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Regional Echoes of the Iranian Uprising

The resilience of the highly disciplined Iranian protesters has not worn, for the fourth week in a row, despite the deadly repression applied by the guards of the Mullah regime. The women-led rallies, which have been sparked by the killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman, at the hands of the morality police for not appropriately donning her headscarf, are now turning into a popular uprising that is hard rocking the entire Islamic Republic.
Exposing the ugly face of the theocratic hardliners is, presumably, the greatest achievement of the ongoing Iranian protests. The youth stand up for restoring their stolen individual freedoms underlines that there is no difference between the Mullah-led regime in Iran and the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan, except the former being a Shiite and the latter being a Sunni. Both regimes are founded on a religious extremist ideology that derives power and legitimacy from systematic discrimination against fragile social groups, particularly women and ethnic minorities.
The diverse layers of Mahsa Amini’s identity as a woman and a Kurd instigated unprecedented regional solidarity with the Iranian protesters, especially in the Levant countries. Kurdish Human rights activists emphasized that Jina and her family were subjected to cruel police treatment mainly because of their ethnicity. The Iranian regime is notorious for practicing systematic discrimination against the Kurdish minority in Iran, as well as in Syria and Iraq.
That explains why the assault on Jina echoed loudly in the Kurdish-controlled regions in Syria and Iraq. In northern Syria, hundreds of women took to the streets to set their headscarves on fire and cut their hair to show solidarity with the suppressed Iranian sisters. In Iraq’s Kurdistan region, dozens of activists gathered outside the United Nations office to protest the tyranny of the Iranian regime and call for justice. ‘Women, life, freedom’ and ‘death to the Mullah regime’ are the slogans chanted the most by Iranian protesters and sympathizers worldwide.
Despite being a minority, the Kurds in Iran are a large population of 15 million citizens, about 17% of the Iranian population. More than 45% of the Iranian Kurds are young people. Most of them are well-educated despite their miserable living circumstances, with limited access to governmental services, in purposefully impoverished cities in northwestern territories close to Iran’s borders with Iraq.
The Kurdish culture favors a secular rather than religious way of living. The Iranian Kurds are among the most politically active groups in Iran. They were among the first social groups to form communist political parties in the 1950s and 1960s. For that reason, the Iranian Mullahs saw them as an existential threat in both political and ideological terms. Since the foundation of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the Kurds have been growing as steadfast political opposition to their religious-based rule. Ruhollah Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader, had publicly instructed the ‘elimination’ of the Kurds because of their Marxist / communist beliefs, which he labeled as a threat to Islam.
While failing to repress the internal protests, which have been growing by a snowball effect, Tehran decided to target the sympathizing Kurds in neighboring Iraq with missiles and drones. On September 29th, as demonstrations entered the twelfth day, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) launched a missile attack on the Kurdish cities of Koya and Qala in northern Iraq (about 60 km eastern Erbil). The unjustifiable Iranian offensive killed seventeen people, including a pregnant woman, and injured 58 civilians.
The IRGC leadership justified the attack by chasing the Kurdish separatists, who have been leaking into Iran to participate in the protests. The IRGC, then, warned that the missile attacks on northern Iraq “will continue with full determination until the threat is effectively repelled.” The Iranian offensive on the Iraqi Kurdistan region is not the first. Tehran has been regularly attacking Kurdish communities in northern Iraq, since 2016, under the claim of chasing terrorists.
A few days later, Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, claimed, in a speech, that the protests are part of a western conspiracy against Iran. The next day, the commander of IRGC’s Land Forces accused Israel of "using anti-Revolutionary Guard bases in the northern region of Iraq to its advantage.” He argued that despite Iran's repeated pleas to the Iraqi central government, no action was taken, leaving Tehran with little choice but to directly shell the Kurdistan area to push against Israel’s growing influence there. He claimed that the recent Iranian attacks struck 40 targets run by Israel and Kurdish separatist groups in northern Iraq.
Blaming the United States, Israel, and the Kurds in neighboring countries is one of the old tricks the Mullahs use whenever they face angry protests at home. The alleged foreign interference in Iranian affairs has succeeded before in demonizing the political opposition, justifying the regime’s suppression of the demonstrators, and keeping ordinary citizens in a state of constant panic from an imaginary external enemy called the West, in a way that directly serves the ruling regime and strengthen its power. However, this deceitful technique is not expected to save the Mullahs, this time, amid this unprecedented street rage.
The current protests are expanding, spatially and politically, beyond the borders of Iran and the perceptions of the Iranians. This special momentum may be the end of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and it may also be the end of the Levant as we know it and the rebirth of a better reality in the most turbulent area in the geography of the Middle East.
BY: Dalia Ziada
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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