Many have lashed out at the veteran senator for looking on as banner was removed and protesters ejected from venue. During the rally, Sanders is reported to have said: "Israel, like any other country, has the right to defend itself from terrorism, but it does not have the right to wage all out war against the Palestinian people" and "not one more nickel to Netanyahu" (Read more at Middle East Eye)
The U.S. on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based "teapot refinery", as President Donald Trump seeks to ramp up pressure on Tehran and drive Iranian oil exports down to zero (Read more at Yahoo Finance).
Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi was responding to a comment made on Tuesday by the US top negotiator, Steve Witkoff, who said Tehran must “stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment” to reach a deal with Washington. “We have heard contradictory statements from Witkoff, but real positions will be made clear at the negotiating table,” Araqchi said. “We are ready to build trust regarding possible concerns over Iran’s enrichment (of uranium), but the principle of enrichment is not negotiable.” (Read more at Middle East Monitor)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Europe this week for talks about ending Russia's war in Ukraine and laying the groundwork for a nuclear deal with Iran (Read more at AOL).
The U.S. military has about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria across a number of bases, mostly in the northeast. One of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that consolidation could reduce the number of troops in Syria to about 1,000. Another U.S. official confirmed the plan for a reduction, but said there was no certainty on numbers and was skeptical of a decrease of that scale at a time when President Donald Trump's administration has been negotiating with Iran and building up forces in the region (Read more at AOL).
