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Iran Faces Tougher U.S. Sanctions, But Positive Mood At Talks
Just as the U.S. Senate approved new sanctions against Iran, U.N. nuclear chief Yukiya Amano came out of talks with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and said expected to sign a deal with Iran to halt its quest for nuclear weapons. Amano’s comments indicated progress for securing more inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and come ahead of the P5+1 talks that open in Baghdad on Wednesday. A failure in the world powers’ bid to press Iran's government to halt its uranium enrichment program and allow unfettered access to international inspectors could strengthen calls for military action. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified emphatically on Monday that Israel’s position on Iran had not changed as had been reported. He said Israel would only be satisfied if Iran halted all uranium enrichment and shipped its stockpiles out of the country.
Death Toll Reaches Nearly 100 in Yemen Attack Al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide bombing in the center of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, which killed nearly 100 people. It said the attack was to avenge what it called the U.S. war on its followers in southern Yemen and said more attacks would follow. The Yemeni army, supported by U.S. Special Forces and drones, has cracked down severely on suspected Al-Qaida-linked terrorists. Monday’s bombing took place during a rehearsal for a parade in Sanaa to mark Yemen’s National Day. At least 96 people were killed and some 220 wounded in the attack, reportedly carried out by a bomber dressed in a military uniform. Yemen's defense minister and chief of staff were present at the event but were not hurt in the blast.
Top U.S. Diplomat to Mideast Quits A top U.S. diplomat to the Middle East is quitting after accepting a senior post with the United Nations. Reports said that Jeffrey Feltman, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, was stepping down at the end of May to become deputy to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Feltman helped guide U.S. policy through the tumult of the Arab Spring. His new role is expected to be U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs. One of the top candidates to replace Feltman at the State Department is reportedly Elizabeth Jones, who currently deals with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Feltman is a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon and served as a senior official at the U.S. consulate general in Jerusalem.
Fly the Friendly Skies of Palestine Airways Palestine Airways has announced that the carrier plans to resume flights between Amman, Jordan, El-Arish, Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah. Regular flights between El-Arish and Jeddah were commonplace last decade, but its last flight was in 2009 carrying Hajj pilgrims. It is now resuming flights between El-Arish, which is in the northern Sinai, and Amman. The tiny Palestinian airline has a fleet of three aircraft and a staff of 100, including the pilots, engineers and technicians, all of whom are Palestinian. The fleet, set up in 1995, had been based in Gaza until Israel damaged the airfield, destroyed PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat’s helicopter, and banned commercial flights.
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