US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the Iranian government is at its “weakest stage”, warning its leaders that any further escalation with the United States “will end it on our terms.”
Speaking at the Hoover Institute in California, Mr Pompeo said the Trump administration's strategy and actions including the killing of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani on January 2, have been aimed to "re-establish deterrence" against Tehran.
He said prior American administrations didn’t do enough to deter Iran, but that the “[Iranian] regime must certainly understand [now] what we will do for American lives”, following the Trump administration’s retaliation in Iraq to killing of US contractor.
While Mr Pompeo said he was grateful that Iran’s retaliation inside Iraq did not bring any casualties, he warned that if Tehran “escalates we will end it on our terms … we are determined not to lose this deference.”
The US chief diplomat said Iran is now at “its weakest stage” as the weight of US sanctions takes heavy toll on the economy and popular opposition protests grow inside Tehran.
“We just want Iran to behave like a normal nation. Just be like Norway,” Mr Pompeo said.
Asked about withdrawing from Iraq, Mr Pompeo said he has had around 50 calls with Iraqi leaders in the last week and a half. He said the US will work with Iraqi leaders to “get to the right place” on the issue.
On the issue of designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation, Mr Pompeo said that the Trump administration is still studying whether there is a legal basis to classify entities associated with the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists. He argued that the issue deserves more “nuance”, that there are different factions within the group and the administration is “trying to figure out how to get it right.”
After publicly defending the killing of Suleimani, Mr Pompeo has ignited controversy with Congress for declining to testify on the issue. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said on Monday that the US Secretary of State has declined to appear for testimony on Tuesday.
“I’m disappointed and frustrated that Secretary Pompeo will not appear before the committee tomorrow. Each passing day raises new questions about the strike that killed General Suleimani. Was there really an imminent threat?”, Mr Engel said in a statement.
CNN reported on Monday that State Department officials involved in US embassy security were not made aware of imminent threats to four specific US embassies that the American president said would have been targets of Suleimani.
England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
On racial profiling at airports
