Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz has been on a month-long tour visiting Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, China, the Maldives, and Jordan. The trip is important because King Salman is reinforcing the relations between these countries with the aim of achieving Vision2030 – Saudi Arabia’s Vision for the future.
The United States pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, so now Saudi leaders are leaning towards Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
A joint statement has been sent to the current session of the Human Rights Council by six human rights organisations regarding justice for the summer of 1988 massacre of political prisoners by the Iranian regime.
During that summer, more than 30,000 political prisoners (most of whom were members or activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – PMOI / MEK, were killed by the Iranian regime on the orders of the then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini who had issued a fatwa.
There have been many discussions in Washington about the possible designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation. Many officials are for the designation, but lobbies of the Iranian regime have been trying to influence against this decision, citing many disastrous consequences.
The IRGC could be designated in one of two ways: Firstly, President Trump can issue (and cancel) an executive order or Congress can pass a bill.
Iran has test-fired several more ballistic missiles just three weeks after it was put “on notice” by the United States. Washington declared that Iran was being put on notice because Iran blatantly disregarded the terms of the nuclear deal and a UN Security resolution.
In 2015, the nuclear deal was struck between Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia. The purpose of the deal was to show Iran’s commitment to reducing the nuclear programme it was sitting on in exchange for international sanctions being lifted.
Why did Iran carry out ballistic missile testing in January despite the terms of the Iran nuclear deal and despite United Nations Security Council resolutions? The most obvious answer is that Iran was testing the resolve of the new US President and seeing how he would react.
President Trump, even before he took office, spoke very negatively about the Iranian regime, its aggressive and provocative behaviour and its spread of terrorism. He called the nuclear deal the “worst” he had seen and said he would scrap it.
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that Iran’s economy is in great danger because of the uncertainly with regards to the sanctions it is now subject to. Its unstable relations with the United States also pose a risk to the economy.
The sanctions referred to are the sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump at the beginning of February. Twenty-five individuals and entities with links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the country’s ballistic missile program were sanctioned.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recently renewed Khomeini’s fatwa for the assassination of writer Salman Rushdie. The fatwa was initially issued 27 years ago by the first Supreme Leader of Iran following the publication of Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses”. The reward was raised to approximately $300,000 USD.
Regarding the fatwa that forced the writer into hiding, Khomeini declared: “I am afraid that in ten years time this decree would be set aside for diplomatic concerns”.
A naval commander confirmed that Iran is carrying out naval drills in the Indian Ocean and at the mouth of the Gulf.
This news comes just as tensions are rising between the Trump administration and Iran.
President Trump has vowed to be tough with Iran and has warned the Islamic Republic that its provocations will not be tolerated. He put Iran “on notice” after its test-firing of a ballistic missile at the end of January.
A Palestinian terrorist group in Lebanon, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has announced that there should be an “all-out war” with Jordan and Israel. He said that Iranian fighters would battle to “liberate Palestine”.
The leader of the group, Ahmad Jibril, said last week: “I want to see the revolutionary fighters from [Iran] in the Galilee.” He said that “an axis of resistance” should be put into place against Israel and Iraq, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah should be involved in that effort.
The Friday Prayer leaders of Mashhad and Tehran said last Friday that the Palestine issue is high on the Iranian regime’s list of priorities despite the major problems caused by the flood and dust crisis.
Ahmad Alamolhoda of Masshad’s Friday Prayer group said: “The people of Khuzestan sacrificed their lives and were martyred under the mortar and rocket attacks launched by these infidels. Why should we stop displaying such authority due to the water and electricity outage of Khuzestan? Shouldn’t we show our power?”
