Region

TEHRAN — Iran and world powers have made "important progress" towards a final deal aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for eased economic sanctions, a senior Iranian negotiator said Thursday.

"We have made important progress on the final text, but less so on the annexes, so work continues," deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, was quoted as saying by state media as he arrived in Vienna for the latest round of nuclear talks. 

Six global powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — are trying to nail down a deal to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions by reducing its stockpiles of enriched uranium and mothballing some of its sites before a June 30 deadline.

Negotiations last weekend in Geneva, Switzerland, failed to bridge differences between Washington and Tehran, especially over the crucial issue of inspections of military sites.

Other sticking points remain, including the possible military dimensions of the Iranian nuclear programme and the demands by the world powers for UN inspections of Iranian military bases.

Araghchi said before last week's talks that it would be "out of the question" for UN inspectors to question Iranian scientists and inspect military sites as part of a final deal.

The diplomat said Thursday that reaching a lasting accord would be a "difficult and complicated job".

"The rules are being defined within the framework of the final agreement," he added.

BAGHDAD — Daesh militants have reduced the amount of water flowing to government-held areas in Iraq's western Anbar province, an official said Thursday, the latest in the vicious war as Iraqi forces struggle to claw back ground held by the extremists in the Sunni heartland.

It's not the first time that water has been used as a weapon of war in Mideast conflicts and in Iraq in particular. Earlier this year, Daesh reduced the flow through another lock outside the militant-held town of Fallujah, also in Anbar province. But the extremists soon reopened it after criticism from residents.

The Daesh-captured Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, last month, marking its most significant victory since a US-led coalition began an air campaign against the extremists last August. Earlier last year, Daesh had blitzed across much of western and northern Iraq, capturing key Anbar cities and also Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city that lies to the north of Baghdad.

Also Thursday, UN officials urgently called for $497 million in donations to provide shelter, food, water and other life-saving services for the next six months to Iraqis displaced or affected by the fighting between government forces and the Daesh terror group.

The reduced flow of water through the militant-held dam on the Euphrates River will threaten irrigation systems and water treatment plants in nearby areas controlled by troops and tribes opposed to the extremist group, provincial council member Taha Abdul Ghani told the Associated Press.

Abdul Ghani said there would be no immediate effect on Shiite areas in central and southern Iraq, saying water is being diverted to those areas from the Tigris River.

The United Nations had said on Wednesday that it was looking into reports that Deash had reduced the flow of water through the Al Warar Dam.

"The use of water as a tool of war is to be condemned in no uncertain terms," the spokesman for the UN secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters. "These kinds of reports are disturbing, to say the least."

He said the UN and humanitarian partners will try to “fill in the gaps” to meet water needs for the affected population.

In Brussels, UN officials said Thursday that the needs of Iraqis affected by the fighting are huge and growing, with more than 8 million people requiring immediate support, and potentially 10 million by the end of 2015.

Lise Grande, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said the aid operation, which she called one of the most complex and volatile in the world, was hanging by a thread.

Humanitarian partners have been doing everything they can to help. But more than 50 per cent of the operation will be shut down or cut back if money is not received immediately,” Grande told members of the European Parliament, according to a UN news release.

The consequences of such a reduction in aid, Grande said, would be “catastrophic”.

At a one-day conference in Paris this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi had pressed his case for more support from the 25 countries in the US-led coalition fighting the militant group, asking for more armament and ammunition.

“We’re relying on ourselves, but fighting is very hard this way,” Abadi said before the conference Tuesday.

The coalition has mustered a mix of air strikes, intelligence sharing and assistance for Iraqi ground operations against the extremists. Abadi said more was needed, with Iraq reeling after troops pulled out of Ramadi without a fight and abandoned US-supplied tanks and weapons.

CAIRO — Egypt's highest appeals court on Thursday ordered the retrial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak on charges that he failed to stop the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his 29-year rule.

The ruling set November 5 as the date for the start of the new trial, the verdict of which cannot be appealed. It would be the third time that Mubarak is tried in connection with the killings in 2011.

Mubarak, who is 86 and in failing health, has since his arrest in April 2011 been held in detention in a number of hospitals. He now resides at a Nile-side military hospital in a leafy suburb just south of Cairo.

The ruling came six months after a criminal court dismissed murder charges against Mubarak in connection with the killing of the protesters, citing the "inadmissibility" of the case due to a technicality.

That ruling marked a major setback for the young activists who spearheaded the Arab Spring uprising in January and February 2011, many of whom are now in jail or have withdrawn from politics in the face of an ongoing crackdown by authorities.

Judge Mahmoud Rashidi said at the time that he dismissed the case against Mubarak because his May 2011 referral to trial by prosecutors ignored the "implicit" decision that no criminal charges be filed against him when his security chief and six top aides were referred to trial by the same prosecutors two months earlier. Massive protests demanding that Mubarak be put on trial took place in April of that year.

An appeal demanding a retrial of Mubarak's security chief and the six top police commanders, also acquitted in November, was rejected on Thursday.

The killing of nearly 900 protesters during the 18-day uprising remains a contentious issue, with activists and rights groups demanding that police be held accountable. Dozens of policemen charged with killing protesters have been acquitted or received suspended or light sentences.

Mohamed Morsi, a prominent Islamist, won Egypt's first free presidential election in 2012, but ruled for just a year before the military overthrew him amid massive protests demanding his resignation. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who as military chief led Morsi's ouster in July 2013, was elected president a year ago.

Since Morsi's ouster, pro-government media have increasingly blamed the violence during the 2011 uprising on his Muslim Brotherhood, which is now outlawed as a terrorist group.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes struck multiple targets in the Gaza Strip early Thursday in response to Palestinian rocket fire, but nobody was injured according to Palestinian security sources.

They said that the raids hit three training bases of the Ezzedine Al Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in Gaza City and a fourth in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An Israeli military statement spoke only of three hits in total and did not give their location or identify the targets.

"Yesterday, June 3, 2015, two rockets were launched at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip," it said, adding that they fell on open ground near the southern city of Ashkelon and the town of Netivot. "No injuries were reported."

"In response to this attack, the Israel Defence Forces struck three terror infrastructures in the Gaza Strip," it said.

Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon blamed the territory's de facto rulers Hamas for the rocket fire.

"We will hold Hamas responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip and we will not tolerate any attempt to harm our citizens," he said in a statement.

"We will not compromise the security of Israeli citizens and we will not accept a return to a situation of regular fire [from Gaza]."

On Wednesday night Israeli security personnel reported that three rockets were fired but that patrols were searching to find where they had fallen.  

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Israel has a general policy of holding Hamas responsible for every rocket attack from the territory under its control, no matter which group actually launched it.

Israeli public radio said the latest volley could be related to internal Gaza infighting between Hamas and its extremist opponents.

Hamas security forces on Tuesday shot dead a Salafist leader in Gaza City Tuesday during a confrontation.

The incident came as Hamas stepped up measures against militants belonging to Islamic extremist groups, some of whom are known as Salafists.

Salafists are Sunni Muslims who promote a strict lifestyle based on that of early “pious ancestors”. In Gaza, they have made no secret of their disdain for Hamas over its observance of a tacit ceasefire with Israel and its failure to implement Islamic law.

Since last summer, when Israel and Hamas fought a deadly 50-day war in and around Gaza, there have been growing signs of internal unrest between Hamas security forces and extremist splinter groups.

RABAT — Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch’s movie on prostitution, “Much Loved”, shown in Cannes but banned at home, has stirred heated debate in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

The film revolves around a group of women making a living from prostitution in Marrakesh, the country’s economic and travel hub.

Scenes from the movie with sexually suggestive dancing and dialogue have surfaced on the Internet, sparking a controversy before it was to have opened in Morocco this autumn.

Social media have seen strong attacks against the filmmakers, and a Facebook page has been set up calling for the execution of the French-Moroccan director and his lead actress Loubna Abidar.

Protests have also been organised, prompting the Islamist government to ban the movie on the grounds that it was damaging to “moral values and Moroccan women”.

Politicians have also stepped into the fray.

“Nabil Ayouch has a mother, a grandmother, a sister and a wife. He should return to God and stop this kind of work,” was the angry reaction of Hamid Chabat, head of the Istiqlal opposition party.

But Deputy Speaker of Parliament Khalija Rouissi, of the Party of Authenticity and Modernity which is also in opposition, countered that the film should be judged on its artistic value.

“Artistic works must be evaluated according to creative criteria and not through a moral prism,” she insisted.

The press is also divided over whether cinema is the appropriate arena for a full-frontal and blunt treatment of prostitution.

“Yes, prostitution exists in Morocco... But that’s no reason to deal with such a sensitive subject in such a provocative tone,” wrote the weekly Maroc Hebdo.

Other newspaper reviewers who attended a private screening have welcomed a film which has sparked controversy in the North African nation.

“Much Loved” depicts “a world filled with hardship and violence”, wrote Tel Quel, another weekly.

A largely taboo topic

Somewhat belatedly, Moroccan media have turned their attention to a health ministry study on prostitution in four major cities.

The 2011 statistical report homes in on the social circumstances, age of first sexual experience and contraception in the cases of around 19,000 prostitutes.

Otherwise, it is largely a taboo subject in Morocco, although prostitutes are active in tourist areas as well as in rural areas.

After the film brought prostitution into the public eye, a prostitute was interviewed — anonymously — on Moroccan radio at a peak listening hour.

The parties, the dancing, the vulgarity as depicted in the movie, “all of that is real”, she said.

“I don’t understand why society doesn’t accept this film. Maybe because it shows a sector of the population which they prefer to remain out of sight,” the woman said.

With appetites whetted by the ban, pirated DVDs of rushes from “Much Loved” have become a hot item on the black market.

In the thick of the controversy, director Ayouch insists that his aim was not to sensationalise prostitution but rather to give a realistic account of the profession based on meetings with 200 sex workers.

“To stop with the controversy would not do justice to what these women have to go through every day. Prostitution is all around us and instead of refusing to see that, we must try to understand,” he said.

With the film industry rallying in his support, Ayouch told the Hollywood Reporter that he was “very shocked and surprised” by Morocco’s ban.

“To me, there is absolutely no reason for it. The film depicts reality and should have opened a debate instead of being banned,” he said.

“Films that talk about important topics, such as prostitution, should not be considered a danger. On the contrary, it’s healthy for a country to be able to look at itself in the mirror.”

BEIRUT — The chief of Al Qaeda's Syria affiliate described the rival Daesh group's self-proclaimed caliphate as "illegitimate", in a wide-ranging television interview aired on Wednesday. 

In the second part of his appearance on the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera news channel, Al Nusra Front leader Abu Mohamed Al Jolani criticised Daesh at length and said he did not foresee a reconciliation between the two jihadist groups soon. 

"They announced a caliphate, but the scholars rejected it as illegitimate. It is not based on Islamic law," Jolani said, his face hidden from view by a black scarf. 

The rivalry between the two groups deepened after Daesh declared a caliphate spanning across Syria and Iraq in June 2014. 

This conflict, Jolani said, had seen Daesh kill more than 700 members of Al Nusra in a single battle, as well as women and children. 

"There is no indication of a solution between us and them at this time. We hope that they repent and return to the Sunni people," Jolani said, adding that the rivalry had allowed the Syrian regime "to flourish”.

He refused to call Daesh fighters "infidels" — a term usually referring to non-Muslims — but instead said they had strayed from the path of Islam.

"They did not commit to the orders we had... including not blowing up markets or killing people in mosques," he said. 

Jolani also criticised Daesh for not "being serious in fighting the regime" of Syrian President Bashar Assad. 

'Rising up against hegemony'

When asked by Al Jazeera interviewer Ahmad Mansur about Al Nusra's ties to Al Qaeda and whether a split was possible, the jihadist leader refrained from answering directly.

"The issue is not about leaving Al Qaeda. It is about who rises up against hegemony," said Jolani, who said he had fought in Iraq against American forces.

As with the first installment of the interview aired last week, an "Al Qaeda in the Levant" flag featured prominently on the table in front of Jolani. 

He said as many as 30 per cent of Al Nusra's members were foreigners, including "a small number of Americans”. 

His television interview comes on the heels of several major victories for Al Nusra against regime forces in Syria's northwest Idlib province. 

In recent months, a Nusra-led alliance has seized several major government posts there, including the provincial capital. 

Mansur hinted that the interview had taken place in the province, saying the pair were currently in "liberated lands in northern Syria”. 

As in the first interview, Jolani again rejected political solutions to Syria's four-year war, saying an end to the crisis could only come through "jihad", or holy war. 

He also spoke about regional developments in Iraq and Yemen, accusing Iran of seeking to expand its "empire" in the Middle East. 

"We will cut off the hands of Iran in the region," he threatened. 

Last week, the jihadist chief had said his group would be willing to protect Syria's minorities if they renounced Assad and "came into the bosom of Islam”.

He also said he had received orders from Al Qaeda's central command not to attack the West. 

"Our mission in Syria is the downfall of the regime, its symbols, and its allies, like Hizbollah," Jolani said, referring to the powerful Shiite movement fighting alongside the Bashar Assad regime.

CHABAHAR, Iran — Hundreds of containers lie idle in the scorching sun that pounds Iran's southeastern port of Chabahar, a free trade zone crippled by decades of international sanctions.

But against the backdrop of nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, authorities hope foreign investors will finally wise up to the "golden opportunity" of doing business in Chabahar, Iran's only gateway to the Indian Ocean.

Between 2006 and 2010, the UN Security Council adopted six resolutions, four of which imposed sanctions, over Iran's nuclear and missile programmes.

Since 2012, the United States and the European Union have also applied a series of unilateral sanctions that specifically target the energy and banking sectors.

In early April, however, Tehran and six world powers reached a framework agreement aimed at paving the way for a final nuclear deal by the end of June.

The deal is aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for an easing of the sanctions. 

The United States, one of the six world powers negotiating with Iran along with Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, has said sanctions would be lifted in stages as the deal is implemented.

For Chabahar Free Zone (CFZ), an accord cannot come soon enough.

The port is located in Sistan-Baluchistan province and provides countries in southeast and central Asia with a gateway to trade with Iran.

A brochure lists "the golden investment opportunities" of doing business here, such as 20 years of tax exemptions, reduced customs rights and a 100 per cent guarantee on invested capital and profits.

About 2,000 companies already have a presence in the free trade zone, which was first set up in 1994.

Half of them are from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Gulf, while 30 per cent are from China and other Asian countries. The remaining 20 per cent are from the West.

"Our policy is to have as many investors as possible," said Saeed Moghadam, the CFZ executive director for investments.

Fifteen years from now Chabahar "will function as a megaport with a traffic capacity of 80 million tonnes", said CFZ Deputy Chairman Ali Hamad Mobaraki.

There are plans to turn the zone into a hub for petrochemical activities as well as developing it into a tourist destination.

The CFZ already has a large commercial area where consumers can snap up goods that are 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than in the rest of Iran.

"People come from all over the country to buy," said Nematollah Rastegar, manager of an electrical appliances shop in the CFZ. 

"Life is getting better here. There is progress. They are building houses."

Yet activity in the port area has struggled to take off and there is still only one crane to unload containers.

"Many foreign companies left" after the West slapped international sanctions on Iran for relaunching its controversial nuclear programme in 2005, said Moghadam.

But the tide appears to have turned slightly since 2013, when Iran and world powers began talks aimed at a breakthrough on the nuclear issue.

According to Moghadam, 250 companies have made a "partial comeback" to Chabahar while "US, Canadian and French companies have shown great interest".

"We have already begun to negotiate contracts" with interested partners, he said, adding that he expected deals to be signed quickly if a nuclear deal is finalised by its end-of-June target date.

BEIRUT — At least 37 people were killed in government barrel bomb attacks in northern Syria on Wednesday, a monitoring group said, while in the northeast Daesh jihadists neared the gates of provincial capital Hasakeh.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths came in three incidents, in Aleppo province in the north and Idlib province in the northwest.

In Tal Rifaat in Aleppo, 18 people were killed, including eight children, when government helicopters dropped at least four of the devices, the Britain-based monitor said.

In the rebel-held eastern neighbourhood of Jubb Al Qubbeh in Aleppo city, 11 civilians died, among them two children, when a barrel bomb exploded.

And in Idlib province, eight members of one family were killed in a barrel bomb attack in the town of Kafr Sijna.

The observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground, said the tolls in the incidents were expected to rise because of the number of people seriously wounded.

Regime barrel bombs — crude weapons made of containers packed with explosives — have often hit schools, hospitals and markets in Syria.

Rights groups criticise them as indiscriminate, saying they kill a disproportionate number of civilians.

Meanwhile, the extremist Daesh group pressed its assault on the northeast Syrian city of Hasakeh, detonating at least five car bombs as it advanced towards the city.

The observatory said Daesh was "at the gates of Hasakeh" after a day of fierce clashes, with many dead on both sides.

"[The clashes] ended with Daesh seizing all of the military checkpoints south of the city. The toll is 27 forces from the army and its loyalists, and at least 26 Daesh jihadists," said the monitoring group's head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The capture of Hasakeh would give the group control of its second provincial capital after their capture of Raqqa last year.

Syrian state TV also reported the five car bombings, but said they had all struck a prison still under construction.

Abdel Rahman said Daesh had sent reinforcements of at least 400 fighters from the eastern province of Deir Ezzor for the Hasakeh assault, which began on May 30.

He said Daesh was within 500 metres of the city, and that regime helicopters were dropping barrel bombs on jihadist positions.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied that his forces use barrel bombs, but evidence collected by activists and rights groups includes footage of the barrels being pushed from helicopters.

Human Rights Watch has also said there is "strong evidence" the regime has dropped barrel bombs containing toxic chemicals on northern Syria.

On Wednesday, the New York-based group said it had led an investigation into three attacks in Idlib province, which killed two people and affected 127 others, and that deadly chlorine was probably used in some, if not all of them.

"The Syrian government has used barrel bombs with toxic chemicals for more than a year while the [UN] Security Council has failed to act," said Philippe Bolopion, HRW's UN and crisis advocacy director. 

More than 220,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government demonstrations that were met with a regime crackdown.

AMMAN — The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) on Thursday announced that it has launched a special unit that will work during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr to ensure the safety of food in the market.

The joint unit, launched in cooperation with the Greater Amman Municipality and the Rangers, will prevent duality, organise work and guarantee efficiency, according to a JFDA statement sent to The Jordan Times.

The unit will also guarantee a fast response to public complaints around-the-clock and across the Kingdom during the fasting month, when consumption of food and beverages tends to rise sharply, and Eid Al Fitr, the Muslim feast marking the end of Ramadan.

The JFDA noted that 16 inspection teams will work in three shifts during Ramadan, 10 of which will be working after iftar to monitor food institutions and street vendors.

The campaign, according to the JFDA, will ensure food stores’ adherence to health regulations and self-monitoring programmes; the safety of showcased food items; and food workers’ commitment to public health and safety standards.

The administration stressed that it will proceed with legal action against any violating institution, with punitive measures including fines, closure, work suspension, or seizure of food items not in line with standards.

The JFDA urged the public not to buy food from street stalls that are exposed to the sun for long hours.

Last Ramadan, the JFDA referred the owners of 320 food institutions around the Kingdom to court.

Its field inspection teams closed 166 food institutions and suspended operations at 306 for health violations.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — US President Barack Obama said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's terms for diplomacy that might lead to a Palestinian state meant Israel had lost international credibility as a potential peacemaker.

Obama also suggested that continued US diplomatic defence for Israel at the United Nations over the Palestine dispute may be reviewed, while reaffirming US support for Israeli security in a conflict-riven Middle East.

In an interview with Israeli television aired on Tuesday, he offered a bleak outlook for decades of negotiations on Palestinian statehood bearing any fruit during the 18 months he has left in office.

"I don't see the likelihood of a framework agreement," Obama said in an interview with Uvda, a current-affairs programme produced by Israel's top-rated Channel Two and Keshet television. "The question is how do we create some building blocks of trust and progress."

While Obama has acknowledged the geographical and ideological divisions among Palestinians that have bedevilled peace efforts, in the interview — taped in the White House on Friday — he focused on Netanyahu's policies.

On the eve of his March 17 election to a fourth term, Netanyahu said there would be no Palestinian state if he remained premier. He argued that any withdrawals from occupied territory by Israel would embolden hardline Islamist guerrillas arrayed on its borders.

Netanyahu has since sought to row back from those remarks but his peace overtures have met with scepticism from the Palestinians as well as Western diplomats.

Obama said Netanyahu's position "has so many caveats, so many conditions that it is not realistic to think that those conditions would be met at any time in the near future”.

"So the danger is that Israel as a whole loses credibility. Already, the international community does not believe that Israel is serious about a two-state solution."

The last round of US-sponsored talks stalled more than a year ago, with Palestinians blaming Israeli settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, among the territories where they seek an independent state.

Obama said now was the time for a re-evaluation of "how we approach defending Israel on the international stage around the Palestinian issue".

He cited pro-Palestinian resolutions at the United Nations that Washington has long blocked in the name of encouraging direct diplomacy between the sides. Asked whether such US vetoes would continue, Obama sounded circumspect.

"Well, here's the challenge. If in fact there is no prospect of an actual peace process, if nobody believes there is a peace process, then it becomes more difficult to argue with those who are concerned about settlement construction, those who are concerned about the current situation," he said.

"It is more difficult for me to say to them, 'Be patient, wait, because we have a process here’."

Israelis and Palestinians both, Obama said, should work with the United States to "move off what appears right now to be a hopeless situation and move it back towards a hopeful situation". He did not offer more concrete solutions.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment on the Obama interview. Speaking at an Israeli missile defence drill earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu stressed the need for self-sufficiency: "When it comes to Israel's security, I rely, first of all, on ourselves."