TEHRAN: President Hassan Rouhani vowed on Friday that Iran would boost its ballistic missile capabilities despite criticism from the United States and also France.
“Whether you like it or not, we are going to strengthen our military capabilities which are necessary for deterrence,” Rouhani said in a speech marking the anniversary of the outbreak of Iran’s devastating 1980-1988 war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
“We will strengthen not only our missiles but also our air, land and sea forces... When it comes to defending our country, we will ask nobody for their permission.”
Criticism by the Donald Trump administration of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, including the United States, has focused heavily on Tehran’s continuing missile program.
Tehran says that the missiles are entirely legitimate under the terms of the deal as they are not designed to carry a nuclear warhead.
But Washington says they breach the spirit of the agreement as they have the potential to carry a nuclear warhead and has imposed new sanctions over Tehran’s continuing launches and tests.
There has been some sympathy for the US position from France, whose President Emmanuel Macron said the deal could be expanded to ban missile tests and cut a sunset clause in the nuclear agreement that would see Iran resume some uranium enrichment from 2025.
But even he insisted that the core deal not be dumped.
Thus far, the UN nuclear watchdog and the US State Department have reported that Tehran has complied with the terms of the nuclear deal.
But Trump, who this week described the deal as an “embarrassment,” is due to report to the US Congress on October 15 on whether or not he believes that Iran is in compliance.
If, as now appears increasingly likely, he decides that it is not, it could open the way for renewed US sanctions and perhaps the collapse of the agreement.
Trump said on Wednesday he had made his decision but was not yet ready to reveal it.
Washington has also taken aim at what it says is Tehran’s failure to meet expectations that it would play a more stabilising role in the Middle East.
“Regrettably, since the agreement was confirmed we have seen anything but a more peaceful, stable region and this is a real issue,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters at the United Nations.
Washington has been particularly concerned about Iran’s heavy intervention in Syria on the side of the government of President Bashar Assad and its support for Shiite rebels in Yemen who control the capital in defiance of its Saudi-backed government.
But Rouhani ruled out any change of policy in the region.
“Whether you like it or not, we are going to defend the oppressed peoples of Yemen, Palestine and Syria,” he said.
Iran’s Rouhani vows to strengthen missiles despite US criticism
Iran’s Rouhani vows to strengthen missiles despite US criticism
Devastated Lebanon village marks Eid among its dead
- Israel has regularly carried out often-deadly air raids in south and east Lebanon since the ceasefire, striking what it says are Hezbollah military targets that violated the agreement
AÏTAROUN, Lebanon: In the war-devastated southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun on Monday, residents marked the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr among their dead.
Relatives crowded the village’s cemeteries to pray for the more than 100 residents, including fighters from Hezbollah, killed during the war between the militant group and Israel that ended with a fragile ceasefire in November.
“We defied the entire world by being here in Aitaroun to celebrate Eid with our martyrs,” Siham Ftouni said near the grave of her son, a rescuer with an Islamic health organization affiliated with Hezbollah.
“Their blood permitted us to come back to our village,” she said.
During the war, Lebanese state media reported that Israeli troops used explosives in Aitaroun and two nearby villages to blow up houses. The town square is heavily damaged.
Few people have returned to live or to reopen businesses.
The story is the same in other villages in southern Lebanon.
In Aitaroun, more than 90 of the village’s dead — including some who died from natural causes — were buried only a month ago when Israeli troops pulled out.
Under the ceasefire, Israel had 60 days to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, but it did not pull most of them back until February 18 after the initial deadline was extended.
On Monday, beneath yellow Hezbollah flags, Ftouni and other women clad in black let their grief pour out.
A young girl sat near the grave of a woman, holding her photo surrounded by flowers.
Other pictures, of infants and young men in military uniform, lay on top of graves, and the sound of funeral orations triggered tears.
Some visitors handed out sweets and other foods to mourners who came from further away.
“This year, Eid is different from the years before,” said Salim Sayyed, 60, a farmer originally from Aitaroun. “Aitaroun, which lost more than 120 martyrs including many women and children, is living a sad Eid.”
He added: “The will to live will remain stronger than death.”
The war saw the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders, and the group’s military infrastructure was devastated. Yet it continues to proclaim victory after more than a year of conflict that escalated to full-blown war and killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon.
Despite the ceasefire deal, Israeli troops remain inside Lebanon at five points it deems strategic.
Both Hezbollah and Israel have accused each other of truce violations.
Israel has regularly carried out often-deadly air raids in south and east Lebanon since the ceasefire, striking what it says are Hezbollah military targets that violated the agreement.
On Friday Israel bombed southern Beirut for the first time since the truce after rockets were fired toward its territory.
Imad Hijazi, 55, a taxi driver, said the security uncertainty was no deterrent to those wanting to spend Eid beside the graves of their loved ones.
“The sadness was immense. Everyone was shaken by the loss of loved ones. I lost 23 members of my family in an Israeli strike,” Hijazi said.
“I was ashamed to convey Eid greetings to my relatives or my friends.”
At least 322 children reportedly killed in Gaza in 10 days: UN
UNITED NATIONS: Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza has reportedly left at least 322 children dead and 609 wounded in the Palestinian territory in the past 10 days, UNICEF said Monday.
The figures include children who were reportedly killed or wounded when the surgical department of Al Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza, was hit in an attack on March 23, the UN children’s agency said in a statement.
UNICEF said most of these children were displaced, and sheltering in makeshift tents or damaged homes.
Ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas, Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive.
“The ceasefire in Gaza provided a desperately needed lifeline for Gaza’s children and hope for a path to recovery,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“But children have again been plunged into a cycle of deadly violence and deprivation.”
Russell added: “All parties must adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect children.”
The UNICEF statement said that after nearly 18 months of war, more than 15,000 children have reportedly been killed, over 34,000 reportedly injured, and nearly one million children have been displaced repeatedly and denied basic services.
UNICEF called for an end to hostilities and for Israel to end its ban on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, which has been in force since March 2.
It also said children who are sick or wounded should be evacuated to receive medical attention.
“Food, safe water, shelter, and medical care have become increasingly scarce. Without these essential supplies, malnutrition, diseases and other preventable conditions will likely surge, leading to an increase in preventable child deaths,” UNICEF said.
“The world must not stand by and allow the killing and suffering of children to continue,” it added.
Syrians rejoice during first Eid after Assad’s fall
- “The joy of liberation and victory is immense, but there’s still a lot of work ahead. This is only the beginning of the road”
DAMASCUS: Eid Al-Fitr in Syria was charged with newfound joy this year, as thousands freely celebrated the holiday for the first time after the fall of Bashar Assad.
From the early morning hours, crowds of men, women and children flocked to pray at Damascus’s historic Umayyad Mosque in the Old City.
“This is the first time we truly feel the joy of Eid, after getting rid of Assad’s tyrannical regime,” Fatima Othman told AFP.
Following prayer, worshippers exchanged Eid greetings while street vendors sold colorful balloons and toys to children posing for photos with their parents.
“Our celebration is doubled after Assad’s fall,” said Ghassan Youssef, a resident of the capital.
A few kilometers (miles) away, on the slopes of Mount Qasyun overlooking Damascus — a site previously off-limits to Syrians until Assad was deposed on December 8 — a few thousand people gathered at Unknown Soldier Square for an open-air prayer.
Among them were members of the security forces and the army, dressed in uniform and armed. The road leading to the square was packed, according to an AFP photographer.
Some worshippers distributed sweets to celebrate, while the three-star Syrian flag, adopted by the new authorities, waved in the air.
Under the previous government, access to the Unknown Soldier monument was typically restricted to Assad and his close associates, who would lay wreaths there during national ceremonies.
The memorial, where a giant screen broadcast the Eid prayer, is near the presidential palace.
There, interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa prayed alongside Syria’s new mufti Osama Al-Rifai and several cabinet ministers in the presence of a large crowd.
He later delivered a speech emphasising the country faced “a long and arduous road to reconstruction but possesses all the resources needed to recover.”
This came two days after the formation of a new government, which faces daunting challenges in a country devastated by 14 years of civil war.
Wael Hamamiya, who had been in Sweden since the early days of the conflict, returned to Damascus to celebrate Eid with his family.
“This is my first Eid here in nearly 15 years. I truly feel the celebration in its full meaning,” he told AFP, beaming.
“Everyone who has come is over the moon. This is the celebration of celebrations!“
The occasion was more somber for some Syrians, who were able to visit the graves of loved ones that had been off-limits during Assad reign, especially in former opposition strongholds.
At Al-Rawda Cafe in Damascus, 36-year-old Amer Hallaq chatted with friends after returning from exile in Berlin where he ended up after dodging compulsory military service in 2014.
“For years, I thought I’d never see my family again or celebrate Eid with them,” Hallaq said.
“The joy of liberation and victory is immense, but there’s still a lot of work ahead. This is only the beginning of the road.”
Israeli finance minister Smotrich resigns from post as minister in government
JERUSALEM: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich resigned from his post as minister on Monday in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A spokesperson for Smotrich said the move was a protest against nationalist-religious Jewish Power party head Itamar Ben Gvir’s request for more ministerial positions upon Ben Gvir’s return to the government.
The resignation is not likely to collapse Netanyahu’s coalition. The government passed its 2025 budget in Israel’s parliament last week.
At least 10 people dead in Syria as gunmen target civilians in Tartus and Homs
- Attackers, who remain unidentified and at large, opened fire in Haref Nemra, a village in the Baniyas countryside in Tartus
- In early March, Islamist-led forces killed over 1,000 Alawites in coordinated assaults on coastal areas including Latakia and Baniyas
BEIRUT: A 12-year-old boy was among four people killed on Monday in Syria’s Tartus province, a coastal region home to a majority Alawite population, provincial officials said in a statement.
The attackers, who remain unidentified and at large, opened fire in Haref Nemra, a village in the Baniyas countryside in Tartus. The Tartus province’s general security forces are pursuing those involved “to bring them to justice,” said Amer Al-Madani, Baniyas’ head of security, who spoke in a video posted on the province’s official Facebook page.
Kamal, a resident of a nearby village and a relative of three victims who asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of reprisals, said the masked gunmen, whom he believed to be government security forces, arrived at the village seeking the mukhtar, a local leader who represents the community in administrative matters, before opening fire, killing at least four people, including a 12-year-old and an 80-year-old from the same family.
Kamal said he was citing accounts from three other witnesses. The sequence of events has not been independently verified, and there is no official statement on the details of the attack.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) is the Islamist group whose leader, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, played a key role in the overthrow of former President Bashar Assad and is now Syria’s de facto president.
The attack forced dozens of families to flee from the Baniyas area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor. Kamal also said many in Baniyas escaped to nearby mountains. “No one here feels safe,” he said. “All main roads are empty most times because people are scared to go outside.”
Separately on Monday, two unidentified gunmen killed six people in Homs, a city in western Syria known for its religious diversity, with a majority of Sunni Muslims and a significant Alawite minority, a sect of Shia Islam primarily based in Syria.
The attack took place in the Karm Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, claiming the lives of three children and their mother, who all belonged to the Alawite sect, as well as two house guests from the Sunni community. The attack also left the father seriously wounded. There has been no official comment on the incident from the government or relevant authorities.
Syria’s Alawite community in Syria has faced escalating violence, with reports of massacres and targeted attacks.
In early March, Islamist-led forces killed over 1,000 Alawites in coordinated assaults on coastal areas including Latakia and Baniyas, carrying out executions and burning homes, leading to mass displacements.
The attacks, among the deadliest in Syria’s modern history, saw militants rampage through Alawite-populated coastal provinces and nearby Hama and Homs, killing civilians— including entire families— in homes and on the streets. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported nearly 200 deaths in Baniyas alone.
Witnesses identified the attackers as hard-line Sunni Islamists, including Syria-based foreign fighters and former members of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the disbanded insurgent group that led the December Assad ousting. However, many were also local Sunnis, seeking revenge for past atrocities blamed on Alawites loyal to Assad.
While some Sunnis hold the Alawite community responsible for Assad’s brutal crackdowns, Alawites themselves say they also suffered under his rule. The international community has urged Syria’s new government to protect minorities and prevent further violence.
