TEHRAN: Iran was to impose a nightly curfew on Tuesday on businesses in Tehran and other big cities and towns while Lebanon was preparing for a two-week nationwide lockdown later this week as both countries battle a major surge in coronavirus infections.
Restaurants and nonessential businesses in Tehran and 30 other cities were ordered to close at 6 p.m. for one month, to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and to slow the worsening outbreak, which has killed more than 39,000 — the highest toll in the Middle East. Iran has set single-day death records 10 times over the past month, a sign of how quickly the virus is spreading.
The announcement of new limits on Tehran’s bustling cafes and shops, the strictest since a brief nationwide business shutdown in April, reflects the growing sense of urgency among officials. In a first, Iranians’ phones lit up on Monday with a personal appeal from Saeed Namaki, the health minister.
“Do not leave your house for as long as you can and stay away from any crowded places,” his text read. “Coronavirus is no joke.”
Yet in the face of a steep economic decline, Iran continues to avoid a tougher lockdown. The country is already squeezed by unprecedented American sanctions reimposed in 2018 when the Trump administration withdrew from Tehran’s nuclear accord with world powers. Iran’s currency has plunged to new lows in recent weeks, hurting millions of destitute citizens.
Authorities may introduce other targeted measures, like a nighttime ban on through traffic on streets to keep Iranians from going to parties, Tehran Governor Anoushiravan Bandpay said.
As Iran’s infection rate soars and strains hospitals, the debate over the government’s response to the virus has grown heated. Medical officials this week lambasted the government’s refusal to shut down the hard-hit capital, which they say is the only hope for containing the virus’ spread.
“The lack of a lockdown in Tehran is a disaster,” said Mino Mohraz, a member of the country’s coronavirus task force, according to local media.
“Usually countries that do not listen to health officials face problems,” she added. “A good example is the United States.”
Hosseinali Shahriari, who heads a parliamentary health committee, sent a letter Tuesday to President Hassan Rouhani demanding that he impose a centralized lockdown up to 30 days in all provincial capitals, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
In Lebanon, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the lockdown will begin on Saturday and last until the end of the month.
Lebanon has broken daily records in recent weeks, straining the country’s medical sector where intensive care units are almost full and cannot take more cases. The World Health Organization says 1,527 health workers have tested positive since the first case was reported in Lebanon in late February.
The Lebanese announcement came despite harsh criticism by business sectors that have been suffering for more than a year as the country passes through its worst economic and financial crisis.
The head of Lebanon workers union, Bechara el Asmar, warned on Monday the effects of a complete lockdown “will be catastrophic for workers and economic activities.” Daily laborers cannot afford to stay at home, he said.
Aya Majzoub of the Human Rights Watch said the crisis has thrown more Lebanese below the poverty line, adding that the government is obliged to ensure that everyone has adequate food, water, health care, and other basic needs, “including when the population is subject to stay-at-home orders.”
Tiny Lebanon has registered 95,355 cases and 732 deaths of the virus but the real numbers are believed to be much higher. Those numbers began rising quickly following a massive Aug. 4, blast at Beirut’s port that killed and wounded many and caused damage worth billions of dollars.
Many intensive care units meant for coronavirus cases have been used to treat thousands of injured in the port explosion.
“We have reached a very critical period regarding the spread of the virus and we are left with no other alternatives,” Diab said, suggesting the lockdown could be extend. “”We are worried that we might reach a point where people die in the streets with no places available at hospitals.”
Over the past weeks, dozens of Lebanese towns of villages were locked down but the move did not stop the virus. Some sectors have been exempted, including flour mills, bakeries, banks and clinics.
Meanwhile, virus cases continue to climb in Sudan, where on Tuesday the health ministry announced that Acting Health Minister Ossama Abdel-Rahim, along with two other senior health officials, had contracted COVID-19 and were experiencing symptoms. They’re the latest government officials to be infected in the East African country, which has reporteded some 14,000 cases, although testing remains limited.
Iran, Lebanon to impose lockdowns, curfews as virus surges
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Iran, Lebanon to impose lockdowns, curfews as virus surges
- Restaurants and nonessential businesses in Tehran and 30 other cities were ordered to close at 6 p.m. for one month
Hezbollah’s attack on Israeli military command center injures 14
- Iran-backed group takes confrontations to new level, directly targets soldiers
- Hezbollah said operation was a ‘response to the killing of several resistance fighters in Ain Baal and Shehabiya in southern Lebanon’
BEIRUT: The Iran-backed Hezbollah launched on Wednesday “a combined attack with guided missiles and explosive drones on a military reconnaissance command center in Arab Al-Aramshe,” as it targeted the Israeli army south of the border with Lebanon.
The group claimed responsibility for the operation, saying that “it is in response to the killing of several resistance fighters in Ain Baal and Shehabiya in southern Lebanon.”
Israeli media outlets announced that “a kamikaze drone struck an Israeli army gathering in Arab Al-Aramshe, western Galilee, resulting in six casualties, at least.”
They added: “An Israeli army helicopter was hit while rescuing the injured in Arab Al-Aramshe.”
The Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya said that it had received 14 injured people.
Hezbollah has adopted new tactics of late. According to a security source, these “were seen last week, when it (Hezbollah) detonated explosive devices targeting Israeli soldiers on the border, injuring four Golani Brigade members.”
The source added that Hezbollah “has taken the confrontations to another level by directly targeting Israeli soldiers.”
Israeli forces launched immediate retaliation by bombing and targeting phosphorus bombs on the border area.
This region included the outskirts of Rachaya Al-Fekhar, Fardis, Al-Habbariyeh, Alma Al-Shaab, Dhahira, Marwahin, and Yarin, as well as the city of Nabatieh, where a house belonging to the Sayyed family was destroyed.
No casualties were reported in the incidents, but the border region has witnessed the Israeli military’s dramatic targeting and killing of two key figures.
Hezbollah is mourning the death of Ismail Youssef Baz, a senior commander of the organization, while the Amal Movement — an ally of Hezbollah — has been coming to terms with the death of Hussein Qasim Karsht.
Israeli media reported that Baz, who was killed in his car following a drone attack, was “the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector.”
It added: “He was working on promoting and planning the launching of rockets and anti-tank missiles toward Israel from the Lebanese coastline. During this ongoing war, he organized and planned to carry out various plans against Israel.”
Israel accused of stepping up work on illegal settlements since start of Gaza war
- Building plans in East Jerusalem being fast-tracked at ‘unprecedented speed,’ rights organization says
LONDON: Israel’s government has stepped up the building of settlements across East Jerusalem, with over 20 projects involving thousands of housing units advanced since it launched its war on Gaza six months ago, according to planning documents seen by the Guardian.
While many government bodies were shuttered or had limited operation following Oct. 7, planning authorities continued to advance plans at “unprecedented speed,” Sari Kronish, from the Israeli rights organization Bimkom — Planners for Planning Rights, told the Guardian.
“The fast-tracking of these plans has been unparalleled in the last six months,” Kronish added
Significantly, two new settlements were approved in East Jerusalem, the first such approvals in over a decade. One development involves the expansion of Kidmat Zion, a high-security settlement in the Palestinian neighborhood of Ras Al-Amud, which was decided on two days after the Oct. 7 attacks.
In the Palestinian community of Beit Safafa, encircled by these developments, work has also resumed on the Givat Hamatos and new Givat Shaked projects.
Givat Hamatos was shut down for a decade after international opposition. Work resumed in 2020, and last month the site was bustling with workers, heavy machinery, and trucks.
Givat Shaked, which received full planning permission on Jan. 4, will be built on the northwestern side of Beit Safafa.
It entails high-rise buildings with 700 housing units on the only land in Beit Safafa where the 17,000-strong Muslim majority could expand to accommodate young people. Palestinians are unable to build larger homes in the neighborhood, as well as elsewhere, due to bureaucratic and other restrictions.
The Givat Shaked project has faced significant opposition due to potential threats to the Oslo peace accords, leading to international criticism and a temporary halt urged by the US.
Despite this, the project gained momentum two years ago, endorsed by then Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked.
He rejected any claims of Palestinian control over Jerusalem’s east, and said it was “unthinkable to prevent development and construction in this area, or anywhere else in the city.”
“Our family has been here for 250 years … Now I have a black hole in my heart because I can’t see how my children and grandchildren can spend their lives here,” Ahmed Salman, the chair of Beit Safafa’s community council, told the Guardian.
“We had good relations with the municipality once, but not in recent years. Since the war, life goes on, but they approved the plan and dismissed all our objections. We are appealing, but I’m not optimistic,” the 71-year-old said.
Another contentious project, the Lower Aqueduct, was fully approved on Dec. 29. This settlement is planned adjacent to a Palestinian neighborhood, further complicating the demographic and political landscape.
“Many of the settlement plans are strategically designated for areas along the southern perimeter of East Jerusalem,” Amy Cohen, of Israeli human rights NGO Ir Amim, said.
Cohen added: “If constructed, they would further fracture the Palestinian space … and create a ‘sealing-off’ effect of East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and the southern West Bank.
“Such moves directly undermine conditions necessary for a viable independent Palestinian state with a contiguous capital in East Jerusalem. All this while bringing planning and building for Palestinians in the city to a complete stop.”
The surge in settlement activity aligns with the goals of the Israeli settler movement, supported by Israel’s current government, which is described by a UN report as the most right-wing in the nation’s history.
Palestinians account for roughly 40 percent of Jerusalem’s population of around 1 million. Successive Israeli governments have sought to maintain the city’s Jewish majority.
Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move that was not recognized by the majority of the international community. International law prohibits the permanent settlement of militarily occupied territory.
This expansion challenges the possibility of a Palestinian state and strains Israel’s relations with the international community, including the Biden administration.
El-Sisi hosts Russian spy chief in Cairo
- Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Russia’s spy chief Sergei Naryshkin, and his accompanying delegation, in Cairo
- Talks focused on the situation in the Middle East and ways to achieve regional stability amid the crisis in the Gaza Strip and escalating regional tensions
CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hosted Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin and his accompanying delegation in Cairo.
The meeting was attended by the director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel.
Talks focused on the situation in the Middle East and ways to achieve regional stability amid the crisis in the Gaza Strip and escalating regional tensions.
Ahmed Fahmy, presidential spokesman, said that El-Sisi and Naryshkin also discussed a number of African issues, counterterrorism efforts and the latest developments in the international arena, especially in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
They reviewed Egypt’s efforts to quell regional tensions. El-Sisi highlighted Egypt’s vision regarding the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave. The Egyptian leader called for fundamental steps to defuse regional tensions.
Egypt also supports a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue, and the establishment of the Palestinian state, along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, El-Sisi said.
The two sides reiterated their commitment to coordination based on longstanding historical ties.
On April 11, El-Sisi spoke to Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer via telephone.
The Egyptian leader highlighted the importance of the international community preventing military escalation in Gaza and a humanitarian catastrophe.
He warned of the “extreme danger” of regional escalation, which “threatens the security and stability” of the Middle East.
US destroys two Houthi Red Sea drones
- Houthis fired two drones at US Navy and commercial ships in the Red Sea, but they were intercepted by US Navy forces before reaching their objectives
- Houthis said that the US and UK launched two airstrikes on Bajil District in the western province of Hodeidah
AL-MUKALLA: The US Central Command said its forces destroyed on Tuesday two drones fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia, the latest round of skirmishes between the US-led marine coalition and the Houthis in the Red Sea.
On Tuesday morning, the Houthis fired two drones at US Navy and commercial ships in the Red Sea, but they were intercepted by US Navy forces before reaching their objectives. “There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships. It was determined the UAVs presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement on X on Wednesday morning.
The Houthis said that the US and UK launched two airstrikes on Bajil District in the western province of Hodeidah on Tuesday but provided no information about the targeted locations or if they caused any human or property damage.
Since November, the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden, claiming to be acting in sympathy with Palestinians. In response to the Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition of marine forces to defend the Red Sea and launched hundreds of airstrikes on Houthi targets in Sanaa, Saada, and other Yemeni areas under Houthi control.
Qatar re-evaluating its role as mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks
- Sheikh Mohammed underscored on Wednesday that the role of mediator has limits: “(Mediators) cannot provide things that the parties themselves refrain from (offering)”
- Qatari PM said talks on Gaza ceasefire and a release of hostages were at a “delicate phase”
DOHA: Qatar is re-evaluating its role as mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, citing concerns that its efforts are being undermined by politicians seeking to score points, its prime minister said on Wednesday.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also foreign minister, said there was a “misuse of this mediation for narrow political interests, and this necessitated Qatar to undertake a full evaluation of this role.”
Sheikh Mohammed did not identify any politicians by name.
Qatar’s embassy in Washington on Tuesday criticized comments made by US Democratic congressman Steny Hoyer, in which he called on the US to “reevaluate” its relationship with Qatar.
Hoyer said on Monday that Qatar must threaten Hamas with “repercussions” if the militant Palestinian group “continues to block progress toward releasing the hostages and establishing a temporary ceasefire.”
Some other US lawmakers have suggested in recent months that Qatar supports Hamas, an accusation rejected by the Gulf state, which hosts some 10,000 US troops, the largest US military presence in the Middle East.
Sheikh Mohammed underscored on Wednesday that the role of mediator has limits: “(Mediators) cannot provide things that the parties themselves refrain from (offering).”
Earlier on Wednesday Sheikh Mohammed said the talks on a Gaza ceasefire and a release of hostages were at a “delicate phase.”
“We are trying as much as possible to address this stumbling block,” he added, without giving further details.
Qatar’s premier also condemned what he described as a policy of “collective punishment” being pursued by Israel in its war in Gaza against Hamas as well as the latest escalation of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The ceasefire discussions, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, are being held against the backdrop of a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, where Palestinians are suffering severe shortages of food, medicine and other essentials.
The war was triggered when Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages into the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has retaliated by pounding Gaza in an air and ground offensive which has killed almost 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.