TEL AVIV: A major US arms deal with Israel sends Iran a “very clear signal” that military action remains an option to stop it from going nuclear, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said yesterday.
Hagel’s comments came shortly before his arrival in the Jewish state at the start of a six-day regional trip likely to be dominated by worries over Iran’s nuclear programme and Syria’s civil war.
Asked if a multi-billion dollar arms package with Israel was designed to convey a message that a military strike remains an option, he said: “I don’t think there’s any question that’s another very clear signal to Iran”.
The trip, his first to the region since taking over the Pentagon nearly two months ago, was likely to see Hagel putting the finishing touches on plans to sell $10 billion worth of advanced missiles and aircraft to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in a bid to counter the threat posed by Iran.
The deal, which was unveiled on the eve of Hagel’s departure, will see Israel obtaining anti-radiation missiles designed to take out enemy air defences, radar for fighter jets, aerial refuelling tankers and Osprey V-22 tilt-rotor transport aircraft.
Cairo to try detained Gaddafi cousin
CAIRO: Egypt will try a cousin and top aide of slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on charges of attempted murder, although Libyan authorities are pressing for his extradition, Egyptian state media reported yesterday. Ahmed Qaddaf Al Dam, arrested in Cairo in March after a gunfight with police in his apartment, has been detained in Egypt since, despite Libyan demands for his extradition so he could be put on trial on forgery charges.
A judge referred Qaddaf Al Dam “to the Cairo criminal court on charges of attempted murder and resisting authorities and unlicensed weapons possession,” the Mena news agency reported.
Tripoli had lodged an appeal earlier this month against an Egyptian court ruling blocking his extradition to Libya. The court ruled that Qaddaf Al Dam should be tried in Egypt.
Somali reporter shot dead in Mogadishu
MOGADISHU: A Somali journalist working for the government broadcaster was shot dead outside his home in the capital Mogadishu yesterday, the fourth reporter to be murdered in the country this year, the union of journalists said.
Mohamed Ibrahim Rageh, who worked for Somali National Television and Radio Mogadishu, was killed by unknown assailants as he returned home after work, according to Abdirahim Isse Addow, director of Radio Mogadishu, who was quoted by the National Union of Somali Journalists. Rageh’s murder came a week after at least 30 people were killed by a car bomb, suicide bombers and gunmen at Mogadishu’s law courts and an explosion near the airport.Agencies
