Anti-Iranian regime activist Vahid Beheshti said he was inspired to see a show of support for his campaign from inside the country after protesters hung a banner on a Tehran bridge saying “Vahid is our voice”.
The human rights activist, who is a native of Iran, was arrested there twice before escaping to the UK more than 24 years ago.
He has been staging a sit-in protest round the clock for almost a year outside the Foreign Office to call for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be officially listed as a terrorist group.
The banner appeared days after Mr Beheshti returned from a trip to Israel earlier this month where he addressed the Knesset, telling members the populations of both countries needed each other in their fight against Iran’s “terrorist regime”.
He said the “brave people of Iran risked their lives” once again to stage the protest.
He told The National: “[The banner] was hung from one of the bridges in Iran and said ‘Vahid is our voice’ and ‘we stand with Israel’, so they embraced what I said in Israel.”
Mr Beheshti, 46, began his protest outside the Foreign Office last February with a hunger strike, but was forced to call it off after being admitted to hospital in May.
He remains camped outside the building in central London and said attacks on him, both online and in person, have escalated since Hamas launched its assault on Gaza on October 7.
“There are about 40,000 X accounts working against me constantly,” he said.
“The [cyber] attacks have escalated since October 7. Because now I have another crime on top of my crime. My new crime is supporting Israel.
“We have reported a few of them to the counterterrorism police. They arrested a few of them.”
In one of the most serious in-person incidents in mid-October a pro-Palestinian protester taking part in a march threatened to behead him for displaying an Israeli flag at his camp.
“He put his finger on his neck and he said to me 'I am going to cut your neck',” Mr Beheshti said,
When police arrested him they found a big knife in his bag, he said, adding: “There were 120 officers surrounding me to protect me. I was so lucky. I wouldn’t be here talking to you now.”
The incident was one of three attacks he suffered that day.
He said after that the head of the counterterrorism unit in London approached him to persuade him to pause his sit in.
“He came himself here to speak to me and brought all the reasons for me not to be here for four weeks or five weeks,” Mr Beheshti told The National.
“He said then I can come back here. I asked why four weeks? He said for the situation to calm down.
“I said this is a mistake. This is where we are having a problem. It’s not going to calm down. It’s going to escalate. And it has.”
Mr Beheshti said Iran’s attacks on Pakistan and Iraq are part of a strategy to divert attention from the Houthi strikes on Red Sea shipping lanes.
“I am from Iran. It is very hard for people born into freedom here to understand and analyse their culture and the way of thinking. But I know how they act and how they think.
“One of their policies is this: they control crises by creating new crises, to distract the mind of western leaders,” he said.
“This is what they are doing at the moment by attacking Iraq and Pakistan. Their excuse for this is [that] there are some terrorist groups in Iraq and there are some terrorist groups on the border with Pakistan.
“They only do this to deviate the mind from the crisis they are facing in Gaza, in the Red Sea, in the whole region.”
He said the only language the regime understands is “force”.
“This is exactly what Pakistan did. They never expected the quick retaliation of Pakistan. It quietened them down.
“The countries around the region must stop their appeasement policy, which has only made this evil terrorist regime aggressive, day by day.
“I am sorry to say this, I am a human rights activist but we are in a very complicated situation. This regime, this group of people, they only understand force. Nothing else.
“It doesn’t matter what negotiations you go through with them; what peace negotiation, what nuclear negotiation. They have a goal and they’re moving towards that goal.”
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.
RIVER%20SPIRIT
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RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qais Aboud
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Almahroosa, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Sumoud, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Adventurous, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zack%20Snyder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sofia%20Boutella%2C%20Charlie%20Hunnam%2C%20Ed%20Skrein%2C%20Sir%20Anthony%20Hopkins%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
