Press TV's News Headlines

Anti-Iran plots

Top Iranian officials have slammed the European Parliament for blacklisting the country’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). President Ebrahim Raeisi says such moves are rooted in the IRGC’s role against terrorists in the region. Raeisi says enemies are trying to subject a large part of the ruling system in Iran to criticism due to its successes but will fail. He was referring to a Thursday resolution in which European lawmakers called for the designation of the IRGC as a terror group. It comes as EU foreign ministers are set to discuss tightening sanctions on Iran next week. Iran’s parliament speaker is now warning of immediate reciprocal steps if the EU sanctions the IRGC or blacklists the force. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says Iran is ready to reciprocate against European armed forces. 

Qur'an desecration slammed

Condemnations are pouring in from across the Muslim world following the burning of a copy of the holy Qur’an by a right-wing Swedish-Danish politician in Stockholm.Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said the move is a clear example of spreading hatred and violence against Muslims. Nasser Kanani slammed Swedish authorities for allowing the desecration of Islam’s holy book. He said such sacrilegious acts cannot be justified under the false pretext of advocating freedom of speech. Turkey also slammed the vile attack on Islam’s holy book in the strongest possible terms, saying a planned visit by the Swedish defense minister to the country has been cancelled. Meanwhile, Pakistan said the provocative Islamaophobic act has hurt the feelings of Muslims around the world. Kuwait also dismissed the blasphemous move as a serious provocation, urging the international community to work towards stopping such moves. And Saudi Arabia called for dialog, tolerance and coexistence while rejecting hatred and extremism. The United Arab Emirates said the profane move would undermine security and stability and was in violation of human values. Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt also condemned the move. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation slammed it as a provocative act insulting Islamic values.

Call for French withdrawal

Burkina Faso has called for the immediate withdrawal of French troops from the African country. Burkina Faso’s military rulers denounced an accord, which allowed the presence of French armed forces since 2018, telling France to leave the country within a month. On Friday, people also thronged the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou, to demand the French ambassador leave the country. Burkina Faso’s former colonizer maintains some 400 special forces there under the pretext of protecting civilians from extremist militants. People, however, believe France has failed to properly tackle armed groups and its military presence has even deteriorated the security situation in the country. 

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