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Iran warns of spillover of Israel’s Gaza war into Lebanon

Ali Bagheri Kani

In a telephone conversation, Bagheri and Lavrov discussed the latest state of cooperation between Tehran and Moscow and regional issues.

Referring to the recent developments in bilateral ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation, especially the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the transfer of Russian gas to Iran and the telephone conversation between the acting president of Iran and Vladimir Putin the Russian president, Bagheri said the Tehran-Moscow relations are moving in the right direction at an appropriate speed.

He expressed hope that the administrative process and legal formalities of finalizing important documents on bilateral cooperation, especially the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty and cooperation agreements regarding gas and transit between Iran and Russia, will be completed as soon as possible.

He stressed that Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah is fully prepared for the possible aggression of the Zionists against Lebanon.

Bagheri added it’s important to prevent the continuation of the Israeli regime’s crimes and the spillover of the tension to Lebanon for the good of the entire region and international stability because this crisis risks spreading to other parts of the region.

In response to Russia’s plan to raise the Palestinian issue and the crimes of the Zionists in the Gaza war during Russia’s rotating presidency at the UN Security Council in July, Bagheri announced Iran’s readiness to participate in the relevant meetings at the highest level.

The Russian foreign minister, for his part, wished Iran success in holding Friday’s presidential election and expressed his satisfaction with the process of bilateral cooperation with Tehran.

He highlighted advancing the issues on the agenda of relations with Iran.

Lavrov then pointed to Russia’s common concern about the possibility of expanding the war and all-out aggression by the Zionist regime against Lebanon. He stated Russia seeks to prevent this from happening and underlined the responsibility of all parties in this regard.

In this phone conversation, Bagheri and Lavrov also discussed some consular issues.

Bagheri also held a phone call with bin Farhan، exchanging views on topics of mutual interest as well as the latest developments on Palestine and the Zionist regime’s crimes.

The caretaker Iranian foreign minister appreciated the facilities and services provided to the Hajj pilgrims, especially the Iranian ones.

Pointing to the Saudi deputy foreign minister’s participation in the 19th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) member states’ foreign ministerial meeting recently held in Tehran, Bagheri said the growing cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh is promising.

The ranking Iranian diplomat highlighted the Zionist regime’s ongoing savage crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, stressing, “The Zionist regime’s threats against Lebanon are the continuation of the regime’s crimes against the people in Gaza, and the delusional regime that has occupied al-Quds, in its own opinion, is trying to make up for the failure in Gaza by spreading the scope of the war and crimes to other regions.”

The interim foreign minister also added, “It is incumbent upon Islamic states to make efforts and implement all their capacities to stop the Zionists’ crimes, threats, and aggressions in Gaza and other areas as soon as possible.”

For his part, the Saudi foreign minister noted talks between the two countries on the sidelines of the ACD meeting in Tehran were positive, adding the process of ties between Tehran and Riyadh is sufficiently firm.

Bin Farhan expressed concern over the escalating tensions between the Zionist regime and Lebanon and called for efforts to stop the war from spreading.

Both sides also stressed the significance of promoting relations between the two countries in all fields.

No outright winner in Iran presidential election, voters to go for runoff

Iran Presidential Election

Mohsen Eslami, the spokesman for the Election Headquarters, in an update on the latest results earlier on Saturday, said with over 24.5 million of the votes counted so far, reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian is ahead with over 10.41 million of the votes.

Right-wing principlist Saeed Jalili is second with over 9.47 million of the votes.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has gained 3.38 million and Mostafa Pourmohammadi a little over 206,000 votes.

Based on the results, voters will once again have to go to the polls on Friday, July 5, to choose between Pezeshkian and Jalili to be at the executive helm in the country for at least the next four years.

The participation rate is put at about 40 percent in the country and 23 percent in the capital Tehran. Southern Khorasan Province had the highest turnout with about 61 percent and Kordestan Province, had the lowest with 23 percent.

Vote counting in snap presidential election underway in Iran

Iran Presidential Election

According to the latest report, so far the 37024 out of the total 58640 polling stations across the country, 63.1 percent, have counted the ballots.

With over 14 million of the votes counted so far, reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian is ahead with 5.95 million of the votes.

Right-wing principlist Saeed Jalili is second with a little over 5.5 million of the votes.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has gained nearly 1.9 million and Mostafa Pourmohammadi about 112,000 votes.

According to the Constitution, the winner needs half of the votes, plus one, for an outright victory.

A run-off vote between Pezeshkian and Jalili next Friday is highly likely.

2 security forces killed in gunmen attack on election vehicle in Iran

Iran Presidential Election

The attack targeted the vehicle as it was carrying the boxes out of a polling station in the Jakigur Rural District of Rask County in Sistan and Baluchestan Province on Saturday, Tasnim News Agency reported.

An investigation has been ordered into the incident, further details about which are yet to emerge.

The incident took place after midnight local time (20:30 GMT on Friday), the deadline for the voting process in the country’s snap presidential elections.

The election was called after President Ebrahim Raisi was martyred along with seven others on May 19, when the helicopter carrying them crashed in northwestern Iran.

More than 61 million Iranians have been eligible to vote at 58,000 polling stations throughout the Islamic Republic.

The race is contested by Saeed Jalili, a former lead nuclear negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iranian Parliament speaker, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, former interior minister, and Masoud Pezeshkian, former health minister.

US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Gaza war started: Report

Gaza War

The US has transferred at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions, according to the officials.

The tally of shipments suggests there has been no significant drop-off in US military support for Israel.

“While these numbers could be expended relatively quickly in a major conflict, this list clearly reflects a substantial level of support from the United States for our Israeli allies,” Tom Karako, a weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Reuters.

Earlier this week, a senior Biden administration official said that the US sent $6.5bn worth of weapons to Israel since the war began.

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

More than 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 86,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Human rights organizations have warned that thousands of people in the besieged enclave are facing the risk of famine amid ongoing Israeli devastating onslaught.

Iran blasts Canada for depriving half a million Iranians of voting

Iran Presidential Election

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary, and Expatriates Affairs, Alireza Bikdeli, said the Canadian government ignored several official requests by Iran to allow the Iranians in the country to cast their ballots in the presidential election.

Iran and Canada severed their diplomatic ties in 2012 over Iran’s support for Syria in its fight against foreign-backed militants. Italy and Switzerland act as the protecting powers in the absence of diplomatic representation.

Bikdeli said, “We express our protest against the Canadian government for violating Iranians’ right to participate (in the election),” cutting off the Iranian citizens’ connection with their motherland.

“Over 500,000 Iranians in Canada were denied the ballot box. It will be a disgrace for a country that claims to be democratic and an advocate of human rights,” he stated.

Iranian voters in Canada had to head to polling stations along the US border.

Over 344 polling stations were set up for Iranians around the world to take part in the election on Friday, held to fill the top executive post left vacant after former president Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage died in a helicopter crash last month.

US can’t trace millions in Ukraine military: Report

Weapons Arms Russia Ukraine War

The conclusions were presented by the Pentagon inspector general after an assessment on whether the DoD is effectively monitoring defense items provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The watchdog found that as of late November last year, a total $62.2 million in hardware designated for enhanced end-use monitoring (EEUM) was reported as missing. Among them are night vision devices, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and missile launch units.

According to the report, the US Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) in Ukraine “cannot tell which of these items were lost and which were destroyed”. The Ukrainian army has not yet provided clarification, it adds.

The ODC works in partnership with Ukraine’s Defense Ministry and Armed Forces to provide equipment and training to Kiev in its conflict with Russia. Ukraine’s army reports to the ODC on the use of the American-supplied equipment.

The Office of the Inspector General also found that loss reports were filed after an average of 301 days, approximately 10 times longer than the required timeframe.

”This increases the risk that the DoD could lose accountability over EEUM designated defense articles provided to Ukraine,” the document reads.

The report noted that it was beyond the scope of the probe to determine whether there have been “diversions” of military assistance. Allegations of criminal conduct regarding US arms sent to Ukraine are being investigated, it said.

In January, the watchdog reported that the Pentagon had failed to properly track $1 billion worth of military supplies given to Ukraine, and that much of the equipment sent was “delinquent”.

Between February 2022 and June this year, Washington provided approximately $51.2 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, including air defense systems and munitions, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery rockets, anti-armor systems, tanks, and helicopters.

UK submits argument to ICC over jurisdiction to prosecute Israeli official in Gaza war case

Netanyahu Gallant

According to court documents made public, the UK, an ICC member state, filed a request earlier in June to provide written information on whether “the court can exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, in circumstances where Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals [under] the Oslo Accords”, referring to the 1993 agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

The UK argues that Palestinian authorities cannot have jurisdiction over Israeli nationals under the accords and, therefore, cannot transfer that jurisdiction over to the ICC to prosecute them.

Other interested parties may submit their requests on the issue before 12 July.

Granting the UK’s request could delay the judges’ pending decision on arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Reuters reports.

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

More than 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 86,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Human rights organizations have warned that thousands of people in the besieged enclave are facing the risk of famine amid ongoing Israeli devastating onslaught.

Trump names Biden ‘very bad Palestinian’ in US presidential debate jab

Trump Biden

“He doesn’t want to do it. He’s become like a Palestinian – but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian, he’s a weak one,” former president Trump said in the first presidential debate with Biden on Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia.

While foreign policy and the Middle East were referenced numerous times during the debate, as pro-Palestinian protests were held near the venue, the suffering of Palestinians and the toll of Israel’s campaign in the besieged enclave – which has killed more than 37,700 people since October – received little mention.

Neither Biden, who is under pressure from his Democratic base over his staunch support of ally Israel, nor Trump is “not fit to represent” Palestinian and Arab communities in the United States. The debate highlighted how both Democrats and Republicans have lost their will to end the war and to support the creation of a Palestinian state.

Trump stated Israel wanted the war to continue, and that it should. Asked whether he would support the establishment of a Palestinian state to secure peace in the region, Trump baulked. “I’d have to see.”

Meantime, Biden falsely claimed that every party but Hamas had agreed to his ceasefire proposal and that he had secured an across-the-board agreement for his three-stage plan to end the war, including from Israel.

“Everyone from the United Nations Security Council, straight through the G7 to the Israelis and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu have endorsed the plan that I put forward,” Biden continued, adding, “The only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas.”

He reiterated his opinion that Hamas has been “greatly weakened” by Israel, adding that the group “should be eliminated”.

Biden also noted that he was the first recent president to not have soldiers at risk overseas.

Meanwhile, Trump described Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan as the “most embarrassing moment in the history of our country” and stressed it encouraged Russia to invade Ukraine.

Explainer: In what case Iran presidential election will be extended to run-off

Iran Presidential Election

But if none of the candidates manages to win the majority in the first round, voting will take place a second time on the following week.

In the second round, only the two candidates who received the greatest number of votes in the first round will participate.

Iran’s presidential election kicked off at 8 am local time on Friday and will last till 6 pm, but the closing time can be extended by the Interior Ministry.

Over 61 million people are eligible to vote in the election, including about 10 million Iranians overseas.