Hosni Mubarak Reached US For Talks With Obama
WASHINGTON: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arrived in the United States on Saturday, the Egyptian embassy said, for a trip that is scheduled to include his first White House meeting with President Barack Obama.
Arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the Egyptian leader is not expected to have any public engagements until Monday, when he will meet with several administration officials.
An Egyptian official told AFP that Mubarak was scheduled to meet on Monday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Advisor James Jones and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair.
He is also to meet with American Jewish groups, as he has done on previous US trips, though no details were released about which organizations would be included on this visit.
Tuesday, Mubarak will meet Obama at the White House. Egypt’s official MENA news agency reported that their discussions would focus on “the Palestinian question, ways of relaunching the peace process and issues linked to regional security and the consequences of the nuclear issue on the Gulf and the Middle East.”
Hillary Calls On Iran For Free Detained Americans
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton renewed calls Saturday for Iran to immediately release all US citizens held in the Islamic republic.
In a statement Clinton pointed to five cases: the three Americans who hiked into Iran from Iraq in late July; a US-Iranian scholar; and a private detective and former FBI agent who went missing in Iran in 2007.
Washington “is deeply concerned about the welfare of our American citizens who have been detained or are missing in Iran,” Clinton said.
“We once again urge Iran’s leadership to quickly resolve all outstanding American citizen cases.”
The three Americans — Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd — went missing on July 31 after setting out on a hike from Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, on the poorly marked border with Iran.
Iran on Tuesday officially notified Washington about the arrest through Swiss channels, which represent US interests in Iran, but US officials say they do not know where they are being held.
“We once again call on the Iranian government to live up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention by granting consular access and releasing these three young Americans without further delay,” Clinton said.
She also mentioned the case of US scholar Kian Tajbakhsh, “who has spent his career working to enhance mutual understanding between Iran and the United States.”
Iranian authorities “should immediately release Mr. Tajbakhsh from detention and allow him to depart Iran to continue his academic pursuits,” she said.
Tajbakhsh was put on trial two weeks ago with around 100 Iranians on charges of rioting after the disputed re-election in June of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Washington is also still “concerned about the case of Robert Levinson,” a former FBI agent who has been missing in Iran since March 9, 2007, Clinton said.
She called on Iran “to assist in providing any information on his whereabouts and in ensuring his prompt return to the United States.”
The US goal “is to ensure the safe return of all our missing or unjustly detained American citizens to the United States as quickly as possible so that they can be reunited with their families,” Clinton said.
