The sudden death of Iranian President Raisi and the indictment of the
Israeli Prime Minister, his Minister of War and the leaders of Hamas by
the Attorney General of the Criminal Court in The Hague constitute two
conditioning factors that erupt in the Middle Eastern tragedy
constituted by the extermination of Gaza and the genocide of the
Palestinian people. With the death of Raisi, the least loved President
of the Islamic Republic of the last 35 years has disappeared from the
political scene.
In 1988 he was part of the so-called "Death Commission", responsible for
having sentenced thousands of people to death (it is estimated between 8
and 30 thousand), therefore he was known as the butcher of Tehran,
rather than for his political charisma, which he did not possess. Born
in Mashhad, like the Supreme Leader of the Revolution Ali Khamenei, at
the age of 15 he was admitted to the Feyzyeh madrasa in Qom, where he
was educated, following the most radical orientations of Scythism and
the Komeinist revolution. Belonging to the Shiite clergy, he graduated
from the University of Tehran, and began his career after the Islamic
revolution of 1979, holding the position of Prosecutor General of Tehran
between 1989 and 1994. He became president of the General Inspection
Office, responsible for supervising the legality of government acts, by
1994 he had risen through the ranks to become head of the judicial
system. Candidate for President in 2017, he was not elected, but then
allied himself with the Revolutionary Guards, placing himself in pole
position to succeed leader Kamenhei. In 2021 he became President and
leads the repression against the women's movement and every social
movement. The law on the veil he wanted in September 2021 inaugurates
the still ongoing repressive phase of a regime that feels called into
question by civil society, even if it enjoys a clientele social base,
the result of the particular economic structure of the country.
A transition full of unknowns
He is succeeded as interim President, with the consent of Ayatollah
Khamenei, by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, with the task of
organizing the presidential elections on 28 June, as required by the
Constitution. He is a man of the apparatus, an international jurist by
training, who has always acted behind the scenes. Chosen in 2021 - as
revealed by the Reuters agency - for having administered and held key
roles within three financial structures crucial for the Iranian regime,
the Mostafazan foundation, the Sina bank and above all Setad, an
investment fund headed by the Guide Supreme Ali Khamenei and has assets
of ninety-five billion dollars, precisely because of these positions, he
enjoys the support of the Guardians of the Revolution who significantly
control and influence the country's economy and constitute the real
power in the State. His power is better understood if we take into
account the fact that Setad is the conglomerate that confiscated the
activities and assets of the Iranians expelled by the Islamist
revolution of 1979. Mokhber was its director and this alone should make
everyone understand his role inside the system. The United States had
put him on the list of officials affected by sanctions, because Setad
"systematically violated the rights of dissidents, confiscating land and
property of regime opponents, including politicians, religious
minorities and Iranians in exile." The European Union had also placed
him on the sanctioned list in 2010 for his alleged involvement in the
nuclear program, but two years later revoked the punitive measure. Like
many other members of the government chaired by Raisi, he too was part
of the Guardians of the Revolution.
Although he possesses these requirements, it is unlikely that the
current vice president will be Raisi's successor; to designate the
President the first selection takes place in the choice of candidates,
entrusted to the Supreme leader, who this time will have to actually
choose not only the future President, but also the one who, in pectore,
is destined to be his successor, taking into consideration of his
advanced age (83 years). In the complicated political landscape of the
country it will be necessary to see whether the ultra-conservatives of
the faction called Paydari, who today control Parliament, the security
apparatus, the basiji, within the political clergy, all groups that
support the Supreme Leader, will be able to prevail , making him head of
the judiciary and then projecting one of its members to the presidency,
with a manipulated election. It took years to "build" the Raisi
character: the ultra-conservatives had invested a lot in him. His death
disrupted the Paydari plans.
In a context where popular trust in the system has reached historic
lows, as demonstrated by the recent low 8% turnout in the parliamentary
run-offs in Tehran, it is difficult to imagine that trust could be
re-established during an election campaign lasting just two weeks.
However, it is not a given that the system can exploit the opportunity,
allowing pro-reform candidates to present themselves, in order to
increase popular participation and save face. It is true that with
Raisi's death the ultra-right's plans were disrupted, but the timeframe
is too short
so that the reformist wing can reorganize itself with its own candidate.
Personalities like Khatami (former president) or the moderate Rouhani
can influence public opinion, but not much.
The economic strength of the hubus, managed by the Pasdaran, is too
strong and economically conditions the country's economy, to the point
that it is the only one, due to its pervasiveness, capable of providing
the welfare that allows a mass of poor and underprivileged they
constitute the real basis of the regime, to survive despite the
disastrous conditions of the economy. In Iran today the opposition
nestles above all among the middle class, among young people, students,
bazaar traders, who constitute the most dynamic part of the country, the
one closest to the use of social media and most in contact with the rest
of the world,
who not surprisingly feels the weight of a narrow-minded and formal
moralism, made up of appearances behind which deep corruption and
unspeakable entanglements of power are hidden.
The strength of the resistance movement and its ability to undermine the
management of power over time will be measured from participation in the
vote, rather than from the vote cast on a list of blocked candidates.
There is no doubt, however, that what happens in the country will have a
significant influence on the Middle Eastern conflict, even if no
immediate repercussions are expected, except in relation to the fact
that Iran's instability puts Israel in a situation of further
insecurity, aggravated by the international position of the country and
by the discretion that the action on Gaza has on it
procured, determining its isolation.
The Court intervenes
In the face of the horror caused by the events of 7 October and the
Israeli intervention in Gaza, the Prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague formulated the request for
arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas, for the Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Gallant. The accusation is of war
crimes and crimes against humanity:
"Today we emphasize again that international law and the laws of armed
conflict apply to everyone. No soldier, commander, civilian leader - no
one - can act with impunity. Nothing can justify the intentional
deprivation of human beings, including many women and children, of the
basic necessities necessary for life. Nothing can justify taking
hostages or killing civilians." In other words, international
humanitarian law and international criminal law do not allow exceptions
for anyone, neither for terrorists nor for Heads of State and Government.
If, as is probable, the indictment is reached, the consequences could be
decisive both for the future of Gaza, where the Palestinian Authority
could regain legitimate control, and for Israel, where the protests of
many citizens threaten Netanyahu and the government of 'nationalist
ultra-right. It should also be noted that, while this
happens, a parallel proceeding takes place before the International
Court of Human Rights to discuss South Africa's accusation of apartheid
and genocide, aimed at Israel for its behavior in the West Bank, in
Gaza, in East Jerusalem.
Faced with this situation, the United States and other Western states
that support Israel have cried foul over the comparison between Hamas
and the Jewish state and this even though in most countries in the world
there is a growing belief that they are faced with to an act of
colonialism and enslavement of an entire population, unacceptable for
humanity. Once again the West shows that it uses double standards to
take a position on war crimes, demanding that the sentences pronounced
against the Russian aggression against Ukraine must be considered valid,
while those against Israel are considered unacceptable .
However, some results are starting to be seen: the Irish, Norwegian and
Spanish governments have announced the forthcoming recognition of the
State of Palestine, paving the way for identical positions on the part
of other states. In vain does the State of Israel cry out about
anti-Semitism, as it becomes increasingly clear that this is not what it
is about, but anti-Zionism.
It is good, once again, to remember that the Palestinians, like the
Jews, are Semites and therefore solidarity towards them cannot translate
into anti-Semitism, but if anything it is a clear demonstration of
anti-Zionism, or rather of critical opposition to that political
conception of Jewish nationalism, of a supremacist nature, which
excludes that other ethnic groups or members of another culture or
religion can have the same dignity as members of the Jewish people and
which makes the Shoah a useful screen behind which to hide to justify
any atrocity towards the Palestinian people and legitimize the gradual
progressive expropriation of their lands and their expulsion from Palestine.
What is becoming increasingly clear is that the continuation of ongoing
conflicts aggravates the difficulties of the United States in managing
the various crises simultaneously, wearing out its resilience. In a year
characterized by electoral deadlines, Biden desperately needs to close
at least some of the crisis fronts in order to present himself before
his electorate and regroup them, avoiding becoming a victim of the
conflicting interests of the various lobbies competing for the support
of the United States, especially that China, which is, benefits first
and foremost from Washington's current difficulties
managed to attract Russia into its orbit, in an indissoluble way, while
Europe, which sees its vital interests affected, suffers the
consequences of the US and Anglo-Saxon supremacy policy.
The Editorial Team
https://www.ucadi.org/2024/05/22/delitti-e-castighi/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Israeli Prime Minister, his Minister of War and the leaders of Hamas by
the Attorney General of the Criminal Court in The Hague constitute two
conditioning factors that erupt in the Middle Eastern tragedy
constituted by the extermination of Gaza and the genocide of the
Palestinian people. With the death of Raisi, the least loved President
of the Islamic Republic of the last 35 years has disappeared from the
political scene.
In 1988 he was part of the so-called "Death Commission", responsible for
having sentenced thousands of people to death (it is estimated between 8
and 30 thousand), therefore he was known as the butcher of Tehran,
rather than for his political charisma, which he did not possess. Born
in Mashhad, like the Supreme Leader of the Revolution Ali Khamenei, at
the age of 15 he was admitted to the Feyzyeh madrasa in Qom, where he
was educated, following the most radical orientations of Scythism and
the Komeinist revolution. Belonging to the Shiite clergy, he graduated
from the University of Tehran, and began his career after the Islamic
revolution of 1979, holding the position of Prosecutor General of Tehran
between 1989 and 1994. He became president of the General Inspection
Office, responsible for supervising the legality of government acts, by
1994 he had risen through the ranks to become head of the judicial
system. Candidate for President in 2017, he was not elected, but then
allied himself with the Revolutionary Guards, placing himself in pole
position to succeed leader Kamenhei. In 2021 he became President and
leads the repression against the women's movement and every social
movement. The law on the veil he wanted in September 2021 inaugurates
the still ongoing repressive phase of a regime that feels called into
question by civil society, even if it enjoys a clientele social base,
the result of the particular economic structure of the country.
A transition full of unknowns
He is succeeded as interim President, with the consent of Ayatollah
Khamenei, by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, with the task of
organizing the presidential elections on 28 June, as required by the
Constitution. He is a man of the apparatus, an international jurist by
training, who has always acted behind the scenes. Chosen in 2021 - as
revealed by the Reuters agency - for having administered and held key
roles within three financial structures crucial for the Iranian regime,
the Mostafazan foundation, the Sina bank and above all Setad, an
investment fund headed by the Guide Supreme Ali Khamenei and has assets
of ninety-five billion dollars, precisely because of these positions, he
enjoys the support of the Guardians of the Revolution who significantly
control and influence the country's economy and constitute the real
power in the State. His power is better understood if we take into
account the fact that Setad is the conglomerate that confiscated the
activities and assets of the Iranians expelled by the Islamist
revolution of 1979. Mokhber was its director and this alone should make
everyone understand his role inside the system. The United States had
put him on the list of officials affected by sanctions, because Setad
"systematically violated the rights of dissidents, confiscating land and
property of regime opponents, including politicians, religious
minorities and Iranians in exile." The European Union had also placed
him on the sanctioned list in 2010 for his alleged involvement in the
nuclear program, but two years later revoked the punitive measure. Like
many other members of the government chaired by Raisi, he too was part
of the Guardians of the Revolution.
Although he possesses these requirements, it is unlikely that the
current vice president will be Raisi's successor; to designate the
President the first selection takes place in the choice of candidates,
entrusted to the Supreme leader, who this time will have to actually
choose not only the future President, but also the one who, in pectore,
is destined to be his successor, taking into consideration of his
advanced age (83 years). In the complicated political landscape of the
country it will be necessary to see whether the ultra-conservatives of
the faction called Paydari, who today control Parliament, the security
apparatus, the basiji, within the political clergy, all groups that
support the Supreme Leader, will be able to prevail , making him head of
the judiciary and then projecting one of its members to the presidency,
with a manipulated election. It took years to "build" the Raisi
character: the ultra-conservatives had invested a lot in him. His death
disrupted the Paydari plans.
In a context where popular trust in the system has reached historic
lows, as demonstrated by the recent low 8% turnout in the parliamentary
run-offs in Tehran, it is difficult to imagine that trust could be
re-established during an election campaign lasting just two weeks.
However, it is not a given that the system can exploit the opportunity,
allowing pro-reform candidates to present themselves, in order to
increase popular participation and save face. It is true that with
Raisi's death the ultra-right's plans were disrupted, but the timeframe
is too short
so that the reformist wing can reorganize itself with its own candidate.
Personalities like Khatami (former president) or the moderate Rouhani
can influence public opinion, but not much.
The economic strength of the hubus, managed by the Pasdaran, is too
strong and economically conditions the country's economy, to the point
that it is the only one, due to its pervasiveness, capable of providing
the welfare that allows a mass of poor and underprivileged they
constitute the real basis of the regime, to survive despite the
disastrous conditions of the economy. In Iran today the opposition
nestles above all among the middle class, among young people, students,
bazaar traders, who constitute the most dynamic part of the country, the
one closest to the use of social media and most in contact with the rest
of the world,
who not surprisingly feels the weight of a narrow-minded and formal
moralism, made up of appearances behind which deep corruption and
unspeakable entanglements of power are hidden.
The strength of the resistance movement and its ability to undermine the
management of power over time will be measured from participation in the
vote, rather than from the vote cast on a list of blocked candidates.
There is no doubt, however, that what happens in the country will have a
significant influence on the Middle Eastern conflict, even if no
immediate repercussions are expected, except in relation to the fact
that Iran's instability puts Israel in a situation of further
insecurity, aggravated by the international position of the country and
by the discretion that the action on Gaza has on it
procured, determining its isolation.
The Court intervenes
In the face of the horror caused by the events of 7 October and the
Israeli intervention in Gaza, the Prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague formulated the request for
arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas, for the Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Gallant. The accusation is of war
crimes and crimes against humanity:
"Today we emphasize again that international law and the laws of armed
conflict apply to everyone. No soldier, commander, civilian leader - no
one - can act with impunity. Nothing can justify the intentional
deprivation of human beings, including many women and children, of the
basic necessities necessary for life. Nothing can justify taking
hostages or killing civilians." In other words, international
humanitarian law and international criminal law do not allow exceptions
for anyone, neither for terrorists nor for Heads of State and Government.
If, as is probable, the indictment is reached, the consequences could be
decisive both for the future of Gaza, where the Palestinian Authority
could regain legitimate control, and for Israel, where the protests of
many citizens threaten Netanyahu and the government of 'nationalist
ultra-right. It should also be noted that, while this
happens, a parallel proceeding takes place before the International
Court of Human Rights to discuss South Africa's accusation of apartheid
and genocide, aimed at Israel for its behavior in the West Bank, in
Gaza, in East Jerusalem.
Faced with this situation, the United States and other Western states
that support Israel have cried foul over the comparison between Hamas
and the Jewish state and this even though in most countries in the world
there is a growing belief that they are faced with to an act of
colonialism and enslavement of an entire population, unacceptable for
humanity. Once again the West shows that it uses double standards to
take a position on war crimes, demanding that the sentences pronounced
against the Russian aggression against Ukraine must be considered valid,
while those against Israel are considered unacceptable .
However, some results are starting to be seen: the Irish, Norwegian and
Spanish governments have announced the forthcoming recognition of the
State of Palestine, paving the way for identical positions on the part
of other states. In vain does the State of Israel cry out about
anti-Semitism, as it becomes increasingly clear that this is not what it
is about, but anti-Zionism.
It is good, once again, to remember that the Palestinians, like the
Jews, are Semites and therefore solidarity towards them cannot translate
into anti-Semitism, but if anything it is a clear demonstration of
anti-Zionism, or rather of critical opposition to that political
conception of Jewish nationalism, of a supremacist nature, which
excludes that other ethnic groups or members of another culture or
religion can have the same dignity as members of the Jewish people and
which makes the Shoah a useful screen behind which to hide to justify
any atrocity towards the Palestinian people and legitimize the gradual
progressive expropriation of their lands and their expulsion from Palestine.
What is becoming increasingly clear is that the continuation of ongoing
conflicts aggravates the difficulties of the United States in managing
the various crises simultaneously, wearing out its resilience. In a year
characterized by electoral deadlines, Biden desperately needs to close
at least some of the crisis fronts in order to present himself before
his electorate and regroup them, avoiding becoming a victim of the
conflicting interests of the various lobbies competing for the support
of the United States, especially that China, which is, benefits first
and foremost from Washington's current difficulties
managed to attract Russia into its orbit, in an indissoluble way, while
Europe, which sees its vital interests affected, suffers the
consequences of the US and Anglo-Saxon supremacy policy.
The Editorial Team
https://www.ucadi.org/2024/05/22/delitti-e-castighi/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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