18/09/2025

THURSDAY | SEPT 18, 2025

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Qatar highlights need for new defence pact with US

UN urges solutions amid global crises

HAMILTON: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world leaders on Tuesday to “get serious and deliver” as the 80th session of the UN General Assembly begins in New York next week, Anadolu Ajansi reported. At a news conference at its headquarters ahead of the high-level week, he highlighted multiple crises facing the world, including widening geopolitical divides, raging conflicts and climate change. “We are gathering in turbulent, even uncharted, waters,“ he said, warning that “international cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes”. He stressed that the week offers a crucial opportunity for “dialogue and mediation“, with nearly 150 heads of state and government expected to attend. “UN week offers every possibility for dialogue and mediation. Every opportunity for forging solutions.“ On key priorities for the UN General Assembly, he said it includes peace in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine and Sudan, a pathway to a just, lasting peace in the Middle East, climate action and responsible technological innovation. “We will launch the Global Dialogue on AI governance to put humanity at the centre of technological change, with every country at the table.“ Guterres also emphasised women’s rights, sustainable development financing and strengthening the UN. “Our times demand more than posturing and promises. They demand that leaders make progress and follow through.“ – Bernama-Anadolu DUBAI: Iran has executed a man accused of spying for Israel, according to a report from state media yesterday that identified him as Babak Shahbazi. Iran has put to death many individuals it accuses of having links with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and facilitating its operations in the country. Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased this year, with at least nine death sentences carried out in recent months. State media said Shahbazi had worked alongside Esmaeil Fekri, another convict executed in June for spying for Israel since early 2022. The defendant’s lawyer had requested an appeal to the Supreme Court, which rejected the request. – Reuters SHELLING REPORTED NEAR NUCLEAR PLANT VIENNA: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday its team at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant heard shelling close to the site and observed black smoke rising from nearby locations. The IAEA team was informed that multiple artillery shells struck an area outside the plant’s perimeter, around 400m from its off-site diesel fuel storage facility, the agency said. “While there were no reports of casualties or equipment damage, the incident underlined the constant dangers to nuclear safety and security,“ said IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi. – Reuters ALLEGED SPY FOR ISRAEL EXECUTED

in mediating between Israel and Hamas in negotiations for a ceasefire in the war and the release of the 251 Israeli hostages captured by Palestinian militants. Between 2018 and 2023, Qatar sent millions of dollars in monthly cash handouts and aid to Hamas-run Gaza, with the approval of Netanyahu’s Cabinet at the time. Earlier this year, Israeli media reported that two of Netanyahu’s aides were being investigated by the Shin Bet internal security agency for allegedly receiving payments from Qatar. The scandal, dubbed “Qatargate”, raised questions about the possibility of Qatari influence in the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu, who was called to testify in the investigation in March, denounced it as a “political witch hunt”. Israeli media have linked the Cabinet’s dismissal of Shin Beth chief Ronen Bar and attempts to fire Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to their role in the investigation. – AFP

efforts to end the war in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday the strike against Hamas officials in Qatar was “justified” by the Gulf state’s ties to the group. “Qatar is connected to Hamas, it bolsters Hamas, it harbours Hamas, it funds Hamas. It has strong levers (that it could pull), but it chose not to,” he said during a press conference. “Our action was entirely justified,” he added. The unprecedented attack on the Hamas meeting in Doha was the first such Israeli strike on fellow US ally Qatar. The bombing resulted in the death of six people, none of whom were the top Hamas officials Israel was targeting, according to the militant group and Israeli sources quoted by national media. Qatar has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long hosted leaders of the Palestinian militant group. It has also played a pivotal role

o Meeting reviewed strategic relations and ways to strengthen ties

ISTANBUL: Qatar said on Tuesday last week’s Israeli airstrike on Doha hastens the need for an updated strategic defence agreement with the United States, Anadolu Ajansi reported. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said: “This is not new in itself, but rather an acceleration of the process.” In June 1992, Qatar signed a defence cooperation agreement with the United States. On Tuesday, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Doha from Israel. The meeting reviewed the strategic relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them, particularly in the defence field. Rubio reaffirmed Washington’s security partnership with Qatar. TOKYO: Japan will not recognise a Palestinian state, a decision likely taken to maintain relations with the United States and avoid a hardening of Israel’s attitude, the Asahi newspaper reported yesterday, citing unidentified government sources. Several governments have said they would recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly this month. The United States had prompted Japan to forgo the recognition of a Palestinian state through several diplomatic channels while French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had strongly urged his Japanese counterpart to recognise it, Kyodo news agency reported last week. Japan has been conducting a “comprehensive assessment, including appropriate timing and modalities, of the issue of recognising Palestinian statehood“, said Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya. Top government spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi repeated the statement at a news conference yesterday when asked about the Asahi report. He expressed a “grave sense of crisis” over the Israeli ground assault on Gaza City, saying “the very foundations of a two-state solution could be collapsing”. He urged Israel to “take steps to end the severe humanitarian crisis as

“We reaffirmed the enduring US-Qatar security partnership and our shared commitment to a safer, more stable region,” he wrote on X. The top diplomat thanked Qatar “for its ongoing mediation efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas and to bring the hostages home”. Prior to his arrival from Israel, Rubio said Washington and Doha are close to finalising an enhanced defence cooperation agreement. The visit followed Monday’s emergency summit of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Doha that condemned Israel’s attack and expressed solidarity with Qatar. The summit was called in response to the strike and brought together nearly 60 countries to call for firm action against Israel. Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, has been mediating

Japan will not recognise Palestinian state

BR I E F S

Displaced Palestinians moving with their belongings in the Nuseirat refugee camp area in Gaza following renewed Israeli evacuation orders. – AFPPIC

soon as possible”. At a UN meeting on Friday, Japan was among 142 nations that voted in favour of a declaration outlining “tangible, timebound and irreversible steps” towards a

two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. However, Asahi said Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to skip a meeting on Monday pertaining the subject during the UN

gathering in New York. Within the

Group German

of

Seven and Italian officials have called an immediate recognition of Palestine “counterproductive”. – Reuters nations,

EU, US discuss raising economic pressure on Russia

BRUSSELS: European Union (EU) Chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said she and US President Donald Trump discussed additional steps to tighten the screws on Russia over the Ukraine war. “I had a good call with (Trump) on strengthening our joint efforts to

Brussels is seeking to move faster. “Russia’s war economy, sustained by revenues from fossil fuels, is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine. To put an end to it, the (European) Commission will propose speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil imports,“ she wrote. – AFP

stop buying Russian oil before he moves on punishing Moscow. The 27-nation EU has banned most imports of Russian oil since 2022 and it is planning to phase out all Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027. Von der Leyen indicated that

increase economic pressure on Russia through additional measures.“ She said the EU executive would soon present its proposals for a 19th package of EU sanctions on Russia, including measures targeting crypto, banks and energy. Trump has demanded that allies