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Iran Seeks to End Mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres (Iran's Foreign Ministry)
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres (Iran's Foreign Ministry)
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Iran Seeks to End Mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres (Iran's Foreign Ministry)
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian with UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres (Iran's Foreign Ministry)

Iranian officials launched a diplomatic campaign on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council meetings in Geneva to end the mission of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wanted to ensure that a new Rapporteur would not be assigned after the current UN official, Javaid Rehman.
He also aimed to end the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission for Iran, which the Human Rights Council approved to investigate repression of the massive protests in Iran.
The FM accused Western countries of applying "double standards," noting that they condemn Iranian repression but do not care enough about human rights violations against Muslims in the Gaza Strip.
In November 2022, Germany succeeded in passing a decision to launch an independent probe into the deadly campaign that resulted in the death of 500 demonstrators and the arrest of more than 20,000, according to human rights organizations.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urgently called for extending the mandate of the UN experts investigating human rights in Iran.
During her participation in the spring session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Baerbock addressed the Iranian government, saying, "I want to be crystal clear to those who claim that calling out violations is an interference in internal affairs: Human rights aren't something western, northern, eastern or southern. They are universal."
She explained that the Fact-Finding Mission established by this Council has investigated the repression, the violence, and the crimes committed in Iran since the beginning of the protests.
"It is collecting and preserving the evidence. It is giving the victims –women, girls – a voice."
The German government is requesting support to extend the mission's mandate so that it can finish its job, Baerbock said.
The mission is expected to present its report, which will likely be discussed on March 15.
Western officials believe it is currently challenging to discuss this issue within the Human Rights Council, as the focus is on the situation in Gaza.
- Fact-finding mission
In his speech at the Human Rights Council, Amirabdollahian condemned the formation of the fact-finding mission after the death of Mahsa Amini.
He referred to the calls for investigating the death of Amini, while no serious action has been taken at the international level to stop the killing of thousands of innocent women and children in Gaza.
The United Nations General Assembly elects the 47 member states to serve a three-year term on the Human Rights Council.
The Council's decisions, such as extending the mandate of human rights experts, are put to vote before the end of the session, which will continue until April 5.
Earlier this month, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif visited Tehran and held discussions behind closed doors with Iranian officials.
Activists and human rights groups in Iran criticized Nashif's visit to Tehran.
Iranian human rights activist Ladan Boroumand called ambassadors to boycott Amirabdollahian's speech.
- Gaza war
Activists expressed concerns about officials' attempts to exploit the Gaza war to end the mission of the UN Rapporteur, which began in 2011.
The Iranian authorities did not grant the Special Rapporteur permission to visit Tehran.
During an interview with Voice of America, Rehman said that the authorities fear he will expose them.
Earlier this month, the Special Rapporteur said that the Israel-Hamas war has emboldened "repression" inside the country, noting that Iran was responding to a loss of credibility after mass protests set off by the September 2022 death of Amini.
On the summit's sidelines, the Iranian FM met with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.
Iranian agencies quoted him as saying: "Leaders of the Palestinian factions are considering democratic ways and a political deal among all Palestinian groups and movements to run the post-war Gaza. Supporting this approach is supporting a democratic approach."
Also in Geneva, Amirabdollahian held talks with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry stated on the "X" platform that the meeting focused on efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza and prevent further escalation in the region.
The two ministers also discussed the situation in Syria, especially the danger of drug smuggling from Syria to Jordan.
Safadi stressed that his country is determined to take all necessary steps to end drug smuggling.

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World

North Korean Leader's Daughter in First Visit to Symbolic Mausoleum

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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North Korean Leader's Daughter in First Visit to Symbolic Mausoleum

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching a New Year's performance with his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

The North Korean leader's daughter Kim Ju Ae has made her first visit to a mausoleum housing her grandfather and great-grandfather, state media images showed Friday, further solidifying her place as her father's successor.

The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called "Paektu bloodline" dominates daily life in the isolated country.

Current leader Kim Jong Un is the third in line to rule in the world's only communist monarchy, following father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

The two men -- dubbed "eternal leaders" in state propaganda -- are housed in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a vast mausoleum in downtown Pyongyang.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong Un had visited the palace, accompanied by top officials.

And images released by the agency showed daughter Ju Ae in tow.

South Korea's spy agency said last year she was now understood to be the next in line to rule North Korea after she accompanied her father on a high-profile visit to Beijing.

Ju Ae was publicly introduced to the world in 2022, when she accompanied her father to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

North Korean state media have since referred to her as "the beloved child", and a "great person of guidance" -- "hyangdo" in Korean -- a term typically reserved for top leaders and their successors.

Before 2022, the only confirmation of her existence had come from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who made a visit to the North in 2013.

World

Russia Blames Ukraine for Deadly New Year Drone Strike

The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP
The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP
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Russia Blames Ukraine for Deadly New Year Drone Strike

The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP
The Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region said 'the enemy' had fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel. The Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo/AFP

Russia on Thursday said Kyiv was behind a drone strike on a hotel in the Moscow-held part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region that killed at least 20 people celebrating the New Year, accusing it of "torpedoing" peace attempts.

The accusation came at a crunch moment, after weeks of diplomacy aimed at brokering an end to the nearly four-year war, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was "10 percent" away from a peace deal.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed, eastern Ukraine decimated and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia launched its all-out offensive in 2022.

According to the Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, "the enemy" fired three drones that struck a cafe and hotel on the Black Sea coast in Khorly where "civilians were celebrating the New Year".

A building gutted by fire, piles of smoldering rubble and charred bodies were seen in pictures he posted on Telegram.

Kyiv has not commented on the allegations.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a probe into the attack, which had "killed more than 20 people and injured many more". The Russian foreign ministry said the death toll was still being clarified.

According to Saldo, more than 100 revelers gathered at the hotel the night of the attack.

The Russian foreign ministry accused Ukraine of carrying out a "terrorist attack", called on international organizations to condemn it and warned Kyiv of "appropriate consequences" in a statement.

It also accused the Ukrainian authorities of "deliberately torpedoing any attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict".

Zelensky meanwhile said Russia was carrying the war "into the New Year" with more than 200 drones fired overnight, mainly targeting energy facilities.

"A significant number of consumers" had their electricity cut, said Ukraine's power operator Ukrenergo. Railway and port infrastructure was also damaged in the latest barrage.

In the Kharkiv region, Russia struck a park with a zoo, wounding one person. The attack also wounded animals, including lions, and killed pheasants and parrots, the park's owner Oleksandr Feldman told Ukrainian media.

New talks in sight

Ukraine came under intense pressure in 2025, both from Russian bombardment and on the battlefield, where it has steadily ceded ground to Russia's army.

An AFP analysis based on Ukrainian air force data showed a slight fall in overnight Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in December.

Russia fired at least 5,134 drones in overnight attacks in the final month of 2025, six percent less than the month before, while the number of missiles declined by 18 percent in the same period, according to the data.

However, the same data showed Ukraine destroyed a smaller share of the total sum of missiles and drones in December -- 80 percent, compared with 82 percent in November.

US President Donald Trump, who regularly complains he does not receive credit as a peacemaker, has engaged in talks with both sides in a bid to end the fighting.

Ukraine says Russia is not interested in peace and is deliberately trying to sabotage diplomatic efforts to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Moscow earlier this week accused Ukraine of attempting a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's residences, drawing a sharp rebuttal from Kyiv, which said there was no "plausible" evidence of such an attack.

Ukraine's allies have also expressed skepticism about Russia's claim -- but Moscow on Thursday said it would hand over to the United States "decrypted data" from the drone that was allegedly targeting the secluded residence.

"These materials will be transferred to the American side through established channels," Russia's defense ministry said in a statement.

Zelensky said on Tuesday he would hold a meeting with leaders of Kyiv's allies from the so-called coalition of the willing next week in France.

The summit will be preceded by a meeting of security advisers from the allied countries on Saturday in Ukraine.

World

Maduro Elusive on US Attack, Open to Dialogue

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro says the door is open to dialogue with Washington. STRINGER / AFP/File
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro says the door is open to dialogue with Washington. STRINGER / AFP/File
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Maduro Elusive on US Attack, Open to Dialogue

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro says the door is open to dialogue with Washington. STRINGER / AFP/File
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro says the door is open to dialogue with Washington. STRINGER / AFP/File

President Nicolas Maduro Thursday dodged a question about an alleged US attack on a dock in Venezuela but said he was open to cooperation with Washington after weeks of American military pressure.

"Wherever they want and whenever they want," Maduro said of the idea of dialogue with the United States on drug trafficking, oil and migration in an interview on state TV.

Maduro's government has neither confirmed nor denied what President Donald Trump announced Monday: a US attack on a docking facility that served Venezuelan drug trafficking boats.

Asked point-blank if he confirmed or denied the attack, Maduro said Thursday "this could be something we talk about in a few days."

The attack would amount to the first known land strike of the US military campaign against drug trafficking from Latin America.

Trump on Monday said the United States hit and destroyed a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats.

Trump would not say if it was a military or CIA operation or where the strike occurred, noting only that it was "along the shore."

"There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs," he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

"So we hit all the boats and now we hit the area, it's the implementation area, that's where they implement. And that is no longer around."

In the interview, Maduro insisted that Venezuela has defended itself well as the US carried out its military campaign at sea.

"Our people are safe and in peace," he said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro fueled rumors about the location of the attack, saying "Trump bombed a factory in Maracaibo" where "they mix coca paste to make cocaine."

That led some to speculate on social media that a fire at wholesale chemical distributor Primazol's warehouses in Maracaibo may have been related to the attack.

Primazol chief Carlos Eduardo Siu denied those rumors, saying "President Petro, not here -- we neither package nor manufacture any kind of narcotics."

Unpleasant evolution

Maduro said he has not spoken to Trump since a conversation they had on November 12, which he described as cordial and respectful.

"I think that conversation was even pleasant, but since then the evolution has not been pleasant. Let's wait," he said.

"If they want to talk seriously about an agreement to fight drug trafficking, we are ready," the Venezuelan leader said.

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of heading a drug cartel and says it is cracking down on trafficking, but the leftist leader denies any involvement in the narcotics trade, saying the US seeks a coup because Venezuela has the largest known reserves of oil on Earth.

Washington has ramped up pressure on Caracas by informally closing Venezuela's airspace, imposing more sanctions and ordering the seizure of tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil.

For weeks Trump has threatened ground strikes on drug cartels in the region, saying they would start "soon," but this is the first apparent example.

US forces have also carried out numerous strikes on boats in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, targeting what Washington says are drug smugglers.

The deadly maritime campaign has killed at least 107 people in at least 30 strikes, according to information released by the US military.

The administration has provided no evidence that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking, however, prompting debate about the legality of these operations.

International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings, a charge that Washington denies.