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President Rouhani: Saudi invasion of Yemen leads to its isolation

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President Rouhani has said Saudi’s invasion of Yemen has widened the distance between the monarchy and the Islamic countries including Iran.

Meeting with members of US think tanks on Sunday evening in New York, Iranian president touched upon different regional and international issues. Given the complicated situation in the Middle East, Rouhani asserted that policies and measures adopted by Western countries in the name of fighting terrorism has triggered more violence and insecurity in the region.

“However, amidst all the difficulties in the region, Iran’s nuclear deal was a promising success, reviving the idea of negotiation as the most beneficial solution for all,” he said.

Rouhani asserted that Iran is loyal to its commitments under JCPOA and believes its implementation as advantageous for all.

Noting the Syrian crisis, president said “it is one of the most crucial issues of the region today; the Syrian government is in need of reform indeed, yet the first step has to be eradication of terrorism in the country,” adding that “Iran is ready to cooperate with any country who prioritizes fight against terrorism in settling the crisis.”

“The fight against terrorism should not target the Syrian government who is a critical actor in settling the issue,” Rouhani underlined.

He also stressed the need for cooperation in this regard, saying that no country would be able to overcome the terrorism issue alone.

Asked on Iran’s role in the region and the issue of Iranophobia, President Rouhani stressed the peaceful nature of Iranian policies, asserting that, “Iran has never invaded any country; despite all propaganda against Iran, it is clear that it has never been and will not be a threat on regional and international stage.”

“Iran believes in territorial integrity and national unity of all countries and is ready to aid any country in this regard,” he stated.

Rouhani, considering Tehran-Riyadh relations, expressed regret over the unfriendly ties, and underlined the Saudi invasion of Yemen as isolating Saudi Arabia from Islamic world as well as Iran. “As members of the Islamic family, we have to accept and tolerate the differences and prepare the ground for further cooperation on different fields,” Iranian President reiterated.

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David Cameron: Bashar al-Assad must be toppled

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British Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted that Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad must be toppled, even if he ends up playing an interim role in any transitional government.

“We want a Syria without ISIL and without Assad, because frankly there is no future for the Syrian people with a country which has either one or the other, both need to go,” Cameron said in New York on Sunday.

“But we should be clear… Assad going is in Syria’s interests and ours too.”

The British prime minister who is in the US for the annual UN General Assembly meeting emphasized that Assad could not be part of Syria’s future in the long run.

“What we are saying, as we have always said, is you need on top of the military campaign against ISIL you need a political strategy and a peace settlement where you have a transition in Syria from Assad to something else, that has always been the case, it needs to happen and that is still the case,” Cameron has been quoted as saying by Reuters.

The British prime minister had earlier been quoted by the media as saying that Assad can stay on as part of a transitional government.

However, he had emphasized that the incumbent Syrian president should not be part of Syria’s future in the long run.

Other reports earlier said the British prime minister was preparing to tell the United Nations General Assembly that peace in Syria is impossible while President Assad remains in power.

However, unnamed government officials had been quoted as saying that London believes Assad would not necessarily have to go immediately as part of any peace deal for Syria.

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Did Iranian pilgrims cause Hajj stampede?

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency -ABNA- While all Muslims around the world are sorrowing over the death of more than 2000 pilgrims in the hajj of this year, Saudi authorities shamelessly are trying to blame others for this tragic event.

After blaming African pilgrims or calling this accident as a destiny from God, Saudi authorities now are pointing an accusing finger at Iran, where nearly the most of victims are from.  

In this regard Saudis have lunched some campaigns against Iran under the name of ‘Iran kills Pilgrims’.

Asharq Al-Awsat daily which is related to Saudi royal family, today, in an illusory quotation from an unknown Iranian official in Hajj department claimed that Iranian pilgrims are in charge of Mina disaster!

“The Hajj tragedy that has left hundreds of people dead and injured was caused by a group of Iranian pilgrims who failed to follow instructions from Hajj authorities. The accident occurred after a group of around 300 Iranian pilgrims failed to follow orders and caused the accident,” Asharq Al-Awsat claimed.

For investigating the authenticity of the news, Ahlul Bayt News Agency -ABNA- has conducted an interview with one of Iranian Hajj officials in Mecca who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid any threat from Saudis.

 

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ABNA: Asharq Al-Awsat daily claimed that 300 Iranian pilgrims caused the Mina accident as they allegedly moved against the crowd, thus provoking pilgrims to panic. Since you were there, can you tell us if such claims are valid?

–Not true at all. Those who have attended Hajj in recent years know very well that it is impossible to walk against the crowd. Moreover, the incident occurred in the morning of Eid, long before pilgrims even attempted to perform Rami; and so why would anyone be walking back? It makes no sense whatsoever!

ABNA: In past years, pilgrims were able to move in all directions via corridors – was it the same this year?

–No actually it wasn’t! This year there was no alternative route made available to pilgrims. Everyone had to use the same corridor, at the same time without any alternative provision.

ABNA: Asharq Al-Awsat daily claimed that when the 300 Iranian pilgrims in question travelled from  Mozdalafe to Mina they failed to go to their tents. Is that true?

–This is not true. After coming to Mina we went to our tents and ate breakfast; then we moved toward Jamarat. As I said before this event happened near Jamarat not at the entrance of Mozdalafe. There was a one-way road toward the Jamarat. Also, how is it possible for 300 people to move against thousands?!

ABNA: So what prompted this tragedy?

–Unfortunately, Saudi Arabia is responsible! The Saudi police blocked the road, forcing people to move in a very small and closed up road. They sent most of Hajj pilgrims on Street 204, but unfortunately that street was closed out! Police then called on those people in the front to sit adn wait. When they sat down those behind thought the way had been opened up and as a result moved forth. People began tripping over one another and mayhem ensued.


ABNA: Do you know why the authorities blocked the road?

–Maybe they did that to prevent people from being accumulated on the bridge of Jamarat, and prevent people from falling off the bridge. Either way the move was callous.

ABNA: How did the Saudi Police react to the accident?

–The Saudi security forces were terrible; they did nothing. They were just watching as people began dying. No efforts were made to help anyone.

ABNA: Asharq Al-Awsat also claimed that the Iranian pilgrims had a schedule and should have gone to Rami, arguing that the heads of the Iranian caravan ignored the schedule and as a result put people in harm’s way.

–Also this is not true; in fact there was no such schedule. This is pure fabrication.

ABNA: So why are the Saudi authorities putting those accusations forward?

–Clearly, they don’t want to accept any responsibility and so they are trying to deflect blame by finding a scapegoat.

ABNA: Asharq Al-Awsat claims it source is an unnamed Iranian hajj official!

–It mentioned no name because all of these claims are fabricated. Iranian hajj officials vehemently denied these claims.

ABNA: To introduce Iran as the main cause of the accident some Saudi sources have also claimed that  Iranians were arrested, is it true?

–No, this report is also a baseless rumor.

ABNA: Why so many victims of the tragedy were from Iran and Africa?

–Actually, the tents of African and Iranian pilgrims were set up near where the accident happens which is why they suffered most.

ABNA: As you know Saudi rescue forces arrived 2 or 3 hours after the accident, how can such a thing be possible?

–Unfortunately, the Saudi government wasn’t prepared to manage such an event.

The End

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Imam Hussain shrine sends 420 canopies to popular mobilization forces

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Nearing winter soon, the Imam Hussein Holy Shrine has provided the popular mobilization and other security forces with 420 canopies.

It’s been mentioned that 500 canopies had been allocated and used to temporarily accommodate pilgrims of Imam Hussein (Peace Be Upon Him) during the millionth pilgrimages, and now, 420 of them have been given to the security forces in terms of supporting them.



"Saudi Wahhabi authorities just observed pilgrims to die and do nothing"

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – As criticism against Riyadh regime continues to mount over a deadly incident near the holy city of Mecca, a survivor says a large number of Saudi Arabian soldiers looked on as hundreds died, Press TV reports.

An Iranian survivor of the September 24 incident in Mina, whose name was not revealed, said only a handful of Saudi soldiers assisted those being trampled in the crush.

“When I returned to the disaster point to help, Saudi soldiers prevented me from entering the area. This, as only a handful of Saudi soldiers were helping the victims, while a large number of them were standing by idly and looking,” the man told reporters.

The incident occurred as a large crowd of pilgrims were on their way to participate in the symbolic stoning of Satan in Jamarat. Reports indicate that Saudi authorities had blocked a road to Jamarat, forcing another column of pilgrims who had completed the ritual to return on the same route.

A number of other survivors have also shared similar accounts, saying that mismanagement by the Saudi authorities and a poor rescue response complicated the situation.

Some accused Saudi soldiers of selectively rescuing suffocating pilgrims based on their nationalities.

According to accounts, some died after being trapped for up to four to five hours under bodies.

Some two million people were in Mecca for the annual pilgrimage at the time of the crush.

According to Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry, the death toll from the incident stands at about 770.

The head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, Saeed Ohadi, however, says the disaster has killed around 2,000 pilgrims, including some 170 Iranians. Tens of Iranians have also been wounded, while about 300 Iranian nationals are still missing.

The incident occurred just days after a crane collapse into the Grand Mosque, which killed more than 100 people.

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Over 90,000 Palestinians arrested by Israel since 2000

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – The Israeli occupation forces arrested over 90,000 Palestinians since the start of Al-Aqsa Intifada on September 28th, 2000, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said on Sunday.

Such arrests targeted all categories of the Palestinian society, including injured civilians, sick persons, girls, children, MPs, lawmakers, and the elderly, the documentation department at the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported.

The Palestinian arrestees included 12,000 children below the age of 18 and 1,200 women, four among whom gave birth to their newborns in Israeli lock-ups.

The commission added that there are 200 children and 25 women still behind Israeli bars.

According to the report, the Israeli occupation arrested more than 65 lawmakers and ministers over the same period.

The Israeli occupation authorities issued 25,000 new or renewed administrative sentences against the Palestinian detainees. 480 inmates are still held administratively in Israeli jails.

At least 83 Palestinian detainees died of harsh torture and preplanned medical neglect in Israeli jails since 2000. Dozens of others died shortly after they were released as they succumbed to diseases they caught while jailed.

The Palestinian detainees suffered all kinds of torture and maltreatment during their arrest period, the group further documented.

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Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa Mosque again

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Israeli occupied forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday and deployed heavily in the courtyard, leading to clashes with Palestinian worshipers ahead of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Officials from the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Endowment said that dozens of Israeli forces raided the holy site and fired stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets “haphazardly” in the area, Ma’an reported.

Around 15 snipers deployed on the roof of the southern mosque, while Israeli forces in riot gear were stationed in the main courtyards.

Witnesses said Israeli forces closed the doors of the southern mosque with chains and forcibly evacuated worshipers from the area through the Hatta Gate.

Locals also said that Israeli soldiers used hammer drills and oxy fuel wielding tools to remove several windows from the mosque.

Only the Hatta, Chain, and Council Gates were open for Palestinians to access the holy site, with worshipers performing dawn prayers outside of the compound early Monday.

Clashes broke out on Sunday after Israeli forces raided the compound.

Young masked Palestinians “threw stones and fireworks at full equipped police and border police forces”, who responded with “riot dispersal means”, Israeli police said of Sunday’s clashes.

Calm returned to the compound later on Sunday morning and most police were withdrawn, an AFP journalist reported.

Palestinians have been alarmed by an increase in visits by extremist Jews and fear rules governing the compound will be changed.

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Eyewitness account of Mina disaster: Saudis did nothing to save us for couple of hours!

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency -ABNA- In the worst hajj disaster in a quarter century, two huge waves of pilgrims converged Thursday on a street near a religious site in Mina, and around 2,000 people were crushed or trampled to death, while so many other were injured.

Following this tragedy accident Iranian Daily Shahr Ara conducted an interview with ‘Haj Hamid Shaker Nijad’, one of the survivors of the accident:

When the accident happened?

It was around 8 AM. We were in Mash’arul Haram, a place between Arafat and Mina. Pilgrims stayed in that place for one night and performed the especial rituals of this place. After that we moved toward Mina for Rami Jamarat. We were in our way to Mina but after a while the crowd stopped and didn’t move anymore; all people were standing shoulder to shoulder so we were not able to move forward or backward. There was a deplorable condition, no water and no oxygen to breathe.

How long you were kept in this condition?

Maybe around 30 minutes; but if you were here you would understand that you can’t stand a quarter under this weather in usual condition. The weather here is too hot so it is not even easy for you to walk and in this horrible condition the time going for you very slow.

How was the reaction of pilgrims in that situation?

Gradually a wave of fear began to rise in all people; we were feeling the fear of death. At first we were thinking that the way should be open soon, but there were high pressures on our chests and we have no oxygen to breath. Fear of death had caused some pilgrims to show certain reactions; some of them were shouting and trying to escape.

You mean there was no way to escape?

There was no way. We were so near to death so we made ourselves ready to die. All the people were in this condition but some of them could control themselves and the other couldn’t. At that time Saudi police called on people to stay on their places and urged them to don’t move; after that some African pilgrims decided to save their lives, so they pushed other people and tried to reach the tents by climbing them; these reactions brought more stresses among people and so many people were crushed to death under the foot.

As it is appear in the news and photos there were lots of people falling down on each other.

Yes, I saw how people being trampled underfoot in the crowd. There was no place to fall; so by falling of the first person, many people fell on him. I saw someone who was so crushed and all his stomach and intestines had spilled out.

Saudi government blames African pilgrims for this deadly disaster, what do you think about that?

Certainly it was Saudi’s fault; they caused this tragedy by blocking the ways. They also did nothing for saving us for 3 or4 hours. We had no water; if there was a quick medical care the number of victims could never reached this huge amount.  

How Saudis were carrying the corpses and the wounded?

It was terrible; very very terrible; they put live people and the dead on each other. They were carrying the corpses and the wounded people by trucks because there were not enough ambulances!!!

 

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Top Sunni scholars condemn Mina tragedy

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – A number of Sunni Ulema in northwestern province of West Azarbaijan of Iran said imprudence on the part of Saudi authorities has taken a heavy toll on Hajj pilgrims.

The Sunni Ulema also expressed regret over the fatal incident in Mina and offered condolences to the world Muslims.

According to Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, the death toll of the Iranian pilgrims reached 169.

Meanwhile, the numbers of injured and missing Iranian pilgrims are 46 and 298 respectively.

The pilgrims were on way to jamarāt to perform Hajj rituals there. The Stoning of the Devil is part of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

Muslim pilgrims fling pebbles at three walls called jamarāt, in the city of Mina just east of Mecca.

It is one of a series of ritual acts that must be performed in the Hajj.

Many world experts, political and religious officials believe mismanagement was the real cause for the various incidents in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, including the fall of a huge crane, a fire disaster in a hotel, a fire which spread in the camp of the Egyptian pilgrims in Mina desert, and above all, the Mina stampede.

Meanwhile, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri held the Saudi government responsible for the Thursday stampede tragedy during hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. More than 2,000 pilgrims lost their lives with hundreds still missing.

‘The Mina incident was a very significant issue for us which unveiled Saudi Arabia’s mismanagement,’ he said.

Jahangiri expressed dismay at the two fatal incidents of crane crash and stampede during current hajj rituals and said, ‘The Government of Iran believes that the Saudi government shall be held accountable and will investigate the causes of the tragedy.’

On September 24, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei declared three days of national mourning following the deaths of several hundred Hajj pilgrims, including Iranians, in the holy city of Mecca.

‘The Saudi government is required to accept its heavy responsibility in this bitter incident and meet its obligations in compliance with the rule of righteousness and fairness. Mismanagement and inadequate measures that were behind this tragedy should not be undermined,” the Leader said.

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Iraq warplanes kill 40 ISIS leaders in Anbar

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – A security source in Anbar declared Sunday the death of nearly 40 leaders in the ISIS organization in an aerial bombing that targeted a site for them in the province.

The source informed, “In the late hours of yesterday, Iraqi Army Aviation conducted an air strike against Kabisa plant in Anbar province, killing about 40 leaders of the organization,” adding also that, “The bombing led to the destruction of tens of vehicles for ISIS.

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