U.S. diplomacy

The United States has imposed sanctions on a network based in Iran and China that it accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients on behalf of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to increase pressure on Tehran. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it was targeting six entities and six individuals as part of the action, which comes as the Trump administration has relaunched negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program (Read more at Iran Front Page).

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani has been in the United States for meetings at the United Nations, where he raised the three-star flag of Syria’s uprising. Damascus is keen to hear a realistic path forward from the United States for permanent sanctions relief while conveying a realistic timeline to deliver on Washington’s demands for the lifting of the sanctions (Read more at Arabnews).

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed private equity executive Thomas Barrack, a longtime friend and backer of President Donald Trump, to be U.S. ambassador to Turkey, a NATO member that in recent years has had strained ties with the United States. The Senate confirmed Barrack by 60 votes to 36, with almost all his support coming from Trump's fellow Republicans, who hold 53 seats in the 100-member chamber (Read more at MSN).

Britain said it joined US forces in air strikes on a Houthi military target in Yemen overnight, hitting a rebel drone production facility about 25 km (15 miles) south of Sanaa. Britain and the US have also previously conducted joint operations and strikes in Yemen (Read more at France 24).

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Etihad had recorded strong seat occupancy levels in recent weeks despite the trade tensions, and that the volatility could even create opportunities in some instances. He expects more Europeans, for example, to take advantage of the euro’s recent gains against the dollar and the Gulf region’s dollar-pegged currencies to travel (Read more at Arabnews).

The senior U.S. official said the third round of talks lasted over four hours and included direct and indirect engagement between the U.S. and Iranian teams. Araghchi said in a briefing with his traveling press that he is satisfied with the progress and pace of the negotiations and stressed both sides are serious. "Some differences are serious, some less so. I'm hopeful about reaching a deal, but yet cautious," Araghchi added (Read more at Axios).

The Trump administration has reversed the US government’s longstanding position that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) was protected from civil liability. The new position was unveiled in a letter the Justice Department filed in federal court in New York on Thursday as part of a lawsuit that aims to hold the agency accountable for the Hamas-led attacks of October 7 (Read more at Aljazeera).

“The continued imposition of sanctions against various economic sectors of Iran is in clear contradiction with the US claim for dialogue and negotiation and indicates the lack of goodwill and seriousness of the US in this regard,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei said (Read more at Arab Weekly).

In the four-page document, Syria pledges to set up a liaison office at the foreign ministry to find missing US journalist Austin Tice and details its work to tackle chemical weapons stockpiles, including closer ties with a global arms watchdog. But it had less to say on other key demands, including removing foreign fighters and granting the US permission for counterterrorism strikes (Read more at Business Standard).