Faezeh Rafsanjani: My Father Tried to Convince Khomeini to End War with Iraq

Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)
Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)
TT

Faezeh Rafsanjani: My Father Tried to Convince Khomeini to End War with Iraq

Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)
Faezeh Rafsanjani during an electoral meeting in 2016. (AFP)

Faezeh Rafsanjani, the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, revealed that her father sought an end to the Iran-Iraq war.

He proposed ending the war to then supreme leader Khomeini, but he refused, she revealed in an interview to Asharq television.

Moreover, she revealed that her father sought openness towards Saudi Arabia and backed restoring Iran’s relations with the United States.

He did not oppose ties with any country, except for Israel, she added.

Rafsanjani, who is a member of the reformist Executives of Construction Party, slammed the ruling conservatives in Iran, saying they are not seeking a nuclear deal with the West because they are actually benefitting from it.

She noted how many conservatives often slam the US and European countries, while their children purse an education in the West.

She doubted that a nuclear deal would be reached during the term of US President Joe Biden, noting that the Iranians and Americans were awaiting the outcome of the US Midterm elections.

Rafsanjani’s father had pursued reform in Iran and sought openness with neighboring countries and the West.

His daughter called on her country “to be open to the world” because few Iranians really support being closed off from it.



South Korean President Arrested Over Failed Martial Law Bid

15 January 2025, South Korea, Seoul: A TV screen at Seoul Station, shows a report that police and the anti-corruption agency executed a second warrant to detain impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in connection to his short-lived imposition of martial law. Photo: -/YNA/dpa
15 January 2025, South Korea, Seoul: A TV screen at Seoul Station, shows a report that police and the anti-corruption agency executed a second warrant to detain impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in connection to his short-lived imposition of martial law. Photo: -/YNA/dpa
TT

South Korean President Arrested Over Failed Martial Law Bid

15 January 2025, South Korea, Seoul: A TV screen at Seoul Station, shows a report that police and the anti-corruption agency executed a second warrant to detain impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in connection to his short-lived imposition of martial law. Photo: -/YNA/dpa
15 January 2025, South Korea, Seoul: A TV screen at Seoul Station, shows a report that police and the anti-corruption agency executed a second warrant to detain impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in connection to his short-lived imposition of martial law. Photo: -/YNA/dpa

Impeached South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday over his failed martial law bid, ending a weeks-long standoff with authorities and becoming the first president to be detained in the nation's history.

Yoon, who faces charges of insurrection over his short-lived effort to impose martial law last month, said he would comply with investigators to avoid "bloodshed.”

A former prosecutor who led the conservative People Power Party (PPP) to election victory in 2022, Yoon could face the death penalty or life in jail if he is found guilty of insurrection.

He had sought to evade arrest for weeks by remaining in his residential compound, protected by members of the Presidential Security Service (PSS) who had remained loyal to him.

His guards had installed barbed wire and barricades at the residence, turning it into what the opposition called a "fortress.”

Yoon, who had vowed to "fight to the end,” managed to thwart a first arrest attempt on January 3 following a tense hours-long impasse between the guards and anti-graft investigators working with police.

But before dawn on Wednesday, hundreds of police officers and investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office again surrounded the residence, some scaling perimeter walls and hiking up back trails to reach the main building.

After a standoff of about five hours, authorities announced Yoon had been arrested and the impeached leader released a pre-recorded video message.

"I decided to respond to the Corruption Investigation Office," Yoon said in the message, adding that he did not accept the legality of the investigation but was complying "to prevent any unfortunate bloodshed.”

AFP said that Yoon left his residence in a convoy and was taken to the offices of the Corruption Investigation Office.

Investigators began questioning Yoon shortly after his arrest, Yonhap reported.