Rafsanjani’s Daughter Defends Remark that Trump was Good for Iran

Faezeh Hashemi, Ensaf News
Faezeh Hashemi, Ensaf News
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Rafsanjani’s Daughter Defends Remark that Trump was Good for Iran

Faezeh Hashemi, Ensaf News
Faezeh Hashemi, Ensaf News

Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, slammed a number of figures and parties in Iran for being “more dangerous bullies” than the outgoing US President Donald Trump.

Hashemi accused those she addressed of placing the country on the “verge of destruction.”

In an open letter, she responded to harsh criticism she had received from members of her family and fellow comrades in the Executives of Construction Party.

Hashemi had made highly controversial statements earlier in support of Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran and said that chances for reform in the cleric-led country are diminished now that US President-elect Joe Biden will rise to power.

Responding to her brother, Mohsen Hashemi, who had asked her to apologize, Hashemi on Tuesday accused him of “mapping a future for himself” and seeking to “protect his interests,” an apparent reference to plans beyond his current position as Chairman of Tehran’s City Council.

She reiterated that Iran’s leaders had pursued policies wasting resources and leading the country to a dead-end.

The war of words between Hashemi and her brother on the fourth anniversary of their father’s death has made headlines in Iranian newspapers.

The official newspaper affiliated with the Executives of Construction Party ran a front page displaying a picture of Hashemi and her brother under the headline “Brother Slams Sister.”

“In Iran, there are individuals and entities that are far more dangerous than Trump in bullying and failing to abide by rules and regulation. They have put the country on the slippery slope of ineffectiveness, mismanagement and inefficiency, dogmatism and even taking it to the point of collapse at times,” Hashemi said in defense of her statements.

In an implicit reference to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is considered a moderate reformer, Hashemi said: “These days we are witnessing deviations that are much deeper than that caused by Ahmadinejad.”



Israeli Army Says One of Its Drones Downed over Iran

An Elbit Systems Ltd. Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seen at the company's drone factory in Rehovot, Israel, June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Orel Cohen
An Elbit Systems Ltd. Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seen at the company's drone factory in Rehovot, Israel, June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Orel Cohen
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Israeli Army Says One of Its Drones Downed over Iran

An Elbit Systems Ltd. Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seen at the company's drone factory in Rehovot, Israel, June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Orel Cohen
An Elbit Systems Ltd. Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seen at the company's drone factory in Rehovot, Israel, June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Orel Cohen

The Israeli military said Wednesday that one of its drones had been downed while operating over Iran, the first such loss it has acknowledged since the start of hostilities last week.

An army statement said the drone had gone down in Iran after being hit by a surface-to-air missile, AFP reported.

"No injuries were reported and there is no risk of an information breach," it added.

Iranian state television broadcast pictures of the wreckage of what it said was an armed Israeli Air Force Hermes drone in the central city of Isfahan.

The Israeli air force has been launching daily raids on Iran since last Friday, with the country targeting missile sites in particular along with other military and nuclear-related sites.

Military spokesman Effie Defrin insisted that Israel was "operating freely" over Iran with airstrikes that have involved "dozens of aircraft of various types."

"We will continue to strike anywhere within Iran that we choose. Yes, there is resistance, but we control the skies and will continue to maintain that control," he told a televised press briefing on Wednesday.

The Israeli military said on Monday it had achieved "total air superiority in the skies over Tehran".

More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out airstrikes in the Tehran area on Wednesday morning, targeting a production facility for uranium enrichment centrifuges among other locations, according to an earlier statement from the military.