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Iran’s Lake Urmia on brink of total desiccation

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Lake Urmia

The warning was issued by Director General of Environmental Protection in West Azarbaijan Province Hojjat Jabbari.

Speaking on Monday, Jabbari confirmed that satellite images and local reports show the northern half of the lake is nearly dry, with only a thin layer of water, just four to five centimeters deep, is covering an area of about 100 square kilometers.

“This thin layer of water will disappear within a week”, Jabbari said.

He added that from an ecological perspective, the area can already be considered dry. The lake’s southern basin, which currently holds about 600 to 700 square kilometers of water at a depth of 15 to 20 centimeters, is also expected to dry completely by the end of summer.

According to the official, autumn rainfall will not significantly improve the situation, as most seasonal precipitation occurs during winter and spring.

“The lake has essentially become seasonal since around 2011…without a substantial change in water management, it will only retain water in wet seasons and dry up in summer”, Jabbari said.

Experts warn that complete drying of Lake Urmia will have severe environmental, health, and socio-economic consequences for West and East Azarbaijan Provinces.

Iran prioritizes strengthening defense capabilities and post-war recovery

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Air Defense System

Pourmohammadi noted that relevant meetings are underway to expedite these efforts and ensure that the armed forces can operate effectively.

Responding to questions about the government’s plans following the 12-day war, Pourmohammadi said strengthening national defense is the foremost priority for the entire system, with coordinated efforts between the government, parliament, and the judiciary.

He also referred to the efforts during the war to support the armed forces and first responders during the recent war, noting that in the early days, the Red Crescent and emergency services received necessary resources.

Given that several provinces were affected by the conflict, funds were allocated to help local authorities provide better services to citizens.

Pourmohammadi added that with coordination from the Armed Forces General Staff, the Plan and Budget Organization has efficiently managed logistical support for the military.

Iran to host three-way talks with Russia and China amid efforts to prevent snapback sanctions

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran is in continuous consultations with these two countries to prevent the activation of the snapback mechanism, aimed at reimposing inti-Iran sanctions, or at least mitigate its consequences.

Responding to a question about how much Iran can rely on Russia and China if the snapback threat materializes, Baqaei noted that both countries are parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as JCPOA and are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, which gives them influential roles in any process of the top world body.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that Iran shares aligned positions with Moscow and Beijing and enjoys strong relations with both nations.

Baqaei further said that from legal, ethical, and political perspectives, there is no valid basis to reinstate the sanctions lifted under the JCPOA.

Iran leader’s advisor: National unity requires tangible change and public satisfaction

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Ali-Akbar Velayati

Echoing Ayatollah Khamenei’s repeated calls for cohesion, Velayati suggested that true unity may require adjustments in the government’s social approach, with a stronger focus on the people’s satisfaction in ways they can tangibly feel.

“The people have proven themselves,” he said, “and now it is the officials’ turn”.

Velayati also noted that outdated governance methods are no longer effective for the purpose of addressing the needs of the post-war society.

More Mossad-linked agents captured in Iran

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran Police

The public and revolutionary prosecutor of North Khorasan, Javad Ilali, said on Monday that the judicial system in the province is firmly determined to take decisive action against the criminals engaged in espionage activities.

He added that 15 individuals are being prosecuted in the province on charges of spreading lies and propaganda against Iran during the recent 12 days of Israeli-US aggression.

Late last month, three men convicted of collaborating with Mossad and smuggling bombs and demolition charges into Iran to assassinate distinguished Iranian figures were executed.

Iran has arrested hundreds of operatives affiliated with Mossad across the country in recent weeks.

Security forces have also dismantled many underground drone facilities operated by Mossad agents.

The arrested suspects are accused of planning to use attack drones, building bombs, spying on military sites, and transmitting sensitive information to the Israeli regime.

Israel seeking to fund tour for MAGA and pro-Trump influencers: Report

By
IFP Media Wire
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The daily on Sunday reported that the planned tour will feature 16 influencers, all under the age of 30, who support US President Donald Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) and America First campaigns.

The influencers each have hundreds of thousands to millions of followers. They will be flown in to counter what the Israeli government sees as declining support for Israel among young Americans, the report said, without citing any date.

“With the rise of the America First movement and MAGA in American politics, it’s essential for Israel that the movement adopt a pro-Israel position,” Yacov Livne, senior deputy director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Department of Public Diplomacy, was quoted as saying in the report.

The Israeli foreign ministry aims to bring 550 influencer delegations to Israel by the end of the year through such tours, it added.

“[While] older Republicans and American conservatives still hold pro-Israel views, positive perspectives towards Israel are falling across all younger age groups,” it noted, according to the report.

The influencers will be pushed to share messaging that aligns with Israeli policy regarding the Palestinians. “We are working with influencers, sometimes with delegations of influencers,” an unnamed source from the ministry told Haaretz.

“Their networks have huge followings and their messages are more effective than if they came directly from the ministry.”

The tour will be carried out through an organisation called Israel365, which is in a “unique position to convey a pro-Israel stance that aligns entirely with the MAGA and America First agenda”, Haaretz quoted the foreign ministry as saying.

Israel365 promotes support for Israel, specifically among Christians, based on biblical principles. Its website says the group “stands unapologetically for the Jewish people’s God-given right to the entire Land of Israel”.

The organisation also rejects a two‑state solution as a “delusion” and describes its mission as defending “Western civilization against threats from both Progressive Left extremism and global jihad”.

The ministry said it has struck a 290,000-shekel ($86,000) deal to carry out the tour, Haaretz reported.

Since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israel365 “deepened ties with MAGA and America First movements, appearing at their major events and helping recruit prominent conservative figures to visit Israel”, the report added.

Starvation kills 86 Gazans, including 76 children, since start of war: Health Ministry

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza

“Famine has killed 86 people in Gaza, including 76 children, as a result of starvation and malnutrition,” the ministry said in a statement.

It described the crisis as a “silent massacre” unfolding in the blockaded territory and held both Israel and the international community responsible for the worsening humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

The ministry noted that 18 people had starved to death in Gaza in the last 24 hours, calling for the immediate reopening of Gaza’s border crossings to allow the entry of food and medicine.

Israel has sealed all crossings with Gaza since March 2, effectively cutting off access to humanitarian aid and accelerating the spread of famine.

Israel has killed nearly 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombing has destroyed the enclave, almost collapsed the health system, and created famine-like conditions.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

Iran says European trio has lost legal standing in nuclear deal

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Abbas Araghchi

In a letter to the UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, the Security Council presidency and EU foreign‑policy chief Kaja Kallas, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the three countries had forfeited their status by giving political and material support to the unlawful aggression.

Any European bid to reactivate sanctions rescinded by Resolution 2231 is therefore “null and void,” he wrote.

Araghchi noted that after the United States quit the nuclear accord, JCPOA, in 2018, Iran first used the accord’s dispute mechanism and later adopted remedial nuclear steps allowed under Paragraph 36 of the deal.

The E3, he argued, ignored their own commitments and aligned with US pressure, culminating in backing the latest strikes.

“The E3 cannot and should not be allowed to undermine the credibility of the UN Security Council by abusing a Resolution to which they themselves have not been committed,” Araghchi said, asserting that Iran can defeat “dirty work” yet remains open to genuine diplomacy.

Iranian Leader’s aide meets Putin in Kremlin to discuss nuclear, regional issues

By
IFP Media Wire
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Ali Larijani, top advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin | X

During the surprise meeting in Moscow on Sunday, Larijani “conveyed assessments of the escalating situation in the Middle East and around the Iranian nuclear program”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He added that the Russian president had expressed Moscow’s “well-known positions on how to stabilize the situation in the region and on the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear program”.

Meanwhile, the Russian presidency also confirmed the meeting and said that, at the instruction of Ayatollah Khamenei, Larijani presented Iran’s views on the current escalation in the region and, notably, surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.

Putin expressed support for stabilizing the situation in the region and resolving any issues pertaining to Iran’s nuclear program via political means, it added.

The meeting was held amid reports that Iran and the European troika – France, Germany, and Britain – have agreed in to hold fresh nuclear negotiations on Friday in Istanbul, Turkey.

In a statement last week, Russia’s Foreign Ministry dismissed a report claiming that President Putin had urged Iran to agree to a zero enrichment agreement with the United States, describing it as “defamation.”

The statement came after the American news website Axios, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that Putin had “encouraged” Iran to accept a nuclear deal that would exclude uranium enrichment.

“Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasized the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran’s nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions,” the ministry said.

Iran has consistently announced that it does not seek a nuclear weapon, while defending its “legitimate rights” to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Israeli attacks in Syria raise US concern over Netanyahu: Report

By
IFP Media Wire
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White House officials told Axios that Israel’s recent bombing of Syria’s presidential compound, general staff headquarters and defense ministry has raised alarm about Netanyahu’s unpredictable behavior.

“The feeling is that every day there is something new,” stated one senior official.

Some White House officials criticized Netanyahu’s increasing aggression, with one saying he “acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time.”

One official warned that Netanyahu’s actions could undermine US President Donald Trump’s efforts in Syria and exhaust his goodwill.

“The bombing in Syria caught the president and the White House by surprise. The president doesn’t like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in,” said a US official.

A senior official highlighted Israel’s bombing of a church in Gaza last week, which prompted Trump to call Netanyahu demanding an explanation.

Officials emphasized the growing skepticism within Trump’s team toward the Israeli prime minister, saying he is “sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”

Washington remains alarmed over Netanyahu and his regional policies, officials noted.

Neither Israeli nor US officials have responded to the report.

On July 13, clashes broke out between Bedouin Arab tribes and armed Druze groups in Suwayda in southern Syria.

The violence escalated and Israeli airstrikes followed, including on Syrian military positions and infrastructure in Damascus. Israel cited the need to protect the Druze community as a pretext for its attacks.

Most Druze leaders in Syria, however, have publicly rejected any foreign interference and reaffirmed their commitment to a unified Syrian state.

All parties in Syria agreed to pause the violence as of 5 pm Damascus time (1400GMT) Sunday, Tom Barrack, the US special envoy for Syria, announced.

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