AFP Asia Business

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview released on Monday that Israel, which last month fought a 12-day war with Iran, had attempted to assassinate him.The remarks came less than a month after Israel launched its unprecedented June 13 bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Israeli attacks took place two days before Tehran and Washington were set to meet for a new round of nuclear talks, stalling negotiations that were aimed at reaching a deal over Iran’s atomic programme. “They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian told US media figure Tucker Carlson in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him.”It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting… they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he said according to a translation of his remarks from Persian, in apparent reference to an alleged assassination attempt during the recent war.At least 1,060 people were killed in Iran during the conflict, according to Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs.The Israeli attacks drew waves of retaliatory drone and missile fire, killing 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.- ‘Forever wars’ -The 12-day war between Iran and Israel saw it, along with the United States, launching strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.A ceasefire between Iran and Israel took hold since June 24. On June 16, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out plans to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it would “end the conflict” after reports emerged at the time that US President Donald Trump had vetoed the move. During the war, Iranian authorities also said an Israeli plot to kill Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was foiled.In the interview with Carlson, Pezeshkian accused Netanyahu of pursuing his “own agenda” of “forever wars” in the Middle East and urged the United States not to be dragged into it.”The US administration should refrain from getting involved in a war that is not America’s war, it is Netanyahu’s war,” he said. He added that his country has “no problem” restarting nuclear talks, provided that trust can be reestablished between the two countries.”We see no problem in re-entering the negotiations,” the Iranian president said. “There is a condition … for restarting the talks. How are we going to trust the United States again?” “We re-entered the negotiations, then how can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us.” Pezeshkian added that Iran would be open to US investments should sanctions on Tehran be lifted.”There is no limitation and nothing preventing the US investors to come to Iran and to make investments in Iran.”Pezeshkian also warned that the US has two ways in front of it for dealing with Iran and the region: peace or war.”US President Mr. Trump is capable enough to guide the region towards peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place or get into an endless pit or swamp and that is a war that Netanyahu wants the US or its president to be dragged into.”

US President Donald Trump unveiled higher tariffs for Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries in a push for new trade deals Monday — but extended the deadline for the steeper levies to kick in until August.Trump issued similar letters to countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia, saying he would slap duties on their products ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent.These mark a step up from the 10 percent levy the president earlier imposed on almost all trading partners.But the starting date of August 1 marks a delay in Trump’s reimposition of higher duties, originally due Wednesday.In near-identically worded letters to Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said US tariff hikes to 25 percent came as their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”He warned of further escalation if there was retaliation against the levies.But the president said he was ready to lower the new levels if partners changed their trade policies: “We will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter.”Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with Washington.Trump originally announced sweeping tariffs on world economies during what he called “Liberation Day” on April 2, claiming the United States was being “ripped off.”Amid market turmoil, he then suspended higher duties affecting dozens of economies for 90 days, a deadline that would have expired Wednesday.On Monday, Trump signed an order formally extending the Wednesday deadline, postponing it to August 1.With the delay, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that Trump would set out the “reciprocal tariff rate” for partners in the coming month as negotiations continue.According to letters posted to Trump’s Truth Social platform, products from Indonesia will face a 32 percent tariff, while the level for Bangladesh is 35 percent and Thailand, 36 percent.Most countries receiving letters so far had duties similar or unchanged from threatened rates in April, although some like Laos and Cambodia see notably lower levels.While the Trump administration had signaled hopes of striking dozens of deals by July, there have been limited results so far.Washington has unveiled pacts with only Britain and Vietnam, while the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other’s products that earlier reached three-digits.- ‘Change their tune’ -Asked why Trump opted to start with South Korea, Leavitt said: “It’s the President’s prerogative, and those are the countries he chose.””This announcement will send a chilling message to others,” said Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Wendy Cutler, referring to Trump’s initial letters to Tokyo and Seoul.”Both have been close partners on economic security matters,” she said, adding that companies from Japan and South Korea have made “significant manufacturing investments in the US in recent years.”US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that there would be more deals coming up: “We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours.””We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers,” Bessent told CNBC.He added that he would meet with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks.Both sides have so far held high-level talks in Geneva and London. But Washington and Beijing’s pause on higher tit-for-tat tariffs is due to expire in mid-August.Major US stock indexes fell from records Monday on Trump’s fresh threats. The Nasdaq tumbled 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent.Trump has also threatened another 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of “Anti-American policies” after they slammed his duties at a summit.But partners are still rushing to avert Trump’s tariffs altogether.The European Commission said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a “good exchange” with Trump on trade when the pair spoke Sunday.

US President Donald Trump unveiled higher tariffs for Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries in a push for new trade deals Monday — but extended the deadline for the steeper levies to kick in until August.Trump issued similar letters to countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia, saying he would slap …

Trump unveils first wave of steeper US tariffs, extends deadline Read More »

Stock markets were mixed Monday with US indices retreating from records as President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policy came back to the forefront, reviving worries about trade wars and inflation.”Tariff threats look likely to take center stage yet again this week, following further developments over the weekend,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive …

US stocks retreat from records on Trump tariff deluge Read More »

US President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to push for an end to the Gaza war, after Israel and Hamas held indirect talks in Qatar on an elusive ceasefire.Trump has said he believes there is a “good chance” of an agreement this week for a ceasefire in the devastated Palestinian territory, hot on the heels of a truce in the war between Israel and Iran.The US president — who has expressed increasing concern over the situation in Gaza in recent weeks — will have dinner behind closed doors with Netanyahu, their third meeting since Trump returned to power.White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said it was Trump’s “utmost priority… to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages.”Leavitt said Trump wanted Hamas to agree to a US-brokered proposal “right now” after Israel backed the plan for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.The latest round of negotiations on the war in Gaza began on Sunday in Doha, with representatives seated in different rooms in the same building. A second session was held on Monday and ended with “no breakthrough,” a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told AFP. The Hamas and Israeli delegations were due to resume talks later on Monday, the official said.- ‘Good chance’ -Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was due to join the talks in Doha later this week in an effort to get a ceasefire over the line as the Gaza conflict nears its 22nd month.In Washington, key US ally Netanyahu was to hold separate meetings with Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio before his dinner with Trump at 6:30 pm local time (2230 GMT).Netanyahu, speaking before heading to Washington, said his meeting with Trump could “definitely help advance” a deal with Hamas.Trump said on Sunday that there was a “good chance we have a deal with Hamas… during the coming week”.He added that during his talks with Netanyahu he wanted to discuss a “permanent deal” with Iran, following a truce with Israel that was precipitated by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. But the talks in both Washington and Doha promise to be tense.Netanyahu previously said Hamas’s initial response to the draft ceasefire proposal contained “unacceptable” demands.The proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel, two Palestinian sources close to the discussions had earlier told AFP.But the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel’s withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations, and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system, they said.- ‘End the war’ -In Israel’s coastal hub of Tel Aviv, hours before the meeting, dozens of people including relatives of hostages demonstrated to demand the release of the remaining captives.”President Trump — make history. Bring them all home. End the war,” read a sign held by protesters outside the US diplomatic mission in the city.Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the Hamas attack that triggered the war, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.Two previous ceasefires have broken down and efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s demand for a lasting ceasefire.In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 12 people on Monday, including six in a clinic housing people displaced by the war.The war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. The rollout of food distribution by a US- and Israel-backed group in late May has been chaotic, with more than 500 aid seekers killed near its facilities, according to the UN Human Rights Office.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,523 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.It has also reduced much of the enclave to rubble, destroying schools, hospitals and residential areas, and severely restricted the entry of aid. burs-dk/aha

US envoy Thomas Barrack said Monday he was satisfied by the response of Lebanon’s authorities to a request to disarm Hezbollah, although warned Lebanon risked being left behind as change sweeps other countries in the region.Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms, while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire.Israel has warned it will continue to strike until Hezbollah has been disarmed, while the movement’s leader Naim Qassem said Sunday his group would not surrender or lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats.”I’m unbelievably satisfied with the response,” Barrack, Washington’s ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, told a press conference after meeting President Joseph Aoun.”It’s thoughtful, it’s considered. We’re creating a go-forward plan,” he said.”Now what it takes is a… thrust to the details, which we’re going to do. We’re both committed to get to the details and get a resolution,” he said, adding: “I’m very, very hopeful.”Lebanon’s health ministry said two people were killed in Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Monday, the latest report of deadly raids despite the ceasefire. – ‘Future for them’ -Last month, Barrack asked Lebanese leaders to formally commit to disarming Hezbollah, the only group that retained its weapons after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, doing so in the name of “resistance” against Israel which occupied southern Lebanon at the time.Hezbollah was heavily weakened in the latest conflict, with Israel battering the group’s arsenal of missiles and rockets and killing senior commanders including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah.The presidency said on X that Aoun handed Barrack “ideas for a comprehensive solution”.Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said his own meeting with Barrack was constructive and “considered Lebanon’s interest and sovereignty… and the demands of Hezbollah”, according to a statement.Barrack said that Hezbollah “needs to see that there’s a future for them, that that road is not harnessed just solely against them.” He warned that “the rest of the region is moving at Mach speed, and you will be left behind”, adding that “dialogue has started between Syria and Israel, just as the dialogue needs to be reinvented by Lebanon.”On Friday, Syria said it was willing to cooperate with the United States to reimplement a 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, nearly seven months after Islamists ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, a Hezbollah ally who was also backed by Iran.Syria has also admitted to holding indirect talks with Israel to reduce tensions.- Strikes -A Lebanese official told AFP on condition of anonymity that late last week, Beirut submitted an initial response to Washington, which requested modifications, then officials worked through the weekend to develop the final version.Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier.Israel was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five areas that it deemed strategic.The truce was based on a United Nations Security Council resolution that says only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should bear arms in south Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups.Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the south near the Israeli border.Hezbollah’s Qassem said Sunday that Israel needed to abide by the ceasefire agreement, “withdraw from the occupied territories, stop its aggression… release the prisoners” detained during last year’s war, and that reconstruction in Lebanon must begin.Only then “will we be ready for the second stage, which is to discuss the national security and defence strategy” which includes the issue of the group’s disarmament, he added.