United, powerful Iran poses threat to enemies' interests: Heads of government branches

United, powerful Iran poses threat to enemies’ interests: Heads of government branches

08 October, 2022 02:02

United, powerful Iran poses threat to enemies’ interests: Heads of government branches

His predecessor’s name has never been officially revealed, but some Russian media said it was General Alexander Dvornikov – also a general of the Second Chechen War and a commander in Syria. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company and a vocal critic of the military leadership, welcomed the appointment of Surovikin, saying he is “the most able commander in the Russian army.” Ukraine recently announced full liberation of the key town of Lyman in the north of the Donetsk region after Russian troops withdrew from the area. Russian forces have also lost territory in the strategic southern region of Kherson. They were also driven out of much of the northeastern region of Kharkiv in early September. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the campaign in Ukraine following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the 2014 Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. At the time, Putin said one of the goals of the “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, as well as to defend people “who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.” In 2014, the republics broke away from Ukraine, refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government there that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration. In response to Russian campaign, the United States and its European allies have imposed waves of economic sanctions on Moscow, which has spawned the worst energy crisis in the world. At the same time, Western states have been supplying Ukraine with advanced weapons and funds in a move that Moscow has repeatedly warned will only prolong the simmering conflict.

The heads of the three branches of the Iranian government say enemies of the Islamic Republic regard a unified and powerful Iran as a threat to their interests.

President Ebrahim Raeisi, Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf held a meeting in Tehran on Saturday amid the ongoing riots in some cities following the death of a young Iranian woman at a police station late last month.

They stressed the importance of reinforcing national unity for the country’s development and progress and commended prudence of the Iranian nation for contributing to efforts to foil enemies’ hostile plots during the recent weeks.

The Islamic Republic currently needs unity among people from different walks of life irrespective of language, religion and ethnicity to counter the hostility and bids to sow division in Iran, they said, adding that all Iranian bodies must also make efforts in this regard.

The heads of the executive, legislative and judicial branches said maintaining the country’s tranquility is essential for people’s economic and business activities.

“The security and peace in the country forms the foundation of any kind of development and people’s economic activities and businesses,” they added.

Protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who fainted at a police station and was pronounced dead at a Tehran hospital on September 16, erupted first in her native province of Kordestan and later in several cities, including the capital Tehran.

The protests soon turned into violent riots, with rioters going on the rampage across the country, attacking security officers, resorting to vandalism against public property, and desecrating religious sanctities.

Immediately after Amini’s death, President Raeisi ordered a thorough investigation into the case.

Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced last Friday that the rioters had been backed by Western regimes and their mercenary media, who disseminated misinformation and distorted the sequence of events that led to Amini’s death even before the official investigation into the incident concludes.

Speaking in an address to military cadets in Tehran on Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei severely censured the deadly riots, saying they were orchestrated in advance by the United States and the Israeli regime.

“I state it clearly that these developments were planned by America, the Zionist regime and their acolytes. Their main problem is with a strong and independent Iran and the country’s progress. The Iranian nation proved to be fairly strong during recent events and will bravely come onto the scene wherever necessary in the future,” the Leader said.