The Washington Post - 19.09.2019

A18 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 , 2019

see why they would not have done it already,” said Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute. Meanwhile, the United States still has not issued visas for Irani- an President Hassan R ouhani and his delegation to travel to New York next week for the United Nations General Assembly, and the Iranians may cancel t heir trip, state media reported Wednesday. Pompeo declined to discuss visas for Rouhani and Zarif, whom the United States targeted with sanctions in July. Under a 1947 agreement, the United States as the “host country” of the United Nations must admit diplomats of foreign countries to attend if they are on official U.N. business, but Washington says it can deny visas for national security, terrorism or foreign policy reasons. “If you’re connected t o a foreign terrorist organization, I don’t know, it seems to me it would be a reasonable thing to think about whether they o ught t o be p revent- ed to attend a meeting which is about peace,” Pompeo told the reporters traveling with him to Sau- di Arabia. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Morello and Wagner reported from Washington. Paul Schemm in Dubai, Anne Gearan in Washington and Philip Rucker in Otay Mesa, Calif., contributed to this report.

attacks,” the Mehr News Agency reported the official note as say- ing. Iran’s Fars News Agency said any Iranian response to an attack would target “more extensive areas than the origin of t he attack.” The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to com- ment on Trump’s tweet, but a spokesman repeated an assertion that “the U.S. economic terrorism is illegal.” I ran considers U. S. sanctions to violate the U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal, which was signed between Iran and world powers, including the United States but w hich the United S tates has disavowed u nder Trump. The Treasury Department’s Of- fice of Foreign Assets Control, which administers U.S. sanctions, already lists 674 Iranian entities, vessels and individuals who have been subjected to sanctions. The list includes banks, pension funds, tanker and shipping companies, cement plants, aircraft, the national oil company, judges and even a prison. The most promi- nent targets are the Islamic Revo- lutionary Guard Corps and For- eign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Though a number of potential targets are always kept in reserve, some experts wondered what remains to be penalized. “If there really was much more they could sanction that would have a significant impact, I don’t

sented what he said was evidence of Iran’s fingerprints on the strikes, including remnants of drone and cruise missiles that he said were used in the attacks and were Iranian-made. The spokesman, Col. Turki al- Malki, said in a news conference that 18 unmanned aerial vehicles had attacked an oil processing plant in Abqaiq in eastern Saudi Arabia. Seven cruise missiles, he added, were fired at a facility in Khurais, the site of one of the kingdom’s largest oil fields. Three of the cruise missiles fell short, he said. The attacks were “unquestion- ably sponsored by Iran” and had not originated in Yemen, Malki said, basing the assertion in part on the purported range of the weapons recovered, which he said could not have traveled from Houthi-held territory. But Saudi officials had not determined from where the weapons were launched. Malki did not say how the launch site would be identified but said there would be “account- ability” w hen it was. Iran delivered its warning to the United States via the Swiss Embassy in Te hran, which han- dles U.S. affairs in Iran. The official message condemned remarks by Pompeo and other officials linking Iran to the attacks. “Iran’s response will be prompt and strong, and it may include broader areas than the source of

ians, according to human rights groups. U.S. officials, however, have ca st doubt on the rebels’ involve- ment in Saturday’s attacks. Pompeo, who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday evening, told reporters shortly before arriv- ing in Saudi Arabia that the intelli- gence community had “high con- fidence” t hat the weapons s ystems used in the attacks were not in the Houthis’ arsenal. The attacks had also not come from the south, where the Houthis control territory, he added, citing “flight pat- terns” that would have explained the location of impact points at the S audi oil facilities. “This was a n Iranian attack,” h e said. “It didn’t come from the Houthis.” The United States also did not have any evidence the attacks came from Iraq, he added, but h e did not specify which c oun- try had been the launchpad. A senior administration o fficial familiar with Pompeo’s visit said the U.S. team examined photos and debris, including some intact weaponry. “That equipment is not used in the Houthi arsenal, including UAVs and the light cruise missiles used,” t he official s aid. A Saudi military spokesman in Riyadh, the Saudi c apital, also pre-

told reporters traveling with him in California that “very significant” sanctions would be an- nounced “over t he n ext 48 hours.” Trump warned of “a very pow- erful attack” a gainst Iran Wednes- day afternoon as he toured the U.S.-Mexico border in Otay Mesa, Calif., near San Diego. He said his plans are “very fluid” and that “a lot of things can happen — rough things and n ot so rough t hings.” Trump told reporters he was being judicious in evaluating whether to respond with military force. “We are doing it the right way,” he said. “We’re doing it the smart way.... We will s ee what we will see.” But, the president added, “One call and we can go i n.” Yemen’s Houthi rebels have since 2015 been battling a Saudi- led coalition that backs the inter- nationally recognized government in Yemen. The conflict has caused the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked the kingdom, using ground troops, drones and ballis- tic missiles, some reaching deep into Saudi territory. They have called the s trikes a response t o the Saudi-led coalition’s years-long air war over Yemen, which has included thousands of airstrikes that have killed thousands of civil-

to the increasingly severe U.S.
sanctions crippling the Iran econ-
omy.
The initial claim of responsibil-
ity for the weekend attacks by the
Iranian-allied rebels, known as
the Houthis, “doesn’t change the
fingerprints of the ayatollah as
having put at risk the global en-
ergy supply,” Pompeo told report-
ers, in an apparent reference to
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s s u-
preme leader, while traveling to
Saudi Arabia. His comments set
the t one for a day of d evelopments
that raised temperatures across
the Persian G ulf.
The attacks on the installations
in eastern Saudi Arabia t emporar-
ily cut the kingdom’s oil produc-
tion in half and caused prices to
jump worldwide.
The U.S. and Saudi govern-
ments have yet to provide solid
evidence o f where t he attacks orig-
inated. In the absence of such
proof, Iran has forcefully pushed
back against the accusations and
warned of consequences if it is
attacked.
The day’s first salvo came from
President Trump, who wrote in a
tweet that he had “just instructed
the Secretary of the Treasury to
substantially increase Sanctions
on the country of Iran!” He later

SAUDI FROM A

BY DANIELLE PAQUETTE AND SABATO NEUFVILLE

dakar, senegal — Flames
swept a boarding school early
Wednesday in the West African
country of Liberia, killing at
least 28 children and trapping
others in the rubble.
The students were sleeping
in a dormitory attached to a
mosque when an e lectrical issue
is suspected to have sparked the
fire, a police spokesman said.
The blaze remains under in-
vestigation.
At midday, officers were still
searching for the missing in
Paynesville City, a suburb of the
Liberian capital, Monrovia, as
Red Cross ambulances rushed
to treat the injured.
The victims are thought to be
boys ages 10 to 20 who were
studying the Koran.
“My prayers go out to the
families of the children that
died last night in Paynesville
City; as a result of a deadly fire
that engulfed t heir s chool build-
ing,” Liberian President George
Weah said in a tweet. “This is a
tough time for the families of
the victims and all of Liberia.
Deepest condolences go out to
the bereaved.”
Gaylor Mulbah, who lives
next door to the school, said he
woke Wednesday morning to
the noise of chaos.
“I came outside thinking
th ere were armed robbers,” he
said, “but everything was blaz-
ing. People were running,
screaming, calling for help.”
Mulbah, a teacher at another
school, s aid h e tried to g et t o the
boys but the heat was too
intense to go near the building.
Steel security bars blocked the
windows.
Makeshift dwellings clogging
the alleys around the school
also caught fire, stalling rescu-
ers. “It took two, three hours for
the fire brigade to get in,”
Mulbah said.

The boys who attend the Quranic Islamic School are known in the neighborhood as quiet and respectful. They often stay up late reading prayers, Mulbah said. It is unclear how many students l ived in the dormitory, b ut authorities said few were able to escape the inferno.

B. Abel Learwellie, executive director of Camp for Peace Li- beria, a nonprofit organization in Paynesville City, said he can- not recall a disaster so deadly in the country of approximately 4.8 million since a landslide killed hundreds of miners near- ly four decades ago. “The police a re still searching for bodies,” he said. “We pray the souls of these innocent children rest in peace.” Fires kill an estimated 250,000 people each year worldwide, with the majority of victims in low- and middle- income countries, according to the World Health Organiza- tion. Experts say low-quality hous- ing, aging infrastructure and a lack of funding for safety in- spections heighten the risk. Isaac Solo Kelgbeh, press secretary for Weah, said the government has launched a probe into how the Paynesville City fire spread so quickly. Most homes in Liberia lack smoke detectors and fire extinguish- ers, he said — an issue officials want to fix. [email protected]

Neufville reported from Paynesville City.

Blaze at school in Liberia kills at least 28 children sleeping in dormitory

AHMED JALLANZO/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

BY JOANNA SLATER

new delhi — When President
Trump and Narendra Modi met
last month in France, their cama-
raderie was on full display as
they smiled, laughed and even
clasped hands in front of reporters.
Now the leaders of the world’s two
largest democracies are taking
their relationship to the next level:
On Sunday, they will appear to-
gether at a rally in Houston in front
of tens of thousands of people.
For the Indian government,
Trump’s presence at the rally is a
diplomatic triumph. It marks the
first time that any U.S. president
and Indian prime minister have
addressed such an event together,
and it comes at a critical juncture.
In recent months, the United
States and India have become em-
broiled in a trade war, and Trump
has complained vociferously about
Indian tariffs, even as he has tout-
ed his personal rapport with Modi.
India, meanwhile, has faced

criticism for its recent moves to strip Kashmir of its autonomy and institute a communications crack- down in the restive Muslim-majority region. The steps sparked ten- sions with Pakistan and expres- sions of concern from the State Department and some members of Congress, who have urged India to end its detentions of Kashmir’s political leaders. Now, with Modi and Trump sharing a stage, the two countries will emphasize their affinities ra ther than their differences. Modi’s supporters can point to Trump’s presence at the rally as “virtual approval of what [Modi] has done” in Kashmir, said Var- ghese George, the author of a new book on India-U.S. relations. It’s “a very big deal for Modi and his politics.” Modi entered office in 2014 and recently won a landslide reelection victory. Like Trump, he has moti- vated voters with promises to safe- guard the nation and restore its

greatness. Modi’s brand of politics also views India as fundamentally Hindu, rather than a secular re- public as envisaged by its founders. Modi is very popular at home — his approval ratings far outstrip Trump’s — and he draws large audiences from the Indian diaspora when he travels abroad. About 50,000 people are expected at the rally at Houston’s NRG Stadium, an event aptly titled “Howdy, Modi!” Hundreds of Indian Ameri- can groups have helped boost at- tendance. Milan Vaishnav, who heads the South Asia program at the Carne- gie Endowment for International Peace, said he could not remember a time when an American president was the guest at a rally for a foreign leader on U.S. soil. “We have to acknowledge what a spec- tacle this is,” he said. “Other than maybe the pope, it’s hard to think of this kind of setting happening before.” Trump’s presence at the event is

a “recognition of the importance of the Indian diaspora in the U.S.” a nd “definitely a recognition of Prime Minister Modi as a global leader,” said Vijay Chauthaiwale, who heads foreign affairs and overseas outreach for India’s ruling Bharati- ya Janata Party. The U.S.-India relationship is anchored by shared strategic inter- ests, added Chauthaiwale. “There will be some differences of opinion on certain issues, maybe on trade or maybe even our move in Kash- mir,” he said. “But there is enough maturity to deal with it in a friend- ly manner.” For Trump, the rally provides access to a pool of voters — Indian Americans — that he hopes to court in next year’s presidential elections, even if the community tends to lean heavily Democratic. Officials from both countries have dropped strong hints that they hope to announce progress toward reducing the current trade frictions while Modi is in the Unit-

ed States. If so, it would allow Trump to claim a victory on one of his signature issues. India’s external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, told reporters Tuesday that he expected to see some of the “sharper edges” in the U.S.-India relationship “addressed in some form in the not- too-distant future.” Experts said that they believed that any imminent trade agreement would probably be modest. On the trade front, the two countries are “trying to undo damage and stop new damage, rather than do exciting, positive things,” said Richard M. Rossow, a senior advis- er at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washing- ton. “You’re at the hospital, not the gym.” Rossow said that India might make concessions on issues such as its price caps on certain medical devices and possibly ease import restrictions on some agricultural commodities. The United States,

meanwhile, could indicate its openness to reinstating preferen- tial treatment for certain Indian imports — a status Trump revoked in May. After appearing onstage with Trump, Modi will travel to New York for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly. He is scheduled to deliver an ad- dress there Sept. 27, his first such appearance since 2014. He a lso will receive an award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation honor- ing progress in global health for his “Clean India” campaign that has constructed millions of toilets across the country. The award from the foundation has become a focus for protesters seeking to draw a ttention to India’s actions in Kashmir. They recently presented a petition with 100,000 signatures at the foundation’s headquarters in Seattle urg- ing it to retract the honor, which it declined to do. [email protected]

In coup for Modi, Trump will join the Indian prime minister at a U.S. rally

Other students trapped in rubble; electrical issue suspected as cause of fire

“The police are still

searching for bodies.

We pray the souls

of these innocent

children rest in peace.” B. Abel Learwellie, executive director of Camp for Peace Liberia

ABOVE: A man looks into a burned building after fire swept a school in Paynesville City, a suburb of Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. Gaylor Mulbah, who lives next to the school, said he awoke to chaos: “Everything was blazing.”

LEFT: People carry a body before a funeral at the 17 th Street Islamic Mosque in Monrovia on Wednesday. The fire victims are thought to be boys ages 10 to 20 who were at the school in Paynesville City to study the Koran.

Tr ump hints at military strike on Iran

REUTERS

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The Washington Post - 19.09.2019

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