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Iran’s parliament speaker: Israel could resist “less than a week” without US, NATO support

“If the Zionist regime were to stand alone against Iran, it would not endure for even a week,” he stated, adding that its prolonged resistance was due to support from the U.S. and NATO.

He further noted that even that assistance was insufficient, pushing Washington toward “direct involvement,” referring to the U.S. bombardment of Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities.

Qalibaf also emphasized that Iran’s true source of strength lies not only in its military arsenal but in its popular backing.

“We take pride in our missile capability, but our main power is the heart of our people,” he said. “If the people are with us, we are strong; without them, even missiles will not create real power.”

He described the war as a “window of opportunity,” stressing that Iran’s military response, combined with public resilience, thwarted foreign plans to destabilize and fragment the country.

Qalibaf also urged officials to rethink traditional approaches and pursue reforms to address domestic challenges.

Iran Slams IAEA Board Resolution as Illegal, Politically Motivated

Iran's Foreign Ministry

In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry said the move by the three European countries and the United States to draft and impose the resolution on the Board of Governors is yet another clear sign of their irresponsible conduct and ongoing efforts to instrumentalize the Agency to pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The statement says the resolution—approved by exploiting the numerical dominance of the Western bloc and its supporters on the Board, and lacking the backing of nearly half of the member states, including opposition from two permanent members of the UN Security Council—violates core principles of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which guarantees the inalienable right of member states to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

It also reiterates unlawful demands contained in now-obsolete Security Council resolutions calling on Iran to suspend enrichment.

According to the statement, the Board of Governors has no legal authority to revive terminated Security Council resolutions, previously pursued through misuse of the JCPOA dispute-resolution mechanism.

The statement adds that the content of the resolution reflects US coercion and the duplicity of the three European states.

It notes that the United States has been the main instigator of crises surrounding Iran’s nuclear program over the past decade, having unilaterally and illegally withdrawn from the JCPOA in 2018 and carried out acts of military aggression against Iran, including attacks on safeguarded nuclear facilities.

The Foreign Ministry said Germany, France, and the UK—due to their repeated violations of JCPOA commitments, particularly since May 2018, their alignment with the US and the Zionist regime in attacking Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, and their role in initiating the so-called “snapback” process—must themselves be held accountable for the severe consequences of their actions.

The Ministry once again reaffirmed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s opposition to nuclear weapons, calling the genocidal Zionist regime as the sole possessor of weapons of mass destruction in the region and the main obstacle to establishing a Middle East free of such weapons, the greatest threat to international peace and security.

Iran Says Cairo Cooperation Framework with IAEA is now void

Abbas Araghchi

His statement came after the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution critical of Iran.
Araghchi denounced the resolution, saying the United States and three European countries had pushed it through despite its illegality and lack of justification.

According to him, the UK, France, Germany and the US forced the measure forward even though fifteen board members either opposed it or refused to support it.

He argued that by taking this step and ignoring Iran’s efforts to cooperate with the IAEA, those states have damaged the Agency’s independence and credibility and derailed ongoing technical engagement between Tehran and the IAEA.

The minister also noted that the Cairo document had already been effectively sidelined after the three European countries sought at the UN Security Council to revive canceled resolutions against Iran. He said Tehran has now formally informed the IAEA’s Director General that the Cairo arrangement no longer has any standing and should be regarded as nullified.

US demands Ukraine accept Washington-drafted peace plan: Reuters

Reuters quoted anonymous sources as saying that “Washington wants Kiev to accept the main points” of the reported peace plan. This would reportedly require Kiev to cede the remaining parts of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) it still occupies, as well as significantly reduce its armed forces in exchange for Western security guarantees.

Axios and the Financial Times have published similar reports, claiming that the document also stipulates recognizing Russian as an official state language in Ukraine and granting official status to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The purported points of the American plan, if confirmed, echo some of Moscow’s long-standing demands.

Reuters quoted an unnamed senior Ukrainian official as confirming that the authorities in Kiev had received “signals” about the purported peace plan. The proposal has reportedly been prepared without any input from Ukraine and the EU.

An anonymous White House official told Politico the peace roadmap could be agreed by all parties to the conflict by the end of this month and possibly “as soon as this week.”

In a post on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while not directly confirming the media reports, wrote that “achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions.”

Speaking to Axios, senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev expressed cautious optimism, saying that “we feel the Russian position is really being heard.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, said there was “nothing new” in Russia-US negotiations to end the conflict, adding that Russia remains willing to engage in talks with Ukraine.

The EU has pushed back against the US-proposed plan to end the Ukraine conflict on Thursday, insisting that any settlement must reflect the positions of both Brussels and Kiev.

Ukraine peace plan needs Kyiv, Europe ‘on board’: EU

Russia Ukraine War

The initiative from Washington — reportedly drawn up in cooperation with Moscow — has stirred fears that President Donald Trump could be see-sawing back to the Kremlin’s side despite months of nudging by Europe.

“For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board,” Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

“We have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. So we haven’t heard of any concessions on the Russian side.”

A source familiar with the US proposal told AFP Wednesday that it would see Kyiv ceding land to Moscow and more than halving its army.

American media outlet Axios earlier reported Moscow and Washington had been working on the secret plan to end the almost four-year war.

The source told AFP it was unclear if the proposals were backed by US President Donald Trump personally.

Kallas stated that as far as she knew there had been no input from Ukraine or its European backers.

“We welcome all meaningful efforts to end this war, but like we have said before it has to be just and lasting,” she added.

“If Russia really wanted peace it could have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire already.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot insisted that peace in Ukraine could not mean “capitulation” for Kyiv.

“Discussions are needed for us to reach a just and durable peace in Ukraine, they should start with a ceasefire on the contact line that allows for orderly discussions on the question of territories and security,” he said.

His German counterpart Johann Wadephul echoed that, stressing it was a “prerequisite” for any negotiations that Russia agree to a truce without any conditions.

Poland’s Radoslaw Sikorski pointed out it would be wrong to limit the size of the forces Ukraine could use to defend itself.

“I hope it’s not the victim that has restrictions on its ability to defend itself put on, but it’s the aggressor, whose aggressive potential should be restricted,” he said.

European leaders have been playing a cat-and-mouse game with Trump over Ukraine since he returned to office in January as they try to steer him towards their position.

That has seen them launch repeated frantic efforts to talk him around from trying to impose painful conditions on Kyiv — and seizing on any hint he is getting tougher on Russia.

A senior EU official stated the latest plan suggested a Russian effort to show willing to Trump after he hit two of its biggest oil majors with sanctions.

“It’s a Russian narrative, Russia pushing for it to distract attention for fear of sanctions,” the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that respecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity remained fundamental.

But he stated it was at least a plus that Washington had not yet washed its hands of Ukraine, after months of unsuccessful efforts to stop the fighting.

“I do not see the big tragedy that there are some ideas how to end this war — that is good that it is coming from United States,” he added.

“Look at the positive side. If they are working on it, it means that they engage. They are not dropping it for Europe to only to deal with.”

 

 

IAEA BoG votes to urge Iran to provide information about nuclear material

Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board voted for the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.

Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 12 countries abstained and one did not vote.

The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

Thursday’s vote at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna sets the stage for a likely further escalation of tensions between the agency and Iran, which has reacted strongly to similar previous resolutions.

 

Iran parliament’s foreign policy chief: No current talks with US, but “willingness to negotiate has existed”

Iran US Flags

Ebrahim Azizi, speaking at the “Pioneers of Liberation” event at the University of Tehran, emphasized that Iran remains open to talks if national interests and clearly defined negotiating principles are fully respected.

“There are no ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States at this moment, but the willingness to negotiate has existed and still exists,” he said.

Azizi stated that any future discussions must acknowledge Iran’s “right to enrichment” within the nuclear framework.

“If the principles of negotiation, its boundaries, and our national interests are upheld, and if enrichment is recognized, then we will negotiate,” he added.

His remarks come after five rounds of indirect talks between Iran and the US over recent years, were torpedoed after a US-Israeli aggression against Iran ongoing in June.
Despite intermittent progress, those rounds failed to produce a final settlement, and formal channels have since stalled.

Explosive weapons killed most children on record in 2024: Report

Gaza War

Nearly 12,000 children were killed or injured in conflict last year worldwide, said the UK-based charity, citing UN figures. This was the highest number since records began in 2006, and was up by 42 percent on the 2020 total.

Previously, children in war zones were more likely to die from malnutrition, disease or failing health systems.

But as conflicts, such as those in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, take place more and more in urban areas, children are being caught up as bombs and drones strike hospitals, schools and residential areas, Save the Children said.

More than 70 percent of child casualties in war zones in 2024 were caused by explosive weapons, such as missiles and grenades, up from an average of around 59 percent in the period from 2020 to 2024, according to the report.

“The world is witnessing the deliberate destruction of childhood — and the evidence is undeniable,” said Narmina Strishenets, senior conflict and humanitarian advocacy advisor at Save the Children UK.

“Children are paying the highest price in today’s wars… Missiles are falling where children sleep, play and learn — turning the very places that should be the safest, like their homes and schools, into death traps.”

Children’s smaller bodies and developing organs means injuries from blasts can be much more severe and recovery can be more complex and prolonged.

“Children are far more vulnerable to explosive weapons than adults,” said Paul Reavley, a consultant paediatric emergency physician and co-founder of the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership, a coalition between Save the Children UK and medical specialists.

“Their anatomy, physiology, behaviour and psychosocial needs make them disproportionately affected.”

The conflicts that claimed the most casualties among children in 2024 were in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine and Syria.

The deadliest conflict in recent years for children is in Gaza, where 20,000 children have been killed since Israel launched its war on the territory, the report said.

 

FIFA unveils official 2026 World Cup poster featuring Iran captain Jahanbakhsh

The design release comes ahead of the expanded tournament, which will be held across the US, Mexico and Canada next year.

The 23rd edition of the World Cup, scheduled from 11 June to 19 July 2026, will mark the first time the competition includes 48 teams, significantly increasing the number of matches and participating nations.

FIFA is set to conduct the tournament draw on December 4 in the US, where all qualified teams will learn their group-stage opponents.

The newly revealed poster highlights a blend of players symbolizing the tournament’s global reach.

Iran is currently continuing preparations for the remaining stages of World Cup qualification.

Iran’s Permanent Mission to UN: Canada ‘posturing’ as rights champion despite history of racism

In a statement released on Thursday, Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations lambasted Canada after the country welcomed the adoption of an anti-Iran rights resolution it had drafted at the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues) of the UN General Assembly.

“Spare us the sanctimonious drivel from Canada—a country with a well-documented history of thousands of Indigenous children dumped in unmarked graves, still steeped in its own entrenched structural racism—now posturing as a global champion of human rights vis-à-vis Iran,” it said.

The mission also noted that Canada would have stood trial if human rights had not been misused as a tool for political pressure.

“Had ‘human rights’ not been hijacked as a geopolitical cudgel by the usual club of serial offenders, Canada would have been the one in the dock, sweating under resolutions, not swaggering upon the stage!”

The UN’s Third Committee on Wednesday approved the draft resolution titled “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran” by a vote of 79 in favor to 28 against, with 63 abstentions.

Speaking prior to the vote, Iranian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gholamhossein Darzi rejected the “politically motivated, selective, and wholly counterproductive” resolution.

He stated that the allegations against Iran contained in the document are based on “unverified and selectively interpreted information.”

The resolution disregards Iran’s human rights achievements, as well as its efforts towards advancing socio-economic development and strengthening legal protections in accordance with constitutional and international obligations, he added.

The envoy further criticized the resolution for failing to condemn the flagrant violations of international law committed by the Israeli regime and the United States during their 12-day military aggression against Iran in June.

The drafters, Darzi emphasized, deliberately omitted any reference in the text to the profoundly harmful and negative impacts of unilateral coercive measures with respect to the human rights of the Iranian nation.

“We firmly believe that, were human rights not being misused as a tool for political pressure by a certain group of countries, the main sponsor of this draft—namely Canada—would itself have been the subject of resolutions in this esteemed body: for the atrocities committed against its Indigenous peoples; for its neglect of the living and economic conditions of its own citizens, and for its military support to the Israeli regime in the commission of genocide and war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories,” he added.

Meanwhile, he concluded that the resolutions, which do not reflect the realities on the ground, “are crafted not to advance human rights, but to exert political pressure.”