Egypt's Al-Azhar Hails Success of Hajj Season

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb speaks in Cairo. (Reuters)
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb speaks in Cairo. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Al-Azhar Hails Success of Hajj Season

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb speaks in Cairo. (Reuters)
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb speaks in Cairo. (Reuters)

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb congratulated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz on the successful organization of the pilgrimage this year as the kingdom was keen on holding the Hajj season in accordance with preventive measures adopted to face the coronavirus pandemic and ensure pilgrims safety.

In June, Al-Azhar welcomed the Saudi Arabia's decision to hold Hajj this year and limit the number of worshipers residing in the Kingdom from various nationalities.

El-Tayyeb lauded the efforts exerted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, aiming at serving pilgrims and maintaining their safety.

He described the Kingdom’s decision as wise and considerate for refraining from disrupting the pilgrimage ritual.

El-Tayyeb also expressed in a statement on Twitter his sincere wishes to the Saudi King over his health.

"I congratulate Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on the success of his surgery," he said in a tweet, wishing King Salman good health and wellness.



US Charges Iran Guards Captain in 2022 Killing of American in Iraq

Smog obscures the skyline in Tehran, Iran, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
Smog obscures the skyline in Tehran, Iran, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
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US Charges Iran Guards Captain in 2022 Killing of American in Iraq

Smog obscures the skyline in Tehran, Iran, 18 December 2024. (EPA)
Smog obscures the skyline in Tehran, Iran, 18 December 2024. (EPA)

The US Justice Department said on Friday it had charged a captain in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards with murder and terrorism offenses in the 2022 death of American Stephen Troell in Iraq.

Mohammad Reza Nouri, 36, helped plan an attack on Troell, 45, who was working at an English language institute in central Baghdad, according to a complaint unsealed in US Federal Court in Manhattan.

The attack was carried out in retaliation for the US killing of the Revolutionary Guards' top commander Qassem Soleimani in a 2020 drone strike, according to the complaint.

"The Department of Justice will not tolerate terrorists and authoritarian regimes targeting and murdering Americans anywhere in the world," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Nouri is already in custody in Iraq after being convicted, along with four Iraqis, in that country for Troell's murder. All five were sentenced to life in prison in Iraq last year.

Nouri is facing eight charges in US court, including murder of a US national and providing material support to terrorism resulting in death. The United States considers the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

It was not yet clear if Nouri had an attorney. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The complaint accuses Nouri of collecting personal information on Troell, whom he appears to have believed was an American or Israeli intelligence officer, and recruiting operatives to target him.

Troell was shot and killed on Nov. 7, 2022, after a heavily armed gunman forced him to stop while he was driving home with his wife, according to US authorities.