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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 22 June 2022
U.S., Iran in tense sea incident; Tehran preps new centrifuges

By JON GAMBRELL of the Persian Gulf through
Associated Press the strait, the Navy said. In
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- that incident, the Guard’s
ates (AP) — A U.S. Navy catamaran Shahid Naz-
warship fired a warning eri came within 25 yards
flare to wave off an Ira- (22 meters) of the USCGC
nian Revolutionary Guard Robert Goldman, the Navy
speedboat coming straight said. “The two U.S. Coast
at it during a tense encoun- Guard cutters issued multi-
ter in the strategic Strait of ple warnings via bridge-to-
Hormuz, officials said Tues- bridge radio and deployed
day. warning flares,” the Navy
The incident on Monday said.
involving the Guard and The Navy did not elaborate
the Navy comes as ten- on why it did not announce
sions remain high over the previous incident, par-
stalled negotiations over ticularly since a larger ves-
Iran’s tattered nuclear deal sel came even closer to an
with world powers and as American warship. Howev-
Tehran enriches uranium er, that was just as a deal in
closer than ever to weap- Vienna between Iran and
ons-grade levels under de- world powers on restoring
creasing international over- In this photo made available by the U.S. Navy, a boat of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard the nuclear deal looked
sight. Corps Navy (IRGCN) operates in close proximity to patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco (PC 6) and possible, before the talks
Meanwhile, the United Na- expeditionary fast transport USNS Choctaw County (T-EPF 2) in the Strait of Hormuz, Monday, June broke down.
tions’ nuclear watchdog 20, 2022. Iran and world pow-
said Iran now plans to en- Associated Press ers agreed in 2015 to the
rich uranium through a sec- the Navy said. mar came within 50 yards acknowledge the incident nuclear deal, which saw
ond set of advanced cen- In a video released by the (45 meters) of the Sirocco, in the strategic waterway Tehran drastically limit its

trifuges at its underground Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th raising the risk of the ves- a fifth of all traded oil pass- enrichment of uranium in
Fordo facility amid the Fleet, a high-speed Guard sels running into each oth- es through the strait. exchange for the lifting of
standoff. Boghammar is seen turning er. The overall encounter The Navy separately told economic sanctions.
The Cyclone-class pa- head-on toward the Siroc- lasted about an hour, the The Associated Press that In 2018, then-President Don-
trol ship USS Sirocco and co. The Sirocco repeatedly Navy said. this marked the second so- ald Trump unilaterally with-
Spearhead-class expedi- blows its horn at the Bog- The Guard’s “actions did called “unsafe and unpro- drew America from the ac-
tionary fast transport USNS hammar, which turns away not meet international fessional” incident it had cord, raising tensions across
Choctaw County found as it closes in. The flare shot standards of professional or with Iran in recent months. the wider Middle East and
themselves in the close en- can be heard, but not safe maritime behavior, in- On March 4, three Guard sparking a series of attacks
counter with three Iranian seen, as the Boghammar creasing the risk of miscal- ships had a tense encoun- and incidents.
fast boats while coming passes the Sirocco with the culation and collision,” the ter for over two hours with Talks in Vienna about reviv-
through the Strait of Hormuz Iranian flag flying above it. Navy said. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ing the deal have been on
to enter the Persian Gulf, The Navy said the Bogham- Iran did not immediately vessels as they traveled out a “pause” since March..q

Google exec to UN: Ukraine ‘a crystal ball’ for info warfare

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A will take a lot of experimen- build technology to com- disproportionately target- disinformation and hate
Google executive warned tation. bat disinformation, censor- ed” by advanced cyber- directed at undermining
the U.N. Security Coun- Cohen heads Jigsaw, a ship and extremism online. attacks since Russia’s an- Ukraine. A recent report
cil Tuesday that cyberat- part of Google that aims to He said Ukraine “has been nexation of Crimea in 2014, from Mandiant, a cyber
tacks, disinformation and adding: “It is essentially our security firm, found that
other forms of information crystal ball for what is likely Russia used disinformation,
warfare being waged in to come.” fear and propaganda to
Ukraine are a “crystal ball” The war in Ukraine upped demoralize Ukraine and di-
for future problems else- pressure on tech compa- vide its allies.
where. nies to work harder to com- “Hate speech can also be
“States must find a way bat hate speech, disinfor- a war crime,” British deputy
to turn the volume down mation and other harmful U.N. Ambassador James
and settle on some kind content online. The Euro- Kariuki said Tuesday, calling
of deterrence doctrine for pean Union is working on on Russia to “stop making
the cyber domain,” Jared sweeping new rules that such statements.”
Cohen said at a council would require Google, Russian Ambassador Vassi-
meeting on hate speech, Facebook parent Meta ly Nebenzia repeated his
incitement and atrocities in and other tech giants to country’s counterclaims
Ukraine. police their platforms more that Ukrainian authorities’
He argued that while tech strictly. rhetoric has poisoned citi-
companies have needed Jared Cohen, founder and CEO of Jigsaw at Alphabet Inc and Western powers on the zens against Russia and
Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, speaks during
expertise, “there is no magi- a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on maintenance of Security Council have ac- Russian-speaking popula-
cal algorithm or single fix for peace and security in Ukraine, Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at United cused Russia of a cam- tions in Ukraine, with West-
this,” and finding a solution Nations headquarters. paign of propaganda, ern encouragement.q
Associated Press