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Top Iranian Cmdr. in Iraq, meets counterpart, defense, interior ministers

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Major General Mohammad Bagheri

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran affirmed Tehran’s commitment to safeguarding Iraq’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty against potential threats.

General Bagheri highlighted Iraq’s progress toward stability and development, emphasizing the invaluable legacy left by the martyrs Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mehdi Al-Muhandis for both nations. The two top Iranian and Iraqi anti-terror icons were assassinated in a US drone attack near Baghdad in 2020.

Moreover, Bagheri emphasized the potential for collaboration between Iran and Iraq in sharing their successful experiences combating terrorism.

The Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army expressed gratitude for the Islamic Republic’s sincere collaboration in countering ISIS and honored the memory of Martyr Soleimani, underlining the significance of the strategic partnership in combating terrorism and fostering regional stability.

Bagheri also met with the Iraqi defense minister.

The focus of the meeting revolved around the significance of aligned views on critical regional and international issues, particularly regarding the Gaza conflict and the Palestinian cause, showcasing the close positions of both nations.

Bagheri emphasized the amplified importance of defense and security relations between the two countries, stressing that despite various available fields and capacities, the collaboration between their armed forces remains underutilized.

The Iranian commander further met with Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, the Iraqi Prime Minister where the two sides discussed efforts to ensure border security and disarm terrorist elements.

Bagheri highlighted existing evidence and concerns regarding the presence of certain terrorist elements along the borders.

He stressed the importance of the Iraqi government’s continuous actions until complete disarmament and elimination of these groups from the region.

NATO should be ready for bad news from Ukraine: Chief

By
IFP Media Wire
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Russia Ukraine War

“We should also be prepared for bad news,” he said, when asked if he feared that the situation in Ukraine would worsen in the future.

“Wars develop in phases. But we have to support Ukraine in both good and bad times.”

It is crucial to boost ammunition production, Stoltenberg added, conceding that NATO countries were unable to meet the increased demand for them. He said Ukraine is now in a “critical situation,” but declined to recommend what Kiev should do.

“I will leave it to the Ukrainians and military commanders to make these difficult operational decisions,” Stoltenberg stated.

He also commented on challenges faced by European defense industry.

“One of the issues we should address is the fragmentation of the European defense industry,” he continued.

The NATO chief said it’s in the interest of Europe and is good for jobs in the industry. He said it is important not to allow ammunition prices to rise now that demand has climbed.

Stoltenberg added there had been no significant developments on the battlefield over the past few months. He declined to share an outlook for what could happen next.

“Wars are inherently unpredictable,” the official said, adding, “But we know that the more we support Ukraine, the faster the war will end.”

Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Stoltenberg warned that “Russia has amassed a large missile stockpile ahead of winter, and we see new attempts to strike Ukraine’s power grid and energy infrastructure.”

Two days prior, he told reporters that “we should never underestimate Russia.” NATO’s chief noted that Moscow had set its “defense industry on a war footing,” making it “hard to achieve the territorial gains we hope for.”

However, he stopped short of characterizing the current situation as a “stalemate” – a description used by the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Valery Zaluzhny, in early November.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s latest estimates, Kiev’s counteroffensive, which began in early June, has resulted in over 125,000 casualties for the Ukrainian side as of December 1.

Israel seeking to ‘separate’ West Bank and Gaza: Palestinian Authority

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has warned of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to solidify the separation between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, undermining the opportunity to embody the Palestinian State on the ground.

Tensions have been high across the West Bank since fighting broke out Oct. 7 between Palestinian groups and Israel in Gaza.

At least 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank in 50 days. Nearly 3,500 have been detained.

According to the findings of a survey, a significant majority of Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip say that they don’t envision a future where they can coexist peacefully alongside Israel.

The densely-populated Gaza enclave has been subjected to an unprecedented bombardment for more than seven weeks as part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to “eliminate Hamas” in response to the group’s cross-border attack on October 7.

But amid signs of an increasing erosion of international support for Israel’s military response, which aid organizations say is worsening an already alarming humanitarian crisis in the besieged strip of land, a large majority of Palestinians have indicated that they will be unable to “forgive” Israel for its actions.

According to a poll of Palestinians conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD), some 90% of respondents believe that “coexistence [with Israel] is increasingly impossible” given the scale of its military action in Gaza.

The poll also found that 98% reported they will “never forget and never forgive” Israel.

Iran forms AI Strategic Council

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Rouhollah Dehghani Firouz Abadi

He said the Council’s primary objective is to coordinate the nation’s resources and infrastructure related to artificial intelligence.

The Vice-President added that a pivotal aim involves establishing a centralized national artificial intelligence center dedicated to advancing infrastructure and services in the country and to facilitate the utilization of artificial intelligence technology nationwide.

He said: “The center will focus on creating integrated AI processing and data service providers, aligning with the country’s needs, and implementing large-scale AI projects.” Firouzabadi said the overarching goal is to position the nation among the top 10 global leaders in artificial intelligence within the coming decade.

Firouzabadi also emphasized the council’s multifaceted missions, highlighting its role in centralizing resources, fostering AI development, and executing strategic initiatives to bolster the country’s standing in the field of artificial intelligence on a global scale.

80% of Gaza’s rescue equipment destroyed in Israeli raids: Report

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

“The equipment and mechanisms belonging to the relief, emergency, and civil defense teams cannot reach disaster and massacre areas,” it said in a statement on Saturday.

It noted that the victims have remained “for days and weeks under the rubble without those crews being able to dig them up, due to the (ongoing) targeting and destruction.”

“The humanitarian situation has reached a catastrophic stage.”

“We hold the occupation and the international community, especially the American administration, represented by President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, fully responsible for the genocidal war that they agreed to and gave the occupation the green light to carry out silently,” added the office.

It demanded the allowance of 1,000 aid trucks into the enclave and relief on z daily basis, including 1 million liters of fuel that is needed daily.

The death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has soared to 15,207 since the outbreak of the conflict, after a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, the Gaza Ministry of Health confirmed Saturday.

The Israeli army resumed bombing the Gaza Strip early Friday after declaring an end to a week-long humanitarian pause.

Two South African white lions housed in Tehran zoo

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
South African white lions

Images released show the two felines are in full health.

The white lion is a special, rare and protected species of the cat family kept in South Africa’s Timbavati Private Nature Reserve only.

Ex-Pakistan PM’s party picks new head before election

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Imran Khan

One of Khan’s lawyers was elected on Saturday as chairman of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, allowing it to take part in the national vote scheduled for February 8.

Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was nominated by Imran Khan himself to be the new chairman of the PTI, which the 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician founded in 1996. The two are not related.

The party’s chief election commissioner, Niazullah Niazi, said Gohar was elected unopposed.

The change was forced on the party after the Election Commission of Pakistan warned the PTI last month that it risked losing its emblem – a cricket bat – unless an internal ballot was held for party officers.

Election symbols are crucial in a country where the adult literacy rate is 58 percent, according to World Bank data.

After his election, the PTI’s new leader told party supporters in the northern city of Peshawar, where the election results were announced, that he would remain a loyal representative of Imran Khan.

“I will step down once the conviction of Imran Khan is overturned,” he stated.

Another of Khan’s lawyers, barrister Ali Zafar, added choosing Gohar Ali Khan as a replacement was just a “babysitting” arrangement for the party.

Imran Khan has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was removed as prime minister in April 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence. He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.

Despite securing bail in that case, he remains in jail for another trial in an official secrets case along with his party’s vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Imran Khan has denied all the charges against him, as has Qureshi, a former foreign minister.

Imran Khan has depicted his removal as part of a campaign against him by then-Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the United States and the Pakistani military – a claim all three deny.

Report: Around 6,400 people died of air pollution in Tehran in 12 months

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Air Pollution

“Based on a report by … Parliament, some 6,398 people lost their lives in Tehran due to air pollution in the Iranian calendar year 1400 (ending March 2022),” announced the Environment Committee of the Tehran City Council on Sunday.

The comment comes as councilor Soudeh Nadjafi had said earlier that burning Mazut in Tehran was the root cause of air pollution in the metropolis, a claim denied by officials later on.

In the second half of the year during cold season, air pollution levels skyrocket in Tehran and other major cities, like Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz and Kermanshah, forcing the closure of schools every now and then.

Many slam the officials over such decisions saying the closure of schools is not a remedy to the deadly air pollution.

The inversion phenomenon, exhaust fumes and smoke from factories on the outskirts all contribute to high smog levels in megacities like Tehran.

Iranian trade firm embroiled in $3bn fraud case on tea imports, said to be the largest embezzlement case

By
Mahdi Arman
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Tea Festival Iran

The investigations by the General Inspection Organization of Iran show the total amount of foreign currency the company received from 2019 to 2022 amounted to $3.37 billion, of which around $1.472 billion was forex for imports allocated to trade firms by the government at an exchange rate considerably lower than the going rate at which the greenback is normally exchanged on the free market.

The said company was to spend the $ 1.472 billion on the import of machinery, and the remaining funds on importing tea.

The surveys by the organization revealed numerous violations during the course of forex transfer and the import of tea.

Finally, the organization filed a lawsuit against the company for failing to deliver on its forex commitments. And the case against government bodies which had provided foreign currency for the firm is to be sent to the Public and Revolution Court of Tehran for certain violations.

The organization said the trade group imported no goods at all in exchange for $1.4 billion of the total forex funds it received.

“Investigations show part of the foreign currency received by the company was sold on the free market at a higher exchange rate,” said the organization.

“In addition to the said amount ($1.4 billion), the deadline for the remaining amount of foreign currency [to be used for imports] is about to end, and the company’s unfulfilled forex commitments for imports could rise to nearly $2 billion,” said the organization.

According to the organization, the said company also committed violations by importing lower quality tea than what was originally planned.

Israelis rally to demand releasing remaining Hamas-held captives in Gaza

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Israel Hamas Hostages

According to reports, some of the released hostages and their relatives joined the rally.

At the rally, the demonstrators raised banners calling on the government to release all Israeli captives held in Gaza, estimated by Israel to be 137 captives.

The rally also witnessed the screening of filmed messages by released captives who urged the Israeli decision-makers to release all Israeli captives held in Gaza.

On Friday morning, the Israeli army resumed its onslaught against Gaza as the belligerent parties failed to renew the humanitarian pause which lasted for seven days.

Under the humanitarian pause deal between Israel and the Hamas group, 81 Israelis, 23 Thai nationals and one a Philipino national were released, in exchange of releasing 240 Palestinians including 71 women and 169 children.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed and 1,000 injured since Friday in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

More than 15,200 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

Around 1,200 Israelis have also been killed, according to official estimates.

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