BRUSSELS: The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell offered his condolences to Iran after what he described as a “terrorist attack” that killed 95 people during a call Wednesday with Iran’s foreign minister.
Twin bomb blasts in southern Iran ripped through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a US strike.
The attacks remain unclaimed but Iran has blamed Israel and the United States.
Borrell spoke to Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian “to convey condolences following the horrific bombings today in Kerman that killed dozens of civilians,” the EU’s foreign policy chief said on social media.
“I condemned this terrorist attack in the strongest terms and expressed solidarity with the Iranian people,” Borrell added.
The blasts, about 15 minutes apart, struck near the Martyrs Cemetery at the Saheb Al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani’s southern hometown, as supporters gathered to mark his killing in a 2020 US drone strike in Baghdad.
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EU’s Borrell condemns ‘terrorist attack’ in call with Iran FM
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EU’s Borrell condemns ‘terrorist attack’ in call with Iran FM
- The attacks remain unclaimed but Iran has blamed Israel and the United States
Trump says Netanyahu should be pardoned for corruption
- Under Israeli law, the president has the authority to pardon convicts
- Trump has publicly urged the Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu several times
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should receive a pardon for corruption charges, saying Israeli President Isaac Herzog should be “ashamed of himself” for not granting one.
Trump said Netanyahu has been a great wartime prime minister and that the Israeli people should shame Herzog for not pardoning him. “He’s disgraceful for not giving it. He should give it,” Trump said during a White House event.
Netanyahu met Trump in Washington on Wednesday — the seventh meeting between the two leaders since Trump took office last year — for talks about reaching a deal on Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missiles.
Netanyahu is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime and denies bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges dating back to his 2019 indictment.
Trump has publicly urged the Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu several times, and said in late December that Herzog had told him the pardon was on its way. Herzog’s office was quick to dispute it.
Under Israeli law, the president has the authority to pardon convicts. But there is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.
In response to queries about Trump’s comment, Herzog’s office said Netanyahu’s request was under review at the Israeli Ministry of Justice for a legal opinion, and once that process was completed, Herzog would consider the request.
“Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law. Contrary to the impression created by President Trump’s remarks, President Herzog has not yet made any decision on this matter,” Herzog’s office said.
Trump said Netanyahu has been a great wartime prime minister and that the Israeli people should shame Herzog for not pardoning him. “He’s disgraceful for not giving it. He should give it,” Trump said during a White House event.
Netanyahu met Trump in Washington on Wednesday — the seventh meeting between the two leaders since Trump took office last year — for talks about reaching a deal on Iran’s nuclear program and its ballistic missiles.
Netanyahu is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to be charged with a crime and denies bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges dating back to his 2019 indictment.
Trump has publicly urged the Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu several times, and said in late December that Herzog had told him the pardon was on its way. Herzog’s office was quick to dispute it.
Under Israeli law, the president has the authority to pardon convicts. But there is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.
In response to queries about Trump’s comment, Herzog’s office said Netanyahu’s request was under review at the Israeli Ministry of Justice for a legal opinion, and once that process was completed, Herzog would consider the request.
“Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law. Contrary to the impression created by President Trump’s remarks, President Herzog has not yet made any decision on this matter,” Herzog’s office said.
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