The U.S. and Iran are locked in a war of words after a devastating weekend attack on Saudi Arabia’s largest petroleum processing facility. Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for the use of drones, but the U.S. says it has evidence that Iran was responsible. Iran is decrying that as “maximum lies.” [node:read-more:link]
British Airways has begun advising passengers planning to travel to and through the U.K. two weeks hence to cancel their reservations. The carrier is trying to limit the fallout from a pilots’ strike slated to begin Sept. 27. [node:read-more:link]
An Iranian-aligned rebel group in Yemen is claiming responsibility for attacks on two major Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. Drones evidently were used against the state-owned company’s largest refinery and one of its oilfields. [node:read-more:link]
A former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security says the U.S. should not use telecom giant Huawei as leverage in broader trade negotiations with China. Tom Ridge says Huawei has repeatedly shown that it is “an instrumentality” of Beijing. [node:read-more:link]
A bipartisan group of Members of Congress wants to identify Chinese companies which might “steal” western technologies for military use. A Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington dismissed their concerns as groundless, calling the move evidence of a “cold war mentality.” [node:read-more:link]
In an bid to end a western blockade against its 5G technology, Huawei is offering to sell its software to a western company which then could rewrite problematic code. The U.S. has been urging its allies not to permit 5G over concerns that alleged “backdoors” would enable the Chinese government to spy on telecom systems. [node:read-more:link]
The United States will impose sanctions on whichever country buys oil from Iran’s oil or does business with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, says there will be no exceptions. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proposal for an early general election has been rebuffed by MPs and the British Parliament now is suspended for five weeks. Only 293 MPs supported his motion in the House of Commons. [node:read-more:link]
By this time next year, the U.S. Department of Defense will require suppliers to have cybersecurity certification to continue doing business with it. The DoD, which has its own stringent processes for verifying information technology products and services it uses, points out that doing business often requires the sharing of sensitive information. [node:read-more:link]
Growing attempts by China and Russia “to disrupt the international order” are being used by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper to support his call for more European cooperation. He says this is critical to preserving the results of “decades of shared sacrifice.” [node:read-more:link]
China’s detention of two Canadians is an “unacceptable” tactic in the countries’ dispute over the U.S. request for extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. In a meeting with the Toronto Star’s editorial board, the PM said that kind of tactic has raised fears in other countries about China using the same levers against them. [node:read-more:link]
Chinese negotiators will travel to Washington next month for talks with their U.S. counterparts, signalling a possible end to their escalating trade dispute. The commerce ministry says Vice-Premier Liu He has sanctioned the visit. [node:read-more:link]
The recent sale of eight F-16 fighters to Bulgaria is seen as evidence that a stepped-up U.S. plan to compete with Russia and China in the global arms trade is succeeding. The $1.7-billion sale had been on hold over cost concerns but the U.S. sweetened the deal with a $60-million grant. [node:read-more:link]
Iran is dismissing as “totally ineffective” U.S. sanctions against its space agencies for their alleged role in developing ballistic missile capabilities. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says “Americans are addicted to sanctions” as a way of dealing with adversaries. [node:read-more:link]
European powers have been given two more months to save a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran but President Hassan Rouhani warns that he is preparing for further significant breaches of the agreement if the diplomatic initiative fails. France has offered nearly €14 billion in lines of credit if Iran become fully compliant with the deal. [node:read-more:link]
