Human-rights activists and Iranians abroad yesterday welcomed Washington's imposition of sanctions against eight senior Iranian officials deemed to have played key roles in crushing last year's post-election unrest. The move - apparently designed to ratchet up pressure against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government while reaching out to his opponents - was the first time the Obama administration has levied sanctions against Iran for human-rights abuses.
Analysts said it sends a conciliatory signal to ordinary Iranians that US sanctions are now being linked to what concerns them, rather than just something that Washington cares about, namely Iran's nuclear programme. Previously, the US was criticised for focusing too much on the nuclear issue while ignoring allegations of the Iranian regime's human-rights abuses. "We hope very much that other countries around the world will follow suit with similar blacklists that… affect the perpetrators of gross human-rights violations but which don't negatively impact on the population as a whole," Aaron Rhodes, a German-based spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, said.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, used unusually blunt language in announcing the measures on Wednesday, which ban the eight from travelling to the US and freeze any assets they may have there. "On these officials' watch, or under their command, Iranian citizens have been arbitrarily arrested, beaten, tortured, raped, blackmailed and killed," she said. The US has adopted a twin-track policy on Iran that combines sanctions with appeals for Tehran to return to long-stalled international talks over its nuclear programme - that the Islamic republic insists is solely peaceful in nature.
The National Iranian American Council said the targeted new human-rights sanctions were "welcome news". But the Washington-based organisation said in a statement that it continues to oppose broader sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear programme, which it says are hurting ordinary Iranians. Washington's new punitive measures received scant coverage in Iran's state-run media yesterday. The eight Iranians blacklisted by the US include Mohammed Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, which controls much of the Iranian economy, and one of his feared sidekicks, Hossein Taeb, a former head of the Basij militia that spearheaded last year's post-election crackdown.
Among the others sanctioned are Iran's chief prosecutor, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, a former interior minister, and top police and military commanders. Mr Ahmadinejad was not on the list. Nor were his prominent conservative rivals, such as Ali Larijani, the influential parliamentary speaker and his brother, Sadegh, who heads the hardline judiciary. None of those blacklisted was likely to travel to the US or have assets there. But the US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, said when the US has targeted specific individuals, other countries have responded by cutting off economic ties and financial dealings with them.
Huge street protests followed Mr Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in June last year, but the dissent was brutally crushed by the security forces. Iran's opposition says more than 70 died in the unrest. At least two people were executed and scores have been jailed, among them reformist politicians, journalists, students, human-rights activists and bloggers. On Wednesday the families of three opposition protestors who were tortured to death in detention last year granted a death-row reprieve to two jailers convicted of the killings, saying they were just "puppets in the hands of unruly law breakers".
But the families demanded that the man who jailed their loved ones in the first place should be brought to trial and punished. They were referring to Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran's feared former prosecutor, who is an ally of Mr Ahmadinejad and among the eight blacklisted this week.
mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah Group Two (PA) US$55,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: Rasi, Harry Bentley (jockey), Sulaiman Al Ghunaimi (trainer).
7.05pm: Meydan Trophy (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,900m; Winner: Ya Hayati, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm: Balanchine Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Magic Lily, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Firebreak Stakes Group Three (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
10pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Eynhallow, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff
By Sean Penn
Simon & Schuster
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Sri Lanka Test squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne (stand-in captain), Niroshan Dickwella (vice captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohamed Shiraz, Lakshan Sandakan and Lasith Embuldeniya.
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The%20specs
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
