Claims Reverberate Over Iran Missile Attack On Erbil
Maryam Sinaiee
Iran International
An Iranian website has denied a claim that Iran's March 13 missile attack on Erbil was meant to derail a plan to pump Kurdish gas to Turkey and Europe.
Iran International
An Iranian website has denied a claim that Iran's March 13 missile attack on Erbil was meant to derail a plan to pump Kurdish gas to Turkey and Europe.
The influential Nour News argued Thursday that Iraqi Kurdish officials had come up with the explanation to divert attention from Israeli intelligence operating in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
"The disinformation campaign…stage-managed by Reuters, is not only devoid of truth but also aimed at covering up the scandal of anti-security cooperation of a section of the ruling group in Iraqi Kurdistan with the Zionist regime and the United States," Nour News wrote under the headline "Generous Betrayal Of Iraqi People's Interests To Absolve Mossad."
A Reuters report Monday cited anonymous Iraqi and Turkish officials that while Iran's attack carried several messages, a key trigger was a plan to pump Kurdish gas into Turkey and Europe to take advantage of uncertainties over Russia supplies after the Ukraine crisis.
Iran’s 12-missile attack, which hit a villa near the US consulate, was claimed by Tehran as hitting an Israeli intelligence center and variously seen as a response to an Israeli airstrike in Syria that killed two Iranian soldiers or to an Israeli attack February on drones at an airfield in Kermanshah province.
Many were surprised that the attack took place amid Iran's nuclear talks with world powers.
Pipeline project
"There had been two recent meetings between Israeli and US energy officials and specialists at the villa to discuss shipping Kurdistan gas to Turkey via a new pipeline," an Iraqi security official told Reuters. The agency claimed two Turkish officials had confirmed talks involving US and Israeli officials to discuss Iraq supplying Turkey and Europe with natural gas.
The office of Iraqi Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani denied that the Erbil villa, owned by a Kurdish businessman involved in the Kurdistan energy sector, had been used by US and Israeli officials to discuss a pipeline project.
In response to the Reuters report, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani denied claims Tuesday that Kurdish officials had held talks with Israelis over gas and accused Iran of launching the attack on Erbil to influence the choice of Iraqi prime minister in fear that “the influence it has gained in recent years in this country will go away.” Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party is allied with the Shia bloc of cleric Moqtada Sadr, and the Arab Sunni Taqadum, led by house speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.
But a Reuters report Tuesday noted Barzani had also told the World Government Forum in Dubai that developing oil and gas in Iraq's Kurdish region might not be in Iran's interest, presumably as Tehran also eyes European markets.
While Iran's foreign ministry and state media have not commented on Reuters’ claims over the Erbil attack, Nour News is affiliated to the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani.
The news comes in the wake of a two-day meeting on March 27-28 in Israel, dubbed the ‘Negev Summit’ that brought together foreign ministers from four Arab states, Israel and the United States.
The officials, speaking to Hebrew language media said that Israel may soon sign an “alliance” with regional partners to confront Iranian drones and missiles. According to these officials, already a system has been established to jointly track Iranian air activities in the region.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, now having full diplomatic relations and cooperation with Israel fall within the immediate Iranian threat zone. Saudi Arabia, which has not normalized relations with Israel due to the Palestinian issue, is said to have secret ties with the Jewish state, as both countries share deep concerns over Iran.
Houthi rebels, assisted by Iranian military hardware, have been launching regular attacks against Saudi Arabia. Just last week, a fierce Houthi drone and missile attack hit oil installations in the country at a time of high oil prices and uncertainty about Russian energy supplies to world markets.
The UAE and Bahrain, geographically closer to Iran, can play an important role in strengthening a coordinated detection and air defense system.
As Iran proliferates military drones among its proxy forces in the region, threatening Israel and others, the officials quoted by the media confirmed that hundreds of air strikes have taken place against Iranian targets in the region. Since 2017, Iranian forces and bases in Syria have sustained regular air strikes, but Israel had rarely taken responsibility.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, having attended the Negev Summit, continued his efforts to reassure Arab allies in the Persian Gulf of American commitment to their security.
Blinken met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, in Morocco. Unusually for a US secretary of state, Blinken's trip to the Middle East and North Africa did not include any stops in the Persian Gulf monarchies or talks with Saudi officials.
Washington's Arab allies chafe at what they see as declining US commitment to security in their region in the face of Iranian involvement in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon which has nudged them into common cause with former arch-foe Israel.
"We have real challenges to confront together, in the region and beyond," Blinken said at the start of the meeting with Sheikh Mohammed at the crown prince's private residence in Rabat.
The first challenge Blinken cited was a series of missile attacks by the Houthis against the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
"We're determined to do everything we can to help you defend yourselves effectively against that," Blinken said, adding that he would also consult the Emirati leader on attempts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and strengthening collective security regarding Iran.
Sheikh Mohammed said the meeting was "a very important opportunity" and "I'm sure we have a lot to talk about, especially our bilateral relationship."
Saudi and Emirati relations with Washington are strained because of a number of Biden administration policies, including removing Yemen’s Houthis from the US list of terrorist organizations and trying to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that would release tens of billions of dollars to Tehran apparently without adequate guarantees of security for regional countries.
Several thousand men, women and children – including protesters, journalists, dissidents, artists, writers, teachers, and dual nationals -- were interrogated, unfairly prosecuted and/or arbitrarily detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and hundreds remained unjustly imprisoned, the global rights watchdog's annual report released on Wednesday said.
Iran witnessed several widespread protests during 2021, including protests over water shortage in Khuzestan and Esfahan while teachers, workers, nurses, and pensioners had to resort to recurring protests demanding improvement in their livelihoods. Security forces dispersed peaceful gatherings in most cases and even resorted to using lethal force in Khuzestan in July.
"Torture and other ill-treatment, including denying prisoners adequate medical care, remained widespread and systematic, especially during interrogation," the report said, adding that torture-tainted “confessions” were broadcast on state television and consistently used to issue convictions.
The death penalty was used widely, including as a weapon of repression, according to the report, and executions were carried out after unfair trials while systemic impunity prevailed for past and ongoing crimes against humanity related to prison massacres in 1988 and other crimes under international law.
The report criticized the country's presidential elections of June 2021 which it said were held "in a repressive environment with a markedly low turnout" to bring to power Ebrahim Raisi who should have been investigated for crimes against humanity related to the mass enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions of 1988. This, the report said, reflects "systemic impunity in Iran."
In the same elections, authorities barred women, members of religious minorities and critics from running, and threatened to prosecute anyone encouraging election boycott, Amnesty said.
The report also criticized the Islamic Republic for "entrenched discrimination and violence," "undermining sexual and reproductive rights," violating the right to freedom of religion and belief, and limiting access to the internet.
In July, parliament fast-tracked preparations for a bill that is expected to be adopted in 2022, which would criminalize the production and distribution of internet censorship circumvention tools and intensify surveillance.
The global watchdog said Iranian authorities also failed to ensure timely and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, banned Importing Covid vaccines from the US and Britain on January 8, 2021 when the World Health Organization (WHO) had only approved the US-made Pfizer, Moderna and British-made AstraZeneca vaccines.
Iranians had to wait for months for Chinese, Russian and homegrown vaccines, while a severe wave of infection in summer killed tens-of-thousands of people. By August, less than 6 percent of Iranians had been vaccinated but the ban was lifted that month, when Raisi took over from his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani, whose efforts to procure vaccines had been stymied by the ban. Hardliners claimed Khamenei had never banned foreign vaccines.
The report also highlighted the arbitrary arrest of six people, including five lawyers and a civil rights activist, in August for holding a meeting to discuss taking legal action against authorities for mismanagement of the pandemic and delay in mass vaccination.