The US launched retaliatory strikes against sites in Iraq used by Iranian-backed militias, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday. “At President Biden’s direction, US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq,” Austin revealed in a statement. The Defence Secretary explained that the strikes are a direct response to a series of escalating attacks by Iranian-backed militants on American and coalition soldiers in Iraq and Syria.
Geoffrey R. Pyatt, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, will travel to New Delhi and Hyderabad from 26-31 January. He will participate in two panels at the India-US Forum in New Delhi, covering shared energy priorities and challenges related to critical minerals for the global energy transition. In order to discuss the shared agenda of energy security and ways to quicken the energy transition, he will also meet with key Indian officials and representatives of the corporate sector.
Speaking on the impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the project had not been put on the back burner due to the issue. However, Kirby mentioned that building the economic corridor is a years-long process, and it will take a long time to get there.
The Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s NATO membership bid on Tuesday. Out of 346 members who voted, 287 favoured Sweden’s accession, 55 opposed it, and four others abstained from voting. The vote was the second phase in Turkey’s ratification procedure, following the bid’s approval by the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission last month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will soon sign the protocol into law.
On Tuesday, the US, UK, and Australia sanctioned Alexander Ermakov, a Russian suspected of being responsible for the 2022 ransomware attack on Medibank, Australia’s largest health insurance company. The US Treasury Department said that Australia initially sanctioned Ermakov for using ransomware to hack the Medibank network and exfiltrating the personal information of 9.7 million Medibank users. Later, the US and UK imposed sanctions in solidarity with Australia.
The Pakistan-Afghan border crossing at Torkham was reopened after ten days for commercial consignments on Tuesday. The move came after the Afghan Consul General met Pakistani authorities in Peshawar. The crossing was shut on 13 January after Pakistan announced a new policy demanding Afghan drivers entering the country to provide visas and other travelling documents. With the latest development, commercial vehicles entering the country have been given a relaxation till 31 March.