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There were no remarks from the West European or East European groups, or from the United States, which normally speaks last representing the host country.

The United States will not attend todays United Nations tribute event for president Raisi in any capacity, Nate Evans, spokesperson for the US Mission to the UN said. Raisi was involved in numerous, horrific human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killings of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. Some of the worst human rights abuses on record took place during his tenure.

The UN should be standing with the people of Iran, Evans said in a statement.

While the tribute was taking place in the assembly chamber, more than 100 protesters held banners across the street from UN headquarters saying: Shame on UN holding memorial for Raisi, Butcher of Tehran, and chanting similar words.

Before the assembly met, 45 current and former UN officials, experts, ambassadors and judges sent a joint letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres protesting the tribute to an individual involved in mass atrocities.

Raisi, 63, a powerful figure in Irans authoritarian Islamic government, was killed in a helicopter crash on May 20 along with the countrys foreign minister and six others.

He had long been considered a potential successor for Irans supreme leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in whose hands power ultimately rests, but was reviled by opponents, and sanctioned by the US, for his role in mass executions of political prisoners at the end of Irans long war with Iraq in the 1980s.

Many also hold Raisi responsible for the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in September 2022 after being detained for allegedly violating Irans mandatory headscarf law.

Aminis death sparked mass protests against the countrys ruling theocracy, and a security crackdown that saw more than 500 people killed and over 22,000 detained.

On Thursday, General Assembly President Dennis Francis opened the meeting offering the world bodys deepest condolences to the government and people of Iran.

Throughout his career, Francis said: president Raisi held significant roles in Iranian society and government and as president, led his countrys contribution to shape the tenets of our multilateral system and international cooperation.

Guterres then spoke, also offering condolences and said Raisi led Iran at a challenging time for the country, the region and globally but skipping a tribute.

Guterres assured the Iranian people the United Nations stands with them and in the quest for peace, development and fundamental freedoms.

He was followed by Burundis ambassador Zephyrin Maniratanga who spoke on behalf of African nations and praised Raisi as a distinguished leader who devoted his life to serving his nation and fostering international cooperation particularly with African countries.

Vanuatu diplomat Marjorie Wells, speaking for the Asia-Pacific group, then spoke, calling Raisis death a heartbreaking loss, saying he served the Iranian people with great dedication and passion and worked tirelessly to promote growth, justice and progress.

Haitis UN ambassador Antonio Rodrigue, speaking for the Latin America and Caribbean group, called Raisis death a great loss for Iran, recounting his career and saying he dedicated his life to the service of his country.

The West and East European and the US should have followed. Instead, Assembly president Francis then gave the floor to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Nonaligned Movement which Iran belongs to for tributes that praised Raisi.

The final speaker from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Irans rival Saudi Arabia, said Raisi served his country and sent condolences to the Iranian people and leadership saying: We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.

Read the original:
UN tribute to Iran's late president marred by protests and European and US snubs - South China Morning Post

Images from the twin Jaish al-Adl attacks in Chabahar and Rask. (Source: Bakhtar News Agency)

Executive Summary:

On April 3, the Iran-based Sunni separatist militant group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) launched a highly sophisticated attack for the first time since its emergence. The group targeted multiple locations in Irans city of Chabahar, including the local naval forces headquarters and the headquarters of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) detachment, an Intelligence Department office, and a police station (IranWire, April 5). Simultaneously, the groups fighters also attacked targets in the cities of Rask and Sarbaz for 14 hours, which led to the death of 11 Iranian troops and 18 militants (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, April 4). Irans representative to the UN Security Council demanded a strong condemnation of the attack, as only Pakistan had directly condemned Jaish al-Adls actions at that point (Iran International, March 6). The high-profile assault resembled those carried out by Baloch separatist groups in Pakistans Balochistan province, especially by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). This raises the question as to whether Jaish al-Adl is borrowing its strategies and tactics from Baloch separatists in Pakistan, and to what extent there is a nexus between them.

The BLAs Complex Attacks

Of all the Baloch separatist groups in Pakistan, the BLA is the most active and launches the most complex attacks. The group has been targeting sensitive targets in Balochistan since 2018, and its targets range from Chinese interests in the port city of Gwadar to Pakistani forces and military installations in the province of Balochistan. On March 26, the groups Majeed Brigade (sometimes referred to as the BLAs suicide squad, given its tactics; see Terrorism Monitor, July 1, 2022) attacked Pakistans second largest naval air station, PNS Siddique, in Turbat. Turbat is near Gwadar, whose port is considered the crown jewel of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The attack lasted for three hours and resulted in the deaths of over a dozen Pakistani security forces (WION, March 26).

Before the attack on PNS Siddique, on March 20, the BLAs Majeed Brigade launched another attack against Pakistani intelligence facilities in Gwadar. The group struck the local Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) headquarters, resulting in the death of more than 25 members of the Pakistani military. The attack involved several hours of heavy combat, including a fierce engagement with the Pakistan Navy SEALs (The Balochistan Post, March 21).

Earlier this year, the BLA had also launched another well-coordinated attack in the Mach Area of Balochistan, which it termed Operation Dara-e-Bolan. This attack lasted for two days and involved 385 BLA fighters from different units, including 12 fidayeen (suicide bombers) from the Majeed Brigade and members of the Fateh Squad, Special Tactical Operations Squad (STOS), and the intelligence wing. In this attack, the BLA claimed the killing of 78 members of the Pakistani security forces. The attack was the most complex and intense in the history of the Baloch insurgency (ANI, February 4).

In August 2023, the BLA also attacked a military convoy carrying Chinese engineers in Gwadar (see Terrorism Monitor, January 12). Immediately after the attack, the spokesman of the group, Jeeyand Baloch, issued a 90-day ultimatum to the Chinese to leave Balochistan or face intensified attacks (The Balochistan Post, August 14, 2023). Beijing has not withdrawn.

Jaish al-Adls Adoption of the BLAs Attack Strategy

The complexity of the recent attack by Jaish al-Adl in Chabahar shows that it might have learned from the Baloch separatist insurgents in Pakistan. Similar to these groups, Jaish al-Adl is mostly composed of Baloch people, and Jaish al-Adls leader, Salahuddin Farooqui, has demanded an independent Balochistan that includes the ethnic populations on both sides of the IranPakistan border. To that point, Jaish al-Adls militants call Farooqui the Leader of Baluchestan/Balochistan Jihad (Iran International, January 21).

Like Gwadar in Pakistan, Chabahar is a strategically important port town in Iran populated by the Baloch people; it is often considered a competitor of Gwadar. Whereas China and India have both invested inand are competing for influence inChabahar, Gwadar is the main node of the exclusively Chinese-led CPEC. Attacks by the Baloch separatists in Gwadar and by Jaish al-Adl in Chabahar are aimed at disrupting economic activity in both states and sabotaging foreign development projects to fulfill their collective goal of an independent and united Balochistan.

Conclusion

Jaish al-Adls parent group, Jundullah, was sectarian in nature and preferred to target the Shia population of Pakistan. However, Jaish al-Adls focus is on the liberation of the Baloch people from Irans theocratic government. Being an ethno-nationalist militant groupas opposed to a sectarian onebrings Jaish al-Adl and the BLA close in many ways, and the increasingly complex attack strategy demonstrated by the former suggests that a cross-border nexus may have developed between the two Baloch militant groups. Although Jaish al-Adl is religious and the BLA secular, the two militant groups share a common goaland increasingly, a common means to that end.

Read the original:
Iran-Based Baloch Separatist Group Jaish al-Adl Appears to Adopt Complex Attack Strategies from Baloch Liberation ... - The Jamestown Foundation

Iran and Al Qaeda endorsed pro-Palestinian and anti-war student protests this week, providing new challenges for the movement, which is calling for university divestment from Israel.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in social media posts and a long video on Wednesday that university students in the United States of America are standing on the right side of history.

You have now formed a branch of the resistance front and have begun an honourable struggle, said a letter quoted on his X account.

Mr Khamenei's message of support is in sharp contrast to how his own country dealt with anti-government protests in 2022, after the death of a young woman in morality police custody.

The crackdown on the movement, which focused largely on women's rights and demands for reform, led to mass arrests and even death sentences for some protesters.

This week, Al Qaeda also expressed its approval of the student movement.

We appreciate and value the movement of western demonstrators and sit-in students from western universities, who through their sit-ins and protests expressed their rejection of the genocide taking place in Gaza, a statement from Al Qaeda's central command said, according to a translation by the Long War Journal.

Hamas has also expressed support for the demonstrators, calling them the leaders of the future.

Izzat Al Risheq of the group's political bureau said students were demonstrating because of their rejection of the genocide that our Palestinian people are subjected to in the Gaza Strip.

The group has been designated a terrorist organisation by the US and other countries.

Over the past weeks, students at universities across the US set up tent camps, occupied academic buildings and held protests calling for their universities to divest from investments and academic programmes connected to Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories.

The student movement has been accused of supporting terrorism, and public endorsements by Iran and extremist groups have reignited that criticism.

But critics say the statements appear to be attempts to co-opt the student movement.

There is no evidence that the movement is connected to extremist groups.

Israel supporters and critics have accused participants of sympathising with Hamas due to their pro-Palestine messaging.

Others, including Israeli leaders, have accused protesters of being anti-Semitic.

Students involved in the movement, however, point to the soaring death toll in Gaza now past 36,200 according to local health authorities as the impetus for the on-campus pro-Palestine movement that has spread around the world.

Pro-Palestine protesters say they were compelled to act by images of destruction, starvation and displacement in the Gaza Strip.

While there have been reports of some hate incidents, the protests have been mostly peaceful although some schools have called in police for mass arrests in response.

Updated: May 31, 2024, 5:28 AM

Continue reading here:
Iran and Al Qaeda accused of trying to co-opt US pro-Palestine protests - The National

Around 30 years ago, Iran told the world it had disposed of all its chemical weapons. It became a founding member of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and an active presence on the world stage against their use, after an estimated 100,000 Iranians suffered debilitating injuries after Saddam Hussein used mustard gas and nerve agents in dozens of attacks during the Iran-Iraq war.

But while the world has been focused on Tehrans nuclear programme, reports from inside Iran and statements from the US government point to a growing industry of pharmaceutical-based weapons. Iran maintains a chemical weapons program that includes incapacitating agents for offensive purposes, Nicole Shampaine, the US ambassador to the OPCW in The Hague, told Tortoise. This is an area that is a significant concern to us.

Pharmaceutical-based chemical weapons are based on substances such as fentanyl, the synthetic opioid which has ravaged the US. They are aimed at rendering targets unconscious. Leaks from regime-backed universities in Iran appear to show that fentanyl and other central nervous system-acting substances are being developed into aerosolised forms for use on civilians in riot control situations.

These kinds of weapons are often referred to as non-lethal incapacitants, but in practice they can be deadly. In 2002 Russian special forces pumped what is widely believed to have been a fentanyl derivative into a Moscow theatre where hundreds of hostages were being held by Chenyan terrorists. They were successful in regaining control of the theatre, but more than 130 hostages died in the process.

Both the American and Israeli governments say they have intelligence that Iran is developing such weapons, but wont give more detail. Israel is a known hawk when it comes to Iran. The Biden administration is less so.

Several leaks published by Iranian hackers opposed to the Islamic Revolutionary regime in Tehran appear to show academic papers discussing the development of such chemicals. But it is hard to verify such leaks.

In one case described to Tortoise, a veterinary sedative delivered in very large quantities to a regime-affiliated university in Tehran with no veterinary programme later appeared in leaked academic papers describing its use as an incapacitating agent for riot control.

Have they been used? Its possible. Over several months in 2022 and 2023, thousands of school girls in Iran became sick and with symptoms including vomiting and streaming nose and eyes. Some have claimed this as evidence that the regime used pharmaceutical-based agents (PBAs) against its own citizens in an attempt to bring an end to the anti-hijab protests gathering momentum across the country.

The Iranian government has claimed these were attacks carried out by Irans enemies and at other times insisted it was a case of mass hysteria. Attempts by journalists and human rights groups to gather concrete evidence have been unsuccessful.

Whats stopping them? Not much. The OPCW drafted new legislation banning aerosolized use of central nervous system-acting chemical agents in 2021, which designated these weapons as illegal in both law enforcement settings and warfare. The proposal was opposed by Iran, Russia and China but passed anyway.

Although the OPCW is mandated to prevent the use or development of chemical weapons it does not do spot checks. It is possible for a signatory state to call for a challenge inspection on another member nation, although Tortoise understands this has never happened in the organisations 30-year history. Even if it were to happen, the challenged state would have plenty of notice before any inspection enough time to wipe the surfaces clean.

The norm against using chemical weapons is under stress more broadly after the Syrian states use of chemical weapons and, more recently, reports that Russia has used riot-control agents, like CS gas, on the battlefield against Ukraine. In this context CS gas is considered a chemical weapon.

Whats more: In a new podcast series Tortoise investigates a German man accused of sending a chemical that can be used to make mustard gas to Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. He has been on the run for more than three decades Tortoise tracked him down.

Listen to his story: The Gas Man

Read more from the original source:
Exclusive: Iran believed to be developing chemical weapons, decades after publicly giving them up - Tortoise - Tortoise Media

While shooting his new film The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the director Mohammad Rasoulof learned that he was facing eight years in prison for making movies that criticize Irans hard-line government.

So Rasoulof fled Iran, made his way to Germany, and then arrived in France this past week for the Cannes Film Festival. After The Seed of the Sacred Fig premiered in competition at the festival to strong reviews on Friday night, Rasoulof promised to continue making films that shine a light on the situation in his country.

The Islamic Republic has taken the Iranian people hostage, he said at a news conference on Saturday. Its very important, then, to talk about this indoctrination.

Set against a backdrop of student protests in Tehran, The Seed of the Sacred Fig follows an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran whose job approving death sentences begins to take a heavy toll on him and his family. The judges paranoia is stoked after his gun goes missing, and as he begins to suspect his wife and daughters of conspiring against him, he makes drastic moves to determine who the culprit is.

Rasoulof said the idea for the film had come to him in 2022, when he was imprisoned alongside the director Jafar Panahi for signing a petition that called on Irans security forces to use restraint during public protests.

After his release in February 2023, the director began formulating a plan to shoot The Seed of the Sacred Fig in a clandestine fashion, with a small crew, so as not to arouse suspicion. Sometimes people said, Theres someone outside lurking, and we would all scatter, Mahsa Rostami, an actress in the film, said at the news conference. We just prayed that this project would be followed through to the end.

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Director Who Fled Iran Brings a Movie and a Message of Hope to Cannes - The New York Times