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Iran Bans Ex-President Rouhani from Running for Elite Assembly 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during Kuala Lumpur Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 19, 2019. (Reuters)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during Kuala Lumpur Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 19, 2019. (Reuters)
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Iran Bans Ex-President Rouhani from Running for Elite Assembly 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during Kuala Lumpur Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 19, 2019. (Reuters)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during Kuala Lumpur Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 19, 2019. (Reuters)

Iran's hardline Guardian Council has banned former pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani from standing again in an election in March for the Assembly of Experts, which appoints and can dismiss the supreme leader, state media said on Wednesday.

The 88-member assembly, founded in 1982, supervises the most powerful authority but has rarely intervened directly in policy-making.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is 84, so the new assembly is expected to play a significant role in choosing his successor since its members are only elected every eight years.

Close to moderates, Rouhani was elected president in a landslide in 2013 and 2017 on a promise to reduce Iran's diplomatic isolation.

But the mid-ranking cleric angered political hardliners who opposed any rapprochement with the US "Great Satan" after reaching a 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers.

The deal unraveled in 2018 when then-US President Donald Trump ditched the agreement and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. Efforts to revive the pact have failed.

"There was no reason given for the Guardian Council's decision," a source close to Rouhani told Reuters, adding that "no decision has been made yet for an appeal" as Rouhani has three days to object.

"Rouhani has been a member of the assembly since 1999 for three terms ... It will be interesting to see what the reason for his disqualification was."

The 12-member Guardian Council, which oversees elections and legislation, disqualified 80% of candidates running for the assembly in its last election in 2016.

Moderate politicians have accused the Guardian Council of disqualifying rivals, and said that excluding candidates from the race undermines the vote's legitimacy.

A low turnout for the upcoming elections is expected, with Rouhani saying last week that the majority of people do not want to vote and that this will favor the ruling minority which relies on low turnout.

With Rouhani's disqualification, the Guardian Council had made it clear that hardliners intended to keep moderates away from the assembly, a pro-reform insider said.

The Guardian Council has also disqualified hundreds of hopefuls running for the parliamentary election also to be held on March 1.

State media reported that only 30 mid-ranking moderate candidates have been qualified to stand for the 290-seat parliament. Around 12,000 hopefuls will run for parliament, state media reported.

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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.