TEHRAN: The protégé of Iran’s supreme leader, Ebrahim Raisi, was sworn in as the country’s new president during a ceremony in parliament on Thursday, an inauguration that completes hard-liners’ dominance of all branches of government in the Islamic Republic.
The former judiciary chief known for his distrust of the West takes the reins at a tense time. Iran’s indirect talks with the US to salvage Tehran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal have stalled, as Washington maintains crippling sanctions on the country and regional hostilities simmer.
“The sanctions must be lifted,” Raisi said during his half-hour inauguration speech. “We will support any diplomatic plan that supports this goal.”
Wearing the traditional black turban that identifies him in the Shiite tradition as a direct descendant of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, Raisi recited the oath of office with his right hand on the Qur’an.
In his address, Raisi stressed his embrace of diplomacy to lift US sanctions and mend rifts with neighbors, a subtle reference to Sunni rival Saudi Arabia. But he also signaled that Iran seeks to expand its power as a counterbalance to foes across the region.
“Wherever there is oppression and crime in the world, in the heart of Europe, in the US, Africa, Yemen, Syria, Palestine ... we will stand by the people,” he said, referring to Iran-backed militias like Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. His voice rose with emotion, eliciting a clamor of approval from the audience. “The message of the election was resistance against arrogant powers.”
Raisi, who won a landslide victory in an election that saw the lowest voter turnout in the nation’s history, faces a mountain of problems — what he described on Thursday as “the highest level of hostilities by Iran’s enemies, unjust economic sanctions, widespread psychological warfare and the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Amid ongoing sanctions, Iran is grappling with runaway inflation, diminishing revenues, rolling blackouts and water shortages that have sparked scattered protests. Barred from selling its oil abroad, Iran has seen its economy crumble and its currency crash, hitting ordinary citizens hardest.
Without offering any specific policies, Raisi pledged to resolve the country’s mounting economic crisis, improve the spiraling currency and “empower poor people.”
Former President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal in 2018 has led Tehran to abandon over time every limitation the accord imposed on its nuclear enrichment. The country now enriches a small amount of uranium up to 63 percent, a short step from weapons-grade levels, compared to 3.67 percent under the deal. It also spins far-more advanced centrifuges and more of them than allowed under the accord, worrying nuclear nonproliferation experts, though Tehran insists its program is peaceful.
Raisi, 60, a conservative cleric long cultivated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has promised to engage with the US But he also has struck a hard-line stance, ruling out negotiations aimed at limiting Iranian missile development and support for regional militias — something the Biden administration wants to address.
The official proceedings in Tehran come just a week after a drone crashed into an oil tanker linked to an Israeli billionaire off the coast of Oman, killing two crew members.
The US, Israel and the United Kingdom blamed Iran for the raid and vowed a collective response, with Israel’s defense minister on Thursday even warning the country is ready to strike Iran. Although Tehran denied involvement, the assault escalates a yearslong shadow war targeting commercial shipping in the Mideast and threatens to complicate efforts to revive the nuclear deal.
Thursday’s inauguration ceremony, scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the country, still drew leaders and dignitaries from around the world. The presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan flew in for the occasion, along with Enrique Mora, the European Union official who has coordinated the recent nuclear negotiations in Vienna. Senior officials from Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Venezuela and South Korea also attended.
Iran swears in new hard-line president amid regional tension
https://arab.news/grg69
Iran swears in new hard-line president amid regional tension
- “The sanctions must be lifted,” Raisi said during his half-hour inauguration speech
- Amid ongoing sanctions, Iran is grappling with runaway inflation, diminishing revenues, and rolling blackouts
Yemen’s Houthis say five killed in US strike on Sanaa province
- US strikes targeted various other areas in Yemen, including in the Saada and Hodeida provinces
SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi group said on Sunday that a US strike in Sanaa province had killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.
“The death toll from the US aggression on the Al-Sawari factory in the Matna area of Bani Matar has risen to 18, including five martyrs and 13 wounded, in a preliminary toll,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement.
Houthi media also reported that US strikes targeted various other areas in the country Sunday, including in the Saada and Hodeida provinces.
The rebels added that US strikes targeted various other areas in the country on Sunday, including in the Saada and Hodeida provinces.
Rebel-held areas of Yemen have seen near-daily strikes blamed on the United States since Washington launched an air campaign against the Houthis on March 15 to force them to stop threatening vessels in key maritime routes.
Since then, the Houthis have also launched attacks targeting US military ships and Israel, claiming to be acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The rebels began targeting ships transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as Israeli territory, after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, pausing the attacks during a January ceasefire.
Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza at the start of March, and resumed its offensive on the Palestinian territory on March 18, ending the short-lived truce.
The new US campaign followed Houthi threats to resume attacks on vessels over Israel’s blockade on Gaza.
The Houthi attacks had crippled the vital Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of world shipping traffic, forcing many companies to make a much longer detour around the tip of southern Africa.
Syrian, UAE presidents hold talks in Abu Dhabi
- President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes second trip to Gulf after visiting Saudi Arabia in February
- UAE leader reaffirms support for Syrian rebuild efforts
LONDON: President Ahmed Al-Sharaa of the Syrian Arab Republic arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday for talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
The sheikh wished Al-Sharaa success in leading Syria and in fulfilling his people’s hopes for development, security and stability, the Emirates News Agency reported.
He also reaffirmed the UAE’s support for Syria’s efforts to rebuild and commitment to its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, which he said were essential to the broader region.
Al-Sharaa was welcomed at Al-Bateen Airport by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and other senior officials. Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani, who visited the UAE earlier this year, was also present at the meeting.
Al-Sharaa visited Saudi Arabia in February on his first foreign trip since assuming the presidency in January. The Syrian leader is keen to strengthen ties with Arab and Western governments and turn a new page in his nation’s diplomatic relations following the collapse of the Assad regime in December.
Last week, Syria and South Korea formally established diplomatic relations and agreed to open embassies in each other’s countries. Syria was the only UN member without diplomatic ties to South Korea.
Israeli military says missile fired from Yemen
- “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel… it has been determined that one missile was launched from Yemen,” Israeli military said
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said a missile was launched from Yemen on Sunday and was likely intercepted, shortly before the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, after review, it has been determined that one missile was launched from Yemen,” the military said.
“Interception attempts were carried out, and the missile was likely successfully intercepted,” it added.
AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard the sirens, which were followed by muffled blasts.
In a separate statement issued in Hebrew, the military had said that “apparently, two missiles were launched from Yemen.”
Israeli police said sirens were also activated in Tel Aviv.
Yemen’s Houthis later claimed responsibility for missile fire at Israel.
In a statement, the group said it had carried out a “military operation with two ballistic missiles... targeting the Sdot Micha base in the area east of occupied Ashdod, and the other... targeting Ben Gurion Airport.”
The Iran-backed group has regularly fired missiles and drones on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 following an attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
The Houthis, who have also targeted shipping vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Armed faction in southern Syria to integrate into government forces
DAMASCUS: A powerful armed faction in southern Syrian Arab Republic led by defected military officer Ahmed Al-Awdeh announced on Sunday that it was dissolving itself and integrating into the government’s armed forces.
The Eighth Brigade, the most prominent armed faction in southern Syria, announced its dissolution and placed its weapons and personnel at the disposal of the Syrian Defense Ministry, according to a statement read by the official spokesman on Sunday in a video recording.
“We, members, soldiers and officers of what was previously known as the Eighth Brigade, officially announce the dissolution of this formation and handing over all its military and human capacities to the Defense Ministry,” said Col. Mohamed Al-Hourani.
“This decision stems from our commitment to national unity and enhancing security and stability and adherence to state sovereignty,” said Hourani.
The Eighth Brigade is part of the Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups, also led by Awdeh, from the southern province of Daraa formed on Dec. 6 to help topple Bashar Assad.
Assad was toppled two days later following a lightning offensive by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS.
Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who led HTS, has since been named Syria’s interim president and appointed a cabinet last month.
The SOR was notably absent from a Dec. 25 meeting during which other militant factions agreed to disband and join a future army.
Awdeh’s forces, including the Eighth Brigade, held on to their weapons and maintained their presence on the ground.
Sunday’s announcement comes after two days of unrest between the forces of the Eighth Brigade and those of the new authorities.
Israel PM says Macron ‘gravely mistaken’ in promoting Palestinian state
- “President Macron is gravely mistaken in continuing to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our land,” Netanyahu said
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron over his plans to recognize a Palestinian state.
“President Macron is gravely mistaken in continuing to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our land — a state whose sole aspiration is the destruction of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
He was addressing Macron’s remarks earlier this week in which he said that France could recognize a Palestinian state within months.
“To this day, not a single figure in Hamas or the Palestinian Authority has condemned the horrors of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Netanyahu said, referring to the October 7, 2023 attack led by Hamas on Israel.
He described this as “a silence that reveals their true attitude toward the Jewish state.
“We will not endanger our existence over illusions detached from reality, and we will not accept moral lectures about establishing a Palestinian state that would threaten Israel’s survival — especially not from those who oppose granting independence to Corsica, New Caledonia, French Guiana, and other territories, whose independence would pose no threat to France whatsoever.”
His remarks echoed those of his son Yair, who struck out at Macron in an earlier post on X.
“Screw you!” Yair Netanyahu wrote in English late on Saturday.
“Yes to independence of New Caledonia! Yes to independence to French Polynesia! Yes to independence of Corsica! Yes to independence of the Basque Country! Yes to independence of French Guinea!” he added, apparently confusing it with French Guiana.
Macron, in an interview to France 5 broadcast on Wednesday, stated that France could take the step during a UN conference in New York in June, saying he hoped this would trigger a reciprocal recognition of Israel by Arab countries.
“We must move toward recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron said.
“I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognize Israel in turn, which many of them do not do.”
His remarks sparked a wave of criticism from right-wing groups in France, after which Macron appeared to clarify his initial remarks on Friday.
“I support the legitimate right of Palestinians to a state and to peace, just as I support the right of Israelis to live in peace and security, both recognized by their neighbors,” he said on X.
“I am doing everything I can with our partners to reach this goal of peace. We truly need it,” he said.
Relations between Israel and France have deteriorated in recent months.
France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.
But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonizing Israel, which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.
France would be the most significant European power to recognize a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted. Hamas welcomed Macron’s statement.
Nearly 150 countries recognize a Palestinian state.
Last May, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, moves partly fueled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
