Thursday, January 1, 2026
type here...
Home Blog Page 812

Minister: Iran captures nearly two dozen militants, including senior Daesh ringleaders

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Iran Police

In the last cabinet meeting of the outgoing administration on Wednesday, Esmaeil Khatib said Iranian forces acted on a tip-off to identify and arrest the militants with foreign nationalities who had links to militant groups.

The intelligence minister said 12 of the detainees were operative agents who had snuck into Iran to stage terrorist attacks, and two of them were leaders of Daesh and other Takfiri groups affiliated with non-neighboring countries, without specifying their nationalities.

Khatib advised Iranian citizens to take precautionary measures while renting their houses or properties to foreign nationals.

The intelligence minister praised the security forces for their efforts in shoring up security in the country particularly on borders.

Israel killed 16k Palestinian children during Gaza war: Report

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

The media office said in a statement on Tuesday that the figure is part of the overall death toll of more than 39,000 people.

The office said nearly 90,000 Palestinians have been wounded in the war, mostly children and women. About 10,000 remain missing.

34 children have died due to malnutrition, while 17,000 children are living without one or both parents, the office said.

The latest figures come as a leading general medical journal has estimated that the death toll from Israel’s genocidal campaign could be 186,000 or even more, translating to 7.9 percent of the population.

In a report published earlier this month, the Lancet said the figure includes both direct and indirect deaths from the Israeli onslaught and those still buried under the rubble in Gaza.

The journal added it had applied a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.

Flouting a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

UN Yemen envoy warns of ‘devastating’ escalation in West Asia

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Houthi Attack Israel

In a briefing to the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Yemen on Tuesday, Hans Grundberg warned of the danger of an escalation following new Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and the first confirmed Israeli air strikes on Yemen in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel.

“I remain deeply concerned about the continued targeting of international navigation in the Red Sea and its surrounding waterways,” Grundberg said.

“Recent developments suggest that the threat against international shipping is increasing in scope and precision.”

The Houthi attacks on Israel and the Israeli strikes on Yemen’s port of Hodeidah and its oil and power facilities represent “a new and dangerous level” of violence, he added.

Commercial ships have been sunk and damaged, disrupting trade, civilians have died, the Houthis still detain the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship they hijacked in November, and the United States and the United Kingdom continue air strikes on military targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, he stated.

“It is alarming that there are no signs of de-escalation, let alone a solution,” Grundberg continued.

The Houthis have launched missiles and drones at Israel and disrupted global trade through the Red Sea in response to Israel’s military onslaught against the Gaza Strip.

Israel has claimed Houthis have launched 200 attacks against it since the war began, many of them intercepted.

But a rare Houthi drone strike last Friday hit Tel Aviv, killing one person and prompting Israel to announce its first strikes against the group on Saturday.

The air strikes hit near Hodeidah and killed six people, local medics confirmed.

Sources say Trump aids mull new spending demands for NATO member states

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Donald Trump NATO

The idea of calling on NATO members to contribute more was raised in discussions at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, Bloomberg wrote, citing people familiar with the conversations.

The potential new target is currently only a suggestion and hasn’t been approved as official policy for the Trump team, anonymous sources told the outlet. Talk of a new spending target, however, may herald even more tension if Trump is reelected as US president in November, as some NATO allies are already struggling to manage government debt.

Trump has long criticized members of the bloc for not spending enough on their militaries, with some falling short of a 2014 commitment to contribute 2% of GDP to defense.

Last year’s NATO estimates showed that 11 of the bloc’s 32 nations met the 2% goal, while only Poland, the US, and Greece were estimated to have spent 3% or more of their GDP on defense.

Trump faced a backlash from the White House and top Western officials earlier this year after suggesting he would not defend NATO countries that failed to spend enough on defense, even hinting that he would encourage Russia to attack them. Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly said that Moscow has no plans to attack any NATO country.

The potential spending demand would align Trump with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who earlier this year called on NATO to set a 3% target. Trump reiterated his stance early in July, suggesting at a rally in Florida that he wouldn’t honor alliance commitments to mutual defense unless countries meet NATO spending targets.

The most recent talk of a defense spending increase is potentially a negotiating tactic aimed at pressuring NATO allies not to be complacent, Bloomberg wrote, citing a person familiar with Trump’s position. Another source quoted by the outlet confirmed that the higher target had been discussed in Milwaukee, but that there was some debate about whether it would be a good idea as it may undermine unity in the bloc.

US labor unions call on Biden to halt military aid to Israel amid Gaza war

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Biden

“We believe that immediately cutting US military aid to the Israeli government is necessary to bring about a peaceful resolution to this conflict,” the letter reads.

Signatories include the United Auto Workers (UAW), the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), the National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and United Electrical Workers (UE).

In a Tuesday press release, APWU President Mark Dimondstein said the “unions are hearing the cries of humanity as this vicious war continues”.

“Working people and our unions are horrified that our tax dollars are financing this ongoing tragedy,” Dimondstein continued.

“We need a ceasefire now, and the best way to secure that is to shut off US military aid to Israel.”

The letter comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins his visit to Washington this week. He is set to give a speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday and meet with both President Biden and former President Trump this week.

Netanyahu has faced calls to resign from leading Democrats in Congress over his handling of the war in Gaza and creating the current humanitarian crisis facing some 2 million Palestinians living in the strip. Nearly 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.

The letter from unions said Netanyahu was also violating U.S. laws on foreign aid.

“Furthermore, Israel’s refusal to minimize civilian harm and its demonstrated restriction of U.S. humanitarian aid call for a halt to U.S. military aid under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Control Export Act,” the letter from the unions states.

“Mr. President, the time to act decisively to end this war is now,” the letter adds.

“Stopping US military aid to Israel is the quickest and most sure way to do so, it is what U.S. law demands, and it will show your commitment to securing a lasting peace in the region.”

US says there can be ‘no role’ for Hamas in post-war Gaza

By
IFP Media Wire
-
White House

The agreement lays the groundwork for an “interim national reconciliation government” to rule post-war Gaza and has been seen as a bulwark against any governance plans that sideline Palestinians.

Miller told reporters the United States opposes any post-war plan that includes Hamas.

“As we have made clear for months, Hamas is a terrorist organisation. … When it comes to governance of Gaza at the end of the conflict, there can’t be a role for a terrorist organisation.”

He added the US would “like to see the Palestinian Authority governing a unified Gaza and the West Bank, but no, we cannot support a role for Hamas”.

14 Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Fatah, have agreed in the Chinese capital of Beijing to achieve “a comprehensive national unity” under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The announcement was made in a joint statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Beijing following China’s invitation to intra-Palestinian talks.

The statement said the Palestinian groups “agreed on achieving a comprehensive national unity that includes all Palestinian factions within the frame of PLO, and on the commitment to the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the UN resolutions and ensuring the right of return as based in resolution 194”.

The Palestinian groups also agreed on “uniting national efforts” to stop the Israeli genocide in Gaza and to resist attempts to expel Palestinians from their lands.

The Fatah Movement, Hamas Movement, Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and other Palestinian groups took part in the talks.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the deal as an agreement to rule the Gaza Strip together once the ongoing war ends.

“The most prominent highlight is the agreement to form an interim national reconciliation government around the governance of post-war Gaza,” he stated.

“Reconciliation is an internal matter for the Palestinian factions, but at the same time, it cannot be achieved without the support of the international community.”

Gaza war drives Palestinian budget deficit up 172%: PA

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Mahmoud Abbas

Revenues are also expected to drop by 21 percent due to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The announcement followed President Mahmoud Abbas’s approval of the emergency budget for 2024, which includes austerity measures such as reducing salaries, operational and capital expenditures, and maintaining minimal development expenditures.

The Palestinian administration’s ability to pay public sector salaries in full for over two years has been hindered by reduced aid and Israel withholding tax money it owes to the PA.

“The Israeli government has deducted about two-thirds of Palestinian tax revenues since October last year, amounting to a $937.52m decline from the previous year,” the statement said.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Iran says has defused Western sanctions on gas condensates exports

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Iran Oil and Gas

Making the remarks in the last cabinet meeting of the outgoing Iranian administration on Wednesday, Javad Owji said, “I can dare say that sanctions on gas condensates export have been neutralized.”

Highlighting the achievements by the late president Ebrahim Raisi’s administration since taking office in 2021, Owji said the oil sector managed to reduce selling crude oil by turning gas condensates into added value.

Another outstanding accomplishment by the current administration was to increase oil production by 60 percent, from 2.2 million bpd to 3.6 million despite the draconian sanctions, according to the official.

The country’s gas production also increased by 53 million cubic meters, marking a 5-percent growth this year, as Owji explained.

The minister also said the refinery capacity in the country has increased from 2.1 to 2.3 million bpd and the petrochemical exports hiked from 24 to 30 million metric tons during the current administration’s time in office.

He explained that Iran earns 2.8 billion dollars from every 100 barrels of crude.

The oil minister further noted that the Islamic Republic has increased its oil revenues to 28.4 billion dollars annually from seven to nine billion dollars in 2020.

Israel’s PM to hold separate meetings with Biden and Trump, likely to meet Harris

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu will meet with Biden on Thursday in Washington, the prime minister’s office announced in a statement.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, will host Netanyahu for a meeting Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida

Trump confirmed the meeting on his social media site Truth Social.

The meetings come after Netanyahu’s aides have reportedly worked for weeks to develop inroads with Trump since the relationship soured after the Israeli leader recognized President Biden’s election victory in 2020.

Trump stated he is promoting a “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH” foreign policy agenda, written in all capital letters, as the strategy to end the war in the Middle East, and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet separately with Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, but a time and date has not yet been announced.

US joins dozens of countries, organizations set to weigh in on ICC Gaza case

By
IFP Media Wire
-
ICC

The court documents come after Middle East Eye revealed earlier this month that the Biden administration was mulling submitting an amicus curiae to the ICC, voicing its staunch opposition to the decision of the court’s chief prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for the Israeli officials.

On Monday, the ICC released court filings that showed the US government has joined more than 60 states, entities and individuals asking to file a brief on the case.

The Biden administration joins an eclectic group that includes the Kingdom of Norway, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, US Senator Lindsey Graham, and a French lawyer who claimed he was submitting a brief on behalf of Hamas.

The ICC allows an amicus curiae to be filed by a state, NGO or an individual. It’s unclear whether the briefs will sway the ICC, but the sheer number of briefs is likely to delay the ICC’s decision on whether or not to issue arrest warrants for weeks.

The court has ruled that observations on the case should not be longer than 10 pages and must be filed by 6 August.

The US’s move to weigh in is notable because it had previously lobbied the UK to challenge the court as well. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken personally asked his UK counterpart, David Lammy, to continue challenging the court’s jurisdiction over Israeli citizens at a Nato summit in July, MEE reported.

Unlike the UK, the US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC in 2002.

The unprecedented interest in the ICC deliberations reflects how the court’s decision could reverberate across the globe.

For advocates of Palestine, chief ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israel’s defence minister alongside Hamas officials in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, was a watershed moment for international law.

Israel has slammed the move and the US made no secret of its objection to the prosecutor’s decision, saying it created a false sense of equivalency between Hamas – which the US deems a terror organisation – and its closest Middle East ally, Israel.

Israel, which asked the UK to start its legal challenge against the ICC, a US official told MEE, did not petition to file its own brief, but the Palestinian Authority did.

Separately, ICJ issued an advisory opinion on Friday that declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank unlawful and in breach of laws against apartheid.

1...811812813...5,137Page 812 of 5,137

© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Us

Popular Articles

Editor Picks