The announced Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, “has the potential to trigger a regional war” since it “incites public opinion in Arab countries against their leaders”. He states this in an interview with Adnkronos Afifeh Abedi, researcher on foreign policy issues at the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) in Tehranone of the main think tanks of the Islamic Republic, while international calls for the Netanyahu government to desist from launching an attack against Rafah are multiplying.
According to Abedi, Israel’s goal is to “occupy Gaza and transform its social, economic and political structures into Israeli ones.” The operation planned in Rafah is part of “Israel’s ongoing efforts to weaken Hamas and secure access to Gaza”, explains the analyst, according to whom, however, the emergence of “a new dimension of crimes”, such as the discovery of mass graves makes “Washington’s ability to continue to support Israel increasingly difficult”.
As for Iran, he specifies, its demands are always that Israel cease its attacks on Gaza and Rafah, that it withdraw completely from Gaza and that the inhabitants of Gaza return to their homes. “On this basis it will continue to hold regional and international consultations.”
USA, protests in universities: “Violence will weaken Biden”
“American police officers’ violent treatment of students and professors aware of Israel’s crimes, combined with the Biden Administration’s full support for the war in Gaza, will undoubtedly weaken its position in the US presidential elections. The Biden Administration it has also shown significant weakness in addressing other world issues”, says the researcher, commenting on the protests against Israel on American university campuses.
“The growing number of victims of Israeli crimes in Gaza, at least two-thirds of whom are women and children, has alarmed the international community. However, Washington continues to provide full political and military support to Israel. America refuses to accept a solution politics for a ceasefire in Gaza, which angers every awakened conscience”, continues the researcher, who in the last parliamentary elections in Iran ran with the ‘Sade Mellat’ list, supported by moderate reformists.
Italy-Iran: “Tehran wants to strengthen relations”
From a political point of view, “relations between Iran and Italy have been more stable than those between Iran and other European Union countries”, explains Afifeh Abedi, underlining that the Islamic Republic “wants to strengthen relations with Italy” .
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian declared, during a recent meeting with the new Italian ambassador to Iran, Paola Amadei, that he hopes to open “a new chapter in the development of bilateral relations”, recalls Abedi, highlighting how “the sanctions of the United States and the EU against Iran have an impact on bilateral economic relations”.
“Veil? It cannot be imposed on women”
“I believe that the hijab is a customary, cultural and religious issue that cannot be imposed on people”, says the researcher while various sources denounce a further tightening of the so-called ‘moral police’ (Gasht-e Ershad) on the obligation to wear the veil in public. A squeeze that resulted in a campaign on social media with the hashtag ‘War against women’.
Recalling that the Ministry of the Interior has the task of enforcing the obligation and confirming that the Gasht-e Ershad agents have recently resumed operations, the researcher – who ran as a candidate with the ‘Sade’ list in the last parliamentary elections in Iran Mellat’, supported by moderate reformists – pointed out that Iran’s prosecutor general has said he will not prosecute those who violate the hijab law. “However, the implementation of the hijab law is still monitored” under pressure from the “traditional and religious part of society”, underlines Abedi, who says she ran to support greater social freedom for women, the reform of laws favor of women and increasing the percentage of women in power.
“Foreign interference on this social issue has increased the importance of the hijab in Iran – he continues – Iran’s opponents, as well as some American and Western institutions, have made financial investments to remove the hijab from Iran. They use media and special people to advertise against hijab. According to social trends in Iran, there is a division about hijab However, the main problem is that it is a social issue and representatives of various social classes should work for enact laws that protect the interests of all women.”
