In a snub to the Antichrist, Iraq’s top court says it can’t dissolve parliament

In a snub to Sadr, Iraq’s top court says it can’t dissolve parliament

Wednesday, 07 September 2022 4:19 PM  [ Last Update: Wednesday, 07 September 2022 6:29 PM ]

The file photo shows the Iraqi parliament’s interior.

Iraq’s supreme court says it lacks the constitutional authority to dissolve the country’s parliament as demanded by influential Shia cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

In a ruling on Wednesday, which came in response to a lawsuit filed by lawmakers affiliated with Sadr, the country’s apex court said it was only the parliament that could dissolve itself if it were to be found in default of its duties.

After the ruling, Iraqi security forces closed the gates to the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, the seat of the government, fearing angry reaction from Sadr’s followers, according to reports.

The Arab country has been grappling with a political stalemate since last October when Sadr’s parliamentary bloc won the general elections but refused to join an alliance with its fellow legislative factions to form a government.

Sadr and his followers have been calling for the parliament to be dismissed to pave way for fresh elections.

Last week, violent clashes between Sadr’s loyalists and security forces led to the killing of at least 30 people, pushing the country to the brink of civil war.

It clashes followed the occupation of the country’s parliament and the capital Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone by the supporters of Sadr.

The violence came to a halt only after the top Iraqi clergy stepped in, prompting Sadr to order his supporters to withdraw.

The United Nations Security Council also “appealed for calm and restraint” in Iraq, urging different parties to refrain from violence and seek a political solution.

UNSC urges Iraqi parties to refrain from violence, settle differences through dialogue

The Security Council has urged the Iraqi parties to refrain from violence.

The leaders of the Coordination Framework, the rival parliamentary faction, say they are not opposed to early elections but they insist that the parliament should meet to vote on a new electoral law and dissolve itself.

Sadr opposes that and has called on the judiciary to dissolve the legislature, causing a political stalemate.

On Saturday, it was reported that the parliament staff was to return to work for the first time since July–when Sadr’s followers stormed the legislature–as various factions agreed to hold national dialog to resolve the ongoing power struggle.

The development came as Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi said the parliament had to “set a date for early parliamentary elections” and discuss the election of a new president and formation of a government.

Antichrist rejects return to parliament

Sadrist Movement rejects return to parliament

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Sadrist Movement on Thursday rejected a possible return to the Iraqi parliament and reaching an agreement with pro-Iran rivals, a close associate of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said, adding that the parliament will lose its legitimacy should Sadrist allies withdraw.

“The Sadrist bloc’s return to the parliament is absolutely and definitively forbidden, under any pretext,” reads a statement from Sadr associate Salih Mohammed al-Iraqi, indirectly asking Kurdish and Sunni allies to withdraw from the parliament to render it illegitimate.

Iraq was cast into chaos after Sadr announced his “definitive retirement” from politics late August, which sparked violent clashes between his supporters and loyalists of rival Iran-backed militias which claimed the lives of at least 30 and injured 500 others.

“The ball is in the court of the allies,” he said to allies of the Sadrists.

The statement also suggested Iraq’s president and prime minister to remain in the reins of power and reside over the caretaker government to prepare for the dissolution of parliament and early elections.

Prior to his withdrawal in June, Sadr was allied with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance. Together, they were the kingmakers of their respective components before the Coordination Framework overtook the Sadrist bloc as the largest Shiite faction in the legislature.

The statement also follows the filing of a lawsuit to Iraq’s top court appealing against the resignation of the Sadrist bloc MPs from the parliament, with the court expected to hold a hearing on September 28 to consider the case.

Iraq’s top court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit which requested the dissolution of the parliament, reiterating that the judicial body does not possess authority to carry out the decision.

The top Shiite cleric previously called for the dissolution of parliament in August, citing the parliament’s failure to form Iraq’s new government. His call further enraged thousands of his supporters who were already holding sit-ins in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

Palestinian official slams ‘daily’ Israeli incursions outside the Temple Walls: Rev 11

Palestinian official slams ‘daily’ Israeli incursions into West Bank

September 9, 2022 at 8:55 am | Published in: Israel, Middle East, News, Palestine

Head of the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs, Hussein Al-Sheikh [Twitter]September 9, 2022 at 8:55 am

Israel weakens the Palestinian Authority by storming the Occupied Palestinian Territories everyday then alleging that the Palestinian Authority is weak and incapable of exercising its control over its territories, Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein Al-Sheikh told Israeli website Walla News yesterday.

The official stressed that the PA cannot accept a reality in which “Israeli occupation forces storm the Palestinian territories every night and then ask the Palestinian Authority to work during the day against militants.”

He revealed that, in an effort to calm the situation, he proposed to the Israeli authorities that they would stop storming the Occupied Palestinian Territories for four months as a test period, but the Israelis rejected the offer.

Overnight raids by the Israeli army are a near-daily practice in the occupied West Bank. Israel claims that they are essential for intelligence purposes, but rights groups have slammed the practice, insisting that the goal is to oppress and intimidate the Palestinian population and increase state control.

Like military checkpoints and the illegal Separation Wall, insist critics, the raids are part of the DNA of the apartheid state.

Russia is Ready to Start World War 3

Ukraine’s top general warns of Russian nuclear strike risk

EURACTIV.com with Reuters

 Sep 8, 2022

General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi co-authored an article containing the most detailed assessment of the war to date, and gave starkly contrasting messages to those given by top Ukrainian officials. [Twitter]

In rare public comments Ukraine’s military chief warned on Wednesday (7 September) of the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, which would create the risk of a “limited” nuclear conflict with other powers.

The war in Ukraine that began with Russia’s invasion on 24 February was likely to rage on into next year, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in an article co-authored by lawmaker Mykhailo Zabrodskyi and published in English by state news agency Ukrinform.

The article contained by far the Ukrainian commander-in-chief’s most detailed assessment of the war to date, and gave starkly contrasting messages to those given by top Ukrainian officials.

“There is a direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Armed forces,” Zaluzhnyi said.

“It is also impossible to completely rule out the possibility of the direct involvement of the world’s leading countries in a ‘limited’ nuclear conflict, in which the prospect of World War Three is already directly visible,” the article said.

Ukraine will need to match the strike range of Moscow’s weapons in order to turn the tide of the war, Zaluzhnyi and Zabrodskyi wrote.

Moscow has in the past denied speculation of potential nuclear or chemical weapons use.

Turning tide

“The only path to a cardinal change in the strategic situation is undoubtedly a series of several consecutive, or ideally simultaneous, counterstrikes by Ukraine’s armed forces during the 2023 campaign,” they said.

The United States has supplied the Kyiv government with sophisticated long-range weapons on the condition Ukraine would not use them to hit targets inside Russia, according to US officials.

The article contained Ukraine’s first acknowledgement that it was responsible for what the authors said were rocket strikes on Russian air bases in annexed Crimea, including one that damaged the Saky military base last month.

Moscow denounced sabotage and Ukraine hinted at responsibility for new explosions on Tuesday (16 August) at a military base in the Russian-annexed Crimea region that is an important war supply line.

Until now, Ukraine refused to publicly acknowledge its involvement, with a senior official speaking on condition of anonymity citing fears of Russian retaliation.

“We are talking about a series of successful rocket strikes against the enemy’s Crimean air bases, first of all, the Saky airfield,” the article said, using language that did not clarify whether that meant unguided rockets or missiles.

The Saky strike took 10 Russian warplanes “out of action” on 9 August, the article said.

Ukraine is not publicly known to have weapon systems in service with a sufficient range to hit Saky, which lies at least 200 kilometres from the front lines.

No peace this year’s

The article’s tone contrasted with often optimistic statements by senior Ukrainian officials.

“The length of the war is already measured in months, and there is every reason to believe that this time period will extend beyond 2022,” it said.

Zaluzhnyi and Zabrodskyi conceded that Ukraine was positioned “extremely unfavourably” on two eastern frontlines, around the towns of Bakhmut and Izyum.

Foreign-supplied weapons will make up the backbone of Ukraine’s defence next year, they said.

“In 2023, the material base of Ukraine’s resistance must remain significant volumes of military aid from our partner nations,” the article says.

The Iranian Nuclear Horn Continues to Grow: Daniel 8

Iran’s near weapons-grade uranium stock grows, probe stuck -IAEA reports

Iran’s uranium enriched to up to 60% and in the form of uranium hexafluoride, the gas that centrifuges enrich, is estimated to have grown by 12.5 kg to 55.6 kg since the last quarterly International Atomic Energy Agency report issued on May 30, the IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters said. At the same time, as in previous quarters, the IAEA issued a second report saying Iran had still not provided credible answers on the origin of uranium particles found at three undeclared sites that appear to mainly be old and which the IAEA has been investigating for years.

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Reuters | Vienna | Updated: 07-09-2022 18:34 IST | Created: 07-09-2022 18:34 IST

Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60%, close to weapons-grade, has grown to well above the amount that by one definition is enough, if enriched further, for a nuclear bomb, a quarterly report by the U.N. atomic watchdog showed on Wednesday. Iran’s uranium enriched to up to 60% and in the form of uranium hexafluoride, the gas that centrifuges enrich, is estimated to have grown by 12.5 kg to 55.6 kg since the last quarterly International Atomic Energy Agency report issued on May 30, the IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters said.

At the same time, as in previous quarters, the IAEA issued a second report saying Iran had still not provided credible answers on the origin of uranium particles found at three undeclared sites that appear to mainly be old and which the IAEA has been investigating for years. “The Director General is increasingly concerned that Iran has not engaged with the Agency on the outstanding safeguards issues during this reporting period and, therefore, that there has been no progress towards resolving them,” the second report, also seen by Reuters, said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The Iranian Horn is Nuclear Ready: Daniel 8

Iran has enough uranium near weapons-grade for a bomb, IAEA report shows

By Francois Murphy

The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is seen at the IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

VIENNA, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60%, close to weapons-grade, has grown to enough, if enriched further, for a nuclear bomb, a report by the United Nations nuclear watchdog showed on Wednesday.

Passing that threshold is a milestone in the unravelling of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which capped the purity to which Iran was allowed to enrich uranium at 3.67%, well below the 20% it achieved before the deal and the roughly 90% that is weapons grade.

Washington’s withdrawal from the deal under then-President Donald Trump and its reimposition of sanctions against Tehran that had been lifted under the deal prompted Tehran to breach the deal’s nuclear restrictions.

“Iran now can produce 25 kg (of uranium) at 90% if they want to,” a senior diplomat said in response to Wednesday’s International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters when asked if Iran had enough material enriched to 60% for one bomb.

The report said Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to 60% and in the form of uranium hexafluoride, the gas that centrifuges enrich, was estimated to be 55.6 kg, an increase of 12.5 kg from the previous quarterly report.

It would take Iran roughly three to four weeks to produce enough material for a bomb if it wanted to, the diplomat said, adding that it would take the IAEA two to three days to detect a move in that direction. Iran denies intending to.

Indirect talks between Iran and the United States have made only stuttering progress towards reviving the deal, which would take the many advanced centrifuges Iran is now using offline since the deal only allowed it to enrich with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges.

A revived deal would also slash its stock of uranium enriched to various levels, currently roughly four tonnes, back to within the deal’s cap of 202.8 kg.

One stumbling block in those talks, however, has been Iran’s continued failure to explain the origin of uranium particles found at three undeclared sites. Iran has been calling at the talks for the IAEA’s years-long investigation into the issue to be scrapped.

Western powers and the IAEA, however, say Iran has a duty to clear up the issue as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the issue has nothing to do with the 2015 deal.

“The Director General is increasingly concerned that Iran has not engaged with the Agency on the outstanding safeguards issues during this reporting period and, therefore, that there has been no progress towards resolving them,” a second IAEA report also issued on Wednesday and seen by Reuters, said.

U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA believe Iran had a secret, coordinated nuclear weapons programme that it halted in 2003. Iran, however, insists it never had such a programme. Most of the sites are thought to date back to around 2003 or earlier.

Reporting by Francois Murphy Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Angus MacSwan

Ukraine’s top general warns of Russian nuclear horn: Daniel 7

Ukraine’s top general warns of Russian nuclear strike risk

By Max Hunder

 and Tom Balmforth

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi waits before a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other officials in Kyiv, Ukraine October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

KYIV, Sept 7 (Reuters) – In rare public comments Ukraine’s military chief warned on Wednesday of the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, which would create the risk of a “limited” nuclear conflict with other powers.

The war in Ukraine that began with Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 was likely to rage on into next year, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in an article co-authored by lawmaker Mykhailo Zabrodskyi and published by state news agency Ukrinform.

The article contained by far the Ukrainian commander-in-chief’s most detailed assessment of the war to date, and gave starkly contrasting messages to those given by top Ukrainian officials.

“There is a direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Armed forces,” Zaluzhnyi said.

“It is also impossible to completely rule out the possibility of the direct involvement of the world’s leading countries in a ‘limited’ nuclear conflict, in which the prospect of World War Three is already directly visible,” the article said.

Moscow has in the past denied speculation of potential nuclear or chemical weapons use.

Ukraine will need to match the strike range of Moscow’s weapons in order to turn the tide of the war, Zaluzhnyi and Zabrodskyi wrote.

“The only path to a cardinal change in the strategic situation is undoubtedly a series of several consecutive, or ideally simultaneous, counterstrikes by Ukraine’s armed forces during the 2023 campaign,” they said.