Iran says neighbors won’t allow use of their ‘soil or airspace’ for attack

Iran says neighbors won’t allow use of their ‘soil or airspace’ for attack
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that ‘All our neighbors have assured us that they won’t allow their soil or airspace to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran.’ (AFP)
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Updated 22 October 2024
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Iran says neighbors won’t allow use of their ‘soil or airspace’ for attack

Iran says neighbors won’t allow use of their ‘soil or airspace’ for attack
  • Iran’s main envoy makes announcement as Israel weighs a potential retaliatory strike for Tehran’s October 1 missile attack

KUWAIT CITY: Iran’s neighbors have pledged they will not allow the use of their “soil or airspace” for any attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday, as Israel weighs a retaliation for the Islamic republic’s missile strike.
“All our neighbors have assured us that they won’t allow their soil or airspace to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Araghchi told a press conference in Kuwait, weeks after Iran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel.
Before Kuwait, Araghchi was in Bahrain on Monday as part of a regional tour that has also taken him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Egypt and Turkiye.
“We are monitoring closely the movements of American bases in the region and are aware of all their movements and flights,” Araghchi said, adding: “If Israel attacks Iran in any form, Iran will respond in the same format.”
The United States, Israel’s staunch ally, has military resources across the region including in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Araghchi also repeated Iran’s warnings against Israel not to attack its nuclear facilities.
“Attacking nuclear sites is a big international crime; even threatening (to attack) nuclear sites is a crime and against international rights,” he said.
“To defend ourselves and our nuclear sites, we have our own tools and methods, and we count on them,” the minister added.


Syrian girls’ right to schooling unrestricted, new education minister says

Syrian girls’ right to schooling unrestricted, new education minister says
Updated 16 sec ago
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Syrian girls’ right to schooling unrestricted, new education minister says

Syrian girls’ right to schooling unrestricted, new education minister says
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Half of Syria’s schools destroyed or damaged, Qadri says

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Education minister assures girls’ right to education remains unchanged

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New rulers promise equal treatment for all minority groups

DAMASCUS: Syria will remove all references to the former ruling Baath party from its educational system as of next week but will not otherwise change school curricula or restrict the rights of girls to learn, the country’s new education minister said.
“Education is a red line for the Syrian people, more important than food and water,” Nazir Mohammad Al-Qadri said in an interview from his office in Damascus.
“The right to education is not limited to one specific gender. ... There may be more girls in our schools than boys,” he said.
The secular, pan-Arab nationalist Baath Party governed Syria since a 1963 coup d’etat, seeing education as an important tool for instilling life-long loyalty among the young to the country’s authoritarian ruling system.
President Bashar Assad was toppled on Dec. 8 by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist rebel group that some Syrians fear may seek to implement a conservative form of Islamist governance.
But Qadri’s plans reflect their wider management approach and moderate messaging so far.
Syria has long been seen to have one of the Arab world’s strongest education systems, a reputation that has largely survived 13 years of civil war.
Qadri said religion — both Muslim and Christian — will continue to be taught as a subject in school.
Primary schools will remain mixed between boys and girls, while secondary education will stay largely segregated, he said.
“After primary school, there were always schools for females and schools for males. We won’t change that,” said Qadri, who had taken to his ornately-furnished office so recently that he had not yet procured Syria’s new green, white and black flag.
Syria’s new rulers, who have long-since disavowed their former Al-Qaeda links, have said that all of Syria’s minority groups including Kurds, Christians, Druze and Alawites will be treated equal as the new government focuses on rebuilding.
They face a formidable challenge.
Syria remains under tight Western sanctions.
Entire cities were levelled in 13 years of war that Qadri said had also left about half the country’s 18,000 schools damaged or destroyed.
But the rebels have moved into government fast, extending a hand to former state employees who have shown up to work in droves.
Most of the new ministers are young — in their 30s or 40s — making 54-year-old Qadri among the oldest in government.
Born and raised in Damascus, he was imprisoned by the Assad regime in 2008 on what he said were spurious charges of inciting sectarian strife, preventing him from finishing his bachelor’s degree.
He was released a decade later and fled to northern Idlib, then under the control of HTS, becoming education minister in its Salvation Government in 2022.
He is currently finishing his masters thesis in Arabic language.
With the political and social contours of the new Syrian state still being drawn, Qadri said students would not be tested on their mandatory “nationalist studies” — previously a vehicle for teaching Baathism and Assad family history — this year.

Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike

Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike
Updated 19 December 2024
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Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike

Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike

RAMALLAH: The Palestinian health ministry said Thursday that an Israeli air strike on a car killed four Palestinians and wounded three near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.
The ministry announced that the Palestinians were killed “as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp,” which the Israeli army did not immediately confirm to AFP.


Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo

Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo
Updated 19 December 2024
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Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo

Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo
  • Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza

CAIRO: The leaders of Turkiye and Iran were in Egypt on Thursday for a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries, meeting for the first time since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar Assad.
Turkiye historically backed the opposition to Assad, while Iran supported his rule.
The gathering of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as the Developing-8, was being held against a backdrop of regional turmoil including the conflict in Gaza, a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon and unrest in Syria.
In a speech to the summit, Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for unity and reconciliation in Syria, urging “the restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.”
He also voiced hope for “the establishment of a Syria free of terrorism,” where “all religious sects and ethnic groups live side by side in peace.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged action to address the crises in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, saying that it is a “religious, legal and human duty to prevent further harm” to those suffering in these conflict zones.
Pezeshkian, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, is the first Iranian president to visit Egypt since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who visited in 2013.
Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi visited Egypt in October, while his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty traveled to Tehran in July to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Ahead of the summit, the Iranian top diplomat said he hoped it would “send a strong message to the world that the Israeli aggressions and violations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria” would end “immediately.”
Erdogan was in Egypt earlier this year, and discussed with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi economic cooperation as well as regional conflicts.
Established in 1997, the D-8 aims to foster cooperation among member states, spanning regions from Southeast Asia to Africa.
The organization includes Egypt, Turkiye, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia as member states.


Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances

Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances
Updated 19 December 2024
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Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances

Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances

DUBAI: Iraq has begun the process of returning Syrian soldiers to their home country, according to state media reports on Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of joint operations, emphasized the robust security measures in place along Iraq’s borders with Syria.

“Our borders are fortified and completely secure,” he said, declaring that no unauthorized crossings would be permitted.

Muhammadawi said that all border crossings with Syria are under tight control, stating: “We will not allow a terrorist to enter our territory.”


Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’

Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’
Updated 19 December 2024
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Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’

Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’

ISTANBUL: Turkiye will push ahead with its military preparations until Kurdish fighters “disarm,” a defense ministry source said Thursday as the nation faces an ongoing threat along its border with northern Syria.
“Until the PKK/YPG terrorist organization disarms and its foreign fighters leave Syria, our preparations and measures will continue within the scope of the fight against terrorism,” the source said.