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One Dead, Four Injured in Post-election Violence in Southeast Türkiye

People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)
People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)
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One Dead, Four Injured in Post-election Violence in Southeast Türkiye

People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)
People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)

The brother of an opposition candidate was killed and four other people injured in clashes between opponents and supporters of the newly elected ruling-party mayor of a city district in a predominantly Kurdish region of southeastern Türkiye.

Supporters of President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) clashed with backers of the opposition DEVA (Remedy) Party in the Pervari district of the city of Siirt on Tuesday night, following local elections on Sunday in which the opposition mostly performed well across Türkiye.

In the district, the AKP candidate for mayor won with 52% of the vote, while the DEVA candidate placed second with 40%.

The governor's office said five people had been hurt in the clashes, one of whom died of his wounds. The DEVA deputy chairman Mehmet Emin Ekmen identified the person who died as the brother of the party's candidate.

DEVA was one of six parties in the opposition alliance before May 2023 general elections when Erdogan secured another 5-year mandate and his ruling alliance a parliamentary majority.

Police are investigating the incident and six people were detained, the Siirt governor's office said, adding that it had imposed a curfew in Pervari district until Thursday morning for security reasons.

Protests also spread elsewhere in Türkiye's southeastern provinces on Tuesday night, after Turkish authorities prevented the newly elected mayor from the pro-Kurdish DEM party taking up his post in the city of Van, and announced a re-run vote in Sanilurfa's Hilvan district where AKP lost, Reuters reported.

Footage showed protesters in Batman province firing firecrackers at police, who sprayed them with water cannons, while scores of security personnel were stationed around Hakkari city, where protests also took hold.

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World

Iran: IAEA Has No Right to Inspect Nuclear Sites Attacked in June 

A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.
A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.
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Iran: IAEA Has No Right to Inspect Nuclear Sites Attacked in June 

A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.
A photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) shows its chief Mohammad Eslami, and IAEA director Raphael Grossi in Tehran last month.

The UN atomic watchdog has no right to demand inspections of sites attacked by the United States and Israel during the June war, said head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, stressing the need for a clear protocol to allow UN inspectors in such facilities.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Eslami criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) call for renewed inspections of three nuclear sites hit during the 12-day war, saying Tehran had already allowed inspectors to visit undamaged sites.

On Monday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reiterated that Iran must allow inspectors access to the three key nuclear facilities that enrich uranium and that were hit by the US and Israel.

Speaking to RIA Novosti, Grossi said: “The agency’s activities in Iran are very limited. We are only allowed to access sites that were not hit.”

“The other three sites, Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, are even more significant since they still contain substantial amount of nuclear material and equipment, and we need to return there,” he urged.

In another interview with Radio France International (RFI), Grossi said: “Contact with Iran remains in place. We haven’t yet been able to restore cooperation to the required level, but I believe it is critically important.”

The dialogue continues through behind-the-scenes negotiations and confidential contacts, he added.

In response to Grossi’s demands, Eslami emphasized that inspections of facilities hit during the June war require a clear and defined protocol, reported the state-run ISNA agency.

“The UN agency, which has issued no condemnation [regarding Israel and US attacks on Iran in June] and has no established guidelines, has no right to claim it intends to conduct inspections,” he added.

“Pressure exerted on us under the influence of Israel, three European countries, and the United States has no impact on Iran. It is the agency that must answer to Iran and to the world,” he stressed.

Eslami also said that all of Iran’s nuclear facilities are fully registered with and have been under IAEA supervision.

“The current situation demands accountability from the agency, not further questioning of Iran,” he said, calling on the IAEA to clarify its position, explain why no condemnation was issued, and specify what procedures it intends to follow.

Also in Tehran, AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said there are currently no IAEA inspections under way, adding that inspections carried out in recent weeks were conducted with the permission of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran and in line with the law on suspending cooperation with the IAEA.

He said all of those inspections were related to industrial matters at the sites that had not been attacked in June.

“Measures must definitely be considered regarding facilities that have been attacked,” he said, stressing that the safeguards agreement does not contain provisions for wartime conditions, and therefore, an understanding must be reached on this issue.

In such circumstances, he added, security becomes the most important matter and negotiations must be conducted with a security-oriented approach.

World

Taiwan Says Its Military Can Respond Rapidly to Any Sudden Chinese Attack 

People walk past a Taiwanese flag in New Taipei City. (AFP/Jiji Press)
People walk past a Taiwanese flag in New Taipei City. (AFP/Jiji Press)
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Taiwan Says Its Military Can Respond Rapidly to Any Sudden Chinese Attack 

People walk past a Taiwanese flag in New Taipei City. (AFP/Jiji Press)
People walk past a Taiwanese flag in New Taipei City. (AFP/Jiji Press)

Taiwan's military can respond rapidly to any sudden Chinese attack with all units able to operate under a decentralized mode of command without awaiting orders from above, Taipei's defense ministry said in a report to lawmakers.

Democratically-governed Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, has repeatedly warned that China could try to suddenly shift its regular drills into active combat mode to catch Taiwan and its international supporters off guard.

China's military operates around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, in what Taipei says is part of a "grey zone" harassment and pressure campaign that stops short of actual combat but is designed to wear out Taiwan's armed forces by putting them constantly on alert.

The defense ministry said in its report that the frequency and scale of China's military activities have increased year by year, including their regular "joint combat readiness patrols".

The military has a standard operating practice on how to raise its combat alert level in case Chinese exercises move "from drill to war", the ministry added.

"If the enemy suddenly launches an attack, all units are to implement 'distributed control' without waiting for orders and, under a 'decentralized' mode of command, carry out their combat missions," it said, without giving details.

Defense Minister Wellington Koo is scheduled to take questions from lawmakers on the report on Wednesday.

PRACTICE ATTACKS

China has also been practicing how to attack Taiwan, and sending its warships further and further out into the Pacific and down towards Australia and New Zealand, the ministry added.

"The Chinese communists have never renounced the use of force to annex Taiwan and continue to intensify joint training across services, shifting from purely military drills to routine, multi-service, real-combat-oriented exercises."

Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.

On Monday, China's defense ministry said Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was "hyping up" the threat from China and "peddling war anxiety".

"We hope that the broad mass of Taiwan compatriots will clearly recognize the extreme danger and harmfulness of the Lai authorities' frantic 'preparing for war to seek independence'," the ministry said in a statement.

World

Türkiye Says It Downs Uncontrolled Drone that Approached from Black Sea

Türkiye Says It Downs Uncontrolled Drone that Approached from Black Sea
Türkiye Says It Downs Uncontrolled Drone that Approached from Black Sea
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Türkiye Says It Downs Uncontrolled Drone that Approached from Black Sea

Türkiye Says It Downs Uncontrolled Drone that Approached from Black Sea
Türkiye Says It Downs Uncontrolled Drone that Approached from Black Sea

Türkiye shot down an uncontrolled drone that approached its airspace from the Black Sea, the defense ministry said.

The incident follows Türkiye’s warning last week of Black Sea escalation after Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports that damaged three Turkish-owned cargo vessels.

In a statement, the ministry said Turkish and NATO F-16 jets were put on alert to ensure the security of Turkish airspace after the detection of the drone.

It was determined that the drone was out of control and it was shot down in a safe area, the ministry added in Monday's statement, but did not elaborate on its type or origin.

The attacks on Ukrainian ports came days after Moscow threatened to "cut Ukraine off from the sea" following Kyiv's attacks that damaged three 'shadow fleet' tankers heading to Russia to export its oil in the Black Sea.