Messages of condolences pour in after the head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Major General Majid Khademi, was assassinated in a US-Israeli terror strike in Tehran.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC Public Relations Department said General Khademi, an elite commander, was martyred in the terrorist attack in the early hours of the day.

Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, praised Khademi for his great endeavors to protect Islamic values and defend national security. He was martyred, Abdollahi said, by the “most vicious American-Israeli terrorists”.

The American and Zionist enemies must know that the martyrdom of such devoted commanders will make the Iranian nation and armed forces even “more resilient and determined” to keep on the path of the martyrs, General Abdollahi said.

‘Assassination will not undermine Iran’s national coherence’

Commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army Major General Amir Hatami said the barbarism put on global display by the American-Israeli enemy will fail to influence the “spirit of resistance of the proud Iranian nation”.

Iran’s adversaries, he said, are under the delusion that they can make any achievement through such wicked and blind moves. But the blood of martyrs only strengthens national will.

“This painful loss will not weaken the morale of the great Iranian people but rather strengthen national resolve and unity toward safeguarding independence and dignity”.

‘Enemies must await harder blows’

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the martyrdom of the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization is proof that the Israeli regime and the US are desperate.

The US-Israeli enemies are going to great lengths to make up for their weakness on the battlefield through cowardly assassinations, he said.

“This blind conspiracy of global arrogance is always doomed to failure, and even harsher blows await them”.

The illegal, imposed war of aggression by the United States and Israel began on February 28 when they assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, along with several senior military commanders.

In response, Iranian Armed Forces have launched decisive, devastating attacks against US and Israeli interests in the occupied territories and across West Asia.

As the war entered its sixth week, Iran continues to have an upper hand on the battlefield. The enemy is looking for an off-ramp amid heavy human and material loss.

A growing number of lawmakers, experts, and commentators have called for Trump’s immediate removal from office by invoking the 25th Amendment, denouncing him for launching an unprovoked and unnecessary war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1967, establishes the process for removing a president who is unable to perform his duties. Section 4, which has never been invoked, allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”

The US president’s Easter message, posted on the completion of one-month of the US-Israeli war on Iran, has drawn sharp rebuke for its content and tone.

US politicians, including some of Trump’s former allies and staunch opponents, described the statement as “psychotic,” “unhinged,” and evidence of a severe mental decline.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was among the first to sound the alarm, saying the president’s words on the war against the Islamic Republic were more than just troubling.

“One month after starting the war in Iran, this is the statement of the President of the United States on Easter Sunday,” Sanders wrote. “These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual. Congress has got to act NOW. End this war.”

Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) echoed Sanders’ concerns with even stronger language, directly questioning the president’s mental state.

“This is psychotic,” McGovern stated bluntly. “The President of the United States needs to get help. Totally unhinged and extremely dangerous.”

The calls for action were not limited to the US Congress. Several commentators and former political figures focused on the 25th Amendment to have Trump removed from office.

Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, once a Trump supporter turned fierce critic, pointed to the irony of the timing.

“His Easter morning post. And just 2 days ago, one of his ‘religious advisors’ compared him to Jesus Christ,” Walsh wrote. “He will forever be a stain on this country. And the world. 25th Amendment. Now. And to everyone else who, unlike Trump, understands & celebrates today – Happy Easter.”

The sentiment was shared by author and attorney Seth Abramson, who posed a straight question about the Republican Party’s inaction.

“I’m not saying this rhetorically—I’m speaking literally here,” Abramson said. “At what point do Republicans admit that Trump has lost his mind and replace him with Vance through the 25th Amendment? Never? Do we need to see a nuclear weapon dropped on a city of 10 million innocent civilians first?”

Concerns about the president’s mental fitness also came from medical professionals. Harry Sisson cited the reaction of Dr. Vin Gupta, a respected pulmonologist and health expert.

“Dr. Vin Gupta, a highly respected medical expert, has reacted to Trump’s insane Easter message amid ongoing questions about his health,” Sisson posted.

“‘The President is exhibiting all the signs of dementia.’ Trump has gone crazy and he’s showing it on the world stage.”

Other Democratic lawmakers and political activists questioned why the president’s own cabinet has remained silent so far, pointing to complicity in his actions.

Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) did not mince words, unequivocally calling the US president a threat to American national security.

“The 25th Amendment exists for a reason,” Ansari wrote. “The President of the United States is a deranged lunatic, and a national security threat to our country and the rest of the world.”

Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) also weighed in, invoking a classic metaphor to describe the US president’s apparent lack of self-awareness.

“The emperor has no clothes,” Stansbury wrote. “Time for the #25thAmendment. Congress and the Cabinet must act.”

Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) addressed the gravity of the situation as the US losses in the war against Iran pile up, emphasizing the deadly consequences of Trump’s erratic behavior.

“If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment,” Murphy wrote. “This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.”

Activist Melanie D’Arrigo said the Trump cabinet’s inaction in the face of war against Iran is a deliberate choice, pointing to potential personal gain as a motive for their silence.

“If you’re wondering why Trump’s cabinet isn’t invoking the 25th Amendment after yet another unhinged post announcing war crimes in the war he started that his family and donors are personally profiting from…” D’Arrigo wrote.

“It’s because they’re happily complicit and compromised.”

Journalist and social media influencer Candace Owens called it “a satanic administration.”

“We all realize that satanic Zionists occupy the White House and Congress needs to move to have the Mad King Trump removed,” she wrote.

“All of our lives may depend upon other countries realizing that Trump is deeply unwell and surrounded by religious fanatics who have convinced him that he is a messiah. We are in uncharted territory. Leaders worldwide need to act accordingly.”

Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said the American public has now seen enough to demand action, placing the burden squarely on the Trump cabinet.

“Our President posted this message to the world on Easter Sunday,” Liccardo said.

“The public now clearly knows that Trump is no longer mentally fit to hold office. Each member of his cabinet has a moral and professional duty to act under the authority of the 25th Amendment; remove him.”

• President Xi Jinping urges safeguards for China’s energy security.
• Says Party Central Committee advances energy security strategy.
• China must stay committed to low-carbon development, he adds.
  

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for accelerated planning and construction of a new energy system to safeguard the country’s energy security, weeks into the Iran war that has triggered global energy shocks.

The leader of the world’s second-largest economy also emphasised hydropower development and ecological protection, while urging the safe and orderly expansion of nuclear power, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.

“The Party Central Committee has gained a profound grasp of global energy development trends and made major decisions by advancing the new energy security strategy in depth,” he said, referring to the ruling Communist Party’s centre of authority.

Xi did not directly mention the war in his remarks cited by CCTV.

The United States and Iran have been weighing a Pakistani-brokered ​plan that could end their five‑week-old conflict, even as Tehran pushed back against pressure to swiftly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Role of coal and greener energy  

Analysts have pointed out that China ​is relatively better-⁠positioned to absorb the higher oil prices. 

Coal accounts for more than half of its energy mix, while it has ample oil stockpiles and imports via the Strait of Hormuz represent only around 5% of total energy consumption.

“The path we took in being the first to develop wind and solar power has now proven to be forward-looking. At the same time, coal-fired power remains the foundation of our energy system and must continue to play its supporting role,” Xi said.

China operates more than half of the world’s coal-fired power capacity, making it the top carbon emitter, which Western-led climate initiatives have long contended with. The country continues to position coal power as a reliability backbone and flexible backup system, even as it accelerates renewables.

Although he underscored the role of coal in China’s energy mix, the president said the country—the world’s largest consumer of coal—must stay committed to clean, low-carbon development.

“A greener, more diversified and resilient new energy system will provide a strong guarantee for China’s energy security and economic development,” CCTV said.

Last July, China began construction of what will be the world’s largest hydropower dam on the eastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau.

Construction on a solar thermal power plant by China General Nuclear Power Group at an altitude of 4,550 metres in Tibet has also begun on Monday, according to state Xinhua News Agency.