Top Muslim clerics gather in Beirut to form a unified resistance against Israel

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Muslim clerics have gathered from all around the globe in the Lebanese capital Beirut to form a unified resistance front in the face of threats posed by the Israeli regime in the region.

Religious scholars from every corner of the Islamic world, including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Senegal, Malaysia, and Tunisia, gathered for the one-day event on Tuesday to found the International Union of Resistance.

“This is an advance step in extending more support to the resistance, which is facing Israel, the US and the Takfiris all at once. Although the focus is always on librating Palestine and al-Quds, this union brings together the biggest number of clerics in the Muslim world,” said one of the clerics participating at the event in Beirut.

Another cleric said, “Meeting in the capital of resistance, Beirut, our brothers here have agreed that we are in a critical phase and there are two ideologies which can never meet: that of surrender and that of resistance. And through this union we seek to establish a new phase to put our hands together and put issues on the right path.”

The meeting was chaired by Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, the secretary general of the World Assembly for Rapprochement Among Islamic Sects.

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Intelligence minister: Iran arrests foreign-linked spies

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Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi says the country’s security forces have arrested a number of individuals linked to foreign spy agencies.

Thanks to the vigilance of Iranian Intelligence Ministry forces, “the movements of foreign intelligence services have been monitored in Bushehr Province and those elements who sought to carry out surveillance work for foreigners have been identified” and arrested, Alavi said on Tuesday.

He added that the southern Bushehr Province has great sensitivity given its location, which is near a number of countries that have intelligence objectives in this part of Iran.

“As a hub for the country’s economy, industry, military, commercial and nuclear sectors, this province has a special position at the national level,” the Iranian minister pointed out.

Alavi further said that arrogant powers use the nationals and the forces of each country against its own national interests and security, adding, “This has been carried out in countries such as Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.”

Earlier in October, Alavi said Iranian intelligence forces in recent months arrested 130 “wicked elements” with links to the Takfiri terrorists operating in some regional states in a series of sting operations and thwarted several planned terror attacks across the country.

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Jewish settlers defile Aqsa Mosque

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Groups of Jewish settlers entered the holy Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday morning under heavy police protection and defiled its courtyards.

Local sources told the PIC reporter that the groups, under protection of special police forces, embarked on provocative tours of the holy site in the presence of Muslim worshippers.

They pointed out that the worshipers and Aqsa guards were on alert to block any attempt by any of those settlers to perform Talmudic rituals in the holy Islamic site.

For its part, the Israeli police imposed tight restrictions on the entry of Palestinian young men and women into the Aqsa Mosque.

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Libya gov’t ready to retake capital

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Libya’s internationally recognized government says its forces are getting ready to recapture the capital, Tripoli, from the militants and has urged a civil disobedience campaign in the city.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani’s government said its forces have been given orders to “advance toward Tripoli to liberate it and state institutions from the grip of armed groups.”

The statement also called on the capital’s residents to launch a “civil disobedience campaign until the arrival of the army.”

On Saturday, Thani said the country’s military forces had united in order to retake Tripoli and the country’s second largest city, Benghazi, from militiamen.

Following the seizure of the capital by Fajr (Dawn) Libya — a coalition of several armed groups –in August, Thani, along with the new parliament, took refuge in the eastern town of al-Baida.

The new Tripoli rulers have set up their own government which the international community does not recognize.

Benghazi has also been a war zone since May, when former General Khalifa Haftar joined forces with the army and declared war on militia groups.

The government’s planned operation in Tripoli comes on the heels of fierce fighting south and west of the capital.

The village of Kikla, which is located some 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Tripoli, has witnessed over two weeks of raging battles.

Libya plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The country has witnessed numerous clashes between government forces and rival militia groups that refuse to lay down their arms.

MSM/BB/HRB

India pays USD 400mn oil dues to Iran

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India has cleared USD 400 million of due oil payments to Iran facilitated by an interim nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1, which allows the release of part of the blocked Iranian funds.

The payment was transferred to the central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was then deposited to the Islamic Republic’s account in the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).

India is among Asia’s major importers of energy, and relies on the Islamic Republic to meet a portion of its energy requirements.

Following nuclear negotiations, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council- the US, France, Britain, Russia, China- plus Germany reached a deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program on November 24, 2013 in the Swiss city of Geneva. The deal took effect on January 20 and expired six months later.

Under the interim deal, Tehran received USD 4.2 billion of its frozen oil revenues in eight installments in exchange for limiting certain aspects of its nuclear activities.

Following the agreement, it was scheduled that Iran, in six payments, be granted access to another USD 2.8 billion of its funds held in foreign banks.

Of the USD 2.8 billion of oil payments, some 1.4 billion dollar, in three tranches, has so far been freed and deposited to the CBI.

AR/HJL/HRB

‘Europe facing blowback from sanctions’

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Western sanctions on Iran and Russia are having a boomerang effect on Europe, a political commentator tells Press TV.

Shabbir Razvi, a political commentator from London, during an interview with Press TV on Tuesday said: “I don’t think it serves the interests of Washington or the European nations to keep Iran and Russia outside the matrix of international transactions and trade. It is having a boomerang effect.”

Razvi went on to say that, “each of the nations in the European Union is facing difficulties and if one is talking about interests, we should really have good trade relationships with Iran and Russia so that our people in Europe do not lose out.”

The remarks come as the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation discusses providing more facilities for Iranian companies to invest in Russia and the development of bilateral trade ties between Moscow and Tehran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran and Russia’s common interests have strengthened the two countries’ cooperation, and that Tehran and Moscow are determined to further improve ties.

Unilateral US-led sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear energy program and the recent Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine have prompted the two countries to further boost economic cooperation.

Regarding the consequences of blowback on Europe, Razvi said, (6.10) “the West and Washington consensus has always seen that permanent interests are more important than permanent friends… What that statement indicates is that there is no morality or ethics in that kind of relationship.”

In September, Iran and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to increase joint cooperation, agreeing to use their national currencies in bilateral trade.

Iran and Russia are also planning to establish a joint bank as an effort to increase bilateral trade and bypass sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s banking sector.

SC/BB/HRB

Iran arrests foreign-linked spies

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Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi says the country’s security forces have arrested a number of individuals linked to foreign spy agencies.

Thanks to the vigilance of Iranian Intelligence Ministry forces, “the movements of foreign intelligence services have been monitored in Bushehr Province and those elements who sought to carry out surveillance work for foreigners have been identified” and arrested, Alavi said on Tuesday.

He added that the southern Bushehr Province has great sensitivity given its location, which is near a number of countries that have intelligence objectives in this part of Iran.

“As a hub for the country’s economy, industry, military, commercial and nuclear sectors, this province has a special position at the national level,” the Iranian minister pointed out.

Alavi further said that arrogant powers use the nationals and the forces of each country against its own national interests and security, adding, “This has been carried out in countries such as Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.”

Earlier in October, Alavi said Iranian intelligence forces in recent months arrested 130 “wicked elements” with links to the Takfiri terrorists operating in some regional states in a series of sting operations and thwarted several planned terror attacks across the country.

SF/HJL/HRB

‘5 Britons join ISIL every week’

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At least five Britons are travelling to Iraq and Syria every week to join the ISIL Takfiri group, the UK’s most senior police officer says.

The figure, according to the Metropolitan police commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, represents a “minimum” and “the drumbeat of terrorism in Britain” is now “faster and more intense”.

“We still have an average of five people joining them a week. Five a week doesn’t sound much but when you realise there are 50 weeks in a year, 250 more would be 50% more than we think have gone already,” Hogan-Howe said, adding, “Those are the ones that we believe have gone. There may be many more who set out to travel to another country and meandered over to Syria and Iraq in a way that is not always possible to spot when you have failed states and leaky borders.”

He also expressed concerns about the people who have joined the terrorist group returning to their homeland, saying, the return of “potentially militarized individuals” to the UK “is a risk to our communities”.

“We know that over 500 British nationals travelled to join the conflict. Many have returned and many will wish to do so in the coming months and perhaps in future years,” Hogan-Howe noted.

The commissioner said that since the beginning of 2014 the Metropolitan Police have made 218 arrests for activities related to terrorism, which shows a rise of approximately 70% compared to three years ago.

The British government is among the group of western countries supporting anti-government militants in Syria. London has also joined the so-called US-led coalition against ISIL.

IA/BB/HRB

North Korea releases American detainee

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North Korea has released one of the three American nationals who were in custody in the country, according to the US State Department.

Jeffrey Fowle, 56, of Miamisburg, Ohio was arrested six months ago on charges of leaving a Bible in a nightclub in the northern port city of Chongjin, the department said on Tuesday.

He was flown out of North Korea on a US government jet that was spotted Tuesday, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said, adding that Fowle had been evaluated by a doctor and appeared to be in good health.

The Swedish government helped negotiate Fowle’s release. The State Department, however, declined to provide any details of how it was brokered.

Washington welcomed the release, but it was quick to stress that its focus remained firmly on the return of two other Americans, Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae, serving hard-labor prison terms in the country.

Miller, 24, was arrested in April after allegedly ripping up his visa at immigration. He was convicted of entering North Korea illegally to commit espionage and sentenced to six years of hard labor.

The 42-year-old Bae is a Korean-American missionary who is serving a 15-year sentence for alleged and unspecified “hostile acts.”

Pyongyang has repeatedly rejected US offers to send an envoy to negotiate the detainees’ release.

The sudden release of Fowle now raised speculations that Pyongyang is mulling to open the door to direct talks with the US.

“Usually we see a clear lead-up to this sort of thing, but not in this case,” Paul Carroll, a North Korea expert and program director at the Ploughshares Fund in San Francisco, said.

“It could mean the North Korean leadership is interested in exploring what might be possible in terms of picking up a conversation with the US again,” Carroll added.

SB/AGB

Nigerians demand schoolgirls’ return

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Nigerian activists have maintained their presence in protest camps in the nation’s capital of Abuja, demanding the safe return of schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram Takfiri group.

The protesters converged on Abuja on Tuesday to resume their rally dubbed Bring Back Our Girls, expressing optimism that the abducted schoolgirls would soon be released as part of a reported agreement between the central government and the Takfiri terrorists.

The development comes following an announcement by the government last week that a deal was in the making with the militants to secure the freedom of the kidnapped pupils.

“I can say with some optimism, cautious optimism, that we are moving towards a situation where we’d be able to in the very near future, to be able to get back our girls,” Nigerian Foreign Minister Aminu Wali said in a joint press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Tuesday.

Wali’s statement comes after sources close to the Nigerian government announced on Friday that the two sides have agreed to a truce to end hostilities.

Boko Haram, however, has not verified the ceasefire and at least five raids have been launched by the terrorist group since the announcement of the truce.

On April 14, Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok. Reports say 57 of the girls managed to escape but 219 remain in captivity.

The abduction case has drawn national and international condemnation. The Nigerian government has been heavily censured for what has been described as a failure to contain the rising violence in the African country.

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