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Irish Independent
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Letters: $200m wasted each day by Israel on missile attacks, all the while global poverty persists
Between the Russian-Ukraine and the Gaza wars, the cost must now be astronomical. The human cost in these wars is either incalculable, or is of no concern to the warmongers. It is hard to imagine that it is easy to procure money for war, yet so difficult to procure money for food and health in impoverished nations – funding that would provide a greater chance of a peaceful world. The silence of world leaders is deafening on this massive disparity. The question is: Do financial benefits for some obviate the death and suffering that munitions inflict upon human beings? Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia Excuses for war on Iran are not merited and evoke echoes of Iraq invasion Israel has been claiming for many years that Iran is close to building a nuclear bomb. The evidence for this is far from clear-cut. In fact, Benjamin Netanyahu's pretext for war increasingly resembles the infamous 'weapons of mass destruction' allegation used to justify the US invasion of Iraq. However, it is widely acknowledged, but often left unsaid, that Israel itself has a considerable stockpile of nuclear weapons. Estimates suggest it has more than 90 nuclear warheads. Who knows the actual number? The Israeli state has never signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Iran is controlled by a vicious, oppressive regime, but the suggestion from the US and others that Israel is on the side of the angels in this conflict is plainly ludicrous. Fintan Lane, Lucan, Co Dublin Here's hoping if Ayatollah Khamenei is overthrown a president will be elected Whether the Islamic Republic of Iran survives under the leadership of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or another clerical figure, Iran certainly doesn't need a return of the Pahlavi dynasty that ruled the nation between 1925 and 1979. Iran's last shah was a despot whose 1941 to 1979 rule was enforced by his notorious secret police, Savak, from 1953 until he was overthrown. Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi has no place on the Peacock Throne. If change does occur in Iran, hopefully a democratically elected president will be the choice of the people. Finally, it would be in the Middle East's best interests if Benjamin Netanyahu could submit himself to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed against the innocent Palestinian people. Dominic Shelmerdine, London Starmer stoops too low for Trump as American ideals drift away from Europe Frank Coughlan rightly bristles at the image of Keir Starmer stooping to gather Donald Trump's dropped papers – a moment of awkward courtesy that risks becoming a metaphor for European diplomacy ('Europe should neither bow nor bend to bully boy Trump', June 20). But beneath the theatre lies a deeper truth: the post-World War II order where Europe leaned on American strength while lecturing it on restraint is in terminal decline. America's global leadership is no longer anchored in shared ideals, but in transactional nationalism. Trump embodies this shift, but it won't end with him. The next era of geopolitics will be defined not by Atlantic unity, but by cold, conditional alliances based on cost-benefit calculation. I suspect that by 2030 we'll see a Europe that either relearns strategic autonomy – investing in its own defence, industrial capacity and global leverage – or one that fragments into spheres of influence too dependent to push back, too divided to act. The choice will have been made not at summits, but in the small moments when leaders kneel instead of standing. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh If the willpower is there, infrastructure logjams in the State can be cleared This week, senator Michael McDowell urged the Government to replicate a piece of legislation from 1925 that the fledgling Free State government enacted to build the massive Ardnacrusha electricity station on the Shannon. It covered the state financing of the project, the CPO-ing of land, construction of canals and so forth. This is the way, he suggested, to overcome the administrative sclerosis blocking the construction of the north Dublin sewage treatment plant, the piping of water from the Shannon to Dublin, talked about for nearly 30 years, the building of vitally needed onshore and offshore wind-energy farms, as well as key road and rail projects. Meanwhile, every government member, from the Taoiseach down, and the heads of the various state infrastructural agencies (EirGrid, ESB, Uisce Éireann, transport agencies) acknowledge the dire consequences of not resolving these logjams, and the fact that the existing permitting systems are not for purpose. Last month, the Government launched its new Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce to underline this fact. But this will be little more than the latest episode of 'kicking the can down the road' unless the Government undertakes the kind of bold legislative initiative urged by Mr McDowell. So, could it happen? Well, this week the Government was able to draft, pass and have enacted a bill extending Rent Pressure Zones to the whole country. Where there's a will, there's a way. Stephen O'Byrnes, Dublin 4 Spare a thought – and some water – for wildlife during this hot weather It's hot out there, so please remember a dish of fresh water for the birds, and if you're lucky enough to have them, a dish of fresh water for the hedgehogs as well. Eve Parnell, Dublin 2 Be careful with your words as they can do harm and have dark consequences Our workplaces, schools and homes are filled with hurtful words. Words are powerful weapons and can be used in the most hurtful way to harm another person and trigger a journey on a downward spiral. We need to think before we speak. Let's use words to be kind to one another.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Who is Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?
Ali Khamenei was born in Mashhad, Iran, in 1939, as the second son of a local religious leader, Javad Khamenei, and he grew up in relative poverty. He learned to read the Qur'an in early childhood before attending a theological seminary school in Mashhad. At 18, he travelled to Najaf in central Iraq to study Shia jurisprudence, but was later asked by his father to return. He was a student of Ayatollah Hossein Borujerdi and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. There is not much known about Khamenei's family life, except that he is married and has six children. Khamenei's interest in poetry is a well-known part of his public persona. He often cites poems in his speeches and hosts poetry gatherings where pro-government poets gather to read their poems to receive his comments. Khamenei's interest in literature is quite rare among religious clerics. The same goes for his interest in gardening. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. In the 1960s and 1970s Khamenei was involved in protests against the US-backed monarchy (the shah), and was an ardent supporter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then living in exile, and against the 'westernisation' of Iran. This led to his arrest by the shah's secret police and intelligence operation, the Organisation of National Security and Information (Savak), which suppressed opposition to the shah. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the monarch who ruled Iran until 1979, was backed by western powers including the US and the UK. After a decade of economic growth in Iran, mainly based on oil revenues, did not lead to an improvement in the standard of living for ordinary Iranians, a combination of students, intellectuals and clerics created combined support for a revolution. After the shah was overthrown in the 1979 revolution, Iran became an Islamic republic. Khamenei was appointed as a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Council, which was put in place to manage the revolution, and served as deputy defence minister and led Friday prayers in Tehran, which was considered highly prestigious. The new republic adopted an anti-western 'imperialist' foreign policy. This is known as 'global arrogance' (Estekbar Jahani) in Iranian post-revolutionary discourse. In 1982, he was elected president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, winning 95% of the vote, after the previous president, Mohammad Ali Rajai, was killed in a bomb attack in Tehran. Khamenei had been the target of an assassination attempt two months earlier, leaving him with serious injuries and paralysis in his right arm. Iran's war with neighbouring Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, lasted from 1980 to 1988 and is known in Iran as the 'sacred defence'. The war began after an invasion by Iraqi troops on Iranian territory and resulted in around one million deaths across both countries. This was another significant period in Khamenei's career. He was active in managing Iran's defence as the chairman of the supreme council of war support during this period. The council was formed to make sure the country was as prepared as possible during the war and to take measures to mobilise forces and to meet the needs of the war at the battlefront. Read more: He also commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite part of the Iranian armed forces, from 1981. At the end of the war, Khamenei claimed Iran had won a 'luminous victory'. He praised Khomeini for his tactics in the war and said that the supreme leader had realised from the very beginning that it was not an ordinary conflict between two neighbours. 'He recognised the enemy and realised that the main enemy is not present in the war, and he recognised that Saddam is just a tool.' He went on to suggest that this was a war about US regional power and that Saddam Hussein would continue to receive US support. Khamenei became supreme leader in 1989 after the death of Khomeini. He was designated as the new leader by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of Islamic clerics. He ruled in the same style, and with the same type of foreign policy, as his predecessor; looking for allies to offset US power in the region. The duties designated for the rahbar (supreme leader) are listed in Article 101 of the constitution and range from determining the political direction of the government (in consultation with an advisory committee) to commanding the armed forces to declaring war, peace, and the mobilisation of armed forces to pardoning or commuting sentences upon recommendation of the head of the judiciary. Khomeini's conception of Islamic government was centred on the doctrine of the guardianship of 'the jurist', known as velayat-e faqih, and this continued at the heart of the government that followed under Khamenei. This gives the supreme leader extensive powers, including control over the military, judiciary and media. This doctrine plays a vital role in legitimising theocratic power in Iran, linking religious authority with the state. Discussion about velayat-e faqih continues within Iranian society as part of an ongoing dialogue between traditional religious authority and civil society. Read more: The question of who might come to power after Khamenei was raised during the grassroots uprising and pro-democracy protests around Iran in 2022 and 2023. It was expected that any transition would take a considerable amount of time, especially if the aim was for a more democratic form of government. The current war might suggest a different outcome. Even though the Israeli attacks on Iran have again sparked discussion of a possible change of leader, the public is focused now on their own safety, and defending Iran, not on political change. Any external war or threats coming from outside Iran has historically united Iranians against aggressors. This means that the path to democratic change is not likely to be created, or helped, by Israeli air strikes or US threats. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Sahar Maranlou does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
