#3 (09/16/2024-09/23/2024) Pager explosions set back the US peace proposals for the region
Issa Adeli
Researcher, Policy Advisor | US Foreign Affairs and the Middle East | Security and Defense Policy
While the US formulated a proposal to end the war in Gaza, the recent incident of pager explosions hindered its efforts last week. These are all the headlines about the US foreign policy and the Middle East last week:
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22
September
The White House national security communications adviser said,?“It’s tough to get him to say yes to things that he’s already said he wants. It’s very, very difficult. But as the president said the other day, everything is unrealistic until all of a sudden it’s not anymore.”?Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department?announced criminal charges?against Sinwar, along with others in connection with the Oct. 7 attack (Read more at?Politico).
22
September
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday said he had met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at his Florida resort (Read more at?Dunyanews).
22
September
In late July, the United States raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to its highest "do not travel" classification, after a strike on southern Beirut killed a top Hezbollah commander (Read more at?Business Standard).?
21
September
U.S. officials say the Biden administration is "extremely concerned" about the?risk of an all-out war?between Israel and Lebanon, but hopes to use growing Israeli military pressure on Hezbollah to get a diplomatic deal (Read more at?Axios).
21
September
U.S. National Security Adviser?Jake Sullivan?on Saturday said he was worried about escalation between?Israel?and?Lebanon?but that the Israeli killing of a top?Hezbollah?leader brought justice to the Iran-backed group. He said he still sees a path to a?ceasefire?in?Gaza?but that the U.S. is "not at a point right now where we're prepared to put something on the table." (Read more at?ANews)
21
September
The State Department in May 2018 had declared Bazzi to be a “specially designated global terrorist” and offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.?In February 2023, he was arrested in Romania and extradited to the US.?The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has said Bazzi “has provided millions of dollars to Hezbollah over the years, generated from his business activities in Belgium, Lebanon, Iraq and throughout West Africa” (Read more at?Arabnews).
21
September
A day after the killing of a senior Hezbollah member seen as a key figure in those attacks, many of those Americans welcomed the news but said it stirred painful memories without resolving the past.?“It doesn’t bring closure,” said Michael Harris, 59, a Marine veteran who was “blown out” of his barracks in one of the attacks and lives today in Rhode Island. “It wasn’t just one person responsible.”?Valerie Giblin, 61, of Smithfield, R.I., shared a similar sense of unresolved grief. Her husband, Timothy Giblin, died in the barracks attack when their daughter was 2 years old. “I was 20 years old,” she said. “I never remarried. I’ll be his wife until the day I die.” (Read more?New York Times).
20
September
The crash of the Palestinian banking system could bring down the?Palestinian Authority, creating a power vacuum that could throw the West Bank into chaos and exacerbate the conflict in the region.?Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist anti-Palestinian settler, has taken many steps over the last two years to weaken the Palestinian Authority as part of his ideology of annexing the West Bank?(Read more at?Axios).
20
September
The congresswoman’s statement about the publication of the cartoon “Tlaib Pager Hamas” came after many users on the social media platform X had condemned it as anti-Arab as well as Islamophobic.?A statement from the Democratic US House representative also expressed concern that the cartoon by Henry Payne would “incite more hate and violence against Arab and Muslim communities” (Read more at?Guardian).?
20
September
US officials now believe that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza is unlikely before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, the Wall Street Journal reported.?“I can tell you that we do not believe that deal is falling apart,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters before the Wall Street Journal report was published.?US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said two weeks ago that 90 percent of a ceasefire deal had been agreed upon?(Read more at?Aljazeera).
20
September
Some Arab American and Muslim voters angry at U.S. support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza are shunning Democrat Kamala Harris in the presidential race to back third-party candidate Jill Stein in numbers that could deny Harris victories in battleground states that will decide the Nov. 5 election (Read more at?The News).
19
September
The officials said the U.S. did not get advance warning of the second wave of attacks, with walkie-talkie radios targeted.?During a call?with Gallant, Austin spoke about regional security developments and reiterated America’s unwavering support for Israel in the face of threats from Iran, Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the region (Read more at?Stripe)
19
September
White House spokesperson John Kirby said the visit would be the first-ever by a president of the Gulf Arab country to Washington, adding that Vice President Kamala Harris would meet separately with the UAE leader.?Discussions would also focus on climate, clean energy and UAE's role as a partner in the Group of Seven's global infrastructure partnership, Kirby told reporters (Read more at?Gulf Today).
19
September
The incidents that occurred before?Biden suspended his campaign?mark "the latest example of Iran's multipronged approach" to "stoke discord and undermine confidence" in the U.S. electoral process, per a joint?statement?from the FBI, CISA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (Read more at?Axios).
19
September
Iran's leaders hope to see an easing of U.S. sanctions over its nuclear programme.?It is unclear whether the Europeans and Iranians can find areas for compromise in New York.?Kelsey Davenport, director of non-proliferation policy at the Arms Control Association advocacy group, said substantive talk before the U.S. election were unlikely. But interim steps, such as Iran receiving some sanctions relief in return for expanding IAEA monitoring of its nuclear facilities, could be possible (Read more at?USNews).
19
September
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Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said,?“I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility ... In pretty much every call the secretary always reiterates the need (that) we want to see regional tensions quell.”?The spokesperson added that the US felt as of now the conflict was contained to Gaza (Read more at?Arabnews).
19
September
The source did not give a reason for the postponement.?The trip would have come at a time of?heightened tensions?in the region after?attacks?that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers, which Lebanon and Hezbollah have blamed on Israel (Read more at?Middle East Monitor).
19
September
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "We will continue to stand by Israel's right to defend itself, but we don't want to see any party escalate this conflict, period. We have been engaged in the region for some time, and of course, since October 7th we have been engaged to try to bring down tensions. But ultimately, yes, every country is responsible, and every entity is responsible for the actions that they take."?(Read more at?USNews).?
18
September
A US MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed near Yemen, the Pentagon said Tuesday, after?Houthis claimed to have downed several of the aircraft in recent days.?The Houthis claimed Tuesday that they had shot down three MQ-9s over the past week — a figure Ryder described as “too high.” The Pentagon spokesman said he could not provide a specific number for security reasons, but that the Houthis’ figure “is not accurate.” (Read more at?Defense Post)
18
September
The measures come two years after the death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini while in police custody. The sanctions focus on members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian prison officials, and those involved in lethal operations abroad, according to a statement from the US Treasury Department (Read more at?Indian Express).
18
September
He is attempting to block over $20 billion in arms sales to Israel through a series of resolutions.?Sanders said he has support for the proposal, which would halt the sale of missile systems, tank rounds, new fighter jets, and other weapons responsible for the destruction in Gaza (Read more at?New Republic).
17
September
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "We're collecting information in the same way that journalists are across the world, to gather the facts about what might have happened,"?Miller said the United States was always concerned about any incident that can raise tensions in Middle East and urged Iran not to take advantage of any incident to raise instability. Miller also said that civilians were not legitimate targets for any type of operation (Read more at?USNews).
17
September
Blinken will not visit Israel on this trip, the first time he has skipped a stop in Washington’s closest regional ally since Palestinian militant group Hamas sparked the war in Gaza nearly a year ago.?State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that was because Washington aimed to discuss bilateral issues with Egypt on this trip and the Gaza ceasefire proposal that U.S. and mediators have been working on was still not ready to present to Israel.?"So it would be premature to be presenting such a proposal, or doing any other diplomatic engagements," he added (Read more at?USNews).
17
September
Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, questioned the Security Council’s effectiveness, asking, “Why has it been unable to stop this human tragedy, the worst of its kind to this day?”?“Had the US not shielded one side time and again, multiple resolutions of this council would not have been flagrantly rejected and defied,” Shuang stated.?He urged the US to “show a responsible attitude”, cease its passivity, and use its’ strategic influence to pressure Israel into ending its military operations immediately, as demanded by council resolutions months ago (Read more at?Middle East Eye).
17
September
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week described Eygi's killing as "unprovoked and unjustified" and demanded an overhaul of Israeli military conduct in the West Bank.?“If the first investigation plays out. … and we are not satisfied, we will of course look at whether any other measures are appropriate,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller?added (Read more at?Indian Express).
17
September
Top US diplomat will also chair US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with his Egyptian counterpart, according to State Department.?The visit, Blinken's 10th to the Middle East since Oct. 7 last year, comes as the US, along with Qatar and Egypt, are working to secure a cease-fire and hostage swap deal between Israel and Hamas.?US President Joe Biden said on May 31 that Israel presented?a hostage-prisoner exchange, the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in aid and a permanent end to hostilities (Read more at?Anadolu Agency).
16
September
Jafar Hassan, now head of King Abdullah’s office and a former planning minister, replaces Bisher Khasawneh, a veteran diplomat and former palace adviser who was appointed nearly four years ago.?Harvard-educated Hassan is a widely respected technocrat. He will face the challenges of mitigating the impact of the Gaza war on the kingdom’s economy, hard-hit by curbs to investment and a sharp drop in tourism (Read more at?Middle East Monitor).
16
September
Saudi Arabia’s Commander of the Joint Forces, Lieutenant General Fahad bin Hamad Al Salman, received a delegation from the US armed forces in Riyadh on Sunday and discussed ways to strengthen the two countries' military partnership (Read more at?Arabnews)
16
September
Hochstein's message came as the Israeli military and security cabinet have been ramping up preparations for a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.?The U.S. envoy made clear to Netanyahu and Gallant that the U.S. remains committed to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, "either together with a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal or on its own."?Netanyahu told Hochstein that it would not be possible to return displaced Israelis to their homes without a fundamental change in the security situation on the border with Lebanon (Read more at?Axios).
16
September
"There is always communication after every operation we conduct," Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV. "These calls are based on either threats or presenting some temptations, but they have given up to achieve any accomplishment in that direction." He added,?"the calls after attacks included some from the U.S. and the United Kingdom indirectly through mediators and that the threats included direct U.S. military intervention against countries that intervene militarily "in support of Gaza."?The Houthis have damaged more than 80 ships in missile and drone attacks since November, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killing at least three crew members (Read more?USNews).
16
September
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "I don't have a timetable for you other than to say that we are working expeditiously to try to develop that proposal."?Talks over months have so far failed to reach a deal to end war, now in its twelfth month, even after U.S. President Joe Biden in June publicly laid out a proposal that Israel had agreed to (Read more at?Reuters).
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