Wednesday, December 31, 2025
type here...
Home Blog Page 1371

Iran space agency says its satellite begins monitoring, mapping land use changes

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Iran’s Khayyam satellite

Daliriyan stated on Saturday that the ISA and the Information Technology Organization of Iran (ITO) are exploring legal channels in order to prepare and present the first batch of satellite images to judicial authorities combating land expropriation.

He added a memorandum of understanding has already been signed between ISA and ITO after the latter requested more accurate data and observation of land surface by means of the satellite in order to resolve legal disputes between ordinary citizens and state bodies.

While data are being collected and analyzed under the agreement, the two Iranian organizations are exploring necessary legal channels so as to arrive at favorable goals and provide the first batch of satellite images to help deal with various cases of land grab and monitor land use changes.

“Khayyam satellite is currently taking images from different parts of the country as part of efforts to implement the memorandum of understanding. These images will be utilized in order to address legal challenges of ordinary people and state institutions concerning land use changes,” Daliriyan continued.

“We are ready to offer necessary data to other Iranian state agencies and help them solve their problems in various fields, including environmental monitoring, water resources, soil erosion and land subsidence,” he noted.

Back in August last year, the Khayyam satellite was launched into orbit from the Moscow-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking what Iran called the beginning of “strategic” aerospace cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.

With remote-sensing applications, the satellite will send high-quality pictures four times a day for use in environmental and agricultural research and monitoring of water resources, according to Iran’s Space Organization.

The maps and data will be used for improving agricultural productivity, enhanced monitoring of Iran’s water resources, managing natural disasters, supervising development projects under construction, observing environmental hazards, monitoring mines and relevant excavations, and keeping a close watch on the country’s borders.

Iran’s Space Organization received the first telemetry data sent from the Khayyam satellite hours after the launch.

The satellite was launched at the velocity of 7.6 kilometers per second and was placed into an LEO orbit 500 kilometers above the earth’s surface some 480 seconds after the blast-off.

The Earth observation satellite has been named after legendary Persian polymath Omar Khayyam (May 18, 1048 – December 4, 1131), who is known globally for his epic contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and poetry.

Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries on Iran in recent years, Iran has managed to take giant strides in different fields of science and technology.

Live Update: Russia’s “Special Operation” in Ukraine; Day 501

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Russia Ukraine War

Missile shot down over Russia’s Rostov region: Governor

Russian air defence shot down a Ukrainian missile in the country’s Rostov region, Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram.

“There were no casualties. The debris partially damaged the roofs of several buildings,” Golubev wrote.

Moscow regularly accuses Ukraine of attacks against targets inside Russia. Kyiv has denied the accusations, saying it is fighting a defensive war on its own territory.

Cluster munitions will ‘restore parity’ on battlefield: Zelensky adviser

Adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskky, Mykhailo Podolyak, stated that cluster munitions are “extremely important” for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“They somewhat compensate for our shell deficit and partially restore parity on the battlefield. Given the fact that Russia has been using this type of ammunition in Ukraine for over a year, this is at least fair,” he posted on Twitter.

Death toll rises to nine after Russian shelling of Lyman: Regional official

Nine people have died after Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman on Saturday, according to the head of the Donetsk military administration Pavlo Krylenko.

“Russians killed ten residents of Donetsk region over June 8, including nine people in Lyman and one in Avdiivka. 13 more people have been wounded,” Kyrylenko said in a Telegram update Sunday, the day after the attack.

“In the Donetsk direction, the enemy launched a rocket attack on Avdiivka. Artillery shelling of Krasnohorivka in Mariinka community was recorded,” he added.

Kramatorsk was shelled overnight on Saturday, with three houses and a shop sustaining damage with no casualties.

Ukrainian official appears to claim responsibility for Crimea bridge explosion

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar has made what appears to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for an attack last October on the bridge connecting Russia and occupied Crimea.

Listing 12 Ukrainian achievements since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion 500 days ago, Maliar wrote on Telegram: “273 days ago, [we] launched the first strike on the Crimean bridge to disrupt Russian logistics.”

The Telegram message also mentioned the sinking of the Moskva cruiser (451 days ago) and the liberation of Snake Island (373 days ago).

The attack on the Kerch bridge, which disrupted major transport links between mainland Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula, not only struck a blow against Russia’s military effort in Ukraine but also represented a psychological blow for Moscow and a major propaganda victory for Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials celebrated the blast at the time but did not make a clear claim of responsibility.

It took place the day after Russian leader Vladimir Putin turned 70, and Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov published a video of the bridge in flames alongside a video of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday, Mister President.”

Among other responses, the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook, “Air defense of the Russian Federation, are you sleeping?” alongside a video showing a section of the bridge’s road that had been completely destroyed.

Russia condemns US decision to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has slammed the US decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions.

Zakharova said in a statement on the ministry’s website that cluster bombs are another step aimed at protracting the war without taking into account the cost of civilian lives.

“We are talking about a cynical attempt to prolong the agony of the current Ukrainian authorities, regardless of civilian casualties. Washington is well aware that the ‘promises’ of the Ukronazis to use these weapons of indiscriminate actions ‘carefully and responsibly’ are worthless. Civilians will be under attack,” she warned.

Russian forces make unsuccessful attempts to advance in Lyman sector: Kyiv

The general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has announced in its evening report that Russian forces made unsuccessful attempts to advance in the Lyman sector, as artillery shelling killed at least eight civilians and wounded 13 in the eastern town.

At least 10 towns and villages were shelled, the report said, adding that the Russian troops’ assault attempts had been repelled.

The city of Lyman is a key railway junction in the eastern Donetsk region. It was initially captured by Russian forces but then re-taken by Ukraine’s army in October.

Russia calls US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions an “act of desperation”

The US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions is an inconsequential act that will still fail to defeat Moscow’s forces on the battlefield, Russia’s foreign ministry announced in a statement Saturday.

“The transfer of cluster munitions is an act of desperation and evidence of failure of the highly publicized Ukrainian ‘counteroffensive,'” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

“It will not affect the course of a special military operation,” Zakharova added, using the preferred terminology among Kremlin officials to describe the war in Ukraine.

Zakharova claimed the US decision was “aimed at maximally prolonging the conflict in Ukraine,” but that Russia’s goals for the invasion will still be fully achieved.

Officials with the US Department of Defense have acknowledged that one of the primary reasons they’re providing cluster munitions to Kyiv is that its counteroffensive is “going a little slower than some had hoped.”

The Ukrainian military has so far failed to yield major gains, documenting incremental advances on the front lines during the offensive’s opening stages.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants to be strategic about where he sends troops in order to minimize casualties, especially considering they are making a slog through heavily mined territories and fortified Russian defenses.

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has said the pace of the counteroffensive is not surprising, given those factors.

US President Joe Biden told CNN that he deeply considered the issue of providing the cluster munitions — controversial weapons that are banned by over 100 nations because of the potential risk they pose to civilians. Ultimately, he concluded that the risk of Russia succeeding in its invasion was greater than that of letting Ukraine use the weapons on their own soil, he said.

Report: US seeking to turn India into logistics hub to counter China

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Biden and Modi

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to comprehensive defense and economic partnerships when Modi visited the White House in late June for a summit with Biden.

“The US-India Major Defense Partnership has emerged as a pillar of global peace and security,” the joint statement from the summit reads.

The US will provide India with support to develop infrastructure that will be used to resupply, repair and maintain ships and aircraft.

“We’ll have much more to follow in the near future, but the aim here is to make India a logistics hub for the United States and other partners in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, to reporters in late June.

As part of this effort, the US Navy will sign ship repair agreements with Indian shipyards.

The navy has concluded a Master Ship Repair Agreement with the Larsen & Toubro shipyard near the Indian city of Chennai, according to the White House. The navy is close to finalizing separate deals with two other shipbuilders, based in Mumbai and Goa.

The US military looks to build readiness for quickly handling resupply activities and repairs in the Indo-Pacific region. If the navy has access to more hubs in the region, then vessels and aircraft will waste less time pausing operations for both. The time savings can be allocated to joint exercises with other countries.

“There’s a big gap between the bases the United States sustains in the bilateral hub agreements they have in the Middle East and then the Western Pacific,” stated Jeffrey Payne, assistant professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies.

“So, India fulfills this,” he added.

At present, Japan and Singapore serve as key naval hubs for the US in Asia.

Harry Harris, former commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, hailed the initiative.

“Currently, we operate from Diego Garcia and Western Australia in the Indian Ocean,” he told Nikkei via email, adding, “Securing a maintenance, repair, and logistics hub on the Subcontinent is significant as this would give us much-needed flexibility in the vast Indian Ocean region.”

The Chinese navy has about 355 ships and submarines, making it the world’s largest numerically, according to the 2021 edition of the Pentagon’s annual report on China. If American vessels cannot spend more time at sea, then the US will risk falling behind China in terms of naval capabilities, weakening deterrence.

Because the Indo-Pacific is defined by large stretches of water, many believe that conducting supply activities in the region during emergencies will prove more difficult than similar activities in Europe, with its land routes.

“Are we ready today? Yes, we are,” Rear Adm. Mark Melson, commander of the US Navy’s logistics group stationed in Singapore, told Nikkei in an interview in early June, adding, “But I will never claim to be ready enough.”

“We are certainly trying to improve the amount of access into a number of places where we can conduct expeditionary resupply, expeditionary refuel [and] if required, expeditionary rearm,” Melson continued.

The Biden administration plans to deepen the partnership with India beyond the Indian Ocean in the maritime space. Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, attended an event hosted by a US think tank at the end of June and touched on strengthening the collaboration with India in the South China Sea.

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo in New Delhi at the end of June. The two ministers released a joint statement that backed a 2016 arbitration ruling at The Hague rejecting Chinese claims to nearly all of the South China Sea.

This marked the first time that India expressed support for the Hague ruling, which is based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to Gregory Poling, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. It put India in line with Japan and major Western countries on the issue.

India, as a representative of the so-called Global South emerging and developing countries, is gaining a stronger role and voice in the international community.

On the security front, India appears to have shifted focus on relations to the West. Modi’s visit to Washington in June is evidence of this. India on Tuesday hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which was held in a virtual format out of consideration for the US.

But the basic theme of India’s diplomacy remains “strategic autonomy,” which entails working with other countries according to its own interests.

In recent years, the US apparently threatened to impose sanctions on India when it sought to acquire air defense systems from Russia. In 1971, the US sent an aircraft carrier to threaten India during the third Indo-Pakistani War. Whether today’s partnership between the US and India will completely dispel the latent distrust of Washington remains to be seen.

Iranian Sunni Muslim cleric condemns terrorist attack in Zahedan

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Moulavi Abdul Hamid

He renounced any action that would cause insecurity in the country.

He urged people in Sistan and Baluchestan Province to keep calm and avoid any move that cause insecurity.

The attack on the police station was launched on Saturday by armed assailants who threw handmade grenades and engaged in a gunfight with security forces.

All the four terrorists involved in the assault were killed. Two soldiers also lost their lives in the firefight.

Iran and Iraq to set up security posts for Arbaeen march

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Iranian families host pilgrims of Arbaeen walk

Speaking after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ahmad Vahidi, the Iraqi official said by creating the security posts, they two countries aim to control the Arbaeen march, which will be held 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam and the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.

Each year, millions of people observe the occasion. Millions, mainly from Iran, also hold marches on the Day of Ashura, some 20 days from now.

Israel says won’t criminally charge officers for 2021 Gaza assault

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Israel Gaza

The soldiers, who received army reprimands for their actions, did not obey standard procedures when striking Gaza but none crossed the “criminal threshold”, the army announced in a statement.

The Israeli army did not say when the incidents took place, what occurred or whether they involved civilian deaths.

It only said two officers struck a target at an unauthorised range, one received a warning for “negligence for incriminating a target in violation of the mandatory procedure”, another was reprimanded for “lack of sufficient control in the striking unit cell”, and a last officer erred in “targeting procedure”.

Israel is accused of committing war crimes during a devastating 11-day offensive, which killed at least 261 people, including 67 children, and wounded more than 2,200 in Gaza, according to the United Nations.

Thirteen people were killed in Israel during the assault in May 2021.

Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) had then said that Israeli army committed war crimes, given that attacks had “no evident military targets” and resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians.

HRW added the Israeli army’s actions against its officers did not go far enough and did not amount to a real form of accountability for Israel’s destruction of Gaza.

“Entire families were wiped out and high-rise buildings with scores of homes and businesses were reduced to rubble,” Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at HRW stated.

“That requires a much more serious investigation and real consequences imposed, not only on those who carried out the attacks but on those who authorised them. What took place does not appear to be that,” Shakir continued.

The army’s announcement came on the heels of its recent raid on the Jenin refugee camp, which has also been condemned for possible rights violations.

The raid killed 12 Palestinians and wounded more than 100 others, 30 of them seriously, Israel’s largest attack in the occupied West Bank in more than 20 years.

Iran still working to undo sanctions via diplomacy: Minister

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Hossein Amirabdollahian and Ahmed Attaf

“I’d like to stress that we continue to be on the two paths of trying to render the sanctions ineffective and to have them terminated through diplomacy,” Amirabdollahian said at a press conference with Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf on Saturday.

Referring to the relations between Tehran and Algiers, he said the ties were at a desirable level and that talks would continue.

He said the two sides had agreed to waiver political visas first and then work to waive ordinary visas as well.

The Iranian foreign minister said bilateral relations would deepen in the fields of the science of new energy sources, agriculture, medical hardware, tourism, and industry and mines.
Amirabdollahian praised Algeria for thwarting Israel’s plan to join the African Union and to help return Syria to the Arab League.

He said he had also discussed Sudan and the latest developments in that country with Attaf.

The Iranian foreign minister said he had also earlier met with Sudan’s foreign minister and that they had agreed to reopen embassies.

Iran emerges as biggest crude steel producer in West Asia: Report

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Steel industry in Iran

Iranian steelmakers produced 13 million tons of crude steel from January to May this year, registering a 2.2% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Steel producers located in the Middle East, including Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, together produced a total of 18.7 million tons of steel during the period, up 1.1% year-on-year.

The world’s 63 steelmakers produced 786 million tons of steel during the same period, down 1.2%.

Countries located in Africa, including Egypt, Libya, South Africa and Tunisia, produced 2.6 million tons of steel, up 2.6% compared with the same period last year.

The steel output of countries in Asia and Oceania, including Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, stood at 588.4 million tons, up 0.7%.

The 27 European Union countries produced a total of 56 million tons, down 10.4%.

The states located in “Europe, Other” region, including Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and the United Kingdom, produced 16.6 million tons of steel, down 16.3% compared with the corresponding period of the preceding year.

North American countries, including Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, produced 45.9 million tons of steel during the period, down 3.6%.

Steelmakers in the “Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries plus Ukraine” region, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine produced 36.9 million tons of steel, down 3.8%.

South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, produced 17.1 million tons of steel, down 5.9% year-on-year.

Iran produced 30.6 million tons of crude steel last year and managed to maintain its place as the world’s 10th biggest steel producer.

In the meantime, the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), affiliated to the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, stood in 20th place among the world’s top steelmaking companies.

Iran became the world’s second-largest sponge iron producer by producing 125,100,000 tons in 2022.

The country also produced 2.5 million tons of crude iron in 2022, 100,000 tons of which were exported overseas.

Iran security forces foil terror attack on Zahedan police station, kill all 4 assailants

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Crime Scene

On Saturday, the terrorists tried to make their way into the police station in Zahedan, the capital of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province, but their attempt was abortive as Iranian security forces responded quickly.

Local officials said the attackers threw handmade grenades and engaged in a gunfight with the security forces.

In a statement, the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said four terrorists were involved in the attack, all of whom were killed in the operation.

Two members of the Iranian security staff also lost their lives in the clashes, the statement added.

Sistan and Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan, has witnessed many attacks targeting both civilians and security forces by terrorists who mainly sneak into the country from Pakistan.

On September 30, 2022, 35 people lost their lives as terrorists, taking advantage of a wave of unrest across Iran, launched armed attacks on several police stations and public places in Zahedan and set fire to an emergency health facility, and a bank, among other places there.

Palestine says reconstruction of Jenin, destroyed in Israeli raid, requires $15bln

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Jenin

Mohamed Ziara noted a total of $15.5 million is needed to reconstruct buildings and roads in Jenin after the Israeli forces carried out a two-day aggression on the occupied West Bank city. He added that the damages listed by his ministry include buildings, roads and basic infrastructure like water and sanitation networks.

Ziara highlighted that the reconstruction process includes the complete removal of debris from four buildings at a cost of $1.5 million, partial damage to 25 buildings at a cost of $2 million, partial damage to 250 housing units at a cost of $2.5 million, and damage to 150 commercial and service buildings at a cost of $5 million, in addition to severe damage to a mosque at a cost of $1 million.

The Palestinian minister went on to say that Israeli forces bulldozed five kilometers of roads inside the Jenin refugee camp and $1.5 million is needed in order to repair them. Moreover, adjacent buildings which were partially damaged need to be fixed.

Ziara stated that teams from the Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing have immediately initiated a rescue plan to deal with the aftermath of the Israeli aggression by opening roads and securing collapsing buildings in order not to endanger citizens, and will continue until all these tasks are completed.

He pointed out that unexploded ordnance could be found across the camp, emphasizing that the ministry’s staff and civil defense teams are working to remove them safely.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has also appealed for support to help rebuild Jenin refugee camp devastated by two days of Israeli military assault earlier this week.

“The Israeli military operation of July 4-5 in Jenin was the most intense in over two decades. For many of the camp’s residents, it brought back horrific memories from 2002 when the camp witnessed one of the most severe rounds of violence during the Second Intifada (uprising). Families told my UNRWA colleagues that the situation made them feel helpless and frightened for their and their children’s lives,” said in a statement on Thursday.

He added that the camp sustained significant damage – the streets are full of rubble; electricity and water are cut in most parts of the camp and many houses have been destroyed.

“Today, we had to set up a temporary health center because a major part of the UNRWA health center was destroyed during the operation. The Jenin municipality, local authorities and the Palestinian Authority have started a massive clean-up operation to remove the rubble and clear the roads. However, I am extremely concerned that possible unexploded ordinances remain which place the lives of residents and humanitarian aid groups at risk,” Lazzarini stated.

“Right now, our priority is to restore basic services in the camp and to support those whose homes were damaged with emergency cash assistance. It is essential that we repair our own buildings and re-open four UNRWA schools which provide education for 1,700 children and a health center where residents get primary care. To make sure this happens, UNRWA is rapidly deploying more teams and assistance to support residents and the local authorities,” he pointed out.

The UNRWA commissioner-general stressed that his agency needs the support of its partners and donors to help rebuild and rehabilitate its structures and the homes of Palestinian refugees.

Israel launched the military campaign against Jenin in the early hours of Monday morning, mobilizing upwards of 1,000 troops as means of supposedly damaging the resistance “infrastructure” in the city and the refugee camp that it hosts.

At least 12 Palestinians and one Israeli trooper died as a result of the conflict, during which a steadfast Palestinian resistance response prompted the regime to pull out its forces after less than two days.

Israeli troops finally pulled back from Jenin following a 44-hour-long incursion.

1...1,3701,3711,372...5,134Page 1,371 of 5,134

© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Us

Popular Articles

Editor Picks