Washington has intercepted and transferred to Kiev thousands of Kalashnikov assault rifles and machine guns, with over half a million rounds of ammunition, as well as grenade launchers and sniper rifles, the US Central Command announced on Tuesday.
The transfer took place on April 4 and included “enough materiel” to equip a single Ukrainian brigade with small arms, CENTCOM said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “The US government transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces,” it wrote. The Pentagon claims that the guns and ammunition were on their way from Iran to the Houthi militia in Yemen, in violation of a UN arms embargo, when they were seized by the US Navy and its allies from several “transiting stateless vessels” off the coast of Yemen between May 2021 and February 2023. In December, the US government “obtained ownership of these munitions” through the civil forfeiture claims by the Justice Department. Civil asset forfeiture is a practice that allows the US government to seize property suspected of being used in criminal activity, and has long been criticized as de facto theft. “US CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means,” it claimed, insisting that Tehran’s “support for armed groups threatens international and regional security.” The announcement came amid uncertainty over further US funding of Ukraine’s war effort. President Joe Biden has been urging Congress for months to approve his aid package which would earmark $60 billion for Ukraine. Many Republicans have opposed the measure, demanding more efforts to strengthen US border security, while seeking more accountability for the aid already transferred to Kiev. The US has provided Ukraine with $113 billion in various forms of assistance since the start of hostilities. Russia has repeatedly condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, saying these will only prolong the conflict, while making the West a direct participant in the hostilities.
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The newspaper’s anonymous sources also attributed a separate incident to Israeli sabotage – an explosion that rocked a chemical factory on the outskirts of Tehran on Thursday, which local officials ruled an accident. The two gas pipelines run for more than 1,000 kilometers and carry around 2 billion cubic feet (57 million cubic meters). The blasts temporarily took out around a sixth of Iran’s daily natural gas production, causing local outages. While Iran has said the damage was minor and the repairs were finished by Wednesday evening, the strikes were a “stark warning” of the kind of damage Israel could inflict, one of the NYT’s sources said. Given the vast distances and varied terrain the pipelines run, and the regular Iranian patrols, inside knowledge of the system would have been needed to carry out the sabotage, an Iranian official told the paper.
Recent strikes by Israel and the US have killed Iranian commanders in Syria and hit ‘Axis of Resistance’ targets in Iraq and Syria. The Axis of Resistance – composed of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen’s Houthis – is an unofficial coalition that opposes US and Israeli influence in the Middle East. While Iran supports the Axis of Resistance, they have categorically denied any involvement with the events of October 7 – when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking another 240 hostage. US forces have begun a new bombing campaign in the Middle East to punish Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups for a series of drone and missile attacks on American military bases in the region.
Washington’s latest airstrikes began around midnight Baghdad time on Saturday and hit more than 85 targets in Syria and Iraq, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. The operation involved “numerous aircraft,” including long-range bombers flown from the US, which dropped over 125 precision munitions on their targets. Those targets included command and control centers, intelligence sites, weapons caches, and supply-chain facilities of Iranian-backed militias, as well as “their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against US and coalition forces,” CENTCOM said. The bombings follow a series of assaults on American military bases in the Middle East, including a drone attack that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 others at secretive US installation in Jordan. That base, called Tower 22, is located near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. The attack on Tower 22 was “planned, resourced and facilitated” by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday. The group consists of multiple militias, including Kataib Hezbollah, which has launched multiple rocket and drone strikes against US forces in the region since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. Media reports in recent days raised concern that Biden was telegraphing his plans and giving the militias too much time to take preparatory steps, such as vacating obvious targets. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin tried to deflect those worries on Friday, denying that the administration was giving Iran too much warning. He said the US response will be “multi-tiered” and insisted that neither he nor Biden would tolerate attacks on American troops. Biden has blamed Iran for supplying the weapons that Islamic militants have used in attacking US forces in the Middle East more than 150 times since the Israel-Hamas war started. He has faced political pressure to respond aggressively, including calls by Republican lawmakers to launch devastating strikes inside Iran. The IRGC’s Quds Force is an elite unit that specializes in guerilla warfare and intelligence-gathering outside Iran. It has sought to drive American forces out of neighboring Iraq since the US invasion in 2003. Israel has ordered a full siege of the Gaza Strip and vowed to obliterate Hamas after its all-out offensive entered the next phase. Palestinian group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, a narrow strip of land, where approximately 2.3 million people live. Despite a complete withdrawal in 2005, Israel controls the maritime, air and land borders in the Gaza Strip to keep strict vigilance on supply of weapons to Hamas in the region. The movement of people in Gaza is tightly controlled by Egypt and Israel with only two border crossings in a 365 sq km area of land. How Hamas Gets Weapons In Gaza?
As seen in the map, the Gaza Strip is surrounded by Israel from two sides and shares a border with Egypt. The Western end faces the Mediterranean Sea, where the Israeli Navy restricts the movement of people only up to 12 nautical miles. Arms smugglers drop weapons on the shore along the Mediterranean Sea, these weapons are then supplied to Hamas. Despite maritime control by the Israeli Navy, the arms suppliers succeeded in supplying weapons to the group. The arms smugglers use tunnels as an alternative route to supply weapons. Gaza shares a border with Egypt and tunnels are built to deliver weapons to the region. The tunnel network is used to send weapons such as Fajr-3, Fajr-5, and M-302 rockets from Iran and Syria. The Fajr-3 is an Iranian-built unguided surface-to-surface artillery rocket. The Fajr-3 has a range of 43 km and is found in the stockpile of Hezbollah - a group that has close ties with Iran and Syria. The Fajr-5 has an extended range of 75 km, with a 90 kg high explosive (HE). Meanwhile, the M-302 rocket or Khaibar-1 is also built by Iran and is a long-range unguided rocket used by Hamas, and reportedly supplied by Hezbollah. In the first wave of attacks on Israel, over 5,000 rockets were fired from Gaza. Over the years, Hamas has developed its crude rocket technology to extend its range and weapons reportedly supplied by Iran, were used to overwhelm Israel's nearly impenetrable Iron Dome air defence system. Iran has backed Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood but has denied any direct involvement in the war and has rejected Israel's claims that they are funding the operation. The US State Department in 2021, said Hamas receives training, funding and weapons from Iran. As per reports, 70 per cent of total funding to Hamas is received from Iran. The Taliban Connection Several reports suggest US-built weapons are being used by Hamas that are supplied from Afghanistan by the Taliban. In 2021, the US ended its operations in Afghanistan and left a stockpile of weapons that were taken by the Taliban after it took control of the country. US Carrier Battle Group In The Mediterranean The US has ordered the movement of warships and aircraft closer to Israel, a move in a show of support for its ally. A Carrier Battle Group led by USS Gerald R Ford and its accompanying warships are moving toward the eastern Mediterranean. Reports suggest the US carrier strike group will help Israel defend the seashore along Gaza to stop the supply of weapons. The United States, a major supplier of arms to Israel, has moved quickly to affirm its backing for Israel after Saturday's surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, vowing "rock solid" support and warning other parties to stay out of the conflict. Iran informed the IAEA that it had expelled “several experienced Agency inspectors,” Grossi said in a statement on Saturday. These inspectors were involved in monitoring Tehran’s compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a 1970 agreement under which signatories without nuclear weapons agreed not to develop them. While Iran is permitted by the NPT to revoke the credentials of inspectors, Grossi called Tehran’s decision “disproportionate and unprecedented.” While Grossi did not state how many inspectors had been barred, he said that the decision affected “about one third of the core group of the Agency’s most experienced inspectors” in Iran.
“This profoundly regrettable decision by Iran is another step in the wrong direction and constitutes an unnecessary blow to an already strained relationship between the IAEA and Iran,” he said. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that it booted the inspectors in response to the Western powers using the IAEA “for their own political purposes.” This statement was an apparent reference to an announcement by France, Germany, and the UK that they would maintain sanctions on Iran over its alleged non-compliance with the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, which offered Tehran limited sanctions relief in exchange for a pause on its uranium enrichment activities. Separately, the US, UK, and 61 other NPT signatories demanded earlier this week that Iran explain the presence of uranium traces at three undeclared nuclear sites. These traces were discovered by IAEA inspectors late last year. A report by the agency stated that some particles had been enriched to 83.3% purity, just below the 90% threshold for nuclear weapons use. Iran has repeatedly denied that it is seeking a nuclear weapon, and insists that its atomic research is strictly peaceful. Saudi Arabia and Iran are among six countries to join BRICS as new members next year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced, on the final day of a summit of the group that considers itself a counterweight to Western powers.The group encompassing five major emerging economies – China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and India – which makes decisions by consensus, agreed on “the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process”, during the three-day annual summit held in Johannesburg this week, Ramaphosa said on Thursday. As part of the first phase, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates will join Saudi Arabia and Iran to become full BRICS members in January 2024. Other phases will follow. “This membership expansion is historic,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping. “The expansion is also a new starting point for BRICS cooperation. It will bring new vigour to the BRICS cooperation mechanism and further strengthen the force for world peace and development.”
A senior adviser to Iran’s president on Thursday welcomed the country’s admission to the grouping. “Permanent membership in the group of global emerging economies is considered a historic development and a strategic success for the foreign policy of the Islamic republic,” Mohammad Jamshidi wrote on X, which was previously known as Twitter. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed what he called “a great moment” for his country. “Ethiopia stands ready to cooperate with all for an inclusive and prosperous global order,” Abiy said on Twitter. The core group of five BRICS countries has been discussing the issue of expansion for more than a year, Ramaphosa said, and the new members were invited this week after an agreement was reached at the summit. The expansion of the group is part of its plan to build dominance and reshape global governance into a “multipolar” world order that puts voices of the Global South at the centre of the world agenda. The inclusion of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran and Egypt marks the first MENA representation in the group, and the inclusion of Argentina was championed by member Brazil. Expansion was pushed heavily by Russia and China, analysts said, as they are facing pushback from Western nations in the form of sanctions. Other BRICS countries were initially more ambivalent, but leaders came out in vocal support of the plan this week. The grouping of emerging economies has been in formal existence for 15 years. Some experts told Al Jazeera that it has not achieved much and the diffuse nature of their political and social interests means BRICS leaders do not always agree on issues. Some say that has prevented them from becoming a more powerful or effective entity. Iran is seeking to create a gas hub in cooperation with the country’s Eurasian trade partners, Oil Minister Javad Owji announced on Wednesday. The move is part of Tehran’s efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and enhance its position on the global energy market.
Iran is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world, selling most of its energy to Asian markets despite the threat of US secondary sanctions. The new project is planned for the Asaluyeh region of the southern Bushehr province. “Having 33 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves and thanks to the cooperation of Turkmenistan, Russia and Qatar, we are trying to become a gas hub,” the minister told reporters, insisting that the conditions were in place to achieve that goal. The statement comes as Tehran has stepped up energy purchases from neighboring Turkmenistan, with the capacity to import between 40 and 50 million cubic meters of gas daily. Iran’s major gas fields are concentrated in the south, necessitating imports from its northern neighbor, particularly in the winter. Iran has also strengthened energy cooperation with Russia, which, according to Owji, could assist in the Islamic Republic’s energy hub ambitions. The two countries have joint investments in exploration and production, technology swap agreements, and a deal to jointly build oil pipelines from Iran to Oman and Pakistan. Last month, Tehran and Moscow sealed two major cooperation agreements and eight memorandums of understanding covering everything from energy and technology to the creation of a joint market. An Iranian football player was reported to face a death sentence for "campaigning for women's rights" in his country, as the FIFPRO World Players' Union on Tuesday asked Tehran to lift his penalty."FIFPRO is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women's rights and basic freedom in his country," the union said on Twitter.
"We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the immediate removal of his punishment," it added. FIFPRO is a global union for professional football players to defend their rights. Iran has been rocked by protests since mid-September after the custodial death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country's morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code. The country has been dealing with protesters in a very hard way to deter them, punishing those who campaigned for women's rights and freedom. Nasr-Azadani, 26, is among them. Iran on Monday executed the second person convicted over the killing of two security personnel in the northeastern city of Mashhad in November amid months-long ongoing protests across the country. Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in public in his hometown Mashhad in the wee hours of Monday on charges of "moharebeh" (waging war against God), judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency said. Last week, Iran executed Mohsen Shikari for "threatening citizens with a cold weapon and injuring a security guard" during protests in the Sattar Khan neighborhood of west Tehran. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Iranian national team refused to sing their national anthem before their match against England to protest Amini's death. Iran were eliminated in the group stage in Qatar 2022 where they played against England, the US, and Wales. Missile strikes on "many" Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv left people dead and wounded on Monday, the country's presidency said, a day after Moscow blamed Ukraine for an explosion on a bridge connecting Crimea to Russia.
"Ukraine is under missile attack. There is information about strikes in many cities of our country," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, said on social media, calling on the population to "stay in shelters." In Kyiv, AFP reporters heard several loud explosions starting at around 8:15 a.m. local time — during Monday morning rush hour. Russia's last strike on Kyiv took place on June 26. One AFP journalist in the city said one of the projectiles landed near a children's playground, and that smoke was rising from a large crater at the impact site. Several trees and benches nearby were charred from the blast, while several ambulances had arrived in the area. "The capital is under Russian terrorists' attack!" Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media, adding that the strikes had hit the city centre. "If there is no urgent need, it is better not to go to the city today. I am also asking the residents of the suburbs about this — do not go to the capital today." Videos posted on social media showed black smoke rising above several areas in the city. "Air raid sirens are not subsiding around Ukraine... Unfortunately there are dead and wounded. Please do not leave the shelters," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, accusing Russia of wanting to "wipe us from the face of the Earth." "Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Let's hold on and be strong." Linda Kim SINGAPORE, September 18 -- Oil prices slipped on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said the kingdom will restore lost oil production by the end of the month. But investors remained cautious about Middle East tension after the United States said it believes the attacks that crippled Saudi Arabian oil facilities last weekend originated in southwestern Iran. Iran has denied involvement in the strikes. Brent crude oil futures fell 15 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to US$64.40 a barrel by 0253 GMT, after tumbling 6.5 per cent the previous session. The contract soared as much as 19.5 per cent on Monday to US$71.95 per barrel, the biggest jump in history after a series of drone attacks on Saudi’s key oil facilities disrupted production. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 35 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to US$58.99 a barrel, after sinking by 5.7 per cent on Tuesday. “The risk of further escalation of conflict in the Middle East remains over the energy market and wild swings will likely resume when we see tit-for-tat responses from a Saudi-US led coordinated effort,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York. “The situation with the oil market will remain tense, but the initial fears of a sustained disruption with world oil supplies have been alleviated in the very short-term.” Saudi Arabia sought to reassure markets after the attack on Saturday halved its oil output, saying on Tuesday that full production would be restored by month’s end. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday that average oil production in September and October would be 9.89 million barrels per day and that the world’s top oil exporter would ensure full oil supply commitments to its customers this month. Saudi Aramco has informed some Asian refiners that it will supply full allocated volumes of crude oil in October, albeit with some changes. Lora Smith The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump has renewed sanctions on Iran after quitting Tehran's deal with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, which promised sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. "Iran's active diplomacy in pursuit of constructive engagement continues," Zarif tweeted. "Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying." The minister departed on a government plane for Iran on Sunday evening. A source at the French presidential office said practical discussions at the G-7 summit led to Zarif's visit to Biarritz, which the United States had acknowledged. Macron is said to have personally contacted Trump.
G-7 leaders shared the view Saturday that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons, but differed in their approach to finding a solution. With U.S.-Iran tensions escalating, France, which has expressed hope the nuclear agreement will survive, has apparently been trying to mediate between Washington and Tehran, foreign affairs experts say. Zarif was already in France, having met with Macron in Paris on Friday. Lora Smith BIARRITZ, August 25 -- Leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized nations shared the view Saturday that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons while still differing in their approaches to finding a resolution to the issue as they kicked off a three-day summit in France. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who visited Iran in June to help diffuse heightened tensions in the Middle East, told the other G-7 leaders in the French coastal city of Biarritz that Tokyo will continue to engage with Tehran on the diplomatic front, a senior Japanese government official said. "The leaders exchanged various views (on issues such as Iran) and efforts were made by each country toward finding common ground," the official said. G-7 members have been jittery over U.S. President Donald Trump's strategy to shake up multilateral arrangements to advance U.S. interests -- notably his withdrawal from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal that has ratcheted up tensions in the Middle East. The big question of whether the G-7 -- made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States plus the European Union -- is an effective forum for tackling global issues still looms large following past clashes between the United States and other members. The leaders also discussed Russia's potential return to the G-7 framework over dinner that lasted nearly three hours, the official said without giving further details. Russia was dropped from the then Group of Eight after its annexation of Crimea in 2014 which it drew sharp international outcry. Despite Trump's push for readmitting Russia, other G-7 members are opposed due to a lack of progress on the Crimea issue. With its unity in doubt, the G-7 leaders are expected to discuss a range of topics in the coming days from the global economy and digitalization to inequality and North Korea. They agreed Saturday on the need to extend assistance over Amazon rainforest fires in Brazil. Trump, who reportedly had reservations about attending the G-7 meeting, said on Twitter that his evening meeting with world leaders went "very well," adding, "Progress being made!" Pete McGee WASHINGTON, August 17 -- The US Federal Court in the District of Columbia has issued an arrest warrant for Iranian oil tanker, the Grace 1, the US Department of Justice announced in a statement. "A seizure warrant and forfeiture complaint were unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that Oil Tanker "Grace 1," all petroleum aboard it and $995,000.00 are subject to forfeiture based on violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), bank fraud statute, and money laundering statute, as well as separately the terrorism forfeiture statute," the statement reads. "The documents allege a scheme to unlawfully access the U.S. financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization," according to the statement from the US Department of Justice. "The scheme involves multiple parties affiliated with the IRGC and furthered by the deceptive voyages of the Grace 1. A network of front companies allegedly laundered millions of dollars in support of such shipments." On July 4, Gibraltar’s authorities detained the Grace 1 oil tanker flying the Panamanian flag on suspicion of carrying oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions. The operation involved British marines. According to Gibraltar’s authorities, there were 28 crew members onboard the vessel, including nationals of India, Pakistan and Ukraine. In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to Tehran. Spain’s Acting Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said that the oil tanker had been detained at the United States’ request. Linda Kim TEHRAN, August 12 -- It's difficult to combat a subject that's so taboo, discussion of it is off-limits. But the silence that has long surrounded sexual harassment and abuse of power in the Iranian workplace is finally being broken. The Information Technology Organisation (ITO), a subsidiary of Iran's ICT Ministry, has become the first Iranian government agency to publish in-house guidelines banning what it refers to as "forbidden conduct" - harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of power. Drawing on international examples, but modified to align with "Iranian and Islamic values", the harassment guidelines cover verbal and physical threats, aggressive behavior, defamation and intimidation, among other offences. Sexual harassment is described by the guidelines as any sexual advance made without consent, while discrimination is defined as "any form of unpleasant, unjust or in-equal behavior" based on race, nationality, religion, gender, age or political tendencies. The section on abuse of power covers all misuses of authority that negatively affect an individual's career. The guidelines were spearheaded by ITO's head of women participation, Meshkat Asadi. "Obviously we're still at the beginning of the road," she said in an interview with the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. "But it seems that serious barriers can come down when thoughts turn into words and those words are put on paper, so there's hope that this could be effective." Asadi's boss, ITO head Amir Nazemy, in an effort to catalyze change within companies that fall with his ministry's remit, used Twitter to call on CEOs of major startups and fintech firms to adopt the guidelines. "As sexual harassment is a taboo [in Iran], preventing it requires special support from executives," he wrote. Several of the largest names in Iran's startup and tech scene have answered the call. Those adopting the guidelines include ride-hailing companies Snapp and Tap30, online buying platform Takhfifan and cloud computing services provider ArvanCloud. ArvanCloud has taken the initiative a step further and established an in-house online platform to give employees the option to report harassing behavior anonymously. ITO officials responsible for the guidelines refused requests for comment. The task of changing workplace culture Some Iranian executives welcome the government effort to curb abuse, and want to build on the guidelines to effect genuine change in the workplace. "Even if we set the right framework, nothing meaningful will happen if we don't work on the cultural aspect and develop a corporate culture that has the capacity to welcome such improvements," Aseyeh Hatami, CEO of recruitment and jobs site IranTalent said. That promises to be a long road, she said, because the absence of initiatives to encourage healthy sexual behaviors in the workplace and in society at large has led to confusion over what constitutes acceptable behavior. "For instance, one of my male employees had asked a female co-worker to go to a coffee shop to discuss a work project, and she perceived that as a breach of her private space and professional etiquette," Hatami said. Reporting abuses of power is difficult even in the most constructively regulated environments. It often invites personal scrutiny and ends up re-victimizing and, in the worst cases, vilifying victims of abuse. The fears associated with reporting abuse and harassment are acute in Iranian workplaces, which are often bereft of resources to deal with these issues. Many small and medium-sized businesses lack robust human resources departments to investigate complaints. Companies that have established support mechanisms reporting and rooting out abuse have done so independently because the law does not require it. While Hatami is pleased that the government has established binding rules, she is concerned about regulatory overreach. "Having regulations is great and necessary, but businesses in Iran, especially fledgling ones, take a hit both from lack of suitable regulations and from hasty laws that go into too much detail and tell executives how to run their businesses," she said. Hatami hopes the ITO guidelines can be gradually refined through community feedback. Educating executives to lead the way Though the reforms are seen by many as an important catalyst, changing attitudes, they say, needs to start at the top of an organisation. "The ITO guidelines are a positive step, but there's much to be done in terms of educating executives and other employees, and organisational structures need to be improved in a way that would support victims," a training specialist at the National Iranian Gas Company said on condition of anonymity. "If guidelines are put in place across the country, I have no doubt that many [people] will undermine [cast doubt on] whether instances of sexual harassment and abuse of power even take place due to the taboo nature of the subject," she said. In its guidelines, the ITO encourages educational initiatives including organisation-wide workshops to educate all employees about forbidden conduct, requiring executives and supervisors to undergo targeted training as a prerequisite for job promotions, and handing out copies of the guidelines to new employees. The guidelines also designate a role for local nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to act as a safety net for victims and for reporting harassment cases. "There is a tendency in companies to sweep such issues under the carpet, which encourages perpetrators," ITO chief Nazemy said in a recent interview. "By involving NGOs, at least an independent pair of eyes will scrutinize such cases". The training expert at the state-run gas company said that the company has received complaints of abuse in the past, which were mostly handled directly by high-level executives rather than the human resources department. "Management usually prefers to resolve complaints peacefully at the personal level through reaching mutual agreements, and acts very strictly in terms of requiring evidence in dealing with serious cases to prevent defamation," she said. The trainer told that in one of those cases, an executive in a provincial branch of the state-run entity was fired from his post after a victim produced video evidence of harassment. The ITO guidelines encourage the resolution of complaints by mutual agreement, including through the involvement of a third-party arbiter. If unsuccessful, the guidelines direct alleged victims to file formal complaints within 90 days of the offence that was committed or the last event in the chain of reported events and present evidence. |
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