Page 10 - aruba-today-20190525

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 25 May 2019
Iran's foreign minister in Pakistan amid tensions with US

Associated Press guities and structural weak-
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran's nesses" that could damage
foreign minister lashed out Iran.
at President Donald Trump Separately, the official Ira-
on Friday during a critically nian news agency IRNA
timed visit to Pakistan amid quoted Zarif in Islamabad
a simmering crisis between as warning of anarchy if
Tehran and Washington world powers don't unite
and ahead of next week's to stop what he called U.S.
emergency Arab League aggression — Iran's official
meeting called by Saudi parlance for Washington's
Arabia over the region's pressure on Tehran.
tensions. The crisis takes root in the
The remarks by Moham- steady unraveling of the
mad Javad Zarif were the nuclear deal, intended to
latest in a war of words keep Iran from obtaining a
between him and Trump. nuclear weapon. The ac-
The Iranian diplomat on cord promised economic
Friday assailed the Ameri- incentives in exchange for
can president for his tweet restrictions on Tehran's nu-
earlier this week warning clear activities.
Iran not to threaten the U.S. The Trump administration
again or it would face its pulled America out of the
"official end." deal last year, and subse-
"Iran will see the end of quently re-imposed and
Trump, but he will never escalated U.S. sanctions
see the end of Iran," Zarif In this photo released by the Foreign Office, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, at- on Tehran — sending Iran's
was quoted by Iran's semi- tends meeting with Pakistani officials at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, May economy into freefall.
official Fars new agency 24, 2019. Khamenei's criticism of Zarif
as saying during a visit to Associated Press signaled a hard-line tilt in
Islamabad. how the Islamic Republic
Tensions have ratcheted beef up defenses against relationship with the Sau- lem." will react going forward
up recently in the Mideast Iran. dis to help de-escalate the Zarif has been criticized amid President Donald
as the White House earlier The purpose of Zarif's vis- situation. In a statement fol- this week by Iran's su- Trump's maximalist pressure
this month sent an aircraft it to Pakistan, where he lowing meetings with Zarif, preme leader, Ayatollah campaign.
carrier and B-52 bombers to held talks with his Pakistani Khan said "Pakistan was Ali Khamenei, who named Iran declared earlier this
the region over a still-unex- counterpart Shah Mehm- prepared to use its friendly him and President Hassan month that the remaining
plained threat it perceived ood Qureshi and also Prime relations in the region to Rouhani as failing to imple- signatories to the deal —
from Iran. And on Thursday, Minister Imran Khan, was help lower tensions among ment the leader's orders Germany, France, Britain,
the Pentagon outlined pro- not made public. brotherly countries and over Iran's 2015 nuclear China and Russia — have
posals to the White House But there has been specu- promote peace and stabil- deal with world powers. two months to develop
to send military reinforce- lation that Iran is looking ity in the region. ... War is Khamenei had claimed the a plan to shield Iran from
ments to the Middle East to to Islamabad and its close not a solution to any prob- deal had "numerous ambi- American sanctions.q

Afghan police official says blast at Kabul mosque kills 2

er, and wounding 16, offi- Meanwhile, a car bombing civilians.
cials said. wounded 12 people late Pakistan has struggled with
According to Kabul police on Thursday in the southern the years-long insurgency in
chief's spokesman, Basir city of Kandahar. Provincial Baluchistan where the sep-
Mujahid, the bomb was council member Yousaf aratists demand a greater
concealed in the micro- Younasi said the bombing share of the region's wealth
phone used to deliver the targeted insurgents from and autonomy from Islam-
sermon. The prayer leader, neighboring Pakistan's se- abad. The separatist group
Maulvi Samiullah Rayan, cessionist Baluchistan Lib- also claimed responsibil-
was the intended target, eration Army. ity for an attack earlier this
the spokesman added. It was the second attack in month on a luxury hotel in
No militant group immedi- recent years to target the the Pakistani port city of
ately claimed responsibility group in Kandahar's posh Gwadar on the Arabian
but both the Taliban and Aino Mina residential area, Sea. Most of the residents in
the Islamic State group reg- he said. Last year, a sui- the hotel were Chinese na-
ularly stage attacks in the cide bomber blew himself tionals involved in the de-
A wounded man receives treatment in a hospital after a bomb
explosion during Friday prayer on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghan- country's capital. up there, killing five Baluch velopment of the port.
istan, Friday, May 24, 2019. The Kabul neighborhood separatists, including the Kandahar's provincial po-
Associated Press where the bombing took mastermind behind the at- lice chief, Tadin Khan, said
place is dominated by eth- tack last November on the there was no evidence
By AMIR SHAH weekly prayers Friday at a nic Pashtuns, most of whom Chinese Consulate in Paki- that Baluch insurgents were
Associated Press mosque in an eastern part are Sunni Muslims and who stan's port city of Karachi the target of the explosion,
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — of Kabul, killing two people, make up the backbone of that killed four people — which he said also wound-
A bomb exploded during including the prayer lead- the Taliban movement. two police officials and two ed four children.q