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Ancient Zahhak Castle stands as timeless sentinel in northwestern Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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With origins dating back over 2,000 years, the fortress is believed to have been constructed during the Parthian and Sasanian eras.

Built with distinctive red brickwork, Zahhak Castle sits majestically among the Surmeli Mountains, flanked by the Qaranqoo and Shurchai rivers. Its strategic position and architectural design suggest it once served both defensive and religious purposes.

According to some researchers, the castle may have functioned as a sanctuary dedicated to Anahita, the ancient Persian goddess of water and fertility.

The site spans approximately 10 kilometers in length and 2 kilometers in width, making it one of the more expansive archaeological remains in the region.

One of its most prominent surviving features is a well-preserved chahartaqi, a domed structure commonly found in Zoroastrian architecture.

Spring, especially the months of April and May, is considered the best time to visit Zahhak Castle, when the surrounding nature is in full bloom and the weather is ideal for exploration.

Israeli plan to expand Gaza war means ‘sacrificing’ captives: Hamas

By
IFP Media Wire
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Israel Hostages

On Sunday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to expand its ongoing war on Gaza and occupy territory inside the Palestinian enclave.

“The approval of the (Israeli) occupation cabinet of plans to expand its ground offensive in Gaza represents an explicit decision to sacrifice the Israeli hostages in the enclave,” Hamas said in a statement.

It called the Israeli decision “a reproduction of the cycle of failure” over the past 20 months without “achieving its declared goals.”

Hamas added Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments about expanding the war on Gaza “reflect his insistence on committing more crimes against civilians under a cover provided by the US administration.”

It appealed to the Arab and Islamic nations, the UN, and the international community “to take immediate action to curb the fascist occupation government, and bring its leaders to international justice.”

Israeli estimates suggest that 59 captives remain in Gaza, with 24 believed alive. In contrast, more than 9,500 Palestinians remain imprisoned in Israel under harsh conditions, including reports of torture, starvation, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights organizations.

More than 52,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for 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.

Tehran launches 36th International Book Fair with over 2,300 publishers

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Held at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla complex, this year’s fair spans nearly 75,000 square meters of indoor space and will run for 11 days, welcoming over 2,300 publishers from Iran and abroad.

Key officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Culture Minister Seyyed Abbas Salehi, attended the opening ceremony.

The exhibition is divided into several thematic sections, including educational publishers, the children and young adult section, university-level publishers, and Arabic and Latin books.

The main hall hosts general publishers, and the international and media section.

Iraq is the official guest of honor this year.

A key highlight is the launch of the first Tehran Literary Fellowship Program, set to open on May 12 with participation from domestic and international publishers and cultural figures.

Special subsidies for book purchases are available to students, scholars, and seminary members, with individual allowances co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and the participants.

Taremi makes history as first Iranian to register goal contribution in UCL semi-final

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The forward delivered a crucial assist for Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi during their dramatic 4-3 win over FC Barcelona at San Siro.

The match, officiated by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, was the second leg of the semi-final, and saw Inter Milan edge past the Spanish giants in a thrilling contest.

Taremi was introduced midway through the second half and made an immediate impact with his intelligent movement and decisive passing.

Beyond the assist, Taremi impressed with his overall performance – winning 7 duels, recording 3 clearances, and making 5 ball recoveries.

His technical composure and tactical awareness significantly influenced Inter’s tempo and control in the latter stages of the game.

Rated 7.46 by football analytics platform WhoScored, Taremi earned a place among Inter Milan’s top performers of the night, underlining his importance to the squad during one of the club’s most pivotal matches in recent years.

Trump plans to announce name change for ‘Persian Gulf’: AP

By
IFP Media Wire
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Persian Gulf

The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century, although usage of “Gulf of Arabia” and “Arabian Gulf” is dominant in many countries in the Middle East.

The government of Iran threatened to sue Google in 2012 over the company’s decision not to label the body of water at all on its maps.

On Google Maps in the U.S., the body of water appears as Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf). Apple Maps only says the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. military for years has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf in statements and images it releases.

The name of the body of water has become an emotive issue for Iranians who embrace their country’s long history as the Persian Empire. A spat developed in 2017 during Trump’s first term when he used the name Arabian Gulf for the waterway.

Iran’s president at the time, Hassan Rouhani, suggested Trump needed to “study geography.”

“Everyone knew Trump’s friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is, too,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote online at the time.

Trump can change the name for official U.S. purposes, but he can’t dictate what the rest of the world calls it.

The International Hydrographic Organization — of which the United States is a member — works to ensure all the world’s seas, oceans and navigable waters are surveyed and charted uniformly, and also names some of them. There are instances where countries refer to the same body of water or landmark by different names in their own documentation.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Trump is also set to visit Doha, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which also lie on the body of water. Originally planned as Trump’s first trip overseas since he took office on Jan. 20, it comes as Trump has tried to draw closer to the Persian Gulf countries as he seeks their financial investment in the U.S. and support in regional conflicts, including resolving the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and limiting Iran’s nuclear program.

The U.S. president also has significant financial ties to the countries through his personal businesses, over which he has retained ownership from the Oval Office.

The move comes several months after Trump stated the U.S. would refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

US loses another military aircraft off Yemen: CNN

By
IFP Media Wire
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The aircraft reportedly plunged into the sea after experiencing an arrestment failure while attempting to land on the carrier, forcing both the pilot and weapons systems officer to eject. CNN reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

“The arrestment failed, causing the aircraft to go overboard. Both aviators safely ejected and were rescued by a helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11,” an unnamed defense official told USNI News.

“The aviators were evaluated by medical personnel and assessed to have minor injuries. No flight deck personnel were injured.”

The incident reportedly occurred the same day the Houthi rebel group “took a shot” at the Truman, though it remains unclear whether the two events are connected. A formal investigation is underway, while the Navy has yet to officially confirm the details.

Just last week, another F/A-18 fell overboard from the Truman during evasive maneuvers to avoid incoming Houthi missile fire. In a separate incident last December, an F/A-18 was mistakenly shot down by the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg shortly after launching from the Truman for bombing raids against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Each F/A-18 Super Hornet costs between $60 million and $70 million, according to Pentagon estimates. The Houthis have also claimed to have shot down more than a dozen American MQ-9 Reaper drones over the past year, each valued at approximately $30 million.

The US has repeatedly clashed with the Houthis since the group began targeting Red Sea shipping in late 2023, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinian people amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The Truman strike group has launched numerous airstrikes on Yemen as part of a broader US-UK operation.

However, on Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that Washington would “immediately halt” its bombing campaign, claiming the Houthis had “capitulated” and no longer sought confrontation. Shortly after the announcement, Oman confirmed it had mediated a ceasefire agreement between the US and the Houthis, with both sides pledging not to target one another in the Red Sea.

Iranian start-up uses AI to help diagnose infertility at home

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Population

The project, led by physiology PhD graduate Hossein Ghasemi, aims to simplify and speed up early infertility diagnosis through AI-powered algorithms.

Speaking to local media, Ghasemi explained that their company, established six years ago, is focused on solving infertility issues using advanced technology.

“All the steps usually taken at fertility clinics can now be carried out by users at home, through a mobile AI-based device,” he said.

Traditionally, infertility diagnosis has required multiple visits to specialized medical centers. This new device, however, allows users to assess their reproductive health easily from home.

Ghasemi emphasized that the AI models used are fully developed in Iran, making the country one of only six in the world to have achieved this level of indigenous AI technology in reproductive health.

The product is commercially available and nearing the final stages of development for export. Ghasemi confirmed they are preparing to distribute the product internationally in the near future.

India conducts military operation against Pakistan

By
IFP Media Wire
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Pakistan announced on Wednesday that at least 26 people were killed and 46 others injured in the Indian attacks, accusing New Delhi of committing an “act of war”.

India said at least 10 people were killed by Pakistani shelling.

The leaders of both countries are holding crisis meetings on Wednesday.

The Indian strike and counterattack by Pakistan come amid soaring tensions, after a deadly attack last month on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, which denied any involvement.

In a statement early on Wednesday, India’s government noted its military had attacked “terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed”.

“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” it added.

The missiles struck locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country’s eastern Punjab province.

A Pakistani military spokesman had earlier told the broadcaster Geo that at least five locations, including two mosques, had been hit. He also stated that Pakistan’s response was under way, without providing details.

In Punjab, missiles hit a mosque in the city of Bahawalpur, killing a child and wounding two civilians, the military said.

International Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for India, Praveen Donthi, said that the “escalation between India and Pakistan has already reached a larger scale than during the last major crisis in 2019” with “potentially dire consequences”.

“Domestic emotions are high on both sides, fuelling the danger of further escalation,” he continued, but “India and Pakistan should choose diplomacy, as any further military action carries unacceptable risks.”

Following India’s attacks, the armies of the two sides exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across their frontier in disputed Kashmir in at least three places, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting police and witnesses.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum restraint from both sides.

“The secretary-general is very concerned about the Indian military operations across the Line of Control and international border. He calls for maximum military restraint from both countries,” Guterres’s spokesperson said, adding, “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan.”

The eruption of violence comes amid heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, in the aftermath of an attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.

India blamed Pakistan for the violence, in which 26 men were killed, and promised to respond. Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the killings.

Nitasha Kaul, the director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster, London, said the strikes are “very concerning”.

“Once again, the worst affected are going to be the people in the region, the Kashmiris, who are caught between the competing and proprietorial and rival postures and attitudes of India and Pakistan,” Kaul told Al Jazeera.

Still, she added, the escalation is “not that surprising, because within India … there has been a domestic pressure building up for a more militarist response, given the fact that there is a particularly hyper-nationalist government in power.

“In that sense, sadly, this was a countdown to a greater escalation, and hopefully it won’t proceed much further beyond what has already happened with these strikes,” Kaul continued.

US’ Gaza pier injured far more troops than previously known: Report

By
IFP Media Wire
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The pier, announced by Biden during a televised address to Congress in March 2024, was a massive endeavor that took about 1,000 U.S. forces to execute.

But bad weather and distribution challenges inside Gaza limited the effectiveness of what the U.S. military says was its biggest aid delivery effort ever in the Middle East. The pier was only operational for about 20 days and cost about $230 million.

While there were no deaths or known direct attacks on the pier, the Pentagon had said three U.S. troops suffered non-combat injuries in support of the pier in May, with one medically evacuated in critical condition.

But the new report by the Pentagon Inspector General said that the number was actually 62.

“Based on the information provided, we were not able to determine which of these 62 injuries occurred during the performance of duties or resulted off duty or from pre-existing medical conditions,” the report said.

The pier became a sore point in Congress, where Republicans branded it a political stunt by Biden, who was under pressure from fellow Democrats to do more to aid Palestinians after months of staunchly supporting Israel’s war on Gaza.

While it brought in sorely needed aid to a marshalling area on Gaza’s shore, the 1,200-foot-long (370-metre-long) floating pier had to be removed multiple times because of bad weather.

The Inspector General announced that the U.S. military did not meet the standards for the equipment.

“Nor did they organize, train, and equip their forces to meet common joint standards,” the report added.

Challenges to aid delivery in Gaza persist.

The United Nations and Palestinian representatives at the International Court of Justice have accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, after Israel began on March 2 to cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Palestinian enclave.

Trump says bombing of Yemen’s Houthis to stop

By
IFP Media Wire
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US Air Force

“The Houthis have announced to us that they don’t want to fight any more. They just don’t want to fight, and we will honour that, and we will stop the bombings,” Trump told reporters in the White House on Tuesday during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Trump claimed that the Yemeni group “capitulated” and has promised not to carry out attacks on shipping. It launched those attacks in October 2023 shortly after the war in Gaza started, saying the attacks were in support of Palestinians.

“I will accept their word, and we will be stopping the bombing of Houthis, effective immediately,” the US president stated.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the two sides have agreed to a ceasefire.

“Following recent discussions and contacts conducted by the Sultanate of Oman with the United States and the relevant authorities in Sana’a, in the Republic of Yemen, with the aim of de-escalation, efforts have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides,” he wrote in a post on X.

“In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping.”

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, wrote in a post on X that “Trump’s announcement of a halt to America’s aggression against Yemen will be evaluated on the ground first.”

“Yemen operations were and still are a support for Gaza to stop the aggression and bring in aid,” he added, suggesting that the group would not halt its attacks on Israel.

The ceasefire announcement comes hours after the Israeli military launched air strikes on the airport in Sanaa, inflicting devastating damage and rendering it inoperable.

Dozens of Israeli warplanes also launched several waves of large-scale overnight strikes on Yemen’s vital port of Hodeidah in what Israel said was a response after the Houthis hit the perimeter of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport with a ballistic missile.

The US military has been launching daily air strikes across Yemen for nearly two months, destroying infrastructure and killing dozens of people, including children and civilians.

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