Iran Arrests Actress for Wishing Netanyahu Quick Recovery

Iranian actress Shohreh Ghamar. (Social media)
Iranian actress Shohreh Ghamar. (Social media)
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Iran Arrests Actress for Wishing Netanyahu Quick Recovery

Iranian actress Shohreh Ghamar. (Social media)
Iranian actress Shohreh Ghamar. (Social media)

Iran has arrested actress Shohreh Ghamar over charges of “spreading psychological insecurity in society” after she wished Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a quick recovery.

The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim and Fars news agencies declared that the actress was arrested for publishing content that supports rioters, offending officials, wishing a quick recovery for the Israeli prime minister, backing the Zionist entity, and provoking chaos in the street.

Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib as saying that the Iranian judiciary is looking into several cases related to psychological security on the Internet.

When asked if he was monitoring the internet himself, he replied, “I can’t be a minister if I don’t.”

The actress was arrested days after posting a story on her four-million-follower Instagram page and wishing the Israeli PM a quick recovery. She wrote on his picture, "I prayed a lot for your health. Stay alive."

Last week, Netanyahu underwent a heart procedure. He left the hospital and resumed work.

Weeks before, the actress published another post criticizing the officials for threatening to eradicate Israel. She urged them to feed the hungry people in Kurdistan and Baluchistan first.

Dideban website - close to reformists - revealed that the actress took part in a propaganda video in favor of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in the latest elections. The video went viral on Telegram.

Journalist and political analyst Ahmad Zeidabadi criticized the arrest of Ghamar, saying on his Telegram account that the recovery wishes are in fact “prayers for the destruction of Israel”.

Zeidabadi stressed that Netanyahu is bringing the Hebrew state closer to instability and collapse like no other leader and if he dies, then a moderate politician would replace him and work on an international coalition against Iran.



Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)

The Maldives announced Tuesday it was banning the entry of Israelis from the luxury tourist archipelago in "resolute solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

President Mohamed Muizzu ratified the legislation shortly after it was approved by parliament on Tuesday.

"The ratification reflects the government's firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people," his office said in a statement.

"The Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause."

The ban will be implemented with immediate effect, a spokesman for Muizzu's office told AFP.

The Maldives, a small Islamic republic of 1,192 strategically located coral islets, is known for its secluded white sandy beaches, shallow turquoise lagoons and Robinson Crusoe-style getaways.

Official data showed that only 59 Israeli tourists visited the archipelago in February, among 214,000 other foreign arrivals.

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010.

Opposition parties and government allies in the Maldives have been pressuring Muizzu to ban Israelis as a statement of opposition to the Gaza war.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens last year to avoid travelling to the Maldives.

The Gaza war broke out after Palestinian group Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,613 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when a ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,983.