US defense chief: we will deter Russia’s ‘malign and destabilizing influence’

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US Defense Secretary Ash Carter has threatened Russia, saying the US will take all necessary steps to counter Moscow’s “malign influence” in Syria.

“We will take all necessary steps to deter Russia’s malign and destabilizing influence, coercion and aggression,” carter said on Wednesday.

He further said as long as Russia pursued a “misguided strategy” in Syria, “we have not, and will not, agree to cooperate with Russia.”

The US continues to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of focusing on the opposition groups that are fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow, however, has repeatedly assured that Russian jet fighters were targeting Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.

Carter’s harsh remarks came amid efforts by Washington and Moscow to reach an agreement over their military flights in Syria to avoid any clash over the country’s airspace.

While reports said the two sides are getting close to finalize a memorandum of understanding on the issue, Russia said that the United States rebuffs its overtures for high-level consultations.

Putin said on Tuesday that he wanted to send a delegation led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the US. Washington, however, rebuffed the overtures for high-level consultations.

“Literally today, we got an official reply,” Lavrov said Wednesday. “We have been told that they can’t send a delegation to Moscow and they can’t host a delegation in Washington either.”

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also said, “Given the current situation in Syria, refusing dialogue does not help to save the country and region from [ISIL].”

Russia launched its air campaign against terrorists in Syria on September 30. The US has also been carrying out its own airstrikes in Syria, allegedly pounding Daesh positions inside the country.

Military experts warned over the last few weeks that a major conflict could be triggered between the US and Russia as the Syrian airspace has become increasingly crowded.

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ISIL behind attempted attack on Siberia mosque

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A Russian investigative body says the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group was involved in an attempted attack against a mosque in the country’s Siberia Province last year.

The militants had tried to attack a mosque in an unnamed Siberian town, said the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation on Thursday.

The committee said it had completed the probe and submitted the case to a court.

There were no further details on how the attempted attack had been prevented.

The finding comes about two weeks after Russia launched its aerial campaign against Daesh militants.

Moscow aims to stop the advance of an alliance of militants, including al-Nusra terrorists, which controls Idlib and has tried to push into Hama and Latakia.

According to a report released last month by The New York Times, some 30,000 militants from more than 100 countries – including over 250 Americans – have traveled to Syria and neighboring Iraq since the start of the foreign-backed militancy in Syria in 2011.

More than 250,000 people have lost their lives in the violence in Syria so far.

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Iran Urges Cultural Move by Muslims against Terrorism

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Iran and Indonesia can cooperate to resolve the problems of the region and the Muslim world, President Rouhani said in a meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Rento Marsudi.

Meeting on Wednesday, Rouhani said that Indonesia is a significant country in the world of Islam and a very old friend of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Iranian president added that in the post-sanctions era, Iran-Indonesia can enhance economic ties and hoped that the joint economic cooperation council would be an effective step towards the goal.

Rouhani also noted that it is necessary to pave the way for investors of both countries to join economic projects.

He added that Iran and Indonesia share common views regarding the issues in the world of Islam while nowadays, unfortunately, some Islamic countries are not in good terms with one another.

Talking about the growth of terrorism, Rouhani noted that the expansion of terrorist groups requires the Muslim states to closely cooperate since the continuation of such a situation will jeopardize the condition of the Islamic world.

“A great cultural move is required in all Islamic countries to uproot terrorism”, the president underlined.

He also called for developing ties in academic and scientific eras.

Indonesian foreign minister, for her part, said that her country urges expansion of ties with Iran in all fields particularly trade, economy and investment.

Rento Marsudi noted that, today, all Muslim states should preserve Islam as a religion of mercy for the world and promote moderation and tolerance and added “Indonesia has always called to resolve problems through political and diplomatic solutions and has supported the innovation of Iran in presenting the World Against Extremism and Violence (WAVE) resolution to the UN.”

Indonesian FM arrived in Tehran Wednesday morning, accompanied by a delegation comprising of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said and Indonesian President’s representative in Middle East and Chairman of Indonesia’s National Oil Co. Dwi Soetjipto.

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Ali al-Nimr’s campaign – What’s a life really worth?

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Since his arrest in 2012, Ali Mohammad al-Nimr the nephew of prominent Shia cleric and rights activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has languished in a Saudi Arabian prison, the pawn in a cruel game of political manipulations and sectarian hatred.

As world leaders continue to argue national security, rationalizing their silence under broad, and let’s face it empty statement, one young man is facing death … and not just that! His jailors, his tormentors have called; no, they have demanded for his death to be absolutely cruel. Saudi Arabia’s monarchy, the most violent, repressive, reactionary and anti-democratic regime in the world has ruled that one of  his nationals be beheaded and then crucified.

Under strict order of the Saudi Royal court, a judge saw fit to condemn a young, an innocent man to death by beheading, to later parade his mutilated body so that the people will cower before the might of their king.

A 16-years old boy was taken away from the safety of his home for he dared exercise those rights which are not only inalienable but inherent to human nature. Ali was born on December, 25th, 1995 – a date which should resonate and hope as it coincides with Christmas in the Christian community.

While Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was born a Muslim, his beliefs are not foreign to that of Judaism and Christianity – in his prayers he honors and remembers those name the Church and Judaism hold most dear: Abraham, Jesus, Moses … those prophets who relentlessly stood and fought against tyranny.

Following his unlawful arrest by Saudi Arabia’s infamous Security Forces he was transferred to a juvenile detention center – a tacit admission of his age on the part of the authorities – There he was tortured and held incommunicado for six months.

His fingerprint was then forcibly imprinted on a confession he neither ever agreed, nor made.

Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was denied proper legal representation. Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was set up and left to rot alone in a cell for Riyadh Royals thought to use him as a pawn against his uncle: Sheikh al-Nimr.

His rights, dignity and future were robbed, trampled over and violated in the most vicious, relentless and cowardly manner there is, for those in powers felt they could laugh in the face of international law and get away with it.

In truth so far they have … They have because world leaders have proven too cowardly; because world leaders have forgotten in their quest for influence and control to remember that Ali al-Nimr is not just another collateral damage to be brushed under the rug. Ali al-Nimr is a person, he is a life and he is a voice.

The day we stopped caring whether a man lives or dies is truly the day darkness will have swallowed us whole.

Martin Luther King Jr said: “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

Justice is not a word or a notion we should take for granted. Justice requires courage indeed and it requires for leaders to act bravely – not for political gain, but because it is the right thing to do.

Can we tolerate  living in a world where our leaders can stare barbarism in the face and still get to hold on to those moral values they clamor to represent?

Can we tolerate calling Saudi Arabia an ally when over the course of a year the kingdom has saw fit to launch an illegal military campaign against Yemen with one hand while it used the other to prop Wahhabi-inspired radicals across the Middle East?

Can we remain silent when women, men and children are slaughtered by Saudi Arabia on account their faith – Shia Islam, has been labelled an apostasy by Al Saud’s Wahhabi clergy?

Will we sit and turn away while our youth, our children, our sons are being castigated by a murderous and rapacious regime on account their pockets line more zeros than America’s deficit?

Silence is contagious!

Ali Mohammad al-Nimr cannot be another silence on our collective wall of shame! Ali is his mother’s child, he belongs with his family. He DOES not belong in jail! He should never have landed in jail.

His arrest was motivated by a desire to repress and oppress the people of Qatif (eastern province of Saudi Arabia), and beyond all religious minorities. And not just that, his arrest was motivated by a desire to further inflict harm on a family which purpose and mission has always been to stand tall before tyranny.

Al Nimr have become the hope of an entire nation, for their voices have always carried above the regime threats – forever calling for justice and freedom. Will we not raise our voices now that their own have been silenced?

Will we not stand with them when their legs have been stolen from under them?

Will we dare walk away when everything they always stood for was for their people, for the people of Hijaz to reclaim their place under the Sun – proudly, unafraid and free?

Ali Mohammad al-Nimr is not just another youth accused of a crime he did not commit. He is the nation a king wants to keeps in shackles.

Silence is not an option anymore, not when silence echoes of the cries of our children.

#FreeAliAlNimr #AliAlNimr

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Six people killed in terrorist attack in Mali

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At least six people have lost their lives in a “terrorist attack” carried out by unknown militants in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali, the government says.

The militants raided a convoy of civilian vehicles guarded by police forces in an area some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Gao, the biggest city in northern Mali, at around 7:30 a.m. local time (0730 GMT) on Tuesday, the government said in a statement.

The Malian government did not specify who was traveling in the civilian vehicles and why they were being escorted by security forces.

The terrorist attack with rocket-launchers caused the death of six civilians and wounded two others including a soldier,” according to the statement.

A security source told AFP that the raid began when one of the vehicles hit a landmine planted by the militants.

Two other vehicles arrived at the scene and were damaged before the militants “came out from their hiding place to fire on the civilians,” the source added.

Three trucks hired by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) later arrived and were set alight by the militants, according to the source.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack; however, such raids are often carried out or attributed to Tuareg-led rebels, who are operating mostly in Mali’s restive north.

The Tuareg rebels took control of northern Mali, which they call Azawad, in January 2012. The country has witnessed months of turmoil ever since.

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17 missing Iranian Mina incident victims identified

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Seventeen Iranian pilgrims listed as “missing” in a deadly crush during Hajj rituals in Mina, near the holy Saudi city of Mecca, have been identified, says the head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization.

Saeed Ohadi said on Tuesday that the victims are “among the 1,450 bodies buried in Mecca.”

Ohadi said that the victims, who were among 65 Iranian pilgrims unaccounted for following the Mina tragedy, were identified through their fingerprints and nails.

He said that the identities of 12 victims have been determined while the other five bodies have been proved to be Iranian nationals.

The crush occurred on September 24 after two large masses of pilgrims converged at a crossroads in Mina during the symbolic ceremony of the stoning of Satan in Jamarat.

Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the incident, but officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 4,700 people, including 464 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives in the tragedy. However, foreign officials put the death toll at 1,674.

The bodies of 399 Iranian victims have been repatriated so far.

Saudi Arabia has come under harsh criticism over its role and handling of the incident.

Earlier on October 11, the head of Iran’s Hajj mission censured the Saudi mismanagement of the pilgrimage, which resulted in the massive loss of pilgrims’ lives.

“The Saudi government cannot handle the Hajj with this imprudence, negligence, and traditional methods; therefore, it should reconsider the management of the Hajj by drawing on Islamic countries’ potential,” said Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ali Qazi-Askar, the representative of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for Hajj and pilgrimage affairs.

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Palestinians to Continue Al-Aqsa Mosque Intifada: Hamas

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Hamas Spokesman Mushir al-Masri stressed that the Palestinian people will continue the al-Aqsa Mosque Intifada (uprising) until all of their objectives are achieved.

Al-Masri said that a new Intifada is underway against the Israeli regime across the occupied territories.

“Today’s incidents are undoubtedly indications of the Palestinian nation’s … Iron will against the occupying enemy,” he stressed.

He further said that people from different walks of life are participating in the intifada, adding that Palestinians want to tell the occupiers that they cannot stay in their homeland.

Noting that the al-Aqsa Mosque Intifada will continue until all demands of Palestinians are met, Mushir al-Masri stressed that “Intifada” and “resistance” guarantee that the Zionist occupiers will be driven out of Palestinian territories soon.

The Hamas spokesman further condemned certain Arab and Muslim states for remaining silent over the Israeli atrocities across Palestine.

Earlier, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh declared the ongoing unrest in the occupied territories and the West Bank to be an Intifada, as six Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces while protesting at a border fence in Gaza, further raising the stakes after a week of escalating violence.

In a sermon for Friday prayers at a mosque in Gaza City, Haniyeh said, “We are calling for the strengthening and increasing of the intifada. It is the only path that will lead to liberation. Gaza will fulfil its role in the Jerusalem intifada and it is more than ready for confrontation.”

Israeli troops fired across the border into Gaza, killing six and wounding 23 others among a group throwing stones and taking part in a rally, hospital officials in Gaza said.

Fourteen Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and around 1,000 injured with live and rubber-coated steel bullets in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since Oct. 1, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

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Photos: ISIS executes two Syrian men in Hama

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Imam Khamenei recommends elites to ‘stay, serve their own country’

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Leader of the Islamic Republic has addressed a meeting of country’s scientific elites and talented students, recommending them to stay inside the country and serve their own people.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei received a group of outstanding and talented students, where he demanded that Iran’s National Elites Foundation (INEF) should be taken ‘seriously’ as a national and strategic foundation to ‘prepare the grounds for the Foundation to play its role in better channeling of youth talents and knowledge-based companies in Resistance Economic policies.’

“The future of country hinges upon ideals and Revolutionary slogans promoted by the majority participation of young elites and the fast advance toward latest technology, which has begun recently; the future will be a bright future along with the role of a scientific dominance in the region and the world for the Islamic Republic,” the Leader told the meeting of elites.

He denounced attempts to dishearten the young talents about the future as ‘committing an act of treason to national glory;’ “the Iranian elites have a relatively higher IQ compared to global average; our country is self-sufficient in providing itself with committed, talented, and hard-working young people as the greatest wealth of the nation; however, the greatest malady looming around the prodigies is a general and misguided feeling that they are purple patches in a wider context of more or less even playground of talent; this is a personal malady which you should attempt to overcome through improving jihadi mentality and working for God as your duty,” he recommended.

In his third advice to young talents and elites, the Leader recommended to ‘stay and serve their own country,’ with an additional advantage of a deep understanding of the national issues. “Do not surrender yourself to the insatiable lust of the foreign communities to absorb national talents of other countries; the better option for you is staying inside the country and participate in the architecture of the country which seeks to construct and reshape the skeleton of the future of your home country,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

His fourth advice to elites touched the critical issue which had been almost a general theme in Iranian foreign policy: not yielding to the awe of the imperialist powers. “The fact that the west enjoys an upper hand in technologies; however, we should not be overtaken by the awe and sheer tantalizing nature of their advances; the potentials of our native young talents are far beyond this state of being overwhelmed; we should compare our current condition to that of 3 decades ago,” he demanded.

He emphasized upon a well-planned strategy to use the potentials of the knowledge-based companies to make the Resistance Economy policies realized; “I would recommend that in elite sessions be focused on the different ways the elites would contribute constructively to Resistance Economy,” Ayatollah Khamenei told the meeting; “understating country’s rapid advances and its achievements in different hi-tech fields such as nanotechnology, stem cells, and nuclear energy should be duly addressed. These achievements are not illusions; they are concrete achievements which should be communicated to the world; disheartening of the young people is an act of treason and should not be tolerated,” he concluded.

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