The Jewish Home | APRIL 14, 2016
The Week In News
Growing Mistrust Between Saudi Arabia and Iran
The relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia seems to deteriorate more each day. In the latest sign of growing distrust and aggression, the Islamic Republic of Iran has accused the Kingdom of masterminding terror attacks against it by training and funding terror organizations. Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Land Force Commander, Mohammad Packpour, told the press that Iran has recently arrested terrorists that confessed their affiliation with both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “Striving to destabilize Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE train terrorist organizations to carry out attacks in the country,” Packpour argued. Packpour added, “The military preparedness of the Revolutionary Guards has prevented terror attacks from taking place in Iran. We have intelligence about these terror groups and we will foil each move in its beginning.” Packpour also revealed that the Revolutionary Guards will conduct a special maneuver this week in the south-eastern region of the Islamic Republic, an area inhabited mainly by Sunni residents. According to the Iranian commander, the maneuver aims at maintaining the military preparedness of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to confront major security threats, such as terror attacks. Packpour also emphasized the importance of the role performed by the Revolutionary Guards in Syria, stating that “if we do not fight the terrorists in Syria, we will have to fight them on our land.”
Ukrainian PM Quits His Post
Ukraine is hardly a country with a stable political environment. Adding more uncertainty to the country’s future, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, the prime minister, announced his resignation this week. Yatsenyuk, an economist backed by Ukraine’s Western allies, including the United States, came to power two years ago behind the wave of anger that eventually led to the downfall of President Viktor F. Yanukovych. Yatsenyuk and Petro O. Poroshenko, who became president, emerged as the nation’s most prominent political figures. However, the revolution’s leaders soon turned on each other. Balance of power rules are in place to even out the influence of the president and the prime minister. When the two were not agreeing on important issues, Ukraine’s Western allies eventually sided with Poroshenko and pushed Yatsenyuk to aside. Shortly after the prime minister’s emergence as a popular figure, his support largely evaporated because of various scandals and missteps. A political ally, for example, was forced to resign from Parliament after it emerged that he was under investigation for money laundering in Switzerland. Yatsenyuk confronted tremendous challenges as prime minister. Russian annexation of Crimea and military intervention in the east during his tenure were not his only worries. Ukraine required a $40 billion international bailout package because of its financial problems. Both private citizens and fellow politicians often accused him of backroom dealings and shady business ventures and alliances. “He couldn’t abandon the former practice of consulting the oligarchs before making decisions,” Yuri V. Lutsenko, the head of the president’s faction in Parliament, pointed out. President Poroshenko, a chocolate and confectionary magnate
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