Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union condemned the launch of a medium-range ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which Pyongyang claims is equipped with a hypersonic warhead. This came in a statement issued by the spokesman for the European Foreign and Security Policy Coordinator’s office in Brussels, who added, “This violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions and increases tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The European Union expressed its full solidarity with its partners in the region, especially the Republic of Korea and Japan. The European Union urges the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to stop such illegal and escalatory actions, and to accept offers of dialogue from the main parties. This is the only path to sustainable peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.
The Iranian Armed Forces launched large-scale military maneuvers on Tuesday around the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, according to official media.
The maneuvers, called “Eqtedar,” are being conducted with the participation of units of the Revolutionary Guards and regular ground forces, with the Revolutionary Guards’ air defense units taking on the task of defending the site under the simulation of complex electronic warfare conditions and multiple air threats.
Mehr News Agency reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards successfully fired air defense missiles during the first phase of the Eqtedar joint maneuvers in the air defense ring of the Natanz nuclear center.
The air defense systems of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force participated in these maneuvers and conducted point and comprehensive defense exercises for the Natanz nuclear center, according to what was reported by the Euronews news website in Brussels. The spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Mohammad Naeini, revealed, according to what was reported by state television, that the maneuvers will continue until mid-March, and will extend to other areas of the country, indicating that the exercises come in response to new security threats, and several units of the Revolutionary Guards will participate in the maneuvers, including the naval forces and the Basij forces. These exercises coincide with US media reports that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has presented options to President Joe Biden to launch a potential strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if Tehran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon before January 20, 2025. The International Atomic Energy Agency indicates that Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country that enriches uranium to 60 percent, which is close to the 90 percent required to produce a nuclear weapon. Tensions have escalated over the Iranian nuclear program since Washington unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement during the term of former President Donald Trump.