Falih Al Fayyadh was seen with Iran's chief justice. Getty/file
Falih Al Fayyadh was seen with Iran's chief justice. Getty/file
Falih Al Fayyadh was seen with Iran's chief justice. Getty/file
Falih Al Fayyadh was seen with Iran's chief justice. Getty/file

Iran's chief justice given huge reception in Baghdad


Simon Rushton
  • English
  • Arabic

Video emerged of Iranian chief justice, Ebrahim Raisi, being given a huge reception in Baghdad, where he was flanked by Falih Al Fayyadh, leader of the Popular Mobilisation Forces.

Mr Raisi and Mr Al Fayyadh, who is accused of human rights abuses, face sanctions imposed on them by the US.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, said the video was “important optics” for Iranian politics.

The Trump administration blacklisted senior Iranian leaders in Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella group composed mainly of Iran-backed Shiite militias.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the group's chairman, Mr Al Fayyadh, accusing him of human rights offences for his role in quelling protests in Iraq with the support of Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He was part of a “crisis cell” formed in late 2019 to suppress the protests, the US said.

“By directing and supervising the murder of peaceful Iraqi demonstrators, Iran-aligned militants and politicians such as Falih Al Fayyadh have been waging a violent campaign against Iraqi democracy and civil society,” said former Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin.

The film shows Mr Raisi touring the site where the US assassinated top Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani and Iran-aligned PMF leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis at Baghdad airport in January 2020.

The US State Department also listed Abd Al Aziz Malluh Mirjirash, the Popular Mobilisation Forces chief of staff and Iran-allied militia leader, as a “specially designated global terrorist” for his role in undermining security in Iraq.

In the final weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, the US announced new sanctions against Iran’s national oil and tanker companies, which will probably make it harder for President Joe Biden to return to the nuclear deal.

UAE squad v Australia

Rohan Mustafa (C), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Fahad Nawaz, Amjed Gul, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Muhammad Naveed, Amir Hayat, Ghulam Shabir (WK), Qadeer Ahmed, Tahir Latif, Zahoor Khan

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

The line up

Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego  

Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh  

Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com

The%20specs
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

SPECS
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Jawan
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK 

Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV

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Arabian Gulf League fixtures:

Friday:

  • Emirates v Hatta, 5.15pm
  • Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
  • Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, 8.15pm

Saturday:

  • Dibba v Ajman, 5.15pm
  • Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
  • Al Jazira v Al Nasr, 8.15pm
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

RESULT

Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

Fixtures:

Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm

Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm

Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm

MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5