Iran hails expulsion of Israeli ambassador from Turkey

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) — The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday hailed the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and other senior diplomats from Turkey following the publication of a UN report about the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry called for the prevention of Israeli influence on changing the results of the international independent investigation of the May 2010 Gaza flotilla raid. Iran also stressed that the United Nations (UN) should prevent Israel’s ‘meddling’ in the UN reports on Gaza.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu announced on Friday that Israel’s ambassador and senior diplomats have been expelled from the country after Israel refused to apologize regarding the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid in which nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists died. Davutoğlu also said that all military ties with Israel will be suspended.

“Iran welcomes the expulsion of the Zionist regime’s ambassador to Ankara,” the statement issued by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, adding that Israel is attempting to change the results of the UN Palmer Report and to ‘distort reality.’

The UN report, released on Friday after repeated delays, stated that the naval blockade was “imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.”

However, it also stated that Israel’s decision to board the vessels with “such substantial force at a great distance from the blockade zone and with no final warning immediately prior to the boarding was excessive and unreasonable.”

Because the UN report said the Gaza blockade is legal, Tehran denounced the UN report. The statement said the contents of the report surprised several diplomatic circles since it justified Israel’s “illegal and inhuman acts” during the Gaza siege. As a result, Iran questioned how much influence Israel had in the report.

In May 2010, nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed and dozens more were injured when Israeli commandos boarded a ship participating in the ‘Freedom Flotilla I’, which was heading to the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid on board. The incident caused global outrage over alleged excessive force, but Israel has denied that and said its commandos were being attacked.

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/wires/19877/update-1-iran-hails-expulsion-of-israeli-ambassador-from-turkey/.

Iranian sniper fires across the border, killing Iraqi civilian

BAGHDAD (BNO NEWS) — An Iraqi civilian was killed on Saturday when an Iranian sniper opened fire from across the border, according to the Aswat al-Iraq news agency. Few details were immediately released.

The report, citing sources, said the shooting happened along the border line near the town of Haj Omran in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan, resulting in the death of an Iraqi civilian. It was not immediately clear why the sniper fired on the civilian, who was said to be a shepherd.

At least four civilians, including Saturday’s casualty, have been killed since mid-July as a result of Iranian attacks on northern Iraq, according to a Human Rights Watch report which was released on Friday. It added that an unknown number of people were injured while hundreds of families have been forced to flee the area as a result of the attacks, which target PJAK militants.

Farmers from the border regions told Human Rights Watch in early August that Iranian shelling had damaged their homes and that they saw Iranian soldiers cross the border into Iraq and kill farmers’ livestock. The attacks on civilians and their property that they described were similar to attacks documented by Human Rights Watch in June 2010.

“It has been more than six years that Iran has been shelling our area, but this year, it was unbelievable,” 70-year-old Fatima Mahmoud, who fled with her family, told Human Rights Watch. “I don’t know why Iran is shelling our village – we have never seen any PJAK members at all. I have never seen any [PJAK] members in our village.”

Iran regularly shells areas in Iraq to target the separatist Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), which is fighting to establish semiautonomous regional entities or Kurdish federal states in Iran, Turkey and Syria. The group has been accused of carrying out a number of attacks in those countries.

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/wires/19876/iranian-sniper-fires-across-the-border-killing-iraqi-civilian/.

أردنيون يدعون للتضامن مع البحرين ويستنكرون مشاركة قواتهم بقمع الاحتجاجات

الجمعة 02-09-2011

قال الحراك الشبابي الاردني أنه سينظم إعتصاماً مساء الاحد امام السفارة البحرينية في عمان للتضامن مع الشعب البحريني المطالب بالحرية – على حد وصف بيان صدر عنهم الخميس -.

وعبر التحرك عن رفضه للتدخل الأمني الاردني في الخارج. ووجه الناشطون دعوة للاعتصام أمام السفارة البحرينية الكائنة في الشميساني عند الساعة السادسة من مساء الأحد القادم تضامنا مع الثورة الشعبية في البحرين، ورفضا للتدخل الأردني ضد الثورة هناك.

وبحسب المنظمين يهدف الاعتصام إلى التعبير عن التضامن مع الشعب البحريني في مطالبه المشروعة ،ورفض القمع بحقه، ورفض “الاحتلال السعودي” للشعب البحريني على حد وصفهم.

ويشدّد الداعون لهذا الاعتصام على رفض إقحام قوات الجيش والدرك الأردنية في معارك ليست بمعاركنا كما يحصل في البحرين وافغانستان وليبيا.

ومن الجدير بالذكر أنّه قد تمّ الكشف عن إرسال الأردن لقوات من الدرك لمساعدة السلطات البحرينية في استعادة النظام والقضاء على الثورة الشعبية استجابة لطلب من الحكومة البحرينية.

المصدر: الجزيرة العربية.
الرابط: http://www.jurnaljazira.com/news_view_42.html.

Bahrain uprising will be victorious: Leader

02 September 2011

TEHRAN — Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that the divinely inspired movement of the Bahraini people will definitely achieve victory.

The Leader made the remarks in a sermon during Eid ul-Fitr prayers at the campus of the University of Tehran on August 31.

The Leader said, “Muslim nations, no matter whether they are in Egypt, in Libya, in Tunisia, in Yemen, or in any other country, need to be vigilant. They should not allow their achievements to be hijacked by the enemies. They should not forget that those who have entered the scene in Libya and claim to be the master of events there are those who were collaborating with the oppressors of the Libyan nation until a short while ago. Today, they have come to exploit the situation. Nations should be on their guard.”

“However, we are worried about the situation in Bahrain. The people are being oppressed there. Certain promises have been made but not kept. The Bahraini nation is an oppressed nation. However, any movement that is godly and whose driving force is the will of the people will definitely achieve victory. This applies everywhere. The same is true there (in Bahrain),” he added.

“Who would have thought that the elements affiliated with the United States and Zionism in the region would fall one by one?”

Elections are a source of support for national security

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader commented on Iran’s upcoming parliamentary election, which is scheduled to be held on March 2, 2012.

Elections are a source of support for national security, Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

“Elections have always been challenging events in our country to some extent,” the Leader said.

He added that elections held in certain countries in the world, both self-proclaimed developed countries and other countries, are accompanied by malicious moves, treason, clashes, and even killings.

“Thank God, such things do not happen in our country. But still it (the election issue) is a challenge. Do not allow this challenge to undermine the country’s security,” he stated.

The Leader also said, “Elections are the manifestation of the people’s presence and religious democracy and should contribute to our security.”

In conclusion, the Leader spoke about the situation in Somalia, which is currently experiencing famine and drought, and asked the Iranian people and the country’s officials to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the Somali people.

These are bright times for Iran

The Leader also held a meeting with a number of officials in Tehran on the same day, in which he said that the current period is one of the brightest times in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Source: Tehran Times.
Link: http://www.tehrantimes.com/index.php/politics/2145-bahrains-uprising-will-surely-reach-fruition-leader.

Princess accuses Riyadh of corruption

Fri Sep 2, 2011

Saudi Princess Basma bint Saud has accused the Riyadh regime of corruption, saying a vast majority of the Persian Gulf country’s population are living in poverty, Press TV has learnt.

The princess, a niece of King Abdullah and a social activist and prominent supporter of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, has said that some 95 percent of the country live below the country’s poverty-line and have no access to water and electricity.

This is while the remaining five percent enjoy the country’s wealth.

She also accused Saudi officials of pocketing more than USD 21 billion that were supposed to be invested in order to expand the holy mosque in Mecca.

Mohammad al-Qahtani, the head of the Saudi Civil and political Rights Association, confirmed the allegations, saying that the country’s princes possess all the power and wealth in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Qahtani further accused the regime of holding thousands of political prisoners without charging them.

Saudi Arabia has long been accused of having one of the world’s most repressive regimes.

Several right groups and international bodies including the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have frequently condemned the Saudi regime for their widespread violation of human rights.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to ban women, both Saudi and foreign nationals, from driving.

The state has no written ban on women driving, but Saudi law requires citizens to use a locally issued license while in the country. Such licenses are not issued for women, making it effectively illegal for them to drive.

Women are also barred from voting, except for chamber of commerce elections in two cities in recent years, while no woman can become a cabinet member.

Less than three months ago, the princess had called on Saudi rulers to be more open to change, stressing that no Arab country is immune to the wave of popular movements in the region.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/197005.html.

Bahrainis hold funeral for teen victim

Thu Sep 1, 2011

Tension runs high in Bahrain as tens of thousands attend a funeral ceremony held for a 14-year-old teenager, who was brutally killed by security forces after Eid al-Fitr prayers, Press TV reports.

Bahraini security forces resorted to firing tear gas and live rounds in vain to disperse the angry people who took to the streets in towns and villages around the capital, Manama, on Thursday to condemn the killing of the boy.

Ali Jawad was killed on Wednesday when he was shot at close range, directly in the face, by a tear gas canister fired by Saudi-backed security forces in the southern city of Sitra.

Large crowds of people, among them human rights activists, participated in the funeral for the young victim, shouting slogans against the ruling Al Khalifa family. “Death to Al Khalifa,” chanted the outraged protesters.

Separately, people have held demonstrations in several cities and villages across Bahrain to condemn the murder of the teenage boy by the regime forces.

The Manama regime has, however, claimed that all the evidence in the teenager’s death suggested foul play, saying it was still investigating the incident.

The killing of Jawad comes a few days after a televised speech by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, announced a decision to pardon the demonstrators arrested during the country’s popular uprising that broke out in February.

During his Sunday speech, King Hamad also promised to reinstate employees and students who have been dismissed for participating in anti-regime protests.

The remarks were immediately met with street protests by Bahraini people and activists, who deem the remarks as an insult to hundreds of political activists held in regime prisons and the majority of Bahraini public who have turned against the US- and Saudi-backed Al Khalifa regime.

“The picture of the situation on the ground is totally different from the speech he delivered,” said President of Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab, referring to the continued killing of protesters, attacking and looting of houses and demolishing mosques and holy places by the Saudi-backed regime.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/196890.html.