1. The Situation in the Middle East
21st of March 2010, BBC
In the early hours of the morning 5 bombs ripped through the city of Baghdad causing
mayhem and havoc. 49 people have been reported dead by the authorities and 160
people have been wounded.
24th of March 2010, CIA
Reports have been released by the CIA outlining the increased terrorist activities in
the city of Basra, Iraq by terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda. The reports also
spoke of how the Kurdish efforts to be a separate nation are getting more intense
especially in the city of Nineveh, Iraq. The struggle for land, oil, power and money
between the Kurds and the Iraqis of Arab origin is becoming more violent.
30th of March 2010, The New York Times
The Iraqi government have announced that they have received information regarding
the bombings in Baghdad. Former Prime Minister Allawi released a statement saying:
“We have reason to believe that there are those other than Iraqi rebel
groups who are involved in the bombings occurring in our country.
Iran’s links to these bombings is something we are taking very
seriously.”
2nd of April 2010, The Guardian
The international community has expressed outrage as the United States Security
Department aired a taped conversation linking two Syrians Sattam Farhan and
Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed, to the Baghdad bombings.
3rd of April 2010, Le Monde Diplomatic
Border disputes in the area of Shatt al Arab are raising mounting tension in the
Persian Gulf. 10 Iranian soldiers have crossed the Iraq-Iran maritime border fuelling
the jurisdiction disputes between Iran and Iraq over who should control the region of
Shatt Al Arab.
2. Iraqi Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that "We have extremely big problems with the
Iranian side on the issue of the demarcation and installation of common land, sea and
river borders."
4th of April 2010, The Daily Telegraph
British soldiers monitoring the border of the Persian Gulf region were brutally
murdered as shots were fired between Iraqi and Iranian soldiers. Seizure of fifteen
British personnel by Iranian forces is heightening the tension in the region and
foreshadows a major diplomatic crisis between the nations of Iran and Britain.
5th of April 2010, Tehran Times
Iran has made it clear it refuses to back down on its claim that Shatt Al Arab belongs
to them and are now demanding official recognition of these rights by the Iraqi
government. The Iranian President Ahmadinejad released a statement saying:
“Our security as a country comes first and it is our legal right to protect
our sovereignty whichever way we see fit. The British were clearly in
Iranian waters without our consent or prior knowledge. It is only natural
they should suffer the consequences”
9th of April 2010, The International Herald Tribune
Collectively the EU has expressed concern over Iran’s attitude in dealing with the
Shatt Al Arab region and this has raised further immediate concerns regarding Iran’s
reluctance to seize its nuclear program. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdoganm says
he ‘is paying the upmost attention to the situation in the Middle East and will do
everything in its power to settle disputes including the nuclear issues in Iran.”
10th of April 2010, Al Jazeera
As border disputes in the Persian Gulf continue the internal struggle of Iraq worsens.
An Iraqi civilian being interviewed by Amnesty international said:
3. “There is chaos everywhere. Our political system is unstable even though we just had
elections. These elections have brought about violent protests and allegations of
fraud. Our disputes with other countries are not helping.’
The French Ambassador fears Iraq may become the ‘next Afghanistan’.
15th of April 2010, Reuters
President Ahmadinejad has voiced concern over the formation of the new Iraqi
government advising them to have more Sunni representation.
Lebanese official studying the situation in Iraq said that:
“This is a real change in Iran’s stand regarding Iraq. The Iranians want
to have a role in Iraq. Because they don’t want any political instability in
the next few months that would make the forces present in Iraq reconsider
their withdrawal, they want to avoid Sunni discontent.”
18th of April 2010, The New York Times
4 Iraqis have been arrested as they were linked to the attacks on the US troops. After
interrogation it was found that they had come from Syria and crossed the border into
Iraq. They also admitted that Syria has supported them and helped recruit young men
to be part of the attacks.
22nd of April, International Crisis Group
Israel has accused Syria of sending highly sophisticated Scud missiles to the Lebanese
Islamist group Hezbollah. These very serious allegations were immediately met with
the upmost concern from various members of the international community
specifically the United States.
Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman Said:
“If these allegations are true then it is in violation of the Security
Council resolution 1701 which states that no unauthorised missiles or
weapon are allowed in Lebanon”
4. 29th of April 2010, Le Monde Diplomatic
Panic is spreading in the Middle East as these allegations have been confirmed by the
CIA who claim that missiles have been delivered to Hezbollah. The United States
claims that this is ‘incendiary, provocative action’. Obama has said that he will be
putting all options on the table in order to deal with this problem.
Upon the request of the representative of Lebanon the Security Council shall
convene at 10:00 a.m. on the 1st of May 2010 in order to discuss and resolve the
situation in the Middle East.
