Latest news with #Moghadam
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First Post
21-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
FBI seeking arrest of Iran's Pakistan ambassador is a challenge for Islamabad
On July 15 the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) field office in Washington 'released seeking information posters featuring three senior Iranian intelligence officers who were involved in the abduction of retired FBI Special Agent Robert A 'Bob' Levinson from Kish Island, Iran, on March 9, 2007". The release of the posters is part of the FBI's ongoing investigation into Iranian officials who allegedly played roles in Bob's abduction and Iran's attempt to obfuscate its responsibility. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD One of the three, Reza Amiri Moghadam, is currently his country's ambassador to Pakistan. It is highly unusual for a country to issue a 'wanted' poster about another country's ambassador to a third country. This is especially so if the country issuing the poster and where the ambassador is stationed do not have hostile relations. It is embarrassing not only for the ambassador but also for the country to which he is accredited. Clearly, the US is not concerned with such diplomatic niceties, especially in Trumpian times! This is not the first occasion on which the US has made allegations regarding Moghadam's involvement in Levinson's disappearance from Kish Island more than 18 years ago. On March 25 this year, the US Treasury Department issued a press release that stated, inter alia ,'Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is imposing sanctions on three Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) officials who were involved in the abduction, detention, and probable death of former FBI Special Agent Robert A 'Bob' Levinson. The individuals designated today, Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, and Taqi Daneshvar, all played a role in Mr Levinson's abduction, probable death, and Iran's efforts to cover up or obfuscate their responsibility.' The press release went on to state, 'Reza Amiri Moghadam, also known as Ahmad Amirinia, has been a head of MOIS's operations unit, with MOIS agents in Europe at one point reporting to him in Tehran. Moghadam is the current Iranian ambassador to Pakistan. Moghadam has held a senior role in the Levinson case and has obfuscated the truth about Mr Levinson's abduction.' The FBI action of issuing wanted posters against Moghadam is more eye-catching than the Treasury action. It shows his photograph and puts him, as far as the US system is concerned, dramatically in an alleged criminal category. Consequently, it has caught far greater attention in Pakistan and elsewhere than the Treasury action. The US system is pursuing the Levinson case, among other reasons, because of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act of December 2020 and a presidential order of 2023 taken pursuant to that act. The designations of individuals by the Treasury Department mean that all property and interests of the designated individuals under US control are 'blocked' and US nationals and entities are prevented from entering into a series of specific transactions against them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is noteworthy that between the US Treasury designations and the FBI posters, a period of positivity has prevailed between the US and Pakistan. While the US has recently designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a foreign terrorist organisation, and this is a good and welcome development for India, Pakistan has registered a muted public protest. Indian policymakers should not, however, overlook that it took the US almost three months to do so after the dastardly Pahalgam attack. Besides, while the US did condemn the Pahalgam attack—as did every major country—it has not held Pakistan responsible for it. Despite India's statements to the contrary, President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated since May 10 how he prevented the armed hostilities between India and Pakistan from moving into the nuclear dimension. Most recently, he has said that five aircraft were lost during the hostilities, though he has not stated which country lost them. But given the Pakistani global narrative on this issue, Trump's lack of clarity should certainly not be welcome in India. Finally, it was during this period of positivity that Trump hosted Field Marshal Asim Munir for an unprecedented two-hour lunch and talks at the White House on June 18. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the light of these positive developments with the US, the Pakistanis have trod a very careful 'neutral' line on the Moghadam issue. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry has not issued any media statement. It has employed the ploy of responding to individual queries from both Pakistani and foreign media. Thus, the Ministry's spokesperson Shafqat Khan told the Pakistani newspaper Dawn's digital platform in response to a query on Moghadam, 'As far as Pakistan is concerned, the ambassador of Iran is widely respected for his role in the promotion of Pakistan-Iran relations. He is entitled to all the privileges, immunities, and respect due to [being an] ambassador, and that too from a friendly neighbouring country.' He made the same comment to Arab News. But, as of now, the Foreign Ministry has not put any comment on Moghadam on its website. This is an undoubted signal to Iran and the US. This is because, in terms of support, responses to specific media queries are, diplomatically, the lowest form of support for Moghadam. Thus, while Pakistan, which fully stood behind Iran during the Israel-Iran conflict and was critical of the US bombing of Iran's nuclear sites, cannot obviously take any step to embarrass Iran over Moghadam, it shows that it dearly wants the Moghadam issue not to really upset the US. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Pakistan's ties with Iran have witnessed a series of ups and downs since the Khomeini revolution. As a majority Sunni state, its alignment is really with the Sunni Arab world, which, despite all of China's efforts, is at fundamental odds with Iran. Yet, in view of its sizeable Shia population over which Iran has influence, Pakistan does not want its ties with its Shia neighbour to become or remain in the negative zone. It therefore wants them to return to a balance whenever an incident dents them badly. The last time this happened was in January 2024. Violating Pakistani airspace, Iran targeted what it called the bases of Jaish-e-Adl, an anti-Iranian Baluchi group. Two days later Pakistan used its air force to bomb supposed bases of anti-Pakistani Baluchi groups in Iran. Both countries swiftly cooled the situation thereafter. On the Moghadam matter, it is probable that in about six months, if not earlier, Pakistan would quietly ask Iran to replace him. It will be difficult for him to carry on his normal duties after the 'wanted' posters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A brief account of the Levinson backstory may also be of interest to readers. Levinson was, in the early part of his career, with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). He later joined the FBI, where he worked till 1998. After leaving the FBI, according to media reports, Levinson worked as a security consultant. In March 2007, he travelled to Kish Island in Iran. Kish is off the Iranian coast, and the Iranian system wants to develop it as a tourism hub and also a financial centre. Hence, they allow a more relaxed atmosphere to prevail there. It is claimed by the Americans that Levinson's visit to Kish was entirely private, but some media reports have claimed that he was on a mission where the concerned US officials who sent him had not received the required clearances. In Kish, Levinson met Dawud Salahuddin, a US national who had converted to Islam in the 1970s and who was obviously attracted to Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian Revolution. Salahuddin is accused of the killing in the US of the Khomeini critic Ali Akbar Tabatabaei. After this meeting he disappeared. He was last seen alive in a photograph received by his family in 2011. In 2020 Levinson's family publicly announced that he had most probably died. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD One significant lesson that the Indian system can derive from the Levinson case is never to close a file on the perpetrators of terrorist attacks against Indians. Their acts should not be forgotten or forgiven. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Sydney Morning Herald
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I can't believe an ashtray won': How rotting teeth became a design hit
The circular ashtray features an array of rotting teeth in various hues of decay, with a few gaps designed for placing a cigarette. Moghadam says the fact that people are talking about it means she has achieved her goal. 'The idea, first of all, it's a contradiction. It's a functional ashtray, which means it is pro smoking, at the same time, though, it is an anti-smoking advertisement because it is showing the rotting mouth. I wanted to explore the idea that we can hold two mindsets at the same time.' Loading Moghadam, who studied industrial design at university because her father considered fine arts an insecure career path, enjoys the space between practicality and provocation and seeks to create products that spark conversations, with a smile. 'The gum [on the ashtray] is functional and there are a few amber-stained, rotting teeth. But because it's humorous, the initial reaction is a bit of a chuckle. I know it's confronting, but it's not confronting in just a repulsive sense, so the initial reaction is a softening of the face and more of an amusement. 'Ideally, when someone lights a smoke, I'd like them to think about their mouth rotting.' While the focus of her work is on smoking, she says there is opportunity to broaden the discussion to include various addictions – and our capacity as humans to succumb to them. 'We can know that something is bad for us – like smoking – but that civilised side knows something is bad for us, but that animal side still engages in self-destructive behaviour. I find that fascinating. That's what I was exploring – this idea that humans are contradictions.' Moghadam already has form using humour to drive the narrative of her work. Last year, she won top prize at Australia's Next Top Designer for her Cheeky stools, which resemble, well, bums. While they are highly functional as beautiful, lightweight, portable seating, she created them in various colourways to reflect different skin tones and promote inclusivity. She says she knows it is 'very ambitious', but when placed in public environments she hopes they can go some way to addressing the loneliness epidemic, because they can prompt playful conversations among strangers. Loading 'Humour is a really under-rated tool of human connection,' she says. 'I saw that through the responses of people who visited. When they saw the bum, their faces would soften up and they would become more open. Even though they were strangers, they were open to conversations. It broke down that initial barrier.' For now, the designer is working on recreating her ashtray in ceramic. She is also working with a Melbourne manufacturer to create a prototype for her stools. 'I like the idea of timeless design, refining something that can be a timeless piece. If I can nut something out until it's perfect, I'd rather do that than just keep churning new things.'
The Age
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘I can't believe an ashtray won': How rotting teeth became a design hit
The circular ashtray features an array of rotting teeth in various hues of decay, with a few gaps designed for placing a cigarette. Moghadam says the fact that people are talking about it means she has achieved her goal. 'The idea, first of all, it's a contradiction. It's a functional ashtray, which means it is pro smoking, at the same time, though, it is an anti-smoking advertisement because it is showing the rotting mouth. I wanted to explore the idea that we can hold two mindsets at the same time.' Loading Moghadam, who studied industrial design at university because her father considered fine arts an insecure career path, enjoys the space between practicality and provocation and seeks to create products that spark conversations, with a smile. 'The gum [on the ashtray] is functional and there are a few amber-stained, rotting teeth. But because it's humorous, the initial reaction is a bit of a chuckle. I know it's confronting, but it's not confronting in just a repulsive sense, so the initial reaction is a softening of the face and more of an amusement. 'Ideally, when someone lights a smoke, I'd like them to think about their mouth rotting.' While the focus of her work is on smoking, she says there is opportunity to broaden the discussion to include various addictions – and our capacity as humans to succumb to them. 'We can know that something is bad for us – like smoking – but that civilised side knows something is bad for us, but that animal side still engages in self-destructive behaviour. I find that fascinating. That's what I was exploring – this idea that humans are contradictions.' Moghadam already has form using humour to drive the narrative of her work. Last year, she won top prize at Australia's Next Top Designer for her Cheeky stools, which resemble, well, bums. While they are highly functional as beautiful, lightweight, portable seating, she created them in various colourways to reflect different skin tones and promote inclusivity. She says she knows it is 'very ambitious', but when placed in public environments she hopes they can go some way to addressing the loneliness epidemic, because they can prompt playful conversations among strangers. Loading 'Humour is a really under-rated tool of human connection,' she says. 'I saw that through the responses of people who visited. When they saw the bum, their faces would soften up and they would become more open. Even though they were strangers, they were open to conversations. It broke down that initial barrier.' For now, the designer is working on recreating her ashtray in ceramic. She is also working with a Melbourne manufacturer to create a prototype for her stools. 'I like the idea of timeless design, refining something that can be a timeless piece. If I can nut something out until it's perfect, I'd rather do that than just keep churning new things.'
Mint
17-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Construction Costs to ‘Go Up Radically,' Prologis CEO Says
(Bloomberg) -- The chief executive officer of Prologis Inc., a real estate investment trust that owns and runs warehouses, said US immigration policy is causing a labor shortage that's driving building costs higher. 'Construction costs are going to go up radically,' Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam said Wednesday on Bloomberg TV. 'We thought they were going to stabilize this year, but I think all of this immigration stuff is putting more pressure on construction.' President Donald Trump has vowed to undertake the largest deportation campaign in American history, with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detaining migrants at 60 new facilities this year, according to government figures analyzed by Bloomberg. The White House has given ICE a quota of 3,000 arrests a day. 'It is a real issue for our customers, because they need people to work in their warehouses, and often those are the same people that are having immigration issues,' Moghadam said Wednesday. 'So they're being forced into more automation, which is not necessarily economic at this point in time.' Moghadam added that he doesn't 'know where the employees are going to come from that are going to do all this manufacturing that we are talking about.' For his part, the CEO said the labor shortage makes Prologis' buildings more valuable because it will cost more to replace them. Shares of the San Francisco-based firm rose 1.4% Wednesday after it reported second-quarter results that were 'better than initially feared' after tariffs came into focus, according to Evercore ISI's Steve Sakwa. Prologis' funds from operations — a measure of a cash generated by a REIT — exceeded analysts' expectations, and its occupancy rates remained stable at about 95%. --With assistance from Romaine Bostick and Scarlet Fu. More stories like this are available on
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prologis says warehouse ‘demand is piling up'
Logistics warehouse operator Prologis boasted a record leasing pipeline as 'broader economic uncertainty begins to clear' following April's Liberation Day tariff announcements. The company cautioned that conditions will likely 'remain choppy' over the next few quarters but said leased space utilization is increasing and 'demand is piling up.' The San Francisco-based real estate investment trust said Wednesday that customers are actively signing leases, albeit at a slower-than-normal pace. The company's leasing pipeline of 130 million square feet was up 19% year over year in the second quarter and now stands at 'historically high levels.' 'With every passing day there's more water building up behind the dam,' said Hamid Moghadam, Prologis co-founder and CEO, on a quarterly call with analysts. 'I think every bit of business that's delayed is going to translate to more business in the future.' Occupancy across Prologis' (NYSE: PLD) portfolio was 94.9% in the second quarter, 120 basis points lower y/y, but level with the first quarter as market conditions appear to have stabilized. The company ended the quarter with the portfolio 95.1% occupied, which it said is 290 bps ahead of the broader market. Prologis reported second-quarter core funds from operations (FFO) of $1.46 per share before the market opened on Wednesday, which was 4 cents above the consensus estimate and 12 cents higher y/y. Total revenue increased 9% to $2.18 billion as new leases commenced rose 10% to 51.2 million square feet. Leasing activity slumped 20% shortly after the April tariff announcements but improved throughout the period, ending the quarter just 10% lower than normal. Roughly one-third of Prologis' leasing activity in the quarter came from 3PLs. That was a little lower than the prior two quarters, but those periods saw outsized activity from logistics operators. The company raised its full-year FFO guidance range to $5.80 to $5.85 per share, which was roughly 1% higher than the prior guide at the midpoint of the range. The new outlook assumes average occupancy in a range of 94.75% to 95.25% and development starts between $2.25 billion and $2.75 billion. The new guide for starts is back in line with the company's initial outlook for 2025, which was issued in January. Importantly, Moghadam said that the market has seen a 7.4% median vacancy rate since 2000, with vacancy exceeding that level 44% of the time. He believes the market has already topped out at a mid-7% vacancy rate and noted that at 5% vacancy, the landlord regains pricing power. (Market rents were off 1.4% in the quarter.) A fear of missing out and inflationary concerns are likely to push tenants away 'from being very conservative to being much more aggressive,' Moghadam said. 'I think if you have people that are pulling the trigger on big capital improvements … they are going to take comfort by seeing other people make the same decisions.' Shares of PLD were up 1.4% at 2:28 p.m. EDT on Wednesday compared to the S&P 500, which was up 0.2%. More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden: J.B. Hunt still waiting for market to turn LTL pricing index to hit record high in Q3 June produces mixed freight trends, recovery remains 'elusive' The post Prologis says warehouse 'demand is piling up' appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
