Latest news with #Islamist
TimesLIVE
41 minutes ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Ecowas agrees to counterterrorism push with West African junta states
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) said on Thursday it had reached an agreement with junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to work together against terrorism, marking a possible thawing of relations with the three breakaway states. The three withdrew from the West African regional bloc last year, in what was seen as a blow to efforts to reduce trade barriers, allow free movement and fight a growing threat from Islamist militants across the region. "We have secured an understanding ... on the need to work together to build confidence to collectively confront terrorism and violent extremism," Ecowas president Omar Touray said at a summit in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. He said they also agreed to sustain gains made under Ecowas protocols relating to economic integration and development. Violence fuelled by a decade-long fight with Islamist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State has worsened since the three countries' militaries seized power in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023. After leaving Ecowas — the Economic Community of West African States — the three set up the Alliance of Sahel States.
DW
an hour ago
- Politics
- DW
Iran: Can war with Israel trigger regime change? – DW
The Islamist regime in Tehran has been using the conflict with Israel to rally support and unify the Iranian people behind them. But can Iran's current system really survive the crisis? "Iran will not surrender and will continue to defend itself," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, told the public in a televised speech this week, following days of Israeli bombing and Iran's retaliatory strikes. His exact location is unclear. Rumors and hints from the US and the Israeli governments indicate that he could be personally targeted at some point by an Israeli air strike. If Khamenei is assassinated, he would share the fate of many high-ranking members of his regime who have been killed in recent days. And this has prompted many to ask — how can a regime that fails to protect its own top officials be trusted to protect Iran's borders? "Despite all claims [by the Iranian government] about missile defense or protecting command centers, the absolute inefficiency of this regime has become apparent to the public," exiled Iran expert and sociologist Majid Golpour told DW. Iran's Khamenei defies Trump's call to surrender To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Could this weakness bring about the collapse of the Islamist regime? According to Golpour, this mostly depends on its political alternative. "Now is the time for the nation's political forces to present a common charter — both against the ruling system and against outside threats. But there are still no concrete plans, functioning coalitions and viable structures inside the opposition," Golpour said. Opposition in Iran battered for decades But finding common ground is easier said than done. Even outside Iran, opponents of the regime are split into rival groups. One faction of the Iranian diaspora regards the eldest son of the ousted Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi as a possible interim ruler — or at least a symbol of national unity. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Prince Reza Pahlavi has mostly been living in the US and has tried to position himself as a political leader and opponent of the Islamic Republic. He has no political organization active on Iranian soil. And that's no surprise — the Islamist regime has been suppressing dissenting voices inside Iran for many decades. Any person posing a possible threat to the regime is discredited, harassed, arrested and often sentenced to long prison terms. Still, political scientist Shukriya Bradost, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, a US-based think tank, believes there is a chance of a political shift. Iranians protest Israeli strikes To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Bradost believes that a political vacuum could emerge if the regime gets seriously weakened. This would allow opposition groups to organize protests and strikes, and enact wide-reaching change. Will war make Iranians more patriotic? A deciding factor during wartime is the feeling of patriotism linking Iranians to their country. This sense of unity helped the Islamist regime stabilize after the 1979 revolution. When Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, attacked Iran in 1980, people rallied behind the country and persevered through eight years of war that cost the country up to 1 million Iranian lives. The Islamist leaders are once again using nationalist rhetoric to firm up support. "The Islamic Republic has recognized that people no longer identify with the idea of a 'nation of Islam,' but rather see themselves as citizens of Iran. No sensible person can be fooled by this staged nationalism," political scientist and journalist Shahran Tabari told DW. It is however difficult to ascertain what people of Iran feel at this time — except for fear and anger about the escalating conflict happening without their consent. Waiting for Trump's decision Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, famous for her fight for women's rights in Iran, recently called on Israel to stop its attacks and urged a truce across the Middle East. "I want to ask President Trump — not only not to join this war, but to stop it," she said in a video message carried by US broadcaster CNN. Meanwhile, the West seems to be divided on Iran and without a clear strategy for a regime change. While some voices in the US, like former National Security Adviser John Bolton, call for a military intervention, US President Donald Trump seem to be hesitant — for now. Iran's exiled prince urges global support for Iranian people To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This article was originally published in German
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
The prospect of a wider war
The Iran-Israel clashes have reached a breakpoint with the prospect of the US entering the fray. On Thursday, a White House spokesperson said President Donald Trump would take the call on this 'within the next two weeks' though many analysts expect Washington to bomb Fordow, Iran's nuclear facility, which appears to be beyond the reach of Tel Aviv, very soon, perhaps even the weekend. Parallelly, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Britain and the European Union are talking with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to explore a ceasefire. Europe, though, has been reduced to a marginal player since Trump in 2018 ended a deal that was negotiated with Tehran in 2015. It is clear Trump holds the keys to what threatens to become a wider conflict and reshape power relations in West Asia. If Tel Aviv and Washington pursue an endgame that stops only with regime change in Tehran, it may lead to tumultuous changes in the region. (AP) As it launched the attack on Iran last weekend, Israel cited the International Atomic Energy Agency's censure of Tehran for failing to provide information about undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple locations. Since then, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has widened his goals to a regime change in Tehran and the elimination of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reports suggested that the US vetoed the move. Iran, meanwhile, has warned that it will retaliate if the US becomes an active participant in the conflict. President Trump doesn't like wars; during the campaign, he promised to cease America's participation in global conflicts and work to negotiate peace in Ukraine and Gaza. Trump's peace efforts in both are in shambles and he now has to deal with Iran, not a scenario he planned for. A reasonable achievement for him will be to negotiate a rollback of Iran's nuclear plans and end the conflict. That will enhance his credentials as a peacemaker and reaffirm the US's pre-eminence as a global power, especially since this round of conflict in West Asia has exposed the limits of Chinese and Russian influence in the region: Despite being allies of Tehran, Moscow and Beijing have restricted their involvement in the conflict to statements condemning Tel Aviv's actions. Israel may have to be satisfied with a diminished Iran and its reiteration as the region's unquestioned hegemon. However, if Tel Aviv and Washington pursue an endgame that stops only with regime change in Tehran, it may lead to tumultuous changes in the region. First, the Ayatollah is the face of the Islamist regime that captured office in Tehran in 1979 when mass mobilisations forced the Shah of Iran, backed by the West, to abdicate. The Islamists have been challenged by street protests in recent years, but these sections may not necessarily back a regime change orchestrated by the US and Israel. People tend to rally around the flag in times of war. Second, lessons from Iraq suggest that change forced by outside forces can lead to anarchy. Iran is a civilisational State, but its theocratic regime is the glue that holds together multiple regions and ethnicities. Three, Iran's mostly Sunni neighbourhood has perceived the Shia State as a regional hegemon and will surely prefer a weakened Tehran. But it is another matter if they want an unstable Iran in their backyard. In the short run, chaos in West Asia will lead to a spike in oil prices, impact global trade, and slow down the world economy. India has major stakes in West Asia – Iran is a key trading partner and a port of entry to Central Asia, and the Gulf nations are crucial for Delhi's fuel needs and house a large expat population – and uncertainty in the region complicates its economic goals and power ambitions.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Israeli strikes kill 44 in Gaza, UN warns of drought
Israeli fire has killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom had been trying to get food, local officials said, while the United Nations' children's agency warned of a looming man-made drought in the enclave as its water systems collapse. At least 25 people awaiting aid trucks were killed by Israeli fire south of Netzarim in central Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run local health authority said. Asked by Reuters about the incident, the Israel Defense Force said its troops had fired warning shots at suspected militants who advanced in a crowd towards them. An Israeli aircraft then "struck and eliminated the suspects", it said in a statement, adding that it was aware of others being hurt in the incident and was conducting a review. Separately, Gazan medics said at least 19 others were killed in other Israeli military strikes across the enclave, including 12 people in a house in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip, taking Friday's total death toll to at least 44. In a statement on Friday, the Islamist Hamas group, which says Israel is using hunger as a weapon against the population of Gaza, accused Israel of systematically targeting Palestinians seeking food aid across the enclave. Israel denies this and accuses Hamas of stealing food aid, which the group denies. Meanwhile UNICEF, the UN's children's agency, warned in Geneva of drought conditions developing in Gaza. "Children will begin to die of thirst ... Just 40 per cent of drinking water production facilities remain functional," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters. "We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water." UNICEF also reported a 50 per cent increase in children aged six months to five years admitted for treatment of malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people going hungry. Elder, who was recently in Gaza, said he had many testimonials of women and children injured while trying to receive food aid, including a young boy who was wounded by a tank shell and later died of his injuries. A lack of public clarity on when the sites - some of which are in combat zones - are open is causing mass casualty events, he added. The route near Netzarim has become dangerous since the start of a new US-backed aid distribution system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), witnesses told Reuters, with desperate Gazans heading to a designated area late at night to try and get something from aid supplies due to be handed out after dawn. The route has also been used by aid trucks sent by the United Nations and aid groups, and people have also been heading there in the hope of grabbing bags off trucks. UNICEF said GHF was "making a desperate situation worse." On Thursday at least 70 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, including 12 people who tried to approach a site operated by the GHF in the central Gaza Strip. In an email to Reuters, GHF accused Gazan health officials of regularly releasing inaccurate information. It said Palestinians do not access the nearby GHF site via the Netzarim corridor. The statement did not address a question about whether GHF was aware of Thursday's incident. The GHF said in a statement on Thursday it had so far distributed nearly three million meals across three of its aid sites without incident. The Gaza war was triggered when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while displacing almost the entire population of more than two million and causing a hunger crisis.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Armed men on motor-bikes kill 34 Niger soldiers, ministry says
NIAMEY: Several hundred armed men, many on motor-bikes, attacked a Niger army base near the border with Mali, leaving at least 34 soldiers dead and 14 wounded, the Defence Ministry said. The attackers - described as 'mercenaries' by the ministry - used eight vehicles and more than 200 motor-bikes in the raid on the base in Bani-bangou on Thursday, according to the statement read out on state TV. It did not say which group was responsible. Niger, like other countries in West Africa's Sahel region, is battling Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. Troops carried out aerial and ground search operations to secure the area after the attack, the ministry said without going into more detail on the assault.
