week in partnership with a relevant global agency.

Fifteen delegates from a dozen Asian member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will join the five-day program to open here later in the day, according to the CBR Defense Command.

The countries include Nepal, Pakistan, Iran and the Philippines, it added.

Under the annual training program launched in 2005, an advanced member of the OPCW provides developing ones with education and technology related to the fight against possible CBR attacks.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Iran tests new medium-range missile, defying US warnings

By Eric RANDOLPH

Iran said on Saturday that it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of warnings from Washington that such activities were grounds for abandoning their landmark nuclear deal.

State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran on Friday.

It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone of the missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) and can carry multiple warheads.

"As long as some speak in the language of threats, the strengthening of the country's defence capabilities will continue and Iran will not seek permission from any country for producing various kinds of missile," Defence Minister Amir Hatami said in a staement.

The test comes at the end of a heated week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where US President Donald Trump again accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East, calling it a "rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos".

Previous Iranian missile launches have triggered US sanctions and accusations that they violate the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

Related Story:

• Iran's Rouhani vows to strengthen missiles despite US warnings

News Report: 'Political Pressure' and Humanitarian Aid - Iran Sets Sight on Rohingya Crisis

Iran has sent its first aid shipment for Rohingya refugees and wants to increase its humanitarian assistance in the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. At the same time, the Iranian government is also considering a political strategy to stop what UN Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein denounced as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

A 50-ton aid supply shipment has already reached Bangladesh for Rohingya Muslims in the border area, Seyyed Hadi Afghahi, an Iranian diplomat familiar with the situation, told Sputnik Persian. 

Tehran is also in talks with the Myanmar authorities on an additional humanitarian delivery for Rohingya people in Myanmar proper and on the transportation of wounded Rohingya for treatment to Iranian hospitals. 

Commenting on Tehran’s humanitarian efforts, Afghahi noted that Iran was one of the first member-states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to come to help amid the ongoing crisis in Myanmar affecting the Rohingya Muslim minority. 

News Report: Indian Involvement in Iran's Chabahar Port Hangs in Balance

India’s EXIM bank is still awaiting complete application form from Iran for the disbursement of $150 million loans even after 15 months of signing the loan contract.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's ambition to bypass Pakistan to enter resource-rich Central Asia & Afghanistan hangs in balance as Iran is yet to send the complete application form for sourcing $150 million loans from India's EXIM bank. The initial agreement for the loan was signed in May last year and since then, EXIM bank has been sending repeated reminders but Iran is yet to respond. The completed application form is a pre-condition for disbursement of the loan.

India's Minister for Shipping & Port Development Nitin Gadkari, who had visited Tehran last month to break the deadlock over the loan agreement. However, he is still waiting for Iran to send it the completed application form to the EXIM Bank of India for providing the first tranche of the loan from the $150 million credit line.

News Report: 'Rocket Man's' Revenge - N Korean FM Slams Trump's Threat as 'Dog Barking'

Pyongyang’s response to Donald Trump’s threat “to totally destroy North Korea” did not take long, with Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho pouring scorn on the US President.

“There is a saying that goes: ‘Even when dogs bark, the parade goes on. If [Trump] was thinking about surprising us with dog-barking sounds then he is clearly dreaming,” Ri told reporters gathered outside his hotel near the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In Korean, a “dog dream” is something absurd and makes little sense, according to Yonhap.

When asked by reporters what he thought of Trump calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “Rocket Man,” he said he feels sorry for Trump’s aides.

On Tuesday, President Trump vowed to "totally destroy North Korea" if it dared to attack the United States or its allies.

"Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime," Trump said, referring to the North Korean leader.

During his visit Ri Yong-ho is expected to meet with US diplomats, but chances of any serious discussions amid the heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington are highly unlikely.

News Report: Trump Says He's Decided Whether US Should Stay in Iran Nuclear Deal

U.S. President Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he has made a decision on whether to pull the United States out of the 2015 international pact curbing Iran's nuclear weapons development.

Trump declined to say what his decision is, but the U.S. rift with Iran took center stage at the United Nations General Assembly, a day after he denounced Tehran as "an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in his speech Wednesday, told the annual gathering of world leaders at the 193-nation organization that Tehran does not tolerate threats from anyone and was unmoved by Trump's complaints. Rouhani called them "ugly, ignorant words."

In an apparent reference to the U.S. leader, Rouhani said "destruction" of the nuclear deal "by 'rogue' newcomers to the world of politics will never impede Iran’s course of progress and advancement.

News Report: Critics of Iran Nuclear Deal Debate the Way Forward

Daniel Schearf

NEW YORK — During his speech Tuesday to the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump made his disdain for the nuclear agreement with Iran absolutely clear.

"The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into," Trump said. "Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States, and I don't think you've heard the last of it, believe me."

On the sidelines of the UNGA, some prominent critics of the Iran nuclear deal endorsed his position Tuesday, debating how best to move forward to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear weapons state, while underscoring concerns about Tehran's links with North Korea.

Participants in the United Against Nuclear Iran conference (UANI) agreed they see flaws in the 2015 deal, which offered incentives to Iran in return for guarantees that it would not develop nuclear weapons. But speakers disagreed on whether the United States should attempt to renegotiate and expand the deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama, or scrap it altogether.

News Story: Trump attacks North Korea, prods allies for more military support in UN speech

By: Leo Shane III

WASHINGTON — In a wide-ranging speech before the United Nations, President Donald Trump attacked Iranian leaders as “murderous,” taunted the North Korean leader as “rocket man” and promised to drive out Islamic terrorist groups in the Middle East.

He also criticized UN countries for making the United States shoulder a “disproportionate share” of military responsibilities throughout the world, adding that America cannot ensure global peace on its own.

The appearance this week before the international coalition was Trump’s first as commander in chief, and security issues dominated his remarks. They echoed his campaign trail promises of making foreign governments shoulder more security responsibilities, remarks which have raised concerns among American allies.

“The United States will forever be a great friend to the world, and especially to its allies,” Trump said. “But we can no longer be taken advantage of or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets nothing in return.

“As long as I hold this office, I will defend America’s interest above all else. But in fulfilling our obligations to our own nations, we also realize that it’s in everyone’s interest to seek a future where all nations can be sovereign, prosperous and secure.”

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Over 250,000 Afghans displaced by conflicts so far this year

KABUL, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 250,000 Afghans have been displaced so far this year by conflicts and prolonged insurgency, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday.

"From Jan. 1 to Sept. 16, 2017, more than 250,000 people have fled their homes due to conflicts in Afghanistan," it said in a statement.

About 1,300 undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan returned to the country within the past week, a significant increase of returns of more than three times compared to the previous week, the statement said.

According to the statement, from Sept. 10 to Sept. 16, a total of 1,037 registered refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan as well as 20 from Iran.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Khamenei - Iran Won't Respond to US 'Bullying' Over Nuclear Deal

Iran will not be subject to "bullying" by the United States in regards to a 2015 nuclear deal that president Trump has threatened to scrap, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday.

"The Iranian nation is standing firm and any wrong move by the domineering regime regarding the [nuclear accord] will face the reaction of the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said in an address to police officers.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani left Sunday for the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where he is expected to speak with world leaders on the 2015 nuclear agreement which eased international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbing its nuclear program.

Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to take unspecified action against Iran next month, expressing continued dissatisfaction with the agreement.

"We are not going to stand for what they are doing to this country," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "They have violated so many different elements, but they've also violated the spirit of that deal. And you will see what we will be doing in October. It will be very evident."

He said, "It is a deal that should have never, ever been made."

The United States on Thursday also extended some sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal. But no decision has been made on whether to preserve the deal itself.

This story first appeared on Voice of America & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: U.S. imposes new Iran sanctions

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Treasury Department announced Thursday it has imposed sanctions on 11 entities and individuals for supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for cyber-attacks against the United States.

The sanctions targeted one entity engaging in supporting IRGC ballistic missile program, two Ukraine-based entities supporting designated airlines, and two Iran-based networks responsible for cyber-enabled attacks against the U.S. financial system, said the Treasury in a statement.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: UN nuclear watchdog defends Iran deal

The UN atomic watchdog hit back Monday at US criticism of the Iran nuclear deal, insisting its inspections there are the world's toughest and that Tehran is sticking to the accord.

"The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under (the 2015 accord) are being implemented," International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano told reporters.

"The verification regime in Iran is the most robust regime which is currently existing. We have increased the inspection days in Iran, we have increased inspector numbers... and the number of images has increased," he said in Vienna.

"From a verification point of view, it is a clear and significant gain."

US President Donald Trump has called the agreement between Iran and six major powers reducing its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief "the worst deal ever negotiated".

Trump has to certify in mid-October whether he believes Iran is abiding by the nuclear deal and that sticking to it is vital to US national security interests.

If, as seems increasingly likely, Trump decides not to give the green light, Congress will then have 60 days to debate whether to re-impose sanctions on Iran.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Pakistan's FM calls for achieving regional consensus to address Afghan issue

TEHRAN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Monday here urged regional countries to reach a consensus that could lead to the best solution to the Afghanistan problem.

Asif made the remarks in an interview with Iranian official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) at the Islamabad airport before leaving for Tehran for a visit.

"Basically my main purpose of the visit to Iran is to evolve some consensus amongst the neighbors of Afghanistan, because peace in Afghanistan will have a comprehensive effect on the rest of the region," Asif said.

The Pakistani top diplomat said the U.S. military approach in Afghanistan has already failed to address the problems in the country.

"No need to say that the approach taken by the Americans which is a military one, has not been able to bring peace to Afghanistan 16 years," he said. "It is very important for us, it is very important for the region that we evolve consensus over different problems."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Seeking help with Afghanistan, US holds up $255M to Pakistan

By: Josh Lederman

WASHINGTON — The United States will hold up $255 million in military assistance for Pakistan until it cracks down on extremist groups that threaten neighboring Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, in the first concrete step since President Donald Trump vowed to ramp up pressure on Pakistan.

In his new strategy for the 16-year Afghan war, Trump singled out Pakistan for harboring Taliban leaders and other militants that are battling American troops in Afghanistan. Trump’s tough words about Pakistan, a troubled U.S. security partner, infuriated Islamabad and triggered anti-U.S. protests that Pakistani police have had to use tear gas to disperse.

Although the Trump administration had floated the possibility of curtailing aid, hitting Islamabad with sanctions or severing its status as a major non-NATO ally, it had been unclear until Thursday exactly what types of measures the administration would pursue, or how quickly.

“We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting,” Trump said in his Afghanistan speech. “But that will have to change.”

Trump’s administration had faced a Sept. 30 deadline either to say that it planned to spend the $255 million, or lose it. Ahead of that deadline, the administration told Congress that it will indeed use the money, but is putting a “pause” on spending it or on assigning any funds to specific sales of military equipment to the Pakistanis.

State Department officials said the funds won’t be released until the U.S. sees that Pakistan is more successfully addressing U.S. concerns about safe havens in the country for groups including the Haqqani network, which is allied with the Afghan Taliban and has been blamed for some of Afghanistan’s worst attacks. The officials weren’t authorized to comment by name and requested anonymity.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Gen. Raziq Calls For Nationwide Campaign Against Taliban

Kandahar Police Chief Gen. Abdul Raziq (2015)

Kandahar Police Chief Gen. Abdul Raziq has called for a nationwide campaign against the Taliban who he believes are the puppets of other countries.

Talking to TOLOnews, Raziq said that there should be a difference between those who are educated at schools or madrasas, religious schools, and the Taliban group which “kill the people and destroy public infrastructures”.

“They are terrorists,” he said, referring to the Taliban.

“These terrorists are the slaves of Pakistan; they are also the slaves to Russians and Iran, the slave of China and other countries. They are only the killers of the people of Afghanistan. We cannot give them the name of Taliban ( which means learners) on them (Taliban group),” the police chief said. “Again, I repeat that they (Taliban) are the killers of Afghans and they are terrorists; therefore, all Afghans should fight a Jihad (holy war) against the Taliban.”

Raziq said Taliban is trying to tarnish the image of Islam by attacking mosques, schools and other public places.

“Where Islam orders to kill children? But the Taliban are doing this. Who allows them to come to mosques and carry out explosions? But they conduct explosions at mosques, at schools, at cemeteries and at shrines. Even copies of the Holy Quran were burnt by them. These acts have nothing to do with Islam. These acts are conducted to tarnish the image of Islam,” he said.

According to him, the Taliban is not fighting for Islam and instead pursue their political objectives.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: U.S. could be in Afghanistan for years amid broader anti-terror fight

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States could be in Afghanistan for years to come, after 16 years of presence in the war-torn country, U.S. experts said.

The fight in Afghanistan will probably be a "generation-long struggle," Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow on foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua, adding that Afghanistan is part of the long-term U.S. fight against extremism in the region.

The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined a new Afghanistan strategy earlier this week, which includes a modest troop increase there and less micromanagement by Washington of U.S. forces stationed in the South Asian nation.

The United States waged a "war on terror" in Afghanistan not long after the 9/11 attacks. The terror group al-Qaida, which masterminded the attacks, was given safe haven in Afghanistan.

While al-Qaida is now a shell of its former self, the Islamic State(IS), which took control of large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, remains dangerous, having inspired radicals to carry out myriad attacks in Europe and the United States in recent years.

O'Hanlon said he believes the United States needs a number of assets in key parts of the Middle East, in order to wage the long-term war against extremism, adding that Afghanistan is a piece of the broader U.S. anti-terror war.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: US military leaders await Trump decision on Afghan mission

By: Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns

CAMP MOREHEAD, Afghanistan — Signaling that the U.S. military expects its mission to continue, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Sunday hailed the launch of the Afghan Army’s new special operations corps, declaring that “we are with you and we will stay with you.”

Gen. John Nicholson’s exhortation of continued support for the Afghans suggested the Pentagon may have won its argument that America’s military must stay engaged in the conflict in order to insure terrorists don’t once again threaten the U.S. from safe havens in Afghanistan.

President Donald Trump’s defense secretary hinted Sunday that a new overall strategy for the war might be unveiled soon.

Nicholson said the commandos, and a plan to double the size of the Afghan’s special operations forces, are critical to winning the war.

“I assure you we are with you in this fight. We are with you and we will stay with you,” he said during a ceremony at Camp Morehead, a training base for Afghan commandos southeast of Kabul.

The Pentagon was awaiting a final announcement by Trump on a proposal to send nearly 4,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. The added forces would increase training and advising of the Afghan forces and bolster counterterrorism operations against the Taliban and an Islamic State group affiliate trying to gain a foothold in the country.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Houthi Rebels Carry Out Series of Bomb-Boat Attacks

Saudi coalition forces have been on guard in the port of Mokha after a recent series of attacks by remote-controlled, bomb-laden boats operated by Houthi rebels. The Houthi forces have had success with this tactic before: in January, they damaged the Saudi frigate Al-Madinah with a remote-controlled boat, and they nearly struck a petroleum product terminal at Jazan, Saudi Arabia in April. 

On July 29, the rebels allegedly drove another remote-controlled boat into a pier at Mokha, Yemen, according to a statement from the coalition. It detonated near berthed vessels, but did not cause any significant damage. The Saudi military claimed that the Houthi rebels had attacked the port, thereby "disrupting the flow of humanitarian aid to Yemen, in particular medicines used to fight the rampant cholera epidemic." (The United Nations asserts that an ongoing Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports is contributing to widespread famine and disease.)

The Houthi forces claimed responsibility for an attack on the same date, but gave a different account. Official Houthi outlet Saba said that a bomb boat struck a UAE naval vessel at a position off the coast of Mokha, killing 12 and wounding 23 more. According to this account, the UAE warship was disabled by the blast and by a series of secondary explosions, and will require repair before it returns to service. Saba also claimed that a UAE minesweeper was damaged in the attack. 

Read the full story at MarEx

News Report: India, Iran Agree to Set Aside Differences for Chabahar Port Project

Chabahar port has been termed as ‘Golden Gate’ for India as it will open up trade access with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eurasia.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – Notwithstanding the recent stalemate over a number of issues, India has reached out to Iran in a bid to remove bottlenecks in the strategically important Chabahar port project. India’s Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, who was in Tehran to represent India at inauguration ceremony to mark President Hassan Rouhani's second term, met several top officials of the Iran government and discussed the issues related to trade and delayed infrastructure projects.

The two sides have agreed to create a special group which will suggest ways to expedite the Chabahar port project.

“Regarding ports and rail connectivity projects, we have identified the problems and bottlenecks. We have decided to make some groups between the two countries to solve the issues,” Nitin Gadkari told the Press Trust of India.