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China reaffirms support for Iran’s nuclear rights, sovereignty

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Xi praised Iran’s repeated emphasis on compliance with nuclear non-proliferation obligations and underscored Beijing’s recognition of Tehran’s right to pursue peaceful nuclear development.
He further stated that China “supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity, as well as defending its legitimate rights and interests through dialogue.”

Xi highlighted that relations between Tehran and Beijing have been tested in a turbulent international environment and continue to grow steadily and successfully.
He emphasized China’s commitment to upholding justice, advancing a comprehensive and balanced solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, and supporting efforts toward lasting peace in the Middle East.

President Pezeshkian is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 31. He is also scheduled to participate in China’s military parade on September 3.

EU defence spending to hit record 380bn Euros this year: Report

By
IFP Media Wire
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The 10-percent rise comes as European members of NATO have committed to massively ramp up spending under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

“Europe is spending record amounts on defence to keep our people safe, and we will not stop there,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) said that of the money being spent this year, close to 130 billion euros was being spent on investments such as new weaponry.

European countries have stepped up spending sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

A 150-billion-euro EU loan scheme intended to help countries ramp up defence spending has been fully subscribed, the European Commission said last week, with 19 of 27 member states applying for funds.

The SAFE plan enables member states to get cheaper loans backed by the EU’s central budget.

Numerous Western militaries and intelligence services have warned that Moscow could be ready to attack a NATO country within three to five years if the war in Ukraine ends.

But the return of Trump — who has long railed against the continent for underspending — to power this year has given Europe a fresh shove.

The mercurial US leader extracted a commitment from NATO allies to cough up five percent of their GDPs on security-related spending at a summit in July.

That headline figure breaks down as 3.5 percent on core defence spending and 1.5 percent on a looser range of areas such as infrastructure and cyber security.

“Meeting the new NATO target of 3.5 percent of GDP will require even more effort, spending a total of more than 630 billion euros a year,” EDA head Andre Denk said.

EU considers tighter rules to block Russian gas: Bloomberg

By
IFP Media Wire
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Denmark, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, has circulated a proposal requiring gas importers to provide national authorities with proof that their supplies do not originate in Russia, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

The plan specifically raises concerns over gas shipped through TurkStream, the pipeline linking Russia with Southeast Europe.

“Natural gas entering the Union through borders or interconnection points between the Union and Russia or Belarus and through the interconnection point Strandzha 2 / Malkoclar (TurkStream) shall be presumed to be exported, directly or indirectly, from the Russian Federation, unless unambiguous evidence,” the Danish compromise proposal states.

The draft rules reflect fears that Russian supplies could still be blended with other gas and re-exported to Europe, a process that is difficult to track as fuel often changes hands before reaching end consumers. If adopted, the measures would also prevent future swap deals that could disguise Russian deliveries as non-Russian shipments.

Under the current phaseout plan, gas imported under short-term contracts of less than one year must stop by June 17, 2026, with exemptions for landlocked countries such as Hungary and Slovakia. Longer-term agreements will be prohibited entirely by the end of 2027.

Denmark hopes to secure backing from EU member states for the gas ban proposal by October. It would then enter negotiations with the European Parliament, with the goal of finalizing legislation before the end of the year.

Spokesman says US seeking unlawful pressure against Iran

By
IFP Media Wire
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Esmail Baghaei

Esmail Baqaei said the US backing of the three European states demonstrates that, from the very beginning of the new administration, Washington’s agenda was to undermine the JCPOA and impose illegal pressure on Iran.

In reaction to the move by the three European countries to invoke the snapback, Baqaei said: “When the three European states talk about the JCPOA, one must ask—which JCPOA are you talking about? They accuse Iran of failing to fulfill its commitments, but this claim is made in bad faith. Those who failed to honor their obligations are in no position to accuse Iran.”

He added that the European Union and the three European countries, who once acted as intermediaries leading to the JCPOA, have now downgraded their role to simply pushing Iran into negotiations with the United States.

Regarding Washington’s declared readiness to negotiate with Iran while simultaneously increasing pressure, he said: “Such preconditions are essentially a sign of bad faith toward a diplomatic approach.”

He continued, saying the US has disrupted diplomatic processes over the past ten years.

“The US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA without any justification, and most recently, during an ongoing diplomatic process, the Zionist regime, with US support, carried out aggression against Iran. From the outset, it was clear that Washington lacked goodwill.”

According to Baqaei, reports indicate that the three European countries initiated the sanctions reactivation process at the request of the Zionist regime and the United States.

Kremlin says Putin and Trump did not agree on summit with Zelensky

By
IFP Media Wire
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Putin Zelensky

Speculation of a possible Putin-Zelensky meeting arose in light of Trump’s talks with Putin in Alaska, after which the US leader claimed he had “begun the arrangements” for such a meeting, which might later expand into a three-way summit.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China on Monday, Ushakov confirmed that Putin and Trump had discussed raising the level of the negotiating team for direct talks between Moscow and Kiev, but stressed that no decision has been finalized.

“What the press reports is not what we agreed on. They often talk about a trilateral meeting, about a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, but there was no agreement on this between Putin and Trump,” Ushakov said.

He added that while the US delegation promised specific proposals on such meetings after Alaska, none have yet been made. The issue, he noted, remains under discussion.

According to Ushakov, the Ukraine conflict was a key topic in Putin’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SCO summit on Monday. He did not disclose details of those conversations.

Speaking earlier in the day, Putin said Moscow values the efforts of its strategic partners to end the hostilities, and promised to brief colleagues on his conversations with Trump during bilateral talks. The Russian leader stressed that any potential Ukraine peace deal would only hold if “the root causes of the crisis… [are] eliminated.” He reiterated that one of the main causes of the conflict was the West’s “attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO, which represent a direct threat to Russia’s security.”

Belgium says to recognise Palestinian statehood, put sanctions on Israel

By
IFP Media Wire
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West Bank

“Palestine will be recognised by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions will be imposed against the Israeli government,” Prevot, who is also the deputy prime minister, wrote on the social media platform X early on Tuesday.

Israel will face 12 sanctions from Belgium, Prevot said, including a ban on the import of products from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and “a review of public procurement policies with Israeli companies”.

Prevot, a member of Belgium’s centrist Christian Democrat party, said Belgium was making the pledge “in light of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Palestine, particularly in Gaza”.

The foreign minister also stated that recognition would only be formalised once the last captive has been released from Gaza and “Hamas no longer has any role in managing Palestine”.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, from the Flemish nationalist party, said last month that recognising Palestine should be linked to strict conditions, according to Belgium’s Belga news agency.

At the end of July, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise Palestinian statehood when world leaders meet for the UNGA.

France and Saudi Arabia will co-host the meeting on Palestinian recognition during the UNGA on September 22. Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have also said they plan to recognise Palestine this month, also with conditions.

As of April this year, some 147 countries, representing 75 percent of UN members, had already recognised Palestinian statehood.

Israel and the United States have strongly criticised countries moving to recognise Palestine.

Iran’s parliament vows strong response if snapback mechanism is triggered

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iranian Parliament

According to Abbas Goudarzi, the spokesperson for the Parliament’s presidium, the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee presented a detailed report on the mechanism, outlining possible economic, political, and market implications.

Goudarzi said Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf emphasized that Iran is fully prepared to take “any reciprocal action deemed necessary,” adding that “all branches and institutions of the system are united and determined to respond.”

He noted that the reactivation of snapback sanctions would technically restore six UN Security Council resolutions but would not significantly worsen Iran’s current situation, given that more than 2,000 individuals and entities are already under unilateral US sanctions compared with around 120 covered by the UN measures.

Goudarzi urged the public to remain calm, warning that foreign powers may attempt to exploit the situation to trigger psychological and economic instability.

He stressed that Iran will respond decisively, with strategic decisions to be finalized in upcoming high-level meetings involving Parliament and the National Security Council.

Iran rejects PGCC claims over islands, reaffirms sovereignty

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The Iranian Foreign Ministry

In a statement released Tuesday, the ministry emphasized that the islands are “an inseparable part of Iran’s territory,” and that repeating unfounded claims “will not alter undeniable geographic, historical, and legal realities.”

It added that Iran will take all necessary measures to ensure the security and protection of its interests in the islands.

Addressing disputes over the Arash gas field, Iran labeled Kuwait’s unilateral claims “invalid” and reiterated that a fair and sustainable agreement requires constructive bilateral dialogue.

The ministry also reaffirmed Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), criticizing the US and European powers for “continuous violations” of international law and for disrupting nuclear negotiations.

Iran further urged regional cooperation for a nuclear-free Middle East, warning of the “real and imminent threat” posed by Israel’s weapons of mass destruction, and welcomed PGCC condemnation of Israeli aggression in Gaza.

Spy agency claims about 2,000 North Korean soldiers killed in Russia deployment

By
IFP Media Wire
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North Korean Soldiers

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said in April “the number of war dead was at least 600. But based on updated assessments, it now estimates the figure at around 2,000,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters after a briefing from the spy agency.

South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said the North sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in 2024 — primarily to the Kursk region — along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems.

Lawmaker Lee said that the NIS believed that Pyongyang planned to deploy another 6,000 soldiers and engineers to Russia and that 1,000 had already arrived.

“It is assessed that out of the recent third deployment plan of 6,000 troops, around 1,000 combat engineers have arrived in Russia,” Lee added.

Earlier this year, Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the North would send builders and deminers to the Kursk region.

North Korea only confirmed it had deployed troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine in April and admitted that its soldiers had been killed in combat.

Since then, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with the families of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine and offered condolences for their “unbearable pain”.

State media has run images of an emotional Kim embracing a returned soldier who appeared overwhelmed, burying his face in the leader’s chest.

The leader was also seen kneeling before a portrait of a fallen soldier to pay his respects and placing medals and flowers beside images of the dead.

Russia and North Korea signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea.

Taliban appeals for global aid as rescue teams search for survivors

By
IFP Media Wire
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Rescuers searched into the night for survivors on Monday after the 6.0 magnitude quake struck on Sunday, destroying entire villages across the country’s eastern Kunar province which borders Pakistan.

Many remained trapped under the debris of mud and stone homes built into steep valleys but rescuers struggled to reach remote areas due to rough mountainous terrain and inclement weather. It was a shallow earthquake, taking place just six miles beneath the earth’s surface, which is known to have a particularly destructive impact.

The quake killed 812 people across the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said. Authorities said they expected casualties to rise further once rescue teams reached more isolated locations, many of which remained inaccessible more than 24 hours after the earthquake struck.

Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for the health ministry in Kabul, called for international aid to tackle the devastation wrought by the quake that struck at around midnight local time.

“We need it because here lots of people lost their lives and houses,” he said.

The earthquake hit at a time when Afghanistan is already suffering from a severe economic crisis and a crippling withdrawal of international aid, following the takeover of the country by the Taliban in 2021. Hardline Taliban policies, such as a ban on female education and employment, have spurred on a sharp drop in international aid funding and humanitarian assistance to the country.

The disaster will further stretch the resources of the war-torn nation’s Taliban administration, which is also grappling with the return of hundreds of thousands of Afghans deported by Iran and Pakistan in recent weeks.

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