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Iranian Revolutionary Guard Refutes Damning Claims by Ex-General on Terror Connections

Iranian Revolutionary Guard former general Saeed Ghasemi (Arabic Website)
Iranian Revolutionary Guard former general Saeed Ghasemi (Arabic Website)
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Iranian Revolutionary Guard Refutes Damning Claims by Ex-General on Terror Connections

Iranian Revolutionary Guard former general Saeed Ghasemi (Arabic Website)
Iranian Revolutionary Guard former general Saeed Ghasemi (Arabic Website)

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, recently blacklisted as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US, declined statements made by one of its ex-generals on the armed force’s links with terrorist groups and cooperation with al-Qaeda in the early 90s.

Saeed Ghasemi, a retired general who gained notoriety for his role in the Ansar-e Hezbollah militia, revealed in an interview with the state-approved internet channel, Aparat, that in the 90s he visited Bosnia to train Muslim fighters against the Serbs while wearing the Iranian Red Crescent uniform.

In the same interview, Ghasemi admits that he is divulging the fact since the Americans have already discovered the ploy and written about it.

Lambasting Ghasemi’s revelations, Revolutionary Guard spokesman, Ramazan Sharif, said: “Saeed Ghasemi’s remarks, who for a while was in Bosnia voluntarily and has retired a long time ago, are his personal views, devoid of credibility and are not shared by the IRGC (an acronym for the Revolutionary Gaurd),” according to ISNA.

Sharif also downplayed Ghasemi’s comments and said: “These types of comments by Ghasemi have precedents and the responsibility of these comments are on him.” But he also warned Ghasemi and other retired members of Revolutionary Guard to avoid “making irresponsible and untrue claims” and not to provide “excuse and tools” to the enemy.

It is worth noting that the official response is the first in a three-day-long controversy revolving around the Revolutionary Guard’s involvement with al-Qaeda.

President Hassan Rouhani's office also dismissed the remarks, saying that the claims help "the enemy".

The Iranian Red Crescent has also officially dismissed Qassemi's claims and threatened to sue him. "If an individual or a state entity has used the logo or uniform of the IRCS for operations against the aims and principles of the International Red Cross Society, it definitely happened without the permission of the IRCS or in coordination with it," IRCS announced. Even if the IRCS permission was sought, the statement argued, it would have never been given, the relief group added.

"Based on the four conventions ratified in Geneva, the IRCS is impartial in armed conflicts since it has the important responsibility of supporting humanity and civilians," the statement has insisted.

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World

EU to Slash Asylum Cases from 7 Nations Deemed Safe

FILE - A convoy of buses carry Syrian refugees who return home from Lebanon, arrive at the Syrian border crossing point, in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
FILE - A convoy of buses carry Syrian refugees who return home from Lebanon, arrive at the Syrian border crossing point, in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
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EU to Slash Asylum Cases from 7 Nations Deemed Safe

FILE - A convoy of buses carry Syrian refugees who return home from Lebanon, arrive at the Syrian border crossing point, in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
FILE - A convoy of buses carry Syrian refugees who return home from Lebanon, arrive at the Syrian border crossing point, in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)

The European Union on Thursday said it would drastically reduce asylum claims from seven nations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia by considering them safe countries of origin, prompting widespread outrage from human rights groups on International Migrants' Day.

An agreement between European Parliament and the European Council, or the group of the 27 EU heads of state, said that the countries would be considered safe if they lack “relevant circumstances, such as indiscriminate violence in the context of an armed conflict.”

Asylum requests by people from Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia will be "fast-tracked, with applicants having to prove that this provision should not apply to them,” read the announcement of the agreement. “The list can be expanded in the future under the EU’s ordinary legislative procedure.”

In 2024, EU nations endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s failed asylum system. The rules were meant to resolve the issues that have divided the 27 countries since well over 1 million migrants swept into Europe in 2015, most fleeing war in Syria and Iraq.

Under the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which goes into force in June 2026, people can be sent to countries deemed safe, but not to those where they face the risk of physical harm or persecution.

According to The Associated Press, Amnesty International EU advocate Olivia Sundberg Diez said the new measures were “a shameless attempt to sidestep international legal obligations" and would endanger migrants.

French MEP Mélissa Camara said the safe countries of origins concept and others agreed to by the Council and Parliament “opens the door to return hubs outside the EU’s borders, where third-country nationals are sometimes subjected to inhumane treatment with almost no monitoring” and “undoubtedly places thousands of people in exile in situations of danger.”

Céline Mias, the EU director of the Danish Refugee Council said that "we are deeply worried that this fast-track system will fail to protect people in need of protection, including activists, journalists and marginalized groups in places where human rights are clearly under attack.”

Alessandro Ciriani, an Italian MEP with the European Conservatives and Reformists group, said the designation sends a firm message that the EU has toughened its borders.

“Europe wants enforceable rules and shared responsibility. Now this commitment must become operational: effective returns, structured cooperation with third countries and real measures to support EU member states,” he said.

He said that clear delineations of safe and unsafe nations would rid the EU of “excessive interpretative uncertainty” that led to a kind of paralysis for national decision makers over border controls.

The measures also allows individual nations within the bloc to designate other countries safe for their own immigration purposes.

World

Rubio Says US Sanctioning ICC Judges for Targeting Israel

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to traveling journalists at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario, on November 12, 2025 after the G7 foreign ministers meeting. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to traveling journalists at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario, on November 12, 2025 after the G7 foreign ministers meeting. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)
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Rubio Says US Sanctioning ICC Judges for Targeting Israel

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to traveling journalists at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario, on November 12, 2025 after the G7 foreign ministers meeting. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to traveling journalists at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario, on November 12, 2025 after the G7 foreign ministers meeting. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the US was sanctioning two judges of the International Criminal Court for targeting Israel.

"Today, I am designating two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, pursuant to Executive Order 14203," Rubio said in a statement, referring to the order President Donald Trump signed in February sanctioning the ICC, Reuters reported.

"These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel's consent," he said.

The United States and Israel are not members of the ICC.

The US sanctions in February include freezing any US assets of those designated and barring them and their families from visiting the United States.

World

US Imposes Sanctions on Vessels Linked to Iran, Treasury Website Says

A crew member raises the Iranian flag on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
A crew member raises the Iranian flag on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
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US Imposes Sanctions on Vessels Linked to Iran, Treasury Website Says

A crew member raises the Iranian flag on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
A crew member raises the Iranian flag on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on 29 vessels and their management firms, the Treasury Department said, as Washington continues targeting Tehran's "shadow fleet" it says exports Iranian petroleum and petroleum products, Reuters reported.

The targeted vessels and companies have transported hundreds of millions of dollars of the products through deceptive shipping practices, Treasury said.

Thursday's action also targets businessman Hatem Elsaid Farid Ibrahim Sakr, whose companies are associated with seven of the vessels cited, as well as multiple shipping companies.