29/06/2025

WORLD 8 ON SUNDAY JUNE 29, 2025

Iran holds state funeral for slain generals, scientists

German president warns against ignoring international law BERLIN: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned against ignoring violations of international law, including in Germany. “We, in particular, should make the international legal order part of our own identity,” Steinmeier said in the Interview of the Week programme to be broadcast today by radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. His comment came in response to a question about Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement that Germany would not recognise the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with a Merz remark that Israel was doing “the dirty work” of others in attacking Iran to prevent its nuclear armament. The German government could avoid having to turn over Netanyahu to the ICC if the Israeli leader does not visit Germany. Steinmeier did not explicitly advocate for this but said it would be best to avoid being put in a position where Germany would have to hand over an Israeli leader to the court. “This is a plea not to ignore international law but to avoid testing it in this case.” The ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu is based on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza war. But the president emphasised that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons. Steinmeier was Germany’s foreign minister when the nuclear agreement, spearheaded by then-US president Barack Obama, was signed. “Iran was probably never further from obtaining a nuclear bomb than after the conclusion of the 2015 agreement,” he said. Detailed regulations were agreed upon, but they were never tested as Donald Trump, whose first term as president came after Obama, ripped up the agreement and withdrew the US from it. – Bernama Rwanda, DR Congo sign peace agreement WASHINGTON: Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement on Friday in Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerillas. The agreement comes after the M23, a Tutsi rebel force linked to Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma. The deal does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of war but calls for Rwanda to end “defensive measures” it has taken. Rwanda has denied supporting the M23 but has demanded an end to another group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The agreement calls for the “neutralisation” of the FDLR, with Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe saying the “irreversible and verifiable end to state support” to the Hutu militants should be the “first order of business”. His Congolese counterpart, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, highlighted the call for respecting state sovereignty. “It offers a rare chance to turn the page, not just with words but with real change on the ground. Some wounds will heal, but they will never fully disappear,” she said. – AFP

Diplomat condemns Trump comments

TEHRAN: Iran held a state funeral service yesterday for around 60 people, including its military commanders, killed in its war with Israel, after Tehran’s top diplomat condemned Donald Trump’s comments on supreme leader Ali Khamenei as “unacceptable”. The proceedings in Tehran for the nuclear scientists and commanders killed in Israeli strikes began at 8am (12.30pm in Malaysia). Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with other senior government officials and military commanders – including Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards – attended the event. Senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Shamkhani, who was wounded during the war, also took part in the ceremony, using a walking cane, state TV showed. Images also displayed mock-ups of missiles as well as coffins draped in flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders near Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where the march began. A eulogy blared from loudspeakers as the procession set out across the sprawling metropolis towards Azadi (Freedom) Square, 11km away. “Boom boom Tel Aviv,” read one banner, referring to missiles fired at Israel during the conflict in retaliation for its attacks on Iran. Among the dead is Mohammad Bagheri, a major general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the second in-command of the armed forces after the Iranian leader. He will be buried alongside his wife and daughter, a journalist for a media outlet, all killed in an Israeli attack. Nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, also killed in the attacks, will be buried with his wife. Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami, who was killed on the first day of the war, will also be laid to rest after yesterday’s ceremony –

Mourners at the funeral procession in Tehran. – REUTERSPIC

indigenous embroidery, has given the anti-robe rebellion her blessing. “A good judge is not defined by a cap and gown but by their honesty, knowledge and how they apply justice,” she said. Aguilar, like Juarez, is from the southern state of Oaxaca, one of the country’s most culturally rich regions, renowned for for its textiles and handicraft. Several decades ago, politicians began to publicly wear indigenous attire such as shirts adorned with traditional embroidery, according to local artisans. Irma Pineda, an indigenous Zapotec poet and local legislator in Oaxaca, welcomed Aguilar’s stand against robes, but said she hoped for more action than words. – AFP Trump added he had been working in recent days on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran, one of Tehran’s main demands. “But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,” Trump said. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the comments. “If Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Grand Ayatollah Khamenei,” Araghchi said on X. “The Iranian people, who showed the world that the Israeli regime had no choice but to run to ‘daddy’ to avoid being flattened by our missiles, do not take kindly to threats and insults.” The Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least 627 civilians, Tehran’s Health Ministry said. Iran’s attacks on Israel killed 28 people. – AFP

said in an interview to local media. “I’m going to emphasise this change: there is an indigenous person in the court and we will wear the formal attire of the indigenous peoples and communities.” Judicial robes have been used in the highest court by presidential decree since 1941, but the ruling Morena party, which Aguilar is close to, is preparing reforms to allow alternative attire. Aguilar will take office on Sept 1, becoming Mexico’s second chief justice of indigenous origin. The first was Benito Juarez, considered the father of modern Mexico, who briefly headed the top court before becoming president in 1858. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has European roots but is known for wearing which will also honour at least 30 other top commanders. Of the 60 people who are to be laid to rest after the ceremony, four are children and four are women. The United States had carried out strikes on three nuclear sites last weekend, joining Israel’s attacks of Iran’s nuclear programme in the 12 day conflict launched on June 13. Both Israel and Iran claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire, with Iranian leader Khamenei downplaying the US strikes. In a tirade on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Tehran. He also claimed to have known “exactly where Khamenei was, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces ... terminate his life”. “I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death, and he does not have to say, ‘thank you, President Trump!’” the US leader said.

Indigenous Mexican chief judge leads anti-robe rebellion OAXACA: Mexico’s first indigenous Supreme Court chief justice in more than a century is leading a rebellion against judicial robes, which he plans to shun in favour of ancestral clothing.

Hugo Aguilar, a member of the Mixtec indigenous group, was propelled into the key position in June 1 elections – contests that made Mexico the world’s only nation to choose judges by popular vote. The constitutional law specialist was a legal adviser to the Zapatistas in 1994, during negotiations with the government following an armed uprising by the now demobilised guerilla group. He has said Mexico’s native peoples are owed a “a significant debt”, and vowed to wear traditional clothing in court. “I’m proposing not to wear a robe,” he