MANAMA // Iran's top diplomat to Bahrain has accused the US and the UK of orchestrating the assassination of protesters in Tehran, including that of the nephew of the former presidential contender and opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and the highly publicised death of Neda Agha Sultan.
The ambassador, Hussain Amir Abdullahyan, claimed both were part of a western-led conspiracy to destabilise and overthrow the regime after June's controversial elections.
Mr Abdullahyan, claimed at a press conference in Manama on Monday that investigations carried out by Iranian authorities revealed that groups from Britain and the United States had infiltrated the opposition movement and were carrying out assassinations among the ranks of the opposition during unlawful protests to fuel unrest.
He declined to comment on whether the Iranian government suspects any Arab involvement in the alleged conspiracy.
Ms Sultan, who was in her early twenties, was a bystander when she was shot and killed instantly last June during protests in Tehran contesting the results of the presidential elections that secured a second presidential term for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The president had run against Mr Mousavi and a fellow opposition leader, Mehdi Karrubi, who allege that the elections were rigged.
A video of her dying was posted within hours on YouTube and social networking websites, causing an international outcry against the authorities in Tehran for their repression of the protests.
Last month, Mr Mousavi's nephew, Ali Mousavi, 35, was shot and killed during unrest following processions marking Ashura that also led to the deaths of at least eight others in Tehran.
Mr Abdullahyan said on Monday: "When Ms Sultan was killed the assassins used three cameras to film the killing to use it for propaganda purposes, but when the authorities reviewed the films that were posted on the internet we were able to identify them and uncover the plot. Her assassination was carried out by an Iranian who came from abroad and he was the one that pretended that he was trying to revive her in the video."
"They were also behind the assassination of Mir Hossein Mousavi's nephew last month. They did not film the assassination to avoid repeating the mistake that uncovered their plot when Ms Sultan was assassinated, but the fact that reports of his death were known to the world before the Iranian authorities and Mousavi family found out is a clear indication of foreign involvement in the assassination."
Mr Abdullahyan said the types of bullets used in the two killings did not match the types used by Iran's security apparatus. He claimed that investigations also revealed that the alleged foreign conspirators' original plan called for assassinating top opposition leaders, including Mr Mousavi and Mr Karrubi, but the men's security details foiled those plans, forcing the conspirators to revert to killing people close to the opposition and organising protests.
"They had two key objectives. Some of them were targeting the regime itself while others were seeking to put more pressure on the Islamic republic to gain privileges and benefits," he said.
He said that confessions obtained from people detained after the recent unrest, in which they admitted having received foreign support and directives to organise the protests, would be aired on television soon and that the authorities had shared its findings with the Mousavi family.
"The Ashura clashes marked a turning point for differentiating between the demands of the reformists and those infiltrates of the movement who violated the sanctity of Ashura [and who] were arrested, and investigations revealed their association with foreign organisations," he said.
"It's clear that Mousavi had revised his position following these events."
On Friday, Mr Mousavi posted on his website a statement that consisted of 18 points, some of which contained positive aspects, Mr Abdullahyan said, but the western media only focused on Mr Mousavi's comments regarding his readiness to be a martyr for the reform campaign.
Mr Abdullahyan also said his country would push ahead with enriching uranium, according to ratios that meet its scientific and research needs, if the West continues to exert pressure on Tehran and the Vienna talks to supply Iran with nuclear fuel it needs fail.
"We have cooperated in the past with the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] and stopped our work and the results were not successful. We will not accept this high tone by the United States in this regard. What we need now is to have the framework to deal with Iran's nuclear programme change."
He denied that the recent border confrontation with Iraq over contested oilfields was the result of any political intentions. Mr Abdullahyan claimed that a lack of markings on the borders resulted in the confusion and insisted that it was Iraqis who had actually crossed into Iranian territory. He said the matter was being resolved by specialised border committees from the two countries.
Mr Abdullahyan also said Iran was seeking to build and enhance its relations with its Gulf neighbours and that it has had no role in supporting the insurgency in northern Yemen that spilt into the southern border of Saudi Arabia.
"We believe that this matter [of insurgency] could only be resolved through dialogue and that any regional or foreign military intervention would only complicate the issue," he said.
@Email:mmahdi@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Suarez 27', Vidal 32', Dembele 35', Messi 78')
Sevilla 0
Red cards: Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 0
Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90 4')
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP5
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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312