Iran, Russia abandoned Assad when he ceased to be of use - NATO chief

The country has experienced an overall rainfall reduction of 31.9% during this period, with the southern provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan and Hormozgan seeing the most dramatic declines at nearly 90% and just over three-quarters, respectively.

Mansour Shishehforoush, the Director General of Crisis Management for Isfahan Province, highlighted the severity of the situation earlier this year.

"Isfahan has a dry and semi-dry climate, and over 80% of its area is experiencing drought conditions," he said in July, noting that water tankers were being used to supply over 300 villages. Isfahan has since recorded a 68% reduction in autumn rainfall.

Despite the alarming trends, some regions have bucked the pattern. South Khorasan and Mazandaran have reported slight increases in rainfall, rising by 1.1% and 14.3%, respectively. These exceptions provide little relief, as other provinces, including Golestan and Gilan in the north, have experienced reductions of 16.6% and 7.8%, exacerbating the broader drought.

Sadegh Ziaeian, head of the National Center for Weather Forecasting and Crisis Management, flagged an additional concern: reduced water inflow into the Caspian Sea from neighboring countries, contributing to a decline in the sea's water level.

The rainfall deficit follows a year of weather extremes, including heavy flooding earlier in central and southeastern regions. These floods caused extensive damage, destroying homes and severing transport routes, highlighting the volatility of Iran's climate and the challenges it poses for crisis management.

Hamas congratulated the Syrian people on achieving their "aspirations for freedom and justice" following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad, the Iran-backed Palestinian group said in a statement on Monday. The remarks marked Hamas’ first public response since rebel forces captured Damascus.

"We stand strongly with the great people of Syria... and respect the will, the independence, and the political choices of the people of Syria," the statement said, adding that Hamas hoped that post-Assad Syria would continue "its historical and pivotal role in supporting the Palestinian people."

Iran’s judiciary chief Ejei warned that the country’s enemies are spreading false information to take advantage of the fallout from Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, saying their goal is to harm public trust and create fear among Iranian citizens.

"Adversaries are seeking to spread poisonous propaganda against the resistance through lies and aim to exploit the resulting environment to undermine the psychological security of our citizens," Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Monday.

"If theft is proven under the conditions set by Islam, the thief's fingers must be amputated," said Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary chief, during a speech at Tehran’s Islamic Azad University on Saturday.

"This is a ruling from God that has been implemented and continues to be implemented, despite the pressure we face from various organizations. The majority of hadd punishments [fixed punishments prescribed under Islamic law] for theft carried out in the past three years have been this ruling."

Hand amputation sentences became a formalized aspect of the Islamic Republic's judicial system following the 1979 revolution. Since then, Iran has long faced criticism for its enforcement of amputations and other corporal punishments which are banned under international law.

Reports suggest that authorities have tried to limit publicity around these punishments in recent years due to international pressure. Despite this, numerous cases have been documented.

On October 13, the state-affiliated Iran daily newspaper reported that eight theft suspects had been indicted and referred to Tehran's Criminal Court, facing potential amputation sentences.

Another case, reported on October 29, saw the amputation of four fingers from two brothers in Urmia prison after they were convicted of theft.

On November 9, Tehran based Etemad reported that two suspects accused of robbing safety deposit boxes at the National Bank were sentenced to hand amputations.

At least 237 individuals in Iran were sentenced to amputation between 1 January 2000 and 24 September 2020, with at least 129 of those sentences carried out, according to Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office.

Shamdasani called on Iran to halt such punishments and comply with its international human rights obligations, urging an end to corporal punishment, including amputations, flogging, and stoning.

Amputation sentences contravene international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran has signed. This treaty explicitly prohibits inhumane or degrading punishments. Human rights advocates argue that these practices violate the principle of human dignity, a cornerstone of international law.

"Iran has carried out amputations for years, and the actual numbers are much higher than what is reported in media outlets like Etemad newspaper, as most cases are not officially announced," Mahmood Amiry Moghadam, director of the Oslo-based rights group, Iran Human Rights, told Iran International.

"This is an inhumane, cruel, and degrading punishment. It is not only in violation of ethical and human principles but also illegal under international laws. It constitutes a serious violation of the conventions that the Islamic Republic of Iran has signed and pledged to uphold. These practices are far from acceptable."

Iran remains one of the few countries in the world to enforce corporal punishments, including amputations for theft and other crimes. The country has not signed the UN Convention Against Torture, despite facing repeated calls from human rights organizations to abolish such practices.

Sentences like flogging, amputations, and even stoning continue to be carried out, underscoring the Islamic Republic's defiance of international human rights standards.

Since 2022, its rights abuses, including the killing of hundreds of protesters by state security forces and often violent crackdowns on women and girls to comply with Islamic dress codes, have seen further sanctions imposed on the country from nations including the US, UK and EU.

"The rapid withdrawal of the army was unexpected. All information had been shared in advance. The Syrian army failed to resist, which was largely psychological—no one believed it would happen," he said.

Araghchi said that joint Iranian intelligence had thoroughly assessed the situation, Iran sharing warnings about opposition movements in Idlib with the Syrian government. However, he stopped short of explaining why Iranian forces, a key Assad ally, did not intervene to counter the rapid developments.

“What was surprising was, first, the Syrian army's inability to confront the situation, and second, the rapid pace of developments,” he added.

Araghchi said that while Tehran had a role in the 2017 Astana process - an initiative to build dialogue with opposition groups co-chaired with Russia and Turkey - direct military intervention was not part of Iran’s responsibilities in spite of the country having helped prop up the Assad government for over a decade.

The foreign minister acknowledged Assad’s own shock, saying, “Even Bashar al-Assad himself was surprised by the performance of his army. It was evident there was no accurate analysis within Syria.”

Araghchi also addressed Iran's frustration with recent developments undermining the Astana agreements. “One of the objectives of Astana was to help the government and opposition engage in dialogue. While we made slow progress in this direction, it did not proceed well because Assad’s government showed little flexibility,” he said, in a rare criticism of the decades-long president.

On Saturday, Araghchi participated in the Astana Meeting in Doha, where he met with the Emir of Qatar and other Arab officials.

For now, the situation remains unclear as to Iran's future role in the country, Iran's Supreme Leader set to address the issue in a speech on Wednesday. Ahmad Naderi, a member of the Iranian parliament, said: “Iran's future approach towards Syria depends on the behavior of those who have taken power in the country.”

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the rapid fall of the Syrian government a sign of the weakening of both Moscow and Tehran, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken linked the collapse to Assad’s refusal to engage politically.