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Iran dismisses claim of embassy involvement anti-Israeli attack by Hezbollah

Esmail Baghaei

Baghaei rejected a claim by the spokesperson of Israel’s army that the embassy of Iran in Lebanon was involved in a military operation by Hezbollah against the regime.

He described the allegation as unfounded, a lie and deception on part of the Israeli regime, the ministry’s website reported.

The spokesman referred to the continuation of the Israeli regime’s aggression and crimes against regional countries over the past year and warned against any assault on Iran’s interests.

His remarks came after the Israeli army’s spokesman Daniel Hagari accused Iran of sending “suitcases of cash and gold” to the Iranian embassy in Beirut, alleging that the money goes “directly to Hezbollah”.

Nuclear chief dismisses concerns about potential Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities

Iran Nuclear Program

Asked about the Israeli regime’s threat of military attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, Mohammad Eslami told reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday that such hostile threats have always been posed against the country.

He gave an assurance that the country’s nuclear facilities are protected vigilantly against all threats amid the Israeli regime’s rhetoric of military action.

Iran’s defense and security capabilities have always been maintained at a level to deal with every threat vigilantly, Eslami stated.

He added that the country’s nuclear facilities are under protection and safeguarded in accordance with the defensive arrangements.

The official warned that any hostile action against Iran’s nuclear sites would be met with a “crushing response”.

The Zionist regime issued threats of an attack on Iran after the Islamic Republic launched a retaliatory missile strike on Israel. This was in response to Israel’s assassination of former Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, as well as an Iranian military advisor and Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah during an air raid in Southern Beirut, Lebanon.

Tehran has warned that any attack by Israel will be met with a severe response, “beyond the Israeli regime’s imagination”.

Iran strongly condemns Israel’s assassination of Nasrallah successor

Iranian Foreign Ministry

The Iranian Foreign Ministry offered condolences and congratulations on the martyrdom of Safieddine and a group of his companions during a criminal attack by the Zionist regime.

It said in a statement that Safieddine was one of the leaders and founders of the Lebanese resistance and one of the close and loyal companions of Martyr Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, who spent his whole honorable life pursuing the freedom of al-Quds and the defense of Lebanon’s honor and territorial integrity against the aggression and crimes of the Zionist occupation regime, and he was finally martyred on this holy path.

The foreign ministry also strongly condemns this unforgivable crime committed by the Zionists and emphasizes the direct complicity of the US government and other governments supporting the occupying regime in this crime.

“Without a doubt, the martyrdom of the leaders of the resistance will not weaken an iota the determination, faith and will of their leaders, the zealous fighters of the resistance front, and the free Muslim nations of the region to fight against the occupation, oppression and aggression of the Zionist regime until the end of the sinister phenomenon of the Zionist occupation and the realization of the rights of the Palestinian people and region nations, especially the fundamental right to self-determination,” it added.

Hezbollah has confirmed the martyrdom of Safieddine, one of the candidates possibly slated to take charge of the group following the assassination of Nasrallah.

Hezbollah said in a statement Wednesday that Safieddine was martyred in an Israeli airstrike, without specifying the date.

“His Eminence Seyyed Hashem Safieddine has devoted most of his life to serving Hezbollah, the Islamic Resistance and its society,” the Lebanese group’s statement added.

The group has yet to name a successor to Nasrallah.

Iranian president, Egypt’s Sisi hold landmark meeting on sidelines of BRICS summit

Pezeshkian and Sisi

They talked about the most important regional issues and also weighed plans to stop the war on Gaza and Lebanon and prevent a spread of clashes to the other parts of the region.

Highlighting his administration’s policy of rapport and efforts to strengthen friendly relations with the other nations, Pezeshkian stressed that Iran is not seeking war and conflict at all.

Deploring the Western governments’ double standards and their support for the Zionist regime’s atrocities, the Iranian president warned that any Israeli mistake will certainly draw Iran’s painful response.

He added the Zionist regime might intend to harm Iran, but the retaliatory harm that Israel will receive will be “beyond imagination”.

For his part, the Egyptian president described unity as the main pillar of Muslim power.

There are several diverse components of power, the most important of which is unity and solidarity among Muslims, President Sisi stated.

He also stressed the need for cooperation to end the war on Gaza and Lebanon and avert a spread of clashes to the other parts of the region.

The Egyptian president also called for the advancement of issues on the basis of friendship and mutual understanding, noting that he has never adopted a stance against Iran throughout the years that the relations between Cairo and Tehran have been strained.

Sisi finally urged his Iranian counterpart to rectify the incorrect image of Iran that has been displayed in the region and world over the past 40 years.

At least 4 killed, several injured in attack on aerospace firm in Turkey

Two of the “terrorists” who attacked a defense company near Ankara on Wednesday have been “neutralized”, and security forces are searching for a third gunman, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said

Three assailants stormed the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) headquarters in a suburb of Ankara, killing four people and injuring 14 others, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

While the Turkish government has banned reporting from the scene of the incident, unverified videos posted on social media purportedly showed heavily armed special forces personnel storming the TUSAS facility less than an hour after the attack began.

Shortly afterwards, Yerlikaya announced that “two terrorists were neutralized”, and that “our struggle will continue with determination and resolve until the last terrorist is neutralized”.

One of the attackers was a woman, Yerlikaya told reporters, adding that she and a male accomplice had been killed. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the third attacker may have blown himself up.

“As soon as their identities are determined, we will share with you which terrorist organization it is,” the minister stated.

Terror attacks in Turkey are often the work of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish militant group that has been involved in a low-intensity conflict with the Turkish state since the 1980s.

It is also unclear whether the assailants took any hostages. Turkish media outlets reported that some TUSAS employees had been taken captive, and an unconfirmed photo posted on social media showed around a dozen people purportedly detained inside the facility. However, neither Erdogan nor Yerlikaya has confirmed this.

Xi advocates high quality development of greater BRICS collaboration

In a speech addressing the 16th BRICS Summit on Wednesday, Xi said the ongoing BRICS summit has decided to invite a number of nations to become partner countries. He hailed the decision as another important development in the course of BRICS development.

Xi urged BRICS members to build the multilateral mechanism into a major venue of solidarity and cooperation for the Global South and a vanguard force for global governance reform.

He called on the BRICS members to build BRICS for peace and act as guardians of common security, urging the BRICS countries to uphold the three principles of no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party, to work for de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis as soon as possible.

Xi urged the BRICS members to build BRICS for innovation and act as pioneers for high-quality development.

He called on BRICS members to build green BRICS and be practitioners of sustainable development, noting that China is willing to leverage its own advantages to expand cooperation with BRICS countries in green industries, clean energy and green minerals.

The president also called for building a BRICS for justice and leading the reform of the global governance system, calling on BRICS members to conform to the general trend of the rise of the Global South, and actively respond to the call of countries to join the BRICS cooperation mechanism.

The group should advance the process of expanding membership and establishing partner countries, and enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance, added Xi.

Xi stated the urgency of reforming the international financial architecture is becoming increasingly prominent in the current situation.

He also called for strengthening the New Development Bank and urged BRICS countries to take the lead in promoting a better alignment of the international financial system with the changing dynamics of the global economy.

Xi urged BRICS countries to advocate peaceful coexistence and harmony between civilizations.

China will establish 10 overseas learning centers in BRICS countries in the next five years to provide training opportunities for 1,000 education administrators, teachers and students, he continued.

Iranian presiden meets Putin, urges deeper Tehran-Moscow cooperation

Pezeshkian also expressed hope that such cooperation helps weaken the “US authoritarianism”.

The Iranian president added that he thinks the Iran Russia ties are strategic and unavoidable.

Addressing Putin, Pezeshkian noted, “After meeting you in Turkmenistan, I pursued the agreements [the two sides] concluded so we can sign them as soon as possible”.

Putin for his part said, “We are also pushing for the creation of a multi-polar fair international order”.

The Russian president then spoke about bilateral ties with Iran, saying the development of the north-south railway infrastructure and the construction of the second and third Bushehr power plants are on Moscow’s agenda, and “we will sign new contracts regarding our bilateral strategic partnership”.

Putin added that Iran and Russia also signed a bilateral agreement on building cultural centers and cancelling visas for the exchange of tourists last year.

The Russian president then asked Pezeshkain to extend his warm greetings to the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Khamenei says struggles of Hezbollah, Hamas leaders changed fate of region

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with organizers of the Congress of 15,000 Martyrs of the southern Iranian Fars Province on Wednesday.

The Leader described the events in the region and the steadfastness and efforts of the resistance as factors that have changed the fate and history of the region.

He noted that the Israeli regime had clearly failed to destroy the resistance despite the massacre of more than 50,000 innocent people, describing this as a “great defeat for the Zionist regime”.

Yet, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the greater defeat lies in the disgrace of Western culture, civilization, and politicians.

“In the confrontation between the resistance front and the front of evil, victory belongs to the resistance,” he emphasized.

The Leader described the current developments in the region and the events in the besieged Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and the occupied West Bank as historic.

“If figures like the martyr Sinwar had not emerged to fight until the last moment, or if great leaders like the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had not combined jihad, wisdom, courage, and sacrifice and brought them to the field, the fate of the region would have been entirely different.”

The Israeli regime assassinated Hamas’ chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran back in July and Nasrallah in southern Lebanon last month. Furthermore, the occupying entity assassinated Haniyeh’s successor, Sinwar, in Gaza earlier this month.

“The Zionists thought they could easily eliminate the resistance groups. However, despite the martyrdom of more than 50,000 defenseless civilians and several prominent resistance leaders, and despite the enormous costs and US support…. the resistance front and the young fighters in Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and other resistance groups continue to fight with the same resolve and strength,” he stated.

“This is a significant defeat for the Zionist regime,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.

The Leader described the outcome of the Zionist region’s ongoing aggression in the region as a major defeat not only for the Zionist regime but also for Western civilization and culture.

“The massacre of 10,000 innocent children with two-ton bombs and various weapons, while Western politicians remained unmoved, has disgraced the hypocritical Western politicians and self-proclaimed advocates of human rights,” he continued.

“It has exposed the lack of credibility of Western civilization to the entire world, and this is their greatest defeat,” he noted. “Western politicians have been disgraced. Western politics has been disgraced and defeated—this is a major defeat.”

Condemning the West’s disregard for human life and suffering, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Western governments are sending taxpayers’ money to fund “the destruction of families, the martyrdom of 10,000 children, and the orphaning of thousands more.”

Since October 2023, the US-Israeli genocide across the besieged Gaza Strip has killed over 42,700 Palestinians and injured more than 100,000 others.

Iranian MP demands Russia deliver missile shields under mutual agreement 

Manouchehr Mottaki, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, urged the Russian government to abide by its commitments under the agreements.

Iran has already paid for the missile shields but have yet to deliver them.

The Iranian lawmaker’s comment comes as Iran is being threatened with military action by the Israeli regime on a daily basis. Iran has said it will give a firm response to any aggression on its soil.

Putin says share of BRICS member states in global economy to total 36.7% in 2024

“Priority growth rates are expected in most states of the association in the medium term,” he said.

The president cited statistics, according to which the average growth of BRICS economies in 2024-2025 will amount to 3.8% with global GDP growth to equal 3.2-3.3% according to preliminary estimates.

“The share of BRICS states on a purchasing-power basis will total 36.7% in 2024, which is stably higher than the share of G7 countries whose share will stand at 30%,” Putin added.

The Russian president has repeatedly noted the dynamics demonstrated by economies of the integrations compared. In particular, speaking at the BRICS business forum, Putin cited statistics, according to which the share of G7 countries in global GDP accounted for 45.5% in 1992, while BRICS states accounted for 16.7% in the same year, adding that three decades later, by 2023, the ratio had drastically changed. He has also noted that particularly BRICS member states are drivers of global economic growth, which will generate the main global GDP growth in the foreseeable future.

There are more than 2,500 special economic zones operating within the BRICS nations, and their collaboration should be intensified, Putin stated at the BRICS Summit.

“More than two thousand five hundred special economic zones are currently functioning across BRICS,” the Russian leader noted.

“We believe it is essential to establish direct connections between the management teams of these zones, which offer preferential and beneficial conditions,” Putin emphasized.

“This will enable them to share best practices in developing logistical hubs, localizing industrial production, and creating favorable global and competitive conditions for investors,” he continued.

Searching for alternatives to the dollar is not fighting against this currency, Putin said.

The dollar is used as the weapon to attain political goals, the Russian leader added.

“But this is not what we are doing; the others are doing that. We do not reject, do not fight against the dollar but if we are prevented from working with it, what we have to do? We then have to search for alternatives, and this is what is happening,” Putin noted.

Dollar weaponization is a big mistake, the head of state stressed.

President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff said at the BRICS Summit that the dollar is used as a weapon.

“Yes, indeed so, we see, so it is,” Putin stated.

“I believe in actual fact this is a great mistake of those making it because the use of the dollar, and it remains thus far the most important instrument in global finance, as means of achieving political goals undermines confidence in this currency and reduces its abilities,” the Russian leader stressed.