Tag Archives: Tensions

Israel says Hezbollah runs Lebanese army, signaling both are foes

Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks during the International Institute for Counter Terrorism's 17th annual conference in Herzliya, Israel September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Tuesday that the Hezbollah guerrilla group, its most potent enemy in neighboring Lebanon, had gained control over that country’s U.S.-sponsored conventional military, signaling both would be in Israeli gunsights in any future war.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s remarks were a hard tack from more measured recent Israeli estimates that the Lebanese army maintained autonomy even if some of its troops cooperated with the better-armed, Iranian-aligned guerrillas.

Outlining potential threats in Lebanon, where Israel last fought a war against Hezbollah in 2006, Lieberman said in a speech: “We are no longer talking about Hezbollah alone”.

“We are talking about Hezbollah and the Lebanese army, and to my regret this is the reality. The Lebanese army has turned into an integral part of Hezbollah’s command structure. The Lebanese army has lost its independence and become an inseparable part of the Hezbollah apparatus,” Lieberman said.

There was no immediate response from Lebanon, which is formally in a state of war with Israel, nor from the U.S. embassies in Beirut and Tel Aviv.

The Lebanese army has previously said it operates independently from Hezbollah, most recently during an operation against Islamic State militants at the Lebanese-Syrian border, during which the army said there was absolutely no coordination with Hezbollah fighters who attacked IS from the Syrian side.

“ONE THEATER”

Hosting Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in July for aid talks, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Beirut’s efforts to stem the spread of Islamic State and pledged continued help from Washington.

“America’s assistance can help ensure that the Lebanese army is the only defender Lebanon needs,” Trump said.

The Pentagon said Washington has provided Lebanon with more than $1.5 billion in military assistance since 2006, and that U.S. special forces have been providing “training and support” for the Lebanese army since 2011.

“Strengthening the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) also advances a range of U.S. interests in the Middle East that includes not only countering the spread of ISIS (Islamic State) and other violent extremists but also stemming the influence of Iran and Hezbollah in the region,” Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said.

While welcoming U.S. action against Islamic State, Israel sees Iran, Hezbollah and their allies as the greater threat and worries about their entrenchment in Syria as they help President Bashar al-Assad beat back a more than six-year-old rebellion.

Lieberman said Israel sought to avoid going to war again on its northern front, which, he predicted, would include Syria.

“In anything that transpires, it will be one theater, Syria and Lebanon together, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and all of the Assad regime’s collaborators,” he said.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

North Korea hackers stole South Korea-U.S. military plans to wipe out North Korea leadership: lawmaker

The North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su

By Christine Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean hackers stole a large amount of classified military documents, including South Korea-U.S. wartime operational plans to wipe out the North Korean leadership, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Democratic Party representative Rhee Cheol-hee said 235 gigabytes of military documents were taken from the Defense Integrated Data Center in September last year, citing information from unidentified South Korean defense officials.

An investigative team inside the defense ministry announced in May the hack had been carried out by North Korea, but did not disclose what kind of information had been taken.

Pyongyang has denied responsibility in its state media for the cyber attacks, criticizing Seoul for “fabricating” claims about online attacks.

Separately on Wednesday, cyber security firm FireEye said in a statement North Korea-affiliated agents were detected attempting to phish U.S. electric companies through emails sent in mid-September, although those attempts did not lead to a disruption in the power supply.

It did not specify when the attempts had been detected or clarify which companies had been affected.

Rhee, currently a member of the National Assembly’s committee for national defense, said about 80 percent of the hacked data had not yet been identified, but that none of the information was expected to have compromised the South Korean military because it was not top classified intelligence.

Some of the hacked data addressed how to identify movements of members of the North Korean leadership, how to seal off their hiding locations, and attack from the air before eliminating them.

Rhee said the North could not have taken the entire operation plans from the database because they had not been uploaded in full.

These plans had likely not been classified properly but defense ministry officials told Rhee the hacked documents were not of top importance, he said.

“Whatever the North Koreans took, we just need to fix the plans,” Rhee later told Reuters by telephone. “I disclosed this because the military hasn’t been doing that fast enough.”

SIMPLE MISTAKE

Rhee said on radio the hack had been made possible by “a simple mistake” after a connector jack linking the military’s intranet to the internet had not been eliminated after maintenance work had been done on the system.

The South Korean Defense Ministry’s official stance is that they cannot confirm anything the lawmaker said about the hacked content due to the sensitivity of the matter.

In Washington, the Pentagon said it was aware of the media reports but would not comment on the potential breach.

“Although I will not comment on intelligence matters or specific incidents related to cyber intrusion, I can assure you that we are confident in the security of our operations plans and our ability to deal with any threat from North Korea,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning told reporters.

FireEye said the phishing attack on the electric companies detected was “early-stage reconnaissance” and did not indicate North Korea was about to stage an “imminent, disruptive” cyber attack. The North has been suspected of carrying out similar cyber attacks on South Korean electric utilities, in addition to other government and financial institutions.

Those attempts were likely aimed at creating a means of “deterring potential war or sowing disorder during a time of armed conflict”, FireEye said.

“North Korea linked hackers are among the most prolific nation-state threats, targeting not only the U.S. and South Korea but the global financial system and nations worldwide,” its statement said.

“Their motivations vary from economic enrichment to traditional espionage to sabotage, but all share the hallmark of an ascendant cyber power willing to violate international norms with little regard for potential blowback,” it said.

(Reporting by Christine Kim in SEOUL and Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish, Michael Perry and Paul Tait)

U.S. Navy carrier drills with Japanese navy amid North Korean tension

USS Ronald Reagan (rear), a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier, sails side-by-side with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer Ise (DDH-182) during their joint military drill in the sea off Japan, in this photo released taken by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on September 14, 2017 and released on September 22, 2017. Picture taken September 14, 2017. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/HANDOUT via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy carrier Ronald Reagan is conducting drills with Japanese warships in seas south of the Korean peninsula, Japan’s military said on Friday, in a show of naval power as Pyongyang threatens further nuclear and missile tests.

The Reagan strike group will conduct a separate drill with the South Korean Navy in October, the defense ministry said in a statement distributed to South Korean lawmakers on Monday.

The 100,000-ton Reagan, which is based in Japan, and its escort ships have been holding drills with Japanese navy vessels since Sept 11 in waters south and west of Japan’s main islands, the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force said in a statement.

That exercise with the three Japanese warships, including two destroyers and one of the country’s two biggest helicopter carriers, the Ise, will run until Sept 28, it added.

The U.S. and regional allies are responding with military drills, including bomber and jet fighter flights near the Korean peninsula, as Pyongyang pursues its nuclear and missile programs, with an apparent hydrogen bomb test and two ballistic missile firings over Japan in recent weeks.

North Korea on Friday said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to destroy the country.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO; Additional reporting by Christine Kim in SEOUL; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Iran president defends Guards in show of unity anticipating Trump

FILE PHOTO - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani listens during a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 23, 2014. REUTERS/Jewel Samad/Pool/File Photo

By Babak Dehghanpisheh

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran’s moderate president gave a full-throated defense of his one-time rivals in the Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday, as the country’s pragmatist and hardline factions rallied together in the face of threats from Donald Trump.

The U.S. president is expected to “decertify” Iran’s nuclear deal with global powers this week and add its Revolutionary Guards military force to Washington’s black list of terrorist groups under a strategy to increase pressure on Tehran.

The threat of U.S. action has united the two main factions of Iran’s leadership, with the pragmatists led by President Hassan Rouhani who seek greater openness to the West demonstrating their support for the hardline Guards.

During a cabinet meeting shown on state television on Wednesday, Rouhani said U.S. action against the Guards would be a “mistake beyond mistakes”.

“They think that the Guards are a military entity. The Revolutionary Guards are not a military entity. They’re in the heart of the people. The Revolutionary Guards, in all the days of danger, have defended our national interests,” he said.

“We’re one society. We’re Iran. There are no differences between different factions in confronting the plots of our enemies,” he added.

Rouhani, the architect of Iran’s 2015 deal with global powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions, won re-election in a landslide five months ago on a platform promising greater openness to the world and reform at home.

During an unprecedentedly bitter campaign, he repeatedly spoke out in public against the political influence of the Guards, accusing them of backing his hardline opponent to defend their economic interests.

In recent days, however, the threat of new action from Washington has prompted a public display of unity from the rival factions among Iran’s rulers.

“Today, the president of America has created conditions where Iran is more united than ever. Today, those who oppose the nuclear deal and those who support it are side by side. We all have one voice,” Rouhani said.

Newspapers on Tuesday ran pictures of the urbane, U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Javad Zarif laughing and hugging the commander of the guards, Major-General Mohammad Ali Jafari.

Zarif brief lawmakers on Wednesday about the expected U.S. action and about Iran’s plans for a response, according to members of parliament quoted in state media.

“CRUSHING RESPONSE”

“In the closed session Zarif emphasized that if the Americans take any steps against the nuclear deal that the Islamic Republic of Iran will give them a more crushing response,” Shahbaz Hassanpour, a lawmaker representing the city of Sirjan, told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Lawmakers did not disclose the specific actions that Zarif had discussed as plans for Iranian retaliation.

Trump’s expected move to decertify the nuclear deal would not by itself withdraw the United States from the agreement, but would pass that decision on to Congress, requiring lawmakers to decide within 60 days whether to re-impose sanctions.

The nuclear deal is supported by Washington’s European allies Britain, France and Germany, as well as by Russia and China, all of which say Iran has complied so far.

Adding the Guards to the terrorism blacklist could have economic consequences, since the elite military force also has a vast business empire in Iran. International banks are required to make sure their clients are not blacklisted.

Washington has already blacklisted other entities and individuals for supporting Guards’ activities, but has not yet blacklisted the Guards themselves.

During the meeting with Zarif, parliament members expressed their support for the Guards, Hassanpour said. Zarif also noted during the session that European countries will continue backing the nuclear deal regardless of what actions the U.S may take, Hassanpour told IRNA.

(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; editing by Peter Graff)

Spain takes step toward direct rule over Catalonia’s independence move

Spain´s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy attends a cabinet meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, October 11, 2017. Moncloa handout via REUTERS

By Blanca Rodríguez and Sonya Dowsett

MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took the first step on Wednesday toward suspending Catalonia’s political autonomy and ruling the region directly to thwart a push for independence.

He demanded that the regional government clarify whether it now considered itself independent following a speech by Catalan president Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday night.

This requirement is a necessary step before triggering Article 155 of the constitution, which would allow Madrid to suspend the region’s political autonomy.

Rajoy’s move could deepen the confrontation between Madrid and Catalonia but it also signals a way out of Spain’s biggest political crisis since a failed military coup in 1981.

The prime minister would be likely to call a snap regional election after activating the constitutional mechanism allowing him to do so.

Puigdemont made a symbolic declaration of independence from Spain on Tuesday night but then immediately suspended it and called for talks with the Madrid government.

“The cabinet has agreed this morning to formally request the Catalan government to confirm whether it has declared the independence of Catalonia, regardless of the deliberate confusion created over its implementation,” Rajoy said in a televised address after a cabinet meeting to consider the government’s response.

Without giving a specific deadline for the Catalan government to reply, Rajoy said: “The answer from the Catalan president will determine future events, in the next few days.”

It is not yet clear if and when the Catalan government would answer the requirement but it now faces a conundrum, political analysts say.

If Puigdemont says he did declare independence, the government would likely trigger Article 155. If he says he did not declare it, then far-left party CUP would likely withdraw its support to his minority government.

“Rajoy has two objectives: if Puigdemont remains ambiguous, the pro-independence movement will get more fragmented; if Puigdemont insists on defending independence then Rajoy will be able to apply Article 155,” said Antonio Barroso, deputy director of London-based research firm Teneo Intelligence.

“Either way Rajoy’s aim would be to first restore the rule of law in Catalonia and this could at some point lead to early elections in the region”.

DIALOGUE CALL DISMISSED

Puigdemont had been widely expected to unilaterally declare Catalonia’s independence on Tuesday after the Catalan government said 90 percent of Catalans had voted for a breakaway in an Oct. 1 referendum that Spain had declared illegal and which most opponents of independence boycotted.

Madrid responded angrily to Puigdemont’s speech, saying the Catalan government could not act on the results of the referendum.

“Neither Mr. Puigdemont nor anyone else can claim, without returning to legality and democracy, to impose mediation… Dialogue between democrats takes place within the law,” Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

Invoking Article 155 to ease Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades would make prospects of a negotiated solution to the Catalonia crisis even more remote.

A spokesman for the Catalan government said earlier on Wednesday that if Madrid went down this road, it would press ahead with independence.

“We have given up absolutely nothing…We have taken a time out…which doesn’t mean a step backwards, or a renunciation or anything like that,” Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull told Catalunya Radio.

Socialist opposition leader Pedro Sanchez said he would back Rajoy if he had to activate Article 155 and said he had agreed with the prime minister to open a constitutional reform within six months to discuss how Catalonia could fit better in Spain.

It was not clear how the Catalan government would respond to the offer.

MARKET RELIEF

Puigdemont’s speech also disappointed supporters of independence, thousands of whom watched proceedings on giant screens outside parliament before sadly leaving for home.

Financial markets, however, were encouraged that an immediate declaration of independence had been avoided.

Following Puigdemont’s speech, Spain’s benchmark IBEX share index rose as much as 1.6 percent, outperforming the pan-European STOXX 600 index. The rally pushed the main world stocks index, the MSCI’s 47-country ‘All-World’ index, to a record high.

Spain’s 10-year government bond yield — which moves inversely to the price — dropped 5 basis points to 1.65 percent in early trade, according to Tradeweb data.

In Brussels, there was relief that the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy now had at least bought some time to deal with a crisis that was still far from over.

One EU official said Puigdemont “seems to have listened to advice not to do something irreversible”.

The Catalan crisis has deeply divided the northeastern region itself as well as the Spanish nation. Opinion polls conducted before the vote suggested a minority of about 40 percent of residents in Catalonia backed independence.

The stakes are high — losing Catalonia, which has its own language and culture, would deprive Spain of a fifth of its economic output and more than a quarter of exports.

Some of Catalonia’s largest companies have moved their head offices out of the region and others were set to follow if he had declared independence.

(Additional reporting by Julien Toyer, Paul Day, Jesus Aguado; Writing by Adrian Croft; Editing by Julien Toyer and Angus MacSwan)

U.S. flies bombers over Korea as Trump discusses options

U.S. flies bombers over Korea as Trump discusses options

By Christine Kim and Eric Beech

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military flew two strategic bombers over the Korean peninsula in a show of force late on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump met top defense officials to discuss how to respond to any threat from North Korea.

Tensions have soared between the United States and North Korea following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear test in recent weeks as it fast advances toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.

The two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers were joined by two F-15K fighters from the South Korean military after leaving their base in Guam, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Wednesday.

After entering South Korean airspace, the two bombers carried out air-to-ground missile drills in waters off the east coast of South Korea, then flew over the South to waters between it and China to repeat the drill, the release said.

The U.S. military said in a separate statement it conducted drills with Japanese fighters after the exercise with South Korea, making it the first time U.S. bombers have conducted training with fighters from both Japan and South Korea at night.

The U.S. bombers had taken off from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. In August, Pyongyang threatened to fire intermediate-range missiles toward the vicinity of Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory that is frequently subjected to sabre-rattling from the North.

GUARD RAISED

South Korean and U.S. government officials have been raising their guard against more North Korean provocations with the approach of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s ruling party, which fell on Tuesday.

Trump hosted a discussion on Tuesday on options to respond to any North Korean aggression or, if necessary, to prevent Pyongyang from threatening the United States and its allies with nuclear weapons, the White House said in a statement.

Trump was briefed by Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford at a national security team meeting, the statement said.

U.S. and South Korean wartime operational plans, including a plan to wipe out the North Korean leadership, were stolen by North Korean hackers last year, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Some 235 gigabytes of military documents were taken from South Korea’s Defense Integrated Data Center in September last year, Democratic Party representative Rhee Cheol-hee said in radio appearances on Wednesday, citing information from unidentified South Korean defense officials.

In May, an investigative team inside the defense ministry announced the hack had been carried out by North Korea, but did not disclose what kind of information had been taken.

SHIPS BANNED

The United Nations Security Council, which has imposed a series of ever tighter sanctions on North Korea, has banned four ships from ports globally for carrying coal from North Korea, including one vessel that also had ammunition.

The vessels are the first to be designated under stepped-up sanctions imposed on North Korea by the 15-member council in August and September over two long-range ballistic missile launches and Pyongyang’s sixth and largest nuclear test.

China, North Korea’s main ally and trading partner, has consistently argued sanctions alone will not work, urging Washington and Pyongyang to lower their rhetoric and return to the negotiating table.

China’s influential Global Times tabloid expressed alarm at how far the rhetoric on both sides had gone and how it had increased the risk of a “fatal misjudgment”.

“The international community won’t accept North Korea as a nuclear power. North Korea needs time and proof to believe that abandoning its nuclear program will contribute to its own political and economic advantage. This positive process is worth a try,” the paper said in an editorial late on Tuesday.

“War would be a nightmare for the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions. We strongly urge North Korea and the U.S. to stop their bellicose posturing and seriously think about a peaceful solution,” it said.

(Reporting by Christine Kim and Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Soyoung Kim in SEOUL, John Rutwich in SHANGHAI, and Michelle Nichols at the UNITED NATIONS; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Michael Perry and Paul Tait)

Iran has ‘all options on table’ if U.S. blacklists Revolutionary Guards

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) – Iran told the United States on Tuesday that it will keep “all options on table” if President Donald Trump designates its elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

It came hours after the government said Washington itself would be aiding terrorism if it took such an action.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce this week his final decision on how he wants to contain Iran’s regional influence.

Trump is also expected to “decertify” a landmark 2015 deal Iran struck with world powers to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of most international sanctions. Trump’s announcement would stop short of pulling out of the agreement, punting that decision to Congress which would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions.

He is also expected to designate Iran’s most powerful security force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, as a terrorist organization.

U.S. sanctions on the IRGC could affect conflicts in Iraq and Syria, where Tehran and Washington both support warring parties that oppose the Islamic State militant group.

“The Americans are too small to be able to harm the Revolutionary Guards,” Ali Akbar Velayati, the top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by ISNA. “We have all options on the table. Whatever they do, we will take reciprocal measures,” he added.

The Iranian nuclear deal, agreed in 2015 and supported by European countries, Russia and China, lifted international sanctions on Iran in return for it agreeing to curbs on its nuclear program.

“FIRM, DECISIVE AND CRUSHING”

Washington maintains separate unilateral sanctions on Iran over its missile program and allegations that it supports terrorism in the Middle East. It already blacklists some individuals and entities for supporting IRGC activities, but not the Guards themselves.

The Guards have a vast economic empire in Iran. Designating them terrorists could make it more difficult for some Iranian businesses to take advantage of the lifting of sanctions to interact with global banks, which are required to verify that their clients are not on terrorism blacklists.

Iran’s rial has dropped against the U.S. dollar in recent days in a sign of concern about Trump’s policy. The rial was quoted in the free market around 40,400 to the dollar, currency exchangers in Tehran told Reuters, compared to 39,200 last week. Several exchangers said they had stopped selling dollars from Monday and were waiting to assess the trend in the market.

An Iranian government spokesman said that the world should be “thankful” to the Revolutionary Guards for fighting against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

“By taking a stance against the Revolutionary Guards and designating it a terrorist group, the Americans would be joining the terrorists’ camp,” Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said in a weekly news conference broadcast live on state television.

IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Sunday that if Washington designated the Guards a terrorist organization, they “will consider the American army to be like Islamic State all around the world.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Monday that Tehran would give a “firm, decisive and crushing” response if the United States goes ahead with such a plan.

Washington aims to put more pressure on the IRGC, especially over its missile program. Trump said in September that recent IRGC missile tests illustrated the weakness of the nuclear deal reached by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran purposefully excluded its military capability from the nuclear deal, as “it is not intended as leverage or a bargaining chip in future negotiations”.

In an article published in the Atlantic on Monday Zarif added: “No party or country need fear our missiles … unless it intends to attack our territory.”

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Peter Graff)

Iran open to talks over its ballistic missile programme: sources

A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage after a group picture with foreign ministers and representatives of the U.S., Iran, China, Russia, Britain, Germany, France and the European Union during the Iran nuclear talks at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File

By Parisa Hafezi, Jonathan Saul and John Walcott

ANKARA/LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iran has suggested to six world powers that it may be open to talks about its ballistic missile arsenal, seeking to reduce tension over the disputed programme, Iranian and Western officials familiar with the overtures told Reuters.

Tehran has repeatedly vowed to continue building up what it calls defensive missile capability in defiance of Western criticism, with Washington saying the Islamic Republic’s stance violates its 2015 nuclear deal with the powers.

But the sources said that given U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to ditch the deal reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, Tehran had approached the powers recently about possible talks on some “dimensions” of its missile programme.

“During their meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last month, Iran told members of the (world powers) that it could discuss the missile programme to remove concerns,”

an Iranian source with knowledge of the meeting told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

U.S. and Western officials did not confirm the matter was discussed at the Zarif-Tillerson meeting. But two U.S. officials said Iran had recently been “keeping it alive” by feeding certain media reports and via third parties such as Oman.

A former U.S. Defense Department official said Iran’s overtures had reached Washington in recent weeks.

“Iran has put feelers out saying it is willing to discuss its ballistic missile programme and is using contacts … officials who were ‘holdovers’ from the Obama administration,” the former official said.

Iran’s reported approach came after Trump called the nuclear accord “an embarrassment” and “the worst deal ever negotiated”. He is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the deal, a senior administration official said on Thursday.

Such a step could unravel the breakthrough agreement – seen by supporters as crucial to forestalling a Middle East arms race and tamping down regional tensions, since it limits Iran’s ability to enrich uranium in exchange for sanctions relief.

“RECYCLING OFFERS”

The other five powers are Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, all of whom have reaffirmed commitment to the deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met his counterparts from the six powers, including U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for the first time, on the fringes of the U.N. gathering on Sept. 20.

“The Americans expressed their worries about Iran’s missile capability and Zarif said in reply that the programme could be discussed,” the Iranian source told Reuters.

A U.S. official with first-hand knowledge of dealings with the Islamic Republic said Zarif had been recycling offers that “have been lying dormant on the table for some time.

“Zarif knows that if Trump goes ahead and decertifies Iran, it (Iran) will be on the high ground, and the U.S. will be isolated among the (six powers),” the official said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Friday Tehran’s ballistic missile programme was for defence purposes only and non-negotiable.

“Iran has in all bilateral diplomatic meetings, including the recent visit of … Zarif to New York, emphasised that its defensive missile programme is not negotiable,” Qasemi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

The U.S. mission at the United Nations referred Reuters to the U.S. State Department for comment. The State Department declined to comment on whether possible talks on missiles were addressed at the meeting or whether Iran had recently communicated such interest.

But it said Washington remained committed to “countering the full range of threats the Iranian regime poses to the U.S., our allies, and regional stability, including its ballistic missile development”.

The Trump administration has imposed fresh unilateral sanctions on Iran, saying its missile tests violate the U.N. resolution that formalised the nuclear deal. It calls on Tehran not to undertake activities related to missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs.

Iran says it has no such plans and denies breaching the resolution.

Iran has one of the biggest ballistic missile programmes in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defence against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel.

KHAMENEI CONSULTED ON MISSILE OVERTURE

A senior Iranian official, who also asked not to be named, said pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, Zarif and Revolutionary Guards commanders have had several meetings with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on all Iranian policy, to secure his backing for missile talks.

“The leader was not optimistic during the meetings because he does not trust Americans. Others argued that the heightening tension over the missile programme could be resolved through talks,” said the official, involved in backroom negotiations.

Any talks would not aim to end or suspend Iran’s missile programme but to “negotiate some dimensions of it, like limiting production of some missiles with specific ranges”, he said.

“Diplomacy worked well in ending the nuclear stand-off … The dispute over the missile programme also can be resolved through talks,” the official said.

A third Iranian official said Tehran would be willing to discuss long-range missiles. He did not elaborate.

A U.S. official with extensive experience negotiating with Iran said “putting this out there publicly as Zarif has done puts pressure on the (Trump) administration”.

A Western official said the administration had assessed Zarif’s approach to be “a stalling tactic by Tehran”.

Another Western official said Iran must present concrete details for missile talks: “What will need to be seen are the specifics on load capability, the distance range of missiles and how many kilograms can a missile warhead carry.”

When asked if Iran appeared willing to negotiate on its missile programme, a French diplomat said: “We talk about everything with them, including the ballistic programme.

“Our objective is that this leads to concrete acts. On the ballistic issue they repeat that it’s all defensive and has nothing to do with nuclear.”

(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris and Yara Bayoumy in Washington; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Turkish minister says will work to improve ties with Germany

Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu arrives at a meeting to discuss the Rohingya situation during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S. September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

BERLIN (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday he would work towards a normalization of relations with Germany after months of mutual recriminations on a range of issues between the NATO allies.

Already tense relations took a turn for the worse after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan launched a crackdown on his opponents following a failed coup attempt last year.

Germany has also protested against the detention of German citizens on political charges and has raised the question of whether EU accession talks with Turkey should go ahead.

Striking an unusually conciliatory tone, Cavusoglu told Der Spiegel weekly there was no reason for problems between the two countries.

“If you take one step towards us, we will take two towards you,” he said.

And asked if he believed there would be a normalization in relations, Cavusoglu said: “Yes. And I am ready to make an effort towards that.”

Earlier this year, Erdogan and some of his political allies compared Germany to the Nazi era after some local authorities stopped Turkish ministers campaigning here for a referendum that handed the president sweeping new powers. German officials cited security concerns.

The Nazi comparisons were a kind of “response to the hostility” from Germany, Cavusoglu said, adding Germany had to learn to respect Turkey.

Germany’s deputy foreign minister Michael Roth told Welt am Sonntag weekly that Berlin was ready to talk and said he hoped “that we can soon move closer together again.”

However, he said Germany would not be silent when innocent German citizens are behind bars. “We must find solutions to this,” he said.

In an election on Sept. 24, conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term but suffered heavy losses to the far right.

She looks set to try to form a coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens. A possible candidate for foreign minister is Cem Ozdemir, a co-leader of the Greens who has Turkish parents and has been very critical of Erdogan.

“Whoever comes to Turkey as foreign minister will meet the same respect as he shows us,” Cavusoglu told Der Spiegel.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; editing by Clelia Oziel)

Turkey backs Syrian rebels for “serious operation” in Idlib

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Ece Toksabay and Angus McDowall

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebel fighters are launching a major military operation, backed by Turkish forces from inside Turkey, in a northern Syrian province largely controlled by jihadist militants, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

The rebels said they were preparing to start the operation in Idlib soon, and residents reported Turkish authorities removing sections of a border wall.

The operation, part of a deal between Turkey, Iran and Russia to reduce warfare between rebels and the government, appears aimed at crushing the Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which has taken over much of Idlib province and northwestern Syria.

The three countries have supported opposing sides in Syria’s six-year conflict, with Turkey backing rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, while Russian and Iranian military support helped Assad drive them back.

Erdogan’s comments, however, suggested Russia and Turkey would fight together against Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance led by the former al Qaeda affiliate in Syria that changed its name last year from the Nusra Front.

“There’s a serious operation in Syria’s Idlib today and it will continue,” Erdogan said in a speech to his AK Party, adding that Turkey would not allow a “terror corridor” on its border with Syria.

“For now Free Syria Army is carrying out the operation there,” Erdogan said. “Russia will be protecting outside the borders (of the Idlib region) and we will handle inside,” he said.

“Russia is supporting the operation from the air, and our armed forces from inside Turkey’s borders,” he added.

Mustafa Sejari, a senior official in the Liwa al-Mutasem Syrian insurgent group taking part in the operation, said Russian warplanes would not be militarily backing the rebels.

“As for the Russians, they will not have a role in the areas of our control at all. The role of the Russians is limited to areas under regime control,” he said.

Ankara, Moscow and Tehran announced a deal last month to establish and patrol a “de-escalation” zone in the Idlib region, where Erdogan has said Turkey will deploy troops, but Tahrir al-Sham pledged to keep on fighting.

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Turkey already has troops stationed inside Syria after it launched an incursion east of Idlib last year, known as Euphrates Shield, to drive back Islamic State militants and prevent further gains by Kurdish fighters on the border.

Syrian rebel officials from factions which have fought alongside Turkey in Euphrates Shield said they were preparing to enter the area with the backing of Turkish forces.

“The Free Syrian Army with support from Turkish troops is in full readiness to enter the area but until this moment there is no movement,” said Sejari, the Liwa al-Mutasem official.

Tahrir al-Sham is well entrenched in the border area in Idlib and maintains a big military presence in nearby towns, a local rebel said. The jihadist group has not yet commented on the Turkey-backed operation on its usual social media channels.

Another FSA rebel told Reuters he believed an incursion into northwest Syria was imminent. The Hamza Brigade, also part of Euphrates Shield, posted a video online of what it said was a convoy of its forces heading for Idlib.

Residents near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey in Syria sent Reuters photographs of what they said was a section of the frontier wall being removed by the Turkish authorities.

Idlib’s population has ballooned to at least two million as thousands of civilians and combatants have left areas seized by the Syrian army in other parts of the country, with the help of Russian jets and Iran-backed militias.

Asked how far Turkey might go in deploying troops inside Syria, Erdogan declined to give details. “When you enter a boxing match, you don’t count how many punches you throw,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, writing by Angus McDowall and Dominic Evans; editing by Clelia Oziel)