Sunday, January 11, 2026
Home Blog Page 1119

Iran UN envoy: Tehran to use all available mechanisms to ensure accountability for Kerman bombings

Kerman Terror Attack

Amir Saeid Iravani, the Islamic Republic’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations, made the remarks in a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the world body’s Security Council on Wednesday.

Hours earlier, at least 103 people were killed and 211 others injured in two explosions that took place near the burial site of Iran’s former senior anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

Iravani denounced the blasts as “a heinous terrorist act and an appalling crime.”

“This reprehensible act,” the ambassador said, “deliberately targeted innocent people.”

The envoy asserted that comprehensive investigations were underway to identify and apprehend the perpetrators and organizers of this “premeditated crime.”

He reiterated that Iran remained “steadfast” in both the pursuit of justice for the victims and the country’s ongoing fight against terrorism.

UN Maritime Organization calls for enhanced security measures in Red Sea amid rising attacks

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez condemned the recent series of attacks on international vessels claimed by Yemen’s Houthis, emphasizing that such acts disrupt trade and are unacceptable under international law.

“The initial targets were ships with links to Israel, but this doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez highlighted the economic and logistical repercussions of these threats while noting that 18 shipping companies have rerouted around South Africa, adding 10 days to journeys and increasing freight rates.

Dominguez stated the IMO remains committed to monitoring the situation and collaborating with member states, industry partners and naval forces.

A group of countries led by the United States have also warned Yemen’s Houthis of “consequences” unless they stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping vessels.

“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” said the statement released by the White House on Wednesday.

“The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” it added.

The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany and Japan are among the 12 signatories. The only country in the Middle East to sign the statement was Bahrain.

The statement comes after several reports that US President Joe Biden’s administration is considering direct strikes on the rebels if the attacks continue.

The Houthis have announced that their attacks in the busy waterway are an act of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and that they are targeting ships with links to Israel.

The attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes, which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy.

The US has sent an aircraft carrier, the USS Dwight D Eisenhower, to the area and earlier announced a coalition of countries to protect movement in the Red Sea, through which 12 percent of global trade passes.

UN says totally against forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza

Gaza War

“As a principle, we are completely against forced displacement. So that needs to be made very, very clear. The aim really should be for Palestinians to be safe in Gaza, for the civilians to be safe in Gaza,” Florencia Soto Nino, associate spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

Her remarks came after Israeli officials called for the “voluntary evacuation” of Palestinians from Gaza and urged various countries to take in Palestinians from the enclave.

“We’ve been very clear that we’re not advocating, that no one should be advocating for mass displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza, and that they should be safe in their homes,” Nino said.

Every person has the right to be protected from forced displacement from their home or residence, she continued, adding that so far 85% of Gaza’s population has been internally displaced and living in “pretty dire conditions”.

“They have the right to return to their homes.”

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border raid by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,313 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,296 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The forcible transfer of people in Gaza is an “act of genocide”, a UN special rapporteur said on Wednesday, warning other states to not be part of such a move.

“Forcible transfer of Gazan population is an act of genocide especially given the high number of children,” Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, wrote on X.

“Congolese or other states’ officials will be guilty of aiding and abetting genocide if they agree to any transfer of population,” he warned.

UN voices concern over possible escalation after Israeli assassination of top Hamas official in Lebanon

Lebanon Hezbollah

The escalation could lead to “devastating consequences” for people on both sides of the Blue Line, Kandice Ardiel, deputy spokesperson of UNFIL, told Lebanon’s official news agency NNA on Wednesday.

Blue Line is a concrete wall set by the UN in 2000 for the purpose of confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the south of Lebanon.

“We continue to urge all parties to cease firing, and we also appeal to any relevant influential actors to encourage restraint,” she added.

Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Beirut, according to Hamas and Lebanese media.

Amid fears of escalation, border clashes between Israeli soldiers and the Hezbollah group continue since Tel Aviv’s war with Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 7.

Hebozllah leader threatens fighting ‘with no limits’ if war breaks out with Israel

“If the enemy thinks about waging war against Lebanon, then our fighting will be with no ceiling, with no limits, with no rules. And they know what I mean,” Nasrallah said.

“We are not afraid of war. We don’t fear it. We are not hesitant. If we were, we would have stopped at the front,” he added.

“This dangerous crime will not go unanswered and unpunished.”

Nasrallah called Arouri “a brother” and “a grand commander” and stressed his assassination on the Lebanese soil was “a blatant attack” by the Zionist regime.

The Hezbollah leader also said that Israel is hiding the casualties it has suffered in clashes with Hezbollah while describing the operations against the Israeli regime as “effective”.

He added that neither the Israeli regime nor the United States were able to achieve any results from the ongoing aggression against Palestine and their operations across the region.

“The Americans have left the region without achieving a result,” he stated, while referring to reports suggesting that a US navy destroyer had left regional waters in recent days.

The Hezbollah chief stressed Gaza showed the “ugliest” reality about the United States.

“Who is doing the killing in Gaza is the American [administration] and the American decision and the American policy and the American missile and the American bomb,” Nasrallah said.

He added that Washington is preventing stopping the war and becoming isolated in the world.

The Hezbollah chief enumerated steps taken by groups across the region against Israel, but he particularly praised the Houthis for targeting Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea.

“The qualitative, effective, grand step was the defiance in the Red Sea,” he stated.

Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel since early October when the Israeli regime launched a full-scale military campaign against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Hezbollah’s attacks on Israeli targets are aimed at forcing the regime to end the aggression that has left more than 22,000 people dead in Gaza.

General strike held across West Bank over Israel’s assassination of senior Hamas leader

The general strike in the West Bank involves the shuttering of all businesses and services, including shops, banks, commercial facilities and public institutions. Transport has also been disrupted with partial cancellations.

Arouri, the deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau and the chief of the group’s operations in the West Bank, was killed in the Lebanese capital Beirut along with at least six others.

Footage shared on local media showed the burnt-out wreckage of several vehicles in southern Beirut, as crowds gathered nearby after the attack.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion, calling it a “new Israeli crime”.

Following the killing of Arouri, there have also been widespread calls for a demonstration in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Palestinian parties and factions had called for joint action as well as protest rallies against Israel.

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of people came out in the streets of Ramallah, Arouri’s birthplace, to demonstrate and denounce Israel. Many also praised Arouri’s role in resistance against Israel during the protest.

Arouri spent 18 years in Israeli prison before being released in 2010 and deported to Syria.

He then lived relatively freely within Beirut, but he was placed on a US terrorist list in 2015 and had a $5m bounty on his head by Washington.

His assassination on Tuesday is a serious escalation by Israel, both against Hamas’s leadership abroad and Hezbollah.

The Lebanese group has been involved in low-level skirmishes on Lebanon’s southern border, launching periodic strikes against Israeli forces.

Israeli air strikes and shelling have killed more than 100 Hezbollah fighters and nearly two dozen civilians, including children, elderly and several journalists, according to Hezbollah and security sources.

Iranian president: Iran will go after perpetrators of Wednesday bombings in Kerman 

Ebrahim Raisi

He describied the attacks as a desperate attempt as they targeted women and children. The president noted that Iran will go after the perpetrators of the attacks in Kerman and will undoubtedly bring them to justice after identifying the terrorists.

He underlined that the Islamic Republic will stay the course until terrorism is eradicated.  The bomb blasts targeted people during a ceremony marking the 4th anniversary of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani and his companions by the US.

The Iranian president instructed officials to do whatever is necessary to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the acts of terror and to restore law and order following the incident.

Iranian interior minister vows revenge after Kerman deadly bombings 

Kerman Terror Attack

In an apparent reference to the Zionist regime, he said the enemy got slapped by the axis of resistance and now it wants to exact revenge on Iranian children.

Vahidi however urged Iranians to not be worried as the situation in the city of Kerman is normal after the bombings and everything is under control.

The interior minister also said the adversaries of Iran are mistaken if they think they can weaken the Iranian people through such cowardly acts of terrorism.

Vahidi further spoke about the casualties from the bomb blasts in Kerman, saying most of the deaths and injuries were caused by the second explosion.

He said Wednesday’s blasts were the continuation of previous plots that enemies hatched against Iran.

More than 100 people were killed and around 200 more were injured in the blasts.

Iran’s Leader promises powerful response to terrorist attacks in Kerman

Ayatollah Khamenei

In a message, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Cruel criminals must understand that the soldiers of [General Qassem] Soleimani’s path do not tolerate their vileness and crime and they must know that they will be harshly dealt with from now on and a fair punishment awaits them”. “This heinous act will provoke a firm response”, the leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the perpetrators of the bombings in Kerman as the “rogue and murderous enemies of the Iranian people”.

Elsewhere in his message, Ayatollah Khamenei offered condolences to the bereaved families if those killed in the blasts.

He also wished divine mercy on the martyrs and swift recovery for the injured.

More than one hundred people were killed and around 200 wounded in the two terror explosions.

IRGC warns Israel of flared up struggle after assassination of Hamas leader

BEIRUT, LEBANON - JANUARY 2: The Lebanese army surrounding the area near the damaged building that was targeted by an Israeli drone strike on January 2, 2024 in Dahiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Shortly after the blast, Hamas confirmed the death of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of its political bureau and two other officials. An earlier report from Lebanon's National News Agency said four people had died in the blast and alleged it was an Israeli drone strike. (Photo by Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images)

In a statement released on Wednesday, the IRGC strongly condemned the Israeli drone strike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh that resulted in the martyrdom of Arouri and two other leaders of Hamas’ armed wing on Tuesday.

The IRGC described assassination and crime as the fake Israeli regime’s options for making up for the irreparable damages sustained in the October 7 Al-Aqsa Storm operation and evading the quagmire of Gaza.

The statement added that the most recent assassination attack will bring fresh blood into the resistance front, which has tightened the noose around the Zionist regime, and embolden the Palestinian fighters across the occupied territories, specifically in the West Bank, to struggle against the occupiers with steely determination.

It also reminded the Israeli regime that the “strategic patience” of Hezbollah and the resistance front won’t deviate from the orbit of rationality and logic under the influence of the sinister wishes of the Zionist regime and its proponents.

Denouncing the fatal assassination attack as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty, the statement said it revealed that “the continuation of lunacy, barbarism, and passion for belligerency” constitute the Zionist regime’s evil strategy sponsored by the terrorist US government.

The IRGC noted that the Israeli regime’s humiliating defeat in the Al-Aqsa Storm operation won’t be healed with such acts of terror and crime, because the Zionist regime, already brought to its knees, is unable to ruin the calculations of resistance.