Thursday, December 25, 2025

Middle East

Analyst: Iran won’t outsource right to legitimate defense against Israel

Iran has the legitimate right to retaliate after the Israeli regime violated its territorial integrity and assassinated top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, a senior analyst says.

Israeli PM office accuses defense minister of adopting ‘anti-Israel narrative’ over Gaza war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has accused Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of adopting an "anti-Israel narrative in a damning statement" released on Monday.

Western states call for restraint amid expected Iran response to Israel

Five Western countries have urged Iran and its allies to refrain from anticipated attacks on Israel in retaliation for the regime's recent killings of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah in Tehran and Beirut.

UN says Israel placed nearly 84% of Gaza Strip under evacuation orders

The United Nations has highlighted the extensive nature of the Israeli military’s evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip, saying they cover nearly 84% of the blockaded enclave.

Iran President to UK PM: West support for Israel, encouraging more crimes

Iran's President Massoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said the inaction of the international assemblies towards the unprecedented crimes by the Zionist regime, and also some Western states' support for the regime, have emboldened it to continue its crimes and jeopardize regional and international peace and security.

Iran: US primary promoter of terror in West Asia

Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations Amir-Saeed Iravani has called the United States the primary defender and promoter of terrorism across the region and the world.

One Israeli captive killed, two women ‘seriously wounded’: Hamas

The spokesperson for Hamas's armed wing has claimed that one Israeli hostage was killed by his guard and two women captives were seriously wounded in two separate incidents in Gaza.

Iran says Israel’s terror actions expanded scope of Gaza war

Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a phone call that Israel’s terrorist activities, including raids on war-torn Yemen, Beirut and Tehran have expanded the scope of the Gaza war beyond the occupied territories.

Israeli Air Force suspends travel abroad for its personnel amid regional tensions

The Israeli Air Force has suspended international travel for its personnel, an Israeli military spokesperson stated on Monday.

Iran’s Pezeshkian to European Council chief: US double standards emboldening Israel to commit crimes

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call with the head of the European Council, has stated double standard policies of the US and some European states have emboldened Israel to commit further heinous crimes in the Gaza Strip and across West Asia.

EU says sanctions against Israeli ministers ‘must be on agenda’

Israeli ministers who incite “war crimes” should face EU sanctions, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has stressed.

E3 issues joint statement amid heightened tensions in West Asia

The Leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom have called for de-escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel. Fears are rising that the region could be tipped into a full-blown war following vows by Iran and Hezbollah to avenge the Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran and the Lebanese group's top commander in Beirut.

Pentagon orders submarine to West Asia, carrier strike group to sail faster

United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to West Asia and the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the region.

China says supports Iran in defending its security, national dignity

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has stated Beijing supports Iran in defending its "sovereignty, security and national dignity" amid Tehran’s promise to punish Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital.

Hamas casts doubt on participation in new round of Gaza ceasefire talks

Palestinian group Hamas has asked mediators to present a plan based upon previous talks instead of engaging in the new round of talks for a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, casting doubt on its participation in a Thursday meeting called by the mediators.

Gaza ceasefire deal still possible: Biden

US President Joe Biden has stated he believes a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza war is “still possible” before the end of his Oval Office term in just more than five months.

Hamas says ‘studying’ invitation for ceasefire negotiations

Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha has stated the Palestinian group’s leadership is “studying” the invitation for more ceasefire talks from the US, Qatar and Egypt.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced in southwest Gaza in past few days

More than 75,000 Palestinians have been displaced in southwest Gaza in the past few days, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini stated on Sunday.

500 medical personnel killed since start of Gaza war: Palestinian Health Ministry

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported about 500 healthcare workers have been killed and hundreds of others injured since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 last year.

Several US, coalition military personnel injured in Syria drone attack: Report

Several American and coalition personnel suffered injuries, including smoke inhalation, during a drone attack in northeastern Syria on Friday, a US official told the Reuters news agency.

UN says Israel committing genocide in Gaza using Western arms

The United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine has stated Israel is committing genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip using “US and European weapons”. It comes after the Israeli massacre in a school-turned-shelter in the war-torn Palestinian territory that left at least 100 people dead and dozens more injured.

Biden calls on Iran not to attack Israel, issues ‘Don’t’ warning

US President Joe Biden has once again urged Iran not to attack Israel, as Tehran has vowed a crushing response to the regime's assassination on its soil of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Iran calls on UNSC to invoke Chapter 7 of UN Charter against Israel

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman called on the United Nations Security Council to invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter to curb and stop "unlimited heinous crimes of the Israeli regime."

Hamas official killed in Israel attack in Lebanon

Israel has stepped up its strikes in Lebanon, killing a Hamas official in the coastal city of Sidon, as West Asia continues to anticipate Hezbollah’s retaliation for the assassination of its commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut earlier this month.

UN says 2/3 of Gaza buildings damaged or destroyed during war, social fabric torn apart

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), has stated that two out of every three buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the Israeli war on the strip.

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