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Iran’s President congratulates Saudi King, Crown Prince on National Day

By
IFP Media Wire
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In his message to King Salman issued on Tuesday, President Pezeshkian highlighted the many commonalities between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, describing them as a strong foundation for friendship between the two Muslim nations. He expressed hope that, through mutual efforts, bilateral ties would continue to expand across all fields.

In a separate message to the crown prince, who also serves as the prime minister of the kingdom, the Iranian president voiced optimism that joint efforts and the full use of existing capacities would pave the way for broader cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh in political, economic, and cultural spheres.

 

Ali Larijani: U.S. demanded Iran cut missile range to below 500 km

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Ali Larijani

Speaking at a meeting with members of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Larijani denounced the demand as an affront to national dignity, stressing that no patriotic Iranian could ever accept such a restriction.

He explained that in the course of diplomatic efforts, two separate proposals had been put forward — one by European countries and another by Russia.

Iran, he said, accepted both initiatives with certain reservations, and a six-month timeframe was set for negotiations. Nevertheless, the other parties failed to honor their commitments and instead pursued the reactivation of the so-called “snapback” mechanism at the UN Security Council.

Highlighting two key points, Larijani stated:

1. “In the initial American plan, they set a condition that no man of honor could accept — to cut the missile range to less than 500 kilometers. Is such a thing imaginable for any Iranian? The problem lies precisely here: they put forward demands that are fundamentally unacceptable.”

2. “Under the JCPOA, a mechanism was provided whereby if one side violated its commitments, the other side would have the right to respond. Who was the first to break commitments? First the U.S. withdrew, then the Europeans failed to abide, and ultimately they even resorted to bombing. So who should rightly lodge the complaint?”

Iran confirms arrival of Russian MiG-29 jets, announces upcoming delivery of Su-35 fighters

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Abolfazl Zohrevand stated on Wednesday that the MiG-29s mark the initial phase of an expanded military cooperation plan with Russia.

He added that advanced Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets will be delivered to Iran gradually as part of a long-term strategy to boost the country’s aerial defense capabilities.

The lawmaker further announced that two strategic air defense systems, the Chinese HQ-9 and the Russian S-400, are also slated to enter Iran in stages. “Once these systems are fully in place, our enemies will understand the language of power,” Zohrevand emphasized.

Also referring to the Cairo agreement signed between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency earlier this year, he described the development as a “victory card” for Iran at a time when Western states were considering reactivating the so-called snapback mechanism against Tehran. “We should not view this negatively; it strengthens our hand,” he underlined.

Kayhan: shadow of war to never disappear via negotiations

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran US Flags

According to the paper, Israel’s Channel 13 recently aired a documentary on the war, revealing operational details and high-level discussions within the Zionist regime.

In the program, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz described negotiations as a tool to lull Iran into complacency, saying that Washington deliberately scheduled talks for June 15, 2025, to distract Tehran ahead of military action. An Israeli analyst in the documentary added that the goal was to create a false sense of normalcy and optimism surrounding the diplomatic process.

Kayhan also cited earlier reports by The Wall Street Journal about U.S.-Israeli coordination to mislead Iran during talks, including staged media leaks portraying differences between Trump and Netanyahu while the U.S. was fully informed of Israel’s strike plans.

The newspaper concluded that these revelations prove war threats cannot be eliminated through negotiations. Rather, it argued, the 12-day conflict showed U.S.-Iran talks became part of the military strategy of surprise, assisting Israel’s assault instead of preventing it.

German military reveals expected losses from conflict with Russia

By
IFP Media Wire
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“Realistically, we are talking about a figure of around 1,000 wounded troops per day,” Surgeon General Ralf Hoffmann told Reuters on Monday, when asked about the Bundeswehr’s potential casualty rate. The military is looking at hospital trains and buses as it considers its potential needs, he added.

The Bundeswehr would also need German hospitals to allocate some 15,000 beds for it as soldiers would be mostly treated in civilian medical facilities after evacuation, according to Hoffmann.

Berlin has repeatedly spoken about the possibility of a direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Germany’s chief of defense staff, General Carsten Breuer, had previously stated that the nation must be ready to confront Moscow by 2029.

Earlier this year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that “Germany is becoming dangerous again” in response to a statement by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius suggesting that the nation’s troops were ready to kill Russian soldiers in the event of a confrontation. Peskov has also called Chancellor Friedrich Merz a “fierce apologist for confrontation with Russia.”

Merz had earlier vowed to make the Bundeswehr the “strongest conventional army in Europe.” He also labeled Russian President Vladimir Putin “perhaps the most serious war criminal of our time” and urged Kiev’s Western backers to pursue “economic exhaustion” of Russia.

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Berlin has significantly increased military spending and has become the second-largest supplier of arms to Kiev after the US. Ukraine used German Leopard tanks in its incursion last year into Russia’s Kursk Region.

 

Poland threatens to shoot down Russian aircraft

By
IFP Media Wire
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Earlier this month, Warsaw accused Moscow of “deliberately” sending at least 19 drones into Polish airspace, which Russia dismissed as “hysteria” promoted by the “European party of war.” The latest warning came during a meeting convened by another NATO member, Estonia, which also accused Russia of an airspace violation.

“You have been warned,” Sikorski said.

“If another missile or aircraft enters our airspace without permission – either deliberately or by mistake – and gets shot down and the wreckage falls on NATO territory, please don’t come here to whine about it.”

Moscow responded by saying that “neither Warsaw nor Brussels need the truth,” with Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky referring to the gathering as the second part of the “blame Russia for everything” spectacle.

Polyansky noted that the only confirmed damage from the alleged Russian drone incursion was actually caused by a Polish missile fired from a NATO F-16, which struck a residential building. Moscow offered to hold bilateral consultations over the incident but received “no adequate response,” and Warsaw has yet to provide any evidence that the drones were of Russian origin. Poland needed “only a reason for a new round of a Russophobic campaign,” the diplomat added.

As for Estonia’s claims that three Russian military aircraft violated its airspace for 12 minutes last week, “there is no proof except the Russophobic hysteria coming from Tallinn,” Polyansky stated.

Russia is treating any accusations against its military “very seriously,” but wants to see clear evidence rather than EU “hysteria” aimed at pushing US President Donald Trump onto “an anti-Russian course and undermining the agreements and understandings reached by the Russian and American presidents in Alaska a month ago,” Polyansky continued.

 

US could sanction entire ICC: Reuters

By
IFP Media Wire
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The International Criminal Court (ICC)

Washington has already blacklisted individual judges and prosecutors, but placing the court itself on the sanctions list could cripple its day-to-day operations, from paying staff salaries to accessing banking services and basic software. One US official said entity-wide sanctions were under consideration, though no final decision has been announced.

The pressure campaign against The Hague-based court comes after the ICC issued arrest warrants last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza, alongside charges against members of Hamas.

According to three sources, the ICC has already begun preparing for potential sanctions by paying staff salaries in advance through the end of 2025 and seeking alternative providers for banking and office software. Emergency meetings were held among court officials and with diplomats from member states to assess the potential impact.

The threat of broader sanctions has triggered pushback among the ICC’s 125 member countries, several of which plan to raise concerns at the United Nations General Assembly this week, three diplomats told Reuters.

“The road of individual sanctions has been exhausted. It is now more about when, rather than if, they will take the next step,” one senior diplomat stated.

The ICC was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The court recognizes Palestine as a member, which it says grants jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in Gaza. Israel and the US reject this interpretation and do not recognize the court’s jurisdiction.

Last month, while announcing sanctions against two ICC judges and two prosecutors, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the court as “a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare” against the US and Israel. In February, Washington also sanctioned the ICC’s lead prosecutor, Karim Khan, after he sought arrest warrants against Israeli officials. Khan is currently on leave amid an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, which he denies.

 

Moldova arrests dozens over alleged Russian plot to stir up unrest around key election

By
IFP Media Wire
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The raids targeted more than 100 people and took place in multiple localities across the country, police said.

Seventy-four people were detained for up to 72 hours, said Victor Furtuna, Moldova’s chief prosecutor from the Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases.

Moldova’s police announced that the unrest plot was “coordinated from the Russian Federation, through criminal elements.”

Furtuna added that most of the suspects “systematically traveled” to Serbia, where they received training and that they were aged between 19 and 45 years old.

Moldovans will vote on Sunday to choose the new 101-seat legislature, in an election many view as a choice between the country’s continued path toward European Union membership or closer ties with Russia.

Online disinformation aimed at discrediting Moldova’s pro-European government in the run-up to the vote.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu and her Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) are hoping to stay in power and keep Moldova — which is flanked by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the east — on its path towards European Union (EU) membership.

But ballots in the country have traditionally been the target of intense disinformation and destabilisation campaigns, including vote-buying and bribery schemes.

It means Moldova has been caught in the crossfire of an information war pitting EU membership against closer alignment with Russia.

Pro-Europeans fear the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare techniques could skew the vote.

A sophisticated pro-Russian disinformation campaign, dubbed Matryoshka, has ramped up its efforts to spread propaganda in Moldova. It aims to discredit its pro-European Union government as parliamentary elections loom, according to a study.

The transparency tool NewsGuard said that the operation promoted false claims that Moldovan President Maia Sandu embezzled $24 million (€20 million) and that she’s addicted to “psychotropic drugs.”

It added that one campaign alone targeted Moldova with 39 made-up stories in three months since the elections were called in April this year, compared to zero the year before.

The Matryoshka campaign is a coordinated pro-Russian operation, known among fact-checkers for spreading false news reports in the style of legitimate media outlets.

And after last year’s presidential election, Maia Sandu denounced what she called an “assault on democracy and freedom” as she stated criminal groups had bought Moldovan citizens’ votes prior to a referendum on whether to enshrine seeking EU membership in the constitution.

Sandu claimed that “criminal entities” had the goal of buying 300,000 votes and that “the state institutions documented 150,000 people being paid to vote,” as the justice system failed to do enough to prevent vote theft and corruption.

 

Iran’s New School Year opens with president’s attendance

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The ceremony marked the return of nearly 16 million students to classrooms across the country after a three-month hiatus.

According to the Ministry of Education, students will attend lessons in 123,000 schools and 665,000 classes nationwide.

Of these, over nine million are in primary education, while nearly seven million being enrolled in secondary schools, technical and vocational programs.

More than 1.4 million students are studying in 8,000 vocational high schools.

Authorities emphasized this year’s theme, “Expanding Educational Justice for Iran – For Schools,” which highlights efforts to address shortages, eliminate under-resourced classrooms, and improve the quality of public education.

The entry of new teachers into the system is expected to ensure that no classroom remains without an instructor.

The Education Ministry also reported the completion of 2,400 new educational facilities, part of 7,700 currently under construction, with more schools set to open later this month.

Meanwhile, 110,000 classrooms have been renovated, and charitable donors funded nearly 60 percent of new schools built in the past three years.

Pezeshkian rules out negotiating with those who seek bullying

By
IFP Media Wire
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Pezeshkian

On Tuesday morning, after ringing the bell to mark the beginning of the new school year in Iran and before leaving for New York to address the UN General Assembly, Pezeshkian noted: “This is a valuable opportunity for presidents to deliver speeches and for us to present our positions.”

He added: “The motto chosen this year for all nations is ‘Convergence and Progress,’ yet what we see in global developments and in the behavior of world powers is nothing but unilateralism and authoritarianism.”

Referring to the situation in Gaza, Pezeshkian said: “It is truly painful to witness children dying from hunger and sleeplessness while Israel bombs the area daily, and so-called civilized, powerful countries that claim democracy and human rights easily support and even arm such actions.”

Speaking about his goals for the trip to the United States, the president stated: “In this visit, I will declare my positions based on my belief in peace, justice, rights, and humanity. If the conditions allow, I will also hold talks with the leaders of various countries.”

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