The US on Wednesday voiced its support for the mass protests that have swept through Iran over the past several days.
The announcement came shortly after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned Washington over the impasse that has been reached in negotiations to restore the nuclear deal.
“The Iranian people have a right to voice their frustrations and hold their government accountable, but we have seen disturbing reports that security forces fired on protesters, resulting in multiple deaths,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
“We condemn the use of violence against peaceful protesters. We support the rights of Iranians to peacefully assemble and express themselves without fear of violence and detention by security forces.”
Mr Price also noted that the US is monitoring reports of internet slowdowns in the Khuzestan region, where the protests began, and called on Tehran to “allow its citizens to exercise their right to freedom of expression and to freely access information".
The protests, which first began on July 15 over water shortages, spread throughout Iran’s major cities this week.
However, the US did not issue a formal statement condemning the mass demonstrations until today — mere hours after Mr Khamenei took several swipes at American sanctions on Iran amid stalled negotiations in Vienna to restore the nuclear deal.
“The State Department is very quick to condemn human rights abuses in other places and it clearly was dragging its feet a little bit on Iran,” Barbara Slavin, director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told The National.
“Nothing with Iran happens in a vacuum. And so, if you look at the nuclear talks, you’re aware of what’s going on in Iran internally, you’re aware of the plot to kidnap a dissident journalist in Brooklyn. It all comes into the mix. And so, I think the Biden administration is trying to deal with all of these issues and still keeps its eyes on the prize, which is a return to the [nuclear deal].”
Ms Slavin did caution that verifying video footage of the violent crackdown on the protests may have contributed to the State Department’s relative delay in issuing a formal condemnation.
Hours before Mr Price’s statement, Mr Khamenei tweeted: “In the recent nuclear talks, the Americans staunchly insisted on their obstinate stance.”
He also called the US “stubborn” during remarks on Iranian TV and told outgoing President Hassan Rouhani that his government has illustrated “that trust in the West does not work".
Iran has said it will not return to the negotiating table until the hard-line president-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes office.
The two sides have broadly agreed that the US will relieve sweeping sectoral sanctions and that Iran will scale back its nuclear activities to revive the nuclear deal. But Tehran has also insisted that President Joe Biden lift the additional sanctions that former president Donald Trump imposed after withdrawing from the accord in 2018.
The Iranian government has also claimed that it has arrested a cell of agents from Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, alleging that the detained people had planned to provoke violence and assassinate Iranian officials during the protests.
Iranian security forces have fired live bullets on protesters after demonstrations began over water shortages in Khuzestan province, where temperatures have soared as high as 50°C. Although the region is home to several major rivers and two wetlands, development and oil exploration projects have destroyed much of its water resources.
This week, demonstrations spread to major cities such as Tehran, Karaj and Tabriz. Video footage shows some protesters shouting “death to the dictator” — a slogan directly aimed at Mr Khamanei.
“The Iranian people are now putting a spotlight not only on their unmet needs but also their unfulfilled aspirations for respect for human rights — rights to which individuals the world over are entitled,” said Mr Price.
The demonstrations are the largest to sweep the country since 2019, when the skyrocketing cost of consumer goods prompted protesters to call for the overthrow of the government, issuing direct criticism of Mr Khamenei. The Iranian government killed hundreds of protesters over the course of several months.
The Trump administration highlighted the demonstrations and frequently voiced support for the protesters as it justified its maximum pressure campaign, which relied on placing economic sanctions on Iran following the former president’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
Former president Barack Obama faced heavy criticism for his administration’s reluctance to initially condemn Iran’s response to protests in 2009 over election irregularities that allowed the hard-line former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to remain in power.
Mr Obama ultimately issued a forceful condemnation of the crackdown from the White House 10 days after the demonstrations began as Iranian authorities became increasingly brutal in their response to the protesters.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
The five pillars of Islam
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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More on animal trafficking
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
