Politics
Iran Guards chief says ‘finger on trigger’, warns US against ‘miscalculations’
- IRGC commander warns Israel, US “to avoid any miscalculations”.
- Ready to carry out orders of supreme commander: commander.
- Pakpour warns Israel, US to learn from historical experiences.
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned Israel and the US against “miscalculations” in the wake of mass protests, saying the force had its “finger on the trigger”.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly left open the option of new military action against the Islamic republic after Washington backed and joined Israel’s 12-day war in June.
A fortnight of protests starting in late December shook the clerical leadership under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the movement has petered out in the face of a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.
Guards commander General Mohammad Pakpour warned Israel and the United States “to avoid any miscalculations, by learning from historical experiences and what they learned in the 12-day imposed war, so that they do not face a more painful and regrettable fate”.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of the supreme commander-in-chief — a leader dearer than their own lives,” he said, referring to Khamenei.
His comments came in a written statement quoted by state television marking the national day in Iran to celebrate the Guards, a force whose mission is to protect the 1979 Islamic revolution from internal and external threats.
Pakpour took over as Guards commander last year after his predecessor Hossein Salami was one of several key military figures killed in an Israeli strike during the 12-day war, losses which revealed Israel’s deep intelligence penetration of the Islamic republic.
Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities on Wednesday said 3,117 people were killed.
The statement from the Islamic republic’s foundation for martyrs and veterans sought to draw a distinction between “martyrs”, who it said were members of security forces and innocent bystanders, and what it described as “rioters” backed by the US.
Of its toll of 3,117, it said 2,427 people were martyrs.
WASHINGTON: Photographs of fresh bruising on Donald Trump’s hand raised eyebrows on Thursday, but the 79-year-old US president dismissed renewed speculation over his health, saying he had simply hit a table.
Trump has been seen with frequent bruising on his right hand since returning to the White House last year, often concealing it with bandages and make-up.
The White House has said it is due to a combination of frequent handshaking and the aspirin he takes for his cardiovascular health, which can lead to a tendency to bruise easily.
However, photos on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland showed dark bruises in a similar location – but this time on Trump’s left hand.
The images, taken while Trump was at an inaugural ceremony for his global “Board of Peace” initiative, quickly spread on social media.
“I clipped it on the table,” Trump told journalists on Air Force One when asked about the bruising, adding: “I would say, take aspirin if you like your heart, but don’t take aspirin if you don’t want to have a little bruising.”
The White House had earlier played down any concerns, giving the same explanation for the bruise.
Photos from early in the “Board of Peace” event and yesterday show no bruising on the left hand.
Speculation has swirled about Trump’s fitness given his age – he is the oldest person to take office as president – the hand bruising, swelling in his legs, and several apparent moments of dozing off during public events.
The administration disclosed last summer that Trump’s leg swelling had been diagnosed as a symptom of chronic venous insufficiency – a common condition in which faulty vein valves allow blood to pool, causing swelling, cramping and skin changes.
It can be managed with medication or targeted procedures.
An unannounced hospital visit last year added to suspicions of secrecy around his health.
Weeks afterwards, Trump’s doctor said MRI imaging had shown the president to be in “excellent” cardiovascular health.
NUUK: Greenland’s prime minister said Thursday that he was not aware of the contents of a framework agreement about the Danish autonomous territory that US President Donald Trump announced after a meeting with NATO’s chief, but stressed no deal could be made without involving the island.
“Nobody else than Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark have the mandate to make deals or agreements about Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark without us,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a press conference.
“We have some red lines… We have to respect our territorial integrity. We have to respect international law, sovereignty,” he added.
US President Donald Trump backed down on threats to seize Greenland by force after meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday, saying he had reached a “framework” of a deal on the Danish autonomous territory.
Details of the agreement made at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos remain scant.
Nielsen said he was “happy” that Trump had stated that the use of force was off the table, but that he was not aware of the contents of the deal.
“I don’t know what there is in the agreement or the deal about my country,” Nielsen told reporters, noting that he had not been part of the discussions.
A source familiar with the talks between Trump and Rutte told AFP on Thursday said it included a provision that the the United States and Denmark will renegotiate a 1951 defence pact on Greenland.
Putting US military bases on Greenland under US sovereignty had not been discussed during the talks, the source said.
Earlier on Thursday, Greenland’s Deputy Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a post on social media that it was “unacceptable to attempt to hand our land to others”.
Nielsen also said if Greenland had to choose between remaining part of Denmark or joining the US, “we choose the Kingdom of Denmark, we choose the EU, we choose NATO.”
The French navy intercepted a sanctioned Russian tanker in the Mediterranean on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X.
“This operation was carried out … with the support of several of our allies. It was conducted in full compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he said.
The vessel was subject to international sanctions and suspected of operating under a false flag, he said.
“The activities of the shadow fleet contribute to financing (Russia’s) war of aggression against Ukraine,” Macron added on X.
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