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☆ Iran Says 17-Hour Battle With Separatists Leaves 28 Dead in 2 Cities
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | Leily Nikounazar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

State television broadcast footage of gunmen running in the streets of Sistan Baluchestan Province as loud explosions from rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire rocked the two cities, and large plumes of smoke billowed into the air. Jaish al-Adl, a separatist ethnic Baluch group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Iran’s deputy interior minister, Majid Mirahmadi, said on state television that the fighting had raged for hours, from 10 p.m. Wednesday to 3 p.m. the next day. The gunmen entered homes, taking civilians hostage to use as human shields, but security forces released them, he said. The militants wore vests with explosives, and several blew themselves up during the fighting, he added.

Persons: Jaish, Majid Mirahmadi Organizations: Ministry of Interior, ., Adl, Baluch Locations: Sistan Baluchestan Province, United States

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister will visit Pakistan next week, the two countries said Monday, following unprecedented attacks on either side of the border last week that appeared to target Baluch militant groups with similar separatist goals. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said that Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian spoke to Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani to defuse the flare-up. Pakistan said in a statement Amirabdollahian that would visit the country on Jan. 29. The statement also said that the two foreign ministers agreed that the ambassadors from both countries could return to their posts by Jan. 26. Pakistan recalled its ambassador amid the brief crisis and stopped Iran’s envoy from returning to his post.

Persons: —, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Jan Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Iran, Iran's

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Pakistan and Iran have both conducted strikes on each other’s territories in an unprecedented escalation of hostilities between the neighbors, at a time when tensions have risen sharply across the Middle East and beyond. Iran claimed it had “only targeted Iranian terrorists on the soil of Pakistan” and that no Pakistani nationals were targeted. In 2015, the group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed eight Iranian border guards, with militants reportedly crossing into Iran from Pakistan. Iran’s strikes on Tuesday sparked a diplomatic spat, with Pakistan recalling its ambassador from Iran and suspending all high-level visits from its neighbor. And after Pakistan’s strikes, Iran on Thursday demanded “an immediate explanation” from its neighbor, Tasmin reported.

Persons: Islam –, hideouts, Jaish al, ”, Karim Sadjadpour, Wesley Clark, “, Jaish, CNN What’s, Tasmin, Matt Miller, Washington, “ We’ve, –, Miller, ” Pakistan’s Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Adl, Justice, Iran’s, Carnegie Endowment, International, US Army, CNN, Hamas, US, National Counterterrorism Center, US State Department, US State, Pakistan – Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan CNN — Pakistan, Iran, Balochistan, Sistan, Baluchestan, restive Baloch, Gaza, Here’s, Pakistan’s Balochistan, Iran’s, Iran’s Sistan, Baluchestan province, Islam, ”, United States, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Yemen, Red, NATO, Afghanistan, Tehran, Pakistan’s, Iranian, India, ” China

Thursday's attack followed one by Iran inside Pakistan on Tuesday. The strikes imperiled diplomatic relations between Islamabad and Tehran, as Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks. Iran has seen growing pressure for action after the Islamic State group attack, Israel's war on Hamas and wider unrest against its theocracy. Iran and Pakistan share a 900-kilometer (560-mile), largely lawless border in which smugglers and militants freely cross. For both Iran and Pakistan, the cross-border attacks renew questions about their own military preparedness, particularly their radar and air defense systems.

Persons: ”, Ali Reza Marhamati, Pakistan's, “, Jundallah, Jaish, Abdullah Khan, ” There's, Mao Ning, ___ Gambrell, Riazat Butt, Nasser Karimi, Liu Zheng Organizations: Hamas, Islamic, Ministry, Baluch Liberation Army, Baluch, Adl, Islamic State, Pakistan Institute for Conflict, Security Studies, Baloch, Foreign Ministry, Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Iran, Pakistan, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Islamic State, Islamabad, Tehran, Iran’s Sistan, Baluchestan, Saravan, Baluchistan, United States, Israel, Pakistan’s Baluchistan, Sistan, Chabahar, Afghanistan, India, U.S, French, China, Beijing, Pakistan's Baluchistan, Jerusalem

☆ Israel-Hamas War Fighting Eases in Northern Gaza, Giving Residents Some Relief
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Adam Rasgon | Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the country’s forces had conducted “precision military strikes” against what it called terrorist hide-outs in southeastern Iran. Iranian officials said that nine people had been killed, including four children, and Pakistani officials said the death toll of the Iranian strikes included at least two children. The official said that air force fighter jets and drones had been used in the Pakistani retaliatory strikes. In a statement, the Pakistani military called the two neighbors “brotherly countries” and said that “dialogue and cooperation is deemed prudent in resolving bilateral issues” between them. Pakistani military analysts were hopeful that this could pave the way for diplomatic dialogue between the two nations.

Persons: Islamic Republic “, ”, Ahmad Vahidi, Sohail Shahzad, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Syed Muhammad Ali, Waqar Hasan, Arash Khamooshi, Baluch, al, Vivian Nereim Organizations: Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry, Iran Exchange, Foreign Ministry, Islamic, Islamabad ”, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian, Credit, Pakistan, The New York Times Pakistan, Guards Locations: Pakistan, Iran, Baluch, Iraq, Islamic Republic, Saravan, Tehran, Islamabad, Rask, Israel, Gaza, Balochistan Province, Yemen, Suez, United States, Pakistani, “ Pakistan, Baluchistan Province, Sistan, Persian, Oman, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD (AP) — This week's airstrikes between Iran and Pakistan that killed at least 11 people marks a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors. Pakistan said its strikes in Iran on Thursday were aimed at hideouts of the Baluchistan Liberation Army and the Baluchistan Liberation Front. The drill will include live fire from aircraft, drones and air defense systems. Separately, Iran relies on radar and air defense systems in the case of potential strikes by its main enemy, the United States. However, the airstrikes could backfire on Pakistan because the Baluch Liberation Army said it will avenge the killings and wage war on the state.

Persons: Iran's, ”, Abdullah Khan Organizations: Adl, Baluch Liberation Army, Baluchistan Liberation Army, Pakistan Institute for Conflict, Security Studies Locations: ISLAMABAD, Iran, Pakistan, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Delhi, Tehran, Islamabad, Chabahar, Iraq, India, United States, IRAN, PAKISTAN, Israel, U.S

☆ Pakistan Retaliates With Strikes Inside Iran as Tensions Spill Over
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Salman Masood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In an expansion of hostilities rippling out from the Israel-Hamas war, Pakistan said on Thursday that it had carried out strikes inside Iran. The military action came a day after Iranian forces attacked what they said were militant camps in Pakistan. The Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the country’s forces had conducted “precision military strikes” against what it called terrorist hide-outs in southeastern Iran. A senior Pakistani security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Pakistan had struck at least seven camps used by Baluch separatists about 30 miles inside the border. The official said that air force fighter jets and drones were used in the Pakistani retaliatory strikes.

Organizations: Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry, Baluch Locations: Israel, Pakistan, Iran

☆ Iran protesters mark anniversary of bloody crackdown in southeast
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Protesters faced off with security forces in Iran's restive southeast on Friday to mark the anniversary of a Sept. 30, 2022, crackdown by security forces known as "Bloody Friday", according to rights groups and social media videos. IHR and the Baluch rights group Hal Vash said at least 23 people had been injured. The semi-official news agency Tasnim said police had used tear gas to disperse "a few people who had gathered and were throwing rocks at security forces". In the Sept. 30 crackdown, security forces killed at least 66 people, according to Amnesty International. Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran's most prominent Sunni cleric and a long-time critic of Tehran's Shi'ite leaders, demanded justice for the victims of the Sept. 30 crackdown.

Persons: Hal Vash, IRNA, Tasnim, Abdolhamid, Zahedan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Protesters, Iran Human, Baluch, Reuters, Amnesty International, Authorities, Dubai, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran's restive, Iran, Zahedan, Sistan, Baluchistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kurdish, Islamic Republic

CNN —Dissident Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, arrested last October for supporting the protest movement in Iran last year, has been sentenced to six years and three months in prison, his official Twitter page said Monday. “Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison, and after 252 days of solitary confinement, transferred to the general section of the prison,” the tweet said. Salehi was arrested in October last year during protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini. Toomaj/Youtube“Your Toomaj, Iran’s Toomaj, the world’s Toomaj, and our Toomaj was unjustly imprisoned for six and a half years. When nationwide protests started in mid-September last year, Salehi called for Iranians to protest against the government.

Persons: Toomaj Salehi, “ Toomaj Salehi, IRNA, Reza Etemad Ansari, “, ” Ansari, Shargh, ” Salehi’s, Iqbal Iqbali, Salehi, Mahsa, Iran’s Toomaj, ” Iqbali, ” Salehi, ”, jang Organizations: CNN, Dissident, Twitter, Iranian, Kurd Locations: Iran, Sistani

☆ One officer killed in attack on police station in restive Iran province
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, July 8 (Reuters) - At least one policeman was killed as unidentified gunmen and suicide bombers attacked a police station in Iran's restive southeast on Saturday, Iranian state media reported. The official news agency IRNA quoted a prosecutor in Zahedan, capital of the Sistan-Baluchistan province, as saying that shooting continued at the police station. State television said two attackers had detonated their explosive belts entrance of the station and a third had gone inside. Alireza Marhemati, a top provincial security official, denied suicide bombers were involved. Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: IRNA, Alireza, Kim Coghill, Alison Williams Organizations: Dubai, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran's restive, Saturday, Zahedan, Sistan, Baluchistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan

☆ Iran hangs Swedish-Iranian linked to attack that killed 25 people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, May 6 (Reuters) - Iran executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident on Saturday convicted of leading an Arab separatist group accused of attacks including one on a military parade in 2018 that killed 25 people, state television reported. Habib Farajollah Chaab had been sentenced to death for being "corrupt on earth", a capital offence under Iran’s strict Islamic laws. Iran said in 2020 that its security forces detained Chaab in neighbouring Turkey and took him to Tehran, without giving details of his capture. Arabs and other minorities have long complained of facing discrimination in Iran, an accusation Tehran denies. Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran hangs Swedish-Iranian convicted over attack that killed 25 people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 6 (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident convicted of leading an Arab separatist group accused of attacks including one on a military parade in 2018 that killed 25 people, the Iranian judiciary said. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom reacted with "dismay" to Chaab's execution, saying Sweden had pleaded with Iran not to carry it out. Iran said in 2020 that its security forces detained Chaab in neighbouring Turkey and took him to Tehran, without giving details of his capture. Iran has had tense relations with its ethnic minorities, which include Arabs, Kurds, Azeris and Baluch, and has accused them of aligning with neighbouring countries. Arabs and other minorities have long complained of facing discrimination in Iran, an accusation Tehran denies.

☆ The Amex Centurion 'black' card has a $5,000 annual fee and a long list of luxury perks, but you can get many of the same benefits with the Amex Platinum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Anna Baluch | Angela Fung | Sarah Silbert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

It makes premium credit cards like the Platinum Card ($695 annual fee) and the Amex Business Platinum Card ($695) look downright affordable. Benefits of the Amex Centurion black cardThe Amex Centurion card isn't just a status symbol; it has some great perks, including some unique benefits like complimentary Delta elite status that you won't find on other cards. The Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card offer status with Hilton and Marriott**, but not with IHG and Relais & Châteaux. Unsurprisingly, there's no comparable benefit on the Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card cards**. Once again, the Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card also offer concierge services.

☆ Pakistan army says 'terrorists' from Iran side kill four soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (Reuters) - Pakistan's army said on Saturday that attackers from Iran killed four of its border patrol soldiers. "A group of terrorists operating from Iranian side attacked a routine border patrol of Pakistani security forces operating along Pakistan-Iran Border," the army said in a statement. The incident took place in Kech district in southwestern Baluchistan province, which shares a long lawless border with Afghanistan and Iran. The army said Pakistani authorities were making contact with Iran to seek ways of preventing such incidents in future. The Baluch groups operate on both side of the border.

☆ Iran upholds death sentence of Swedish-Iranian Arab dissident
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Chaab was sentenced to death after several court sessions with the presence of his lawyer ... The Supreme Court confirmed his death sentence," Iran's judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. He was sentenced to death for being "corrupt on earth", a capital offence under Iran’s strict form of Islamic law, Iranian state media said. Arabs and other minorities have long said they face discrimination in Iran, a charge the Islamic Republic denies. Iran has rejected former Iranian official Hamid Noury's sentence as "baseless, distorted and fabricated".

☆ Top Iranian Sunni cleric says torture of protesters un-Islamic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A top dissident Iranian Sunni cleric on Friday denounced as un-Islamic Iran's alleged use of forced confessions to convict detained protesters, as weekly demonstrations continued in the county's southeast. Meanwhile, the authorities' crackdown following nationwide protests continued with arrests, including that of a celebrity chef and a prominent journalist. "If someone does not accept the accusation, they torture him to accept it. After the sermon, demonstrators marched in Zahedan, chanting "Death to the Islamic Republic", according to videos posted on social media. Officials are yet to announce the reasons for the detention of Beik, who had interviewed relatives of arrested protesters.

☆ Marchers in southeast Iran denounce top leader in renewed protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

protesters chanted in reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a social media video said to be from Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province. The impoverished province is home to Iran's Baluch minority of up to 2 million people, who human rights groups say have faced discrimination and repression for decades. Separately, a rights group said at least 100 detained protesters in Iran faced possible death sentences. This is a minimum as most families are under pressure to stay quiet, the real number is believed to be much higher," the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said on its website. Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by Hugh Lawson and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Prominent Sunni cleric denounces Iran crackdown, currency near record low
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] People take part in a protest against the Islamic regime of Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Istanbul, Turkey December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dilara SenkayaDUBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Iran's currency hovered near a historic low against the U.S. dollar on the unofficial foreign exchange market on Friday amid renewed street protests in the restive southeast, where a prominent dissident Sunni Muslim cleric denounced a bloody crackdown on street demonstrations. Some of the worst unrest in recent months has been in areas home to minority ethnic groups with long-standing grievances against the state, including Sistan-Baluchistan and Kurdish regions. On the unofficial foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar sold for as much as 400,500 rials on Friday, slightly down from an all-time high of 401,000 on Thursday, according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. State officials have said up to 300 have been killed, including members of the security forces.

☆ Iran's Raisi promises to pursue crackdown on protesters; cleric critical of execution
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Molavi Abdolhamid, a Sunni cleric in the Shi'ite-ruled Islamic Republic, criticized the death sentence, according to his website. Human rights groups said Shekari was tortured and forced to confess. In Geneva, U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk called the execution “very troubling and clearly designed to send a chilling effect to the rest of the protesters." Britain announced sanctions on Friday against 30 people worldwide, including officials from Russia, Iran and Myanmar it deems responsible for human rights abuses or corruption. Molavi Abdolhamid made his critical comments from Zahedan, the capital of restive Sistan-Baluchistan province, home to Iran's Baluch minority who have faced discrimination and repression for decades, according to human rights groups.

☆ Iran state body reports 200 dead in protests, Raisi hails 'freedoms'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A top state security body meanwhile said that 200 people, including members of the security forces, had lost their lives in the unrest, a figure significantly lower than that given by the world body and rights groups. Amirali Hajizadeh, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander was quoted as saying on Monday that 300 people, including security force members, had been killed in the recent unrest. Javaid Rehman, a U.N.-appointed independent expert on Iran, said on Tuesday that more than 300 people had been killed in the protests, including more than 40 children. Rights group HRANA said that as of Friday 469 protesters had been killed, including 64 minors. "The people's protest has shown that the policies of the last 43 years have reached a dead end," he said in late November.

☆ U.N. rights council votes to probe Iran's ongoing crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSGENEVA/DUBAI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. Rights Council voted on Thursday to appoint an independent investigation into Iran's deadly repression of protests, passing the motion to cheers of activists amid an intensifying crackdown in Kurdish areas over recent days. Tehran's representative at the Geneva meeting Khadijeh Karimi earlier accused Western states of using the council to target Iran, a move she called "appalling and disgraceful". CRACKDOWNThe crackdown has been particularly intense in Kurdish areas, located in western Iran, with the U.N. rights monitor this week noting reports of 40 deaths there over the past week. Iranian authorities have arrested a number of soccer players for expressing their support for protests. Asked on Thursday about the unrest at home Iran national team striker Mehdi Taremi said they were in Qatar to play soccer.

☆ Gulf Arab states can’t give up oil. But they can slash their emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Abu Dhabi CNN —As Western states try to wean themselves off their addiction to hydrocarbons, Gulf oil nations have been pushing back hard, warning that a hasty transition away from fossil fuels will be counterproductive. According to the World Bank, Qatar had the highest carbon emissions per capita as of 2019, followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. So, investment in clean energy projects and renewables “makes very good business sense and PR sense for the Gulf,” he said. Gulf petro-states are warning against a quick transition away from hydrocarbons, with the UAE calling for a “mixed energy” approach that minimizes emissions without cutting hydrocarbons. Much of the hydrocarbons exported by Gulf states go to some of the world’s biggest consumers and polluters, including China and India.

☆ Iranians protest nationwide, mark 'Bloody Friday'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Summary Prominent Sunni cleric criticises security forcesUnrest in minority areasGeneral tells clerics to restore calmDUBAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Iranians protested in the restive southeast on Friday to mark a Sept. 30 crackdown by security forces known as "Bloody Friday", as the country's clerical rulers battled nationwide unrest. The region is one of the country’s poorest and has been a hotbed of tension where Iranian security forces have been attacked by Baluch militants. Thirty-nine members of the security forces had also been killed, while nearly 15,100 people have been arrested, it said. They were accused of acts of sabotage, assaulting or killing members of the security forces or setting fire to public property. Several social media videos showed a gathering at Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra cemetery to honour Amir Mehdi Farrokhipour, a 17-year-old allegedly killed by security forces 40 days ago.

☆ Iran's army issues warning to 'rioters' as security forces struggle to suppress unrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

... should he decide to deal with them, rioters will no longer have a place in the country," Brigadier General Kiumars Heydari said. Heydari was speaking 40 days after bloodshed in the mostly Sunni town of Zahedan, which has become a flashpoint in the protests. Authorities in Zahedan sacked the police chief and the head of a police station near where the killings took place. On Wednesday, shopkeepers in some Kurdish cities went on strike to show their respect to the people who were killed in Zahedan, Kurdish rights group Hengaw said. The Basij militia and other security forces have taken tough measures hoping to suppress the unrest but the fury has not eased.

☆ President Raisi says Iran thwarted U.S. destabilisation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As Iranian authorities marked the anniversary this week of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by radical students, President Joe Biden backed the protesters, saying: "We're gonna free Iran. In Syria, mass demonstrations against Iran's ally President Bashar al-Assad were confronted with force and the country spiralled into conflict which continues 11 years on. By contrast, Iranian cities were now "safe and sound", Raisi said, promising retribution for the unrest the country had seen. At least 14,170 people have been arrested, including 392 students, in protests in 136 cities and towns, and 134 universities, it said. The crisis has dragged Iran's currency to new historic lows.

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