Latest news with #Turkish-built
American Military News
22-06-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Israel's barrage of Iran is furious. Azerbaijan, to Iran's north, is treading lightly.
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. Azerbaijan's president stood before cameras of the state TV broadcaster, grinning alongside an Israeli attack drone newly acquired for his country's growing arsenals. Ilham Aliyev then petted it like a dog. The Israeli unmanned aircraft was part of an extensive fleet of Israeli and Turkish-built drones that Aliyev's military used to devastating effect against Armenia in its successful campaign to regain control of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. The weapon is a small but notable reflection of Azerbaijan's quiet, long-standing — and significant– relations with Israel. Israel's furious, unprecedented barrage targeting Iranian nuclear and missile sites threatens to destabilize Tehran's government. Along with Iran's retaliatory missile attacks, the violence also threatens to possibly spark a wider war in the Middle East. In the midst of all this, Baku is trying to thread a very small needle. 'Aliyev needs to stay on the good side of both Israel — a continued supplier of sophisticated weapons to the Azerbaijani armed forces and a market for Azerbaijani oil — and Tehran [due to] Iran's ability to play Armenia and Azerbaijan off against each other,' said Richard Kauzlarich, who served as US ambassador to Azerbaijan in the late 1990s. 'Azerbaijan has no interest in a war with Iran and does not support Israeli strikes on Iranian territory,' said Zaur Shiriyev, an expert on the South Caucasus at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. 'Azerbaijan made its position clear that it is not part of this conflict.' Aliyev has said nothing publicly. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on June 13 — the day Israel started its campaign — saying Baku was 'seriously concerned' about the attacks. 'We strongly condemn the escalation of the situation and urge the parties to resolve the existing disagreements only through dialogue and diplomatic means in accordance with the norms and principles of international law.' The next day, the ministry said Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov had spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, and reassured him that Azerbaijan would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Tehran. Bayramov later spoke with Britain's foreign secretary, expressing 'serious concern about the security situation in the region as a result of the Israeli-Iranian conflict.' Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry did not respond to e-mails seeking further comment. Azerbaijan's ties with Tehran are a mixed bag. Iran is overwhelmingly Shi'ite Muslim. Shi'ites dominate in Azerbaijan as well, though there is also a substantial Sunni population. The country is officially secular and religion plays a small role in public life. Inside Iran, ethnic Azeris are the second-largest minority after the Fars, or Persians, a fact that occasionally worries the government in Tehran. Some estimates place Iran's ethnic Azeri population as larger than Azerbaijan's entire population. The northwestern city of Tabriz, which has been hit by Israeli strikes, is home to many of Iran's ethnic Azeris. Also thrown into the mix is Iran's economic ties with Armenia, with whom Azerbaijan has fought two wars in the past 35 years over Nagorno-Karabakh. Isolated by Azerbaijan's strongest ally, Turkey, Armenia currently has only two land border crossings: one with Georgia to the north, and one with Iran. With Tehran isolated by international sanctions, Armenia is an important outlet for Iranian exports to wider markets. With support from Turkey, Azerbaijan is angling to create a transport corridor across Armenian territory that would link up Azerbaijan and an Azerbaijani exclave to the west called Naxcivan. That would impede Iranian-Armenian trade, which would have to cross what's called the Zangezur corridor. And then there's Israel. Since first cultivating ties in the 1990s, Azerbaijan has become a major source of oil for Israel, supplying more than half of its imports. Israel, meanwhile, has become a major supplier of weaponry to Azerbaijan, which Baku has relied heavily on as it rebuilt its armed forces after disastrous losses during the first Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the early 1990s. Between 2016 and 2021, Israel was the source for 69 percent of Baku's weapons imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. That includes missiles as well as sophisticated drones like the Harop 'loitering munition' drone, which Aliyev showed off in October 2021, or models like the Orbiter surveillance drones, which scoop up radio signals and other electronic data. Two years later, Azerbaijan took full control of Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing out most of its ethnic Armenians. The relationship is 'strong and mutually beneficial,' Kauzlarich said, 'based on perceptions in Baku that Israel will remain a supplier of arms in its ongoing conflict with Armenia and in Jerusalem that Azerbaijan supports Israeli objectives in Iran.' Tehran has long had concerns that Israel could use its relationship with Azerbaijan for covert, or overt, action against Iran. In an opinion piece published in 2006, a retired Israel Defense Forces general called for coordinating with Azerbaijan on the use of its air bases. Iran's fears were stoked further by US diplomatic cables that were leaked and published by the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks. One cable reportedly described a deep, secret relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan, prompting loud pushback from Azerbaijani diplomats. In 2012, Azerbaijani police announced that they had arrested several people linked to Iranian intelligence who were allegedly plotting attacks on Israelis in the country. Tehran accused of Baku of helping Israel to target Iranian nuclear scientists. 'Whenever tensions rise between Israel and Iran, there is a long-standing narrative, mostly pushed from outside, that Azerbaijan might open its airspace or provide support to Israel,' Shiriyev said. 'That has never been true. Today, with advanced airpower and drones, Israel does not rely on foreign refueling or nearby airbases.' In its current campaign to pummel Iran and its weapons programs, Israel is likely counting on Azerbaijan's moral rather than military support, said Efraim Halevy, the former head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad. 'If there will be a war… we do not wish to involve [Azerbaijan] in military activities which would cause loss of life and/or place Azerbaijan in a difficult position,' he said in an interview with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service last year. 'What we do hope is to get moral support from [Azerbaijan], to get from you support expressing your views on Iran and the way Iran is behaving, and to give us a clear view of Azerbaijani foreign policy concerning Iran,' he said. 'That I think, is what we expect of Azerbaijan, and I think it is in the interest of Azerbaijan to accept this.' 'Is Baku trying to stay out of a major war on its southern border?' Shiriyev said. 'Yes, but that is not simple.' 'Even if Azerbaijan avoids direct involvement, it could still face consequences, including refugee flows, trade disruptions, and logistical problem,' he said. 'If the conflict deepens, or if the Iranian regime collapses entirely, the result could be serious instability across the region. Iran is not Syria or Iraq. It is much closer, and its size means that any fallout would be felt across the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan, like other neighbors, would likely be among the first to feel the pressure,' Shiriyev added.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Turkish-built CalMac ferry completes first sea trials
The first CalMac ferry being built by a shipyard in Turkey has completed its initial set of sea trials. MV Isle of Islay is one of four new ferries being built for Scotland's west coast routes by the Cemre shipyard at Yalova. The contract was awarded in March 2022 with delivery expected last October but after a series of delays it is now likely to enter service later this year. CalMac has extended the charter of the catamaran Alfred for a further five months to provide extra capacity while it awaits the arrival of new vessels. Representatives from CalMac, ferries procurement body CMAL and UK regulators were present as MV Isle of Islay underwent eight days of technical trials off the Turkish coast. CMAL said it now hoped to provide an updated delivery date once a second set of sea trials have been conducted during the summer. Director of vessels Jim Anderson added: "There is a great feeling of momentum following the successful completion of this first phase of sea trials." CMAL has previously said the delays in construction are partly due to the impact of the 2023 Turkish earthquake and global supply chain problems. Fresh delays to Turkish-built CalMac ferries Turkish-built CalMac ferry successfully launched The new "Islay-class" ferries have conventional diesel engines, used to generate electricity for electric motors, and also large batteries which can provide power when manoeuvring in harbour. They will be the first large vessels in the CalMac fleet fitted with a Voith Schneider propulsion system, which uses vertical spinning blades instead of a traditional propeller and rudder. The next stage of construction will involve installing the batteries and testing how the ships perform in harbour. CalMac has warned it faces another difficult summer due a shortage of vessels and potential breakdowns of its ageing fleet. MV Glen Sannox, built by the Ferguson shipyard, entered service in January on the Arran route but other large vessels have been out of action, and one vessel, MV Hebridean Isles, was retired in November. The situation should start to ease next week when the old Arran ferry MV Caledonian Isles returns to service after 16 months of repairs. The 32-year-old ship is expected back from 12 June, providing the first Arran sailings out of Ardrossan since January because Glen Sannox is too large to fit and has to sail from Troon instead. CalMac has also extended the charter for MV Alfred from Pentland Ferries until October at a cost believed to be around a million pounds a month. The catamaran has been on charter now since the spring of 2023, meaning the charter fees are far in excess of the £14m which the vessel cost to build. MV Isle of Mull is currently in dry dock for the fitting of a replacement evacuation chute system after a fault left it restricted to carrying just 45 passengers. While no date for the arrival of the new ferry MV Isle of Islay has been announced, it should be in service later this year, with three similar vessels following on at six monthly intervals. MV Glen Rosa, sister ship of MV Glen Sannox, is still being fitted out at the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow. The two ships are larger and have more complex dual-fuel gas propulsion systems, but Glen Rosa is now expected to be delivered between April and June next year.
Nahar Net
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Hamas receives Egyptian-Qatari proposal for re-establishing Gaza truce
by Naharnet Newsdesk 22 March 2025, 11:52 A Palestinian source close to the ceasefire talks told AFP late Friday that Hamas had received a proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar for re-establishing a truce and exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners "according to a timeline to be agreed upon." The source said the proposal "includes the entry of humanitarian aid" into Gaza, which has been blocked by Israel since March 2. Israel resumed intensive bombing of Gaza on Tuesday, citing deadlock in indirect negotiations on next steps in the truce after its first stage expired this month. The territory's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed 11 people on Friday -- three in pre-dawn strikes and eight more during the daytime. On Thursday, it had reported a death toll of 504 since the bombardment resumed, one of the highest since the war began more than 17 months ago with Hamas's attack on Israel. In a statement Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Katz said: "I ordered (the army) to seize more territory in Gaza... The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel". Should Hamas not comply, Katz also threatened "to expand buffer zones around Gaza to protect Israeli civilian population areas and soldiers by implementing a permanent Israeli occupation of the area". The military urged residents of the Al-Salatin, Al-Karama and Al-Awda areas of southern Gaza to evacuate their homes Friday ahead of a threatened strike. AFP images from northern Gaza showed donkey carts piled high with belongings as residents fled their homes along rubble-strewn roads. - 'Pressure points' - Israeli forces said Friday that they had killed the head of Hamas's military intelligence in southern Gaza in a strike a day earlier, the latest official targeted in recent days. Israel's resumption of large-scale military operations, coordinated with US President Donald Trump's administration, drew widespread condemnation. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain called for an immediate return to a Gaza ceasefire in a joint statement late Friday, calling the new strikes "a dramatic step backward". Turkey's foreign ministry condemned what it called a "deliberate" attack by Israel on a Turkish-built hospital in Gaza. "The IDF (military) struck terrorists in a Hamas terrorist infrastructure site that previously had served as a hospital in the central Gaza Strip," a military spokesperson told AFP in response to a question about the Turkish accusations. In a statement, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza condemned "the heinous crime committed by the occupation (Israel) in bombing the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital", calling it "the only hospital designated for the treatment of cancer patients in the Gaza Strip". The ministry said Israeli forces had used the hospital as "a base for its forces throughout the period of its occupation of the so-called Netzarim axis". Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed worry about the government's actions in a video statement Thursday, saying it was "unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission of bringing our hostages home". Thousands of protesters have rallied in Jerusalem in recent days, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of resuming military operations without regard for the safety of the hostages. Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, 58 are still held by Gaza militants, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. - Projectiles from Gaza, Yemen - Israel's military said late Friday that it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, after air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and parts of central Israel. It is the fourth missile launched from Yemen towards Israel since Tuesday, after Houthi rebels threatened to escalate attacks in support of Palestinians following Israel's renewed attacks on Gaza. In a statement early Saturday, the Iran-backed group said it had "targeted Ben Gurion airport" near Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile. Israeli airspace would remain unsafe "until the aggression against Gaza stops", the group said in the statement. Earlier on Friday, Israel's military said it intercepted two projectiles fired from northern Gaza, which Hamas's armed wing said was in response to "massacres against civilians". Katz said Israel would "intensify the fight with aerial, naval and ground shelling as well as by expanding the ground operation until hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated, using all military and civilian pressure points". He said these included implementing Trump's proposal for the United States to redevelop Gaza as a Mediterranean resort after the relocation of its Palestinian inhabitants to other Arab countries.
Arab News
21-03-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Turkiye condemns ‘deliberate Israeli strike' on Gaza hospital; Israel army insists it ‘struck terrorists'
ISTANBUL/JERUSALEM: Ankara on Friday condemned what it said was a 'deliberate' attack by Israel on a Turkish-built hospital in the Gaza Strip. 'We strongly condemn the destruction by Israel of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital,' said a foreign ministry statement. Israel's military acknowledged the attack, but insisted it 'struck terrorists' in what it described as an inactive Gaza hospital used by Hamas militants. 'Earlier today (Friday), the IDF (military) struck terrorists in a Hamas terrorist infrastructure site that previously had served as a hospital in the central Gaza Strip,' a military spokesman told AFP in response to a question about the Turkish accusations. Nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel on Tuesday shattered the truce that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages and brought relative calm since late January. Israeli ground forces on Friday advanced deeper into Gaza and vowed to hold more land until Hamas releases its remaining hostages. In the southern city of Rafah, officials said Israeli bombardments had forced residents into the open, deepening their suffering. Officials said they halted the building of shelter camps to protect employees. Israel had already cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. It says military operations will escalate until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 24 of whom are believed alive — and gives up control of the territory. Israel had ignored international condemnation of its indescriminate strikes, with Defense Minister Israel Katz warning that Israel would carry out operations in Gaza 'with increasing intensity until the hostages are released by Hamas.'
Jordan Times
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Israel defence minister threatens to annex parts of Gaza
Displaced Palestinians collect books, from the destroyed Islamic University to use as fuel to cook food, in Gaza City on March 21, 2025 (AFP photo) OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israeli defence minister Israel Katz threatened Friday to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas militants release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the war-battered Palestinian territory. The warning came as Israel stepped up the renewed assault it launched on Tuesday, shattering the relative calm that had reigned in the war-battered territory since a January 19 ceasefire. Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed 11 people on Friday -- three in pre-dawn strikes and eight more during the daytime. On Thursday, it had reported a death toll of 504 since the bombardment resumed, one of the highest since the war began more than 17 months ago with Hamas's attack on Israel. "I ordered (the army) to seize more territory in Gaza... The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel," Katz said in a statement. Should Hamas not comply, Katz also threatened "to expand buffer zones around Gaza to protect Israeli civilian population areas and soldiers by implementing a permanent Israeli occupation of the area". The military urged residents of the Al-Salatin, Al Karama and Al Awda areas of southern Gaza to evacuate their homes on Friday ahead of a threatened strike. "For your safety, head south toward the known shelters immediately," Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X. AFP images from northern Gaza showed donkey carts piled high with belongings as residents fled their homes along rubble-strewn roads. 'Pressure points' Israel resumed intensive bombing of Gaza on Tuesday, citing deadlock in indirect negotiations on next steps in the truce after its first stage expired early this month. Its resumption of large-scale military operations was coordinated with US President Donald Trump's administration but drew widespread condemnation. Turkey condemned what it said was a "deliberate" attack by Israel on a Turkish-built hospital in Gaza. "We strongly condemn the destruction by Israel of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital," its foreign ministry said. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed "concern" over the fresh Israeli assault in a telephone call Friday with the ruler of Qatar, one of the mediators of the January ceasefire. Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed concern about the government's actions in a video statement on Thursday, saying it was "unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission of bringing our hostages home". Thousands of protesters have rallied in Jerusalem in recent days, accusing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of resuming military operations without regard for the safety of the hostages. Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, 58 are still held by Gaza militants, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had closed off the territory's main north-south route as it expanded the ground operations which resumed on Wednesday. Projectiles from Gaza Israel's military said it intercepted two projectiles fired from northern Gaza on Friday, after air raid sirens sounded in the southern city of Ashkelon. On Thursday, sirens went off in central Israel as Hamas said it fired rockets at Tel Aviv in its first military reponse to Israel's resumed offensive. The military said it intercepted one rocket, while two hit an uninhabited area. "We will intensify the fight with aerial, naval and ground shelling as well as by expanding the ground operation until hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated, using all military and civilian pressure points," Katz said. He said these included implementing Trump's proposal for the United States to redevelop Gaza as a Mediterranean resort after the relocation of its Palestinian inhabitants to other Arab countries. When asked if Trump was trying to get a Gaza ceasefire back on track Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president "fully supports" Israel's renewed Gaza operations. Israel rejected negotiations for a promised second stage of the truce, calling instead for the return of all of its remaining hostages under an extended first stage. That would have meant delaying talks on a lasting ceasefire, and was rejected by Hamas as an attempt to renegotiate the original deal.
