ROLE OF DRONES IN FUTURE WARS

Strategic Council Online – An expert on military and strategic affairs said that considering the experience of the wars that have occurred in the past few years at the regional level is very important to understand the role of the drones in future wars, adding: Given the increasing importance and the determining role of the drones in future wars, we are witness to the significant investment of the big military powers in this field.

Seyed Reza Mirtaher, speaking in an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said that UAVs, which stands for unmanned aerial vehicles, have made significant progress in the past two decades, although for the past 20-30 years those aircraft have been present in the air force of some countries, especially the United States, but in the past three decades, especially in the past decade, extraordinary progress has been made in this area.

He added: During this period, some countries were able to obtain great achievements in the field of UAV industry, and now in the world, countries such as the United States, Iran, the Zionist regime, some European countries such as France and recently Russia have gained significant achievements.

UAVs have taken their place in modern warfare

The expert on military and strategic affairs said that paying attention to the experience of wars that have occurred in the past few years at the regional level is very important to understand the role of the drones in future wars, adding: In those wars it is clear that drones have been able to open their place in the new wars and perform well different missions and duties, including exploration, reconnaissance, investigative, combat, assault on targets, surveillance missions, as well as a wide variety of civilian missions, from border patrols to highway and city patrols.

Extensive use of drones in Karabakh war

Mirtaher reminded: In the recent war that took place in Karabakh, suicide drones were widely used and they were able to prove well their ability in the battlefield.

Referring to the diversity of the drones and regarding their capabilities, he said: Drones have now expanded from the size of a human finger to the size of a passenger plane, and different types of them have been built. One type of the drone is the micro-aircraft, which is a very small insect-sized drone that can be used to fly in the desired areas, especially for photography and video surveillance purposes, eavesdropping and the like and espionage.

Mirtaher added: On a larger scale, we see drones being used in different sizes for exploration and reconnaissance missions. At the larger level, we are witnessing manufacture and operation of very large drones equipped with a variety of jet engines and turboprop, which can be called strategic drones, which are mostly used for 24-hour exploration and reconnaissance missions at high altitudes.

The analyst of international affairs, explaining the types of the drones in terms of their propulsion and engine types, as well as the missions they can perform, said: The drones can be divided into exploration, investigative, reconnaissance, communication relay, combat and strike, and espionage based on the missions; meanwhile, we have recently witnessed manufacture and operation of suicide drones, and the Zionist regime has built the “Harop” drone in this field, and other countries have also taken great steps in this regard.

Competition of big powers over manufacture, use of UAVs

Referring to the rivalry among the big powers over manufacture and use of UAVs, Mirtaher said: Countries like China have been able to take great strides in the field of UAV industry and now the Chinese are supplying UAVs in different dimensions and for various missions.

He pointed to the advantages of UAVs in carrying out missions, especially unilateral and suicide missions, and said: It seems that in future wars, UAVs will play an increasing role and can show a decisive and very successful function in this field.

Increasing importance of drones, their decisive role in future wars

The expert on international affairs said that the Zionist regime has been seeking the development of UAVs for a long time and now has a high position in the world in terms of exporting UAVs, adding: Given the increasing importance of UAVs and its decisive role in future wars, we are witnessing that specifically, the United States, China, Russia and European countries such as Britain, France and Germany are looking to build drones at the size of manned fighter jets to even replace them with pilot fighter jets in the future.

Mirtaher pointed to the combination of technologies and the use of new tactics and the ability of elements of artificial intelligence in the manufacture of UAVs and added: A lot of progress has been made in this direction, for example; to increase the capabilities of their air force, the Russians built a drone called the S-70 Okhotnik. There are many joint projects between Germany and France in this field, and Britain has independently built a jet drone in this regard.

He continued: The Americans have also tested several types of drones. It seems that from the third decade of the 21st century, we will gradually witness that jet-propelled drones will perform a variety of combat, exploration and other missions alongside the conventional fighter aircraft.

Mirtaher, referring to some military and espionage actions that have been carried out against countries and by drones so far and have not been pursued legally in the international arena, stressed: It is important to pay attention to the widespread use of drones in its modern form is new and certainly the development of any possible laws and regulations in the field of operational use of UAVs will require the passage of time and the need of countries and creation of a kind of international consensus in this field.

The expert on military and strategic affairs added: Certainly, given the set of military conditions and applications of UAVs, it can be predicted that they will not be subject to specific rules in the short or medium term; because those drones are integrated into the military units of different countries and perform different missions and it does not seem that certain restrictions will be imposed in the future, unless those restrictions apply to commercial drones sold in the markets and the possibility of their abuse.

He explained: In any case, those drones may enter the private life of citizens in the form of suicide or spy drones or endanger people’s lives and property. Of course, in this case, it will be addressed more at the level of domestic laws.

Palestinian demonstrators urge Hamas to hit Israel

Palestinian worshipers pray outside the Dome of the Rock in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, in Jerusalem al-Quds, on the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, on April 30, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

Palestinians staged a mass demonstration after Friday prayers in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds in support of Hamas, urging the resistance group to hit Israel amid intensified attacks on Palestinians in the holy city.

The demonstrators chanted slogans in support of the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas and its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, on the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, urging the resistance forces to strike Israel.

Some 60,000 worshipers performed the Friday noon prayers at the mosque despite the Israeli restrictions in Jerusalem al-Quds.

Thousands of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank were blocked from attending the prayers at al-Aqsa.

The al-Aqsa compound had seen similar protests on Thursday night.

Over recent days, Jerusalem al-Quds has witnessed intensified tensions as Palestinians confronted acts of aggression by Israeli troops and settlers.

The tensions triggered protests in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

Anti-settlement protests

Separately, Israeli forces continued to attack anti-settlement protests in the occupied West Bank on Friday.

Two Palestinians were hit with rubber bullets fired by the Israeli forces at an anti-settlement protest in the village of Kafr Qaddum.

According to local sources, the Israeli troops also used tear gas against the protesters, leaving tens of them suffering from breathing difficulties.

Israeli forces attacked a similar protest in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, using live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas.

The crackdown left a Palestinian injured with Israeli live fire, and three others were hit with rubber bullets, while tens of cases of breathing difficulties were reported in the village.

Israeli forces also attacked the participants in a rally staged in solidarity with the residents of the occupied West Bank village of Ein al-Bayda, which is threatened with seizure by the Israeli authorities for the benefit of the expansion of the Maon and Karmiel settlements.

Palestinian and foreign activists were among the protesters.

Palestinian shot over alleged stabbing attempt

On Friday morning, Israeli forces shot and injured a young Palestinian man near the settlement of Efrat in the occupied West bank.

The Palestinian Information Center cited Israeli media outlets as saying that the Israeli forces opened fire on the man in al-Nashash area near the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements, south of Bethlehem, over an alleged stabbing attempt.

They said the man was hit in the head and chest and was in critical condition.

Many Palestinians have sustained injuries or lost their lives in similar incidents due to allegations that they attempted stabbing or car-ramming attacks against Israelis.

Palestinian land set ablaze by settlers

Later on Friday, local sources said clashes had erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces after settlers set fire to Palestinian agricultural land in the village of Barqa, east of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

Two Palestinians were hit with rubber bullets during the clashes.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel's settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

US-China conflict not inevitable: Senior Pentagon official

US Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks

A senior Pentagon official says a conflict between the United States and China is not inevitable, calling on both sides to avoid an unnecessary escalation in tensions.

US Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told a virtual event on Friday that Washington did not believe that a conflict with China was inevitable.

But, she said, both Beijing and Washington have to do their part to avoid a needless escalation in tensions.

“The United States and China have every reason to communicate with each other,” Hicks said, adding that “extreme competition” did not necessarily equate conflict.

She admitted that China had “the economic, military and technological capability to challenge the international system and American interests within it.”

China, she said, could use a broad range of tools, “from routine statecraft through the use of sharp power or gray zone tactics, to the potential for sustained combat operations and an expanded and capable nuclear enterprise.”

She also pointed to china’s growing military, space, and cyber capabilities.

Hicks, however, told the event, which was hosted by the US-based think tank Aspen Institute, that if the US’s “vital interests are threatened, we will ensure the US ability to fight and win.”

Her remarks came just days after Biden told Congress that his administration did not seek conflict with China, but vowed to maintain a military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The president said that he had told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that the US “will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific just as we do with NATO in Europe, not to start conflict, but to prevent conflict.”

This came despite China’s constant warnings against challenging its sovereignty over Chinese Taipei and in areas in the South and East China Seas.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin warned on Tuesday that US military activity was increasing under Biden.

Wang also reiterated that Beijing “is committed to developing a relationship with the US based on non-conflict and non-confrontation.”

China and the US are at odds over a range of issues, including Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and the South and East China Seas.

Putin expresses hope for full restoration of JCPOA

TEHRAN, (MNA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope on Friday for the full restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The president invited permanent members of the Russian Security Council to discuss the situation in the Caspian Region and noted that Iran is one of Russia's neighbors in the Caspian Five, Sputnik reported.

"Many issues related to the Iran nuclear programme are currently being addressed. I hope that everything related to the JCPOA will be restored within the previous framework and we will be ready to develop full-fledged relations with all the members of the Caspian club and to fully implement our plans," Putin told the security council.

Tehran is engaged in Vienna talks with the remaining participants in the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) namely China, Russia, and the three major European countries of Britain, Germany and France in a bid to revive the nuclear deal. The United States is not present as Iran has refused to directly talk with the new US administration that still continues illegal Trump-era sanctions against the Iranian nation. 

Despite early promises during his presidential campaign, US President Joe Biden has not returned his country to the deal so far. By doing so, the Biden administration is following in the Trump administration's footsteps and continues to stick to the illegal sanctions on Iran in violation of the nuclear deal. Washington has set illegitimate preconditions for returning to the JCPOA which are strongly rejected by Iran.

After the US exit from the world powers' nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and imposing the unprecedented sanctions on the Iranian nation which was followed by the indifference of the European parties to the need for compensating Iran's losses as a result of the US violations of the international accord, Iran started reducing its JCPOA commitments in five steps and finally suspended voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol on February 22. Tehran recently started 60% enrichment after an "act of sabotage" done reportedly carried out by the Israeli regime on one of its nuclear sites in Natanz. The JCPOA Paragraph 36 allows Iran to diminish its abidance in the case of violations of the deal by other parties.

Iran has vowed that it will change course and will return immediately to its JCPOA commitments as soon as other parties, most notably the Europeans, abide by the provisions of the accord. 

Human Rights Watch’s damning report on Israeli Apartheid crimes breaks new ground in justice for Palestinians

Iqbal Jassat

In a dramatic escalation representative of global outrage over Israel’s tsunami of crimes against Palestinians, a new report makes scathing criticism of the Zionist regime.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), released a detailed legal report declaring that the Israeli regime is committing crimes of apartheid.

This serious charge of apartheid crimes is ground-breaking for it is the first official use of the term by HRW.

Comprehensive and extremely well researched, the 213-page report titled “A Threshold Crossed”, makes damning allegations of decades of persecution of Palestinians.

It cites Israel’s “intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians” and dismisses the oft-repeated propaganda by Israel about so-called “security”.

The report appropriately singles out the use of military rule to ensure a Jewish majority across the combined land of Israel and the Occupied West Bank.

At the core of its report, HRW found the Israeli regime systematically discriminates against non-Jews in all areas under its control — including the nearly 2 million Arab citizens within the state’s 1948 borders — but that an additional layer of severe human-rights abuses in the occupied West Bank and Gaza amount to the crime of apartheid.

The report has the potential to shake the Zionist foundations of the regime, especially if remarks by HRW officials as reported in various media are to go by.

For instance, Eric Goldstein, acting director for Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division, has been quoted as saying the group’s report is intended to show that Israeli abuses against Palestinians were not isolated incidents.

“For years, the international community — and many Israelis — have the tendency to think of the cases we document as the unfortunate symptoms of a lack of peace,” Goldstein said in an interview.

“But the peace process has unfortunately gone nowhere and the abuses have just become more entrenched.”

Expected to unnerve and unsettle the regime even beyond the charge of apartheid, are the recommendations contained in the report.

Among these, one is directed to the Palestinian Authority (PA), calling on it to end its security cooperation with Israel.

Mahmoud Abbas will obviously not be pleased to have part (a significant component nevertheless) of the HRW report focus on a matter which has been the subject of discontent among Palestinians.

The PA-Israel security pact has for some time been severely criticized by leading members of Palestine’s various formations but to date Abbas has not yielded.

Whether the PA will finally give up collaboration with Israel’s genocidal security agencies in response to HRW’s recommendation will be a crucial consideration for it.

To do so will not only grant legitimacy to the HRW report, but also break the back of Israel’s illegal and immoral security dragnet in the Occupied West Bank.

The other crucial call is for the United States to condition its military aid to Israel on the country ending its “commission of the crimes of apartheid and persecution.”

The power of this recommendation must not be lost in semantics for it affirms strong claims made by Palestinians that US aid (military etc) is the single most important enabler of Israel’s crimes.

As Abbas faces challenge of annulling security collaboration, so too does the Biden regime on the matter of halting US-taxpayers’ money to Israeli vaults.

In addition, an equally important call made to all countries by HRW is to impose targeted sanctions and other restrictions on Israeli officials implicated by the report.

Short of calling for a full boycott, this recommendation will in meaningful ways allow the international BDS movement impetus to grow its campaigns.

The full implication of the report will test the political will of countries.

Will they heed the call to initiate targeted sanctions or ignore their responsibilities as member states of the United Nations who ostensibly are committed to upholding universal values of human rights?

As far as South Africa is concerned, the HRW findings will go beyond merely testing the resolve of the ANC-led government.

As beneficiaries of a global campaign under the banner of the anti-apartheid movement to isolate the former white racist regime, it is expected of South Africa to lead a comprehensive boycott of apartheid Israel.

There cannot and should not be any fear of a backlash of “antisemitism smears” as the HRW report comes on the heels of two others authored by Israeli human-rights groups.

Yesh Din’s legal opinion published a few months ago found that Israel was committing apartheid in the Occupied West Bank.

And more recently B’Tselem’s study revealed that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians amounted to apartheid (The B'Tselem paper is titled “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid”).

Interestingly the HRW report also found that in addition to the crime of apartheid, Israel was guilty of “persecution” under international law, because it deprives Palestinians of “key fundamental rights” based on “their identity as Palestinians.”

Yet again it makes a compelling legal argument about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians going well beyond what is required to administer an occupation.

The examples it cites are pretty well documented and reported by media for these atrocities are perpetrated on a daily basis.

They include illegal land grabs, forced confiscation of homes from Palestinians for the exclusive use by Jewish settlers, as well as the tenuous status of Palestinians living in Occupied East Jerusalem.

Given that the international Criminal Court has finally commenced investigating Israel for War Crimes and coupled with findings by B’Tselem and the HRW which conclude that Israel is an Apartheid State, we dare to dream of justice for Palestinians.

Iqbal Jassat is Executive Member with the Media Review Network in Johannesburg, South Africa

zionist atrocitiesOccupied PalestineHuman Rights WatchApartheid State

Iran’s school of resistance and revolutionary guards as main protagonists

 By Syed Zafar Mehdi

While anti-colonial movements, post-World War II, succeeded in overthrowing the repressive ruling structures in many parts of the world, in the Third World, there was a transition from colonialism to neocolonialism. The Islamic revolution of Iran changed that, by confronting the exploitative powers and freeing the country from the domination of the West.

The revolution, which had a ripple effect across the Muslim world, marked a watershed moment in the never-ending fight against the Western imperialism and allowed the newly-formed Islamic Republic to assert its sovereignty and establish social justice based on sacrosanct Islamic values and beliefs.

While the revolution shored up resistance against the US in Iran, it also inspired anti-Western movements across the region that valiantly stood up to imperialistic domination.

What made this revolution different from the Chinese and Russian revolutions were its Islamic ideological precepts, motto of freedom, and emphasis on the ideals of Karbala uprising.

“The Iranian people’s revolution is only a point in the start of the revolution of the great world of Islam,” Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini – the founder of the Islamic Republic – said then, referring to the Islamic revival across the world.

Four decades on, the visionary leader’s words still resonate, the effects of which can be felt in the region and beyond, unceasingly inspiring the campaigners of truth and justice. 

Imam Khomeini had proposed a model of governance based on social welfare and freedom. He also laid the foundation of a force that would not only defend the country but also the revolution.

That is how the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) came into being in April 1979, first as a volunteer force comprising youth that secured neighborhoods from Pahlavi regime’s marauding troops, and later it evolved into a full-fledged institution with involvement in different realms.  

“The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, organized in the early days of the triumph of the revolution, is to be maintained so that it may continue in its role of guarding the Revolution and its achievements,” states Article 150 of the country’s Constitution.

From Mohsen Rezaee, who led the corps for about 16 years between 1980s and 1990s, to Hossein Salami, the present-day chief, the IRGC has played its role commendably in not only preserving the ideals of 1979 revolution, but also diversifying its activities into social, economic and cultural domains.

The biggest accomplishment, however, has been its no-holds-barred resistance to America’s hegemonic ambitions and destabilizing activities in the region, which was the basic goal of the revolution.

In the last four decades, many governments have assumed power in Tehran, each following their own domestic, regional and international policies, in the true spirit of a vibrant democracy.

Under Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997) and Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), Iran pursued a flexible foreign policy, but not much success was achieved in ending hostilities with the US. During the eventful tenure of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013), Iran adopted confrontational policy in the face of crippling US sanctions, which only led to heightened tensions. Under Hassan Rouhani’s administration, the policy swung from flexibility and peace overtures to confrontation, especially after the megalomaniac former US President [Donald Trump] unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.

At times, there were concerns about Iranian officials giving concessions to the US and its European allies in a bid to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). At times, pressure tactics were used to bring Tehran to its knees. However, Iran survived all waves of hostility and aggression, and came out stronger.

Amidst these political upheavals, the role of country’s revolutionary corps, in particular its extraterritorial wing, the Quds Force, has been noteworthy. It has ensured that the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy continues to be in tune with what was envisioned by the founder of the Islamic Republic.

This is where the role of former Quds Force chief, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, deserves a mention. Understanding the broader ideology of Islamic Revolution and the principles of resistance is essential to comprehend Iran’s involvement in the region, especially in places where the US and its notorious regional allies have been carrying out their destabilizing activities.

His role in eliminating the Zionist threat in southern Lebanon, annihilating Daesh from Syria and Iraq, strengthening the resistance front in Palestine, and making Houthis in Yemen a force to reckon with cannot be whitewashed. As President Hassan Rouhani remarked on Wednesday, he stood tall in both the battlefield and in diplomacy.

That does not mean that he substituted the country’s top diplomats in designing foreign policies. He only complemented them, which is the beauty of Iran’s Constitution.

Iran, as a proud democratic republic, pursues an independent foreign policy and believes in fostering deep ties with countries across the globe. It also does not shy away from protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity and those of its neighbors and regional allies.

That’s what Imam Khomeini meant by Islamic governance, which goes beyond lip service and forms the basis of the country’s Constitution.

In a speech delivered in August 1984, the founding leader of the Islamic Republic explicitly underlined that “he who says that religion is separate from politics, has denied God, denied the Prophet of Allah, [and] denied the Imams.”

Contrary to what pundits in the West want you to believe, all shades of political opinion in Iran bear their allegiance to the Islamic revolution and agree that the movement needs to be preserved and the ideals of the revolution need to be incorporated into governance and rule of law.

Since this revolution does not approve meddling of foreign powers in the country’s domestic affairs, and calls for resistance against the forces of global hegemony, the United States and its allies understandably have a problem with it.

Many efforts have been made and myriad conspiracies hatched to cause a schism within Iran, along the imaginary lines of pro-revolution and anti-revolution, between those in the battlefield and those at the negotiating table. 

But, as always, the plots have failed and the forces of resistance have always emerged stronger.

As the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Feb 2019, on the 40th anniversary of the revolution, the Islamic Revolution has “never suffered from, and will never suffer from stagnation and recession.”

He noted that the world today is witnessing an “Islamic awakening” based on the model of resistance to American and Zionist dominance, and that the US and its allies have failed while Iran has thrived.

This has been possible due to the efforts of those who have guarded this revolution with their pure blood. This has been possible due to adherence to the lofty ideals of the Islamic Revolution.

Syed Zafar Mehdi is a Tehran-based journalist editor and blogger with over 10 years experience, he has reported extensively from Kashmir, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran for leading publications worldwide. 

Stampede in Jewish Pilgrimage Site Kills Dozens

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed at least 44 people and injured about 150 early Friday.

 Magen David Adom, the Israeli emergency service, said that at least 44 people were killed during the event early on Friday.

Zaki Heller, spokesman for the Magen David Adom, said that among the 150 people who had been hospitalized, six were in critical condition.

On social media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “heavy disaster” and added, “We are all praying for the wellbeing of the casualties.”

The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews were participating in an annual pilgrimage for the feast of Lag BaOmer, in Mount Meron (Jabal al-Jarmaq), around the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second-century Talmudic sage.

The incident began when large numbers of people trying to exit the site thronged a narrow tunnel-like passage, according to witnesses. People began falling on top of each other near the end of the walkway, as they descended slippery metal stairs, witnesses said.

Israeli media published an image of a row of bodies covered in plastic bags on the ground, Al Jazeera reported.

Authorities had authorized 10,000 people to gather at the site of the tomb but organizers said more than 650 buses had been chartered from across the country, bringing at least 30,000 pilgrims to Mount Meron.

Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse in Iran: Perfect Combination of Art, Culture

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse (Hammam-e Soltan Amir-Ahmad), also known as the Qasemi Bathhouse, is a traditional public bathhouse in Iran's central city of Kashan, dating back to the 16th century.

 There is evidence that the construction of the bathhouse dates back to the Seljuk dynasty, while some historians believe that what we now see as Sultan Amir Ahmad Hammam was actually built during the reign of Qajar kings over the ruins of an old bathhouse.

The Bathhouse (Hammam) is a unique sample representing Persian architecture and decoration.

It is located in a historical neighborhood of Kashan, which is easily accessible from many other valuable attractions.

What makes this structure particular is its rooftop which is a charming and artistic part of the bathhouse, making it fascinating for many photographers at different times of the year.

Elaborately decorated with turquoise and gold tiles, Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse has quiet and meditative ambiance that evokes its past as an important public gathering place.

The 16th-century bathhouse, named after a sultan who was buried in a nearby mausoleum, features an octagonal dressing area (Sarbineh) and a hot bathing hall (Garm-Khane). It was restored on two occasions: after 1778 earthquake and in 1996.

Visitors can take a self-guided tour in the bathhouse and go to the rooftop to see many small domes and scenic views of the surroundings.

In the past, the bathhouse has been used as a traditional teahouse, but today it serves as a museum. In 1956 the Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse was registered as a national heritage site by Iran’s Cultural Heritage Department.

Many ancient attractions are in the vicinity, such as Agha Bozorg Mosque, as well as Abbasiha, Tabatabaei, and Boroujerdiha historical houses.

Source: Itto (Iran Tourism and Touring Organization).org

Biden pursuing ‘hubristic, hyper-nationalist imperialist foreign policy’: Scholar

US President Joe Biden is addressing the joint session of Congress on Wednesday. (Photo by Reuters)

US President Joe Biden is pursuing a “reactionary, hubristic, hyper-nationalist imperialist foreign policy,” according to Professor Dennis Etler, an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs.

Etler, who is a former professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, said Biden's answer to America's problems, is “tax and spend” and “guns and butter.” 

The scholar made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday, after Biden made in a speech to a joint session of Congress where he said he does not seek to escalate tensions with Russia, but warned Moscow’s actions have consequences and defended his administration’s “proportionate” action in slapping sanctions on Russia.

In his first address to Congress on Wednesday, Biden said that he “made very clear to President Putin that while we don’t seek escalation, their actions have consequence.”

Biden also proposed a sweeping new $1.8 trillion plan, pleading with Republican lawmakers to work with him on divisive issues and to meet the stiff competition posed by China.

The Democratic president urged Republicans to help pass a wide array of contentious legislation from taxes to police reform to gun control and immigration.

Biden's answer to America's problems, 'tax and spend’ and ‘guns and butter’

Professor Etler said that “Biden's speech to a joint session of Congress was a neo-liberals' dream. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives was over the moon. The so-called ‘progressives’ in Congress wanted more than what Biden offered but were happy with what they got. Domestically he offered what anywhere else but America would be considered a slightly right of center program of reforms. Germany, ruled for the past two decades by the conservative Christian Democrats, has had the social programs proposed by Biden for decades.”

“But, for the ‘richest country in the world’ what Biden offered is the least that is necessary to get the economy back on track. The pandemic has exposed the underbelly of US capitalism, millions upon millions of people struggling to make ends meet, who are thrown into crisis whenever they face a new challenge. The expenses associated with childcare and eldercare, or unexpected personal illness are beyond the means of increasing numbers of American families,” he stated.

“Biden’s family relief program thus resonates with an overwhelming number of Americans. Problem is, in order to do all that Biden has promised requires a vast expenditure of money he doesn’t have. The only way to finance what he has proposed is to increase taxes on the rich which in a country dominated by wealthy oligarchs is a tall order. The prospect of Biden getting his program passed as proposed are therefore virtually non-existent,” the commentator noted.

“There should be no doubt that Biden’s bevy of government initiated programs and the means to finance them will be watered down to the point that they will be unrecognizable in their present form. If anything his proposals are a sop to the Democrats in Congress who need them to placate their base. Of course, even if the whole package is enacted what is left intact is the edifice of corporate and financial capitalism. Biden's domestic programs are, hence, more show than substance,” he added.

‘Biden playing China card’

“Nonetheless, in tried and true fashion, Biden used the threat of a foreign adversary in a cynical ploy to gain bipartisan support for his multi-trillion-dollar economic relief packages. In order to get Congress and the American people to rally around the flag the full weight of his reactionary, hubristic, hyper-nationalist imperialist foreign policy was brought to bear. His arrogant, condescending attitude towards China was most glaring. The ‘China card’ was dealt right out of the Cold War playbook. Create a foreign enemy who can be hyped as an existential threat to the sacrosanct ‘American Way.’ No matter that it’s the US that threatens China and not the other way around. So, no one should expect any let up in the China-bashing posture of the US,” he explained.

“Only time will tell, but sooner than later push will come to shove and there will have to be a reevaluation on the US side of its China policy. But, at present taking an aggressive stance against China is the sine qua non of US foreign policy. From the Chinese perspective the points of contention between the two sides are non-negotiable. China will not give an inch,” he stated.

“As the world slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic it is a booming China that will rescue the ailing economies of the world as it has done in the recent past. Washington's attempts to contain China's growth and development are thus bound to fail. It is the US side that will have to give ground or eventually find itself ever more isolated,” he said.

“In sum, when all the proposed spending on domestic bailouts and programs under both Trump and Biden are added up and extended over ten years they amount to about as much as the US will spend on its military budget in the same time span,” he noted.

“As the US shows no signs of retreating from its aggressive foreign policies the Democrats have thus fallen back on the two antidotes to heal the country's ills that they've tried in the past, ‘tax and spend’ and ‘guns and butter.’ History shows, however, that both nostrums are temporary fixes that inevitably compound the problems they were meant to address,” he concluded.