Paul Conroy claimed to be 'safe' in Lebanon after being smuggled out of Homs

 

Conroy, a British photographer working for the Sunday Times, and Bouvier, a French correspondent for Le Figaro, were reported to have travelled safely out of Syria overnight and were in Lebanon on Tuesday morning. "We've just had word from Beirut," said Mr Conroy's father, Les, on Tuesday morning. They are understood to have been smuggled out of a besieged enclave of Homs by the Syrian opposition. However, there were conflicting reports over whether they had been successfully evacuated. Miles Amoore, Sunday Times correspondent in Afghanistan, tweeted that they were still in the Baba Amr area of Homs. Both journalists suffered leg injuries last Wednesday during a barrage that killed Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times and Remi Ochlik, a French photographer.

Fertile territory for Al-Shabaab in chaos of Somalia

 

Representatives from more than 40 governments and humanitarian groups were holding talks Thursday in London on Somalia, which is in the grip of an insurgency. The gathering will try to agree a common approach to tackling the political turmoil, terrorism, poor security, while providing humanitarian aid. Much of the focus at the meeting will be on Al-Shabaab, a militant Islamist group that controls much of southern Somalia and is active around the capital, Mogadishu. It has waged an insurgency against the weak Transitional Federal Government since 2007. How it started Somalia has been without any functioning government since 1991 -- perfect territory for different militia and factions to fight over the bones of the old state. Al-Shabaab (which means "the youth" in Somali) emerged in about 2004. Its gunmen were involved in a series of assassinations of Somalis who had connections to the West. See high-res gallery of chaos in Somalia Al Shabaab began prospering when the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) seized the capital Mogadishu and much of central Somalia in 2006. London conference over Somalia war Years of chaos take toll in Somalia Kenya's military fighting in Somalia After defeating a coalition of warlords backed by the United States, the ICU brought Shariah-style justice to the capital, temporarily halting the anarchy in the city. Many people in the capital welcomed the greater security that the ICU brought, thanks in part to the effective fighting skills of several hundred Al-Shabaab fighters. How Somali militants target addicts in UK's "khat cafes" Ethiopian invasion Six months after the ICU established itself in Mogadishu, Ethiopia invaded Somalia, with backing from Washington. Both governments were concerned that the ICU were establishing fundamentalist Islamist rule and giving al Qaeda a foothold in Africa. Many of the ICU leadership fled, but Al-Shabaab launched a guerrilla war against the 17,000 Ethiopian soldiers deployed, drawing support from many Somalis, for whom Ethiopia is the regional arch-enemy. The Ethiopians quickly occupied Mogadishu but failed to pacify much of central and southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab was able to regroup in southern Somalia, aided by the squabbling within the Western-backed transitional federal government. In 2008, the militants began to retake a series of coastal towns south of the capital, and the port of Kismayo became a major source of revenue. According to the U.N. Al-Shabaab collects an estimated $35-50 million annually in custom tolls and taxes on businesses in Kismayo -- and two secondary ports higher up the coast. At the same time, Al-Shabaab commanders split from the political leadership of the ICU over talks with the government, which Al-Shabaab rejected. For their part, elders in the ICU were uneasy with the growing role of foreign fighters within Al-Shabaab and its shift from being a Somali resistance force to part of the global jihadist movement. Links with al Qaeda Most Al-Shabaab watchers believe that the organizational ties between the group and al Qaeda "central" are weak or non-existent. Both Osama bin Laden and his successor Ayman al Zawahiri lauded Al-Shabaab for its resistance to Ethiopian occupation and its waging of jihad. Soon after the Ethjiopian invasion, Zawahiri encouraged Somalis to defeat the "crusader Ethiopian invaders." Some Al-Shabaab leaders are said to have trained in Afghanistan, but the majority of young fighters have little knowledge of al Qaeda. Mysterious al Qaeda 'envoy' dispenses aid in Somalia Al-Shabaab formally declared its allegiance to al Qaeda in February 2010, claiming it would "connect jihad in the Horn of Africa to the jihad led by al Qaeda." It reiterated the affiliation when Zawahiri became al Qaeda's leader, and last year declared it would "sacrifice everything in the attainment of a global Islamic Caliphate." Somali PM: 'We need billions of dollars' Kenyan kids lured to join Somalia fight Somalis flee drought, terror This month, the two organizations announced their formal merger, with Zawahiri announcing in a video statement that the alliance would "support the jihadi unity against the Zio[nist]-Crusader campaign and their assistants amongst the treacherous agent rulers." Disenchantment grows Al-Shabaab's best recruiting sergeant was the incapable transitional government and the long power struggle between President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a former warlord, and his Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. Yusuf, an ally of Ethiopia, was eventually forced to step down at the end of 2008, easing some of the tensions within the fragile government. At the same time, some Al-Shabaab factions began what appeared to many Somalis as senseless attacks -- a suicide bombing against a graduation ceremony for doctors in 2009 which killed 19 people; an attack on a medical clinic used by African Union forces and civilians in January 2010; and last October another suicide attack against scholarship students gathered for an event near the Education Ministry. That attack killed more than 100 people. Al-Shabaab's implementation of strict Sharia law has begun to alienate many in the way that al Qaeda did in Iraq. Women have been stoned to death for adultery; amputations and beheadings are common. In some areas Al-Shabaab has banned listening to the radio and non-Arabic signs; and it has assassinated several journalists. In a country that has little tradition of strict Sharia, such moves alienate ordinary Somalis. Who's in charge? Al-Shabaab has no conventional hierarchy and is divided into factions, with foreign fighters prominent in some areas and local commanders in control in others. It has also had fluctuating relationships with other Islamist groups in Somalia, such as Kamboni, with which it joined forces last year. The most prominent and established leader is Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who has been on a U.S. list of people "linked to terrorism" for a decade. "I am not a terrorist. But if strictly following my religion and love for Islam makes me a terrorist, then I will accept the designation," he said five years ago. There is considerable tension within the movement over the extent to which Shariah law should be implemented; and more recently over allowing foreign aid groups into southern Somalia to help alleviate a famine that threatens the lives of millions. American carried out Somalia suicide bombing, Islamists claim In essence the foreign fighters (among them an estimated 40 Somalis from the U.S. as well as more from Canada and Europe) see Al-Shabaab's role as part of global jihad; most local leaders, especially in the south, have a more nationalistic approach. They oppose the government in Mogadishu and the role of African Union troops in protecting it; but are unhappy about Al-Shabaab's ban on foreign aid for famine victims. Taking the fight overseas It's unclear whether Al-Shabaab -- like al Qaeda -- has ambitions to go global. It was involved in a double-bombing in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in 2010 -- in retaliation for Uganda's role in the AMISOM force that props up the transitional government. An Al-Shabaab member tried to kill the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard last year in revenge for his depictions of the Prophet Mohammed. And there is concern among western intelligence agencies that Al-Shabaab may forge links with other Islamist terror groups in Africa, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria. The size of the Somali diaspora (1.5 million strong and concentrated in Scandinavia, Canada and the U.S.) gives Al-Shabaab an opportunity to recruit for missions overseas, but to date the majority of ethnic Somalis recruited by Al-Shabaab have remained in Somalia.

Somali militants target addicts in UK's 'khat cafes'

 

Turn down any rundown street in any one of the "mini-Mogadishus" that now pepper Britain's cities, and you'll see young men congregating outside what look like shuttered shop fronts. But look closer. There are no signs and no distinguishing features to help those who don't know what lies on the other side of these battered doorways. The chances are you will have stumbled over a marfish -- the cafes British Somalis come to chew the vegetable stimulant, khat. Although khat is legal in the UK, marfishes are closed off to outsiders. One marfish we attempted to enter had a surveillance camera overlooking the locked doorway -- we were repeatedly refused entry.

France reporter Edith Bouvier asks for Syria evacuation

 

The French journalist who was wounded in an attack on the Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday has asked to be evacuated from Syria quickly, saying she needs urgent medical attention. Edith Bouvier was injured in the attack that killed journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in the Baba Amr suburb. In a video posted online by opposition activists, Ms Bouvier says she has a broken femur and urgently needs an operation. She asks to be evacuated to Lebanon. There is growing pressure on Damascus to give access to civilians trapped by the onslaught. 'Very difficult' In the video, Ms Bouvier praises the doctors who have been treating her and says they are doing what they can. Photojournalist William Daniels, who is also French, appears alongside her and says she has not lost her smile. He was also caught up in the attack but says he was not injured. William Daniels says he was fortunate not to be injured Mr Daniels appeals to the French authorities to help them as soon as possible, as conditions "are very difficult". There is no electricity and not much to eat, he says, adding that they need to get out as quickly as possible using medically equipped transportation. The US, Europe and Arab countries plan to challenge President Bashar al-Assad to provide humanitarian access within days to the worst affected areas. They plan to present their ultimatum at Friday's international conference on Syria in Tunisia. Russia and China have said they will not attend the conference. The two countries have faced Western and Arab criticism for blocking a UN Security Council resolution that would have backed an Arab League peace plan for Syria. Meanwhile, a United Nations panel has drawn up a confidential list of Syrian military officials - believed to include President Assad - who could face investigation for crimes against humanity. It says these include shooting unarmed women and children, shelling civilian areas and torturing the wounded.

Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin killed in Homs

 

Marie Colvin, the respected Sunday Times journalist, was killed today alongside French photojournalist Remi Ochlik in Syria. The veteran correspondents were killed by a rocket as they fled the house they were staying in, which was hit during shelling in Homs, a witness told Reuters. Colvin, the only journalist from a British newspaper in the besieged city, had covered conflict for The Sunday Times for the past two decades.  French government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse confirmed the deaths. At least two other Western journalists, and seven activists were reported to have been injured after in excess of ten rockets hit the house. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was investigating reports that a British photographer was also injured in the incident. Yesterday government troops heavily shelled the districts of  Baba Amr, Khaldiyeh and Karm el-Zeytoun  in Homs, which is considered to be a stronghold of resistance. Ochlik, the founder of the picture agency IP3 Press, was an award-winning photojournalist who covered events including the 2004 rioting in Haiti and last year’s Arab Spring. US-born Ms Colvin, in her final dispatches had detailed the unfolding conflict in Homs, which has been the focus of unrest against the Syrian president. While working in Sri Lanka a grenade attack left her blind in one eye and forced her to wear an eye patch to cover up the injury. Ms Colvin, who was educated at Yale, started her career as a police reporter for a news agency in New York before moving to Paris and then London. She was featured in the 2005 documentary Bearing Witness about women war reporters and was named foreign reporter of the year at the 2010 British Press Awards. The same year, she spoke at a memorial service for journalists who died reporting conflicts around the world.

UN watchdog says nuclear talks with Iran failed

 

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday it had failed to secure an agreement with Iran during two days of talks over disputed atomic activities and that the Islamic Republic had rejected a request to visit a key military site. In the second such trip in less than a month, a senior team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had travelled to Tehran to press Iranian officials to start addressing mounting concerns that the Islamic Republic may be seeking to develop nuclear weapons. The outcome seems likely to add to already soaring tension between Iran and Western powers, which have ratcheted up sanctions on the major oil producer in recent months. "During both the first and second round of discussions, the agency team requested access to the military site at Parchin. Iran did not grant permission for this visit to take place," the Vienna-based IAEA said in a statement after the Feb 20-21 talks. The IAEA named Parchin in a detailed report in November that lent independent weight to Western fears that Iran was working to develop an atomic bomb, an allegation Iranian officials reject. "It is disappointing that Iran did not accept our request to visit Parchin. We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached," said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. Earlier, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told the country's ISNA news agency that Tehran expected to hold more talks with the U.N. agency, whose task it is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in the world. But Amano's spokeswoman, Gill Tudor, made clear no further meetings were planned: "At this point in time there is no agreement on further discussions," she said. Iran rejects accusations that its nuclear program is a covert bid to develop a nuclear weapons capability, saying it is seeking to produce only electricity. But its refusal to curb sensitive atomic activities which can have both civilian and military purposes, and its track record of years of nuclear secrecy has drawn increasingly tough U.N. and separate U.S. and European punitive measures. The United States and Israel have not ruled out using force against Iran if they conclude diplomacy and sanctions will not stop it from developing a nuclear bomb. In Washington, no immediate comment was available from the U.S. State Department on the IAEA statement. The five-member IAEA team led by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts was seeking answers from Iran about intelligence suggesting its declared civilian program is a facade for a weapons program. STILL TIME FOR DIPLOMACY? Last year's IAEA report suggesting Iran had pursued military nuclear technology helped precipitate the latest rounds of European Union and U.S. sanctions, which are causing economic hardship in Iran ahead of a parliamentary election in March. One key finding was information that Iran had built a large containment chamber at Parchin southeast of Tehran in which to conduct high-explosives tests, which the U.N. agency said were "strong indicators of possible weapon development." The IAEA said intensive efforts were made to reach agreement in the talks on a document "facilitating the clarification of unresolved issues" in connection with Iran's nuclear program, particularly those relating to possible military dimensions. "Unfortunately, agreement was not reached on this document," it said in an unusually blunt statement. The IAEA mission's lack of progress may also have an impact on the chances of any resumption of wider nuclear negotiations between Iran and the six world powers, the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany. The West last week expressed some optimism at the prospect of new talks, particularly after Iran sent a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton promising to bring "new initiatives," without stating preconditions. But the United States and its allies may become more reluctant if they feel that the Islamic state is unlikely to engage in substantive discussions about its nuclear activities. The deputy head of Iran's armed forces was quoted on Tuesday as saying Iran would take pre-emptive action against its enemies if it felt its national interests were endangered. "Our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger Iran's national interests, and want to decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions," Mohammad Hejazi told the Fars news agency. In retaliation for oil sanctions, Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude exporter, has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a third of the world's seaborne oil, while the United States signaled it would use force to keep it open. The White House said there was still time for diplomacy. "Israel and the United States share the same objective, which is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," White House spokesman Jay Carney said when asked about a weekend visit to Israel by National Security Advisor Tom Donilon. "There is time and space for diplomacy to work, for the effect of sanctions to result in a change of Iranian behavior."

US says it will 'consider other measures' to end bloodshed

 

The comments, made by officials at both the White House and the State Department, marked a shift in emphasis by Washington, which thus far has stressed its policy of not arming the opposition and has said little about alternatives. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with representatives of some 70 countries in Tunis on Friday for the first "Friends of Syria" meeting to coordinate the international community's next steps to respond the nearly year-long uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We still believe that a political solution is what's needed in Syria," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "We don't want to take actions that would contribute to the further militarisation of Syria, because that could take the country down a dangerous path. But we don't rule out additional measures." State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, asked if the United States was shifting its stance on arming the rebels, said Washington did not want to see the violence increase and was concentrating on political efforts to halt the bloodshed.

Afghan Koran burning at Bagram sparks fresh protests

 

American demonstrations are under way in the Afghan cities of Kabul and Jalalabad over the burning of copies of the Koran by Nato troops. Shots have been fired in Kabul, where protesters have gathered outside a US military base. On Tuesday, the US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, apologised after soldiers put copies of the Koran in an incinerator at Bagram airbase. The charred remains of the books were found by local labourers. Protesters in Kabul shouted, "Death to America!" and threw stones at the main US base in the city. Pro-Taliban slogans At least four policemen have been injured, reports the BBC's Andrew North, in Kabul. Witnesses at the protests in Kabul said security guards were firing into the air. There are also reports of people chanting pro-Taliban slogans. General John R Allen: 'When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them.' Demonstrators blocked the road linking Kabul with the eastern city of Jalalabad. A riot police unit was attacked by protesters in Kabul and fled, the AFP news agency reported. One protester, 18-year-old Ajmal, told Reuters: "When the Americans insult us to this degree, we will join the insurgents." Two senior Afghan officials told the BBC that religious materials held by Taliban prisoners had been confiscated because US officials suspected they were using them to send secret messages to each other. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said he and Gen Allen apologised to the Afghan people "and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms". After previous incidents, many Afghans find it hard to understand how US forces could have allowed the Koran to have been burned, our correspondent says. Last year, at least 24 people died in protests after a hardline US pastor burned a Koran in Florida. The US embassy in Kabul has tweeted that it is on lockdown and all travel is suspended. On Tuesday, one person was wounded and five detained after troops at Bagram, 60km (40 miles) north of Kabul, fired rubber bullets at protests. Bagram includes a prison for Afghans detained by Nato forces.

Syria: tanks and troops descend on Homs as Red Cross tries to broker ceasefire

A flood of military reinforcements has been a prelude to previous offensives by President Bashar Assad's regime, which has tried to use its overwhelming firepower to crush an opposition that has been bolstered by defecting soldiers and hardened by 11 months of street battles. "The human loss is going to be huge if they retake Baba Amr," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Russia will put forward a proposal at the U.N. Security Council in the coming days regarding humanitarian aid to Syria, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. Churkin was quoted by the agency as telling Vesti 24 television on Monday that the council "could undertake concrete steps aimed at solving humanitarian issues, relying, among other things, on the fact that Damascus allowed the Red Cross to bring humanitarian aid to some regions." Churkin gave no details about the proposal, his spokesman Anton Uspensky told The Associated Press. Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning the government crackdown.

fighters and weapons were crossing into Syria where President Bashar al-Assad has been facing an increasingly armed revolt.

Iraq said on Saturday it had reinforced security along its Syrian border to prevent arms smuggling, after reports fighters and weapons were crossing into Syria where President Bashar al-Assad has been facing an increasingly armed revolt.

The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government is worried the unrest in Syria, now nearly a year old, could spill across the porous 600 km (373 mile) frontier and upset its own fragile sectarian balance.

Iraq's Shi'ites fear a toppling of Assad, himself from a minority Shi'ite sect, could bring hardline Sunnis to power, a shift which could threaten Iraqi Shi'ites' newly-acquired dominance since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that al Qaeda in Iraq, which has hardline Sunni Islamist convictions, may have been behind bombings in Damascus and Syria's second city, Aleppo.

The allegation came as Iraqi officials and arms dealers reported an influx of weapons and Sunni Muslim insurgents into Syria. Al Qaeda's leader Ayman al Zawahri has backed the revolt against Assad, in which more than 5,000 people have been killed, according to the United Nations.

INFILTRATION

"Necessary measures have been taken to consolidate control over the borders with Syria which is witnessing turbulence that encourages infiltration and all kinds of smuggling, especially arms," a statement from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office.

The statement -- which came after Maliki met top security officials, including the acting defense minister, the national security advisor and commander of border forces -- did not explicitly state what measures had been taken.

Relations between Syria and Iraq's U.S.-backed government nosedived when Baghdad blamed Damascus for not doing enough to stem the flow of foreign fighters entering Iraq across the two countries' border during the height of sectarian violence in 2006-07.

Awash with weapons since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, Iraq is still plagued by violence from al-Qaeda affiliates, Sunni Islamists, fighters tied to Saddam's Baathist party, Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias and criminal gangs.

Zawahri, whose group has been struggling to regain its foothold since the killing of former leader Osama bin Laden, has urged Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to join Syrian rebels.

The Arab League opened the door for governments to arm anti-Assad rebels when it passed a resolution in Cairo earlier early this month urging Arabs to "provide all kinds of political and material support" to the opposition.

Yemen future president Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has called for urgent foreign aid

 Yemen future president Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has called for urgent foreign aid to help revive the country's shattered economy, and pledged to address the concerns of southern separatists and northern rebels.

In a televised speech broadcast late Sunday, the current vice president outlined his government's two-year plan, focusing on the need to reunify the army, destroy Al-Qaeda, and carry-out "radical reforms."

Hadi is the only candidate in a presidential ballot to be held Tuesday, a condition of the November 23 power-transfer agreement signed by outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh after intense international pressure and months of protests demanding his ouster.

Resolving the "economic problem is our top priority, but our current circumstances and the consequences of the recent (political) crisis has forced us to ask for help," Hadi said in his address.

"This is why we are renewing our request for urgent aid and support from brotherly and friendly countries to allocate funds," pledged by donors and friends of Yemen.

He further proposed the "establishment of an emergency fund to help the Yemeni government overcome the current economic crisis."

It is estimated that the Arab world's poorest nation will need billions of dollars in aid to recover from decades of poor governance and unresolved internal conflicts, further exacerbated by a year of mass protests and political turmoil that crippled the already weak economy.

The unrest has led to shortages in power, water, food and fuel, prompting international aid organisations to launch several urgent calls for assistance to stave off mass hunger, particularly among Yemen's women and children.

"Yemen has passed through unprecedented gruelling months that the most optimistic observers predicted would transform Yemen into another Somalia," said Hadi, adding that it was with the assistance and support of neighbouring Gulf states, the European Union, the United States, China and Russia that the crisis was resolved.

"But we would not have been able to reach this settlement if President Saleh had not put... the interest of the country," ahead of his own, adding that his actions avoided "catastrophe."

In reference to a decision by southern separatists and northern Shiite rebels to boycott Tuesday's vote, the future president said "dialogue and only dialogue" can resolve these long-standing conflicts.

"The southern issue and its implications, and what happened, and what is still happening in Saada (the rebel stronghold in the north), must be given priority... and must be addressed with an open heart and without prejudice," said Hadi.

Polling stations and electoral offices in the south have been repeatedly attacked in recent weeks.

On Saturday, a hardline faction of the Southern Movement called for a day of "civil disobedience" to disrupt Tuesday's polling.

Officials with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency begin a second round of talks Monday with Iranian officials over the country's nuclear program

Officials with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency begin a second round of talks Monday with Iranian officials over the country's nuclear program, a day after Tehran cut off crude exports to British and French companies in retaliation for a new round of sanctions imposed on the regime.

The two days of talks come amid heightened tensions in the region, with Israel making clear it is pondering an attack on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure, while Iran warned it could cut off the narrow strait through which oil tankers sail in and out of the gulf.

The scheduled talks between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iranian officials are billed as an opportunity for the watchdog agency to clarify the "possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the group said.

Iran says it is producing enriched uranium to fuel civilian power plants and has refused international demands to halt its production.

But the IAEA reported in November that it had information to suggest Iran had carried out some weapons-related research.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it is up to Iran to disprove the allegation.

"The Agency is committed to intensifying dialogue. It remains essential to make progress on substantive issues," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in statement following the first round of talks in January.

The talks in Tehran follow an announcement Sunday by Iran's oil ministry that it was halting crude exports to French and British companies, an order that followed a threat that Iran would cut oil exports to some European Union countries in retaliation for sanctions put in place last month by the EU and the United States.

"Iran has no difficulty in selling and exporting its crude oil. ... We have our own customers and have designated alternatives for our oil sales. We shall sell to new customers, who will replace French and UK companies," ministry spokesman Ali Reza Nikzad-Rahbar said in a statement.

The sanctions put in place last month are meant to force Iran to provide more information on its nuclear program by shutting off its sale of crude oil, which generates half of Iran's revenue.

Iran exports 2.2 million barrels of oil a day, 18% of which is bound for European markets, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The world consumes about 89 million barrels of oil per day.

U.S. and European sanctions are already squeezing Iran's economy, driving down its currency and driving up consumer prices.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has called for still-tougher sanction, saying that accelerating the pace of sanctions would force Tehran to return to nuclear talks.

Iran proposed a resumption of those stalled talks last week. U.S. and European diplomats were still trying to gauge the sincerity of the Iranian offer, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "an important step."

Meanwhile, Israel has made that it considers a nuclear-armed Iran an existential threat, and has made clear it is considering an attack on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure.

The United States believes talk of military strikes against Iran's nuclear program is "premature" and has advised Israel that an attack would be counterproductive, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

Dempsey said U.S. officials aren't convinced Iran has decided to pursue nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, economic and diplomatic sanctions appear to be taking a toll on the Islamic republic, he said.

"On that basis, I think it would be premature to exclusively decide that the time for a military option was upon us," Dempsey said.

Dempsey said American officials believe an Israeli strike would delay Iran's nuclear development "probably for a couple of years, but some of the targets are probably beyond their reach." He said he and others have had "a very candid, collaborative conversation" with the Israelis about the issue.

"I'm confident that they understand our concerns, that a strike at this time would be destabilizing and wouldn't achieve their long-term objectives," he said. "But, I mean, I also understand that Israel has national interests that are unique to them. And, of course, they consider Iran to be an existential threat in a way that we have not concluded that Iran is an existential threat."

Tensions between Iran and Israel have been further heightened in recent days with two Iranian warships sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea.

It's only the second time such ships have crossed through the Suez Canal since Iran's 1979 revolution.

"As the Navy affected the region with its presence in the Mediterranean Sea last year, the Navy's 18th fleet will in the best way carry the message of peace and friendship to regional countries, and display the might of the country and the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

It was not clear from the report where the two vessels, a destroyer and a supply ship, were headed. However, another semi-official Iranian news agency, ISNA, said the ships were on their way to Syria.

Canadian woman charged in Gadhafi smuggling plot

 

The Mount Forest, Ont., woman held in a Mexican jail since November in a suspected plot to smuggle Moammar Ghadafi's son and his family out of Libya has been charged with falsifying documents, organized crime and attempted human smuggling. The charges were laid the same day Cyndy Vanier's family released a letter outlining what she calls deplorable conditions endured in the Mexican jail where she is being detained. Vanier, 52, was picked up in Mexico, where she and her husband have a winter home, last Nov. 10 and held without charges until Tuesday when a judge ordered warrants against two women and two men for a suspected plot to whisk Saadi Gadhafi and his family to Mexico. Those four people were Vanier, a mediator specializing aboriginal dispute and president of Vanier Consulting, and three other arrested in the alleged plot. Vanier has been pointed to as the ring leader. The charges were outlined in a press release from Mexico's office of the attorney general, who said its investigation showed a group had attempted to smuggle Gadhafi's son and his family in July but failed. A decision was made to make a second attempt and use another aircraft company to move the Gadhafis. The charges include accusations of falsifying a passport, voter registration card and a birth certificate. A house was bought in Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico, to hide the family. There was also an attempt to buy an apartment in St. Regis hotel in Mexico City. The allegations, unproven in court, were linked to the theft of 4,586 passports in 2009. The charges outlined in the news release are for human smuggling, organized crime and counterfeiting three official documents. Vanier and the other female suspect are being held in a federal prison in Chetumal, Quintana Roo. The men are in a facility in Veracruz. Vanier wrote in the letter released by her family that she has been abused and tortured while in custody. Until Wednesday, she had been held on a judge's order. Under Mexico's preventative arrest law, people can be held up to 90 days without charge as investigators gather enough evidence to charge them. Bail is uncommon and not available at all for people accused of serious crimes. Her Canadian lawyer, Paul Copeland, said there was no coincidence as to why the letter was released early Wednesday when Vanier was finally charged. The family had it in their possession for some time, but waited until the detention order was over "so not to prejudice the situation." A spokesman for Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy confirmed Vanier contacted the Canadian government to allege she'd been abused in Mexican custody. "Officials have received, but have not verified Ms. Vanier's allegations. Canadians officials are reviewing these allegations and will act accordingly," John Babcock said. "Ms. Vanier faces very serious allegations in Mexico including the falsification of documents, human trafficking and participating in organized crime. Canadian officials are providing her with consular assistance, but Canadians travelling abroad are subject to the laws in the countries they visit. "Canada will continue to interact with Mexican authorities on her behalf as required, and our consular officials are ensuring that her medical concerns are being addressed." In a letter to Canada's foreign affairs department obtained by the CBC, Vanier said a dozen officers took her into custody on Nov. 9 and one of them struck her en route to a detention centre as they drove past her co-accused and lawyers. "I tried to yell out the open window ... and as I did, one of the female officers struck me with her elbow on the lower right side over the kidney. I could hardly breathe it hurt so much ... I started to cry ... and they laughed at me," she alleges. Police accused her of being a terrorist and didn't allow her to call a lawyer or the Canadian Embassy, she said. Vanier said she was also denied access to the bathroom for hours and not given medical attention. Mexican authorities allege Vanier was the ringleader who tried to smuggle the slain Libyan dictator's son, Saadi Gadhafi, and his family into the country by falsifying documents, opening bank accounts and purchasing real estate. Vanier, a vacation property owner in Mexico, said she was in the country with her husband looking to buy property. Police questioned her about her real-estate hunting. Further suspicion arose because Vanier travelled to Libya in July for the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin with a former Gadhafi staffer as her bodyguard. Three other people, two from Mexico and a man from Denmark, have been detained as alleged accomplices. "I have suffered physical, mental and emotional abuse and trauma, and my rights as a Canadian citizen have been violated based on my international human rights as well as the Mexican constitution," she wrote.