Italy closes Imam Musa Sadr case; He never arrived in Roma, Gaddafi kidnapped him

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Italy’s prosecutor general shut the book on the 1978 disappearance of prominent Shia cleric Imam Musa Sadr, concluding that Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was behind his the disappearance.

The prosecutor general said that the investigation was complete and that all evidence showed that Sadr and his two companions Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin never arrived in Roma on August 31, 1978, the Beirut Press reported.

Therefore, they had been kidnapped by the Gaddafi regime, the finding show.

Sadr and his companions disappeared in August 1978 during an official visit to the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The senior cleric was scheduled to meet with officials from the government of the Libyan dictator.

The three were never seen or heard from again and their fate is still unknown even after the overthrow of Gaddafi in 2011.

The Gaddafi regime claimed the three had left its territory in 1978, headed for Italy. But Italy had denied the claim for decades.

Meanwhile, the Italian lawyer of Sadr’s family says the investigations were contradictory, adding that political issues were involved.

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Enemies aimed to impose restrictions on Iran

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Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani warned against the plots hatched by the US to penetrate into Iran.

Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Emami Kashani said, “The US and the global arrogance started their hostilities against Iran since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in the country and they have continued to do so up until now.”

He reiterated that it is for the same reason that Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned against holding direct talks with the US and the plots hatched by Washington to penetrate into Iran after the nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and the world powers in Vienna on July 14.

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei cautioned that despite the nuclear deal and Washington’s claims, the US is still seeking to change the ruling system in Iran.

“The reality is that the US objectives vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran have not changed at all and if they can, they will not hesitate a moment to annihilate the Islamic Republic but they cannot, and with God’s help, they will fail in materializing this goal in the future too in light of industrious moves by the youth, increasing and deepening insight of the nation and Iran’s progress,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in Tehran, addressing the Iranian university students and pupils on the threshold of the ‘Students Day’ and the ‘Day of Campaign against Arrogance’ in Iran.

He referred to certain superficial and unreal flexibilities shown by the US during the recent nuclear talks with Iran, and said that the reality behind such behavior is that the US is still pursuing the same inimical policies towards Iran, which will never be forgotten by the Iranian nation.

Ayatollah Khamenei underscored that the US support for the criminal Zionist regime and the Saudi-led coalition’s crimes against the Yemeni people reveals Washington’s real face.

He referred to Iran’s normal relations with other world states even those who show some hypocritical behavior towards the Iranian nation, but said the US which uses every pretext to hit a blow at the nation and annihilate the Islamic Republic is an exception to this rule, reiterating that “religion, wisdom, conscience and humanity all stand against such friendship”.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the US continued practical enmity towards the Islamic Republic, and said religious beliefs are the root cause of this enmity as it is the source inspiring the Iranian nation with resistance. “Therefore, they have targeted those beliefs using new instruments but our students and youth will foil such tricks and plots.”

In relevant remarks last week, Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that it would be meaningless to Iran to take part in direct talks with the US on the regional issues as Washington is Tehran’s foe standing against a fair solution of the regional problems.

“The main culprit behind these insecurities (in the region) is the US support for the Zionist regime and the terrorist groups and these policies are 180 degrees different from those of the Islamic Republic,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in Tehran, addressing Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, his deputies and Iran’s diplomatic corps abroad.

He rejected direct talks with the US on the regional issues, and said, “The Americans are after imposing their (will and) interests and not resolving the problems. They want to impose 60% to 70% of their demands in the negotiations and implement and impose their remaining goals in practice and illegally; therefore, what is the meaning of (such) negotiations?”

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Ayatollah Sistani stresses unimpeded implementation of Abadi’s reforms

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Iraq’s senior Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has called for the unimpeded implementation of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s reforms aimed at combating corruption and cutting government cuts in the Arab country.

“The need to protect the constitution and the law must not be used by the legislative or any other authority to circumvent or delay the reform steps,” Ayatollah Sistani was quoted by his representative Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai as saying on Friday.

The remarks came four days after the Iraqi parliament voted unanimously to bar the premier’s administration from implementing, without its approval, key reforms envisioned in a comprehensive plan aimed at fighting corruption and reducing government costs in the Middle Eastern country.

As part of the reform initiative, which had been overwhelmingly approved by the Iraqi legislature back in August, Abadi eliminated three vice president posts and three deputy prime minister positions. He also reduced the size of officials’ security details and dismissed 123 deputy ministers and general managers.

Some of Abadi’s proposed changes to the country’s political system have been implemented but others appear to have stalled.

Apart from public anger over corruption in Iraq, the country also faces a difficult security situation. Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group launched its activities and took control of portions of the country in June 2014.

Iraqi army soldiers and the Popular Mobilization units have been engaged in joint operations to take back militant-held regions.

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Israeli forces kill Palestinian woman in Al-Khalil

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Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian woman, whom they accused of running over a number of Israelis in the town of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank.

The Israelis fired more than 50 live bullets at the woman on Friday.Two other Palestinians who were present at the site of the incident near a gas station were also injured.

Also an Israeli settler stabbed, seriously wounded near Ramallah settlement in the latest tensions after Zionist Cabinet efforts to set restriction for Palestinian praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In this incident an Israeli settler was stabbed and seriously wounded near an illegal settlement in Ramallah on Friday shortly after a Palestinian woman was shot following an alleged vehicle attack near Halhul.

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Yemeni forces captured dozens of mercenary soldiers mostly Africans / Photos

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency -ABNA- Dozens of foreign mercenaries from Saudi-led coalition troops were captured by the army and Yemen Popular Committees in Taiz, the third largest city in Yemen.

These foreigners, who are mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, came to Saudi Arabia to fight in exchange for money, al-Masirah TV network reported.

Traffickers also were paid one thousand of Saudi riyals per person, the report added.

Other reports also said Yemeni security forces arrested several gunmen before entering the capital Sana’a.

According to al-Masirah one of them was carrying an explosives belt.

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Yemeni Army Hits Saudi Military Bases in Najran and Jizan

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency -ABNA- Yemeni Army artillery unit and Popular Committees have targeted two Saudi military bases in Najran and Jizan, leading to killing and wounding numbers of Saudi soldiers, al-Masirah TV network reported moments ago.

Since recent days Ansarullah fighters have launched several missile attacks on some military bases in southern of Saudi Arabia and killed dozens of Saudi border guards.

Yemen has been witnessing ceaseless attacks by Saudi Arabia since March 26. The military strikes are supposedly meant to undermine the Ansarullah movement and bring fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, back to power.

The Saudi aggression has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 7,100 people and injured nearly 14,000 others. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

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Child drowns, another missing in refugee boat sinking near Greece

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A boat carrying asylum seekers has overturned off the Greek island of Kos, killing one refugee child and leaving another missing.

According to the Greek coastguard, the boat capsized on Thursday, triggering a rescue operation in search of survivors.

Rescuers have managed to pull out 14 people, including a man who said his six-year-old child was missing. The kid is said to have toppled into the sea.

The dead bodies of five refugees, including a woman and two children, were recovered early on Wednesday, the Greek coastguard said.

Over 400 refugees, among them many children, have drowned in the Aegean Sea since the beginning of 2015 in their attempt to cross the waters from neighboring Turkey. At least 80 asylum seekers died in October alone.

More than 590,000 people have entered Greece over the same period in order to reach wealthier European countries. Most of the asylum seekers who risk their lives to reach Europe are reportedly fleeing conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.

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Iran ex-envoy may have been kidnapped: His brother

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Iran’s former Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, who has been missing since a crush during Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, may have been kidnapped, his brother said.

Ahmad Roknabadi referred to the 2013 twin bombings outside the Iranian Embassy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, saying that Saudi citizens and people linked to Daesh terrorist group were behind the explosions.

“So all these [incidents] have made us very worried that this… happening in Saudi Arabia may be related to all those [that] happened before to him, and maybe he has been kidnapped in Saudi Arabia,” Roknabadi said, speaking about his brother.

More than two dozen people, including Iran’s cultural attaché to Beirut, were killed and at least 150 others injured in November 2013 when two explosions struck near the Iranian Embassy in southern Beirut.

Following the incident, the so-called Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the bombings. The group’s Saudi leader, Majid al-Majid, was arrested in early January 2014 and died days later from poor health in a Lebanese jail. Majid was a high-profile terrorist also wanted by the US and some other countries.

Elsewhere in the interview, Roknabadi held Saudi officials accountable for the tragic incident in Mina.

Also on Thursday, a senior Iranian diplomat said Tehran is following up on the fate of the former Iranian ambassador through international bodies.

On the international level, the case is being pursued through the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.

Elsewhere in the interview, Roknabadi held Saudi officials accountable for the tragic incident in Mina.

Also on Thursday, a senior Iranian diplomat said Tehran is following up on the fate of the former Iranian ambassador through international bodies.

On the international level, the case is being pursued through the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told IRNA.

Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the September 24 crush in Mina, but officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 4,700 people, including 464 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives in the incident.

Some 28 Iranians are still missing.

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Iran to Pursue Fate of Missing Pilgrims in Mina Incident through ICRC

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Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian reaffirmed Tehran’s resolve to follow up on the fate of the Iranian pilgrims still missing after recent deadly crush in Mina, Saudi Arabia, through international bodies.

A September 24 crush in Mina, which happened when pilgrims from around the world were performing the Hajj rites, killed about 7500 Hajj pilgrims, including 464 Iranians. Several Iranian pilgrims, including the country’s former ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, are still unaccounted for after the deadly crush.

Amir Abdollahian on Thursday stressed that the foreign ministry will seriously pursue the fate of these pilgrims.

Referring to the missing diplomat, Amir Abdollahian noted that during the recent negotiations between Iranian Hajj officials and Saudi authorities in Jeddah, the issue of Roknabadi’s fate was raised once again.

The issue was also reminded to Saudi envoy in Tehran for the umpteenth time, he said, adding that the foreign ministry is also pursuing the issue internationally through the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“Saudi Arabia is responsible for the Mina tragedy, and should accept all the consequences, including legal ones,” Amir Abdollahian added.

Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had underlined that identifying the culprits, taking measures to restore the victims’ rights, and planning for appropriate moves to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies in Hajj pilgrimage in the future are on the foreign ministry’s agenda.
Saudi authorities have come under fire for their inability to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who converge on Mecca every year.

The September 24 tragedy came nearly two weeks after tens of Hajj pilgrims were killed in another tragic incident in Mecca.

On September 11, a massive construction crane crashed into Mecca’s Grand Mosque in stormy weather, killing at least 107 people, including 11 Iranians, and injuring 201 others.

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