The ring of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was discovered on Monday at the helicopter crash site in northern Iran, where he was killed along with other senior Iranian officials. Four years ago, when a similar ring was found on the finger of assassinated Qasem Soleimani, questions arose about the tradition. 

Where did this tradition begin?

 Wearing rings is an ancient Muslim tradition. It is said that the Prophet Muhammad wore at least one ring, if not more. Generally, wearing a ring has been known for thousands of years and is common to almost all cultures, including Jewish and Christian ones.

Are there differences between the sects of Islam?

 Both Sunnis and Shiites wear rings, but each religious sect has different traditions stemming from the conflict between them. For example, Shiites wear a ring on the right hand - because the right side symbolizes the good in the world. In contrast, Sunnis wear it on the left hand and reject this belief. The Shiite belief has roots in Iranian culture, which was heavily influenced by Dualism (belief in both a good god and an evil god, Zoroastrianism). 

Which leaders wear them? 

Today, mainly leaders from the Iranian Axis such as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, Houthi leader Abd al-Malik al-Houthi and others practice wearing such rings.

What are they used for? 

According to Islamic tradition, rings served Muhammad and the caliphs to sign letters and books. The seal was a symbol of the sect. It appears that today, Ayatollah Khamenei wears it as a symbol of his status as the new leader of Islam.

What stories are told about the rings? 

One legend from the Islamic tradition tells of the ring of King Solomon, called Suleiman in Arabic. According to the legend, the ring descended from the heavens with the inscription "There is no other god but Allah" and gave him supernatural powers to subdue jinn (demons from Arab folklore). It should be noted that the Islamic tradition drew heavily from the Jewish tradition and features figures like King David, Moses, and others.

The post From Raisi to Soleimani – the rings of Islamic leaders explained appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Israeli intelligence played a direct role in the US drone attack that killed former commander of Iran's elite Quds Corps Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3, 2020, a new investigative piece by Yahoo News reveals.

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Yahoo interviewed over 15 members of the US defense and security establishment and members of former US President Donald Trump's administration. According to the findings, a joint US-Israel command and communications center was operating out of Tel Aviv to track Soleimani's cellular phone use patterns.

The Yahoo report also claims that Soleimani switched between at least three cellular devices while on the fateful flight from Damascus to Baghdad, after which he was targeted by US drones.

The report also says that Israeli intelligence operatives provided the Americans with the numbers of the cellular phones Soleimani was using, which allowed him to be located in Baghdad after his arrival was confirmed.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not comment on the allegations in the Yahoo report.

According to Yahoo, a squad of Delta Force snipers also took part in the targeted killing of Soleimani. The snipers reported followed the convoy that took Soleimani from the airport in Baghdad to the street, where they opened fire and shot one of the convoy drivers, killing him. After the driver was dead, a hellfire missile fired from a drone hit the car and destroyed it.

In addition, Yahoo reported that the Kurdish independence movement in Iraq helped with the assassination, sending a Kurdish expert to the site of the missile strike to identify Soleimani's remains and take DNA samples. The Kurds apparently managed to retain a sample of his DNA to confirm that the Quds Force leader had been eliminated before the media reports went out.

Kurdish actors also reportedly played another part in the killing, Yahoo said, through an elite force of Peshmerga fighters who disguised themselves as airport baggage handlers, prepared to kill Soleimani if he happened to leave the airport by an unplanned route.

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The post Report: Israel, Kurds helped US plan, execute Soleimani killing appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.