Monday, January 19, 2026
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Report: Iran’s President due in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday

Ebrahim Raisi

President Raisi will travel to the Saudi capital Riyadh to participate in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on the latest developments on Palestine, the report on Monday said.

Earlier in the day, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian held talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the phone, and stressed the need for the OIC to hold an urgent summit on the unabated massacre of the Palestinians by the Israeli regime since October 7.

Diplomatic efforts by Muslim states to stop the carnage that has so far left nearly 10,000 people dead and has locked up 2.3 million Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip are still going on.

Iranian, Afghan officials stress on expansion of trade ties

Taliban Delegation in Iran

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, in a meeting on Monday with a delegation representing the caretaker Taliban administration headed by the Afghan acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said the spat between the two countries on Iran’s water share of the Hirmand River has adversely affected bilateral relations in all areas.

“The issue of water has cast a shadow on both countries’ medium- and long-term plans and efforts should be made to resolve this problem,” Vahidi said.

The border security, fighting terrorism, establishing conditions for the return of Afghan refugees to their country, and developing business relations were among the other issues discussed in the meeting.

For his part, the acting deputy premier for economic affairs of the Taliban government, Abdul Ghani Baradar, said the goal of the 30-member Afghan delegation’s visit to Iran is to consult with Iran’s economic officials to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, transit, investment and customs.

Iran, Saudi Arabia urge OIC to hold emergency summit meeting on Gaza

Iran and Saudi FMs Hossein Amir Abdolalhian and Faisal bin Farhan

Amirabdollahian held a telephone conversation with bin Farhan on Monday and discussed the latest developments in Palestine.

They stressed that the OIC should hold an extraordinary summit aimed at reviewing the developments in Palestine, stopping the war crimes against Gaza and the West Bank, and continuously sending in humanitarian aid to the region.

The summit proposed by the Iranian president and the heads of some other Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, will soon be held in Riyadh, as the rotating president and the country which hosts the headquarters of the OIC secretariat.

The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday Israel has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians in a month of relentless bombing in Gaza.

At least 4,100 are children, 2,500 are women and 500 are elderly people, comprising 70 percent of the total death toll.

Nearly 25,000 more people have been wounded, it added.

Israeli minister’s threat of nuking Gaza undermines TPNW: Iran

Nasser Kanaani

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Kanaani denounced the comments by far-right Israeli minister Amichai Eliyahu who has suggested that dropping an atomic bomb on Gaza was a possible option against Hamas.

Such comments must be taken into serious consideration given the ferocious conduct of the Zionist regime, which is in possession of atomic bombs, he added.

Kanaani stated the threatening remarks by the Zionist minister would undermine the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

“We hope the United Nations would appropriately and immediately take care of this issue as a threat to international peace.”

Asked in a radio interview on Sunday whether the Israeli regime should drop an atomic bomb on Gaza, Eliyahu replied that it was an option.

The TPNW, which entered into force on Jan. 22, 2021, bans states-parties from involvement in any nuclear weapons activities, including the use, threat of use, production, development, possession, and stationing of these weapons.

Elsewhere in the presser, Kanaani took a swipe at certain Western states for unleashing “the wild Zionist regime”, saying the self-proclaimed Western advocates of international peace that have been responding to imaginary threats for years have now remained silent on the Israeli threat of use of nukes.

The Zionist regime’s threat to drop an atomic bomb reveals the extent of its humiliation in the face of the Palestinian nation and indicates that Israel has no red lines and has no respect for international law, the Iranian spokesman said.

“This (Israeli) threat shows that the Zionist regime poses a real threat to international peace and security more than ever,” he continued.

Russia says west pushing Middle East towards major war

Gaza War

“Right now, we are witnessing how the Anglo-Saxons are literally pushing the Middle East to the brink of a major war,” he said.

The consequences of this Western approach are evident in Ukraine, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, with the ultimate result being the loss or weakening of statehood in these countries, the top diplomat emphasized.

“Other consequences include a surge in terrorism and extremism, shattered human destinies, broken families and the massive influx of refugees,” Lavrov noted in his speech at the “Znanie” (lit. “Knowledge”) Society event.

“The methods used by the United States and its allies are sowing chaos in various regions of the world, fueling conflicts between countries and peoples, exacerbating inter-religious and inter-ethnic tensions.”

The West has grown accustomed to solving its own problems at the expense of others and exploiting other people’s resources and, contrary to global processes, hopes to rule the world by interfering in the internal affairs of states, Lavrov concluded.

In a recent flare-up, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict reignited on October 7 after a major rocket attack on Israel from Gaza. Subsequently, Hamas infiltrated the southern border areas, attacking military and civilian targets in Israel and taking hostages. In response, Israel launched Operation Swords of Iron in the Gaza Strip, taking control of border settlements, conducting airstrikes, including on civilian targets, and imposing a complete blockade, cutting off supplies of essential goods.

Moscow has called on both sides to cease hostilities. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Middle East crisis can only be resolved on the basis of the United Nations Security Council’s “two-state” formula, which calls for an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.

Death toll among Hezbollah fighters rises to 61 in cross-border clashes with Israel

Hezbollah

Hezbollah has announced one more member had been killed in clashes with Israeli forces on Lebanon’s border with Israel.

The group, however, did not provide any details about the circumstances leading to its member’s death.

At least 61 Hezbollah members have been killed in cross-border clashes since October 8.

Amid the conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israeli troops and Hamas, tension has flared along the border between the Israeli-occupied territories and Lebanon, with exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah and the Israeli regime have been exchanging sporadic fire since October 8, a day after the Zionist regime started bringing the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip under a relentless and indiscriminate war.

The Lebanese resistance movement has announced the group’s “guns and rockets” were with Palestinian fighters, and stressed that it will intensify its attacks against Israel if necessary.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has recently told senior Israeli officials that Hezbollah is “ten times stronger than Hamas”, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster has reported.

President Joe Biden and his aides have advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch pre-emptive strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, The New York Times daily newspaper has reported.

Hezbollah has already fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006, forcing a humiliating retreat upon the Tel Aviv regime’s military in both cases.

The resistance movement has vowed to resolutely defend Lebanon in case of any Israeli-imposed war.

Iran Leader: Muslims should pile up political pressure on Israel, US to stop Gaza massacre

Ayatollah Khamenei and Sudani

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday, where he hailed the Iraqi nation and government’s role in supporting the people of Gaza amid the brutal Israeli airstrikes that started on October 7.

The Leader said the US is “truly and in all fairness” complicit in the Israeli crimes by supporting the occupying regime militarily and politically.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out, “Since the very first days of the Zionist regime’s attacks, all evidence indicated the Americans’ direct involvement in running the war.”

However, the Leader reiterated, “Despite all the killings taking place in Gaza, the Zionist regime has so far been the main loser in this matter, as it has not been able to restore its lost reputation and will not be able to do so in the future.”

He also said Iran and Iraq can cooperate to play an effective role to pressure the US and the Israeli regime into stopping the incessant strikes on the besieged Palestinian enclave where 2.3 million people live.

Meanwhile, al-Sudani highlighted Baghdad’s political efforts to stop the carnage in Gaza, stating that the Iraqi government and nation, as well as the political movements in the country, are at the forefront of supporting the Palestinian people.

The Iraqi premier criticized the international community for its silence in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Al-Sudani said Tehran and Baghdad are making the arrangements to take measures to stop the bombings in Gaza, in the first place, and send food and medical supplies to the people of Gaza, as the next step.

Autumn rain in Tehran

Iran Rain

Iran tourism: Bisheh waterfall lures tourists from across world

Iran Bisheh waterfall

The 48-meter waterfall is located in the towering mountains near the provincial capital Khorramabad in a village with the same name.

It was included in Iran’s natural heritage list by the Cultural Heritage Organization in 2008.

Below you can see some fascinating pictures of the waterfall:

Ukraine’s Zelensky says ‘some countries’ engaged in peace talks with Russia

Volodymyr Zelensky

In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Zelensky was asked to address reports that Western officials had approached Kiev to discuss potential peace talks with Russia. The channel also sought to clarify whether he was personally involved in the process.

Zelensky said that while he had heard “a lot of different voices and emotions and without any contradictions and propositions”, he did not have any contact with Russia, adding that all top US officials and policymakers were well aware of his reluctance to negotiate with Moscow.

The Ukrainian president also stressed that he had not experienced any overt pressure from the West to sit down with his opponent. However, he conceded that “I’m sure that there are some countries [where] on the level of intelligence or advisers of leaders… maybe they speak with Russia. Maybe they think how to manage everything.”

According to Zelensky, however, talks are impossible until Russian troops leave the territory that Ukraine claims as its own. That statement was in line with the Ukrainian leader’s long-touted peace formula, which in addition to the withdrawal of the Russian army also demands the establishment of a tribunal to prosecute Russians for alleged war crimes. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed those proposals as detached from reality.

While the Kremlin maintains it is open to a settlement with Ukraine, Zelensky signed a decree last autumn banning any negotiation with the current leadership after four former Ukrainian regions overwhelmingly voted to join Russia.

However, NBC reported on Saturday that Western officials were holding “delicate” talks with Kiev, probing it on what concessions it might be willing to make to end the conflict.

According to the article, the discussions are being driven by fears that hostilities have “reached a stalemate”, and that Ukraine is “running out of forces.” It comes amid Kiev’s ongoing counteroffensive, which has been underway since June, but has failed to gain any substantial ground. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Ukraine has lost more than 90,000 troops since the start of the push.