SUEZ/ALEXANDRIA: Egypt has closed four ports on the Red Sea and two on the Mediterranean due to bad weather, officials said on Sunday.
The ports of Suez and Zeitiyat were shut in Suez governorate, the Red Sea Ports Authority said. Adabiya and Ain Sokhna ports, in the same governorate, also closed, a source at the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone said.
The ports of Alexandria and Dekheila on the Mediterranean were shut in Alexandria governorate, said Reda Ghandour, a spokesman for the Alexandria Port Authority.
He added that loading and unloading of docked vessels was continuing despite the closures.
The Egyptian Meteorological Authority said “active southwesterly winds in the north of the country are stirring sand and dust, leading to the disruption of maritime navigation on the Red and Mediterranean seas.”
Egypt shuts six ports due to bad weather
Egypt shuts six ports due to bad weather
- The ports of Suez and Zeitiyat were shut in Suez governorate, as well as Adabiya and Ain Sokhna ports
- The Egyptian Meteorological Authority said “active southwesterly winds in the north of the country are stirring sand and dust"
Iraq welcomes the appointment of Iran’s new supreme leader
- Armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah said it reflects a profound understanding “of the existential challenges confronting the nation”
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani welcomed on Monday the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader after his predecessor and father was killed in US and Israeli strikes.
“We express our confidence in the ability of the new leadership in the Islamic Republic of Iran to manage this critical stage,” and to further strengthen “the unity of the Iranian people” amid the current challenges, Sudani said in a statement.
He stressed that Iraq stands in solidarity with Iran and supports “all steps aimed at ending the conflict.”
Iran wields significant influence in Iraqi politics, and also backs armed groups whose power has grown both politically and financially.
Iraq has for decades been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.
Pro-Tehran Iraqi groups were among the first to welcome the new supreme leader.
The powerful Badr organization said the new leadership represents a “blessed continuity of the path of the Islamic revolution.”
The Asaib Ahl Al-Haq faction said choosing Mojtaba Khamenei shows continuity and “reinforcement of the Islamic republic’s role as a central pillar in the axis of resistance.”
Armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah said it reflects a profound understanding “of the existential challenges confronting the nation.”
“The best successor to the best predecessor,” said Kataeb Hezbollah, which is part of the Islamic Resistance of Iraq — a pro-Iran alliance that has been claiming attacks on US bases since the start of the war in the Middle East.
Senior Iraqi politician and moderate cleric Ammar Al-Hakim wished the new supreme leader “success in following the path of his martyred father... in upholding the word of truth.”
