Rouhani slams US on first day of Iraq visit

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani meeting with Iraq's President Barham Salih (L) in Tehran. (File/AFP)
Updated 12 March 2019
Follow

Rouhani slams US on first day of Iraq visit

  • The Iranian president is traveling with a high-ranking political and economic delegation
  • The two countries were locked in a war for eight years in the 1980s

BAGHDAD: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani hit back Monday against pressure from the “aggressor” United States on Iraq to limit ties with its neighbor, during his first official visit to Baghdad.
Shiite-majority Iraq is walking a fine line to maintain good relations with its key partners Iran and the United States which themselves are arch-foes.
It has been under pressure from Washington not to get too close to the Islamic republic next door, particularly after the United States last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and hit Tehran with sanctions.
Baghdad was given limited waivers to continue buying electricity and natural gas from Iran, but Washington has urged Iraq to partner with US companies to become energy independent.
Rouhani, who is on his first trip to Iraq since becoming president in 2013, hailed his country's “special” ties with its neighbor.
These relations could not be compared to Iraq’s ties “with an aggressor country like America,” he said before flying Monday to Baghdad for the three-day visit.
“America is despised in the region. The bombs that the Americans dropped on Iraqis, Syrian people and other countries cannot be forgotten,” he added.
Iran is always ready to help its neighbors, he said, in a nod to the role Tehran played to help Iraq battle Daesh.
Iraq's President Barham Saleh, at a joint news conference with Rouhani in Baghdad, thanked Iran for its "support" and said he was "lucky" to have it as a neighbor, without making any reference to the US.

Iraqi President Barham Salih said that relations with Tehran were beneficial to the region on the whole.

Salih and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani spoke on the relations between the two countries. 

Rouhani said that relations with Iraq were based on religion and go back thousands of years, adding that Iran cares about Iraq's stability and the stability of the region. 

Rouhani arrived in Baghdad on Monday, Iraqi state television said, making his first official visit to the nation that Tehran once fought a bloody war against and later backed in the battle with the Daesh group.
Since Rouhani’s election in 2013, Iraq has relied on Iranian paramilitary support to fight Daesh, following the militant group’s capture of the Iraqi city of Mosul and other territory in both Iraq and Syria.
Now with the militants facing a final territorial defeat in the Syrian village of Baghouz, Iran is looking for Iraq’s continued support as it faces a maximalist pressure campaign by President Donald Trump after his decision to withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Rouhani was received by an honor guard on landing in Baghdad, where he was welcomed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Al-Hakim. He is to first visit a Shiite shrine in the Iraqi capital and then meet with both Salih and Prime Minister Abdel Abdul Mehdi, as well as visit other politicians and Shiite leaders.
Rouhani is accompanied on the three-day visit to Iraq by a high-ranking political and economic delegation.
It underscores how much has changed since the 1980s, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, sparking an eight-year war that killed 1 million people. After the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam, Iran began a campaign of backing militants who targeted American forces in Iraq.
Tehran also made political connections with Iraq’s Shiite leaders, who had been persecuted by Saddam’s government. Iran’s former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became the first Iranian president to visit Iraq on a trip in 2008.
Iraq and Iran share a 1,400-kilometer-long border. Trump made a snap December trip to Iraq and made comments that US forces should stay in Iraq to keep an eye on Iran, something dismissed by both Iran and Iraqi leaders, whom Trump did not meet on the visit.
Rouhani, who had visited Iraq privately before becoming president, had planned an official visit in 2016 but it was canceled over unspecified “executive” problems.
This time, Rouhani, who is on a second four-year-term, is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the Iranian rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for the president’s ouster.
Tehran sees the US military presence at its doorstep in Iraq as a threat — one that could also undermine Iran’s influence over Baghdad.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif alluded to that on Sunday while in Baghdad, saying that any country which tries to interfere with the good Iran-Iraq relations would “be deprived of opportunities for itself.”
Iran also sees Iraq as a possible route to bypass US sanctions that Trump re-imposed last year after pulling the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Last year, Iran’s exports to Iraq amounted to nearly $9 billion. Tehran hopes to increase the roughly $13 billion volume in trade between the two neighboring countries to $20 billion. Also, some 5 million religious tourists bring in nearly $5 billion a year as Iraqis and Iranians visit Shiite holy sites in the two countries.

(With AFP)


Libya’s eastern parliament approves transitional justice law

Updated 11 sec ago
Follow

Libya’s eastern parliament approves transitional justice law

  • The UN mission to Libya has repeatedly called for an inclusive, rights-based transitional justice and reconciliation process in the country

TRIPOLI: Libya’s eastern-based parliament has approved a national reconciliation and transitional justice law, three lawmakers said, a measure aimed at reunifying the oil-producing country after over a decade of factional conflict.

The House of Representatives spokesperson, Abdullah Belaihaq, said on the X platform that the legislation was passed on Tuesday by a majority of the session’s attendees in Libya’s largest second city Benghazi.

However, implementing the law could be challenging as Libya has been divided since a 2014 civil war that spawned two rival administrations vying for power in east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.

“I hope that it (the law) will be in effect all over the country and will not face any difficulty,” House member Abdulmenam Alorafi told Reuters by phone on Wednesday.

The UN mission to Libya has repeatedly called for an inclusive, rights-based transitional justice and reconciliation process in the North African country.

A political process to end years of institutional division and outright warfare has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.

In Tripoli, there is the Government of National Unity under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah that was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021, but the parliament no longer recognizes its legitimacy. Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power to a new government without national elections.

There are two competing legislative bodies — the HoR that was elected in 2014 as the national parliament with a four-year mandate to oversee a political transition, and the High Council of State in Tripoli formed as part of a 2015 political agreement and drawn from a parliament first elected in 2012.

The Tripoli-based Presidential Council, which came to power with GNU, has been working on a reconciliation project and holding “a comprehensive conference” with the support of the UN and African Union. But it has been unable to bring all rival groups together because of their continuing differences.


Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun seems increasingly likely to be Lebanon’s new president

Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun is seen at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon. (File/AP)
Updated 08 January 2025
Follow

Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun seems increasingly likely to be Lebanon’s new president

  • On eve of latest attempt by MPs to agree on a candidate, reports suggest Hezbollah’s preferred candidate ‘may announce his withdrawal’
  • French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives in Beirut and is expected to attend the parliamentary presidential election session on Thursday

BEIRUT: A day before the Lebanese parliament was due to assemble to discuss the election of a president — an office that has remained vacant for more than 26 months — there was a flurry of activity on Wednesday including intensified discussions, communications and declarations.
Reports in the afternoon suggested that Hezbollah’s preferred candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, “may announce his withdrawal from the presidential race,” leaving army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun as the leading contender.
The day was marked by a visit from French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, who arrived in Beirut on Tuesday evening and was expected to attend the parliamentary presidential election session on Thursday.
He held meetings with several political and parliamentary figures, during which he reportedly recommended Aoun for “consideration without any preconditions.” This was in relation to the bloc of Hezbollah and Amal Movement MPs who opposed the general’s nomination on the grounds that his election would require a constitutional amendment because he still serves in his capacity as commander of the army.
The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, was quoted after meeting the French envoy as saying: “Hezbollah will not stand in the way of the Lebanese people’s consensus on the name of a president for the republic.”
Media estimates suggest that Aoun, if he secures the support of Hezbollah and Amal, would win 95 votes in the 128-member parliament. This level of support would mean a constitutional amendment is not needed.
Events leading up to Thursday’s session suggested all parliamentary blocs are committed to attending, which would ensure the quorum required for the election is reached. The presidency has been vacant since former president Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022. Previous attempts to appoint a successor failed amid disagreements between political factions about suitable candidates.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he was feeling “joy for the first time since the presidential vacancy as, God willing, we will have a new president for the republic tomorrow,” raising hopes that the office might finally be filled.
One political observer said there is now the real possibility that “all members of parliament, regardless of their political affiliations, would choose their candidate within the framework of consensus and understanding during the voting sessions, which will remain open as confirmed by the speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, until” a decision is reached.
This renewed optimism was in contrast to the prior skepticism about the possibility that parliamentary blocs would be able to successfully convene a session to elect a president, given their previous failures to reach a consensus on a candidate who could secure a majority in the first round of voting.
The electoral session on Thursday will be the 13th of its kind. During the previous one, in June 2024, the candidate favored by Hezbollah and its allies, former minister and Marada Movement leader Suleiman Frangieh, who was close to the Assad regime in Syria, faced the candidate favored by the Free Patriotic Movement and opposition parties, former Minister of Finance Jihad Azour, who is director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the International Monetary Fund.
During that session, Frangieh received 51 votes in the first round of voting and Azour 59. When the totals were announced, Hezbollah and Amal MPs withdrew from the session, thereby depriving it of the quorum required for a second round of voting, as stipulated by the constitution.
Against this background of long-running political divisions resulting in deadlock within the parliament, and in light of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the number of presidential candidates has dwindled from 11 to just a few names. Aside from Aoun, Frangieh and Azour, the other candidates whose names continued to circulate to varying degrees on Wednesday included Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces party, which heads the parliament’s biggest Christian bloc. However, he is fiercely opposed by Hezbollah.
Less-discussed candidates include the acting chief of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, Elias Al-Bayssari; MP Ibrahim Kanaan, who resigned from the Free Patriotic Movement to join the Independent Consultative Parliamentary Gathering; and former ambassador Georges Al-Khoury, a retired brigadier general. Al-Khoury has the support of Maronite Patriarchate, Speaker Berri and the Free Patriotic Movement, but the majority of the opposition rejects his candidacy.
MP Neemat Frem, who has presented a political and economic vision for the country, is also a candidate. He is on good terms with the Patriarchate and the opposition. Others include Farid Al-Khazen, who is also on good terms with Berri and close to the Patriarchate, and Ziad Baroud, a human rights activist and former minister of interior who is seen as a consensus candidate.
The parliamentary blocs continued to hold talks on Wednesday afternoon to discuss preferred candidates. Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam said: “Starting today, there has been a significant shift toward having Joseph Aoun as a president.”
During a meeting on Wednesday, the Maronite Archbishops Council called for “a national parliamentary awakening that leads tomorrow to the election of a president who brings together the country’s sons and daughters within the framework of national unity, solidarity and reform, allowing Lebanon to regain its leading role in the East.”
The archbishops said: “The opportunity has become appropriate and available for national deliberation on the importance of Lebanon’s progress toward a positive neutrality that saves the country from the damage of conflicts and drives it toward a healthy cycle of one fruitful national life.”


UAE adds 19 individuals, entities to terrorism list over Muslim Brotherhood links

Updated 08 January 2025
Follow

UAE adds 19 individuals, entities to terrorism list over Muslim Brotherhood links

  • Designation is part of UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle terrorist financial networks

LONDON: The UAE designated 19 individuals and entities as terrorists on Wednesday due to their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is classified as a terror group in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi placed 11 individuals and eight entities on the country’s Local Terrorist List, the WAM news agency reported. All the organizations are based in the UK, while the individuals, except two, are Emirati nationals.

The decision is part of the UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle networks associated with the direct and indirect financing of terrorism, according to WAM.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia also classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group.

The list of individuals as published by WAM includes:

1. Yousuf Hassan Ahmed Al-Mulla — Current nationality: Sweden, former nationality: Liberia.

2. Saeed Khadim Ahmed bin Touq Al-Marri — Nationality: Turkiye/UAE.

3. Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: Sweden/UAE.

4. Ilham Abdullah Ahmed Al-Hashimi — Nationality: UAE.

5. Jasem Rashid Khalfan Rashid Al-Shamsi — Nationality: UAE.

6. Khaled Obaid Yousuf Buatabh Al-Zaabi — Nationality: UAE.

7. Abdulrahman Hassan Munif Abdullah Hassan Al-Jabri — Nationality: UAE.

8. Humaid Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Jarman Al-Nuaimi — Nationality: UAE.

9. Abdulrahman Omar Salem Bajbair Al-Hadrami — Nationality: Yemen.

10. Ali Hassan Ali Hussein Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.

11. Mohammed Ali Hassan Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.

 
The list of entities as published by WAM includes:

1. Cambridge Education and Training Center Ltd. — Based in: UK.

2. IMA6INE Ltd. — Based in: UK.

3. Wembley Tree Ltd. — Based in: UK.

4. Waslaforall — Based in: UK.

5. Future Graduates Ltd. — Based in: UK.

6. Yas for Investment and Real Estate — Based in: UK.

7. Holdco UK Properties Limited — Based in: UK.

8. Nafel Capital — Based in: UK.


Israeli troops recover body of Gaza hostage with signs son also killed

Body of Youssef Ziyadne, Israeli Bedouin taken hostage by Hamas-led fighters on Oct. 7, 2023, has been found in tunnel in Gaza.
Updated 08 January 2025
Follow

Israeli troops recover body of Gaza hostage with signs son also killed

  • It was not immediately clear how Youssef Ziyadne had been killed but Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said his death did not appear to have been recent
  • Two other children of Ziyadne were released in an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners that took place in November 2023

JERUSALEM: The body of Youssef Ziyadne, an Israeli Bedouin taken hostage by Hamas-led fighters on Oct. 7, 2023, has been found in a tunnel in Gaza, along with evidence suggesting his son may also have been killed, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear how Youssef Ziyadne had been killed but Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said his death did not appear to have been recent.
“We are currently investigating the circumstances of his death and we are also investigating the findings regarding his son,” he told a briefing with reporters.
“These findings raise concern for his life and they are still being examined at this moment,” he said, without giving details.
Earlier Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the bodies of both men had been recovered.
Shoshani said special forces soldiers had conducted a “complex and difficult operation” in a tunnel in the area of the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Tuesday, and that the body of Ziyadne had been recovered close to bodies of armed guards from Hamas or another Palestinian militant group.
Two other children of Ziyadne, who were also abducted at the same time, were released in an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners that took place in November 2023.
The recovery of Ziyadne’s body took place as negotiators continued talks in Doha to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring the remaining hostages back as part of a deal that would include the return of a number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across the border 15 months ago, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground war against Hamas, according to health officials in the enclave.


Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza

Updated 08 January 2025
Follow

Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza

  • IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from rain

Geneva: The Red Cross called Wednesday for safe and unhindered access to Gaza to bring desperately needed aid into the war-torn Palestinian territory wracked by hunger and where babies are freezing to death.
Heavy rain and flooding have ravaged the makeshift shelters in Gaza, leaving thousands with up to 30 centimeters of water inside their damaged tents, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
The dire weather conditions were “exacerbating the unbearable conditions” in Gaza, it said, pointing out that many families were left “clinging on to survival in makeshift camps, without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets.”
Citing the United Nations, the IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from the rain and falling temperatures.
Those deaths “underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there,” IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain said in a statement.
“I urgently reiterate my call to grant safe and unhindered access to humanitarians to let them provide life-saving assistance,” he said.
“Without safe access — children will freeze to death. Without safe access — families will starve. Without safe access — humanitarian workers can’t save lives.”
Chapagain issued an “urgent plea to all the parties... to put an end to this human suffering. Now.”
The IFRC said the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was striving to provide emergency health services and supplies to people in Gaza, with an extra sense of urgency during the cold winter months.
But it warned that “the lack of aid deliveries and access is making providing adequate support all but impossible.”
It also lamented the “continuing attacks on health facilities across the Gaza Strip,” which it said meant people were unable to access the treatment they need.
“In the north of Gaza, there are now no functioning hospitals,” it said.
The IFRC stressed that the closure of the main Rafah border crossing last May had had a dramatic impact on the humanitarian situation, warning that “only a trickle of aid is currently entering Gaza.”