Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States on Monday of transforming the Gulf into a "tinderbox" with its arms sales to regional allies.

"The US (sold) $50 billion worth of weapons to the region last year. Some of the countries in the region with less than a third of our population spend $87 billion on military procurement," Zarif told Qatar's Al Jazeera broadcaster during a visit to the Gulf state.

Washington is pursuing a "maximum pressure" campaign designed to force Iran to limit its nuclear and military activities.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have seen a steep rise since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a nuclear accord between Iran and world powers in May 2018, reimposing biting sanctions.

"If you are talking about threats coming from the region, the threats are coming from the US and its allies who are pouring weapons into the region, making it a tinderbox ready to blow up," Zarif said.

Washington is seeking to assemble a coalition to secure maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz — key to the global oil trade — following a number of attacks on oil tankers blamed by Washington on Tehran.

Iran strongly denies involvement.

While in Qatar, Zarif met with Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and discussed "issues of common interest", the state-run Qatar News Agency reported.

Doha is a close ally of Washington and hosts the largest US military base in the region, while also maintaining cordial ties with Iran.

South Sudan activists ramp up pressure for unity government
Juba (AFP) Aug 12, 2019 –

South Sudan activists on Monday began a campaign to pressure the country's warring parties to meet a fast-approaching deadline to form a unity government as part of their 2018 peace agreement.

The Civil Society Forum, a coalition of more than 100 organisations, on Monday marked the beginning of a 90-day countdown to the November deadline for the ruling party and opposition to form a government.

"We have not got much time left. There are a lot of tasks that need to be accomplished and business should not remain as usual," Geoffrey Lou Duke, a member of the coalition, told AFP.

South Sudan descended into war in 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy and fellow former rebel leader Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

The parties signed a peace deal in September for Kiir to form a government with Machar, but the sides already missed the first deadline, which was in May.

Activists say scant progress has been made since then, including on vital security measures to stabilise a country reeling from nearly six years of conflict.

The fighting has been marked by ethnic violence and brutal atrocities, and left about 380,000 dead while some four million have fled their homes.

Before any unity government is formed, the parties are supposed to canton their fighters and redeploy them as part of the national army, police and other security forces.

Foreign donors say it is up to Kiir's administration to fund the security reforms. Parties to the peace deal say its implementation will cost $285 million but that only around $10 million has been provided.

Machar's party says he will not return to Juba until the security reforms are complete.

"We have to see a sense of urgency and we do not want to see another situation where we give all sorts of excuses for having failed to form the transitional government," Jame David Kolok, another member of the Civil Society Forum, told AFP Monday.

"The campaign is to make sure every second from now onwards counts."