Latest news with #EbrahimRaisi
Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Islamic centre linked to Iran received £400,000 government funding
An Islamic centre which has received more than £400,000 in Scottish government funding is facing claims that it is a 'front entity' for the Iranian regime after it held a vigil for the country's hardline president, known as the 'Butcher of Tehran'. The Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society received a series of grants over the past decade to help Muslims 'reduce carbon emissions in the areas of energy, waste and food' and to encourage 'upcycling, food growing, sustainable cookery and interactive climate change educational workshops'. However, an investigation by The Times found that it held a memorial ceremony for Ebrahim Raisi and other high-ranking Iranian officials after they died in a helicopter crash last year. Raisi was condemned by the United Nations and accused of crimes against humanity for ordering the execution of thousands of political prisoners. The revelations come days after Westminster's intelligence and security committee (ISC) warned that 'cultural and educational centres supported by Iran had been used to promote violent and extremist ideology'. After being alerted to the activities of Ahlul Bayt, a committee spokeswoman said: 'We encourage the intelligence community and wider government not to underestimate the potential espionage and interference threat that such Iranian state-linked institutions pose.' The Times obtained video taken inside the society's premises in Glasgow's West End that showed banners mourning the ultraconservative president and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, his foreign minister. A portrait of Raisi was mounted at a memorial next to an Arabic message that translated as: 'To Allah we belong and to him we will return'. Other prominent Iranian figures honoured at the religious ceremony included Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, a regional representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader, Malek Rahmati, the governor of East Azerbaijan, and Ali Al-Kourani, a religious scholar. Previously The Times disclosed that Al-Mahdi Islamic Centre, also in Glasgow, was used as a polling station for Iran's presidential election and displayed the country's flag and images of Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a death sentence on the British author Salman Rushdie, and his successor, Khamenei, who praised Hamas 'resistance fighters' after the October 7 atrocities in Israel. A charity run from the venue's premises in the southside of the city received more than £370,000 in environmental grants from the Scottish government between 2014 and 2020. It has now been confirmed that the Ahlul Bayt Society was given a further £420,000 from Holyrood's climate change and challenge funds between 2014 and 2022, when Nicola Sturgeon was first minister. Andrew Bowie, a Conservative MP and shadow Scotland secretary, called for the centre to be investigated and for John Swinney, the first minister, to confirm how 'huge sums of taxpayers' cash were spent'. He said: 'I would expect a robust response from the UK government and security services along with the authorities in Scotland.' One Glasgow-based Iranian exile, who fled the authoritarian regime, said: 'The revelation that a Scottish-based organisation paid homage to a blood-soaked tyrant must set alarm bells ringing. 'It now seems abundantly clear that front entities for the Tehran regime are operating openly in Glasgow.' The memorial service for Raisi was organised under the leadership of Azzam Mohamad, the society's long-serving director who is also vice-convenor of the Muslim Council of Scotland. He was disqualified from holding a company directorship at Glasgow sheriff court in 2010. Mohamad chaired a 'peace and unity' conference held at Celtic Park and broadcast on Iranian state TV in 2013. The event was attended by Ayatollah Sheikh Mohsen Araki, a hardline Iranian cleric who later called for protesters to face the death penalty, as well as the then first minister Alex Salmond, his successor Sturgeon and the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. Two years later Mohamad facilitated and took part in a controversial visit to Tehran by Salmond, then the SNP's international affairs spokesman. On returning to Scotland Salmond said: 'We met the full range of government ministers and parliamentarians at the highest level, including foreign affairs minister Dr Zarif and speaker of the parliament Dr Ali Larijani.' After she became first minister Sturgeon described Mohamad as a 'dear, dear friend' and claimed that he embodied 'the principles of peace and unity'. In 2018 he attended a 'global convention of solidarity with Palestine' in Beirut, which was addressed by Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who was assassinated by Israel last year, and representatives of Hezbollah, Iran's proxy Lebanese militia. Sturgeon pulled out of a further Ahlul Bayt-organised unity event a year later after it was reported that the keynote speaker, Dr Mohammad Shomali, a UK-based Iranian cleric, had likened gay marriage to bestiality. Her spokeswoman said: 'Nicola's commitment to ensuring Scotland is a welcoming and inclusive country for everyone — regardless of background, culture, religion or sexual orientation — is clear, as is her support for promoting peace and unity globally. 'Nicola unequivocally condemns the continued repression, brutality and systemic human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime in Tehran.' There is no suggestion that Sturgeon, Salmond or Sarwar were aware that the society, or its events or representatives, had been linked to the Iranian state. The Ahlul Bayt World Assembly was founded in Iran in 1990 to promote the 'restoration and promotion of pure Islamic teachings'. In 2019 the Assembly of Canada was stripped of its charitable status after claims that its goal was to 'facilitate the spread of Iranian revolutionary ideology in Canada'. The Scottish government said: 'The Ahlul Bayt Society Scotland received Climate Challenge funding up to 2022 to support Middle Eastern communities in Glasgow to reduce carbon emissions and help take action on climate change.'All grant applications were subject to the relevant due diligence checks and all grants were monitored to ensure they delivered against their objectives.' Neither the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, founded in 1991 to serve the Arabic Muslim community in Glasgow, nor Mohamad responded to requests for comment. However, the Iranian embassy in London described the claims made by the ISC as 'unfounded' and 'politically motivated'. A spokesman said: 'The suggestion that Iran engages in, or supports, acts of physical violence, espionage or cyber aggression on British soil or against British interests abroad is wholly rejected. 'Such accusations are not only defamatory but also dangerous, fuelling unnecessary tensions and undermining diplomatic norms.' A UK government spokesman said: 'It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases or organisations. However, we continue to take strong action to hold the Iranian regime to account. The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme came into force on 1 July with Iran placed on the Enhanced Tier. Anyone who is directed by the Iranian government in the UK must now register with the scheme or risk prosecution. 'In general, we consider any organisation or activity that seeks to undermine our democratic society as unacceptable, and we work closely with a range of partners on an ongoing basis to ensure the safety and security of communities in the UK.'
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Iran president says Israel attempted to assassinate him
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a memorial at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, for the late President Ebrahim Raisi and several officials, who were killed in a helicopter crash in the country's northwest last year. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview released on Monday that Israel, which last month fought a 12-day war with Iran, had attempted to assassinate him. The remarks came less than a month after Israel launched its unprecedented June 13 bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Israeli attacks took place two days before Tehran and Washington were set to meet for a new round of nuclear talks, stalling negotiations that were aimed at reaching a deal over Iran's atomic programme. 'They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,' Pezeshkian told U.S. media figure Tucker Carlson in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him. 'It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting... they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,' he said according to a translation of his remarks from Persian, in apparent reference to an alleged assassination attempt during the recent war. More than 900 people were killed in Iran during the conflict, according to the judiciary. The Israeli attacks drew waves of retaliatory drone and missile fire, killing 28 people in Israel, according to authorities. 'Forever wars' The 12-day war between Iran and Israel saw it, along with the United States, launching strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel took hold since June 24. On June 16, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out plans to assassinate Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it would 'end the conflict' after reports emerged at the time that U.S. President Donald Trump had vetoed the move. During the war, Iranian authorities also said an Israeli plot to kill Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was foiled. In the interview with Carlson, Pezeshkian accused Netanyahu of pursuing his 'own agenda' of 'forever wars' in the Middle East and urged the United States not to be dragged into it. 'The U.S. administration should refrain from getting involved in a war that is not America's war, it is Netanyahu's war,' he said. He added that his country has 'no problem' restarting nuclear talks, provided that trust can be reestablished between the two countries. 'We see no problem in re-entering the negotiations,' the Iranian president said. 'There is a condition ... for restarting the talks. How are we going to trust the United States again?' 'We re-entered the negotiations, then how can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us.' Pezeshkian added that Iran would be open to U.S. investments should sanctions on Tehran be lifted. 'There is no limitation and nothing preventing the U.S. investors to come to Iran and to make investments in Iran.' Pezeshkian also warned that the U.S. has two ways in front of it for dealing with Iran and the region: peace or war. 'U.S. President Mr. Trump is capable enough to guide the region towards peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place or get into an endless pit or swamp and that is a war that Netanyahu wants the U.S. or its president to be dragged into.'
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Iranian president did not die in latest Iran-Israel war
"Breaking news! Helicopter crash / According to the report, the plane carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi exploded (June 24)," partly reads the Tagalog-language caption of a Facebook post shared on June 25. It displays an image that appears to be from a TV report, with screenshots of comments plastered all over it. The Tagalog-language chyron says, "Foreign leaders offered their condolences after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi." The posts circulated after Iran retaliated against Israel's major bombardment campaign on June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites and killing top officials (archived link). Residential areas have also been hit in the fighting, with the health ministry in Tehran reporting at least 627 civilians killed and 4,900 wounded (archived link). Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel have killed 28 people, according to official figures. While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict was by far the most destructive confrontation between them (archived link). A US-proposed ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding June 30 (archived link). US President Donald Trump had accused both countries of violating the ceasefire he announced late June 23, but hours later he said that it was in effect. Several other users re-shared the circulating TV report as recent, and comments on the post indicate some users were misled. "Maybe this is just a show. Because Iran attacked last night," one user said. Another wrote: "Haha smell something fishy. Why did he die? Because they lost to America". But the widely shared image is from a news report in May 2024. Keyword searches of the news chyron found that the Philippine broadcaster News5 uploaded the report on its verified TikTok page on May 21, 2024 (archived link). The report originally aired on the May 20 newscast of News5's Frontline Pilipinas (archived link). Its video caption said in Tagalog: "The president of Iran was killed in a helicopter crash. The Iranian foreign minister also died from the accident." Visuals shared in the false post corresponded to the 1:06 mark of News5's video. AFP reported the helicopter apparently made a "hard landing" in the Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, near its border with Azerbaijan, under circumstances that remain unclear (archived link). Former health minister and long-time parliamentarian Masoud Pezeshkian replaced the late Raisi after winning the 2024 presidential polls (archived link). The election was called early following the death of the ultraconservative president Raisi, and took place amid heightened regional tensions and domestic discontent (archived link). AFP has debunked other false information on the Iran-Israel war here.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Iranian president did not die in latest Iran-Israel war
"Breaking news! Helicopter crash / According to the report, the plane carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi exploded (June 24)," partly reads the Tagalog-language caption of a Facebook post shared on June 25. It displays an image that appears to be from a TV report, with screenshots of comments plastered all over it. The Tagalog-language chyron says, "Foreign leaders offered their condolences after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi." The posts circulated after Iran retaliated against Israel's major bombardment campaign on June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites and killing top officials (archived link). Residential areas have also been hit in the fighting, with the health ministry in Tehran reporting at least 627 civilians killed and 4,900 wounded (archived link). Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel have killed 28 people, according to official figures. While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict was by far the most destructive confrontation between them (archived link). A US-proposed ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding June 30 (archived link). US President Donald Trump had accused both countries of violating the ceasefire he announced late June 23, but hours later he said that it was in effect. Several other users re-shared the circulating TV report as recent, and comments on the post indicate some users were misled. "Maybe this is just a show. Because Iran attacked last night," one user said. Another wrote: "Haha smell something fishy. Why did he die? Because they lost to America". But the widely shared image is from a news report in May 2024. Keyword searches of the news chyron found that the Philippine broadcaster News5 uploaded the report on its verified TikTok page on May 21, 2024 (archived link). The report originally aired on the May 20 newscast of News5's Frontline Pilipinas (archived link). Its video caption said in Tagalog: "The president of Iran was killed in a helicopter crash. The Iranian foreign minister also died from the accident." Visuals shared in the false post corresponded to the 1:06 mark of News5's video. AFP reported the helicopter apparently made a "hard landing" in the Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, near its border with Azerbaijan, under circumstances that remain unclear (archived link). Former health minister and long-time parliamentarian Masoud Pezeshkian replaced the late Raisi after winning the 2024 presidential polls (archived link). The election was called early following the death of the ultraconservative president Raisi, and took place amid heightened regional tensions and domestic discontent (archived link). AFP has debunked other false information on the Iran-Israel war here.
AFP
30-06-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Ex-Iranian president did not die in latest Iran-Israel war
"Breaking news! Helicopter crash / According to the report, the plane carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi exploded (June 24)," partly reads the Tagalog-language caption of a Facebook post shared on June 25. It displays an image that appears to be from a TV report, with The Tagalog-language chyron says, "Foreign leaders offered their condolences after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi." Image Screenshot of the false post taken on June 26, 2025, with the red X mark added by AFP The posts circulated after Iran retaliated against Israel's major bombardment campaign on June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites and killing top officials (archived link). Residential areas have also been hit in the fighting, with the health ministry in Tehran reporting at least 627 civilians killed and 4,900 wounded (archived link). Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel have killed 28 people, according to official figures. While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict was by far the most destructive confrontation between them (archived link). A US-proposed ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding (archived link). US President Donald Trump had accused both countries of violating the ceasefire he announced late June 23, but hours later he said that it was in effect. Several other users re-shared the circulating TV report as recent, and comments on the post indicate some users were misled. "Maybe this is just a show. Because Iran attacked last night," one user said. Another wrote: "Haha smell something fishy. Why did he die? Because they lost to America". But the widely shared image is from a news report in May 2024. of the news chyron found that the Philippine broadcaster News5 uploaded the report on its verified TikTok page on May 21, 2024 (archived link). The report originally aired on the May 20 newscast of News5's Frontline Pilipinas (archived link). Its video caption said in Tagalog: "The president of Iran was killed in a helicopter crash. The Iranian foreign minister also died from the accident." Visuals shared in the false post corresponded to the 1:06 mark of News5's video. Image Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (left) and the News5 report uploaded on TikTok, with the red X and rectangular elements added by AFP AFP reported the helicopter apparently made a "hard landing" in the Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, near its border with Azerbaijan, under circumstances that remain unclear (archived link). Former health minister and long-time parliamentarian Masoud Pezeshkian replaced the late Raisi after winning the 2024 presidential polls (archived link). The election was called early following the death of the ultraconservative president Raisi, and took place amid heightened regional tensions and domestic discontent (archived link). AFP has debunked other false information on the Iran-Israel war here.
