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Trump executive order guarantees Qatar security after Israeli onslaught

By
IFP Media Wire
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This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows a man looking at smoke billowing after explosions in Doha's capital Qatar on September 9, 2025. An Israeli military official told AFP that the military had carried out air strikes on Doha on September 9 in an operation targeting senior leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Jacqueline PENNEY / AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by JACQUELINE PENNEY/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel announced that the raid targeted Hamas leaders who were in the capital, Doha, discussing a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza under Qatari auspices. It killed several members of the Palestinian group’s team, but not the leaders, as well as a Qatari security officer.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologised to Qatar for the killing of its citizen. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received the apology on Monday in a joint call from Trump and Netanyahu during their meeting at the White House.

In his latest executive order, Trump stated that the US and Qatar are “bound together by close cooperation, shared interests, and the close relationship between our armed forces”.

The US president added that Qatar was “a steadfast ally in pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity” and had supported Washington in mediating regional and global conflicts.

“In recognition of this history, and in light of the continuing threats to the State of Qatar posed by foreign aggression, it is the policy of the United States to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar against external attack,” he said.

“The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure of the state of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” the order says.

After the Israeli strikes in Doha on September 9, Washington tried to repair the damage done to diplomatic relations with Qatar while also showing its continued ironclad support for its ally Israel. The Persian Gulf nation had called Israel’s actions “cowardly and treacherous”.

The true scope of Trump’s pledge remains in question. Typically, legally binding agreements, or treaties, need to receive the approval of the US Senate. However, presidents have entered international agreements without the Senate’s approval. Ultimately, any decision to take military action rests with the president.

Qatar has been a key US military partner over the years, allowing America’s Central Command to have its forward operating base at its vast Al Udeid Air Base. Former US President Joe Biden named Qatar as a major non-NATO ally in 2022, in part due to its help during the US’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

 

EU funnels $4.7 billion to Ukraine in loan backed by Russian funds

By
IFP Media Wire
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Russia Ukraine War

The sum would be used to cover budget needs in defense, social programs, and recovery efforts, the ministry said.

With the latest tranche, the EU has funneled 14 billion euros ($16.4 billion) to Ukraine as part of the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) loans initiative.

The European bloc has pledged to shoulder 18.1 billion euros ($21.2 billion) of the $50 billion loan led by the G7 and aimed at boosting Kyiv’s defense and reconstruction efforts.

Since last year, the G7 members and the EU have channeled $28 billion to Ukraine through the ERA loans.

“Since February 2022, the European Union has been the largest provider of direct budgetary support to Ukraine — 62.5 billion euros ($73.3 billion),” Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko stated in a statement.

“The matter of further utilization of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s needs remains on the agenda in meetings with European partners.”

The G7 members immobilized roughly $300 billion in sovereign Russian assets at the outbreak of the full-scale war, with approximately two-thirds held in the Belgium-based financial institution Euroclear.

While the EU and Belgium have opposed confiscating the assets outright — fearing legal and fiscal pitfalls — European leaders have increasingly called for a more radical approach in using them for Kyiv’s benefit.

 

Israeli army kills 100 Palestinians every day in Gaza: UN

By
IFP Media Wire
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“On average, 100 people are reported killed every day in Gaza due to the Israeli military operation or shootings at the ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ food points. Meanwhile, others die of hunger or lack of medical care.”

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated in a statement on US social media company X.

Israel has killed over 66,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to a famine.

On May 27, Israel launched a separate aid distribution scheme through the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), bypassing the UN and international humanitarian agencies.

Since then, nearly 2,600 people have been killed and 19,000 others injured by Israeli fire while collecting aid at distribution points.

“The growing death toll is fueling a growing indifference,” Lazzarini said, calling for documenting the ongoing Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip.

“The suffering must be heard and attended to,” he added, renewing his call for an immediate ceasefire.

In October 2024, following claims by the Israeli government that some UNRWA staff were allegedly involved in attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel blocked UNRWA operations in the West Bank and Gaza after a Knesset vote.

UNRWA, founded in the aftermath of the 1948 Palestinian Nakba, also known as the Catastrophe, provides aid to approximately 5.9 million Palestinians across five main regions: Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

 

 

Iran govt. introduces stricter regulations on drone operation

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said in a statement on Tuesday that it had launched an online platform for registration of civilian drones.

It added that owners of all types of civilian drones, including those used for agriculture, filming, and surveying purposes, are required to register their devices on the platform and receive ID numbers to display them on the drones.

The statement noted operating any drones without an ID number would be illegal and would lead to judicial punishment for the owners.

The announcement comes after Iran suffered drone attacks by the Israeli regime during a 12-day war in June that left more than a thousand people dead in the country.

Iranian authorities announced at the time that attacks carried out by small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had targeted the homes of military commanders and nuclear scientists.

The new regulations also address concerns raised by Iranian security officials about drones flying over or near sensitive sites in the country.

Most of the privately-owned drones being operated in Iran are used for spraying pesticides in farms or for filming activities.

However, the commercial use of drones in Iran is expected to rise in the coming years as online retailers plan to increase their use for package delivery.

 

Iran’s Constitutional Council approves bill toughening punishment for spying for Mossad

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran Police

Hadi Tahan Nazif, the spokesman for the Constitutional Council, said on Wednesday that the body approved a bill “toughening penalty for spying and collaborating with the Zionist regime and hostile countries on security and national interests,” and another bill for “regulating non-civilian drones.”

According to his remarks, the previously existing laws were ambiguous before being amended by the Parliament.

Nazif added the Constitutional Council, which is responsible for overseeing legislation, found the amendments to be in alignment with the constitution and the Sharia.

The bills were passed by the Iranian Parliament during the 12-day war with Israel in June. The legislation must be signed by President Masoud Pezeshkian to take effect.

On June 13, Israel launched a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression against Iran, triggering a 12-day war that killed at least 1,064 people in the country, including military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.

The United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of international law.

In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.

According to reports, more than 700 spies affiliated with Israel’s spy agency Mossad were arrested across Iran during the 12-day war.

Iran’s security agencies also dismantled numerous underground drone facilities in Tehran and other cities operated by Mossad agents in recent months.

 

Iranian VP: Tehran has no plans on expelling European troika ambassadors

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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British Embassy Iran

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting, Ghaempanah noted that the government acts according to national interests and foreign policy strategies approved by the Supreme National Security Council and the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

Regarding ongoing negotiations, the vice president stressed that Iran only reaches agreements in line with its national interests. “Since the demands of the US and Europe were not aligned with our national interests, there was no obligation to reach an agreement”, he said.

Elsewhere, Ghaempanah said Iran is fully prepared in the event of another war, while voicing hope that such a conflict will not occur.

He added that Iran’s armed forces and government are ready to defend the country’s territorial integrity, and “we have no fear of the enemy”.

Gharmpanah then referred to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s speech at the UN General Assembly. The vice president underlined that the speech conveyed Iran’s dignified stance toward global powers, which was the main goal of the president’s trip to New York.

US reducing military mission in Iraq, citing success in fighting Daesh

By
IFP Media Wire
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US Forces

The U.S. and coalition partners “will reduce its military mission in Iraq,” reflecting the “combined success in fighting Daesh,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.

Washington and Baghdad in September 2024 agreed to sunset the U.S. military-led mission in Iraq, in which a coalition of countries conduct counterterrorism missions against remnants of Daesh.

The U.S. had roughly 2,500 troops in Iraq at the beginning of the year, but they have steadily left some military installations where American forces have been stationed over the past two decades.

Under the deal, the U.S. and its coalition allies would focus on fighting Daesh in Syria — where there are more than 900 American troops — and shift a majority of their personnel to Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Reuters reported.

The total number of U.S. forces in Iraq will be less than 2,000 once the transitions are finished, with most of them in Erbil, an official told the outlet.

The move “marks an effort to transition to a lasting U.S.-Iraq security partnership in accordance with U.S. national interests, the Iraqi Constitution, and the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement,” Parnell stated.

Washington will maintain “close coordination” with Baghdad and coalition partners to ensure a “responsible transition,” he added.

The statement did not give details on the number of troops that have withdrawn since the agreement was first signed or when the drawdown would be finished.

A senior Iraqi security official told The Associated Press that the U.S. began withdrawing its troops weeks ago from Baghdad and from Al-Asad base in western Iraq.

“Only a very small number of advisers remain within the Joint Operations Command,” the official said.

 

Europe not to let Russia ‘sow division and anxiety’: EU chief

By
IFP Media Wire
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Russian Army

“It’s a pattern, and this pattern is coming from Russia,” von der Leyen told reporters on Wednesday as the defence talks kicked off in Copenhagen.

“Russia tries to test us, but Russia also tries to sow division and anxiety in our societies. We will not let this happen”.

Earlier, Denmark announced that Europe needs to step up its response to a “hybrid war” being waged by Russia, after mysterious drone flights and a spate of airspace violations rattled European Union members.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned on Wednesday that the continent is facing the “most difficult and dangerous situation” since the World War II, as she hosted a gathering of fellow EU leaders in Copenhagen.

“I hope that everybody recognises now that there is a hybrid war,” Frederiksen said ahead of the meeting.

“One day it’s Poland, the other day it’s Denmark, and next week it will probably be somewhere else that we see sabotage, or we see drones flying.”

The Danish leader warned: “From a European perspective, there is only one country that is willing to threaten us, and it is Russia — and therefore we need a very strong answer.”

EU leaders will discuss bolstering Europe’s defences and Ukraine’s financial firepower at the summit, taking place under heightened security after unidentified drones shut down Danish airports and flew near military sites in the country.

No culprit has been definitively named but suspicions have pointed at Russia, with Frederiksen again suggesting on Wednesday that Moscow was behind the incidents.

“It is a part of the nature of a hybrid war to do exactly what’s going on in Europe right now,” she told journalists.

The drone incidents in Denmark have sharpened the focus on the chinks in Europe’s defences after high-profile air incursions by Moscow in Poland and Estonia.

EU leaders meeting in the Danish capital are looking to flesh out details for priority projects, including a “drone wall” aimed at countering Russia’s threat.

Frederiksen warned however there was no silver bullet to end all malicious activities by Russia.

“I want us to re-arm. I want us to buy more capabilities. I want us to innovate more,” she continued, adding, “But I don’t think we will ever reach a conclusion where no drones are flying into Europe or no sabotage will be seen.”

Govt. spokesperson says Iranian admin. to ratify counterplan against snapback

By
IFP Media Wire
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Fatemeh Mohajerani

Mohajerani told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the administration and the diplomatic apparatus have made every effort to prevent activation of the snapback mechanism.

She noted that Tehran had already anticipated various scenarios in this regard. “The government had considered all possible scenarios long ago and drafted a plan, which is scheduled to be approved on Sunday,” Mohajerani said.

Outlining the details, she noted that the program will set a new configuration for administrative action, assigning each ministry and institution specific tasks and instructions.

“This approach ensures that the least possible pressure is imposed on the daily lives of the people,” she added.

The snapback mechanism, introduced under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), allows for the automatic reimposition of UN sanctions if a participant claims “significant non-performance” by Iran.

Although the US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, Washington tried to invoke snapback in 2020, a move rejected by most Security Council members. More recently, the EU3 (Britain, France, Germany), backed by the US, revived the mechanism, a step Tehran has rejected as illegal and politically motivated, stressing that parties failing to honor their own commitments cannot activate the clause.

 

Iran’s FM says US obstruction led to nuclear negotiations failure

By
IFP Media Wire
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Abbas Araghchi

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Araqchi presented a report on his meetings and discussions with European officials and US representatives held before and during his recent trip to New York.

He stressed that all necessary diplomatic efforts and flexibility had been exercised to exhaust every possible avenue for an agreement.

However, Araqchi said, as had been anticipated, the negotiations failed to produce results due to persistent US interference and obstruction.

He had earlier noted that the E3 nations — the UK, France, and Germany — followed Washington’s lead, actively pushing for the reimposition of UN Security Council sanctions (“snapback”) against Iran.

Moreover, a joint resolution proposed by Russia and China to prevent the snapback mechanism did not pass because of US opposition and European support for Washington’s stance.

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