CAIRO: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has ratified a host of amendments to Egypt’s emergency law which an international rights groups says expands “repressive powers” as the country’s battles the coronavirus.
Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017 when twin church bombings claimed by a Daesh group affiliate killed dozens of people.
The amendments, published Thursday in the official gazette after their approval by parliament, give El-Sisi and security agencies “additional sweeping powers,” according to Human Rights Watch.
They allow the president to close schools, suspend public sector work, ban public and private gatherings and quarantine inbound travelers.
El-Sisi will also be able to restrict the trade of certain products, order private medical facilities to assist with general health care and turn schools, youth centers and other public facilities into field hospitals.
The military prosecution meanwhile will be allowed to assist the public prosecution in probing crimes reported by armed forces personnel tasked with law enforcement under the state of emergency.
In a report on Thursday, the New York-based HRW warned that the amendments first announced in late April to fight the coronavirus were a “cover for new repressive powers” and “could curb rights in the name of ‘public order’.”
“President El-Sisi’s government is using the pandemic to expand, not reform, Egypt’s abusive Emergency Law,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
Stork said that while some of these measures could be needed in public health emergencies, “they should not be open to abuse as part of an unreformed emergency law.”
“Resorting to ‘national security and public order’ as a justification reflects the security mentality that governs El-Sisi’s Egypt,” he added.
Egypt’s health ministry has so far recorded 7,981 COVID-19 cases in the population of 100 million.
Of those, 482 have died while 1,887 have recovered.
The state of emergency gives security forces broad powers of arrest and detention and curtails constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and assembly.
Egypt’s El-Sisi ratifies emergency law amendments sparking rights concerns
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Egypt’s El-Sisi ratifies emergency law amendments sparking rights concerns
- Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017
Iran’s Khamenei warns Israel faces ‘bitter and painful fate’
TEHRAN: Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel would suffer severe consequences after launching deadly attacks on the Islamic republic on Friday, including Tehran and nuclear sites.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,” Khamenei said in a statement.
UN nuclear watchdog says ‘closely monitoring’ situation after Israel strikes Iran
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Friday that Israeli strikes were targeting an Iranian uranium enrichment site, saying it was “closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation.”
“The IAEA is closely monitoring the deeply concerning situation in Iran. Agency can confirm Natanz site among targets,” International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said in a post on the agency’s X feed, as the IAEA’s board of governors meets this week in Vienna.
“The agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. We are also in contact with our inspectors in the country,” he added.
Iran’s supreme leader confirms ‘martyrdom’ of several military commanders and scientists in Israeli strikes, vows retribution
- Khamenei, Revolutionary Guards warn Israel of “harsh punishment” for its attacks
- Dead scientists identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi
RIYADH: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei confirmed on Friday that several military commanders and scientists were “martyred” in Israeli strikes on Tehran.
In a statement carried on state television, Khamenei warned that Israel will not go unpunished for its attacks.
State television earlier said that Hossein Salami, the chief of the Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was among those killed, along with another top Guard official and two nuclear scientists.
An anchor read a statement saying: “The news of assassination and martyrdom of Gen. Hossein Salami was confirmed.” The anchor did not elaborate.
“The martyrdom of... Major General Gholam Ali Rashid is confirmed,” state television said.
A major power center within Iran’s theocracy, with vast business interests and oversees the nation’s ballistic missile arsenal, the IRGC had been accused by Iran's neighbors of maintaining proxy militias such as the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Al-Hashd al-Shaabi of Iraq.
Iran’s Nournews also reported that Ali Shamkhani, a rear admiral who serves as adviser to Khamenei, was “critically injured.”
State television and local media also reported the death of two scientists working on Iran's nuclear program. They were identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.
Several children were also reportedly killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital.
Iranian media and witnesses reported explosions including at the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, while Israel declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes.
In a recorded video message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel targeted Iranian scientists working on a nuclear bomb, its ballistic missile program and its Natanz uranium enrichment facility, in an operation that he said would continue "for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu said, adding that the targeted military operation was meant to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.
An Israeli military official said Israel was striking “dozens” of nuclear and military targets including the facility at Natanz in central Iran. The official said Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.
Alongside extensive air strikes, Israel’s Mossad spy agency led a series of covert sabotage operations inside Iran, Axios reported, citing a senior Israeli official. These operations were aimed at damaging Iran’s strategic missile sites and its air defense capabilities.
Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defense units stood at high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.
“Following the pre-emptive strike by the State of Israel against Iran, a missile and UAV (drone) attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate time frame,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
(With Agencies)
Netanyahu says Israel operation against Iran to ‘continue as many days as it takes’
- “We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Netanyahu said in a video message
- Says Israel also targetting scientists working on Iran nuclear weapons
- Iran state TV reported that at least two nuclear scientists were killed in the Israeli strike
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s attack on Iran would “continue for as many days as it takes” after Israel announced it had carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites.
“This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, adding that Israel launched a ‘targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.’
Calling the offensive “Rising Lion,” he said Israel was also targeting Iranian commanders and missile factories, and declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes by Tehran.
“We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the recorded video message.
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility at Natanz... We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” he said, adding that Israel had also hit Iranian nuclear scientists “working on the Iranian bomb.”
Iran state TV later reported that nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed in the Israeli strike.
A witness in Nantanz city said multiple explosions were heard near the facility, and a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the country’s leadership was holding a top security meeting.
Rubio warns Iran against targetting US positions
- Says the US was not involved and that Israel acted unilaterally because it believes the operation was necessary for self-defense
- “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” he said in a statement
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran late Thursday not to respond to Israeli strikes by hitting American bases, saying Washington was not involved.
“We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”
He said Israel acted unilaterally because it believes the operation was necessary for self-defense.
Israel announced strikes on Iran, where loud explosions were heard, hours after US President Donald Trump publicly said they should not do so.
“Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense,” Rubio said, without offering support or criticism of the strikes by the close US ally.
“President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners,” he said.
CNN reported that US President Donald Trump was convening a cabinet meeting.
Crude oil prices jumped more than $3 a barrel on the news.
US and Iranian officials were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran’s escalating uranium enrichment program in Oman on Sunday, according to officials from both countries and their Omani mediators. But the talks have appeared to be deadlocked.
Trump said on Thursday an Israeli strike on Iran “could very well happen” but reiterated his hopes for a peaceful resolution.
US intelligence had indicated that Israel was making preparations for a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, and US officials said on condition of anonymity that Israel could attack in the coming days.
The US military is planning for the full range of contingencies in the Middle East, including the possibility that it might have to help evacuate American civilians, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
