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Iran's Intelligence Minister Meets Palestinian Factions in Damascus

A general view shows the Al Maysat roundabout in Damascus March 11, 2012. (REUTERS/Khaled Al-Hariri)
A general view shows the Al Maysat roundabout in Damascus March 11, 2012. (REUTERS/Khaled Al-Hariri)
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Iran's Intelligence Minister Meets Palestinian Factions in Damascus

A general view shows the Al Maysat roundabout in Damascus March 11, 2012. (REUTERS/Khaled Al-Hariri)
A general view shows the Al Maysat roundabout in Damascus March 11, 2012. (REUTERS/Khaled Al-Hariri)

Iran's Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has met with a delegation from Palestinian factions at the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

A statement issued by the factions said that discussions focused on the latest developments in the region, the Palestinian cause and mainly US President Donald Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan dubbed the “deal of the century.”

The statement stressed that the Palestinian factions remain united against the plan.

It said that the two sides discussed the difficulties facing the Palestinian people and the resistance factions, and their role in confronting Israeli occupation.

According to the statement, “Alavi lauded the role of the resistance factions and their deterring capabilities in the latest war on the Gaza Strip.”

The leadership of the factions stressed the importance of the “interconnected role of the resistance axis’ forces and countries in the region in confronting schemes and threats that target Iran, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.”

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Türkiye Replaces Pro-Kurdish Mayors with State Officials in 2 Cities

Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)
Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)
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Türkiye Replaces Pro-Kurdish Mayors with State Officials in 2 Cities

Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)
Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)

Türkiye stripped two elected pro-Kurdish mayors of their posts in eastern cities on Friday, for convictions on terrorism-related offences, the interior ministry said, temporarily appointing state officials in their places instead.

The local governor replaced mayor Cevdet Konak in Tunceli, while a local administrator was appointed in the place of Ovacik mayor Mustafa Sarigul, the ministry said in a statement, adding these were "temporary measures".
Konak is a member of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, which has 57 seats in the national parliament, and Sarigul is a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Dozens of pro-Kurdish mayors from its predecessor parties have been removed from their posts on similar charges in the past, Reuters reported.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said authorities had deemed that Sarigul's attendance at a funeral was a crime and called the move to appoint a trustee "a theft of the national will", adding his party would stand against the "injustice".
"Removing a mayor who has been elected by the votes of the people for two terms over a funeral he attended 12 years ago has no more jurisdiction than the last struggles of a government on its way out," Ozel said on X.
Earlier this month, Türkiye replaced three pro-Kurdish mayors in southeastern cities over similar terrorism-related reasons, drawing backlash from the DEM Party and others.
Last month, a mayor from the CHP was arrested after prosecutors accused him of belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), banned as a terrorist group in Türkiye and deemed a terrorist group by the European Union and United States.
The appointment of government trustees followed a surprise proposal by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main ally last month to end the state's 40-year conflict with the PKK.