TUNIS: Tunisia’s President Kais Saied said on Thursday there was “no turning back” from his decision to freeze parliament and assume executive power, moves his opponents have branded a coup.
Speaking in a video published by his office, Saied also rejected calls for talks over the crisis, saying “there is no dialogue except with the honest” and that no dialogue was possible with “cancer cells.”
The biggest party in parliament, the moderate Islamist Ennahda, which has been the most vocal opponent of Saied’s moves, had called for dialogue in a statement earlier on Thursday.
Some 11 days after his intervention, Saied has not named a new prime minister, announced any steps to end the emergency or declared his longer-term intentions.
The powerful labor union, as well as both the United States and France, have called on him to quickly appoint a new government. The union is preparing a roadmap to end the crisis that it says it will present to Saied.
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez and ranking member Jim Risch said on Thursday they were deeply concerned by the situation.
“President Saied must recommit to the democratic principles that underpin US-Tunisia relations, and the military must observe its role in a constitutional democracy,” they said in a joint statement.
Ousted Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi appeared in public for the first time on Thursday since he was dismissed. He was shown in pictures published by the anti-corruption watchdog that it said were taken on Thursday at its office.
![]()
Tunisia’s president says there is ‘no turning back’
Short Url
https://arab.news/g6whu
Tunisia’s president says there is ‘no turning back’
- Some 11 days after his intervention, Saied has not named a new PM, announced any steps to end the emergency
- The labor union is preparing a roadmap to end the crisis that it says it will present to Saied
Iraq armed group tells fighters to prepare for long Iran-US war
BAGHDAD: A powerful Iran-backed Iraqi armed group told its fighters to prepare for the scenario of a long war in neighboring Iran should the United States launch strikes.
Kataeb Hezbollah warned the US on Thursday of “immense losses” were it to start a war in the region, while a commander in an armed faction told AFP his group was “highly likely” to intervene in case of strikes.
“Amid American threats and military build-up indicating a dangerous escalation in the region, it is necessary” for all fighters “to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition,” Kataeb Hezbollah said in a statement.
The commander told AFP that his group sees Iran as strategic to its own interests, and therefore any attack on the Islamic republic “directly threatens us.”
US-sanctioned Iraqi armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year.
This time, the commander said they would be “less restrained,” especially in the event of strikes seeking to overthrow the regime.
For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.
Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.
Iran-backed groups are part of the so-called “axis of resistance,” which also includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
A Hezbollah official told AFP this week that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of “limited” US strikes on Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “red line.”
US President Donald Trump has deployed warships and fighter jets near Iran to back up his threats of strikes should ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fail to secure a deal.
US and Iranian negotiators met for a third round of talks on Thursday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling state TV that the talks “made very good progress.”
Kataeb Hezbollah warned the US on Thursday of “immense losses” were it to start a war in the region, while a commander in an armed faction told AFP his group was “highly likely” to intervene in case of strikes.
“Amid American threats and military build-up indicating a dangerous escalation in the region, it is necessary” for all fighters “to prepare for a potentially long war of attrition,” Kataeb Hezbollah said in a statement.
The commander told AFP that his group sees Iran as strategic to its own interests, and therefore any attack on the Islamic republic “directly threatens us.”
US-sanctioned Iraqi armed groups did not intervene during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year.
This time, the commander said they would be “less restrained,” especially in the event of strikes seeking to overthrow the regime.
For months during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran-backed groups carried out attacks against US troops in the region and mostly failed attempts against Israel.
Under mounting US and domestic pressure, these attacks came to a halt, while pressure on the groups to disarm has grown.
Iran-backed groups are part of the so-called “axis of resistance,” which also includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
A Hezbollah official told AFP this week that the Lebanese movement would not intervene militarily in the event of “limited” US strikes on Iran, but would consider any attack against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “red line.”
US President Donald Trump has deployed warships and fighter jets near Iran to back up his threats of strikes should ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fail to secure a deal.
US and Iranian negotiators met for a third round of talks on Thursday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling state TV that the talks “made very good progress.”
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.