Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, and that Hamid Bouvard, CEO of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, will take over as acting minister.
Mehdi Tabatabai, deputy head of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's office for communications affairs, said in a statement to state television that Pakinejad resigned for personal reasons that had existed "for a long time," adding that the president accepted his resignation after the minister's insistence, according to what was reported by Reuters news agency.
Mohsen Paknejad took over the Ministry of Oil in Iran, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in August 2024, and his resignation comes in light of the pressures of the war that has been ongoing between Iran and the United States for seven months on the country’s economy.
The official media quoted an official in the office of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian as saying: “After Dr. Pezeshkian accepted Mohsen Paknejad’s resignation, Hamid Bouvard was appointed acting oil minister.”
Before announcing his resignation, the official media quoted Paknejad as saying: “The revenues from the oil we sold are still continuing, and they will continue, God willing.”
The Israeli authorities decided, on Sunday, to impose a closure on the West Bank and close the crossings leading to the Gaza Strip, next Monday and Wednesday, coinciding with the third anniversary of the attacks on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli Minister of Security, Israel Katz, said in a statement that he approved the army’s recommendation to impose a closure on the fifth and seventh of this month, in light of what he described as an “evaluation of the security situation,” and on the occasion of the commemoration of the events of October 7, 2023.
The decision stipulates the exception of specific cases in the West Bank after obtaining approval from the Coordinator of Israeli Government Activities in the Palestinian Territories, in addition to allowing the passage of essential workers in the health sector and cases related to commitments made by Israel before the Supreme Court, and needs related to the contact zone.
The decision also includes closing the crossings leading to the Gaza Strip during the specified two days. This imposes additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinians through crossing points.
The Israeli statement linked the closure decision to an assessment of the security situation, and on the occasion of commemorating the attacks of October 7, 2023, without referring to a specific security incident behind the decision.
Israel imposes closures on the West Bank on occasions and times that the authorities say require tightening security measures. The restrictions include the movement of Palestinians through barriers and crossings, while allowing exceptions determined by the Israeli authorities.
The scheduled closure this week coincides with the organization of ceremonies in Israel to commemorate the third anniversary of the attacks, including a ceremony scheduled for Monday in Jerusalem for the families of those killed in the attacks and the war.
Responsibility for the failure of “Flydubai”
Meanwhile, the file of the attempted downing of the Flydubai plane, which occurred last week while it was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, has turned into a subject of political controversy, and blaming responsibility for an Israeli “security failure.”
This debate coincided with the approaching Israeli elections scheduled for the end of the month. Hebrew media reported that Israel had previously received a list of the names of the crew and passengers of the Fly Dubai flight. According to security sources, “the bodies in the security institution responsible for monitoring and examining foreign flight crews in Israel, and which were supposed to examine the list, are the Security Department of the Ministry of Transportation and the Mossad.”
According to the security sources, “the two aforementioned agencies are supposed to receive lists of flight crews from abroad coming to Israel, 48 hours before the flight time, and to report any suspicions regarding any of their members.”
The Ministry of Transportation’s Security, Emergency and Cybersecurity Department website stated that among the security department’s tasks is “to determine, develop, adapt and direct security procedures for air transport services to and from Israel, ensuring that they are free of terrorist threats, including conducting security checks for foreign flights that cross or arrive in Israel.”
The General Security Service (Shin Bet) said in this context that it is responsible for the security of Israeli airlines only, in addition to security directives at Ben Gurion Airport, and not for airlines from abroad.
This was consistent with a report published by the Associated Press about what it described as “regional officials,” on Sunday, that “the Emirati authorities had shared with Israel a list of the names of passengers and crew before the start of the (Flydubai) flight,” adding that Tel Aviv had not reported any security observations about the passengers or flight crew.
The UAE Attorney General, Hamad Al Shamsi, announced on Saturday that investigations revealed that the co-pilot of the Fly Dubai plane had attempted to carry out a “terrorist operation.” According to Al Shamsi, “investigations are still underway to uncover all the circumstances of the incident, its motives, and the connections associated with it, in addition to completing technical examinations and examining physical and digital evidence, with the final results being announced as soon as the necessary procedures are completed.”
Netanyahu dedicates the celebrations
Israeli security officials and politicians are seeking to evade responsibility for the “Fly Dubai” incident. While Prime Minister Netanyahu is working to celebrate the passengers' survival "thanks to the Indian pilot and the Israeli passengers," his electoral team sought to promote that the accident proves the importance of his role in Israel's leadership.
The prominent Israeli writer, Ben Caspit, commented in a post on “X”: “Now, we can determine with certainty: there was an oversight here. A major failure. The pilot (...) found himself flying a plane containing 174 Israelis to Israel. This is not the first time. The failure is primarily at the professional level: Mossad, Shin Bet, the Ministry of Transportation, Roman Goffman, David Zinni and other officials in Likud, and Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who appointed them to their positions. In a healthy, normal state, the political leadership would also bear responsibility for such a failure, but not with us. Here, Regev will continue to sniff the air outside, while Netanyahu can continue to take pictures and record films with the surviving heroes, and ignore the fact that they had to save themselves; Because he failed. "He failed for the hundredth time in his duty."
Ben Caspit stated that “Israel went through a similar experience in 2002; At that time, two gunmen from Kenya tried to blow up an Israeli civilian plane with two Strela shoulder-fired missiles after it had taken off. Accordingly, several studies and consultations were conducted, and a series of new laws and procedures were developed, based on the conviction that wherever there are Israelis and aircraft heading to Israel, there is a risk of bombing.”
In 2023, the Israeli Knesset approved a draft law that stipulated the establishment of a center that would pre-screen the lists of names of passengers and crew members arriving to Israel. A unit for examining passenger lists was established within the tax authority, and it is supposed to transmit the information it receives to representatives of the Shin Bet, the police, and the Mossad to examine the lists. In 2024, State Comptroller Netanyahu Eagleman issued a report in which he warned that security measures on Israeli aircraft, on the one hand, and on foreign aircraft flying to Israel, are insufficient to provide security.
In light of all these facts, the government does not bear responsibility, and the media began to accuse Netanyahu and his minister, Regev, but sources close to him accused the security services of negligence - as on October 7 - and evading responsibility, and placing it on the political leadership.
Hebrew media reported that “political sources in Abu Dhabi informed them that the UAE is angry because of the Israeli government’s haste in issuing rulings and its exploitation of the issue in the electoral battle, while it is a huge security issue related to the fight against terrorism, and it requires all interests to prevail and be subject to this interest.”
