TEHRAN: Iran’s state TV is reporting that the country’s authorities has executed a wrestler for allegedly murdering a man after President Donald Trump asked for the 27-year-old condemned man’s life to be spared.
State TV quoted the chief justice of Fars province, Kazem Mousavi as saying on Saturday: “The retaliation sentence against Navid Afkari, the killer of Hassan Turkman, was carried out this morning in Adelabad prison in Shiraz.”
Afkari’s case had drawn the attention of a social media campaign that portrayed him and his brothers as victims targeted over participating in protests against Iran’s Shiite theocracy in 2018. Authorities accused Afkari of stabbing a water supply company employee in the southern city of Shiraz amid the unrest.
Iran broadcast the wrestler’s televised confession last week. The segment resembled hundreds of other suspected coerced confessions aired over the last decade in the Islamic Republic.
The case revived a demand inside the country for Iran to stop carrying out the death penalty. Even imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, herself nearly a month into a hunger strike over conditions at Tehran’s Evin prison amid the coronavirus pandemic, passed word that she supported Afkari.
Earlier, the US president Donald tweeted out his own concern about Afkari’s case.
“To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate if you would spare this young man’s life, and not execute him,” Trump wrote last week. “Thank you!”
Iran responded to Trump’s tweet with a nearly 11-minute state TV package on Afkari. It included the weeping parents of the slain water company employee, Hassan Torkaman. The package included footage of Afkari on the back of a motorbike, saying he had stabbed Torkaman in the back, without explaining why he allegedly carried out the assault.
The state TV segment showed blurred police documents and described the killing as a “personal dispute,” without elaborating. It said Afkari’s cellphone had been in the area and it showed surveillance footage of him walking down a street, talking on his phone.
Also, Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency dismissed Trump’s tweet in a feature story, saying that American sanctions have hurt Iranian hospitals amid the pandemic.
“Trump is worried about the life of a murderer while he puts many Iranian patients’ lives in danger by imposing severe sanctions,” the agency said.
Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari executed
https://arab.news/2573a
Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari executed
- Iran earlier broadcast the wrestler’s televised confession
Lebanese president urges international action amid ongoing border tensions
- On Saturday, an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle in the village of Bourj El-Mlouk, killing one person
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday called on the international community to fulfill its commitments to Lebanon and translate its supportive stances into concrete actions.
Speaking at Dar Al-Fatwa on Saturday evening, Aoun stressed the importance of implementing UN Resolution 1701 and enforcing the ceasefire agreement, warning that Lebanon cannot achieve stability while tensions persist along its southern borders.
“The implementation of UN Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire agreement is a pivotal issue requiring attention and care,” Aoun said. He emphasized that Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and stability depend on the enforcement of international resolutions, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the return of Lebanese detainees.
Aoun underscored that normal life cannot resume in affected areas without concrete steps to uphold Lebanon’s territorial integrity. He urged international actors to take responsibility and ensure that Lebanon's security is safeguarded.
His remarks came amid renewed violence along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
On Saturday, an Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle in the village of Bourj El-Mlouk, killing one person.
The Israeli military claimed the victim was a member of Hezbollah, though Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency did not provide further details.
The airstrike is the latest in a series of attacks following a US-brokered ceasefire that ended a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in late November.
Despite the truce, sporadic violence has continued, raising concerns over the fragility of the ceasefire and the potential for renewed hostilities.
Jordanian food companies have ‘remarkable opportunity’ at London’s IFE 2025 exhibition
- The three-day exhibition will feature 1,500 exhibitors from around the world and is expected to attract about 30,000 global buyers and distributors
LONDON: Jordanian companies in the food sector will have a “remarkable opportunity” when they take part for the first time in the International Food and Drink Event, which begins on Monday at the ExCeL International Exhibition Centre in London, an official said Saturday.
The three-day exhibition will feature 1,500 exhibitors from around the world and is expected to attract about 30,000 global buyers and distributors from more than 105 countries.
Ahmed Khudari, chairman of the Jordan Exporters Association, highlighted the significance of the kingdom’s debut at the show, calling it a key step in promoting Jordanian food exports and expanding their presence in international markets.
“This first participation comes within the association’s strategy to promote Jordanian exports of food products and expand their presence in global markets,” he said.
Khudari added that IFE 2025 offered a major opportunity for Jordanian companies to showcase their products and increase their global visibility, particularly in the UK.
“The IFE 2025 is a remarkable opportunity for Jordanian companies to showcase the quality of their products to the world and contribute to promoting Jordanian exports globally, particularly in Britain, which is witnessing a growing demand for international foods, especially from Arab countries,” he said.
The exhibition will serve as a platform for Jordanian businesses to display a variety of products, including desserts, baked goods, spices, nuts and other food items.
Khudari highlighted the advantages of the British market — particularly the presence of a large Arab community — which he described as a “great opportunity for Jordanian companies to expand their businesses and strengthen their presence in this vital destination,” taking advantage of the free trade agreement signed between Jordan and the United Kingdom in 2021.
The show also offers networking opportunities, he said, highlighting the broader economic impact of increasing Jordanian exports, particularly in addressing economic challenges.
“Jordanian exports represent a solution to multiple economic challenges, as creating new markets for local products boosts production, supports industrial expansion and attracts new investments,” he said.
Khudari added that such efforts would also generate job opportunities for Jordanians, strengthen foreign currency reserves and improve the trade balance.
According to official data, Jordan-UK trade exchange amounted to approximately 303 million Jordanian dinars ($427.3 million) last year, with 62 million Jordanian dinars attributed to exports from the country.
Trump orders strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and issues new warning
- Trump also warned Iran to stop supporting the militant group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy
- At least nine people were killed, said Anees Al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi militants cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The Houthis said nine civilians were killed.
“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”
He also warned Iran to stop supporting the militant group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy. It comes two weeks after the USleader sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to restarting bilateral talks between the countries on Iran’s advancing nuclear weapons program that Trump has said he will not allow to become operational.
The Houthis reported a series of explosions in their territory Saturday evening. Images circulating online showed plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility.
At least nine people were killed, said Anees Al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry. In a statement on social media, he said another nine were wounded.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, said the airstrikes won’t deter them and they would retaliate against the US “Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges,” he added on social media.
The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing in waters off Yemen in response to Israel’s blockade on Gaza. There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.
Earlier this month, Israel halted all aid coming into Gaza and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if their fragile ceasefire in the war isn’t extended as negotiations continue over starting a second phase.
The Houthis had described their warning as taking hold in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.
The Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in late 2023 and January of this year, when a tenuous ceasefire in Gaza took effect.
The attacks raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war that’s torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The Houthi media office said the US strikes hit “a residential neighborhood” in Sanaa’s northern district of Shouab. Sanaa residents said at least four airstrikes rocked the Eastern Geraf neighborhood in Shouab district, terrifying women and children in the area.
“The explosions were very strong,” said Abdallah Al-Alffi. “It was like an earthquake.”
The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen. Israel’s military declined to comment.
Saturday’s operation against the Houthis was conducted solely by the US, according to a US official. It was the first strike on the Yemen-based Houthis under the second Trump administration, and it comes after a period of relative quiet in the region.
Such broad-based and pre-planned missile strikes against the Houthis were done multiple times by the Biden administration in response to frequent attacks by the Houthis against commercial and military vessels in the region.
The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, which includes the carrier, three Navy destroyers and one cruiser, are in the Red Sea and were part of the mission. The USS Georgia cruise missile submarine has also been operating in the region.
Trump announced the strikes as he spent the day at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“These relentless assaults have cost the US and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump said.
Jordan’s trade surplus with US reached $1.23bn in 2024
- Healthy Jordan-US trade relations highlighted by foreign trade data released by Department of Statistics
AMMAN: Jordan recorded a trade surplus of 877 million dinars ($1.23 billion) with the US in 2024, according to foreign trade data released by the Department of Statistics on Saturday.
The data, reported by the Jordan News Agency (Petra), highlighted significant growth in national exports to the US, which reached JD2.208 billion last year, up from JD1.958 billion in 2023 — an increase of 12.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the kingdom’s imports from the US market also saw a rise, reaching JD1.331 billion in 2024, compared to JD1.161 billion the previous year, marking an increase of 14.6 percent.
As a result, the total volume of trade between the two countries grew to JD3.539 billion, up from JD3.119 billion in 2023. National exports to the US accounted for 25.7 percent of Jordan’s total exports last year.
Speaking to Petra, Samer Judeh, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan, attributed this growth to the success of Jordanian products in penetrating the US market, benefiting from the Jordan-US Free Trade Agreement, which was fully implemented in 2010.
He noted that the agreement has contributed to an 800 percent increase in bilateral trade since its inception.
Judeh emphasized that enhancing exports and supporting national industries remain key priorities under Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision. He highlighted the private sector’s role in shaping policies and coordinating efforts to further strengthen trade ties with the American market.
To sustain this momentum, Judeh underscored the need to enhance the added value of Jordanian products, improve quality standards, diversify exports, and promote joint investments between Jordan and the US.
He also stressed the importance of institutional cooperation in training, marketing, and supply chain development to ensure long-term growth and boost the competitiveness of Jordanian exports in the US market.
And he pointed to the potential of high-value technical services driven by Jordan’s skilled workforce, which could play a crucial role in further expanding trade relations between the two nations.
UXO blast in Syria city kills four: state media
- “Four civilians were killed and nine injured in an explosion in a hardware store inside a four-story building,” SANA said
- The blast was detonated when the scrap dealer mishandled an unexploded munition in an attempt to recover the metal
DAMASCUS: A blast in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia killed at least four people on Saturday, state media reported, adding that it was triggered by a scrap dealer mishandling unexploded ordnance.
“Four civilians were killed and nine injured in an explosion in a hardware store inside a four-story building” in the city’s Al-Rimal neighborhood, state news agency SANA said, adding that four of the injured were children.
The news agency said the blast was detonated when the scrap dealer mishandled an unexploded munition in an attempt to recover the metal.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also described the blast as an “accident” resulting from a resident’s attempt to dismantle unexploded ordnance.
A resident of the city, Ward Jammoul, 32, told AFP that she heard a “loud blast,” adding that she “headed to the site and found a completely destroyed building.”
She said civil defense personnel and ambulances were present at the site, alongside “a large number of people who had gathered to look for those trapped under the rubble.”
An image carried by SANA showed a large plume of smoke rising over a populated neighborhood.
A report by non-governmental organization Humanity and Inclusion had warned last month of the dangers posed by unexploded munitions left over from the civil war that erupted in 2011.
It said experts estimated that between 100,000 and 300,000 of the roughly one million munitions used during the war had never detonated.
