Iran’s cabinet chaired by President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi convened on Sunday and gave a vote of confidence to the proposed governor-general of Khuzestan.
Khalilian who is a former agriculture minister holds a PhD in natural resource economics. He replaces Qasem Soleimani Dashtaki.
Khuzestan was in recent months the scene of protests over severe water shortage, triggered by the worst drought in decades.
The Taliban that seized power in Afghanistan have invited a number of countries to take part in an event dedicated to the announcement of the composition of the new Afghan government, the group’s representative whose name was not revealed told the Al-Jazeera TV channel on Monday.
“We have sent invitations to Turkey, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar to take part in the [ceremony] of announcing [the composition of the new Afghan] government,” he said.
The TV channel’s interlocutor also noted that the necessary procedures for the announcement of the composition of the new cabinet had been completed by now. He added that the Taliban would create “a regime that will be accepted by the global community and the Afghan people”.
After the US announced the end of its operation in Afghanistan and the beginning of its troop withdrawal, the Taliban launched an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban militants swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, establishing full control over the country’s capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani claimed he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh reiterated during his weekly briefing on Monday that there is a consensus in Iran’s establishment that talks aimed at ensuring the United States’ full compliance with the JCPOA and the UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the deal will resume.
“The United Sates must come to Vienna with a genuine agenda, and Iran will not wait forever as America uses its illegal sanctions as leverage to pressure the people,” The Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Khatibzadeh said the American side must know that a Trump era mentality will result in nothing but maximum failure, adding that future talks must guarantee Iran’s national interests.
“These negotiations must provide a guarantee that benefits of sanctions removal as stipulated in the JCPOA will be completely ensured,” He added.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that the Vienna talks can quickly produce results if the United States refrains from demanding more or less than what the 2015 nuclear deal requires.
Khatibzadeh also sharply criticized Europe’s inaction in the face of repeated U.S. violations over the past years.
Former U.S President Donald Trump withdrew America from the deal in May 2018 and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran in a bid to force Tehran to renegotiate the nuclear deal, but the Islamic Republic refused to do so and in response rolled back some of it commitments under the JCPOA
Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal namely Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany have held six rounds of talks in Vienna in recent months on a possible return of the United States to the agreement.
Also referring to the ongoing developments in Afghanistan, Khatibzadeh condemned “in the strongest terms” the Taliban attack on Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley in north of Kabul on Sunday night.
He stressed there is only a political solution to the issue of Panjshir Valley which is the last Afghan province holding out against Taliban control.
In response to a question about reports of Pakistani involvement in the Taliban operation against Panjshir, Khatibzadeh said the foreign ministry is looking into these reports and that any foreign intervention in Afghanistan is condemned.
Dating back to the Qajar era, the building has been registered on Iran’s List of National Heritage Sites.
The monument boasts a host of wall paintings, a variety of architectural patterns and Persian miniatures which dates back to the Qajar Dynasty, making the Silk House stand out among ancient structures both in Tabriz and even in the whole country.
Due to the exquisite paintings on the walls of its rooms, the Silk House is known as the most beautiful historical house in Tabriz.
The Silk House, in fact, contains three historical houses constructed on a site measuring more than 1,500 square metres with a superstructure measuring around 4,000 square meters in total.
The wall paintings are inspired by myths and Koranic stories such as the saga of Yousef and Zolaykha as well as other historical accounts.
The paintings on the roofs are a potent and wonderful representation of the Persian miniature.
Wall paintings and murals were among the most popular artworks during the Qajar era.
State broadcaster Kan quoted the Israeli Prisons Service as saying that the detainees tunneled out of the high-security prison.
It added five of the prisoners belonged to the Islamic Jihad Movement, and one was a former commander of the Fatah movement.
Israel’s daily Maariv reported that a police contingent had arrived at the prison, and a security operation was launched.
All the inmates were serving life sentences, according to the Israeli website Walla news.
Haaretz newspaper also reported that the six were cellmates and the tunnel they dug reached dozens of meters in depth.
Hamas Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum noted that “this great victory proves again that the will and determination of our brave soldiers inside the prisons of the enemy cannot be defeated”, according to Reuters.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced he spoke with Israel’s internal security minister and “emphasized that this is a grave incident that requires an across-the-board effort by the security forces” to find the escapees.
Abdulalh Abdulalh made the remarks in a phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
Referring to the dire situation in Afghanistan, Abdulalh urged Iran to dispatch its humanitarian assistance to the country.
He also congratulated Iran’s Foreign Minister on his appointment as the Islamic Republic’s top diplomat.
The two sides agreed on the need to fight the heinous phenomenon of terrorism.
They also discussed the formation of an inclusive government with the participation of all Afghan ethnic groups and factions, reaffirming that only Afghan people should determine their fate.
Reports about Dashti’s death appeared on a resistance Twitter account.
“With the heavy heart we can report that Fahim Dushti, the spokesperson for the Resistance front has been killed by the terrorist Taliban,” the tweet reads.
No further details were given.
Earlier on Sunday, Dashti wrote on his Twitter account that Taliban fighters had been practically driven out of the region.
After the Joe Biden administration announced the end of its US military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces.
On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani claimed he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. Vice President Amrullah Saleh stated that under the constitution, he becomes “the caretaker president” in the absence of the president and called for armed resistance against the Taliban.
The northern province of Panjshir is the only pocket of resistance to the Taliban. It is led by Ahmad Massoud, a son of Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001), a once influential leader of Afghanistan’s Tajik community who fought against the Taliban back in the 1990s.
Source: Khaama Press
“The last stronghold of enemy mercenaries, Panjshir province, is completely captured … The latest efforts to ensure complete security in the country also brought results, and Panjshir province came under the full control of the Islamic Emirate,” Mujahid said on Twitter.
He added that some of the resistance fighters were defeated, while others had fled.
The Taliban assured the people of Panjshir that they would not oppress them.
Panjshir is the stronghold of the National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of late ex-Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, and ex-Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who declared himself caretaker president.
On Sunday, Massoud stated that he was ready to cease fighting and start negotiations if the Taliban abandoned the province.
In early August, the Taliban intensified their offensive against government forces in Afghanistan. The Taliban entered the capital on August 15 and took control of the presidential palace, and on August 16 announced that the war in Afghanistan was over and the form of government in the state would become clear in the near future.
On the night of August 31, the US military left Kabul airport, ending the nearly 20-year American military presence in Afghanistan.
Source: Sputnik
“We’re in touch with all of them who we’ve identified on a regular basis,” Klain said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.
The administration is “hopeful that in the coming days the Qataris will be able to resume air service out of Kabul. If they do, we’re obviously going to look to see if Americans can be part of those flights”, he added.
Klain also stated that the administration, which ended the US military presence in Afghanistan, is “in close communication with our sources and our contacts in Afghanistan to try to get [Afghan] SIVs out safely”, following reports that the majority of applicants for Special Immigrant Visas have been left behind and that some have been targeted by the Taliban.
“I know some are coming out by land,” he continued, adding, “We are continuing to work on efforts to get them out by air as well. We’re going to continue to move those SIVs out of the country.”
The administration is working to resettle those who have already been evacuated from the country too, he noted.
“We launched a historic airlift that brought 124,000 people out of Afghanistan, American citizens, legal permanent residents of this country, residents of other countries, and a lot of Afghan nationals,” he said, adding, “We’re ultimately going to resettle them in Europe and the United States, and that’s a big part of rescuing that SIV population.”
A Taliban official said more work needs to be done before the Kabul airport is fully operational again.
“The airport was destroyed by the Americans,” Sibghatullah Waseel, of the Taliban Information Committee, stated.
“They burned down every part of it, therefore we needed time to repair it. But we predict that within a few days, international fights will be in progress,” he added.
A day after the last American soldier left Afghanistan in late August, Anas Haqqani, a key Taliban member, visited the Kabul airport, and stated the US had deliberately destroyed military equipment including helicopters, military vehicles, and facilities.
“For years they called us destroyers. But now you are witnessing those who are destroyers. They have destroyed our national assets,” Haqqani noted.
The last flight carrying American forces left Kabul in the early hours of Tuesday morning ending 20 years of military presence in the country.
Videos and images shared on social media show that dozens of vehicles, helicopters, military equipment, and facilities at the Kabul Airport have been destroyed.
Earlier reports suggested that the Taliban are upset by the US forces’ destruction of planes, helicopters, and other equipment at the military side of the airport, as they considered the hardware to be an Afghan “national asset”.
On Wednesday, the Taliban invited Al-Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis to visit Kabul international airport following the final withdrawal of US forces.
“Last night their mood was one of joy, celebration, they were shooting in the sky, there were fireworks – they were very happy that the Americans had left,” she said.
“The mood here today is quite different – they are disappointed, they are angry, they say they feel betrayed because all of this equipment is broken beyond repair,” she added.
The Taliban have stated that they hope to reopen the passenger side of the airport to commercial flights in the coming days, which would allow people to leave the country.
“So while the evacuation efforts have finished because the foreign forces have all left, the Taliban say that they are going to stand by their word – which is to allow people to fly out commercially when they get everything operational,” Bellis noted.
The Taliban declared Afghanistan a “free and sovereign” nation as it hailed the exit of US troops after 20 years of occupation, describing their departure as a “historic moment”. Taliban fighters on Tuesday took charge of Kabul’s airport as the last American soldiers flew out of the country.
United States President Joe Biden, in a televised speech, said the US pullout in Afghanistan was the “best decision”, adding that the choice was either to withdraw from the country or escalate the conflict.
“I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit,” Biden stated on Tuesday.
Source: Al-Jazeera
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