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Iran’s junior wrestling team ranks first in world championships

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran's junior wrestling team

The world championship junior wrestling competitions was held on July 31-August 2 in Istanbul, and at the end the Iranian team became champion by winning a gold medal by Payam Ahmadi in 48 kg weight category, a silver medal by Ahmadreza Mohammadian in 71 kg weight category, and 2 bronze medals by Alireza Amiri in 45 kg weight and Amirhossein in 110 kg categories.

In the team ranking, Iran became the champion with 113 points, and Azerbaijan with 108 and Georgia with 96 points became second and third, respectively.

President Ebrahim Raisi in a message congratulated the championship of Iran’s junior Greco-Roman wrestling team.

“I congratulate the champion-loving people of Iran on the honor and championship of our country’s national youth wrestling team in the world championships of Turkey and the hoisting of the holy flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” President Raisi said.

He pointed out that undoubtedly, the continuous success of Iranian youth in various international competitions shows the talent and capabilities of the children of this border and region, and it is appropriate to witness their continued success in other sport fields with increased support.

“I am sincerely grateful to all the wrestlers with zeal, coaches and everyone involved in this team and I wish them all more and more success,” the Iranian president added.

Pakistani FM threatens Afghan Taliban with counterterrorism operation

By
IFP Media Wire
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Pakistan Blast
Pakistani investigators inspect at the site of a suicide bomber attack, in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, July 31, 2023.

Bilawal told local media on Wednesday that his country would have the full right under international law to act in self-defense should militants from Afghanistan continue carrying out terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

He pointed to a quantitative increase in terror attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban came into power and noted that the weapons left in Afghanistan by US and NATO forces after their chaotic withdrawal had fallen into the hands of militants.

Bilawal’s warning comes after the extremist ISIS-K group, which is based in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack that rocked the city of Bajaur on Sunday. A suicide bomber detonated explosives at an election campaign rally for a pro-Taliban cleric, killing at least 63 people and injuring nearly 200.

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, there have been a total of 237 terrorist attacks in Pakistan this year, which have claimed the lives of 151 civilians and 329 security personnel.

Despite Islamabad’s frustration, Bilawal stressed that a counterterrorism operation should not be the first option for his government and urged Kabul to adhere to the Doha Accord, under which the Taliban pledged to block militant groups from entering Afghanistan and from attacking other countries from inside its territory.

“If we are repeatedly attacked like this, and there is no appropriate response, we will be forced to do this. But I don’t think it should be amongst the first options for us,” Bilawal added.

The official also stated that Islamabad could consider cooperating with the Taliban on dealing with the militants if Kabul asked for help. He insisted, however, that Pakistan would prefer that Afghanistan’s interim government dealt with the issue on its own.

Bilawal’s warning was echoed by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who claimed militants were finding sanctuaries in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to “undertake concrete measures toward denying their soil be used for transnational terrorism.”

Iranian-made drones used in Russia’s attacks on Ukraine: Zelensky

By
IFP Media Wire
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Volodymyr Zelensky

“There were 37 Shaheds in total during this one night,” he claimed, adding, “Some of them were shot down but only part of them.”

He noted that there were no casualties.

Attracting defense production to Ukraine — such as equipment, artillery and shell production — is among new tasks for Ukrainian diplomats, Zelensky said.

He added that it is important “to expand training missions for Ukrainian warriors” as well as ensure the supply of F-16 combat aircraft and long-range missiles.

Both Iran and Russia have repeatedly denied claims that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to be used in the Ukraine war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in November dismissed media controversy over Iran’s alleged support for Russia in the Ukraine war, adding, however, that Tehran had provided Moscow with a limited number of drones months before the war in Ukraine.

He also assured that Iran will not be indifferent if it is proven that Russia has used Iranian drones in the conflict.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also blasted these reports as bogus and stressed that the Russian army used domestically-made drones.

Taliban urge foreign envoys to resume activity in Afghanistan

By
IFP Media Wire
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Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi

Muttaqi and his delegation met ambassadors and representatives of a number of nations including the UK, the US, Spain, South Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia and Canada in Qatar.

According to Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman of the foreign ministry, Muttaqi briefed the participants in the meeting about the political, economic, security and governance developments in Afghanistan.

“Muttaqi and his delegation provided a detailed response and said that these delegations should be present in Afghanistan and see the realities of Afghanistan from close instead of continuing their work from abroad,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Islamic Emirate’s Qatar- based Political Office in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, stated that the ground realities in Afghanistan and media reports abroad are contrary to each other.

“The world needs to have fact-based assessment and judgment about the country for a realistic approach,” he said.

To this end, Shaheen added, the meetings between Islamic Emirate delegations and the world are “necessary and productive.”

Political analyst Najib Rahman Shamal said that the international community may seek to help the people of Afghanistan by strengthening relations with the current government of Afghanistan.

“Considering the positive results of these negotiations, the world countries might have been ready to help the people of Afghanistan through strengthening relations and engagement with the interim government,” he added.

“The world, particularly the regional countries, have always stressed that there should be an inclusive and legitimate country in Afghanistan but there is yet to be such a thing to happen,” stated Sadeq Shinwari, a military analyst.

US lawmakers cast doubt on continued security coordination with Palestinian Authority

By
IFP Media Wire
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Israel Palestine

The US has trained the PA and encouraged security cooperation between it and Israel through the Office of US Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority since 2005, in the wake of the Second Intifada.

After a trip to the occupied West Bank in July, Republican Senator Rick Scott accused the PA of letting “terrorists” operate in the occupied West Bank and cast doubt on the future of further security coordination.

Asked whether he believed security ties with the PA could continue, he said that he was “always hopeful, but [Palestinian security forces have] to do their job.”

“If [the PA] want[s] to have control over the West Bank, they’ve got to be policing, they can’t let these terrorists [operate] in there that are killing Israeli civilians,” he said. “If they’re not, Israel has no choice but to defend their security and defend their citizens,” he continued.

Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn accused the PA of “not doing anything to stop radicalization”, adding, “their turning a blind eye to the effects of their policies is what’s led to a lot of the radicalization”.

At least 204 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year, including 36 children – a rate of nearly one fatality per day. A total of 167 people have died in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, making 2023 one of the bloodiest years in the occupied Palestinian territories. Another 36 people were killed in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians have killed 25 Israelis in the same period, including six children.

For decades, security assistance to the PA received bipartisan support in Washington as a way to check the influence of groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the US labels terrorist organisations.

Palestinians blame the Palestinian Authority for failing to protect Palestinians from assaults by the Israeli army and settlers in the occupied West Bank.

The comments from Republican lawmakers, however, underline how any support to Palestinians, even those cooperating with Israel, is increasingly coming under pressure, especially within the Republican party. In 2016, the Republican Party dropped support for the two-state solution from its official platform.

The PA, established in 1994 following the Oslo Accords, holds devolved authority over parts of the occupied West Bank and was supposed to mark the first tentative step towards Palestinian sovereignty and negotiations over the creation of an independent state. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 war.

In the years since its creation, however, it has become widely unpopular over its corruption, authoritarianism and security cooperation with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, aged 87 and leading the Palestinian Authority for nearly 20 years, has a severely diminished support base within the Palestinian public.

Although the Joe Biden administration continues to provide rhetorical support for a two-state solution, it has done nothing to rein in Israel’s record-breaking expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank or its increasing use of heavy fire-power against the Palestinians.

In an interview with CNN last month, President Biden said the PA had “lost its credibility, not necessarily because of what Israel’s done, just because it’s just lost its credibility, number one, and, number two, created a vacuum for extremism”.

The Biden administration has also askewed fostering direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians in favour of the Donald Trump administration’s Abraham Accords plan, which backs Arab states normalising ties with Israel in the absence of a permanent resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Meanwhile, the PA’s control over the occupied West Bank is increasingly being called into question. Last month Abbas was greeted with scorn by residents of the Jenin refugee camp he went to survey after an Israeli offensive on the city.

Palestine says ties with US at lowest level as Washington fails to pressure Israel

By
IFP Media Wire
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Joe Biden Mahmoud Abbas

The United States does not want to stop any Israeli plan or project to “save the stalled peace process from the deadlock it has reached due to the continuing Israeli practices against the Palestinians,” said Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Wednesday.

“We do not expect that it (the current U.S. administration) will take any tangible, practical steps to save the peace process, which has fallen into a deep coma,” added Majdalani.

Direct peace talks between Israel and Palestine had stopped in late March 2014 following disputes on Israeli settlements and the Palestinian state border.

Palestine has repeatedly urged the United States to pressure Israel to stop its aggression in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including settlement building and assaults against Palestinian towns and cities in the West Bank. It has also urged the United States to reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem and the offices of the PLO in Washington.

Noting that the United States “is still a partner of the occupation government,” Majdalani stressed, “we cannot rely on the American administration.”

The official also criticized the United States for providing “political and diplomatic cover and protection for Israel in various international organizations” and abusing its veto power in the United Nations Security Council.

3.5-magnitude earthquake registered near Iranian capital

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Earthquake

The temblor hit at a depth of 10 kilometers beneath its epicenter of Hezar Olya Village, in Javadabad, Varamin City.

Varamin is part of the Tehran Province and is located to the southeast of the Iranian metropolitan capital.

Following the quake, Javadabad’s mayor established a crisis taskforce, and put firefighting forces and other rescue personnel on standby.

But the quake caused no human or material damage.

Iran hands over invitation letter to UAE for President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to visit Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Iran’s Ambassador to the UAE Reza Amiri handed over the letter of invitation to the Emirati Minister of State Khalifa Shaheen Almarar at the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, according to the Emirati state news agency, WAM.

Ties between Iran and some of the Sunni Arab countries of the Persian Gulf started to thaw after a seven-year hiatus in March. That began after China mediated a resumption of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian visited the UAE later in June, where he met with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and other officials, discussing issues of bilateral interest.

Iraq’s most prominent Shia cleric urges ‘concerted efforts’ to promote respect among followers of religions

By
IFP Media Wire
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Ayatollah Sistani and Pope

He made the remark in response to a letter from Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, on the second anniversary of the pontiff’s visit to Iraq and his meeting with the top Shia cleric.

Ayatollah Sistani said the Pope’s historic visit to Iraq and their meeting in the Iraqi city of Najaf provided “impetus” for many followers of Islam and Christianity – and other faiths – to show greater tolerance and good coexistence with those who have different religions or beliefs.

Recalling the topics raised in the meeting, the top Shia cleric underlined the importance of concerted efforts to promote a culture of peaceful coexistence and reject violence and hatred.

Ayatollah Sistani also called for the establishment of the values of harmony among people, based on caring for rights and mutual respect among the followers of different religions.

“More needs to be done to defend oppressed people around the world as the tragedies experienced by many people and ethnic and social groups in many places in the east and west of the world, the suppression of fundamental freedoms and the absence of social justice play a role in the emergence of some extremist movements that do not hesitate to attack others with whom they disagree in thought or belief,” he said.

“I find it important that everyone pay more attention to the lifting of these grievances and work to the best of their ability to achieve a decent degree of justice and reassurance in different societies,” he continued, adding, “It would certainly contribute to reducing the manifestations of hatred and violence in general.”

Ayatollah Sistani also placed a premium on the underlying role of faith in God and commitment to the high moral values in overcoming the great challenges that all humanity faces in the new era.

On Tuesday, Pope Francis denounced as “barbaric” the recent Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark, saying such blasphemous moves prevent dialog among nations.

“The story of burning the Holy Quran is really a barbaric act. These cases harm and prevent mature dialog between people,” the Pope wrote in a letter in response to Argentinian Shia scholar Abdul Karim Paz, representative of Argentina’s Islamic foundation, who had condemned the repeated acts of desecrating the holy Muslim book.

The pontiff had already condemned the sacrilegious acts, expressing “anger and disgust” over the moves.

Over the past month, the holy Muslim book has been subject to acts of desecration by extremist elements multiple times in Sweden and Denmark, whose governments have sanctioned and justified such insults as “freedom of expression.”

The sacrilegious acts have ignited the ire of the entire Muslim community across the globe. Several countries have summoned or expelled Swedish and Danish ambassadors.

The Nordic countries have deplored the desecration of the Qur’an but claimed that they cannot prevent it under constitutional laws protecting freedom of speech.

Russia’s rouble falls to more than 16-month low against dollar

By
IFP Media Wire
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Rouble

The rouble was 2% weaker against the dollar at 94.16 , earlier hitting 94.32, its weakest point since March 28, 2022.

It had lost 1.8% to trade at 103.00 versus the euro , also a more than 16-month low, and had shed 1.8% against the yuan to 13.07.

Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was down 2.2% at $83.03 a barrel, sliding back from its strongest since April 17 of $85.99.

A high-rise building in Moscow’s business district that houses three Russian government ministries was struck by a drone for the second time in three days on Tuesday, forcing companies to think about their employees’ safety.

The rouble was also hurt by market uncertainty over whether the finance ministry will this month continue with foreign currency sales to cover shortfalls in Russia’s energy export revenues, or switch to purchases.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters gave no clear consensus. The ministry will inform the market of its monthly interventions plan on Thursday.

“The rise in oil prices, coupled with the weakened rouble, reminds us of prospects for the start of yuan purchases under the budget rule,” said Bank St Petersburg analysts.

Russia resumed foreign currency interventions in January, selling China’s yuan rather than what it terms “unfriendly” Western currencies.

Russian stock indexes were mixed.

The dollar-denominated RTS index (.IRTS) was down 1.5% at 1,040.2 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index (.IMOEX), which in the previous session hit its strongest mark since before Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, was 0.4% higher at 3,106.5 points.

The MOEX is abnormally high, stated Sinara Investment Bank in a note. The index still remains well below the record highs above 4,000 points hit in late 2021, stung by geopolitics.

“Retail investors’ euphoria may continue today both on the back of dividend reinvestment and the weakening rouble. However long-term growth perspectives are in doubt due to growing risks,” Sinara added.

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