Western efforts to isolate Iran backfired - Khamenei – Newstrends
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Western efforts to isolate Iran backfired – Khamenei

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Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, said on Tuesday that the West exerted pressures on Iran in order to isolate it but their efforts in this regard backfired.

Ayatollah Khamenei delivered a speech on Tuesday afternoon at the holy shrine of Imam Reza on the occasion of the New Iranian year.

The leader started his speech by focusing on the concept of “transformation” as meaning “the strengthening of advantages and the elimination of weak points and flaws.” The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described this kind of “transformation” as an essential need of the country.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed out that the main objective of the enemies in broaching the concept of “structural transformations” is to change the identity of the Islamic Republic. “The goal of the enemy is to eliminate the country and establishment’s points of strength and to get issues that remind the people of the Revolution, pure and revolutionary Islam fade into oblivion,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

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Underlining that the ultimate goal of the apparently pro-change and transformation statements by the Arrogant Powers is to turn Islamic democracy into one-man and submissive government or one that is superficially democratic but is submissive to the West in practice, he said, “In everything they do, they seek to politically and economically dominate Iran and plunder it.”

The Leader considered “the strong and firm internal foundation of the Iranian nation” as one of the country’s prominent points of strength. “This intrinsic firmness and strength stems from the people’s faith because even those of individuals who apparently do not fully practice some of Islam’s laws, they do believe in God, the Qur’an, and the [Twelve] Imams,” he added.

In explaining the overt indications for the internal cohesion and strength of the Iranian nation, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to “the overcoming by the nation over the cycle of the enemy’s consecutive and decades-long hostilities of the world’s Arrogant Powers.” He further stated, “Which country and revolution do you know that has been able to resist the blows of the world’s most powerful countries? The Iranian nation has stood firmly against a long chain of the enemy’s schemes, including coup attempts, sanctions, and media assaults.”

Supreme Leader considered “coups, political pressures, unprecedented media assault, security conspiracies, and unprecedented economic sanctions” as being dimensions of the enemies’ nonstop conspiracies. “During recent unrest, US president and heads of states of certain European countries openly offered weapons, and financial and security support to rioters to at least weaken the Islamic Republic. But what happened was the opposite,” he said.

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The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described making progress under economic siege and the most severe pressures possible as indicative of the Iranian nation’s bright performance. He stated that the US said the economic pressures they’ve put on Iran are unprecedented in history. Despite all their lies, they were true on this.

Supreme Leader highlighted the progress made in science and technology and Iran ranking among the top countries of the world in fields such as Nano and Biotechnology, health, aerospace, nuclear, defense, infrastructure, medical centers, oil refineries, etc. “With regard to foreign relations, the West’s efforts to isolate Iran have failed,” he said.

The Leader added, “Our relations with Asia became 100 percent stronger and we will continue to do so.” Referring to Iran’s membership in important treaties, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the strengthening of ties with Africa and Latin America is one of the definite plans. “We haven’t refused to have any relations with Europe. We are ready to work with any European country or government that does not blindfoldedly follow US polices,” the Leader said.

In this regard, Leader emphasized that dependence on the US dollar is one of the problems the country’s economy is suffering from. He continued, “Some of the sanctioned countries put an end to their dependence on the US dollar and their situation got better. We know certain countries, which I won’t name, that have been heavily sanctioned by the West. Their link to SWIFT, which is a Western-led international mechanism, was cut. They then put aside the US dollar and conducted transactions and imported and exported with national currencies, and their situation got better. We should do the same thing.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also underlined the need for raising awareness among the people regarding hybrid warfare and the enemy’s policies in this regard. “There is no military attack in hybrid warfare. But foreign propagandists and their followers in the country attack the political and religious beliefs of the people with temptation so that they undermine the nation’s will, sow despair among the youth, and make them disappointed at the future, work, and progress by fudging the facts,” he said.

He further said, “In a hybrid warfare, the enemy uses the media and cultural, security, and economic elements as well as its influence to bring blockades against the nation, to cause despondency, and to cause a people to ignore their own potential.”

Dismissing the allegations of the ill-wishers, Leader noted, “It’s been years that the enemy vociferously asserts that they want to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees. But the Leader says in response that ‘You can’t do a damn thing.’ This is not a repetition but perseverance.”

Emphasizing Iran’s support for the Axis of Resistance, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution rejected the lie that Iran is involved in the Ukraine war. “We categorically deny any presence in the Ukraine war. And such a thing is not true at all,” he said.

The Leader also referred to America’s role in the Ukraine war, stating that America waged the Ukraine war in order to expand NATO to the east and now while the people of Ukraine are in trouble and grappling with problems, America and its weapons manufacturing companies are making the most of this war in terms of profits. And for this reason, they stand in the way of the necessary things to end this war.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also pointed to the Americans’ confusion in the region. “The path and policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran toward the region is clear and we know what we’re doing. But the Americans are confused and desperate because if they stay in the region, like in Afghanistan, they will face the increasing hatred of nations and will be forced to leave the region. And if they leave, they will lose their ambitions. This confusion is indicative of their obvious weakness,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

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Ahmed al-Sharaa

Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbours or to the West.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted.

“Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way,” he said.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the rebel alliance, and was previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organisation. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK, among many others, as it started as a splinter group of al-Qaeda, which it broke away from in 2016.

Sharaa said HTS was not a terrorist group.

They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they considered themselves to be victim of the crimes of the Assad regime.

He denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

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Sharaa said the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.

He said he believed in education for women.

“We’ve had universities in Idlib for more than eight years,” Sharaa said, referring to Syria’s north-western province that has been held by rebels since 2011.

“I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%.”

And when asked whether the consumption of alcohol would be allowed, Sharaa said: “There are many things I just don’t have the right to talk about because they are legal issues.”

He added that there would be a “Syrian committee of legal experts to write a constitution. They will decide. And any ruler or president will have to follow the law”.

Sharaa was relaxed throughout the interview, wearing civilian clothes, and tried to offer reassurance to all those who believe his group has not broken with its extremist past.

Many Syrians do not believe him.

The actions of Syria’s new rulers in the next few months will indicate the kind of country they want Syria to be – and the way they want to rule it.

Syria not threat to world, rebel leader al-Sharaa tells BBC

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Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

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Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

JERUSALEM: Israel said Thursday it struck ports and energy infrastructure it alleges are used by Houthi militants, after intercepting a missile fired by the group.

Israel’s military said it “conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen — including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa, which the Houthis have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military actions.”

The announcement came shortly after Israel said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.

Al-Masira, a media channel belonging to the Houthis, said a series of “aggressive raids” were launched in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.

It reported raids that “targeted two central power plants” in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, while in Hodeidah it said “the enemy launched four aggressive raids targeting the port… and two raids targeting” an oil facility.

The strikes were the second time this week that Israel’s military has intercepted a missile from Yemen.

On Monday, the Houthis claimed a missile launch they said was aimed at “a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Yaffa” — a reference to Israel’s Tel Aviv area.

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Also Monday, an Israeli navy missile boat intercepted a drone in the Mediterranean after it was launched from Yemen, the military said.

The Houthi militants have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and pledged Monday to continue operations “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”

On December 9, a drone claimed by Houthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.

In July, a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets by United States and sometimes British forces.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the group had become a “global threat,” pointing to Iran’s support for the militants.

“We will continue to act against anyone, anyone in the Middle East, that threatens the state of Israel,” he said.

 

Israel hits ports, energy sites in Yemen after missile intercepted

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Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

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A Palestinian boy looks as others inspect the damage at a tent camp sheltering displaced people, following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Al-Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2024. (Reuters)

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

CAIRO: The United States, joined by Arab mediators, sought on Wednesday to conclude an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt the 14-month-old war in the Gaza Strip where medics said Israeli strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians overnight.

A Palestinian official close to the negotiations said on Wednesday that mediators had narrowed gaps on most of the agreement’s clauses. He said Israel had introduced conditions which Hamas rejected but would not elaborate.

On Tuesday, sources close to the talks in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, said an agreement could be signed in coming days on a ceasefire and a release of hostages held in Gaza in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people in a house in the northern town of Beit Lahiya while six were killed in separate airstrikes in Gaza City, Nuseirat camp in central areas, and Rafah near the border with Egypt.

In Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said four people were killed in an airstrike on a house. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military spokesman.

Israeli forces have operated in the towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya as well as the nearby Jabalia camp since October, in a campaign the military said aimed to prevent Hamas militants from regrouping.

Palestinians accuse Israel of carrying out acts of “ethnic cleansing” to depopulate the northern edge of the enclave to create a buffer zone. Israel denies it.

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Hamas does not disclose its casualties, and the Palestinian health ministry does not distinguish in its daily death toll between combatants and non-combatants.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it struck a number of Hamas militants planning an imminent attack against Israeli forces operating in Jabalia.

Later on Wednesday, Muhammad Saleh, director of Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, said Israeli shelling in the vicinity damaged the facility, wounding seven medics and one patient inside the hospital.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

In the Central Gaza camp of Bureij, Palestinian families began leaving some districts after the army posted new evacuation orders on X and in written and audio messages to mobile phones of some of the population there, citing new firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from the area.

CEASEFIRE GAINS MOMENTUM

The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, has made intensive efforts in recent days to advance the talks before President Joe Biden leaves office next month.

In Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met Adam Boehler, US President-elect Donald Trump’s designated envoy for hostage affairs. Trump has threatened that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by Jan. 20, the day Trump returns to the White House.

CIA Director William Burns was due in Doha on Wednesday for talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on bridging remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas, other knowledgeable sources said. The CIA declined to comment.

Israeli negotiators were in Doha on Monday looking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal Biden outlined in May.

There have been repeated rounds of talks over the past year, all of which have failed, with Israel insisting on retaining a military presence in Gaza and Hamas refusing to release hostages until the troops pulled out.

The war in Gaza, triggered by a Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw more than 250 abducted as hostages, has sent shockwaves across the Middle East and left Israel isolated internationally.

Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins.

 

Gaza mediators intensify ceasefire efforts, Israeli strikes kill 20 people

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