Khamenei Urges Belarusian President to Confront US Sanctions

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)
TT

Khamenei Urges Belarusian President to Confront US Sanctions

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to confront US sanctions, noting that countries subject to Western sanctions must counter the scheme through cooperation and by setting up a joint assembly.

The two countries signed a roadmap to boost political, economic, and cultural cooperation.

Lukashenko arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a two-day visit and was officially received by President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday. The visit comes as the two countries mark 30 years of official diplomatic relations.

Khamenei called for employing the two countries' will to implement cooperation agreements and promote their level of relations.

Raisi hailed three decades of close ties with Belarus after talks with his counterpart.

"Thirty years after the start of relations... the two countries have the will to strengthen cooperation," Raisi said, praising their "common strategic vision."

For his part, Lukashenko praised "with great respect the perseverance with which the (Iranian) people resist external pressures, attempts to impose the will of others on them."

"And I see that, despite everything, you are developing modern technologies and nuclear energy," he added about Iran's contested nuclear program, which has sparked tough international sanctions against the country.

"We could be very helpful to each other if we put our efforts together," added Lukashenko.

The two presidents did not mention the Ukraine war in their statements.

Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Tehran maintains close ties with Russia while at the same time asserting it maintains a neutral diplomatic stance in the Ukraine war.

However, Washington recently warned of the "dangerous" increase in military cooperation between Russia and Iran, accusing Tehran of providing Moscow with drones to use in Ukraine, which Tehran denies.

Iran recently announced that it finalized a contract with Russia to purchase Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets.

Lukashenko recently paid a three-day visit to China, during which he said he fully supports Beijing's proposals to stop the war.

Belarus, neighboring Ukraine, did not send soldiers to fight alongside the Russian army, but its territory served as a rear base for Moscow's troops.



Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
TT

Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)

Pro-Palestinian groups took the Dutch state to court Friday, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they termed a genocide in Gaza.

The NGOs argued that Israel is breaking international law in Gaza and the West Bank, invoking, amongst others, the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention set up in the wake of the Holocaust.

"Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid" and "is using Dutch weapons to wage war", said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs.

"Dutch weapons are killing children, every day, in Palestine, including my family," said Ahmed Abofoul, a legal advisor to Al Haq, one of the groups involved in the suit, AFP reported.

Israel furiously denies accusations of genocide as it presses on with the offensive in Gaza it began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Opening the case at the court in The Hague, judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: "It is important to underline that the gravity of the situation in Gaza is not contested by the Dutch State, nor is the status of the West Bank."

"Today is about finding out what is legally in play and what can be expected of the State, if the State can be expected to do more, or act differently than it is currently acting," she added.

She acknowledged this was a "sensitive case", saying: "It's a whole legal debate."

The lawyer for the Dutch State, Reimer Veldhuis, said the Netherlands has been applying European laws in force for arms exports.

Veldhuis argued the case should be tossed out.

"It is unlikely that the minister responsible will grant an arms export licence to Israel that would contribute to the Israeli army's activities in Gaza or the West Bank," said Veldhuis.