Trump won’t move US embassy to Jerusalem for now
AFP, Washington
US President Donald Trump said Saturday he will not go ahead with his controversial pledge to move the American embassy to Jerusalem until after pushing for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
“I wanna give that a shot before I even think about moving the embassy to Jerusalem,” Trump said on former governor Mike Huckabee’s TV show, referring to efforts to forge a peace between the two sides that has eluded career diplomats for decades.
Iran warns US against imposing further sanctions
Reuters, Beirut
Iran warned the United States against designating its Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist group and said U.S. regional military bases would be at risk if further sanctions were passed.
The warning came after the White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump would announce new U.S. responses to Iran’s missile tests, support for “terrorism” and cyber operations as part of his new Iran strategy.
Philippines to start extradition process for NY plotter
AFP, Manila
A Filipino suspect in a thwarted jihadist plot targeting New York’s subway and Times Square will face legal proceedings seeking his extradition to the United States, the Philippine justice secretary said on Sunday.
Russell Salic and two others have been charged with involvement in the plan to stage the attacks in the name of the Islamic State group during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2016.
Iraq parliament speaker to visit Kurdish region
AP, Baghdad
The office of Iraq’s parliament speaker says Salim Jabouri is traveling to the country’s Kurdish region to meet with its leader, Masoud Barzani.
The move comes in the wake of the Kurdish regional vote for independence in a controversial referendum two weeks ago.
Jabouri’s office says the two leaders will meet Sunday in Irbil.
Baghdad, Turkey and Iran have all threatened punitive measures against the Kurdish region if it does not annul the results of September’s non-binding referendum, saying they will not accept Iraq’s disintegration.
