Opposition Accuses Trudeau Gov't of Leaking IRGC Terror Listing

Turkey severed ties with Syria after the 2011 Syrian civil war and supported rebels looking to oust Assad.

It has carried out several cross-border military operations against Kurdish armed groups it says threaten its national security and formed a "safe zone" in northern Syria where Turkish troops are now stationed.

However, amid a regional charm offensive aimed predominantly at normalizing ties with Persian Gulf Arab countries, Turkey has also said it may restore ties with Damascus if there is progress on the fight against terrorism, on the safe and voluntary return of millions of refugees hosted by Turkey, and on the political process.

Asked by reporters about Assad's reported comments that his government was open to normalization initiatives as long as they respected Syria's sovereignty and contributed to counter-terrorism, Erdogan said Ankara and Damascus could act to restore ties.

"There is no reason for it not to happen," Erdogan said, and added Turkey had no intention of interfering in Syria's internal affairs.

Syrian officials have repeatedly said that any moves towards normalizing ties between Damascus and Ankara can only come after Turkey agrees to pull out thousands of troops it has stationed in the rebel-held northwest.

In April 2023, the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Iran, Russia, Syria and Turkey held talks, as part of efforts to rebuild Turkey-Syria ties after years of animosity.

Reporting by Reuters

Kanaani expressed his disapproval on Friday, stating, "The meddling statements from the US regarding our presidential elections are a blatant and outrageous intrusion."

US acting special envoy for Iran, Abram Paley asserted on Wednesday through his social media account that there is "no expectation of free and fair elections or fundamental change in Iran’s direction."

Kanaani went on to say, "The US authorities persist with such baseless remarks, but the Iranian people will respond vigorously with their active and enthusiastic participation at the polls, as they have done historically."

Paley highlighted that the Guardian Council hand-picks the six candidates and noted severe limitations on Iranian voters' access to "even the most basic freedoms; necessary features of any democracy."

"In the face of the authoritarian regime’s long history of harassing and intimidating journalists, suppressing election coverage, and denying freedom of peaceful of assembly, we support the Iranian people," he said.

In a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Kristerson, they warned that such agreements encourage the Islamic Republic to hold foreign citizens and dual nationals hostage.

Signatories include the Pro-Republic Iranian Society in Sweden, the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran-Austria, the Republican Iranians of Australia, and the Khavaran Justice Seekers, which represents families of thousands of prisoners killed in Iran in 1988.

The letter, published on Friday, emphasized that releasing Nouri has “severely damaged the Swedish government's reputation.”

Earlier this month, Sweden repatriated Nouri and secured the release of two Swedish citizens, Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi, who had been detained in Iran on allegations of "spying for Israel." However, the deal did not include Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian currently on death row, who has been on a hunger strike since June 26 to protest being excluded from the exchange.

Sweden’s Prime Minister expressed regret that Iran was unwilling to negotiate for Djalali’s release, acknowledging the dire situation of the hunger-striking prisoner. He also cautioned citizens against travel to Iran.

Amnesty International condemned Nouri's release, calling it a “stunning blow to survivors and relatives of victims” of the 1988 prison massacre in Iran.

Nouri had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Swedish court in 2022 for crimes against humanity related to his involvement in the mass executions of prisoners in the 1988.

His arrest in Sweden was based on the principle of universal justice, and his trial and conviction were hailed as significant steps for international justice. However, his release has faced widespread condemnation.

According to the Kurdish human rights organization Kordpa, which shared images of the messages sent to prisoners, they are asked to vote on Friday. The message tells prisoners that their families should also vote.

Failure to participate in the election results in being marked absent, leading to penalties such as three to six months imprisonment or up to 74 lashes based on law governing unverified absences.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic faces the challenge of reconnecting with a deeply disillusioned electorate. Official statistics reveal a stark decline in voter participation: 40.6% in the recent parliamentary elections, with Tehran recording its lowest turnout at 24%.

The run-off elections saw even lower participation, with only 7% in Tehran.

Simultaneously, numerous student organizations, women's groups, youth associations, and political activists have called for an election boycott.

Both candidates referenced Iran despite there being no questions about the country. The bulk of the 90-minute program focused on US domestic issues, particularly immigration and the economy.

When discussing foreign policy, the focus was on the war in Ukraine, followed by the crisis in Gaza and the possibility of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Iran was invoked only as an attack line by both sides, with no insight into how the next US administration may deal with the Islamic Republic and its Revolutionary Guards.

“Iran was broke. Anybody that did business with Iran, including China, they couldn’t do business with the United States. They all passed,” Trump said, claiming success in curtailing Iran’s anti-American activities in the Middle East. “Iran was broke. They had no money for Hamas, Hezbollah, for terror. No money whatsoever.”

Trump’s 'maximum pressure' campaign sharply reduced Iran’s oil revenues. The trend did change, however, during the last months of his tenure –and was cemented once Biden took office and set in motion his plan to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump had unilaterally voided in 2018.

Surprisingly, Iran’s nuclear program got no mention, even though both candidates have many times vowed to do ‘everything’ possible to stop the Islamic Republic being armed by a nuclear bomb, calling it “the world’s biggest state sponsor of terror”.

Biden did not offer any direct defense of his Iran policy. Instead, he attacked Trump for not doing much outside tough speech. “Iran attacked our troops, but [Trump] did nothing,” Biden said, apparently referring to the retaliatory targeting of US base Ayn al-Asad following the killing of Iran’s top military man, Qasem Soleimani. “He called our troops’ brain injuries minor headaches.”

In spite of clear differences in outlook and style, the two candidates seemed to share the desire to appear tough on Iran, especially following the October 7 attack on Israel, which many believe would not have happened without Tehran’s support for Hamas.

Trump claimed once more that the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel would never have happened under his watch. He accused Biden of destroying the United States and losing the respect of the rest of the world. Biden pointed out that he had mobilized “50 countries” to defend Israel when Iran launched dozens of drones and missiles towards Israel in April.

The talking points will likely continue beyond Thursday’s televised debate, and Iran will likely feature again in both candidates’ election campaign –perhaps not as heavily as many expected, however, if the first debate is anything to go by.