United States to transfer weapons seized from Iran to Ukraine

According to Saudi Gazette, the United States will transfer thousands of seized Iranian weapons and rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, in a move that could help to alleviate some of the critical shortages facing the Ukrainian military as it awaits more money and equipment from the US and its allies.

US Central Command has already transferred over one million rounds of seized Iranian ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces, it announced on Wednesday. The transfer was conducted on Monday, CENTCOM said in a press release.

“The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),” the statement says.

The Justice Department announced in March that it was seeking the forfeiture of one million rounds of Iranian ammunition, thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades, and thousands of pounds of propellant for rocket-propelled grenades that the Navy seized from Iran as it was in transit to Yemen.

“These munitions were originally seized by US Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, December 09, 2022. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216,” the statement says.

The Biden administration for months has been weighing how to legally send the seized weapons, which are stored in CENTCOM facilities across the Middle East, to the Ukrainians.

Over the past year, the US Navy has seized thousands of Iranian assault rifles and more than one million rounds of ammunition from vessels used by Iran to ship weapons to Yemen. The seizures, frequently carried out with regional partner forces, target small stateless vessels on routes historically used to smuggle weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.

In mid-January 2023, the US assisted French forces in the seizure of 3,000 assault rifles headed from Iran to Yemen, as well as 23 anti-tank guided missiles. Following the seizure, the US took custody of the confiscated weapons.

That illegal weapons interdiction capped a two month period in which the US and its partners seized a total of 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of ammunition, according to Central Command.

Justice Department and defense officials have been working together to find a legal pathway to send the weapons to Ukraine, officials said, and one way is through the US’ civil forfeiture authorities.

The Justice Department has filed at least two forfeiture complaints against seized Iranian ammunition and weapons this year. Apart from the announcement in March, DOJ announced in July that that it was seeking the forfeiture of “over 9,000 rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 rocket launchers, over 70 anti-tank guided missiles, and over 700,000 rounds of ammunition” seized from Iran by the US Navy.

“At the end of the day, Ukraine needs various supplies for the war effort, and while this isn’t a solution to all of Ukraine’s military needs, it will provide critical support,” said Jonathan Lord, a senior fellow and director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security who pushed the US to send the seized Iranian weapons to Ukraine in an op-ed in February 2023.

Lord added that the move could also have implications for Iran’s relationship with Russia.

“For over a year, Iranian UAVs in the hands of the Russian military have been used to attack and murder Ukrainian civilians,” Lord said. “There is poetic justice in Ukraine utilizing seized Iranian weapons to defend its people against Russia’s criminal invasion and abuses. Additionally, this policy may put greater pressure on the burgeoning relationship between Moscow and Tehran.”

The decision could drive a wedge between Iran and Russia, which have formed a de facto defense partnership over the last several months, with Iran supplying Russia with drones for its war in Ukraine and Russia cooperating with Iran on missile and air defense production.

Norway’s Fosse awarded Nobel literature prize

Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable," the award giving body said on Thursday.

Born in 1959 in Haugesund on Norway's west coast, Fosse is best known for his dramas, though his writing spans poetry, essays, children's books and translations.

His work touches on the deepest feelings that you have anxieties, insecurities, questions of life and death, Swedish Academy member Anders Olsson said.

"It has a sort of universal impact of everything that he writes. And it doesn't matter if it is drama, poetry or prose, it the same kind of appeal of basic humanism," Olsson said.

Fosse, seen as a long-time contender for the prize and among this year's favorites in the betting odds, said he was overwhelmed and somewhat frightened by the award.

"I see this as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations," he said in a statement.

Fosse has spoken extensively of his recovery from alcoholism and a struggle to overcome social anxiety, and the role played by religious faith.

"It's possible to free oneself from alcoholism, but it's hard to transition from a life governed by addiction to one led by something other than alcohol," Fosse said in a Norwegian Salvation Army interview in 2021.

"My conversion (to Catholicism) and the fact that I am a practicing Catholic, has helped me," Fosse said at the time.

The 64-year-old is the fourth Norwegian and the first since 1928 to win the Nobel Prize for literature, this year worth 11 million Swedish crowns (about US$1 million).

"I was surprised but at the same time, in a sense, I wasn't," he told Swedish public broadcaster SVT on Thursday.

"I've been part of the discussion for ten years and have more or less carefully prepared myself for ten years that it could happen."

Past winners of the literature prize include Colombia's Gabriel Garcia Marquez and American John Steinbeck, alongside singer songwriter Bob Dylan and Britain's Second World War Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Fosse's European breakthrough as a dramatist came with Claude Régy's 1999 Paris production of his 1996 play "Nokon kjem til å komme" ("Someone Is Going to Come").

His magnum opus in prose was the "Septology" series of three books divided into seven parts which he completed in 2021 - "Det andre namnet" ("The Other Name" - 2019), "Eg er ein annan" ("I is Another - 2020), and "Eit nytt namn" ("A New Name" - 2021).

"The work progresses seemingly endlessly and without sentence breaks, but it is formally held together by recurring themes and ritual gestures of prayer in a time span of seven days," the Academy's Olsson said.

Fosse, writes in the least common of the two official versions of Norwegian. He said he regarded the award as recognition of that tongue and the movement promoting it, and that he ultimately owed the prize to the language itself.

Known as "new Norwegian" and used by only about 10% of the population, Fosse's version of the language was developed in the 19th century with rural dialects at its base, making it an alternative to the dominant use of Danish that followed from a 400-year union with Denmark.

"I started writing when I was 12 and the first book was published 40 years ago ... I will keep writing, but I don't plan to compete with myself," Fosse told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

Wearing a black leather jacket and sporting his trademark grey pony tail, Fosse said he would not attempt another work as extensive as the Septology and that he planned to celebrate "calmly, with the family. I'll try to enjoy it."

According to his publisher, Fosse's work has been translated into more than 40 languages, and there have been more than 1,000 different productions of his plays.

Since 2011 Fosse has lived at the Grotto, an honorary residence on the premises of Oslo's royal palace that has housed some of Norway's foremost authors and composers in the last century.

Established in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, the prizes for achievements in literature, science and peace have been awarded since 1901, becoming a career pinnacle in those fields.

The economics prize is a later addition established by the Swedish central bank.

Alongside the peace prize, literature has often drawn the most attention and controversy, thrusting lesser known authors into the global spotlight as well as lifting book sales for well-established literary superstars.

 

Saudi Arabia extends voluntary cut

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday extended its one million barrel per day (bpd) voluntary crude oil production cut until the end of the year 2023.

An official source at the Ministry of Energy announced that the Kingdom would continue with its voluntary oil output cut of one million bpd for the month of November and until the end of the year and that it would review the decision again next month.

The Kingdom’s production for November and December will be approximately 9 million bpd, the ministry said in a statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency. “This voluntary cut decision will be reviewed next month to consider deepening the cut or increasing production,” the statement said.

Saudi Arabia first implemented the additional voluntary cut in July and has since extended it on a monthly basis. The cut adds to 1.66 million barrels per day of other voluntary crude output declines that some members of OPEC have put in place until the end of 2024.

The source also explained that this reduction is in addition to the voluntary reduction that the Kingdom had previously announced in April 2023 and which extends until the end of December 2024.

Russia also pledged to voluntarily reduce exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August and by 300,000 barrels per day in September. The cuts are described as voluntary because they are outside of OPEC Plus official policy, which commits every nonexempt member to a share of production quotas.

The ministry source confirmed that this additional voluntary reduction comes to strengthen the precautionary efforts made by OPEC Plus countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets.

 

 

Iran to block normalization with Israel

Iranian foreign minister has said that his country aims at further strengthening relations with Saudi Arabia with the purpose to block normalization with the Zionist regime of Israel.

Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with a group of foreign guests attending a Muslim unity conference in Tehran. 

Amir Abdollahian and a number of foreign ministry officials met with the guests of the 37th International Islamic Unity Conference. The annual conference was held in Tehran with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in attendance. 

In the meeting, Amir Abdollahian appreciated the efforts of the secretary general of the Association of Ecumenism in holding the unity conference, and considered this conference as a banner of unity and ecumenism in the Islamic world, according to a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry.

The foreign minister said, “According to scientific indicators, the international world order and system is changing, and in the change and evolution of the world order, United States, as a superpower that has been striving for unilateralism for decades, still has the characteristics of a hegemon, but it is not able to apply it.” 

Amir Abdollahian considered the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani by United States, and Iran’s decisive response to this act in targeting the Ain al-Assad base and the inability of the US to show the slightest reaction to it as an example that the US is not able to exercise hegemony and this is as an example of the changing world order.

“Today, the world is in a sharp historical turn that has multiplied the mission of scholars and thinkers all over the world,” he added. 

“We have entered a new stage of developments in the region and the world, and today the understanding is being strengthened that if we do not think about our security, others will not help,” the foreign minister pointed out.

He continued, “Today, we are witnessing the resumption of Iran-Saudi relations, our intention is to have deep and extensive relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia with an eye on the interests of the Islamic world and with the aim of disappointing the enemy and blocking the way to normalize relations.”

He also pointed to the improvement of relations between Iran and Egypt. “We have met with the Egyptian foreign minister and made good agreements that we hope to witness a good development for the benefit of the two nations.” 

Amir Abdollahian held talks with his Egyptian counterpart on the sidelines of the annual UN conference in New York last month.

Referring to the speech delivered by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Amir Abdollahian said, “Dr. Raisi, the president of our country, had two important initiatives while attending the United Nations; in addition to raising the Quran in this meeting, he raised the important issue of the family, because the global movement of solidarity with the family should be launched in the world. We are pursuing this issue in cultural institutions so that it becomes a global movement.”

 

Iranian oil output hits 3.15 million bpd

Reportedly, Iran has managed to push its oil output to 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest since 2018, the year Washington re-imposed sanctions on the country.

Analysts say the higher Iranian exports appear to be the result of Iran's success in evading U.S. sanctions and Washington's discretion in enforcing them.

As reported, OPEC oil output rose for a second straight month in September, led by increases in Nigeria and Iran despite ongoing cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the wider OPEC Plus alliance to support the market.

Last month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 27.73 million bpd, up 120,000 bpd from August. Production in August had risen for the first time since February.

The rise in September was led by Nigeria, which has been battling with crude theft and insecurity in its oil producing region.

Iran pumped more, with output hitting the highest level since 2018.

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates increased output slightly, while Angolan supply showed the largest decline in the group of 50,000 bpd due to a drop in exports.

OPEC's output is still undershooting the targeted amount by about 700,000 bpd, mainly because Nigeria and Angola lack the capacity to pump as much as their agreed level.

 

UN Security Council condemns Israeli violations

At a UN Security Council session on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many representatives of the 15 member states criticized Israeli violations against Palestinians, with notably strong criticism from Russia and China. 

Kicking off the session, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, spoke via a video conference and updated the meeting with his latest report for the period June 15 to September 19, 2023. 

The senior UN official reiterated to the Security Council the Secretary-General’s appeal for an end to the occupation and a resolution of the conflict as members echoed those calls and underlined a need to return to peace negotiations.

Wennesland pointed to the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements, demolition of Palestinian homes, daily Israeli violence and continued inflammatory rhetoric by the Israeli cabinet.

He reported the latest settlement activity by Israel is advancing plans for 6,300 settler units in the occupied West Bank, and approximately 3,580 settler units in occupied eastern al-Quds (East Jerusalem), pointing to the Israeli administrative actions that likely expedited settlement expansion.  

Israeli authorities, citing a lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain, demolished, seized or forced people to demolish 238 structures, including 32 donor-funded ones, displacing 183 people, including 46 women and 91 children. 

Alarmingly, 59 schools, serving around 6,500 Palestinian students, are at risk of demolition to make way for Israeli settlers. 

“In a continuing trend, many Palestinians, including children, left from their communities citing violence by settlers and shrinking grazing land,” he also warned.

Wennesland noted that during this period, Israeli forces killed at least 68 Palestinians, including 18 children. 
Ten Israelis were also left dead by Palestinians in attacks and other incidents, the UN special coordinator added.  

Experts argue that Palestinians have a legitimate right enshrined under international law to wage retaliatory operations and resistance in the face of the brutal military occupation and ethnic cleansing campaign. 

Israeli forces’ 1,042 search-and-arrest operations in the West Bank have resulted in the arrest of 1,504 Palestinians, including 88 children, he added, highlighting that the regime currently holds 1,264 Palestinians in administrative detention - the highest number in over a decade. 

Wennesland also provided details on the urgent funding needs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the World Food Program (WFP).

In the ensuing discussion, council members stressed that the expanding Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are a violation of international law and must cease.

Some representatives of states mostly allied to Israel also voiced concern about the ongoing violence and lack of any political progress, calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and take steps to de-escalate tensions.

Vasily Nebenzya of the Russian Federation recalled Israel's increasing steps to create irreversible facts on the ground and said that the ongoing explosive situation is a direct result of aggressive Israeli abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

The current Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN warned against the legalization of settlement outposts and the violation of the status quo of the holy sites of occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem). 

Referring to Israel’s plan to increase the number of Israelis in the north of the occupied West Bank from 170,000 people to 1 million by 2050, with US$200 million allocated for that, Nebenzya said it goes against the relevant Security Council decisions and is contrary to international law.  
“The increase in violence against Palestinian minors and the demolition of educational institutions, including those built with donor funds, are of particular concern,” Nebenzia said, adding that the United States continues to promote Arab-Israeli normalization, circumventing the logic of the Arab Peace Initiative.  

“Russia is committed to the creation of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders with occupied al-Quds (East Jerusalem) as its capital,” he stated.

Several diplomats proposed ways to enhance efforts in resolving the conflict, with China’s envoy in particular calling for higher priority to be given to an international peace conference. 
Beijing has been leading the calls for an international peace conference to end the suffering of Palestinians. 

China has been much more diplomatically involved in Palestinian affairs since Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas for a four-day state visit to Beijing in June. 

China's UN representative, Geng Shuang, also voiced support for President Abbas’ call for the Security Council to dispatch a mission to Palestine in due course. 

He urged the cessation of all settlement activities, unilateral actions to change the status quo in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and escalation of settler violence. 

Geng also called on the "occupying power" to remove unreasonable restrictions on the movement of persons, goods and land use, and to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.

Brazil’s representative pointed out that the Security Council has become unresponsive to the Palestinians’ plight, stressing that the 15-member body must reflect on its role in paving the way for direct negotiations.  

“Sitting on our hands while the situation unravels is short-sighted and dangerous,” Sergio Franca Danese warned.

The Brazilian ambassador also recalled that his country’s president highlighted the overdue establishment of a Palestinian state as an example of longstanding unresolved disputes lingering on while new threats emerge.

Brazil recognized the State of Palestine in 2010. 

Pointing out that the Council has become unresponsive to the Palestinians’ plights, he stressed that "this must change".

The Brazilian diplomat called on Israel to curb settler violence and condemned any action aimed at altering the status quo of the holy sites. 
Furthermore, Danese highlighted the importance of fostering the Palestinian economy, addressing governance challenges and respecting human rights, announcing that Brazil will enhance its contributions to projects in those areas.

Gabon’s representative also called for the lifting of the Gaza blockade in line with Security Council resolution 1860 (2009), noting that Palestinian territories face budgetary constraints because of restrictions on freedom of movement and trade.

Vanessa Frazier of Malta condemned “episodes of settler violence which have terrorized Palestinian communities”. 

Japan’s representative was among the speakers who voiced support for UNRWA, underlining Tokyo's contribution of over US$40 million to the program. He urged Member States to make sure that UNRWA maintains its core services for Palestinian refugees.

Ambassador Ishikane Kimishiro also noted that lack of political progress is jeopardizing peace and security in the region. He also echoed other members' demands for Israel to immediately cease settlement activities. 

Ghana's Felix Akom Nyarku, referring to the increasing acts of settler violence, stressed that the destruction of infrastructure and properties in both the occupied Palestinian territories and in occupied al-Quds dangerously imperils the viability of peace.

He called on the international community to provide short-term investments to help the Palestinian Authority improve people’s access to education, health care, and employment as well as repair basic infrastructure and strengthen fiscal stability.
Andres Efren Montalvo Sosa of Ecuador highlighted that 2023 marks the most violent year in the region since 2005 (for Palestinians) and voiced concern about the increasing number of victims, expanding settlements, and daily violence.  

Western states, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France also made similar calls on Israel to cease its settlement activity, but critics say these statements cannot be taken at face value.

Much of the machinery, including bulldozers, with which the settlements are expanded on Palestinian land, are bought from the West, in a similar manner to how annual US military aid to Israel contributes to the killing of Palestinian women and children.

This comes as the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission released new data on Thursday showing that Israel has arrested more than 135,000 Palestinians since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada) in 2000.

The commission said that these arrests affected all classes of Palestinian society, including children, women, and the elderly.
Nearly 21,000 Palestinian children have been arrested since 2000. 
In addition, half of the Legislative Council members, a number of ministers, hundreds of academics, journalists, and workers in civil society organizations and international institutions have been detained. 
Nobody has been spared by the regime.
The report also highlighted that more than 2,600 Palestinian girls and women were arrested by the regime's forces, including four women who gave birth in prison under harsh and difficult conditions.
 

 

BGMEA demands ethical sourcing by US brands

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has sought fair prices and demanded ethical sourcing of garments from the US retailers and brands as the new wages for the workers are expected to be implemented from December this year.

BGMEA President, Faruque Hassan made the demand in a letter to Stephen Lamar, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the platform for the American retailers and brands, on September 28, 2023.

“Considering the standard and cost of living of our workers, and the inflation, we also expect fair price and ethical sourcing from our valued buyers,” Hassan said in the letter.

The BGMEA chief urged the AAFA to pursue the US brands and retailers for rational price for the orders for Items to be produced from December 2023 and onward.

“This is important for a smoother transition to a new wage scale. May you kindly share this letter to your members, please,” Hassan said.

He said the BGMEA is working to improve the skill and efficiency level of the workers, and such initiatives should have broader collaboration.

“As we commit ourselves to continuously delivering the better, we are leaving no stone unturned to optimize the value of our spending, with an uncompromising stance on ethical and responsible business. Your continued support will be crucial,” he said.

Recently, the AAFA wrote a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressing concern about the labour rights situation in Bangladesh following the killing of labour leader Shahidul Islam in June this year.

The suspects of the Shahidul Islam have been arrested, the BGMEA chief mentioned.

Hassan said the Bangladesh labour law was amended in 2013 and 2018.

Further amendment to the labour law is in the final stage after a rigorous tripartite consultation, he said.

As per data from Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) the USA’s import from Bangladesh dropped by 20% in US dollar terms and 29.03% in square meter in January-July 2023.

“We understand the stress of managing supply chain at your end, we, the manufacturers, are also in a complete ‘nightmare situation’ to manage our capacities, supply chain, planning and forecasting. Yet, we have been quite successfully able to retain growth in our export, so far,” the letter said.

The Minimum Wage Board for the garment workers is working to review the current minimum wages. The board has already done several meetings and currently consulting with different stakeholders, said Hassan.

“They are visiting factories and discussing with workers and owners. I believe before the end of this year a new minimum wage will be declared and there will be a rational adjustment, if we look at the trend of previous reviews, as well as the aggregate inflation in past five years.”