Page 10 - MEOG Week 20

MEOG PoLICy MEOG
“Before coming to any decision, Trump should ask his friend (British Prime Minister) Boris Johnson about the details of the British tanker experience,” he said.
Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf last year after British forces detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. Both vessels were released after a months-long standoff.
The Iran-flagged medium tanker Clavel transited the Suez Canal on Wednesday after loading fuel at the end of March at Iran’s port of Bandar Abbas, according to the data.
“News received from informed sources indi- cate that the US Navy has sent four warships and a Boeing P-8 Poseidon from the VP-26 squadron to the Caribbean region,” Nour said.
Venezuela is in desperate need of gasoline and other refined fuel products to keep the country functioning amid an economic collapse under socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela produces crude oil but its infrastructure has been crippled during the economic crisis.
A Venezuelan official said last month that his country had received refining materials by air from Iran to help it start a unit at the 310,000 barrel per day (bpd) Cardon refinery, which is necessary to produce gasoline.
On 17 May the Mehr news agency reported that Iran had summoned the Swiss ambassa- dor, who represents US interests in the Islamic Republic, over possible measures Washington could take against the Iranian fuel shipment to Venezuela.™
Tensions rise as new Iraqi PM confronts Iran’s proxies
IrAQ
LAST week MEOG reported on the appoint- ment of Mustafa al-Kadhimi as Iraq’s prime minister and highlighted some of the challenges facing his government.
Within a week of his appointment his govern- ment has made one significant move. Police in Basra raided the headquarters of an Iran-backed militia accused of shooting at protesters in the Iraqi city. The militia group, named Thar Allah, or God’s Revolution, was established in 1995 and has been described as a “threat to Iraq’s stability”.
Crowds in the city rallied as people demon- strated outside the militia’s office, days after the formation of a new government. One protester was killed and four injured as they called for the resignation of the local government, said Ali Al Bayati, a member of the Iraqi human Rights Commission.
Angry Basra residents have repeatedly taken to the streets in recent years to protest against failing government services, including water contamination, corruption and lack of employ- ment opportunities.
The events in Basra reflect the role and influ- ence of the militias, which played a major role in retaking Iraqi territory from ISIS.
Al-Kadhimi said on Monday that his govern- ment was sticking “to its promises of respecting human rights, the right to a peaceful demonstra- tion, to protect demonstrators and to hold per- petrators accountable”.
A statement from the prime minister’s office said last Monday that security forces had stormed a building from which live bullets were fired at the demonstrators. Members of the mili- tia were arrested, weapons and ammunition
were confiscated and an investigation into the shootings was launched.
Thar Allah emerged in 2003 as a notorious Basra-based, Tehran-funded death squad, hunt- ing down and gruesomely murdering Sunnis, Baathists and anyone Iranian agents paid them to kill. British soldiers in December 2003 raided a Thar Allah torture chamber.
It has regained nationwide notoriety in recent days after opening fire on protesters outside its headquarters.
The fact that a raid against the headquarters of an Iran-backed militia was one of the first moves taken by new Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi could be interpreted as a signifi- cant gesture of intent. Al-Kadhimi declared that “those who spill Iraqi blood will not rest.” he also liberated large numbers of Iraqis detained dur- ing the protests.
But it should be noted that several other smaller “rogue” militias have, over the past cou- ple of years, had their offices closed down and leaders arrested – accused of the same crimi- nal activities that larger militant factions from Al-hashd Al-Shaabi engage in with impunity. The principal militias arguably profit from the squashing of their smaller rivals, offering exclu- sive control over neighbourhood territories for extorting businesses, terrorising locals and run- ning narcotics, prostitution and oil-smuggling rackets.
Al-Kadhimi was previously the director of national intelligence and was known for his cosy ties with the US.
he holds British citizenship and was formerly a journalist and human rights activist. The prime
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 20 20•May•2020