— ❗️🇮🇱/🇵🇸 NEW: An Israeli settler has been injured and transported to a hospital as a result of a shooting operation in Nablus, West Bank

IDF soldiers arriving at the scene were fired upon.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇺🇸 NEW: President Donald Trump will host a dinner for the top 220 holders of his $TRUMP cryptocurrency.

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—❗️🇮🇳/🇵🇰 BREAKING: India has suspended the 1960 'Indus Water Treaty' with Pakistan

Additionally, India has closed the Wagha-Attari and the Amritsar-Lahore border crossings with Pakistan.

India has announced it is withdrawing all its diplomatic staff from Islamabad, and has ordered all Pakistani diplomats to leave New Delhi.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇳/🇵🇰 NEW: There is a full-blown Pakistani-Indian war ongoing in Wikipedia, with Indian editors changing many articles, and Pakistani editors changing them too

One Pakistani editor managed to change the main front page of the Indus Water Treaty, stating that the suspension by India is a 'publicity stunt by the Modi govt.' and can lead to 'catastrophic nuclear war'.

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇳/🇵🇰 NEW: India orders all Pakistani nationals with SAARC visas to leave the country within 48 hours

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇷/🇮🇳/🇵🇰 NEW: Iran states it considers India's diplomatic actions against Pakistan to be 'regretful', and that it hopes India will take a 'responsible' position

@Middle_East_Spectator

— Condolences to the believers on the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (عليه السلام) 🤍

—❗️🇮🇳/🇵🇰 NEW: One of two Indian aircraft carriers, the INS Vikrant, has entered the Arabian Sea, presumably heading towards waters near Pakistan

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— ❗️🇮🇱/🇵🇸 NEW: Hebrew media reports a 'difficult security incident' in northern Gaza, where one Israeli soldier was killed and several others were injured due to anti-tank missile and sniper fire.

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇵🇰/🇮🇳 BREAKING: Pakistan announces retaliatory diplomatic measures against India

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced the following:

– Pakistani airspace is closed to all Indian and Indian-operated airlines, effective immediately.

– The Wagah border crossing will be shut down, and ceremonial duties suspended.

– Pakistan suspends all SAARC visas issued to Indian nationals, and all Indians currently in Pakistan with an SAARC visa are instructed to leave within 48 hours.

– The number of diplomats at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad will be reduced to 30, and military attachés have been declared persona non grata.

– Pakistan exercises the right to temporarily suspend all bilateral agreements with India, including the 1972 Simla agreement.

– Pakistan states that any attempt at diverting the waters from rivers in the Indus will be seen as an act of war, and will be responded to by force.

– Pakistan suspends all trade with India.

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— 🇮🇷 Dear subscribers, Middle East Spectator is pleased to announce the following:

Recently, one of the members of our team had the honor to attend a Q&A session with a Member of the Iranian Parliament, Dr. Amirhossein Sabeti, at a gathering in Tehran.

In this session, some important questions were asked, and Middle East Spectator obtained exclusive permission from Dr. Sabeti's office to publish some of the statements and answers on our channel.

We thank Dr. Sabeti, his office, and especially his personal aide, Mr. Nowroozi, for making this possible.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— First, a short introduction: Who is Dr. Amirhossein Sabeti?

Dr. Amirhossein Sabeti is an Iranian member of parliament. He was born in Tehran in 1988, and after persuing humanities in highschool, he excelled in the national entrance exam and was admitted to Tehran University in the Faculty of Law and Political Science in 2006.

During his time at university, he spent his time engaging in political discourse, quickly rising to prominence as an avid debater, gaining a reputation as a leading voice in student activism, eventually becoming the Political Deputy for Tehran University's Student Basij Organization in 2011.

He finished his master's degree in political science, and pursued a PhD, publishing his final thesis noscriptd: 'The Civilizational Challenge between Iran and the U.S., with an Emphasis on the JCPOA', which he successfully defended in 2021.

During this PhD period, Sabeti worked under Dr. Saeed Jalili, Iranian Presidential Candidate and member of the Supreme National Security Council, where he participated in a 'shadow government'; an organization consisting of multiple task forces in governance and policy matters.

He was invited in 2019 to become a political commentator on Iranian National TV, becoming the co-host of the high-profile political talkshow 'Jahanara', produced by IRIB. In this period, Sabeti reached national fame, and became a household name in conservative Iranian circles.

After completing his PhD in 2021, Dr. Sabeti maintained and expanded his presence in the Iranian media sphere, commenting extensively on foreign and domestic policy. His critique of the 2015 Nuclear Deal earned him a reputation as one of its consistent and most informed opponents.

In 2024, Dr. Amirhossein Sabeti ran for election in Iran's parliamentary elections, and became the youngest representative from Tehran to be elected as member of parliament. As member of parliament, he is one of the voices associated closely with Iranian Presidential candidate Dr. Saeed Jalili. Additionally, he serves on several important parliamentary committees.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— ❗️🇮🇷 Question: Why doesn't the parliament impeach President Pezeshkian?

Dr. Amirhossein Sabeti, Member of Parliament for Tehran, answers in detail:

'To impeach someone in Iran, it requires a parliamentary vote to declare political incompetence. According to the constitution, declaring political incompetence of a Minister requires a simply majority, meaning, 50% of parliament or more.

When the Minister of Economy, Mr. Hemmati, was impeached, around 250-260 members of parliament were present, and 182 voted in favor of impeachment, which is more than half, and so the motion was accepted.

However, when impeaching the President, it's different. In that case, it requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority in order to be accepted. The Iranian parliament currently consists of 285 active members, so approximately 200 (190 to be precise) would have to vote in favor of impeachment.

The parliament, contrary to what it may seem, is heavily fragmented, and opinions differ. There are some MPs whose position is clear, like my position and the position of my colleague Dr. Mahmoudi. But there is also 'Mr. Hassan' and 'Mr. Hossein'– meaning we do not exactly know the position of many MPs. And to be frank, there simply won't be a majority to impeach Pezeshkian as of now.

Additionally, even if it was possible, I don't see the impeachment of President Pezeshkian as being in the country's interest currently. Holding elections, changing of government, and changing of the President means 6 months of instability. Don't think that early elections are some kind of achievement: Sure, sometimes things happen, for example when a President is martyred. But generally, a President should serve his term, and if the people demand change, it will be in the next election.'

@Middle_East_Spectator

— ❗️🇮🇷 Question: Why is Iran negotiating with the United States, didn't Imam Khamenei ban it? (1/2)

Dr. Amirhossein Sabeti, Member of Parliament for Tehran, answers:

'Many have been asking this question. Aren't negotiations banned by the Supreme Leader, and are the current talks direct or indirect?

To understand this better, we have to recognize something important: The Islamic Republic of Iran, regardless of who is currently the President, follows a certain principle — and that principle is the people's vote.

For example, before 2013, we had never held direct negotiations at the level of Foreign Ministers with the United States. There were negotiations about Afghanistan and Iraq, but these were low-level talks conducted by experts in their field, not high-ranking political officials.

I will be honest: President Rouhani at the time (a reformist) went to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and haggled with him until he got the permission to enter direct negotiations at the level of Foreign Ministers.

What gave him the backing to do that? Not just the decision of Ayatollah Khamenei. Rouhani basically said, 'I won 18 million votes', and with the support of the people's vote, he went forward and negotiated. And when you think about it, this logic makes sense, he had a national mandate, whether we liked it or not.

I've noticed that sometimes people mistakingly think that the Islamic Republic is like a monarchy, and that we just replaced the Shah's crown with a cleric's turban. But that's not the case. Since the beginning of this political system (the Islamic Republic), elections have been taken seriously. The foundation is that if the people have a certain demand — even if it may not seem beneficial — it must be respected to an extent.

The same applies to the current government. From the beginning, Pezeshkian never came out saying 'I want to resist against the U.S. and neutralize sanctions domestically'. That's not the message he sent. He brought in Javad Zarif, the former Foreign Minister under the reformist Rouhani government, and showed him at his side. This sent a clear message — he wanted to repeat Rouhani's eight years of negotiating and trying to restore relations with the U.S. And some people wanted this, they liked his message and voted for it.

You can't turn around now and ask why people voted for Pezeshkian. People liked him, they voted for him, and that was their right, just like I had the right to vote for someone else (Dr. Saeed Jalili).

That's what elections are, a platform where people are free to choose and have different views (of course within certain boundaries). Some people say: 'They're all the same, Khamenei makes all the decisions'. But honestly, is Pezeshkian the same as Raeesi? Was Raeesi the same ad Rouhani? I'm not here to say who was good or bad, but elections have consequences, and we have to accept this reality.

Whether it's about Hijab, relations with America, or the economy — whatever it may be, the slogan that wins will move forward, and the slogan that loses will be pushed back for a few years. In the last election, 50% of people didn't vote. Now they can look and see that their lack of voting made a difference (and perhaps they'll vote next time).

The point is: You cannot just demand snap-elections every time the President does not fulfill your expectations. Stability matters.

Regarding the negotiations, the Supreme Leader had made his opinion clear multiple times. He said negotiations are neither honorable nor wise. Let's be honest: If people want to repeat this same mistake 100 times, then let them repeat it 100 times until they understand it, that's how they learn.'

@Middle_East_Spectator