Saturday, December 27, 2025
type here...
Home Blog Page 189

Foreign tourist arrivals in Iran up 48% this year, minister says

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Takht-e-Jamshid

Speaking at an administrative council meeting in Lahijan, northern Iran, Salehi Amiri reported that over 7.39 million foreign visitors entered the country last year, generating $7.4 billion in revenue.

“We expect to reach 10 million tourists and around $10 billion in revenue by the end of this year,” he said.

Highlighting Gilan Province’s vast cultural, historical, and natural potential, the minister described the region as a “powerful engine for national development.”

He noted that tourism is more than just hotels and accommodations, calling it a key driver of economic transformation.

Salehi Amiri also underscored Iran’s global cultural significance, pointing out that over 50 historical sites are awaiting UNESCO World Heritage registration.

“Iran is not just unique; it is unparalleled,” he said, calling Lahijan “an open-air historical museum” with thousands of years of history, from medieval fortresses to Safavid-era polo fields.

He urged greater investment in tourism infrastructure to better showcase Iran’s cultural richness to international audiences.

Hopes dim for peace summit between Russia, Ukraine leaders

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Trump had raised expectations on Monday by saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed to meet face-to-face — but on Friday he compared the two men to “oil and vinegar.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated “no meeting” was planned as Trump’s mediation efforts appeared to stall, while Zelensky said Russia was trying to prolong the war.

Trump told reporters on Friday he would make an “important” decision in two weeks on Ukraine peace efforts, specifying that Moscow could face massive sanctions — or he might “do nothing.”

“It takes two to tango,” the US president, wearing a red baseball cap saying “Trump was right about everything,” said in the Oval Office.

“In two weeks, we will know which way I’m going. Because I will go one way or the other, and I’ll learn which way I’m going,” he added.

“That’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both. Or do we do nothing and say it’s your fight.”

Trump did however hold up a photo that he said Putin had sent him after their landmark summit in Alaska a week ago. He also said that he may invite the Russian leader to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals being held in the United States if there is progress on Ukraine.

Lavrov dampened hopes for direct Putin-Zelensky talks to resolve the conflict, now in its fourth year, by questioning the Ukrainian president’s legitimacy and repeating the Kremlin’s maximalist claims.

“There is no meeting planned,” Lavrov said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”

The veteran Russian diplomat noted Putin was “ready to meet Zelensky” as soon as an agenda was prepared. He added that such an agenda was “not ready at all.”

In Kyiv, speaking alongside visiting NATO chief Mark Rutte, Zelensky said Ukraine had “no agreements with the Russians.”

On Thursday, Zelensky had accused Russia of “trying to wriggle out of holding a meeting,” adding that Moscow wanted to continue the offensive.

The question of eventual security guarantees for Ukraine has been front and center during the latest US-led diplomatic push to broker a peace deal to end the conflict.

Trump — who hosted Zelensky, Rutte and top European leaders at the White House on Monday before making a call to Putin — said Russia had agreed to some Western security guarantees for Kyiv.

But Moscow later cast doubt on any such arrangement, Lavrov saying on Wednesday that discussing them without Russia was “a road to nowhere.”

“When Russia raises the issue of security guarantees, I honestly do not yet know who is threatening them,” stated Zelensky, who wants foreign troops in Ukraine to deter Russian attacks in the future.

The Kremlin has long said it would never accept that, citing Ukraine’s NATO ambition as one of the pretexts for its invasion.

On a visit to Kyiv, during which an air raid alert sounded across the city, Rutte said security guarantees were needed to ensure “Russia will uphold any deal and will never ever again attempt to take one square kilometer of Ukraine.”

Moscow signed the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, which was aimed at ensuring security for Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan in exchange for them giving up numerous nuclear weapons left from the Soviet era.

Russia violated that first by taking Crimea in 2014, and then by starting a full-scale offensive in 2022, which has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.

Israeli data reveals 83 percent of Gaza war dead are civilians

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

Figures reviewed by the outlets indicate that, as of May 2025 – 19 months into Israel’s war on Gaza – Israeli military intelligence had listed 8,900 fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as confirmed or “probably” dead.

Over the same period, Gaza’s health authorities recorded at least 53,000 deaths from Israeli attacks, meaning that named fighters accounted for just 17 percent of those killed, with civilians at about about 83 percent of the total death toll.

Conflict researchers say that ratio is almost unparalleled in modern warfare. Only the Rwandan genocide, the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, and Russia’s 2022 siege of Mariupol recorded a higher civilian death rate, the authors noted.

Rights groups and genocide scholars argue the findings further support claims that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, pointing to mass civilian deaths alongside deliberate starvation.

When asked to comment by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call, the Israeli military did not deny the existence of the intelligence database or the listed figures for Hamas and PIJ casualties.

Israeli politicians and military leaders have long inflated fighter death tolls, at times claiming as many as 20,000 fighters killed or insisting on a civilian-to-combatant ratio of 1:1 – figures that the report notes they do not believe in private.

By March, Gaza’s death toll had reached 50,000; it has since risen to beyond 62,000, according to the enclave’s health ministry. The total number of wounded has now exceeded 157,000.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between October 2023 and May 2024.

Iran criticizes Afghanistan over failure to meet Hirmand water treaty obligations

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Iran Water Crisis

Mohammad Javanbakht, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Energy for Water and Wastewater Affairs, said on Saturday that Afghanistan had released only “a little over 100 million cubic meters” of water into Iran’s Chahnimeh reservoirs during the current water year, far below the agreed amount.

“We are in the final month of a water year that has been unprecedentedly dry, with extremely low rainfall,” Javanbakht said, adding that the shortfall has created a “significant gap” between the agreed share and the actual water received.

He emphasized that Iran has been in continuous contact with Afghan officials regarding the issue and will intensify diplomatic efforts in the new water year.

“The pursuit of Iran’s rightful share of Hirmand water is an ongoing process and not limited to a specific period,” he stated.

The Hirmand River treaty, signed in 1973, has been a source of recurring disputes between the two neighbors, particularly during years of drought and water scarcity.

Iran’s defense minister reveals new missile capabilities after 12-day Israeli conflict

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Iran Israel War

Speaking in a televised interview, General Nasirzadeh said that before the war in June, Iran unveiled the “Qassem Basir” precision-guided missile but did not deploy it during the fighting.

“It is almost our most accurate pinpoint missile,” he said, adding that new technology applied to the missile makes it resistant to enemy electronic warfare.

He noted that Iran has tested a new generation of hypersonic and maneuverable missiles capable of bypassing advanced enemy air defense systems.

“If the conflict had continued beyond 12 days, our missile strikes would have been virtually impossible to intercept,” he said.

The minister emphasized that while missile development remains a priority, other defense areas, including air and electronic warfare, are gaining increased attention.

He also highlighted Iran’s self-sufficiency in producing over 90% of its defense equipment domestically and ongoing efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into modern weapons systems to meet future battlefield demands.

Declassified docs show Clinton was ready to consider Russian NATO membership

By
IFP Media Wire
-

The statements were made during a meeting between the two leaders in the Kremlin on June 4, 2000, according to White House minutes published on Thursday by the National Security Archive, an independent research institute at George Washington University.

“From the outset of the NATO enlargement process, I knew that it could be a problem for Russia. I was sensitive to this, and I want it understood that NATO enlargement does not threaten Russia in any way,” Clinton is quoted as saying.

“I am serious about being ready to discuss NATO membership with Russia.”

He added that he understood that “domestic considerations inside Russia” prevent this, but over time the country “should be a part of every organization that holds the civilized world together.”

According to the documents, Putin said he “supported” the idea.

Last year, in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin said he had brought up the subject with Clinton. While Clinton agreed at first, he later dismissed the idea after talking to his team, the Russian leader said.

Had Clinton agreed, it would have led to a new period of “rapprochement” between Moscow and the military bloc, Putin added.

NATO has expanded six times since the two leaders’ conversation in 2000, adding 12 more countries during this time.

After “wave after wave of expansion… we were constantly told: ‘You shouldn’t fear this, it poses no threat to you’,” Putin said in June, adding that “they simply dismissed our concerns, refusing to acknowledge or even consider our position.”

“We know better than anyone what threatens us and what does not,” he said.

Moscow has cited Kiev’s ambition to join NATO as one of the core causes of the current conflict, which it views as a proxy war being orchestrated by the military bloc against Russia.

Iranian, Russian FM: E3 lacks authority to invoke JCPOA snapback

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, held a phone conversation on Friday to exchange views on developments related to Iran’s nuclear issue.

They particularly discussed the moves by three European countries ahead of the legal expiration of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, as well as Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

During the conversation, they emphasized that the three European countries have committed a serious violation of Resolution 2231 due to their failure to fulfill their commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and their alignment with the US in attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities.

The Iranian and Russian foreign ministers assessed the path forward for nuclear negotiations and underlined the importance of ending Resolution 2231 on schedule.

Iran’s foreign minister outlined the country’s principled stance regarding the European trio’s proposal to extend Resolution 2231, stating that in Iran’s view, any decision on its extension lies with the UN Security Council and its members.

Both sides emphasized the need to continue engagement and consultations at various levels to better advance their shared positions.

Famine officially declared in Gaza Strip by UN-backed global hunger monitor

By
IFP Media Wire
-

The IPC released a report on Friday in which it said that famine was taking place in Gaza City and surrounding towns. It applied the classification to an area home to 514,000 displaced Palestinians – nearly quarter of Gaza’s population.

While the body has previously warned that famine was imminent across Gaza, it had stopped short of making a formal declaration.

The IPC is the globally recognised system for classifying the severity of food insecurity.

It is an initiative involving 21 aid organisations, as well as several United Nations agencies. It receives funding from the European Union, the United States, Germany, Britain, Canada and others.

Since its creation in 2004, it has declared five famines. The most recent one was in Sudan last year.

It declares famine if three criteria are met: at least 20 percent of households face an extreme lack of food, at least 30 percent of children are suffering acute malnutrition, and two out of every 10,000 are dying each day due to “outright starvation”.

“After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions, characterised by starvation, destitution and death,” the IPC said.

“Another 1.07 million people (54 percent) are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 396,000 people (20 percent) are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).”

It added that famine would expand to the areas of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, and Khan Younis to the south by the end of September based on current projections.

That would bring the number of people experiencing famine in Gaza to 641,000 people.

In that same timeframe, it projects that the number of people in the “emergency” phase four category would rise from 1.07m to 1.14m.

“The famine declared today in Gaza Governorate by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification is the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli government,” Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief stated.

“It is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare, and the resulting deaths may also amount to the war crime of wilful killing.”

Israel imposed a near total blockade on the entry of food and humanitarian aid into Gaza on 2 March.

It only began allowing food and aid into the enclave in late May, but almost exclusively through the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

However, aid workers, governments and Palestinians on the ground say the amount of humanitarian relief delivered is nowhere near enough needed to feel Gaza’s population of two million.

Meanwhile, Gaza health officials say that since the GHF took over aid delivery, more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid supplies.

The UN and other major international aid groups have refused US and Israeli calls to cooperate with GHF, stating that the organisation violates international humanitarian principles of neutrality.

In recent days, more aid trucks have been allowed by Israeli authorities to enter into Gaza, though far less than what is required to meet the urgent needs of starving Palestinians.

According to the UN, the entire population under five in the Gaza Strip – more than 320,000 children – are at risk of acute malnutrition, due to a lack of safe water, breastmilk substitutes and therapeutic feeding.

Over 270 people have died from malnutrition in Gaza since Israel’s war began in October 2023. That includes at least 112 children.

The IPC said that through to June 2026, at least 132,000 children under five were expected to suffer from acute malnutrition – double the estimate from May this year. That includes 41,000 severe cases of children at heightened risk of death.

“Nearly 55,500 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women will also require urgent nutrition response,” it added.

The IPC said on Friday that its analysis only covered Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, adding that it was unable to classify the governorate in northern Gaza due to restrictions of access and a lack of data.

“As this famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed,” the report noted.

“The time for debate and hesitation has passed, starvation is present and is rapidly spreading. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that an immediate, at-scale response is needed.”

It added that if an immediate and sustained ceasefire is not implemented, with access to humanitarian aid and food supplies for everyone in the Gaza Strip, “avoidable deaths will increase exponentially”.

It marks the first time the IPC has classified famine to be taking place outside of Africa.

The previous classifications were Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and Sudan in 2024.

Several countries join EU, UN in opposing Israel’s illegal settlement plan

By
IFP Media Wire
-

“We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms,” the 21 countries said in a joint statement, describing Israel’s construction plans as a “violation of international law”.

The statement follows news this week that Israel will formally move forward with a settlement on a 12-square-kilometre (4.6-square-mile) tract of land east of Jerusalem known as “East 1” or “E1”.

The development, which will include 3,400 new homes for Israeli settlers, will cut off much of the occupied West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem while also linking up thousands of illegal Israeli settlements in the area.

East Jerusalem carries particular significance to Palestinians as the top choice for the capital of a future Palestinian state.

The group of 21 nations added any plans for a two-state solution will become impossible “by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem”.

The group includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The illegal settlement also “risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace”, the group stressed, while bringing “no benefits to the Israeli people”.

The Palestinian Authority, the European Commission and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres have all voiced opposition to plans for the E1 settlement since Israel first announced the news last week.

Israeli air force dismisses several officers over petition demanding end to Gaza war

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Israeli Fighter Jet

The Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper said officers signed the petition four months ago, which called for “the end of the war in exchange for the return of all hostages” held in the Gaza Strip.

The dismissed officers petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the army’s decision and reinstate them, saying the decisions were made unlawfully, without any due process, and in severe violation of the constitutional rights of the petitioners.

“The position expressed by the reservists in favor of returning the hostages, even at the cost of ending a war that no longer serves its declared purposes, reflects a moral and ethical stance,” the discharged soldiers said in a petition to the court.

As many as 17 other reservists, who were temporarily suspended from duty over signing the anti-war petition, also appealed. Some were reinstated after agreeing to remove their signatures.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the media report.

Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, when Hamas attacked and also took over 200 Israelis as captives. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and led to food shortages and starvation deaths.

According to Israeli estimates, around 50 captives remain in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive.

Israel, meanwhile, is holding more than 10,800 Palestinians in its prisons under dire conditions, with rights groups reporting deaths due to torture, hunger, and medical neglect.

1...188189190...5,127Page 189 of 5,127

© 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