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Lavrov to lead Russian delegation to G20 summit instead of Putin in light of his possible detention

By
IFP Media Wire
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Lavrov Putin

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2023 issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest due to his role in the deportation of Ukrainian children. Brazil is a party to the ICC’s Rome Statute and, therefore, is required to detain Putin if he enters the country.

Brazil previously issued a standard invitation to Putin for the summit, which will convene heads of state of G20 nations in Rio de Janeiro Nov. 18-19.

In October, Putin stated he would not attend the Rio de Janeiro summit, claiming he did not want to “disrupt the normal work of the forum”.

Lavrov has repeatedly represented Putin at events involving world leaders, including sessions of the United Nations General Assembly and last year’s G20 summit in India.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in September 2023 that the decision to detain Putin at the G20 would be left to his country’s judiciary.

Putin visited Mongolia, an ICC member state, in September of this year, his first such visit since his arrest warrant was made public. Despite Mongolia’s obligation under international law to arrest Putin, the Russian president received a warm welcome in Ulaanbaatar.

Ukrainian lawmakers described Putin’s Mongolia visit as “a well-planned provocation” meant to show his indifference to the rule of law.

Senior Iran judicial official: Afghan prisoners to be extradited to own country

By
IFP Media Wire
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Iran Prison

Askar Jalalian made these remarks before departing for Kabul to negotiate with his Afghan counterpart, adding that the extradition of these Afghan prisoners is based on a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries, which was signed in 2006, and that the new Taliban rulers in Afghanistan are committed to this formal agreement.

He noted that Afghan prisoners, most of whom have committed drug-related offenses, will serve their sentences in their home country.

Jalalian stated that this action is in accordance with human rights principles, and the prisoners will be returned to their country with their consent.

He also mentioned that these prisoners should not have private complaints or debts, and their sentences should not include death or qisas (retribution).

Jalalian added that during his trip to Afghanistan, necessary measures will also be taken to bring back Iranian prisoners in Afghanistan. He reported that the number of these prisoners is less than ten.

He also emphasized the need to deepen bilateral relations with the aim of expanding cooperation, pointing out that efforts should be made to remove existing obstacles.

US claims North Korean forces join combat alongside Russia

By
IFP Media Wire
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North Korean Soldiers

Washington is echoing earlier warnings from Kyiv that Pyongyang’s troops have been deployed in the warzone in an unprecedented escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Today I can confirm that over 10,000 (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces,” spokesperson Vedant Patel stated.

“Russian forces have trained the (North Korean) soldiers in artillery, in UAV and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, which are critical skills for front-line operations,” Patel added.

According to Patel, the effectiveness of North Korean soldiers will “in large part be dictated by how well the Russians can integrate them into their military”.

Russia is mustering a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, to launch a counter-offensive against a Ukrainian salient in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, according to a report.

The new force comes as Russia saw its heaviest losses last month, and the North Korean troops could be replacing injured and killed Russian soldiers, according to some experts.

Clashes between the Ukrainian and North Korean soldiers are currently underway, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Nov. 5. North Korean troops have already suffered casualties, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Nov. 7, without specifying the number.

Trump picks hardliner Mike Huckabee as Israel’s envoy

By
IFP Media Wire
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Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump

Huckabee is a prominent leader in the pro-Israel evangelical Christian movement.

He was governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 and ran twice for the Republican presidential nomination, in 2008 and 2016.

“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement.

“He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”

It’s unclear how Huckabee would advance Trump’s pledge to end the war in Gaza, stating in June, “There’s no valid reason to have a cease-fire with Hamas.”

Huckabee has also advocated for the forcible displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s war on Gaza.

“If the so-called Palestinians are so loved by the muslim nations of the world, why wont any of those nations at least offer to give temporary refuge to their brothers and sisters in Gaza,” Huckabee said in October 2023.

Huckabee is the first non-Jewish American to be named ambassador to Israel in almost twenty years.

The last was ambassador James Cunningham, a career diplomat nominated by President George W Bush in 2008.

Huckabee’s nomination underscores the growing sway of evangelical Christians in the Republican Party’s ties to Israel. Followers of Christian Zionism believe that modern Israel is a manifestation of Bible prophecies and that the US’s fate is linked to it.

Huckabee has fallen somewhat from the political spotlight. In recent years, he has focused on offering all-inclusive evangelical Christian tours of Israel for $5,850 per trip. The tours, marketed towards senior citizens, combine travel with a dose of politics.

“You’ll learn about Israel’s heritage from both a Biblical and a historical perspective. You’ll hear from top Israeli officials about the strategic place Israel holds today and why America is such a valuable ally to her,” the advertisement for the Huckabee-led tours says.

When he was running for the Republican presidential nomination, Huckabee claimed, “There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian”, adding that the national identity had been created as “a political tool to try to force land away from Israel”.

Huckabee has been an outspoken advocate for Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

“I think Israel has title deed to Judea and Samaria,” he told Politico in 2017, using the Hebrew language terms for the occupied West Bank.

“There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation,” he added.

Huckabee was an evangelical pastor before he rose to the top of Arkansas politics. However, his interest in Israel and the Middle East stemmed from a trip to the region when he was 17 years old, travelling across Greece, Syria and Israel.

In one interview, Huckabee fondly recounted seeing “great-looking Israeli girls in bikinis, just showing off and flirting” when he arrived at the Jordan River.

He has rejected the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question outright, saying that to prevent Israeli Jews from being a minority in one state, there should be an “aggressive interest in bringing Jews from around the world to the homeland”.

Iran hopes to outline cooperation framework with IAEA during Grossi visit

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Rafael Grossi

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Araghchi emphasized the longstanding and extensive cooperation between Iran and the IAEA but also acknowledged the challenges and disagreements.

“We believe this visit is happening at a very appropriate time,” he noted, adding, “And we hope to draw a new path for cooperation between Iran and the agency with this positive spirit.”

Grossi is scheduled to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday evening as his first visit since the new administration of President Massoud Pezeshkian took office in August.

The IAEA head is scheduled to hold talks with the Iranian president, foreign minister, and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami.

The foreign minister stated, “We never left the negotiating table; it was the Western parties who failed to honor their commitments, and it was the United States that withdrew.”

Araghchi asserted if Iran’s interests are met, it is always ready to resume negotiations on a nuclear agreement.

Iranian president orders review of internet filtering, warns public dissatisfaction will backfire

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Masoud Pezeshkian

During a council meeting on Tuesday evening, President Pezeshkian stated, “Continuing internet filtering, given the widespread dissatisfaction it has caused, is unacceptable.”

“Decisions that do not satisfy the public could backfire, eroding social capital and posing security challenges,” he warned.

He instructed the working group to urgently examine various aspects of the issue and present their findings at the next council meeting.

He noted that surveys indicate the goals of the filtering policy have not been achieved and stressed the need for all governing bodies to reach a common understanding on the issue.

President Pezeshkian highlighted that governance should not be based solely on assumptions without considering public satisfaction and stressed the importance of understanding how society perceives the decisions made for their lives.

Iran has blocked access to many popular websites and online services, with the Internet Filtering Committee, headed by the prosecutor general, deciding on access to which websites must be curtailed. This has led many internet users to turn to VPNs, which, according to unofficial sources, cost people millions of dollars annually.

Removing the years-long internet filtering was one of the campaign promises of President Pezeshkian.

Political analyst: Iran should not reject talks with US

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran US Flags

Abbas Abdi made the remarks in an interview with the Etemad newspaper on Wednesday, while reviewing the first 100 days of Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian’s administration.

Abdi called for reducing tensions and overcoming the mental barriers to Iran-US relations, citing the cooperation between Tehran and Washington in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia despite lacking diplomatic relations.

The analyst highlighted that the main issue in foreign policy is not the lack of power to respond to aggressors but the limited options available amid tensions with Israel, warning that relying solely on missile responses will not work.

He praised Pezeshkian’s commitment to serious and sustainable reforms, his approach to foreign policy, human rights, women’s issues, and combating discrimination and injustice.

Abdi, however, criticized the administration’s appointments, calling them the worst and most discreditable aspect, as many individuals from certain political factions “seek personal gain.”

He stressed the need to rebuild trust between the people, political forces, and governments, which has been damaged by past events.

UN official warns Israeli acts in Gaza ‘reminiscent of gravest international crimes’

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza War

“Since the escalation of this conflict in October 2023, we have briefed this Council on no fewer than 16 occasions,” Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, told a UN Security Council session on Palestine.

Condemning the toll of the recent escalations, Msuya said civilians have been “driven from their homes, stripped of their sense of place and dignity” and often forced to witness the deaths of their family members.

She recounted the horrific conditions facing injured children, who in some cases have had the words “Wounded Child, No Surviving Family” written on their arms.

Emphasizing that Gaza’s destruction has reached an unprecedented scale, with over 70% of civilian housing damaged or destroyed, Msuya asked: “What distinction was made, and what precautions were taken?”

“We are witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes,” she stressed.

She noted that the “latest offensive that Israel started in North Gaza last month is an intensified, extreme and accelerated version of the horrors of the past year.”

Israel’s relentless attacks are now affecting approximately 75,000 people trapped in North Gaza with limited food and water supplies, she added.

Criticizing the Israeli blockade of fuel needed to operate digging equipment to rescue civilians trapped under rubble, Msuya decried that “the daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits”.

“People under siege now tell us they are afraid that they will be targeted if they receive help,” she continued.

Msuya further raised alarm over the Israeli Knesset’s recent bill that aims to ban the activities of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) starting in January.

“If implemented, this bill will be another devastating blow to efforts to provide lifesaving aid and avert the threat of famine. No other organization can fill these gaps,” she warned.

Calling for immediate international action, Msuya urged UN member states to use “diplomatic and economic pressure, responsible arms transfers, and combating impunity” to prevent further suffering.

She implored the Security Council to employ “its powers under the UN Charter to ensure compliance with international law and full implementation of its resolutions”.

The Israeli army has continued a deadly onslaught in northern Gaza since early October to reportedly prevent the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping amid a siege on the area. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

More than 1,900 people have been killed and thousands more wounded in northern Gaza since the offensive began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The aggression is the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since an attack by Hamas in October last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 43,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 102,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli assault has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

Iran, Russia, Turkey censure Israeli crimes in West Asia

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza War

A closing statement from the three countries following the 22nd international meeting on Syria in the Astana format, held in Kazakhstan’s capital, expressed their “strong condemnation and deep concern over the ongoing mass killings and criminal attacks by Israel in Gaza, as well as Israeli aggression in Lebanon and the West Bank”.

They called on the international community, in particular the United Nations Security Council, “to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access in Gaza”.

The trio also condemned Israeli military attacks on Syria, deeming such actions as violations of international law.

“[The sides] condemned all Israeli military strikes in Syria. [They] considered these actions as a violation of international law, international humanitarian law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and recognized them as destabilizing and exacerbating tensions in the region and called for the ceasing of these attacks,” the statement said.

The sides acknowledged the negative impact of the escalation of tensions in the region on Syria, underscoring the urgency for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UN agencies, and all humanitarian actors to develop an emergency response for those who were forced to cross from Lebanon into Syria following the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon.

The Zionist regime has been conducting a genocide in Gaza for over a year, resulting in significant casualties. The regime has recently expanded its military aggression to Lebanon, causing numerous fatalities in the Arab country.

Israel has also conducted repeated attacks on Syria and others in the region as part of its escalated campaign of violence.

Yemen’s Houthis say conducted missile, drone attacks on US warships

By
IFP Media Wire
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Yemen Houthi

Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday that the United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) forces “successfully repelled multiple Iranian backed Houthi attacks during a transit of the Bab al-Mandeb strait”, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

Ryder told reporters at a news conference that two US-guided missile destroyers – the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance – were attacked by at least eight one-way attack drones, five antiship ballistic missiles and three antiship cruise missiles.

All the Houthi drones and missiles “were successfully engaged and defeated”, and neither of the US Navy ships were damaged or personnel hurt, he noted.

Ryder added that he was not aware of any attacks against the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

Earlier on Tuesday, Houthi fighters announced that they had carried out two “specific military operations” against the US Navy in an assault lasting eight hours.

“The first operation targeted the American aircraft carrier (Abraham) located in the Arabian Sea with a number of cruise missiles and drones,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea announced in a statement.

“The other operation targeted two American destroyers in the Red Sea with a number of ballistic missiles and drones,” he said, adding that the operation had “successfully achieved its objectives”.

The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have been carrying out attacks on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians.

The Houthis have targeted more than 90 vessels with missiles and drones, killing four sailors and sinking two ships.

The Yemeni group has demanded that Israel end its war on Gaza as a condition for stopping the attacks, which have severely disrupted trade in one of the world’s busiest maritime routes.

The US, with support from the United Kingdom, has carried out repeated strikes on targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in response to the Red Sea shipping attacks.

On Sunday, the US and UK launched air strikes on Sanaa and the northern Amran governorate, with the Pentagon saying it had targeted Houthi advanced weapons storage facilities.

The attacks came just weeks after intensive US raids on Houthi targets in which B-2 strategic bombers participated for the first time, carrying out strikes against five underground weapons storage locations.

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