Jamal Khashoggi’s US lawyer sentenced to three years following detention in UAE
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Your support makes all the difference.President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East came to an end with yet more controversy after it emerged that an American lawyer who previously represented murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been detained in the UAE.
US citizen Asim Ghafoor was detained at Dubai airport on Thursday while travelling to Istanbul for a family wedding and was held on charges related to an in absentia conviction for money laundering. Mr Ghafoor reportedly had no prior knowledge of any conviction.
UAE state media said on Saturday that the attorney had been sentenced to three years in prison.
On Saturday, Mr Biden met with UAE President Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and invited him to visit the US before the year is out.
He was one of multiple Middle Eastern leaders Mr Biden met in Saudi Arabia on Saturday before leaving aboard Air Force One.
New details also emerged about Friday’s controversial meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the man US intelligence found responsible for ordering the Khashoggi’s murder.
When Mr Biden confronted MBS about the killing – after a friendly fist-bump – he denied the accusation and fired back about the US’s own controversies.
Jamal Khashoggi’s American lawyer sentenced to three years in UAE prison following detention at airport
MBS fired back at Biden with US controversies after confrontation over Khashoggi’s murder, says report
Biden poses for ‘family photo’ with Saudi Crown Prince MBS after clash over Khashoggi murderJoe Biden fist-bumps Saudi crown prince after vowing to make him ‘a pariah’ in 2019
Ilhan Omar on Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia: ‘It sends the wrong message to everyone who cares about human rights’
Biden says US would use force as ‘last resort’ to prevent nuclear Iran
The United States would use force to prevent Iran from acquiring or developing nuclear weapons if all other options fail, President Joe Biden said during an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 news.
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Biden says US would use force as ‘last resort’ to prevent Iranian nuclear weapons
‘The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is the Iran with nuclear weapons’
Biden asked about ‘undeniable gap’ with progressive Democrats on Israel
President Joe Biden is asked about the “undeniable gap” between progressive Democrats and him on Israel.
He tells Channel 12: “There are a few of them. I think they’re wrong. I think they’re making a mistake. Israel is a democracy. Israel is our ally ... And I think I make no apologies.”
Mr Biden adds: “There’s no possibility, I think, of the Democratic party, or even a significant portion of the Republican party, walking away from Israel.”
Joe Biden has met every Israeli leader since 1973
President Joe Biden is six years older than the state of Israel, which was established in 1948, and he’s met every one of the country’s prime ministers since he first became a US senator in 1973.
Biden’s Israel visit means he has met all country’s leaders since 1973
US president praises ‘deeper and stronger’ relationship with Israel
Secret Service agent sent back to US after alleged assault
A member of the US Secret Service has returned to the United States after allegedly assaulting a woman outside a bar and being detained by Israeli national police in Jerusalem.
Josh Marcus reports.
Secret Service agent back in US after allegedly assaulting woman at bar in Israel
Secret Service member not charged with any crimes
Joe Biden’s evolving views on Saudi Arabia
Joe Biden will touch down in Saudi Arabia on Friday in a move that will bring an unceremonious end to his campaign promise to make the wealthy Gulf state a “pariah” in the global community.
The president’s visit, which he attempted to explain in a Washington Post op-ed and through a statement from his press secretary last month, is a clear reversal of his onetime vow to make the Kingom pay for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi crown prince, Mohamed bin Salman.
A year and a half into his White House term, Mr Biden’s evolving view on Saudi Arabia remains one of the starkest differences between Joe Biden the president and Joe Biden the presidential candidate.
John Bowden reports.
From ‘pariah’ to ‘partner’: Understanding Joe Biden’s evolving views on Saudi Arabia
President’s softening of rhetoric has yet to produce results
Looking ahead: What’s really behind Biden’s controversial trip to Saudi Arabia?
Before President Joe Biden heads to Saudi Arabia, Andrew Feinberg looks at how foreign policy experts are split on whether the president should be going at all.
What’s really behind Biden’s controversial trip to Saudi Arabia
The White House says Mr Biden’s visit with Saudi leaders is meant to ‘reorient’ America’s relationship with Riyadh. But as Andrew Feinberg reports, foreign policy experts are split on whether the president should be going at all
US intelligence report says Iran may try to assassinate Trump and others
As Joe Biden reiterates that “the only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is the Iran with nuclear weapons”, a shocking story from Yahoo News relays a US intelligence report that warns of potential assassination threats from Iran against top Trump administration officials, including the ex-president himself.
“The Iranian regime is waging a multipronged campaign — including threats of lethal action, international legal maneuvering, and the issuance of Iranian arrest warrants and sanctions — against select US officials to avenge the death of [Iranian Revolutionary Guard] Commander Soleimani in January 2020, raising the threat at home and abroad for those Iran views as responsible for the killing.”
Specifically singled out alongside Mr Trump are his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and former CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie.
Read the full report here.
Biden and Lapid sign joint declaration
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid have signed a joint declaration affirming bonds between counties, security support, and efforts to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon with the United States pledging to use “all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome”.
Lapid does not mince words on Iran
Prime Minister Lapid says to President Biden on Iran that he has said many times that “big countries do not bluff”, and that he completely agrees and that on Iran their words should not be a bluff, but the real thing, adding that the Iranian regime must know that if they continue to deceive the world, they will pay a heavy price.
““They want to destroy the only Jewish state in the world. We will never let that happen. Words will not stop them. Diplomacy will not stop them,” he says. “The only way to stop them is to put a credible military threat on the table.”
Lapid reaches out to America’s Gulf partners
Prime Minister Lapid reaches out to the leaders of America’s Gulf allies, with whom President Biden will meet this weekend.
“I would like you to pass them all a message from us: Our hand is outstretched for peace. We are ready to share our technology and experience, ready for our people to meet and learn about one another, ready for our scientists to collaborate and our businesses to cooperate.”
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