ملاقات مريم رجوی با پرزيدنت محمود عباس

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عصر  شنبه 30 ژوئيه 2016 مريم رجوی با آقای محمود عباس پرزيدنت دولت فلسطين ديدار و درباره بحران های منطقه گفتگو كرد.

پرزيدنت محمود عباس در اين ديدار بر ضرورت مبارزه با بنيادگرايی و تروريسم در منطقه تاكيد كرد و آخرين تحولات در خاورميانه بويژه مسائل مربوط به فلسطين و ابتكار فرانسه در اين رابطه را باطلاع مریم رجوی رساند 
مریم رجوی ضمن تقدير از همبستگی مقاومت فلسطين و رهبر آن با مردم و مقاومت ايران، پيروزيهای دولت فلسطين را تبريك گفت و برای تحقق آرمان مردم فلسطين آرزوی موفقيت كرد. وی با تاكيد بر اينكه رژيم ايران منشاء اصلی تفرقه وبنيادگرايی و تروريسم در همه منطقه بخصوص عراق، سوريه، لبنان، يمن و همچنين فلسطين است گفت اما امروز رژيم آخوندی در منتهای ضعف بسر می برد و بيش از هميشه شكننده و آسيب پذير است. واقعيتی كه آنرا بخوبی در واكنشهای ديوانه وار و هيستريك سردمداران و رسانه های رژيم در رابطه با گردهمايی 9 ژوئيه مقاومت ايران، می توان ديد. 
مریم رجوی تاكيد كرد اين رژيم بيش از هرچيز از همبستگی و اتحاد مردم و مقاومت ايران با كشورها و ملتهای منطقه هراسناك است. لذا كشورهای منطقه ومردم و مقاومت ايران، بايد با اتحاد عمل منطقه را از شر بنيادگرايی كه كانون آن در تهران تحت حاكميت ملايان است خلاص كنند. 
دراين ديدار آقايان صائب عريقات، و شماری از مسئولان دولت فلسطين حضور داشتند.

Yemen government accepts UN peace deal: official

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UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Saturday managed to extend the talks for a week

KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - The Yemeni government said Sunday it has accepted a UN-proposed peace agreement to end more than a year of armed conflict, but there has been no word from the rebels.

The announcement by the Saudi-backed government came after a high-level meeting in Kuwait's capital chaired by Yemen's President Aberabbo Mansour Hadi.

'The meeting approved the draft agreement presented by the United Nationscalling for an end to the armed conflict and the withdrawal (of rebels) from Sanaa... and the cities of Taez and Al-Hudaydah,' said a statement after the meeting, cited by the Saba news agency.

Yemen's Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi, who is leading the government negotiating team, said he has sent a letter to the UN special envoy informing him the government backed the 'Kuwait Agreement'.

One pre-condition, however, is that the Iran-backed Huthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh sign the deal by August 7.

There has been no official reaction to the deal by the rebels.

Huthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said on Twitter before the government announcement that the rebels insist on a comprehensive and complete solution, and rejected what he called 'half solutions'.

A political dialogue between various Yemeni factions will start 45 days after the rebels withdrawal, according to the government.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Saturday managed to extend the talks for a week after the government delegation said it was leaving, and submitted the peace deal draft to both sides.

The approval also came hours after seven Saudi troops were killed in border clashes with Yemeni rebels.

More than 6,400 people have been killed in the Arabian Peninsula state since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March last year in support of Hadi's government.

Another 2.8 million people have been displaced and more than 80 percent of the population urgently needs humanitarian aid, according to UN figures

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas meets US and French foreign ministers in Paris

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PA chairman meets Kerry and French counterpart in Paris, says any reboot of peace talks with Israel should happen within a clear timeframe

PARIS (AFP) - Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Saturday said any reboot of peace talks with Israel should happen within a clear timeframe and under international supervision, after meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris.

Abbas also held talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on the prospects of achieving a two-state solution, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erakat said, describing both discussions as 'very constructive'.

'We need a timeline for the negotiations, we need a timeline for the implementation, and we need an international framework that will ensure the implementation of any agreement reached,' Erakat told reporters.

France has been leading a fresh initiative to revive the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, after the last round of negotiations collapsed in 2014.

But while Palestinians have welcomed the French push, Israel has said it favours direct negotiations.

Abbas 'reiterated our full support to the French initiative that aims to convene an international conference before the end of the year,' Erakat said.

The Palestinian negotiator added that there was 'no contradiction' between the French, US and more recently Egyptian efforts to break the deadlock and move the peace talks forward.

'All these efforts aim to revive the peace process, to achieve the two-state solution (based) on the 1967 lines. They are complementary,' he said.

The diplomatic initiatives showed that the 'status quo can't be sustained', he added, reiterating the need for Israel to 'stop all settlement activities' in order to give 'credibility to any peace process'.

The Middle East diplomatic quartet -- the European Union , Russia, the United Nations and the United States -- urged Israel to stop building settlements and Palestinians to cease incitement to violence in a July report that drew a frosty response from both sides.

While in Paris, Kerry also held talks with his French counterpart on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

'They agreed that strong leadership was required by all parties to help reduce the violence and take practical steps that can lead to meaningful discussions,' the US State Department said in a statement.

Source: AFP, 31 July 2016

Yemen’s UN envoy makes last-ditch attempt to save peace talks in Kuwait

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The United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, speaks during a press conference at the ministry of information in Kuwait City on June 30, 2016

ADEN -The UN’s special envoy asked Yemen’s warring parties to pursue peace negotiations in Kuwait for another week on Saturday after the government said it was quitting talks with the Houthis.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s appeal appeared to be a last-ditch attempt to rescue the four-month negotiations in Kuwait City which are on the verge of collapse.

'I met today with both delegations [and] suggested a one-week extension to the talks,' said Mr Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

He also proposed a 'framework for a solution to the crisis in Yemen' but did not elaborate.

There was no immediate comment from either the Yemeni government or the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Yemen’s government had said it would leave Kuwait on Saturday after the Houthis made an agreement with the political party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to form a supreme council to unilaterally run Yemen.

Mr Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the agreement, which was made on Thursday, gravely violated UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls on the Houthis 'to refrain from further unilateral actions that could undermine the political transition in Yemen'.

Political analyst and the head of the Aden-based Madar Strategic Studies Centre, Fadhl Al Rabei, said the government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi viewed the agreement between the Houthis and Mr Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC) as a 'new coup' against its legitimacy.

'The Houthis wanted to send a message of challenge to the government and the Saudi-led military coalition by making its agreement with the GPC,' he added.

The Iran-backed Houthis are allied with renegade soldiers loyal to Saleh. Together, they have taken over the capital, Sanaa, as well as large parts of the rest of the country, forcing Mr Hadi’s internationally-recognised government to operate out of the southern city of Aden.

The supreme council will replace the Houthis’ revolutionary committee which the rebels formed in February last year to replace the Yemeni parliament and presidency.

'It has become clear to the world that the Houthis and Ali Saleh cannot understand the language of peace and they only can understand the language of force, so I think that a military solution' is the only answer, Mr Al Rabei said.

Also on Saturday, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition – which is fighting to reinstate Mr Hadi’s government – bombed Houthis trying to infiltrate Saudi Arabia from Yemen, killing tens of militiamen.

The bombing took place on the Yemeni side of the border close to the Saudi city of Najran. Clashes between the Saudis and Houthis also took place in the northwestern Yemeni town of Haradh which borders the kingdom.

Elsewhere, the Houthis tried to advance in the Karesh area of Yemen’s southern Lahj province towards Al Anad airbase where UAE forces are training Yemeni army recruits, but were blocked by pro-government forces.

The flare-up in fighting along the Saudi-Yemeni border was one of the worst since peace talks between Mr Hadi’s government and the Houthis began in Kuwait in April, seeking to end the country’s 16-month conflict. A truce that began alongside the talks has slowed the momentum of fighting, but violence continues almost daily.

Late on Friday, the Saudi-led coalition denied accusations from rights groups that it is blocking aid and goods bound for Yemen.

'The coalition is not imposing a siege or an economic boycott on Yemeni territory,' the Riyadh-based coalition said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The coalition 'is fulfilling its duties towards implementing UN resolutions that aim to prevent weapons and ammunitions' reaching Yemen.

Refuge: I rather ' die at sea' than remain in Libya

Rescued refugees detail abuse in Libya

Poverty, persecution and conflict are among the reasons refugees were forced to flee their homelands.

By the time they were rescued from sinking boats on the Mediterranean Sea, they had another more urgent motive: escape from Libya.

Endalkachew Gebrehiwot, a refugee, told Al Jazeera that during the 10 months he was in Libya, human smugglers had kidnapped him twice.

Unable to pay a $4,500 ransom, he said the smugglers forced him to work and whipped him every day with electrical cable.

'It is the will of God, that I survived. You don't expect to survive that concentration camp,' he said.

Kim Clausen, from the Doctors Without Borders organisation, described the conditions in Libya as 'horrible'.

'Right now, going on in Libya, it's what we'd call slave trading, it's forced prostitution, mass rapes. It's torture. It's kidnapping for ransom by the smugglers and they sell the refugees.'

Endalkachew said the situation was so bad, he would rather 'die at sea' than remain in Libya.

The people of Aleppo have given up on help from Earth, so they're asking Martians instead

The city of Aleppo has been repeatedly shelled by Syrian government forces in the past few days, reportedly killing dozens of people and damaging several hospitals

The rebel-held eastern side of the city has effectively been under siege for the past few weeks after a successful pro-government forces campaign. All supply routes to those remaining in East Aleppo have been cut off by Russian backed forces.

Aleppo and its surrounding province has been the centre of some of the heaviest fighting of the Syrian civil war.

In a recent protest one sign in particular was notably sad. The carriers have given up hope that anyone on the planet will hear their cries for help.

'To the people of Mars, Aleppo is besieged', the futile banner read.

Syrian Opposition Refuses to Attend Negotiations as the Humanitarian Situation Worsens

The High Negotiations Committee (HNC) has announced its refusal to attend a new round of negotiations in Geneva on the grounds that the conditions for negotiation have not yet been achieved and that the humanitarian situation in Syria is at its worst. The HNC also said that de Mistura’s announcement of a new round of negotiations scheduled for the end of August is just a Russian attempt to pressurise the UN envoy. The committee also called for an emergency meeting in Riyadh to cope with current developments on the ground.

The head of the Syrian negotiating delegation Asaad Al-Zoubi in Geneva told Asharq Al-Awsat that de Mistura has taken great pains to resume a new round of negotiations after the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent statements that directly accused the UN envoy of “neglecting the role that he was requested to carry out”.

Al-Zoubi also said that the Russians are coercing de Mistura into achieving a political solution before Obama’s presidency ends and that de Mistura wants to take advantage of the time leading up to the end of the US administration. He also pointed out that the UN envoy is compelled to achieve something before the end of his tenure at the United Nations .

The head of the Syrian negotiating delegation also stressed that there is no reason to hold a new round of negotiations because of the lack of any progress with regards to fulfilling the conditions that directly led to the suspension of negotiations. The head of the negotiating delegation cited the Security Council’s resolution on Syria 2254 which contained a clear paragraph about lifting the siege and allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid to those who required it in the besieged areas. He stressed that the paragraph meant a “continuous delivery (of aid) and not a little amount of aid that does not last for more than a day or two and that is intermittent.”

Al-Zoubi continued by saying that news that the regime is tightening the military siege on the opposition in Aleppo is incorrect and pointed out that the siege on Aleppo currently applies to civilians only and aims to curb the movement of civilians. He said that the opposition is able to move around and that the southern, south eastern and south western parts of Aleppo are not besieged. Al-Zoubi continued by saying that there are areas belonging to the regime’s forces that are besieged by opposition factions, and that the regime is besieging the northern and north eastern side of Aleppo in order to secure the main road.

Ambassador Bloomfield Speaks of the West's Misunderstanding of Iran

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28 Jul - At the Free Iran rally on July 9 in Paris, Ambassador Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr. gave an interview to the ‘Alliance for Public Awareness - Iranian Communities in Europe’.

Ambassador Bloomfield was U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs from 2001-2005, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs (1992-1993), Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (1991-1992), and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1988-1989).

In the interview, Bloomfield addressed U.S. government officials’ misunderstandings of both the Iranian regime and the Iranian Resistance.

He said, the U.S. is "illiterate about the significance of June 20, 1981 when the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) tried to uphold a ‘glorious outpouring of democracy,’ and Khomeini's theocrats ‘shot their way to power.’ From the failure to appreciate the true meaning of this event have flowed a number of other misperceptions that are only now being corrected - although ‘the work goes on’ to dispel ‘a global influence operation’ by the regime's Intelligence Ministry (MOIS).”

He explained that after the revolution, the PMOI endeavored to spread their message and garner support, but “on June 20, 1981, a peaceful demonstration by half-a-million PMOI supporters in Tehran was turned into a bloodbath on the orders of Khomeini, and the PMOI were forced to go underground and begin a Resistance campaign to expose and unseat the Khomeini regime.”

Further, he said, “On the one hand, the US does not understand that the regime's illegitimacy makes it behave in certain ways, and that factional fighting is best understood as a contest about how to maintain ‘one man's religious dictatorship,’ or velayat-e faqih, rather than about how to reform it. As such, President Obama's hope that the nuclear deal would lead to détente with a moderating government was misplaced. The regime has not only ‘cheated’ on the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA, but its domestic and international behaviour has worsened.”

Additionally, according to Ambassador Bloomfield, “On the other hand, the US, like other Western countries, has approached the PMOI or MEK as a ‘diplomatic commodity,’ restrictions upon its work for democracy traded with the Iranian regime in hopes of concessions. Referring to the eight-year investigation undertaken by the French which could find no evidence of terrorism, only resistance, Ambassador Bloomfield also spoke about his own research journey into the nature of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), of which the PMOI or MEK is a major part.”

In the interview, Ambassador Bloomfield described his own realization of “a global influence operation” by the regime's Intelligence Ministry “which had distorted the historical facts.” The fact that he cared so much about his own government, made it imperative that "they have the right facts," but his challenges to the current Administration to find proof that his analysis are incorrect have been met with silence.

He was initially skeptical of the NCRI's president-elect, Maryam Rajavi, when he heard her describe the regime as "weak," but her "sharp political sense" and observations "split about how best to keep power for the regime." He realized that, “It was the "paranoia" of illegitimacy which drove the factional debate and thus demonstrated the underlying weakness of the regime.”

He concluded by saying, “Regime change would not come from the outside, but from the Iranian people flowing with the global tide of those insisting that government should serve the people, he said. The West had to confront a regime which undermined it with terror, and "atone" for its ill-informed treatment of the Iranian Resistance.”

Iran’s Massive Crackdown On Opposition Shows The Regime’s Vulnerability and Fear

Patrick J. Kennedy

Patrick J. Kennedy is a former U.S. Representative (D-RI) who currently lives in New Jersey.

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Getty - ATTA KENARE

Independent Journal Opinion is an opinion platform and any opinions or information put forth by contributors are exclusive to them and do not represent Independent Journal.

On July 9, the Free Iran rally near Paris attracted tens of thousands of Iranians from five continents and gained support from political leaders from many countries, including the US, several EU member nations, and the Gulf States. It also provoked the predictable ire of the Iranian regime, which has persecuted the constituent groups of the main opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, since the beginnings of the Islamic Republic.

Approximately 120,000 political dissidents have been killed since 1981, most of them from the NCRI’s main constituent group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK). Tens of thousands were put to death in the summer of 1988 alone. UN special rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed has said that this year the rate of executions reached levels not seen for more than 25 years.

Meanwhile, foreign policy analysts and critics of the Iranian regime have observed that the repression of dissent is surging to levels not seen since the end of the Iran/Iraq War, when the long-term survival of the Tehran regime was very much in doubt.

Participants in the rally underscored that Iran’s deteriorating domestic situation signals the increased vulnerability of Tehran’s leadership. Just as MEK dissidents were executed in great numbers to compensate for the weakness shown in accepting the end of the war with Iraq, the current crackdown seems aimed at making the regime look strong, despite last summer’s compromise over nuclear negotiations and the lingering social effects of the 2009 popular uprisings.

The clerical regime fears for its survival, and as with any insecure bully, that fear manifests as bluster. This was evident in a series of provocations made toward the West, including the January seizure of 10 American sailors who had strayed into Iranian territorial waters, the five illicit ballistic missile tests that have taken place since the conclusion of last summer’s negotiations, and gestures of force in the Persian Gulf.

Reacting to the rally, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps even went so far as to dispatch several patrol boats to follow an American warship through the Gulf. No doubt the incident was used as a source of propaganda in Iranian state media, much like the images and video of the 10 sailors – who were released within 24 hours – were aired for weeks on end.

But such questionable propaganda victories will not do the regime much good – not as long as that propaganda is countered by an organized resistance abroad and the regime fails to win more serious victories against the resistance and its international network of supporters.

The expressions of international support for the NCRI included a speech by Prince Turki al-Faisal, an influential member of the Saudi royal family and former Saudi intelligence chief. With his declaration that Muslims around the world support the Iranian resistance “heart and soul,” he turned the annual event into a celebration of unprecedented Middle Eastern unity. In the words of Howard Dean, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he “redrew the map of the Middle East.”

The extraordinary foreign support removes any doubt that the Iranian resistance is an existential threat to the clerical regime. Moreover, the Saudi capacity to unify Arab nations behind the resistance explains why Iranian officials, including Brig. Gen. Ramazan Sharif, the Revolutionary Guards Spokesman, accused Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other powerful Arab states of “flagrantly interfering in Iran’s internal affairs.”

Such comments can only be seen as the desperate protests of a vulnerable regime. Iran has engaged in its own “flagrant interference” in the region for years. Examples include its all-out defense of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, fomenting of a Shiite rebellion in Yemen, threats to instigate one in Bahrain, and empowering the crusade by former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to drive minorities out of Iraq’s government. All have stoked deep resentment, both at home and abroad.

Iran now stands to suffer the consequences of its actions, as powerful forces offer their justified support to a legitimate Iranian opposition movement. The regime’s ongoing reaction to the Free Iran rally will continue to demonstrate that it recognizes the threat to its power. As long as the world community stands firm against Iran’s violent response, we will see that it is inadequate to suppress, dissent or preserve the regime.

As Ramadan Ends, So Must Falsely Labeled 'Jihad'

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Continued from page 1

Another horrifying trait of extremists is their attempt to discredit moral, humanitarian and Islamic principles as they grapple for power. Before becoming the leader of Iran, Khomeini in his book titled The Islamic State deemed as permissible mass killings in order to ensure the survival of the state or, as he put it, in order to “uproot many of the corrupt races that are harmful to society.”

Is it not true that monotheistic religions were revealed in order to imbue human beings with moral codes and humanitarian principles? Were the Ten Commandments of Moses or everything that Jesus and Mohammad said not intended to contain the aggressive, greedy and oppressive tendencies of human beings in order to inaugurate a path toward freedom?

It brings me deep sorrow that extremists of all stripes portray themselves as defenders of Islamic and moral standards. In order to implement unjustified violence, which they falsely describe as “Islamic punishments,” they have amputated limbs, gouged out eyes and stoned women to death with indescribable barbarity.

No one has trampled upon Islamic law more than this bunch. As the Quran says, “And of men is he whose speech about the life of this world pleases thee, and he calls Allah to witness as to that which is in his heart, yet he is the most violent of adversaries. And when he holds authority, he makes effort in the land to cause mischief in it and destroy tilth and offspring; and Allah loves not mischief” (Quran 2:204-205).

The spirit of goodwill

It is critical for true followers of Islam to stand up against perversions of our faith. And there are many groups who seek to do this, one of which is the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the main component of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Since its founding in 1965, the group has embarked on a theoretical effort to understand the truth of Islam and wipe away dogmatic and static readings of the Quran. The NCRI succeeded in promoting in Iranian society the credible views of Islam on freedom, human rights, social justice, gender equality and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and other matters.

Muslims worldwide must come together to reject sectarianism and religious conflicts. We must declare that the struggle is not between Shiites and Sunnis, or Muslims and Christians, or the people and culture of the Middle East against the people and culture of the West. Rather, the main struggle is between tyranny and extremism on the one hand, and democracy and freedom on the other. And as this month of Ramadan comes to an end, we must not allow the spirit of goodwill to leave with it.

Bahrain: iIran's nterference aimed at exporting violence and terrorism to creat chaos and dis
cord among our people

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Nouakchott, Mauritania - Bahrain deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa delivered a speech in the 27th Arab Summit being held in Nouakchott, Mauritania, in which he stressed that holding the Arab summit is a clear evidence of the strong desire to promote the joint Arab action and bolstering aspects of cooperation. It also shows determination to overcome the challenges and risks faced by the current stage, mainly the increasing phenomenon of terrorism and the growing criminal acts conducted by extremist groups that raise religious or sectarian slogans that incite violence, extremism and terrorism that necessitate taking a firm Arab stand and strong and urgent measures at the political, security, judicial and media levels to ensure eliminating terrorism and drying up the sources of its funding, as well as addressing the causes and circumstances that have led to it.

Deputy Prime Minister said in order to eliminate terrorism we are required to deter all forms of interference in our internal affairs, especially the Iranian interference that aimed at exporting violence and terrorism to our nations through the training of terrorists and the smuggling of weapons and explosives into our countries, lest we forget Iranian provocative media statements and logistical support for terrorist groups aimed at creating chaos and discord among our people.

Deputy Prime Minister stressed Bahrain's denunciation of the interference in its internal affairs, demanding Iran to respect the principles of good neighborliness, international laws and the UN Charter, and to immediately cease all practices target destabilizing Arab national security and civil peace.

Deputy Prime Minister pointed that all attempts of interference in internal affairs of Arab countries will be unsuccessful when facing a unified Arab stance. He noted the Arab supportive stances toward Bahrain against the criminal terrorist acts that claimed lives of many police and innocent civilians.

Deputy Prime Minister stressed that Arab should constantly strive to establish a just and comprehensive peace that restores rights to Palestinian people through a strict adherence to international laws, international legitimacy resolutions and initiatives aimed at reaching a solution to the Palestinian issue, mainly the Arab Peace Initiative that includes a just solution to the Palestinian issue.

Deputy Primer said the Yemeni-Yemeni negotiation, held under the patronage of the United Nationsand the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, provides a great opportunity that should be exploited to reach a comprehensive political settlement in conformity with the UN Security Council Resolution 2216 for 2015, Gulf initiative and the outputs of the comprehensive national dialogue.

Deputy Prime Minister reiterated Bahrain supportive stance to all efforts to restore security and peace in Yemen so as the legitimate government led by President Abd Rabo Mansour Hadi will be able to re-establish state sovereignty and independency of its institutions, urging humanitarian efforts to continue to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.

Deputy Prime Minister also reiterated Bahrain's supportive stances towards people of Syria, Iraq, Libya and Lebanon and to enjoy states of sovereignty capable of countering challenges independently and without foreign interventions in their internal affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister attached great importance to the development of joint Arab action and mechanisms of Arab League in the interest of Arab national interests.

Source: BNA, 26 July 2016 1

Tehran: 150 youth arrested in capital for attending mixed-gender party

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The anti-freedom anti-human regime of mullahs arrested 150 boys and girls for attending a mixed-gender birthday party near the capital Tehran, according to local police commander revealing on Monday.
The arrests took place at an overnight party in a garden in the vicinity of Islamshahr, south-west of Tehran, according to Colonel Mohsen Khancherli, the regime's police commander for the west of Tehran Province.
Khancherli told the Tasnim news agency, affiliated to the regime's terrorist Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, on Monday (July 25): 'After we obtained a report about a mixed-gender party in a garden in the vicinity of Islamshahr in the west of Tehran Province, an operation was carried out by the police and another organization, leading to the arrest of dozens of boys and girls.'
'Some 150 boys and girls had gathered at the mixed-gender party under the guise of a birthday party in this garden which is situated next to a studio where unlawful music was produced and recorded. Upon arrival of the police, all those present were arrested and sent before the judiciary,' he said.
Khancherli claimed that given the popularity of gardens in the west of Tehran Province, the regime's suppressive state security forces (police) are constantly monitoring venues and gardens in that area, with police commanders carrying out snap inspections of sites.
'With the arrival of summer, the police surveillance at these sites will be stepped up,' he added.
This follows news last week that more than 50 young Iranians were arrested by the regime's suppressive state security forces at a party near Tehran.
The Tasnim news agency reported on Friday (July 22) the arrest of more than 50 young men and women at a party in the town of Davamand, east of Tehran.
Tasnim quoted Mojtaba Vahedi, the head of the regime's judiciary in Damavand, as saying that the organizers of the party had invited people to attend via online social networks.
Vahedi added security forces initially monitored the social sphere and after carrying out the necessary investigations obtained a warrant to clamp down on the party and arrest the party-goers.
Judicial files have been opened against those arrested at the party, Vahedi said. He added: 'Families must be more vigilant regarding their children to make sure they do not end up in such circumstances.'
Commenting on this development, Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ) said:
“The clerical regime has never been so isolated at home and loathed by the Iranian people, in particular by the youth and women. As such, it is resorting to more and more repressive measures to confront this growing trend. This once again proves that the notion of moderation under Hassan Rouhani is a total myth. But it also indicates the vulnerable and shaky state of a regime that cannot even tolerate private festivities of the people, particularly the youth. It is becoming more evident that the mullahs are totally paranoid of any social gathering in fear of a popular uprising.”
Some 35 young men and women were flogged in May for taking part in a mixed-gender party after their graduation ceremony near Qazvin city, some 140 kilometers northwest of Tehran, the regime's Prosecutor in the city said on May 26.
Ismaeil Sadeqi Niaraki, a notorious mullah, said a special court session was held after all the young men and women at the party were rounded up, the Mizan news agency, affiliated to the fundamentalist regime's judiciary, reported on May 26.
'After we received information that a large number of men and women were mingling in a villa in the suburbs of Qazvin ... all the participants at the party were arrested,' he said.
Niaraki added that the following morning every one of those detained received 99 lashes as punishment by the so-called 'Morality Police.'
According to Niaraki, given the social significance of mixed-gender partying, 'this once again required a firm response by the judiciary in quickly reviewing and implementing the law.'
'Thanks God that the police questioning, investigation, court hearing, verdict and implementation of the punishment all took place in less than 24 hours,' Niaraki added.
The regime’s prosecutor claimed that the judiciary would not tolerate the actions of “law-breakers who use excuses such as freedom and having fun in birthday parties and graduation ceremonies.”
Similar raids have been carried out on mixed-gender parties across Iran in recent weeks.

 

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As Ramadan Ends, So Must Falsely Labeled 'Jihad'

Continued from page 1

Another horrifying trait of extremists is their attempt to discredit moral, humanitarian and Islamic principles as they grapple for power. Before becoming the leader of Iran, Khomeini in his book titled The Islamic Statedeemed as permissible mass killings in order to ensure the survival of the state or, as he put it, in order to “uproot many of the corrupt races that are harmful to society.”

Is it not true that monotheistic religions were revealed in order to imbue human beings with moral codes and humanitarian principles? Were the Ten Commandments of Moses or everything that Jesus and Mohammad said not intended to contain the aggressive, greedy and oppressive tendencies of human beings in order to inaugurate a path toward freedom?

It brings me deep sorrow that extremists of all stripes portray themselves as defenders of Islamic and moral standards. In order to implement unjustified violence, which they falsely describe as “Islamic punishments,” they have amputated limbs, gouged out eyes and stoned women to death with indescribable barbarity.

No one has trampled upon Islamic law more than this bunch. As the Quran says, “And of men is he whose speech about the life of this world pleases thee, and he calls Allah to witness as to that which is in his heart, yet he is the most violent of adversaries. And when he holds authority, he makes effort in the land to cause mischief in it and destroy tilth and offspring; and Allah loves not mischief” (Quran 2:204-205).

The spirit of goodwill

It is critical for true followers of Islam to stand up against perversions of our faith. And there are many groups who seek to do this, one of which is the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), the main component of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Since its founding in 1965, the group has embarked on a theoretical effort to understand the truth of Islam and wipe away dogmatic and static readings of the Quran. The NCRI succeeded in promoting in Iranian society the credible views of Islam on freedom, human rights, social justice, gender equality and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and other matters.

Muslims worldwide must come together to reject sectarianism and religious conflicts. We must declare that the struggle is not between Shiites and Sunnis, or Muslims and Christians, or the people and culture of the Middle East against the people and culture of the West. Rather, the main struggle is between tyranny and extremism on the one hand, and democracy and freedom on the other. And as this month of Ramadan comes to an end, we must not allow the spirit of goodwill to leave with it.

Arab League summit agenda include Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya

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Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz chair the Arab summit conference opened on Mondayin Nouakchott

Arab leaders, speaking at the opening of the Arab League summit in the Mauritanian capital, have pledged to 'defeat terrorism' , with the  ongoing threat of violence in the region dominating the agenda.

Chaired by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the two-day conference opened on Monday inside a large tent in Nouakchott, with the crises in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya the main focus of talks.

Sherif Ismail, Egypt's prime minister, was one of the first of the 21 leaders to speak and blamed foreign intervention in the region for the rise of groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and for the radicalisation of young people.

'Foreign intervention in Arab affairs is one of the major reasons for the current crisis, therefore we should work together to cement our domestic fronts in order to be able to stand up to these foreign interventions,' Ismail said.

Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya are the main focus of the Nouakchott conference

 For his part, Yemen's president called on his country's fightHouthi ers to surrender their weapons and withdraw from territories they control as Arab coalition air raids continue to strike the armed group's positions.

'The only solution to the crisis is for the [Houthis] to abide by the recommendations of the Gulf Arab initiative and UN Security Council resolution 2216 which calls for them to withdraw from areas they seized and lay down the heavy arms they have,' Hadi said.

About 9,000 people have been killed in Yemen since the intervention began last March, the majority of them civilians, according to UN figures. The fighting has also driven 2.8 million people from their homes.

Syria's conflict

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, addressed the conflict in Syria, saying there could be no solution while President Bashar al-Assad was still in power.

'Thousands have been killed and millions displaced in addition to the destruction of the infrastructure of the country, as a result it is impossible for Bashar al-Assad to have any place in the future of Syria, especially since his hands are tainted with the blood of his own people,' he said.

Arab leaders also voiced support for a new French initiative aimed at relaunching Israeli-Palestinian talks and holding an international conference for peace by year end.