WASHINGTON: Hawaii has become the first US state to file suit against President Donald Trump’s amended travel order banning entry of people from six mainly Muslim countries and suspending refugee resettlement.
“Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin announced today that the state of Hawaii has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order in its federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump, following the new executive order banning travel from six Muslim-majority nations issued earlier this week,” according to a statement from Chin’s office.
Chin argued that while the new order features changes to address complaints raised by courts that blocked the first travel ban, the new order is pretty much the same as the first one.
The far-flung Pacific state is seeking a nationwide restraining order blocking implementation of the order Trump signed on Monday.
The new order suspends refugee admissions for 120 days and halts the granting of new visas for travelers from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. It explicitly exempts Iraqis, who were on the first list, and legal permanent residents and valid visa holders.
“Nothing of substance has changed: There is the same blanket ban on entry from Muslim-majority countries (minus one),” Chin said.
“The courts did not tolerate the Administration’s last attempt to hoodwink the judiciary, and they should not countenance this one,” Chin wrote. Trump’s first order sparked a legal, political and logistical furor.
There was chaos at major airports and mass protests while several district courts moved to block its implementation and lawmakers expressed opposition.
The troubled rollout also dominated the first weeks of the new administration, leaving many with the impression that it was badly planned and badly implemented.
Polls show American public opinion is deeply divided on the issue. Most indicate a slight majority of voters opposed, with strong support among Trump’s political base.
The Republican president criticized a court order suspending the ban as “a very bad decision, very bad for the safety and security of our country. The rollout was perfect.”
But he has now stepped away from a promise to challenge the matter in the courts. The second order repeals the first, spelling the end of any pending legal proceedings.
Hawaii first state to challenge new Trump travel ban
Hawaii first state to challenge new Trump travel ban
Iran says can fight intense war for months
- Iran’s security chief accuses Trump administration of seeking to replicate a scenario similar to Venezuela
- Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that could last a month or longer
TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that the country’s forces could fight an intense war for six months against the United States and Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press on with the war against Iran “with all our force,” with a plan to eradicate the country’s leadership after joint US-Israeli raids killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week, sparking the regional conflict.
Despite the threat, the Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that the Islamic republic’s forces could wage an “intense war” for six months at the current speed of fighting.
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used “first and second generation” missiles, but will use “advanced and less-used long-range missiles” in the coming days.
‘Trapped’
The widening reach of the war and Iran’s ability to inflict damage and harm were underscored by US President Donald Trump attending the return of six American service members killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait last Sunday.
Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani accused the Trump administration of seeking to replicate a scenario similar to Venezuela where it ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.
“Their perception was that it would be like Venezuela — they would strike, take control and it would be over — but now they are trapped,” he said in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on state TV on Saturday.
Iran’s hardline judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei also warned Middle East neighbors which are “openly and covertly at the disposal of the enemy” that “the heavy attacks on these targets will continue.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that Tehran “will be forced to respond” if a neighboring country were to be used as a launchpad for any attack or invasion attempt.
Tehran had vowed to go after US assets in the region, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait on Sunday all reported new attacks.
No clear way out
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that US and Israeli officials say could last a month or longer.
Trump has suggested Iran’s economy could be rebuilt if a leader “acceptable” to Washington replaces the late supreme leader, which Tehran has rejected.
China and Russia have largely stayed on the sidelines despite close ties with Tehran.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday that the war in the Middle East should “never have happened.”
“This is a war that should never have happened,” he told a press conference in Beijing, adding that “a strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle.”
