Iran awaits US response as Araghchi says 'no change' in Tehran position

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Qatari producer UCC Oil and Gas Holding is in talks for its possible entrance into new fields in Venezuela, the company's head of Upstream, Erik Keskula, said on Tuesday at a conference in Caracas.

UCC, British BP and XRG, a unit of United Arab Emirates' state company ADNOC, last monthwere granted a long-term license to develop the Loran gas project, one of the largestin Venezuela's waters and which extends into Trinidad and Tobago.

The pact gave the group rights to produce up to 4 ⁠trillion cubic feet of gas in Loran, whose total reserves are estimated at 7.3 ​TCF. Energy producer Shell was granted a parallel license for the same gas field.

"We have interest in everything, really," Keskula said. "We are looking for the right opportunities in all sectors."

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez discussed cooperation opportunities in a recent meeting in Caracas with Qatar's Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, Qatar's foreign affairs ministry said on Tuesday on X, without providing more details.

Pakistan will use "whatever means are available" to defend Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the country’s defense minister said Tuesday, offering one of Islamabad’s clearest indications yet that it could become directly involved in the widening regional conflict.

Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declined to say whether Pakistani forces had already participated in airstrikes. He said, however, that Pakistan’s military capabilities would be available to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

"I’m not going into detail, but obviously when I say that we are bound by this arrangement to defend Saudi Arabia, that means whatever means are available at our disposal, they’ll be available to Saudi Arabia also. I think that’s a categoric statement," Asif told reporters during a visit to Rome when asked whether Pakistan had been involved in airstrikes against Iranian operators in Yemen.

His response did not explicitly confirm Pakistani participation in any strikes. He also did not say whether Saudi Arabia, which has been repeatedly attacked by the Houthis in recent weeks, had asked for assistance.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday in Damascus that the European Union wanted to "upgrade" its partnership with Syria and help boost its recovery but called for further domestic reform.

"The European Union is using its political and economic tools to help Syria on the path of inclusive and peaceful transition," Kallas told a press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said there were "indications" that Israel's enemies could try to attack ahead of elections scheduled for the end of October, sparking opposition concern.

The warning came shortly before Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to target Hamas leaders based outside the Gaza Strip.

In recent weeks, Netanyahu and Katz have issued repeated warnings to Iran, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and even the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, promising retaliation in case of an attack.

"We have indications that ahead of the elections our enemies will try to attack us. So... I am sending you a message: Don't mess with us, not now and not ever. Our long arm will reach you anywhere, anytime," Netanyahu said at an air force base in a video published by his office.

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The United States on Tuesday condemned the "criminal violence" in the occupied West Bank, where more than 100 Israeli settlers attacked a village in the northern part of the Palestinian territory.

"We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank and support appropriate investigations, legal accountability, and judicial processes for those responsible," a State Department spokesperson told AFP when asked about Tuesday's attack on the village of Jalud.

German charity group Sea-Watch said on Tuesday it had rescued 28 migrants and recovered two bodies, including that of a child, following a shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia.

The group's ship Aurora found five survivors and the dead bodies in a deflated rubber dinghy in the early hours of Tuesday, the charity said.

It rescued another 23 survivors, including a toddler, from an offshore oil and gas platform where they had taken refuge after the shipwreck.

Those rescued reported that at least six people, including three children, were missing, Sea-Watch said on social media, adding the Aurora was now heading to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

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Qatar's interior ministry said it would permit the use of drones in designated areas and within set permitted times starting on Tuesday, according to a statement.

Qatar banned the use, operation and launch of drones nationwide in March in the wake of the regional crisis stemming from the US war on Iran.

An Israeli minister came out in defence of French far-right politician Jordan Bardella on Tuesday, after an investigative website alleged that he had made antisemitic comments in 2013.

Bardella, 31, is the de facto number two to the National Rally's (RN) Marine Le Pen, and is tipped to become prime minister if she is elected France's president next April.

He has rejected the allegations, which were published by the website Mediapart.

Bardella "is one of the clearest voices in Europe against Hamas", Amichai Chikli, Israel's minister for diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, wrote on X.

"He visited the Nova site and the communities of the Gaza envelope," he added, referring to areas in southern Israel that were ravaged by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the Gaza war.

"He met survivors. He spoke in Jerusalem against antisemitism."

The minister also posted an image of himself shaking Bardella's hand at the site of the Nova music festival massacre.

Spain is planning to override standard migration procedures and tighten rules on asylum seeking for migrants who arrived in its North African enclave of Ceuta in July's mass crossing, a draft decree seen by Reuters showed, prompting outcry from legal experts and NGOs.

The decree, designed to speed up applications and deportations for the over 10,000 migrants who remain in the tiny territory, would mark a major strategic shift for Spain's leftist, pro-immigration government, a staunch advocate of multilateral rules and institutions, as it struggles to contain the political fallout from the border crisis.

Spain's Interior Ministry declined to comment on the draft.

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Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot has welcomed Labour’s shift on Palestine, telling The New Arab that the government has finally acknowledged that the British public “were right and they were wrong”, as Prime Minister Andy Burnham recommitted the UK to securing a two-state solution.

Burnham, who took office 10 weeks ago, used his conference speech on Tuesday to back the Palestine policy set out by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband a day earlier, pledging that his government would be “principled in our leadership in securing a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine”.

The remarks followed Miliband’s acknowledgement on Monday that pro-Palestine activists “were right” to protest Israel’s war on Gaza, marking a shift in tone after sustained pressure on Labour over its approach to Israel and Palestine.

On the sidelines of the Labour conference in Liverpool, Zomlot told TNA that Miliband’s speech had “brought a great deal of unity in the party” and expressed hope that the rhetoric would now translate into government policy.

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Iraqi fuel trucks loaded gasoline at a Syrian port on Tuesday in a bid to meet surging energy demand as the critical Strait of Hormuz remains closed and mediators work with Iran and the United States to end the war.

The disruption of the strait has sent shock waves through the global economy, prompting countries to scramble for alternatives and sending fuel prices soaring. A fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas transited through the narrow waterway before the war.

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Egypt's President El-Sissi has held rare meeting with the country's governors, municipal and village chiefs, commenting on broad range of issues without signaling change in policies, according to state media.

The United States has sanctioned 10 individuals and entities including some based in China, Hong Kong and Pakistan,for helping Iran's Ministry of Defense procure weapons and components, the US Treasury Department said Tuesday.

The sanctions are part of a broader push by the Trump administration to isolate Iran economically and force it to negotiate an end to the US-Iran war that began in February.

“Under Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury will continue to target and disrupt those who provide material, technological, or financial support that allows the Iranian regime to sustain its terrorist enterprise,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran’s enablers.”

Treasury said the sanctions were aimed at degrading Tehran's ability to reconstitute its weapons programs, while increasing the costs for those who supported its procurement efforts.

Britain's counter-terrorism police said on Tuesday that no improvised explosive devices had been found as part of an investigation into a suspected plot targeting a British airbase used by US forces to strike Iran.

Police said a quantity of petrol had been recovered during searches of vehicles at the scene. They added that searches of properties in London had been carried out, and investigative scenes around RAF Fairford were being scaled back and were expected to close completely by Wednesday.

Five men arrested on Sunday remain under investigation after being released on bail, with police saying the decision to release them was an investigative one.

"I understand why this development will have come as a surprise to many, but I'd like to reiterate that it was investigative decision, and one which is grounded in experience and careful consideration of policing powers," Laurence Taylor, head of national counter terrorism policing, said.

An African Union committee urged South Sudan Tuesday to address outstanding "challenges" ahead of its first national election due in December and provide a clear roadmap for a credible vote.

Elections in the world's youngest nation have twice been postponed while the government has failed to implement almost any of the preconditions set out in a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war.

"In the interests of national elections that are free, fair and credible, we urge the Government of South Sudan to work with speed to resolve the challenges that remain," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chairman of the AU committee focused on the country.

President Salva Kiir last week dissolved the transitional government in South Sudan, one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world, and appointed a caretaker administration ahead of the vote scheduled for December 22.

No voters have been registered while rival armies have not been unified and a long-awaited constitution has not materialised.

The United States has granted Iraqi Airways, the national carrier, a sanctions waiver allowing it to fly to Iran, Iraq's transport ministry said on Tuesday.

Efforts by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Transport Minister Wahb al-Hasani "successfully obtained a special exemption for Iraqi Airways to operate its flights to the Islamic Republic of Iran", the ministry said in a statement.

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A call for military mobilisation by Yemen's government is a sign of growing escalation in the country but has yet to translate into preparations for a new offensive against the Houthis, a leading Yemeni analyst has told The New Arab.

The mobilisation call was issued on Monday by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi amid heightened tensions with the Houthi movement and signs that Saudi Arabia is taking a more direct role in managing its Yemeni allies.

Al-Alimi called for military forces aligned with the government to increase their readiness and mobilise against the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and much of northern and western Yemen.

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A powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq on Monday threatened to bring down the government if it continued to bar Iranian flights from entering the country in line with recent US sanctions.

The Kataib Hezbollah warning came after several countries began restricting Iranian airlines from operating at their airports as sweeping new US sanctions targeting Iran's aviation sector came into force on 23 September.

"We warn Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi and those behind him that any government that does not work in the interests of the people will be brought down by all means," Kataib Hezbollah’s security official Abu Mujhaid al-Assaf wrote in a social media post.

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Morocco’s king names Fatima Zahra Mansouri prime minister, the first woman to hold the position in the Muslim country.

North Macedonia said on Tuesday police had busted a "terrorist" cell linked to the Islamic State (IS) group in the capital, seizing automatic rifles and arresting five people, including the alleged ringleader.

In a joint operation with the national security agency, police raided dozens of properties in Skopje on Monday, seizing several guns, including a sniper rifle, ammunition and an IS flag, they said in a statement.

According to police, one of the detainees was a 34-year-old man who was a "member" of IS and had been working in the Balkan country since 2023.

"He indoctrinated young people to further the organisation's objectives, disseminated propaganda material containing extremist and radical content, and acquired and handled firearms," the police said in a statement.

Four others were also arrested in the operation. Prosecutors confirmed charges had been filed against the 34-year-old for "terrorism". He and two others were also charged with dealing illegal weapons.

Turkish authorities have arrested the head of the country’s soccer refereeing body, his deputy and five other people amid efforts to “restore the public trust in football,” the country’s justice minister said on Tuesday.

Akın Gürlek said the investigation was based on “allegations of irregularity” such as “interference in referee classification, assignments, scoring, and appointment processes, as well as rule examinations.”

He didn’t offer more details.

Gürlek said the raids were conducted Tuesday morning in the suspects’ residences, workplaces, and offices.

“We will resolutely continue the fight for clean football to clarify allegations that undermine trust in Turkish football, ensure those responsible are held accountable before the law, and see football defined by the effort, struggle, and sportsmanship displayed on the pitch,” he said.

Israel's defence minister threatened on Tuesday to go after Hamas leaders residing outside Gaza, as the military continues to target Palestinians it says are militants inside the war-ravaged territory.

"Hamas leaders abroad are also in the crosshairs. None of these despicable murderers, who played a central role in the October 7 massacre, should die peacefully in their beds," Israel Katz said in a video statement released by his office, referring to Hamas's 2023 attack that sparked the Gaza war.

De facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, Saudi official media reported.

The pair met to "review brotherly bilateral relations and regional developments", the Saudi Press Agency said, adding the sit-down was also attended by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Sal

Iraqi authorities hanged 10 people on Tuesday after they were convicted on "terrorism" charges, security and health officials said.

A health official said the forensics department in Dhi Qar province received the bodies of 10 Iraqis "convicted of terrorism crimes, who were hanged" at Al-Hut prison in the southern city of Nasiriyah. A security source confirmed the executions.