Killing of Iranian dissident fuels tensions between Turkey, Iran

Masoud Molavi Vardanjani
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Updated 30 March 2020
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Killing of Iranian dissident fuels tensions between Turkey, Iran

  • Tehran officials accused of ordering outspoken critic’s murder in Istanbul in 2019

ISTANBUL: A claim that two intelligence officers at Iran’s consulate in Turkey instigated the killing of an Iranian dissident in Istanbul last November has added to simmering tensions between the two countries.

Reuters said that it had been told by two senior Turkish officials that the dissident, Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, had been killed for criticizing Tehran’s political and military leadership.
Vardanjani was shot dead on an Istanbul street on Nov. 14, 2019, a little over a year after Turkish officials say he left Iran.
The accusation will increase friction between Turkey and Iran, two regional powers which had grown closer under the government of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, but which had recently fallen out over the war in Syria.
Before his death, Vardanjani was known as an outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic who frequently targeted Tehran’s military and political leaders on his social media account, the Reuters report said.
“I will root out the corrupt mafia commanders. Pray that they don’t kill me before I do this,” the Iranian dissident said just three months before he was shot dead.
Vardanjani’s death came a year after he left Iran, where he was working in the Iranian Defense Ministry as a cybersecurity official. He also held a doctoral degree in artificial intelligence studies.
Reuters claimed the victim was also warned by Iran against discussing drone projects with Turkish officials.
The Turkish government is expected to take up the issue with Iran through diplomatic channels.
Seth J. Frantzman, executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis, said that if the Reuters claim is correct, Iran’s assassination of a dissident in Istanbul is an illegal act that warrants a harsh response.

BACKGROUND

’I will root out the corrupt mafia commanders. Pray that they don’t kill me before I do this,’ Iranian dissident Masoud Molavi Vardanjani said just three months before he was shot dead.

“Iran appears to have shown blatant disregard for Turkey’s sovereignty, even using its diplomatic posts and passports for this brazen act. This requires more than just a diplomatic complaint,” Frantzman told Arab News.
He said that the alleged perpetrators behind the killing were officials carrying diplomatic passports.
“It shows how Iran disregards borders in the region and globally. Internationally, countries should take this very seriously as part of a pattern of Iran’s assassinations of dissenters, a policy going back decades.”
Frantzman said that the alleged murder also reveals that while Iran is demanding international sanctions be reduced, it has continued to conduct illegal overseas operations and “disrespect” its neighbors.
A Turkish investigation into the dissident’s killing has resulted in the arrest of several suspects, including Turks and Iranians.
The allegations are likely to further undermine ties between Ankara and Tehran.
Although Turkey and Iran have been cooperating on a Syria strategy, their partnership is seen by many as a marriage of convenience in a conflict zone where they back opposing sides. Tehran supports Assad, while Turkey wants the regime ousted.
Last month Turkish and Iranian media outlets engaged in a war of words over Syria, with both countries accusing the other of “pursuing aggressive moves” in the war-torn country.
In October 2019, Iran condemned the presence of Turkish military posts inside Syria, which it said were a violation of Syria’s territorial integrity.
Tehran also described Turkey’s operation in northern Syria in early October against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as an “invasion.”
Erdogan was quick to respond, accusing Iran of betraying the consensus between the two countries.
Attacks by Iranian-backed militia on Ankara-backed fighters in Syria’s rebel-held regions have also angered Turkey.


UN chief slams ‘systematic’ looting of Gaza humanitarian aid

Updated 5 sec ago
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UN chief slams ‘systematic’ looting of Gaza humanitarian aid

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations chief on Tuesday denounced the “systematic” looting of humanitarian aid in Gaza, a day after the territory’s Hamas authorities said 20 people were killed in a security operation targeting such actions.
“Armed looting has become systematic and must end immediately. It is hindering life saving aid operations and further endangering the lives of our staff,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“However, the use of law enforcement operations must be lawful, necessary and proportionate.”
Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza in the early stages of the war last year, and the UN warned on November 9 that famine was looming in some areas due to a lack of aid.
Aid distribution in Gaza is complicated by shortages of fuel, war-damaged roads and looting, as well as fighting in densely populated areas and the repeated displacement of much of the territory’s 2.4 million people.
Several humanitarian officials have told AFP on condition of anonymity that almost half the aid that enters Gaza is looted, especially basic supplies.
On Monday, Gaza’s interior ministry said it had carried out a major operation targeting looters.
“More than 20 members of gangs involved in stealing aid trucks were killed in a security operation carried out by security forces in cooperation with tribal committees,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said the operation was “the beginning of a broad security campaign that has been long planned and will expand to include everyone involved in the theft of aid trucks.”
On Tuesday, the US-based Washington Post newspaper cited a UN memo as saying some of the gangs were receiving “passive if not active benevolence” or “protection” from the Israel Defense Forces.
Dujarric said he was unaware of the memo, but that the allegation was “fairly alarming” if true.
“The idea that the Israeli forces may be allowing looters or not doing enough to prevent it is frankly, fairly alarming, given the responsibilities of Israel as the occupying power to ensure that humanitarian aid is distributed safely,” he said.

Iraq to hold first nationwide census since 1987

A team from the Iraq Planning Ministry carries out the national population census in Kirkuk, Iraq November 18, 2024. (REUTERS)
Updated 6 min 32 sec ago
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Iraq to hold first nationwide census since 1987

  • A census carried out in 1997 excluded the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which had been governed by Kurdish authorities since the 1991 Gulf War

BAGHDAD: Iraq will begin its first full national census in more than three decades on Wednesday, a pivotal moment as it looks to gather demographic data for future planning and development.
The census, the first full one since Saddam Hussein was President in 1987, aims to provide a comprehensive count of Iraq’s population, estimated to exceed 43 million people by the end of 2024, said Iraq’s planning ministry spokesperson Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi.
Attempts at conducting a national census were delayed by years of conflict, instability and disagreement among political factions, but with the country now in a period of stability, authorities hope the process will be completed successfully.
A census carried out in 1997 excluded the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which had been governed by Kurdish authorities since the 1991 Gulf War.
It counted 19 million Iraqis and officials estimated there were another 3 million in the Kurdish north, according to official statistics.
The census was repeatedly postponed over worries it was being politicized. Ethnic groups in contested areas like the northern city of Kirkuk, home to Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and a valuable part of Iraq’s oil fields, opposed it because it might reveal demographics that would undermine political ambitions.
“We have fears (of the census) not only in Kirkuk but all other disputed areas which are subjected to strong disagreements between various powers,” said Shwan Dawoodi, a Kurdish politician.
The data gathered will be used to guide decisions in areas such as infrastructure development, education, health care and social services, said Hindawi.
The census will feature only one question regarding religious affiliation — Muslim or Christian — and none about ethnic background or sectarian affiliation.
The Iraqi government has made extensive efforts to ensure the process, scheduled to take two days to complete, is as inclusive and accurate as possible, imposing a two-day curfew from midnight on Tuesday.
Preliminary results will be announced within 24 hours and final results released in two to three months.

 


US imposes sanctions on senior Hamas officials

Updated 52 min 40 sec ago
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US imposes sanctions on senior Hamas officials

  • The Treasury Department said in a statement the sanctions targeted the group’s representatives abroad
  • Among those targeted was Abd Al-Rahman Ismail abd Al-Rahman Ghanimat, a longtime member of Hamas’s military wing who is now based in Turkiye

WASHINGTON: The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on six senior Hamas officials, the US Treasury Department said, in further action against the Palestinian militant group as Washington has sought to achieve a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.
The Treasury Department said in a statement the sanctions targeted the group’s representatives abroad, a senior member of the Hamas military wing and those involved in supporting fundraising efforts for the group and weapons smuggling into Gaza.
“Hamas continues to rely on key officials who seemingly maintain legitimate, public-facing roles within the group, yet who facilitate their terrorist activities, represent their interests abroad, and coordinate the transfer of money and goods into Gaza,” Treasury’s Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley Smith, said in the statement.
“Treasury remains committed to disrupting Hamas’s efforts to secure additional revenue and holding those who facilitate the group’s terrorist activities to account.”
Among those targeted was Abd Al-Rahman Ismail abd Al-Rahman Ghanimat, a longtime member of Hamas’s military wing who is now based in Turkiye, the Treasury said, accusing him of being involved in multiple attempted and successful terrorist attacks.
Two other officials based in Turkiye, a member based in Gaza who has participated in Hamas’s engagements with Russia and a leader authorized to speak publicly on behalf of the group and who previously oversaw border crossings at Gaza were also among those targeted, according to the Treasury.
The US on Monday warned Turkiye against hosting Hamas leadership, saying Washington does not believe leaders of a terrorist organization should be living comfortably.
Asked about reports that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkiye from Qatar, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller did not confirm the reports but said he was not in a position to dispute them. He said Washington will make clear to Turkiye’s government that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.
Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 43,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the past year, Palestinian health officials say, and Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland of wrecked buildings and piles of rubble, where more than two million Gazans are seeking shelter in makeshift tents and facing shortages of food and medicines.


Argentina withdraws from UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon

Updated 19 November 2024
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Argentina withdraws from UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon

  • “Argentina has asked its officers to go back (to Argentina),” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said
  • He declined to comment on the reason for their departure, referring the question to Argentina’s government

GENEVA: Argentina has notified the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon of its withdrawal from the force, a UNIFIL spokesperson said on Tuesday, in the first sign of cracks in the unity of the mission following attacks it has blamed on Israel.
The 10,000-strong peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor the demarcation line with Israel, an area where there have been hostilities between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters for over a year.
“Argentina has asked its officers to go back (to Argentina),” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in response to a question about a newspaper report.
He declined to comment on the reason for their departure, referring the question to Argentina’s government.
Argentina is one of 48 countries contributing peacekeepers to UNIFIL, with a total of three staff currently in Lebanon, a UN website showed. It did not immediately respond to Tenenti’s comments.
UNIFIL has previously referred to “unacceptable pressures being exerted on the mission through various channels.”
Peacekeepers have refused to leave their posts despite more than 20 injuries in the past two months and damage to facilities which UNIFIL blames on the Israeli military.
Israel has denied such incidents are deliberate attacks. Israel says UN troops provide a human shield for Hezbollah fighters and has told UNIFIL to evacuate from southern Lebanon for its own safety — a request that the force has rejected.
Tenenti said there was no broader indication of declining support for the mission.
“The idea is to stay. So there is no discussion of withdrawing at all,” he said.
He said that its monitoring activities were “very, very limited” because of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and repairs to some of its facilities.
“We’re still working on fixing some of the positions, but this has been definitely a very difficult moment, because we’ve been deliberately attacked by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) in recent months, and we’re doing our utmost to rebuild the areas,” he said.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on Tenenti’s remarks.


Italy says Hezbollah staged UN base attack it had blamed on Israel

UNIFIL vehicles ride along a street in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Updated 19 November 2024
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Italy says Hezbollah staged UN base attack it had blamed on Israel

  • The UNIFIL force has complained of increasing attacks since Israel started its campaign targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Italy’s defense minister said Tuesday that the Hezbollah group staged an attack on a UN peacekeeping base in Lebanon that it initially blamed on Israel.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto had said in Brussels that Israeli forces staged the new attack on the UN base in the Lebanese town of Chamaa. But a defense ministry source said that Crosetto “did not have the right information” when he spoke. “Hezbollah was responsible for the attack,” the source told AFP.
The UNIFIL force has complained of increasing attacks since Israel started its campaign targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,544 people and wounded 15,036 in Lebanon since October 2023, with 28 fatalities reported on Monday, the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.