Iranian planes are getting fuel: foreign ministry

(Reuters) – Iranian planes are getting fuel at airports around the world, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday, denying reports that some countries were refusing supplies due to sanctions.

“No such limitation has been imposed,” he told a news conference, saying reports that fuel supplies had been blocked were part of a propaganda war against the Islamic Republic.

On Monday, the secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union was quoted on Iran’s ISNA news agency as saying Iranian planes had been refused fuel at airports in Britain, Germany and UAE because of U.S. sanctions.

The German Transport Ministry said there was no ban on refueling Iranian flights in Germany and a British government source said London was not aware of any cut to supplies and that any such a decision would be up to private companies.

A source in the UAE familiar with the issue said a private company there had refused to refuel an Iranian plane, but the UAE had imposed no ban of its own.

(Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; editing by David Stamp)

Turkey sees no impact on Israel drone delivery

June 1 (Reuters) – Turkey’s Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul said on Tuesday a diplomatic crisis with Israel after the Jewish state stormed a Turkish-backed aid convoy will not affect the planned delivery of Israel-made Heron drones to Turkey.

Israel’s long-time Muslim ally Turkey has recalled its envoy to Israel and cancelled joint military exercises after Israeli marines raided an aid flotilla bound for Gaza on Monday.

Earlier this year, the two countries, which have a close military alliance, wrapped up the purchase of 10 Heron drones in a deal worth $180 million. (Reportingby Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; Editing by David Stamp)

U.N. human rights body to debate Gaza aid ship raid

(Reuters) – The U.N. Human Rights Council will debate on Tuesday Israel’s raid on a Gaza aid ship flotilla, at the urging of Arab and other Islamic states, a United Nations spokeswoman said.

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A draft resolution sponsored by Pakistan and Sudan alongside the Palestinians “condemns in the strongest terms possible the outrageous attack by the Israeli forces” and says independent investigators should be sent to review possible violations of international law related to the incident.

The non-binding resolution also calls on Israel to ensure that food, fuel and medical assistance reaches the Gaza Strip.

Claire Kaplun, a spokeswoman for the Geneva-based Council, said the discussion would start at 1300 GMT and last three hours.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council issued a formal statement condemning the acts that caused deaths of civilians during the Israeli operation against the flotilla and called for an impartial investigation.

The Human Rights Council discussion could put more pressure on Israel about the military interception.

But the 47-member body has long been accused of singling out Israel while going easy on other rights abusers, eroding the influence of its past resolutions which have condemned Israel’s actions in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories.

The United States, a key Israeli ally, currently holds a seat on the Human Rights Council.

On Monday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for an independent inquiry and urged the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

“We need to establish exactly what happened. However, nothing can justify the appalling outcome of this operation, which reportedly took place in international waters,” she said in a statement. (Reporting by Laura MacInnis; editing by David Stamp)

UN human rights body to debate Gaza aid ship raid

June 1 (Reuters) – The U.N. Human Rights Council will debate on Tuesday Israel’s raid on a Gaza aid ship flotilla, at the urging of Arab states, a United Nations spokeswoman said.

Claire Kaplun, a spokeswoman for the Geneva-based body, said the discussion would start at 1300 GMT and last three hours.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council issued a formal statement condemning the acts that caused deaths of civilians during the Israeli operation against the flotilla and called for an impartial investigation. [ID:nN01267882]

The Human Rights Council discussion could put more pressure on Israel about the military interception.

But the 47-member body has long been accused of singling out Israel while going easy on other rights abusers, eroding the influence of its past resolutions which have condemned Israel’s actions in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories.

On Monday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for an independent inquiry and urged the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

“We need to establish exactly what happened. However, nothing can justify the appalling outcome of this operation, which reportedly took place in international waters,” she said in a statement. (Reporting by Laura MacInnis; editing by David Stamp)

Turkey to recall Israel envoy over convoy action

May 31 (Reuters) – Turkey will recall its ambassador to Israel in protest after Israeli commandos stormed Gaza-bound aid ships, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

President Abdullah Gul said in a statement that Ankara is demanding an inquiry into the violent interdiction of the Turkey-backed convoy and the punishment of the culprits. (Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; Editing by David Stamp)

20 injured at Yemen funeral after separatist protest

Yemeni security forces fired tear gas and live bullets on Saturday into a funeral procession for people killed in separatist demonstrations earlier this month, injuring 20 people, witnesses said.

The clashes happened in the southern province of Dalea, where two protestors were shot dead on March 11 as security forces broke up a demonstration.

North and South Yemen united in 1990 but many people in the south, home to most Yemeni oil facilities, complain that northerners have used unification to grab resources and discriminate against them.

Last week Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared an end to a long-running war with northern Shi’ite rebels that drew in Saudi forces last year.

The country is also cracking down on al Qaeda and Saleh was quoted on Saturday as saying Yemen had made progress with the help of regional and Western powers.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Jason Benham; Editing by David Stamp)

Iran says Muslims must act over Jerusalem

Iran attacked Israel’s settlement plans in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, saying Muslims around the world needed to take action.

Announcements by Israel’s right-wing government of new building projects in East Jerusalem — which the Jewish state seized in a 1967 war — have spoiled U.S. plans to get Palestinians and Israelis back into peace negotiations.

“Expansion of Israeli settlements, destruction of Islamic and Christian sites and wide-scale construction of new synagogues … show the Zionist plans to accelerate Judaisation of East Jerusalem and unfortunately it is approved by American officials,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in comments reported on Iranian state radio.

“This has raised the alarm for all people around the world and doubled the need for Muslim and other countries to act seriously,” he said, adding that the 22-nation Arab League should take a strong stance at its meeting in Libya this weekend.

U.S. officials have sought to coax Israel into suspending further East Jerusalem projects and discussing core issues such as borders and the status of Jerusalem as part of indirect talks with the Palestinians that have been blessed by the Arab League.

Iran is locked in dispute with the United States and its allies, including Arab states, over its nuclear energy programme which they fear will allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says it has no such intention.

Israel says it considers a nuclear Iran as an existential threat and analysts say Israel, itself regarded as a nuclear power, could carry out raids on Iranian sites.

Iran, a major oil and gas producer, sees itself as the main champion of the Palestinian cause among Muslim countries.

(Reporting by Ramin Mostafavi, writing by Andrew Hammond; editing by David Stamp)