Iran sets up new defence body in wake of Israel and US attacks
The council will handle defensive plans and improve the capabilities of Iran's armed forces.
Members will include the speaker of Parliament, the head of the judiciary and the chiefs of military branches and related ministries, the report said.
Damage from a deadly June 13 Israeli airstrike is seen in a building at a residential compound in Tehran, Iran (AP)
The defence, intelligence and foreign ministries are expected to be council members, although the report did not provide those details.
Iran's decision follows a 12-day air war by Israel and the US that led to the deaths of nearly 1,100 people including military chiefs and commanders.
A ceasefire has been in force since shortly after the airstrikes targeted Iran's major nuclear facilities.
Iran had a similar council during the 1980s war between Iran and Iraq that left nearly one million casualties on both sides.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
The first casualty of war is truth
Bruce Whitehead On Monday morning the news was sinking in of the killing of six journalists in Gaza as they reported on Israel's relentless war on a largely civilian territory occupied by starving families. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I am sick of writing about atrocities in Gaza. In 2009 I drove there with humanitarian aid collected by Scottish Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith groups, after up to 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died when Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert – recently invited onto British TV news programmes as a 'moderate' – breached a six-month ceasefire by ordering the killing of seven Hamas fighters. With a dozen vehicles we travelled through eastern Europe to deliver first aid, food, toys and healthcare supplies to areas of Gaza City flattened by Israeli bombs. As a journalist I witnessed the effects of bombardment on innocent civilians which killed an estimated 300 children. Crushed concrete buildings, donkey carts picking their way through mounds of rubble. 16 years on, western journalists are barred from Gaza, so it's impossible to verify Israel's claims about the conflict on the ground. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With the deaths of Al Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa and freelancer Mohammad al-Khaldi – sheltering in a cloth tent near a hospital – Israel has almost snuffed out the last source of evidence of its genocidal campaign. The BBC still has its own freelancers sending footage of the slaughter of starving Palestinians in food queues, but surely they too are in mortal peril. I have called on my union, the National Union of Journalists, to demand that the Foreign Minister David Lammy summon the Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely for a formal British diplomatic protest. Many of my former BBC and ITN colleagues work for Al Jazeera, and this is the latest in a long and shameful tale of targeted Israeli raids on journalists. In May I paid tribute on behalf of the NUJ to all journalists killed at work, at Workers' Memorial Day in Princes Street Gardens. My words then are appropriate today: 'The deaths of journalists remind us yet again that the first casualty of war is Truth.'
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Owen Jones: Genocidal Israel has its sights set on West Bank
Normally, states – like individuals – which commit terrible crimes go to great lengths to suppress their real motives: after all, doing otherwise represents a confession. But having rationally decided that its Western benefactors have granted it immunity, Israel's leaders and officials simply said, in public, over and over again, what their criminal and indeed genocidal intentions are. Which brings us to two Israeli ministers. One is Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's financial minister and the de facto governor of the illegally occupied and colonised West Bank. In a speech, he has declared: 'We will bury the Palestinian state, Europe will have nothing left to recognise.' READ MORE: Scotland's post-war pain and pride brought to life in powerful Fringe play debut Here, he is openly taunting the empty posturing of European states, like Britain. Keir Starmer has declared that his government will recognise Palestinian nationhood next month unless certain conditions, like Israel accepting a ceasefire, are met – using an inalienable right as a bargaining chip. But in doing so, Starmer had opted for the most symbolic option, rather than, say, ending all arms sales, imposing sanctions and ending trade. Smotrich knows this, which is why he is openly mocking the likes of Starmer. He knows Western leaders are not actually interested in putting pressure on Israel, that all this rhetoric is meant purely for domestic consumption, to try to dupe Western citizens into doing something. The 'two-state solution' exists, in practice, as a crutch for Western leaders to get through interviews without having to answer questions about meaningful action. What Smotrich is planning here are construction plans which cut the West Bank's north off from its south in order to – in his words – create a 'reality that buries the idea of a Palestinian state – because there's nothing to recognise and no one to recognise it'. Housing units for thousands of illegal Israeli settlers will be built. For those who believe that Smotrich is a fringe figure, despite all his genocidal aspirations in Gaza having been granted: he boasted in this speech of how Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had 'supported and enabled me to carry out this revolution' in the West Bank. The West Bank has long been the site of Israel's murderous suffocation. There are hundreds of thousands of illegal settlers there, living with the privileges afforded to them under a system of apartheid. The indigenous Palestinians, on the other hand, are deprived of basic rights and are systematically driven from their homes. Hundreds were slaughtered in the years running up to October 7, and hundreds more since. Since January, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank, the largest forced displacement since Israel's occupation began in 1967. This is a slow-motion Gaza. One of Smotrich's colleagues, Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, also underlined that Israel's genocidal intent is not simply confined to Gaza. A hideous video has been posted of him confronting Marwan Barghouti, who is frequently described as the Palestinian Nelson Mandela. Hailing from Ramallah in the West Bank, this unifying leader has been imprisoned for more than two decades, languishing in solitary confinement: looking shockingly frail, the video clearly intended to emphasise how much he'd suffered. 'You will not defeat us. Whoever harms the people of Israel, whoever kills children, whoever kills women … we will erase them,' says Ben-Gvir. This is nakedly genocidal. There is, as ever, no pretence. The Israeli state is telling the world that it intends to erase the Palestinian people, because it quite rationally understands there will be no consequences. Has it not wiped Gaza from the world map, exterminated tens of thousands of its people, deliberately starved its entire population, buried its hospitals in rubble, butchered medics and aid workers, presided over industrialised torture and rape – and only suffered Western handwringing as a result? READ MORE: I was cut off on air for saying BBC is complicit in genocide. Here's why I did it And that is why the Israeli state knows that it won't just eliminate Palestinian Gaza, but successfully annex the West Bank and remove its Palestinian population there, too. Indeed, the West Bank was always the jewel in its crown. But given the impunity, Israel has given notice about its real plans. This week, Netanyahu made his expansionist ambitions clear. He was asked by a TV interviewer if he felt connected to a vision of a 'Greater Israel', and replied: 'Very much.' This 'Greater Israel' includes parts of Jordan, Egypt and Syria. Imagine the leader of a state hostile to the West openly made clear their desire to annex the land of multiple neighbours, in order to expand an ethno state. It would lead news bulletins, be splashed on newspaper front pages, be denounced by Western leaders – all as damning evidence of naked, unhinged aggression. But not so here. Over and over again, Israel's leaders simply state their criminal intent, and yet the vast majority of Western media outlets act as though it's not really happening, or as though it's some parallel universe. But there's no subtlety, no secrecy. Here is a crime confessed to over and over again: no one can say they were not warned.
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Widower continues tribunal claim against FOI Commissioner
Just weeks later, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died in February 2025. One of her dying wishes was that her husband, Ian, push on with the case. The Commissioner's office is defending the claim. READ MORE The tribunal claim also raises wider concerns about who watches the watchdogs. The Commissioner is responsible for the "enforcement and promotion of Scotland's freedom of information laws", including "handling appeals about the way in which Scottish public authorities respond to information requests". Given the need to avoid political interference, the job comes with a certain degree of independence. But that means the postholder can only be removed by a supermajority in the Scottish Parliament. According to the claim, Helen enjoyed a good working relationship with the previous Commissioner, Daren Fitzhenry, but that changed after the appointment of David Hamilton, a former chair of the Scottish Police Federation, in October 2023. The tribunal papers submitted by Helen state that the relationship deteriorated rapidly. They go on to allege that at a January 2024 meeting, Mr Hamilton proposed an internal award called 'Margaret the Fox', named after a recently retired colleague, which Helen and two female colleagues found offensive due to 'the use of the word fox [having] negative connotations when referring to women". The Commissioner, in his legal defence, says the award was a tribute to a colleague's fondness for foxes and had been welcomed by the person in question. The claim also says she raised broader concerns about the 'introduction of a police culture', including staff feeling pressured to laugh at the Commissioner's jokes. The defence disputes that such concerns were raised in the way described. During a return-to-work call after a period of absence, the claim alleges Helen was told she was "being precious", "obsessing", and that "people do not like her". The Commissioner denies saying that people disliked her. In meetings, she was reportedly told she was "not agile", lacked a "can-do attitude", and had "failed in her job". One meeting allegedly ended with her being told to "be quiet" after raising financial concerns – an incident contested in the Commissioner's defence. On March 14, she emailed Mr Hamilton, stating: "All members of staff, including myself, should be treated with consideration, dignity and respect while at work. Your comments about me are incorrect and are having a detrimental effect on me. "You are not treating me fairly, with dignity or respect. I feel intimidated by you and discriminated against. The way you treat me, in person, in meetings and in writing, is unacceptable and also makes me feel belittled, anxious and not valued." She lodged a formal grievance five days later, citing "unreasonable treatment" and alleging discrimination, harassment and intimidation. She was then absent due to ill health. Helen submitted the claim in December. She died in February. (Image: agency) According to her claim, Mr Hamilton initially responded by saying a "bespoke arrangement" would be created to ensure an independent process was in place, but only upon her return to work. In March, he assigned another senior official, line-managed by him, to act as her main contact – despite Helen requesting someone else. The Commissioner disputes that the arrangements were inappropriate and later agreed to appoint an external independent investigator, contingent on confirmation of Helen's fitness to engage. In June, he reiterated that he would proceed with the grievance only once she confirmed she was medically fit. He added he had sought legal advice. Helen responded that her ill health had been caused by his conduct and she was willing and able to participate in the process. The claim alleges that on July 19, Mr Hamilton phoned Helen's trade union representative to suggest she was ignoring emails – something her tribunal documents say was untrue. The Commissioner says he simply asked for emails to be acknowledged. That same day, she was told her laptop and phone would be collected due to cyber-security protocols applying to staff absent for more than four months. Her legal team say she was also blocked from using pre-approved annual leave to extend her period of full pay, with leave cancelled three times in April, May and August. The Commissioner says she was paid in lieu and suffered no loss. In a letter dated August 13, Mr Hamilton wrote that "on conclusion of the internal grievance process, it is likely I will be investigating performance and disciplinary procedures". The letter provided no details of the alleged issues. Tribunal documents say Helen found this particularly upsetting and reiterated her request for the grievance to be investigated without delay. By October 21, Helen had still not been contacted by the promised investigator. She emailed Mr Hamilton again to say the delay was harming her health and that she felt she was being punished for lodging a grievance. He replied that same day, saying he had just returned to work and would respond after catching up. Helen resigned three days later. READ MORE In her resignation letter, she wrote: "It is now more than seven months since I submitted a formal grievance against you and you have refused to allow any of my grievances to be dealt with." She said his behaviour during her absence and while working had caused "enormous damage" to her health and left her with "no alternative but to resign". There is no suggestion of a link between the treatment Helen received and her cancer diagnosis. Before her resignation, she is understood to have been offered a financial settlement by the Commissioner, but it was rejected. Helen's lawyer, Tony McGrade, argues that the Commissioner's handling of the grievance process was "significantly below accepted standards". He told The Herald: "This case highlights the real dangers in there being no procedure in place to allow grievances against officials such as the Scottish Information Commissioner to be independently investigated. "This means that the person against whom an allegation of discrimination or unfair treatment is made decides whether that is investigated. This is simply wrong." Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the Scottish Information Commissioner is a statutory officeholder appointed by the Scottish Parliament and operates independently of government. Unlike most public sector roles, the Commissioner is not accountable to ministers or civil service structures, and complaints about their conduct are not subject to routine oversight. Removal from office requires a formal resolution passed by two-thirds of MSPs – a deliberately high threshold designed to protect the role from political interference. That resolution can be triggered if the Parliament is satisfied the Commissioner has breached the terms and conditions of office, or if it determines that it has lost confidence in the Commissioner's willingness, suitability or ability to do the job. Helen's husband believes this has created an accountability gap, making it extremely difficult for staff to challenge the Commissioner's actions through normal employment procedures or for Parliament to intervene when serious concerns arise. It is understood the matter has been raised informally with Alison Johnstone, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, who confirmed the limited powers available to intervene in what is treated as an internal employment matter. Those close to the case say the aim of the legal action is not financial compensation, but accountability – though Mr Hamilton strongly contests the allegations. The Commissioner said it "fully intends to defend its position in the Employment Tribunal" but that it "would be entirely wrong to make any comment on the substance of the claim until the Tribunal has considered the full evidence and issued a judgment." "The Commissioner will accordingly respect that process, being of the view that this is covered by the law relating to contempt of court, and will be making no comment until the appropriate time."
