Kenya Insights

Tag: Tehran

  • Israel Hits Iran Military Targets In Retaliation For Tehran’s Attacks

    Israel Hits Iran Military Targets In Retaliation For Tehran’s Attacks

    • Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in the capital and nearby military bases.
    • Tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

    (Reuters)—Israel said it struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on Israel earlier this month, the latest attack in the escalating conflict between the heavily armed rivals.

    Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in the capital and at nearby military bases, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

    Before dawn, Israel’s public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed and that the operation was over.

    The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel’s retaliation for a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on October 1, in which around 200 missiles were fired at Israel and one person was killed in the West Bank.

    Tensions between arch rivals Israel and Iran have escalated since Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group based in Gaza, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Hamas has been supported by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, also backed by Iran.

    Fears that Iran and the US would be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel’s intensifying assault on Hezbollah since last month, including airstrikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut and a ground operation, as well as its year-old conflict in the Gaza Strip.

    “In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel – right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” Israel’s military said in a statement.

    The military said later that it had completed its “targeted” attacks against military targets in Iran, adding that its planes had safely returned home.

    Israel has the right and duty to respond to attacks from Tehran and its proxies, which have included missile strikes launched from Iranian soil, the military said.

    Targets did not include energy infrastructure or nuclear facilities, a US official said.

    US President Joe Biden had warned that Washington, Israel’s main backer and supplier of arms, would not support a strike on Tehran’s nuclear sites and has said Israel should consider alternatives to attacking Iran’s oil fields.

    Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned Israel against any attack.

    “Iran reserves the right to respond to any aggression, and there is no doubt that Israel will face a proportional reaction for any action it takes,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday, quoting sources.

    Iranian state TV quoted a military spokesman as saying the explosions heard in Tehran were linked “to air defense systems reacting to efforts by the Zionist regime (Israel) to attack three locations outside the city of Tehran.”

    Videos carried by Iranian media showed air defences continuously firing at apparently incoming projectiles in central Tehran, without saying which sites were coming under attack.

    The semi-official Iranian Fars news agency said several military bases in the west and southwest of Tehran had also been targeted.

    Tasnim said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases that were attacked were not damaged.

    A spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said flights on all routes were cancelled until further notice, state news agency IRNA reported.

    Neighbouring Iraq also suspended flights in all of its airports until further notice, its state news agency said.

    Israel targeted some military sites in Syria’s central and southern parts with airstrikes early on Saturday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. Israel has not confirmed striking Syria.

    Israel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other security officials were closely following the operation at the military’s command and control centre in Tel Aviv.

    Gallant spoke to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shortly after Israel’s response began, a U.S. defence official said.

    The United States was notified by Israel ahead of its strikes on targets in Iran but was not involved in the operation, another US official told Reuters.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in the Middle East for another attempt to broker a peace deal, said on Wednesday Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.

    Even as it sought to convince Israel to calibrate its strikes, the United States moved to reassure its closest ally in the Middle East that it would aid in its defence should Tehran decide to stage a counter-attack.

    This included Biden’s decision to move the U.S. military’s THAAD anti-missile defences to Israel, along with about 100 U.S. soldiers to operate them.

  • Kenya Is Importing A Baby Chimpanzee From Iran

    Kenya Is Importing A Baby Chimpanzee From Iran

    The only baby chimpanzee in Iran is being relocated to a chimpanzee care center in Kenya on Sunday, following months-long campaign over unsuitable conditions at Tehran’s Eram Zoo.

    At a farewell ceremony held on Sunday in the premises of Eram Zoo, the main wildlife center in the Iranian capital, zoo authorities said a decision was made to transfer the four-year-old Baran to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya, which provides refuge to rescued, orphaned or abused young chimps.

    Parviz Qandali, the head of Eram Zoo, said he had contacted several international animal care centers and finally decided to send Baran to Kenya where she will live “in a better environment and among her peers.”

    He said the baby chimp will arrive at her new destination on Monday and authorities there have agreed to provide all “necessary updates” about her condition and growth.

    The decision to relocate the four-year-old female chimpanzee came after months-long campaign by environmental activists in Iran, who were worried over unsuitable conditions at Tehran’s Eram Zoo affecting her health.

    Premature birth

    The circumstances of Baran’s birth in May 2017 had made the already dismal facilities at the Eram Zoo more unsuitable for her.

    Baran, born prematurely, was the first baby chimp over the past two decades to survive at Eram Zoo after a wildlife veterinarian, Imam Memarian, came to her rescue.

    Memarian took her home and assumed full responsibility for her care. For two years, Baran stayed with him, and developed an emotional bond with him, according to zoo workers and activists.

    The bond was broken last year after Zoo authorities filed a lawsuit to bring her back.

    Baby chimps, according to vet experts, must spend at least five years with their mothers, but Baran was deprived of that as her mother showed aggressive behavior toward her, according to zoo workers.

    Upon her return to the Eram Zoo last year, Baran was put in a small cage to protect her from older chimpanzees, which only led to deterioration in her health condition.

    Online campaign

    In August 2020, online campaigns were launched to save the baby chimp, who environmental activists and celebrities feared could die in the zoo. The average life expectancy of a chimpanzee is 40-50 years.

    Apart from poor conditions at the zoo, Baran did not have any other chimps to socialize with, which can potentially lead to death or developmental issues of baby chimps.

    “These highly intelligent, social beings need to live in group, but in Iran there is no suitable group for her,” read one of the petitions in August 2020. “Being alone is the worst nightmare for this social and intelligent animal.”

    Baran’s departure, although sad for many of those who campaigned for her, has brought big cheer.

    “It’s not a happy moment definitely, but it was the right thing under given circumstances,” Samiyeh Fakhri, a wildlife activist, told Anadolu Agency. “We hope Baran will be taken good care of by her own family”.​​​​​​​
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