Iran / Pakistan / Afghanistan geopolitical watch team: Daniel Marco and Jérémie Patot.
29/11/2022: A 27-year-old Iranian man was shot dead after celebrating his team’s defeat at the World Cup. -Daniel Marco-
On November 29, the Islamic regime’s security forces shot and killed a football fan after he cheered Iran’s World Cup loss to the United States, informs Iran International. Authorities shot 27-year-old Mehran Samak in the eastern Iranian town of Anzali in the head after he honked his horn in celebration of the Iranian national team’s 1-0 defeat, Mail Online reported.
According to The Independent, Mehran Samak’s death was confirmed by the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights organisation in a statement posted on Twitter on Thursday. “His name was Mehran Samak. When he went out last night in Bandar Anzali to celebrate the Islamic Republic’s defeat at the 2022 football World Cup, like many others in the country, he was shot in the head by state forces.“
BBC notes that many Iranians have refused to support their football team in Qatar, seeing it as a representation of the Islamic Republic. TMZ adds that Iranian players are caught between the government and the people, and have been under great pressure due to the delicate situation in the Islamic republic. The national anthem was not sung by the players before Iran’s first World Cup match against England. However, this only lasted for one match, when the government threatened the players, essentially telling them to sing or risk reprisals.
29/11/2022: Meeting between the new Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’ el-Sudani and Ayatollah Khameini to strengthen Iran-Iraq relations. -Jeremie Patot-
This week, the new Iraqi Prime Minister from the pro-Iran Shiite coalition is on an official visit to Iran and was welcomed by President Raisi on Tuesday.
During his meeting with the Ayatollah on the same day of his arrival, Khamenei said he supported Baghdad against any party that sought to undermine security in Iraq, reports the Khabar Online news site. These remarks follow the Iranian bombardments against Iranian Kurdish refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan, a refugee whom Tehran denounces as a terrorist and participant in the uprisings that Iran has been experiencing for several months.
According to Voice of America and Iran International, the Prime Minister of Iraq said at the press conference after his meeting with the Supreme Leader that Iraq does not tolerate further attacks from neighboring countries on your territory before adding that his government would strengthen Iraq’s constitution and prevent any attempt by Iraqi groups or parties to undermine Iranian security. Meetings for coordination on the ground between the national security advisers of Iraq and his Iranian counterpart should take place.
Thursday saw the meeting of the Iranian Prime Minister and the monster of Foreign Affairs. The semi-official Mehr News Agency informs that these excellent relations show a common strategic vision between these two countries.
The same day the representative of the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum for Iraqi Affairs declared the opening of an office of the ministry in Baghdad, according to Mehr News Agency. This office should facilitate technical and commercial cooperation in the energy sectors. At the same time, international Iran recalls that often the declarations of cooperation and bilateral projects between the two countries have often remained declarations.
33/11/2022 : Afghanistan: An explosion in Aybak in the north of the country leaves at least 16 people dead and 24 injured in a Koranic school. -Daniel Marco-
On 30 November, Taliban officials in Afghanistan said that a bomb attack in the madrasa, a Koranic school in the northern province of Samangan, killed at least 16 people and wounded 24, RTBF informs. According to a doctor in Aybak, 200 kilometres north of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the majority of the victims were children, Dawn reports.
According to VOA, Abdul Nafi Takoor, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Kabul, the bombing in the provincial capital of Aybak took place while students were observing afternoon prayers. He said Taliban security and intelligence forces arrived at the scene to investigate and apprehend the perpetrators. The Defense Post notes that no group claimed responsibility for the attack, the Taliban later blamed the Islamic State, saying it had assassinated many leaders.
TVP World points out that the Taliban has struggled to hold the war-torn country together in the absence of US troops and in the face of the many armed factions still at large.
