Iran’s leaders moved to challenge stability
A lethal helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president and overseas minister on Sunday resulted from “technical failure,” Iranian state information media reported. Right here’s the newest information, and what we all know in regards to the crash.
The deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Overseas Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian have left Iran with out two influential leaders at a very tumultuous political second. However specialists stated they anticipated little change in its overseas or home insurance policies. Iran’s long-simmering shadow warfare with Israel burst out into the open after the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas, and the nations have traded direct assaults in latest months.
The supreme chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated there could be “no disruption” to the federal government’s work. Iran’s first vp, Mohammad Mokhber, would assume the function of appearing president and should arrange elections for a brand new president inside 50 days, Ayatollah Khamenei added. However Raisi’s dying complicates a troublesome seek for the subsequent ruler.
U.S. response: Within the eyes of the Biden administration, Raisi was a brutal tyrant, a sworn enemy and a menace to world peace. However inside hours of affirmation of his dying, the U.S. State Division introduced its “official condolences,” in a fragile diplomatic ritual.
Evaluation: Iran’s subsequent leaders — who’re nearly sure to even be hard-liners — must select whether or not they are going to proceed to function with warning of their confrontations with the U.S.
Arrest warrants looked for Israeli and Hamas leaders
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the Worldwide Legal Court docket, has requested arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel and Hamas, together with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on fees of “warfare crimes and crimes towards humanity.”
The request, in reference to the warfare in Gaza and the Oct. 7 assault on Israel, was a robust rebuke that equates Netanyahu with Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s chief inside Gaza. “Right now we as soon as once more underline that worldwide legislation and the legal guidelines of armed battle apply to all,” Khan stated in his assertion. “No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian chief — nobody — can act with impunity.”
The warrants are largely symbolic. The courtroom’s jurisdiction shouldn’t be acknowledged in Israel or Gaza, and it might be months earlier than judges determine whether or not to situation the warrants. But when they’re issued, the leaders might be arrested in the event that they journey to one of many courtroom’s 124 member nations, which embrace most European nations however not the U.S.
Response: Talking at a celebration of Jewish Heritage Month on the White Home, President Biden condemned the choice of the I.C.C. prosecutor to hunt arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. He additionally rejected the declare being weighed by the separate Worldwide Court docket of Justice that Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza.
An F.B.I. investigation into Russian informants
The F.B.I. reduce ties to a minimum of a handful of informants and issued warnings about dozens of others after an inner evaluation following the 2020 election was prompted by considerations that they have been linked to Russian disinformation, present and former U.S. officers stated.
The evaluation led to the severing of sources at a second when the bureau was asking brokers to supply extra info from and about those self same networks. The episode highlighted how, even in an age of high-tech intelligence gathering and surveillance, human sources proceed to play an vital function in legislation enforcement and nationwide safety.
MORE TOP NEWS
Consideration deficit hyperactivity dysfunction is without doubt one of the commonest psychiatric problems in adults. But there are not any U.S. pointers for diagnosing and treating sufferers past childhood. With out clear guidelines, some suppliers, whereas well-intentioned, are simply “making it up as they go alongside,” specialists stated.
Lives lived: Ivan Boesky, the rogue dealer who impressed the character of Gordon Gekko within the film “Wall Avenue,” died at 87.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
SPORTS NEWS
A season in a day: The 2023-24 Premier League, as instructed from the locations that formed it.
The Briefing: The Athletic discusses three of the most important questions from the weekend’s soccer.
Scott Foster: Certainly one of basketball’s most polarizing figures tells his aspect of the story.
ARTS AND IDEAS
How large is Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift is all over the place. She earned her eighth Billboard No. 1 album this decade for the “The Tortured Poets Division,” and in February, she turned the primary artist to win a fourth Grammy for album of the 12 months.
However how does her success stack up towards that of her friends, like Beyoncé and Drake — in addition to the best artists in pop historical past? The Occasions crunched the numbers.
