Iran Asks Zuckerberg To Lift Soleimani Ban, While Censoring The Internet

Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf Arab states withdrew ambassadors and expelled Lebanese envoys in October and November over what the kingdom later said was arch-foe Hezbollah's dominance of the Lebanese state.

In a speech, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah accused Saudi Arabia's king of terrorism on Monday.

"King, the terrorist is the one who has exported ... Daeshi ideology to the world, and it is you," Nasrallah said, using an acronym for Islamic State Sunni terror group.

Mikati responded in a statement, distancing himself from the Hezbollah leader.

"What ... Nasrallah said about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this evening does not represent the position of the Lebanese government and most Lebanese. It is not in Lebanon's interest to offend any Arab country, especially the Gulf states.

"For God's sake, have mercy on Lebanon and the Lebanese people and stop the hateful sectarian and political rhetoric."

Lebanese officials including President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, and Mikati have called for dialogue with Saudi Arabia to resolve the diplomatic crisis, which has piled onto an economic meltdown now in its third year.

Report by Reuters

The CEO of the hardliner agency said in a statement on Monday that although the number of Hebrew native speakers is not so large, the agency decided to establish its Hebrew version along with its social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram because of the strategic importance of the Palestinian issue for the Islamic Republic as well as Muslims around the globe.

Majid Gholizadeh said there is “systematic censorship” on the news about Israel, noting that the Hebrew site will provide “authentic news of what is happening inside the occupied territories” to show the Israelis “the true nature and behavior of their leaders.”

Gholizadeh said the Hebrew website was unveiled on the second anniversary of Soleimani’s death to honor the commander, who “devoted his life to the efforts for the stability and calm of the nations”.

Soleimani, who was Iran’s top military and intelligence operator outside its borders, was in charge of supporting and organizing militant proxy forces. He was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad airport in January 2020.

Nour News website, which is affiliated with the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani, has also set up a Hebrew version last week.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane on January 8, 2020, as it was taking off from the capital’s international airport. All 176 people onboard were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.

The six family members awarded compensation by an Ontario court lost spouses, siblings, children, nieces and nephews aboard Flight 752, their lawyer, Mark Arnold, said in a statement on Monday. They had filed a civil lawsuit against Iran and senior officials they believe were to blame for the incident.

A report by an association composed of mostly Canadian families of Flight PS752 victims in November challenged Iran's official findings that blamed a misaligned radar and an error by the air defense operator for downing the plane. Iran has not allowed any independent investigation to take place.

The lawyer said his team will look to seize Iranian assets in Canada and abroad. He said Iran has oil tankers in other countries and his team will be looking to seize whatever it can to pay what the families are owed.

The decision by Justice Edward Belobaba of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice was dated December 31 and announced by Arnold on Monday and awarded $100 million in punitive damages to be shared by the estates of the six victims. The court also awarded another $1 million to family members for the loss of guidance, care and companionship, and $6 million for pain and suffering.

Since it was a civil and not a criminal lawsuit the plaintiffs did not have to prove beyond “a reasonable doubt” that the downing of the plane was a deliberate terror act.

The case was filed by Shahin Moghaddam, Mehrzad Zarei and Ali Gorji. Fearing reprisals from Iran, some of the other plaintiffs withheld their names, CBC News reported earlier. Earlier reports had said that there are other pending court cases in Canada and in the United States.

A special Canadian forensic team had produced a report in mid-2021 that accused Iran of incompetence and recklessness over the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane. Iran criticized the report as being "highly politicized".

Canada is not the only country seeking justice in the incident. Ukraine has been the most vocal party affected by the tragedy and has repeatedly blamed Iran for lack of cooperation in the investigation.

The report found that while the shooting down of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 had not been premeditated, it did not absolve Iranian officials of responsibility for the incident.

Iran admitted it shot down the airliner shortly after takeoff from Tehran in January 2020 and blamed a "disastrous mistake" by forces on high alert during a confrontation with the United States.

At the time, Iran was on edge about possible attacks after it fired missiles at Iraqi bases housing US forces in retaliation for the killing days before of its most powerful military commander, Qasem Soleimani, in a US missile strike at Baghdad airport. But authorities failed to close the civilian airspace that led to the tragedy.

With reporting by Reuters

Iran’s Red Crescent Society said earlier Monday that two people were killed as flood hit many towns and villages in the southern parts of the province.

Officials of the society later added that another man lost his life and eight were rescued in an operation to save three cars that were stuck in the floods in the city of Lamard.

The deputy head of the Red Crescent in the province, Mehdi Khoubyar, said on Monday that their teams had provided relief aid to hundreds of people in the last few days.

Iranian emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi said that another victim of the floods in the province was a 50-year-old woman who drowned in the city of Darab.

Earlier on Saturday, the head of the crisis management taskforce of Hormozgan province said that an eight-year-old girl was drowned by floodwater in Bandar Abbas.

Iran’s Meteorological Organization has predicted more rains, blizzards, thunderstorms, and hails for almost all the country in the next few days, especially in southern provinces of Kerman and Hormozgan. The precipitation comes after years of drought and are not likely to alleviate the country’s water crisis.

During an interview with Al-Jazeera Haniyeh said different countries help in financing the group, but Iran is the biggest donor.

The head of Hamas political bureau added that thanks to the aid from Iran, his group managed to have a comprehensive defense strategy in its confrontation with the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip last year.

He was referring to the two-week outbreak of violence in May 2021 that was called operation “Sword of Jerusalem” by Hamas but dubbed operation “Guardian of the Walls” by Israel.

Haniyeh said that the operation was “a rehearsal for the liberation of the Palestinian territories from the occupation", adding that it "completely paralyzed” Israel as their missiles even reached targets in Tel Aviv, which meant failure of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.

Hamas reportedly fired more than 4,000 rockets and missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense system.

He said that Hamas is not fighting a proxy war for Iran, stressing they are in it together against “the common Israeli enemy.”

Haniyeh added that Iran backs the Shiite groups within its framework of support for the “axis of resistance” in the region, noting that Tehran also supports Sunni movements against Israel.