Zarif Says Won't Run In Presidential Elections

A picture published by the website of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, during his reception of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shortly after the nuclear agreement was reached in 2015.
A picture published by the website of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, during his reception of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shortly after the nuclear agreement was reached in 2015.
TT

Zarif Says Won't Run In Presidential Elections

A picture published by the website of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, during his reception of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shortly after the nuclear agreement was reached in 2015.
A picture published by the website of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, during his reception of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shortly after the nuclear agreement was reached in 2015.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif officially announced that he would not run in upcoming presidential elections, hours before his plane landed at Damascus airport.

A number of reformist websites reported that former President Mohammad Khatami, Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the former Supreme Leader Khomeini, failed to persuade Zarif to run in the elections.

During a closed session to discuss the leaked audio on Sunday, Zarif informed the parliament that he does not intend to run in the presidential elections, in an attempt to assert that he does not have electoral goals.

Zarif addressed the Iranian citizens through an Instagram post saying his candidacy for this year’s elections is not in the interest of the country and the people.

He said he had made the decision not on the basis of personal interests or for his own convenience, but because “I have reached this conscientious conviction that me running would not be in the best interest of the country and the nation given the perturbations that have been displayed in the past eight years.”

Zarif said that the elections will be fateful, explaining that not voting is a choice, “but one that would only lead to the victory of the minority.”

He implicitly criticized the pressures he has been subjected to since the Iranian New Year, referring to a television series about Western intelligence services spying on the nuclear negotiating team.

The FM announced his upcoming regional and European tour, pointing out that it is “within the framework of the foreign minister’s duties,” and is not related to the nuclear negotiations in Vienna aimed at reaching an agreement.

Zarif mocked his opponents, urging them to focus on local issues, the priorities of guarding national interests, and protecting people from US sanctions.



UN: Record 281 Aid Workers Killed in 2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
TT

UN: Record 281 Aid Workers Killed in 2024

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has seen more than 200 staff killed since the Gaza war began. Eyad BABA / AFP/File

A staggering 281 aid workers have been killed around the world so far this year, making 2024 the deadliest year for humanitarians, the UN aid chief said Friday.
"Humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, their courage and humanity being met with bullets and bombs," said Tom Fletcher, the United Nations' new under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
With more than a month left to go of 2024, the "grim milestone was reached", he said, after 280 humanitarians were killed across 33 countries during all of 2023.
"This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid operations," Fletcher said.
Israel's devastating war in Gaza was driving up the numbers, his office said, with 333 aid workers killed there -- most from the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA -- since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks, which sparked the war, AFP reported.
"States and parties to conflict must protect humanitarians, uphold international law, prosecute those responsible, and call time on this era of impunity," Fletcher said.
Aid workers were subject to kidnappings, injuries, harassment and arbitrary detention in a range of countries, his office said, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and Ukraine.
The majority of deaths involve local staff working with non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, Fletcher's office said.
"Violence against humanitarian personnel is part of a broader trend of harm to civilians in conflict zones," it warned.
"Last year, more than 33,000 civilian deaths were recorded in 14 armed conflicts -- a staggering 72 per cent increase from 2022."
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution last May in response to the surging violence and threats against aid workers.
The text called for recommendations from the UN chief -- set to be presented at a council meeting next week -- on measures to prevent and respond to such incidents and to increase protection for humanitarian staff and accountability for abuses.