Middle East Experience

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu desperately sees how the tough stance of the Trump administration against the nuclear deal with Iran has now morphed and changed into the Americans feeling their way back to the deal.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel adopts 'controlled escalation' policy for Iran

A number of political leaders are calling for the formation of a national salvation government in Tunisia after several successive governments have failed to solve the economic crisis.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Political bickering stalls Tunisian national dialogue

Europe’s drug regulator on Wednesday said it had found a possible link between AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and very rare blood clots in adults who received the shot. Britain recommended people under 30 get an alternative COVID-19 vaccine if possible.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Here’s what we know so far:What has happened? The EMA said its vaccine side effects monitoring system, as of April 4, had received 169 reports of cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), or clots in blood vessels exiting the brain, and 53 cases of splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT), or clotting in veins in the abdomen.That’s out of some 34 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses administered in Britain and the European Economic Area since vaccinations started almost three months ago.Its safety committee carried out a review of 62 cases of CVST and 24 cases of SVT, of which 18 were fatal.Most of the cases reported have occurred in women under 60, though that could be misleading. Germany and Britain say many more women received AstraZeneca’s shot than men.Most cases occurred within 2 weeks of the person receiving their first dose.German vaccination officials who recorded 29 cases of CVST in women aged 20 to 59 who got the AstraZeneca vaccine said the occurrence rate in that group was 20 times higher within 16 days of vaccination than what would have typically been expected.Germany’s health ministry has said 1 to 1.4 cases of CVST would have been expected during that time.What has Britain’s regulator said? The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency reviewed 79 cases of rare clotting coupled with low platelets, with 19 fatalities - 13 women and 6 men. Eleven of the deaths in people under the age of 50 and three under 30.All 79 cases occurred after a first dose of the vaccine.How did regulators come to their decision? British officials drew on statistics from the University of Cambridge’s Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication to explain their recommendations that young people get an alternative shot while older people still get AstraZeneca’s.According to the Centre, vaccination with the AstraZeneca shot would reduce admissions to intensive care units by nearly seven in 100,000 people in the group aged 20-29 years old with high risk of exposure to the virus, while 1.1 people per 100,000 people in the same group were estimated as likely to suffer serious vaccine-related harms.The risk of serious harm due to vaccination falls further the older people get, and ICU admissions prevented by vaccination rise sharply, boosting the AstraZeneca shot’s benefit-to-risk ratio. The Centre concluded only 0.4 people for every 100,000 in the 50-59 age group would suffer vaccine-linked harm, while 95.6 ICU admissions per 100,000 people would be prevented.EMA investigators checked if the frequency of events was higher in the vaccinated population than normal background rates drawn from public health statistics or insurance records. This would be combined with a medical analysis of each case and insight from scientific literature.In its findings, the EMA said on March 18 that, on average, just 1.35 cases of CVST might normally have been expected among people under 50 within 14 days of receiving AstraZeneca’s vaccine, whereas by the same cut-off date 12 cases had been recorded.By comparison, four women out of 10,000 would get a blood clot from taking oral contraception.Key to the EMA’s assessment that benefits continue to outweigh risks are its conclusions about likelihood of an increased risk from clotting, compared with the benefits of preventing COVID-19 and reducing hospitalizations and deaths.What’s the EU doing now? The EMA said that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects and countries should decide on how to proceed with their national COVID-19 immunization campaigns.These may vary from nation to nation, the EMA said, depending on factors like how quickly infections are spreading and whether vaccines are available. Its safety committee requested new studies, and changes to ongoing ones, to provide more information about the mechanism behind the rare clots.AstraZeneca and European regulators have said concerns about blood disorders did not emerge during clinical trials.Are there any theories for what may be leading to the clots? Among possible causes for these rare cerebral sinous vein clots being investigated are that the vaccine triggers an unusual antibody in rare cases.The EMA said the vaccine may trigger an immune response leading to the unusual clotting, though it acknowledged that scientists have yet to identify any risk factors that might predispose somebody to clotting combined with low platelets.German scientists at Greifswald University concluded the vaccine is linked to the side effects, though their work still requires peer review. Andreas Greinacher, an expert on drug-induced immune responses, said specimens he has examined exhibited unusual antibodies that activate blood platelets, prompting the clots.Greinacher is still seeking clues about why some people had clots and others did not.Read more:France recommends different vaccine for under 55s who received first AstraZeneca shotUK advises alternative to AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s due to blood clot linksCountries should continue using AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for now, says WHO
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots: Here’s what you need to know

Iran plans to verify whether the US is actually lifting sanctions through oil exports and via international banking transactions, a member of Tehran’s negotiating team said in an interview published on Friday.The team has been holding talks in Vienna with representatives of the other parties to a 2015 nuclear accord on how to reintegrate Washington into the deal and to end crippling sanctions and Iran’s countermeasures.US President Joe Biden has said he is ready to reverse the 2018 decision of his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose unilateral sanctions.Tehran’s official position, announced by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is to fall back in line with obligations it suspended only after verifying that “all sanctions” are “truly lifted.”“Verification means that, for instance, the Islamic republic must be able to sign its oil contracts and export it and bring in its revenues via banking channels or consider other uses for it,” said Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the UN’s nuclear watchdog and a delegation member.“Or, in the banking sector, (Iran must) be able to conduct its financial transactions using different financial channels,” he said, quoted by Khamenei’s official website.Gharibabadi stressed it was “the only way we can make sure that sanctions have been lifted in action” and not only “on paper.”Iran demands the lifting of all US sanctions, including those reimposed by Trump, “new sanctions” by the administration, and “sanctions imposed using non-nuclear excuses”, he said.Trump blacklisted dozens of Iranian entities in addition to blocking Iran’s oil exports and virtually all banking ties -- sanctions that had been lifted in 2016 under the accord curbing its nuclear program.According to Gharibabadi, Iran is exploring options in the Vienna talks to prevent a potential repeat of what happened in 2018.“It is being discussed what should be done regarding Iran’s technical commitments, and how they be carried out, in case a party reneges on their promise.”Read more:Chinese envoy says Iran talks to resume next weekUS, Iran may meet next week for indirect talks on nuclear deal: State DepartmentMajor powers meet separately with US, Iran to discuss nuclear deal
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran to verify US lifting of sanctions through oil exports, banking transactions

Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, has died aged 99, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the palace said in a statement.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”Philip spent a month in hospital earlier this year before being released on March 16 to return to Windsor Castle.Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, married Elizabeth in 1947 and was the longest-serving consort in British history.He retired from public engagements in 2017 after carrying out more than 20,000 of them.Philip was a member of the Greek royal family and was born on the Greek island of Corfu in 1921. He was an avid sportsman who loved country pursuits.He had four children, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.Prince Philip will not have a state funeral nor lie in state for the public to pay their respects ahead of the funeral, the College of Arms said, with arrangements revised to meet COVID restrictions.“The funeral will not be a State Funeral and will not be preceded by a Lying-in-State. His Royal Highness’s body will lie at rest in Windsor Castle ahead of the funeral in St George’s Chapel. This is in line with custom and with His Royal Highness’s wishes,” the College of Arms said on.“The funeral arrangements have been revised in view of the prevailing circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and it is regretfully requested that members of the public do not attempt to attend or participate in any of the events that make up the funeral.” Read more:UK’s Prince Philip transferred back to private hospital after heart procedureBritain’s Prince Philip leaves hospital after heart procedurePrince Philip has successful heart procedure, to remain hospitalized
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Britain’s Prince Philip died at age of 99: Buckingham Palace

With Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid on vacation in the United States, and Yamina leader Naftali Bennett changing course, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the upper hand against the "bloc for change."
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Bloc for toppling Netanyahu now crumbling

Israel reveals how weapons are being smuggled from Iran to Hamas in Gaza via Yemen and Sudan and then through Egypt.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Report outlines how Iran smuggles arms to Hamas

The Arab Coalition destroyed a drone launched by the Iran-backed Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait, coalition spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Maliki said on Friday.The militia continues its hostile attempts to target civilians in the Kingdom, which should be considered as a war crime, al-Maliki said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The coalition is taking operational measures to protect civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to al-Maliki.The Iran-backed group has launched dozens of aerial attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent months, targeting civilian areas and energy facilities in the Kingdom with explosive-laden drones and ballistic missiles.Less than 24 hours ago, the Arab Coalition said it destroyed an explosive drone launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia towards Saudi Arabia’s Jazan.The attack targeting Jazan was the second on Thursday after coalition intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone in Yemeni airspace launched by the Houthis toward the Kingdom.Read more:Arab Coalition intercepts Houthi drone in Yemen airspace heading towards Saudi ArabiaArab Coalition destroys explosive drone targeting Saudi Arabia’s JazanIran-backed Houthis using textbooks to spread rhetoric among Yemeni children: Report
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Arab Coalition destroys Houthi drone launched towards Khamis Mushait

Kurdish authorities say they will continue administering the vaccine following the European Union's conclusion that blood clots should be listed among "rare side effects" of the British-Swedish vaccine.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iraq's Kurdistan region sticks with AstraZeneca vaccine, reports no issues

Talks to bring Iran and the United States fully back into the 2015 nuclear deal are making progress, delegates said on Friday, but Iranian officials indicated disagreement with Washington over which sanctions it must lift.The talks, in which European Union officials are shuttling between the remaining parties to the deal and the United States, aim to restore the bargain at the core of the deal - restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of US and other international sanctions.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The United States was the first to renege on that bargain under President Donald Trump, who vehemently opposed the deal and sought to wreck it. He pulled out, reimposed the sanctions that were lifted, and brought in many more. Iran responded by breaching many of the nuclear restrictions.“All Trump sanctions were anti-JCPOA & must be removed—w/o distinction between arbitrary designations,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Twitter, referring to the deal by its full name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.The United States says it is prepared to lift “sanctions that are inconsistent with the JCPOA”. While it has declined to elaborate, that appears to exclude sanctions formally unrelated to nuclear issues covered by the deal.Whether the statements are opening gambits or more firm positions remains to be seen. European officials said Iran was bargaining hard at the outset.The remaining parties to the accord - Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - met again in Vienna on Friday after talks formally began on Tuesday and they agreed to keep going, Russian and Chinese envoys said.“The #JCPOA participants took stock of the work done by experts over the last three days and noted with satisfaction the initial progress made,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to theUnited Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Twitter after the meeting formally known as the Joint Commission.“The Commission will reconvene next week in order to maintain the positive momentum.”The deal’s remaining parties have formed two expert-level working groups whose job is to draw up lists of sanctions that the United States will lift and of nuclear restrictions Iran will implement. Their work continues between Joint Commission meetings.“All parties have narrowed down their differences and we do see the momentum for gradually evolving consensus,” Wang Qun, China’s ambassador to the IAEA, told reporters after the meeting, adding that work would continue next week.Read more:Iran’s Zarif says US sanctions are against nuclear deal, must be removedIran to verify US lifting of sanctions through oil exports, banking transactionsRussia, China say Iran talks to resume next weekUS, Iran may meet next week for indirect talks on nuclear deal: State Department
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Parties to Iran nuclear talks see progress despite disagreement with US on sanctions