Israel To Pursue Genocide Case Against Iran At ICJ
An Israeli cabinet minister has announced plans to initiate efforts to bring a case against Iran to the International Court of Justice, focusing on charges of genocide.
An Israeli cabinet minister has announced plans to initiate efforts to bring a case against Iran to the International Court of Justice, focusing on charges of genocide.
Gideon Sa'ar highlighted that Iranian leaders have openly advocated for the destruction of Israel and provided significant support to Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Experts in international law suggest that the massacres and other crimes committed by Hamas on October 7 could potentially be categorized as a genocidal act. This is because they appear to have been aimed at the destruction, “in whole or in part”, of a national group, specifically Israelis.
“There are public statements by senior Iranian officials in favor of destroying Israel,” Sa’ar told the Kan public broadcaster.
“Iran finances, arms, and trains all the jihadi terrorist organizations including Hamas and Islamic Jihad which carried out October 7, so in my opinion there is an abundance of evidence which can be submitted to the court in the Hague,” added Sa’ar, a former justice minister.
“Israel is a small and persecuted nation that is fighting for its life and at the same time is fighting on the international stage for its right to self defense. It is a nation that is truly at risk of genocide given that there are enemies around it that declaredly want to destroy it,” he underlined.
The Iranian regime frequently issues threats against Israel. Despite the threats, Tehran has not directly attacked Israel but continues to support its proxies in the vicinity of Israel, especially after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7 which killed more than 1,100 Israelis, mostly civilians.
While hardline clerics take advantage of every opportunity to condemn women who defy compulsory hijab, other more pragmatic or opportunistic figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are attempting to court women's support in the lead-up to the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.
Khamenei, without specifically addressing the hijab issue, said in a recent speech that "Not adhering to religious obligations in maintaining one’s appearance does not necessarily reflect a lack of belief in the regime."
However, in a meeting with a selected group of veiled women, Khamenei defined women's political participation as "encouraging” their husbands and children to actively take part in the election. The vernacular word Khamenei used for "encouraging" was "vadar kardan" which also implies obliging someone to take a specific action. He added that "women can play a part in this area both at their homes and in the streets."
Guardian Council spokesman Tahan Nazif also implied that women without hijab may vote at the polling stations. He said: "No one should be denied their right to vote. The issue of hijab should not divide the people."
According to Ayatollah Hossein Mousavi Tabrizi, the secretary of the association of seminary teachers, the number of women who defy hijab in Qom, the home of the main Shiite seminary and the most religious town in Iran is "eye-catching".
Tabrizi said that defying compulsory hijab is now a symbol of expressing opposition to the government. The cleric added that women from both old and new generations defy the compulsory hijab in the religious center.
He further added that many people in Iran do not believe in the religious rules, adding that on the other hand, religious propaganda in Iran is not consistent with the people's beliefs and customs, although some of the people defy hijab only to show their opposition to the system.
Recently, the police chief in Qom revealed that approximately 74,000 warning text messages had been issued to women defying compulsory hijab since the start of the current Iranian year in March 2023. Additionally, 1,968 women were referred to the court during this period to pay penalties for violating hijab rules, marking a six-fold increase compared to the previous year.
Sociologist Mohammad Reza Javadi Yeganeh expressed concerns that confiscating women's vehicles as punishment for defying hijab could lead to desperation within families, fueling hatred toward the system and potentially sparking civil unrest.
The rise in cases of hijab defiance in a religious city like Qom has been seen by some as a failure of the government's hijab policy. This difference in perspective may explain the disagreement between Mousavi Tabrizi, a former general prosecutor, and hardliners regarding their treatment of women who defy hijab.
In another development, the Friday Prayer Imam of Mashhad, firebrand cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda said in his sermons on January 26, that defying hijab will be eradicated only if the people want it. Meanwhile he called the defiance a mischievous conspiracy by "the enemies." Many Iranian officials, including in law enforcement, have blamed foreign enemies for women rejecting the hijab. But they also blame an expected low turnout in the election on “the enemy,” and not the regime’s economic failures and repression.
Last year, Alamolhoda, who is President Ebrahim Raisi’s father-in-law, opined that the fundamentalist hijab bill prepared by hardliners in the parliament was not good enough to eradicate “the non-Islamic behavior” of Iranian women. Strongly criticizing the bill, Alamolhoda said if it passed, it would promote unveiling rather than prevent it.
"Deploying her Sea Viper missile system, Diamond destroyed a drone targeting her with no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.
"These intolerable and illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and it is our duty to protect the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea."
The Iran-backed Houthi movement began launching waves of exploding drones and missiles at vessels on November 19 in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza. Israel launched its offensive after Hamas, another Iran-backed group, invaded Israel, killing 1,400 mostly civilians and taking hundreds of hostages.
On Friday, Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack that set a British oil tanker on fire in the Gulf of Aden. Shipping data suggests the Marlin Luanda was heading towards Singapore under the flag of the Marshall Islands. It was hit by a missile 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden in Yemen, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations.
Reports suggest the tanker is carrying Russian naphtha. This fully contradicts Houthi claims that they target vessels bound for Israel of linked to Israeli interests.
Earlier Friday, the Houthis had fired an anti-ship missile toward USS Carney. That missile was successfully shot down, according to the US Central Command.
The attacks come amid reports that China has called on Iran to rein in the Houthis.
US and British warplanes, ships and submarines have responded to the Houthi attacks on shipping with dozens of retaliatory strikes across Yemen against Houthi forces.
