Iran’s Rouhani under attack from all sides

This handout picture released by the Iranian presidency on August 25, 2018, shows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivering a speech at the shrine of the revolutionary leader Khomeini in southern Tehran. (AFP)
Updated 27 August 2018
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Iran’s Rouhani under attack from all sides

  • For the first time, lawmakers have summoned Rouhani to parliament to face questions over the collapsing value of the Iranian currency
  • Lawmakers have already impeached his labor and economy ministers this month, and are seeking further scalps

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani is clinging to power but finds himself under attack from all sides — conservatives, "reformists" and the street — as he prepares for a grilling in parliament on Tuesday.
The US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and Washington’s reimposition of sanctions have already battered the Iranian economy, and critics say it has exposed the failures of Rouhani’s five years in power.
For the first time, lawmakers have summoned Rouhani to parliament to face questions over the collapsing value of the Iranian currency, over stubbornly high unemployment and corruption.
Lawmakers have already impeached his labor and economy ministers this month, and are seeking further scalps.
They have the power to impeach Rouhani himself, though he is protected by the fact that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he should see out his term to 2021, despite his own harsh criticisms of the president’s policies.

Despite his dim prospects, Rouhani still has the backing of moderate conservatives, including powerful parliament speaker Ali Larijani.
But many in the hard-line establishment opposed his negotiations with the West and feel vindicated by the unraveling of the nuclear deal.
They have led the charge against Rouhani’s cabinet, and were on Monday seeking enough votes for impeachment proceedings against his industry and transportation ministers.
“The best outcome for them is a lame duck president, as their chances will go up for (the next election) in 2021,” said political journalist Fereshteh Sadeghi.

As for the reformist faction, it was key to Rouhani’s election successes in 2013 and 2017, seeing him as its best option after the movement was suppressed in the wake of mass protests in 2009.
But Rouhani has failed to deliver on his promises of easing civil liberties, particularly his vow to release political prisoners and reduce censorship.
Reformists now fear being tarnished by their association with Rouhani and some have broken ranks to slam the government’s performance.
“What have we done with this nation? We made them miserable and wretched,” said reformist MP Elias Hazrati as he voted in favor of impeaching Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian on Sunday.
“No one believes Rouhani will reform anything anymore. He was just a tool for the system, appearing to address people’s demands for change without really changing anything,” said Clement Therme, Iran research fellow for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

On the back of popular support, Rouhani won emphatic victories in the past two presidential polls.
Even with the Guardian Council barring almost all candidates, there was genuine enthusiasm for his plans to rebuild Iran’s foreign standing and attract investment.
With the key part of that strategy — the nuclear deal — in tatters, the sense of disillusionment on the streets of Tehran is now palpable.
Many wealthier Iranians are trying to leave, while poorer areas have seen regular, low-level strikes and protests that have occasionally turned violent.
The prices of essential goods are rising rapidly, and worse pain is to come when US sanctions on Iran’s vital oil sector return in November.
“Look at my breakfast. I can’t afford fruit anymore,” a motorbike delivery man told AFP, holding up a can of lemonade and a piece of bread.
“We are afraid of this government, but there will be more protests.”

Rouhani’s problems reflect a basic contradiction of the Islamic republic, said Therme of IISS: elections are crucial to its legitimacy, but the Iranian people vote for reforms that cannot be delivered.
“The supreme leader supports Rouhani going to the end of his second term because he wants stability,” said Therme.
“But he thinks that if Rouhani delivers on his policies, it will mean the end of the system,” particularly by opening the country to Western cultural “invasion.”
There had been talk of Rouhani as a possible successor to the aging Khamenei, but he looks increasingly likely to follow the path of his two predecessors in the presidency, Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who have been effectively silenced by the establishment.
“There’s nothing he can do. His hands are tied. All the focus will now go on 2021,” said political journalist Sadeghi.


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
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US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.