Feb. 16 – Iran’s envoy to Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, appeared to backtrack on comments he made suggesting that Afghanistan was part of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ and that its people could be used as a ‘martyrdom’ army to fight against Israel.
Qomi clarified his remarks during an interview at the Iranian embassy in Kabul, saying that he did not mean to suggest Afghanistan would intervene in the Israel-Hamas war by sending suicide attackers to Gaza.
Iran’s regime has been accused by the West of being behind the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which began in Israel on Oct. 7 and has spread to several countries in the region.
A research collaboration on drone technology between academics in the UK, the U.S. and Australia with Sharif university in Iran has raised concerns by military experts that the technology outlined in the research could be used for military purposes.
Sharif university is currently under international sanctions for being an entity of concern for proliferation relating to missiles and nuclear weapons and having links with Iran’s development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.
And Mahsa Amini’s uncle, Safa Aeli, was sentenced to more than five years in prison for charges including ‘insulting’ Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and “propaganda against the system.”
The charges were made in connection to anti-government remarks he had passed during the 2022 Iran protests. Amini’s death while in police custody sparked the nationwide protests which swept the country for more than 6 months.
The sentence also follows the imprisonment of Iranian-British dual national Shahram Namavar, who was handed a six month prison term. No information about the charges against him have been made public.
