Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
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Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)

Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani announced seven factors that would achieve Iraq’s stability.

He made his remarks shortly after Israeli television reported that he was among a list of assassination targets alongside leader of the Houthis in Yemen Abdulmalek al-Houthi, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, commander of Iran’s Quds Forces Esmail Qaani and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Sistani received on Monday new representative of the United Nations secretary-general and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Dr. Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman.

A statement from Sistani’s office called on Iraqis to “derive lessons from the past and to work tirelessly to overcome setbacks and work on building a better future where everyone can live in security, stability and prosperity.”

Sistani has since 2015 been refusing to meet with Iraqi officials in protest over rampant corruption in the country and over how his recommendations have been ignored.

Overcoming corruption demands drafting a practical plan to run the country that relies on competency and integrity and that prevents foreign meddling in Iraq, he added.

It also called for imposing the rule of law and limiting the possession of weapons to the state, he stressed.

“The Iraqis have a long path ahead of them,” he said.

The Iraqi government had protested against the Israeli assassination target list, specifically Sistani’s inclusion in it, calling on the international community to condemn attempts to attack figures who enjoy influence and international respect.

Sistani also said he was “deeply pained by the ongoing tragedies in Lebanon and Gaza,” noting that it was “deeply unfortunate” that the international community and its institutions “have been incapable of imposing effective solutions” to end them or at least protect civilians from Israel’s assaults.

For his part, al-Hassan said he reached an agreement with Sistani to bolster Iraq’s regional and international standing.



Jordan Describes Shooting near Israeli Embassy as ‘Terrorist Attack’

Police vehicles on a street near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
Police vehicles on a street near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
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Jordan Describes Shooting near Israeli Embassy as ‘Terrorist Attack’

Police vehicles on a street near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
Police vehicles on a street near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak

Jordan described Sunday’s shooting near the heavily fortified Israeli embassy in the capital Amman as a “terrorist attack”.
Jordan's communications minister, Mohamed Momani, said the shooting is a “terrorist attack” that targeted public security forces in the country. He said in a statement that investigations into the incident were under way.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, security sources described the incident as “an individual and isolated act, unrelated to any organized groups”.
The sources added that preliminary investigations indicated that the attacker was “under the influence of drugs”.
A gunman was dead and three Jordanian policemen were injured after the shooting near the Israeli embassy in Sunday's early hours, a security source and state media said.
Police shot a gunman who had fired at a police patrol in the affluent Rabiah neighborhood of the Jordanian capital, the state news agency Petra reported, citing public security, adding investigations were ongoing.
The gunman, who was carrying an automatic weapon, was chased for at least an hour before he was cornered and killed just before dawn, according to a security source.
"Tampering with the security of the nation and attacking security personnel will be met with a firm response," Momani told Reuters, adding that the gunman had a criminal record in drug trafficking.
Jordanian police cordoned off an area near the heavily policed embassy after gunshots were heard, witnesses said. Two witnesses said police and ambulances rushed to the Rabiah district, where the embassy is located.
The area is a flashpoint for frequent demonstrations against Israel.