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Iran-based Afghans hold pro, anti-Taliban rallies

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The pro-Taliban group held a rally outside the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The Afghans supporting Ahmad Massoud, head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, gathered outside the Pakistani consulate in Mashhad and chanted slogans in support of him.

The protesters were dispersed by Iranian police as the rallies were not authorized.

Taliban forces have been trying hard over the past days to take full control of the Panjshir valley north of Kabul where Ahmad Massoud and his forces have been fighting back.

Some reports say Pakistan supported the military operation to take Panjshir. Islamabad has denied any involvement.

Venezuela govt., opposition narrow differences at Mexico talks

By
IFP Media Wire
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The government and opposition delegates have been in Mexico’s capital for three days of talks over Venezuela’s political crisis.

The negotiations come after over two years of pressure to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro. His opponents label him a dictator who rigged his 2018 reelection, and accuse him of a crackdown on dissent.

But unlike previous failed attempts, the talks in Mexico have included other parties, including Norway — which led the talks — as well as the Netherlands, Russia, Bolivia and Turkey.

In a joint statement, Venezuela’s government and the opposition stated they agreed to “establish mechanisms for the restoration and achievement of resources to meet the social needs of the population with special emphasis on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The statement, however, did not specify what might be done, and indicated the country would be relying on help from multilateral organizations.

The parties added that Venezuela’s justice system would top the agenda of their next round of negotiations.

“We have a long way to go, we have a lot of work to do, we have many issues to discuss, but today we have shown […] that we can say the hardest things to ourselves,” noted Jorge Rodriguez, president of the Venezuelan Congress and the leader of Maduro’s negotiating team.

Representatives from both sides will return to the table in Mexico at the end of the month after the “early agreements” reached this round, Rodriguez said.

Maduro took to Twitter to call the talks “a success for Venezuelans”.

The Venezuelan president repeated calls for the United States and Europe to lift sanctions imposed on Venezuelan officials and institutions.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has announced it is willing to ease the sanctions if “meaningful progress” in opposition negotiations is made.

The opposition has called for humanitarian aid and demanded the release of supporters it considers political prisoners, as well as guaranteed regional elections in November.

“We will continue to advance in achieving a comprehensive agreement that allows the recovery of democracy in Venezuela through free and fair elections,” stated Juan Guaido, the opposition leader supported by Washington.

Venezuela’s opposition coalition recently announced that it would participate in the upcoming vote — which was seen as one of the first results of the process.

Despite optimistic statements from both sides, Maduro continued to lash out at Guaido over the weekend for his attempt to claim power in 2019.

“There is not going to be impunity here, neither in Mexico nor on Mars,” Maduro said Sunday, adding, “There has to be justice, severe justice.”

Source: Deutsche Welle

Hundreds of militants lay down arms in Syria’s Dara’a

By
IFP Media Wire
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HAMA PROVINCE, SYRIA. MAY 6, 2016. A former Syrian opposition fighter (R) hands in arms in a camp for internally displaced people. Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS (Photo by Anton NovoderezhkinTASS via Getty Images)

“430 militants and 24 soldiers who had violated the service order in Dara’a Al-Balad [Central neighborhood of Dara’a] agreed to regulate their status and handed over 105 pieces of weapons at a reconciliation center in Dara’a Al-Balad,” the source stated.

The new truce agreement between the armed groups and the authorities was signed on Sunday with the mediation of Russia.

The militants began to arrive at the reconciliation center from 10:00 local time, the deadline set by the Syrian authorities for militias to accept the ceasefire conditions. Otherwise, the Syrian Army would resume military operations.

On August 14, the Syrian authorities and militants reached a truce agreement. The militants were obliged to hand over their weapons, with the government forces due to install checkpoints in nine Dara’a Al-Balad districts. All militants who refused to lay down weapons were to leave the province by buses provided by the authorities.

Last week, armed groups in Dara’a violated the agreement, refusing to hand over heavy weapons after the authorities provided them with 40 buses to depart for the North of Syria or Jordan.

Some 290 militants had agreed to lay down weapons and regulate their social status before the truce violation. On August 31, militants attacked state institutions and troops in Dara’a, killing four soldiers and wounding eight more.

Russia: US efforts to stop Nord Stream 2 failed, pipeline to be completed soon

By
IFP Media Wire
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Speaking at a meeting in St. Petersburg on Monday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that final preparations are being made on the underwater link, which will connect the gas fields of Siberia to consumers in Western Europe.

“It will be completed in a few days and will begin working,” he added.

According to him, efforts by the US government to sink the pipeline now have no chance of success, despite the introduction of new sanctions in recent days.

“There is still a full-frontal attack, in spite of everything, on Nord Stream 2,” he said, despite the fact “everyone knows the Americans have realized [it will be completed.]”

Lavrov’s comments came as Russia’s state energy firm Gazprom announced that the final pipe of Nord Stream 2’s second string was being welded into place.

“The next step will be to connect the section of the gas pipeline from the coast of Germany,” the company behind the project stated.

Last month, US President Joe Biden signed into force a new package of sanctions aimed at companies involved in the construction. In a letter sent to Congress, the White House said that “certain Russian energy pipeline projects” would expand Russia’s influence in the region and weaken “Ukraine and Eastern flank NATO and EU countries”, thereby threatening “the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States”.

The news came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both countries have continued to back the scheme despite opposition from the US, and Biden had previously acknowledged that work on the gas link was at an advanced stage. Shortly after taking office, he noted that “to go ahead and impose sanctions now, I think is counterproductive in terms of our European relations”.

The month before, American and German officials reached a deal to allow the construction to go ahead in exchange for commitments from Berlin to support sanctions against Moscow if it shows “aggression” toward Ukraine. Kiev has warned that it could stand to lose billions of dollars in gas transit fees each year if Moscow turns off the taps on its Soviet-built overland network of pipelines after the completion of Nord Stream 2.

Source: RT

Raisi calls for leap in Iran’s non-oil exports

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Boosting Exports to Kuwait as COVID-19 Restrictions Eased

“Government bodies should change their approach in different economic fields, especially in the production of food and medicine, from import-oriented to domestic production of goods, and expand non-oil exports,” Raisi said during a session of his administration’s economic coordination task force on Tuesday.

The economic task force also reviewed trade and currency policies pertinent to expansion of exports and management of imports.

During the session, the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance were tasked with planning and taking necessary measure to remove obstacles in the way of domestic production.

The task force also agreed to review Iran’s import policies to prevent the import of goods that are being made inside the country.

According to Iran’s Customs Administration, non-oil exports stood at 45.5 million tons valued at $17.661 billion during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22).

Massoud source: Panshir valley under resistance control

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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He added that the Taliban initially captured Baghlan and Andarab but later Massoud’s men known as the fighters of the Northern Resistance Front retook control of those areas.

The source also urged the Taliban not to bring people into line through force, adding the crisis in Afghanistan can only be resolved through a free election.

He said if people elect the Taliban, we will congratulate them.

The source added that Islam also says power grabbing is haram, or religiously forbidden.

The Northern Resistance Front’s source criticized Pakistan and the US for supporting the Taliban. He said the US brought the Taliban leader Mullah Baradar and his men with the same plane by which it evacuated its soldiers from Afghanistan.

The source stressed that Pakistan uses the Taliban as a tool to achieve its goals in Afghanistan.

He also referred to Monday’s protests against the Taliban rule in several Afghan cities, adding Afghans want freedom.

Ahmad Massoud is the son of late Ahmad Shah Massoud, the legendary and revered war veteran who played a key role in the fight against the Red Army in the 1980s.

Iran sets record in anti-covid vaccination drive

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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That’s according to official figures released by Iran’s Health Ministry.

So far, 19,982,954 people have received the first jab of the vaccine while 10,355,300 others have been fully inoculated. The total number of vaccinated people is 30,338,254.

Meanwhile, authorities said on Tuesday 635 more people died of Covid over the past 24 hours, pushing the total death toll to 111,892.

The vaccination process in Iran was slow initially but it has now gained steam. Authorities say the entire population will be vaccinated against Covid within the next few months.

BBC Likely Helped Assassination of Panjshir’s Fahim Dashti

By
IFP Media Wire
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Dashti’s death was confirmed by the Panjshir front but there were contradictory reports on the circumstances of his death.

Now there are speculations that point the finger at BBC Persian for helping the attackers locate Dashti’s whereabouts before his killing.

This is about a strange move by the British broadcaster as they aired a live phone interview with Dashti, before his death.

During the interview, the BBC cut Dashti’s image and voice to show his phone number on the monitors. This is said to have helped attackers trace Dashti’s location through his phone number.

According to IRIB, this is an assassination method previously used time and again by Israel against resistance forces in Lebanon and Palestine.

According to the NRF, Dashti, along with a local anti-Taliban commander, was killed in a volley of helicopter and drone strikes that hit Panjshir’s capital Monday.

There are reports that blame the attacks on Pakistan, which is accused of harboring close ties with the Taliban.

Fahim Dashti was a nephew to Abdullah Abdullah, the former Afghan chief executive officer who led the High Council for National Reconciliation. Dashti was a well-known journalist and at some point chaired the country’s National Journalists Association. He was once critically injured in the suicide attack that killed Ahmad Shah Masoud, the iconic military commander, 21 years ago.

Heavy clashes continue in Afghanistan’s Panjshir

By
IFP Media Wire
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“Since Sunday night, the positions of resistance fighters have been attacked by drones, so many of them had to retreat and leave for high-mountain areas. On Monday, intensive clashes continued and they have been underway until now,” a source close to the National Resistance Front (NRF) in the region told TASS on Tuesday.

The source noted that the fighting is also underway in Andarab district in the neighboring Baghlan province.
According to the source, due to the tense situation in the Panjshir Gorge and constant shelling on the part of the Taliban “the majority of local residents left their homes and went high into the mountains”.

Additionally, the source confirmed information that the Taliban made public earlier that the movement managed to capture the office of the region’s governor as well as the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001), the father of Ahmad Massoud who leads the armed resistance in the province.

On Monday, Taliban Spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid reported that Panjshir was completely controlled by the Taliban and the war on Afghanistan’s territory was over.
In his turn, Ahmad Massoud announced that the resistance to the radicals continues, urging all Afghanistan’s citizens to join the national uprising.

Representative of the resistance fighters Ali Maisam Nazary specified later that the resistance is adopting the guerilla war tactics.

After the Joe Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long 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 announced that, in the absence of the head of state, the constitution empowered him to become the caretaker president and urged the Afghan people to join the resistance against the Taliban.

UK Labour leader slams PM’s handling of Afghanistan withdrawal

By
IFP Media Wire
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a virtual press conference at Downing Street, London, following the announcement that the legal limit on social gatherings is set to be reduced from 30 people to six. The change in the law in England will come into force on Monday as the Government seeks to curb the rise in coronavirus cases. PA Photo. Picture date: Wednesday September 9, 2020. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus . Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Johnson has been accused by of being “incapable of international leadership”, as he described people eligible for evacuation left behind in Afghanistan as a “national disgrace”.

The labour leader’s remarks came as the prime minister defended the 20-year intervention in the region, insisting the armed forces enabled millions of girls to go to school while protecting the UK from terrorism.

Speaking after Johnson provided an update to MPs, Starmer claimed the government did not have a plan for to “get everybody out” of the country, who remain eligible for sanctuary in Britain, following the closure of Kabul international airport last week.

“There is no international agreement on resettlement of Afghan refugees,” the labour leader said, adding, “We have a prime minister incapable of international leadership, just when we need it most”.

He noted, “History will tell the tale of Operation Pitting as on of immense bravery. We are proud of all those who contributed, their story made even more remarkable by the fact whilst they were saving lives political leadership was missing in action”.

The Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who also chairs the Commons Defense Committee, stated that the limits of UK and Western influence had been “exposed” by the crisis in Afghanistan.

“There’s now a void of leadership in the West and NATO,” he continued, insisting the government needed a “complete overhaul of Whitehall to upgrade our strategic thinking” and foreign policy if Britain wanted to fill the void.

During the debate on Monday, Johnson also told Theresa May — his predecessor in No 10 — that the government had “no direct information as yet” over any increase to the UK’s terror threat following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban insurgency.

In his update, the prime minister said 15,000 people were brought to safety during the evacuation, but revealed 311 people eligible to come to the UK through a special resettlement scheme remain in Afghanistan.

He stated of those people, 192 had responded to calls, adding, “We will do absolutely everything we can to ensure that those people get the safe passage that they deserve using the levers that I have described”.

Referring to the imminent 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Johnson told MPs, “If anyone is still tempted to say that we have achieved nothing in that country in twenty years, tell them that our armed forces and those of our allies enabled 3.6 million girls to go to school.”

“Tell them that this country and the Western world were protected from Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan throughout that period; and tell them we have just mounted the biggest humanitarian airlift in recent history.”

Source: The Independent

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