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China Says Opposes Any Targeting of New Iran Leader

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun takes a question from a journalist at a press conference in Beijing, China January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun takes a question from a journalist at a press conference in Beijing, China January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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China Says Opposes Any Targeting of New Iran Leader

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun takes a question from a journalist at a press conference in Beijing, China January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun takes a question from a journalist at a press conference in Beijing, China January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

China said Monday that Iran's decision to name Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader following the killing of his father was a domestic matter, and it opposed any attempt to target him.

Israel's military has threatened to target any successor to former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

US President Donald Trump had previously dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a "lightweight" and insisted he should have a say in appointing a new Iranian leader.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on Monday that Iran's decision to appoint the younger Khamenei was "based on its constitution".

"China opposes interference in other countries' internal affairs under any pretext, and Iran's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity should be respected," he said when asked about the threats against the new leader.

Israel and the United States have continued pounding Iran in recent days, with Tehran retaliating by launching waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf neighbors hosting US forces.

Beijing is a close partner of Tehran and condemned the killing of the former supreme leader, but it has also criticized the Iranian strikes against Gulf states.

China's envoy to the Middle East urged de-escalation when he met Saudi Arabia's foreign minister for talks on Sunday.

"China urges all parties to immediately cease military operations, prevent further escalation of tensions, and avoid causing greater harm to the people of regional countries," Zhai Jun told his counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah.

China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said Sunday that the war "should never have happened" and called for an end to fighting.

The conflict has threatened global energy security and trade, as well as China's oil supplies.

More than 80 percent of Iranian oil exports went to China last year, according to analytics firm Kpler.

That accounted for a relatively small proportion of China's total seaborne oil imports, standing at about 13 percent, Kpler data shows.

However, more than half of China's total seaborne crude imports last year came from the wider Middle East, Kpler said, making it highly dependent on transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

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Türkiye's Halkbank, US Justice Department Agree to Resolve Criminal Charges

FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells roasted chestnuts in front of a branch of Halkbank in central Istanbul, January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells roasted chestnuts in front of a branch of Halkbank in central Istanbul, January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
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Türkiye's Halkbank, US Justice Department Agree to Resolve Criminal Charges

FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells roasted chestnuts in front of a branch of Halkbank in central Istanbul, January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells roasted chestnuts in front of a branch of Halkbank in central Istanbul, January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

The US Justice Department has agreed to resolve its long-running criminal prosecution of Turkish state-run lender Halkbank, the judge overseeing the case said in a court filing on Monday, without providing further details of the deal.

Manhattan-based US District Judge Richard Berman said in a written order that he would ask lawyers for both sides about the so-called deferred prosecution agreement at a previously scheduled hearing on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Halkbank shares rose more than 8% after the agreement was announced.

In 2019, prosecutors charged Halkbank with fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for allegedly helping Iran evade American economic sanctions. The bank was sanctions-evasion scheme Halkbank's case has long been a thorn in US-Türkiye relations, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in 2019 calling the decision to prosecute an "unlawful, ugly" step.

Neither a spokesman for the Manhattan US Attorney's office, which brought the case, nor lawyers for Halkbank immediately responded to requests for comment.

Deferred prosecution agreements let defendants avoid criminal charges if they meet various conditions, typically over several months or a few years. The government dismisses cases after the defendants comply.

World

Jailed Erdogan Rival Clashes with Judge as Türkiye Corruption Trial Begins

Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Presidency)
Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Presidency)
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Jailed Erdogan Rival Clashes with Judge as Türkiye Corruption Trial Begins

Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Presidency)
Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Presidency)

Istanbul's jailed mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, argued with the presiding judge on Monday in a chaotic start to a sweeping corruption trial that could extinguish the ambition of Tayyip Erdogan's main rival to become president at Türkiye's next election.

Imamoglu, 55, demanded permission to speak and urged the judge to "respect the right of people to defend themselves" - but the judge refused as he launched the trial of more than 400 defendants linked to the Istanbul municipality, Reuters reported.

Imamoglu is accused of leading a criminal organization for profit, involving tender-rigging and bribery. He and his main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deny the corruption charges, which carry prison sentences amounting to hundreds of years.

Police maintained tight security outside the courthouse at Silivri prison west of Istanbul, where Imamoglu has been held in pre-trial detention for almost a year amid a judicial crackdown on the CHP that is overshadowing politics ahead of elections expected to be held next year.

JUDGE EMPTIES GALLERY AFTER NOISY PROTEST

Imamoglu, the CHP's presidential candidate, waved his hands as he entered the courtroom, while the other defendants, lawyers and public stood up to clap, whistle and wave back at him. He then rose to protest the judge's decision to hear other defendants before Imamoglu, who is the chief suspect.

The judge called the protest disrespectful to the court, prompting more outcry from the public gallery, which the judge ordered to be emptied, calling a recess until 1030 GMT.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel and Imamoglu's wife, Dilek, sat side-by-side in the large courtroom fitted out with two large screens.

"We are nervous and anxious," Dilek Imamoglu told reporters before the hearing started. "We hope that they move to trial without detention. I last saw Ekrem last week, and he was in very good spirits."

LEGAL CRACKDOWN CALLED POLITICIZED

In comments to Reuters last month, Imamoglu struck a defiant tone, saying Erdogan should call elections right away. But his prospects of challenging the veteran leader look bleak amid a crackdown that rights groups and foreign observers say has undermined the democratic credentials of NATO member Türkiye.

The government denies exerting influence over the judiciary, which it says is independent. Imamoglu already suffered a severe blow to his presidential ambitions when a court in January rejected his lawsuit challenging the cancellation of his university degree – a qualification required of any presidential candidate. Erdogan, 72, has led Türkiye as prime minister or president since 2003.

Presidential and parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2028, but if he wishes to seek a third term as president he is obliged to hold the vote early, likely in 2027, unless the constitutional term limits are changed.

World

Kurdish Rebels Say Ready to Resist Iran, Await Uprising

A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026. (AFP)
A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Kurdish Rebels Say Ready to Resist Iran, Await Uprising

A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026. (AFP)
A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026. (AFP)

From their hideouts in the Iraqi mountains near Iran, leftist Kurdish rebels say they are ready to fight the country, but hope for an uprising before they intervene, with or without US support.

After saying that he would be "all for" a Kurdish offensive on Iran, US President Donald Trump appeared to backtrack Saturday, saying he did not want such an attack.

Senior commander Roken Nerada of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) told AFP: "If there is an attack on the Kurdish people... then with every means... we are ready to resist as we always have."

"I think we can achieve our rights without the help of the US or any other country," said Nerada, 39, who joined the rebels 17 years ago.

Like other Iranian Kurdish rebel groups, PJAK has bases in the mountains of Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdistan region, but it also maintains hideouts in majority-Kurdish areas inside Iran.

Iran has designated Kurdish rebels groups as terrorist organizations, and many have previously fought its security forces in Kurdish-majority areas along the border.

But in recent years, under political pressure mostly from their Iraqi hosts, they have largely refrained from armed activity -- raising questions about their current capacity to lead an armed offensive against Iran.

AFP journalists met 30 PJAK fighters in a bunker adorned with photos of fallen comrades, with a television inside showing war coverage with smoke rising from Tehran and Beirut.

Since the Middle East war began late last month with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran has repeatedly struck Kurdish militants' positions in Iraq, accusing them of serving Western or Israeli interests.

- Ground attack, not yet -

Just before the war, and after anti-government protests in Iran, PJAK joined a coalition of Kurdish rebel parties seeking to overthrow the Tehran regime and secure self-determination.

"We are ready to fight, especially after what they did 50 days ago," PJAK fighter Shwan said, referring to the crackdown on the protests in Iran that left thousands dead.

Amid reports that rebels might collaborate with the US, Tehran threatened to target "all facilities" in Iraq's Kurdistan if Kurdish militants cross the border.

But on Saturday, Trump said "we're not looking to the Kurds going in".

"We don't want to make the war any more complex than it already is," he added.

Amir Karimi, another commander in PJAK, told AFP last week that the "Americans are already in the area, and we have had a dialogue".

It was "a political exchange... to get to know each other," Karimi said, adding that "a ground attack is not on the table at this stage".

"From a strategic and tactical point of view, we believe it wouldn't be a good idea," he added, warning that Iranian forces have reinforced the borders.

"The most important thing is that the population itself becomes a driving force. There must be a popular uprising" in Iran, Karimi said.

"We are not waiting for Iran or the United States to give us the green light. But the population needs support from the outside," he added.

The Kurds will need guarantees to secure a democratic Iran, he said.

"Who can say that, tomorrow, they won't support another dictator and bring him to power," Karimi said, referring to the US.

Commander Nerada said: "What is important... is to change this current darkness into a democratic Iran."