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Wide coverage of first presidential debate in Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The audience packed the election headquarters of the candidates to watch the 4-hour debate until 12:00 pm, local time.

Statistics show the debate, not as heated as the previous terms, drew a large audience.

The state-run media gives the candidates equal airtime on a daily basis to express their views and sway undecided voters, who form a vast majority of the eligible voters in Iran.

According to the Iranian Constitution, the candidates are required to stop their campaign 24 hours before the polling centers open on June 28.

Putin says Russia supports North Korea against ‘treacherous’ West

By
IFP Media Wire
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Putin Kim

Putin is scheduled to visit North Korea on Tuesday, for the first time since 2000. Ahead of his trip, the Russian president has written an article published by the leading DPRK daily, Rodong Sinmun.

“Russia has continuously supported and will support the DPRK and the heroic Korean people in their struggle against the treacherous, dangerous and aggressive enemy, in their fight for independence, identity and the right to freely choose their development path,” Putin wrote.

The Russian leader thanked North Korea for its “unwavering support” of the military operation in Ukraine, international solidarity, and “willingness to defend our common priorities and views” at the UN.

Putin also described Pyongyang as “our committed and like-minded supporter, ready to confront the ambition of the collective West to prevent the emergence of a multipolar world order based on justice, mutual respect for sovereignty and consideration of each other’s interests”.

The “rules-based order” the US has been trying to impose on the world is “nothing more than a global neo-colonial dictatorship that relies on double standards”. Putin noted.

While Kim Jong-un and the DPRK leadership have repeatedly offered to resolve differences by peaceful means, the US has refused to implement previous agreements and “keeps setting new, increasingly harsh and obviously unacceptable requirements”, Putin wrote.

The Russian president complimented North Koreans for “effectively defending their interests” even after years of “economic pressure, provocations, blackmailing and military threats” by the US.

According to the Kremlin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov, and Russian Railway head Oleg Belozyorov are scheduled to accompany Putin on his trip to North Korea on Tuesday.

President Putin’s upcoming visit to North Korea may yield a treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Putin’s aide for foreign affairs Yury Ushakov said.

“Several documents will be signed,” he stated, adding that these documents are being worked on.

“This can be said about a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. This document is also being worked on and if it is signed, it will replace the fundamental documents that were inked in 1961, 200, and 2021.”

The new treaty will replace the 1961 Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance, the 2000 Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighborly Cooperation, and the Moscow and Pyongyang Declarations of 2000 and 2001, Ushakov explained.

“Th sides are still working on it, the final decision concerning its signing will be made within hour,” the Kremlin aide said, adding that the document will “outline prospects for further cooperation and will be signed, naturally, taking into account what has been happening between the countries in recent years and in the sphere of international politics, economy and in the sphere of all types of communication, including issues of security”.

UN agency warns “Gaza is most dangerous place in world for aid workers”

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza War

“Gaza is the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers. Since the war began, 193 UNRWA colleagues have been killed — the highest death toll in UN history,” the agency tweeted on Monday.

“Despite this, our colleagues keep working to support families and provide aid amid the dire humanitarian crisis.”

The agency added that it works in the most challenging circumstances and that its facilities continue to be targeted.

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 37,300 Palestinians have since been killed in the besieged enclave, most of them women and children, and more than 85,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

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

Fire engulfs hospital in northern Iran, at least 9 dead

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Fire Iran Hospital

Mohammad Taqi Ashubi, the head of Gilan University of Medical Sciences, confirmed the fatalities at the Ghaem Hospital, explaining that 8 of the victims were in the intensive care unit.

The fire started at around 1:30 am local time (22:00 GMT, Monday), which was fully contained by firefighters.

142 patients who were hospitalized were transferred to other medical centers, according to the officials at the hospital.

Chief Justice of Gilan province, Esmaeil Sadeghi Niarki, said officials are investigating the case to find out the cause of the incident.

Russia views NATO’s rhetoric on putting nukes on alert as escalation

By
IFP Media Wire
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Kremlin

“This is nothing else but an escalation,” Peskov said.

Unlike Western officials, the Russian president never talks nukes “at his own initiative as he takes the issue seriously,” the Kremlin spokesman added.

“Whenever President [Vladimir] Putin comments on the issue of nuclear arms, he does so, taking someone’s questions or questions from reporters, including foreign ones,” he explained.

Also, the NATO chief’s statement runs counter to the declaration issued following last weekend’s conference on Ukraine in Switzerland, Peskov added. The communique, he said, ruled out such rhetoric as inadmissible.

Stoltenberg told The Daily Telegraph in an interview that NATO allies had started consultations on the need to put nuclear weapons on alert, including against the background of China’s plans to increase the number of its nuclear warheads.

Israel’s Gaza attacks continue despite purported ‘tactical pauses’: UNRWA

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza War

On Sunday, the Israeli military declared a daily humanitarian pause, from 8pm to 7pm local time in the area from the Karem Abu Salem crossing, also known as Kerem Shalom, in southern Israel, to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards.

The Israeli military announced the pauses aim at allowing in more aid through a pre-determined route into the south. However the army later backtracked, after coming under pressure from the government, saying operations in Rafah, the main focus of its operations in southern Gaza, would not stop.

The pause was slammed by the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir

The Gaza government office stated talk of “tactical pauses” was “an Israeli lie”.

On Monday morning, Israeli forces set ablaze the departure hall of Rafah crossing, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, according to local officials and media reports.

Pictures shared online, which were not verified by Middle East Eye, showed what appears to be the exterior of the crossing’s departure hall incinerated.

Damage to the crossing, the only non-Israeli exit point for Palestinians with the outside world, may make it inoperable in the near future, leaving Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinian population trapped inside.

The invasion of Rafah and the seizure of the crossing with Egypt has deepened an already perilous humanitarian crisis, with vital aid routes, through the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem crossings, blocked.

The Gaza government media office has called for an urgent opening of crossings with Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the northern parts of the strip.

Meanwhile, residents have reported that Israeli troops were advancing deeper into the central and western areas of Rafah under heavy fire from the ground and the air.

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli soldiers have killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded dozens more in the past 24 hours, including reporter Mahmoud Qasem.

Qasem’s death brings the number of journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since 7 October to 151. Qasem worked for the Falasteen online news outlet.

More than 37,300 Palestinians have been killed, and over 85,300 wounded since the start of the war on Gaza. An estimated 10,000 people are missing, likely dead and buried under rubble.

Health officials have said that over 70 percent of the victims are children and women.

In Israel, opposition leader Yair Lapid has stated Netanyahu should dissolve the Israeli government after he disbanded the war cabinet on Monday. Netanyahu’s move came after key opposition figure Benny Gantz quit the six-member cabinet.

Lapid applauded Gantz’s decision as “important and correct”.

“The time has come to replace this extreme and reckless government with a sane government that will lead to the return of security to the citizens of Israel, to the return of the abducted, to the restoration of Israel’s economy and international status,” he added.

According to Haaretz, Netanyahu stressed he will continue to consult a limited “forum” for sensitive decisions.

Israel seeking to strengthen West Bank settlements after recognition of Palestinian state

By
IFP Media Wire
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West Bank settlements

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said all of the proposals for strengthening settlements in what Israel biblically refers to as Judea and Samaria would be voted on at the next Security Cabinet meeting.

Norway, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia have each recognized an independent Palestinian state in recent weeks, a move motivated at least in part by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s open refusal to commit to a two-state solution.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry stressed the move was a reward for “terrorism” and would strengthen Hamas.

The statement also added Israel would look at what actions to take against the Palestinian Authority as it took actions against Israel in international bodies.

Earlier this month, the Palestinian Authority applied to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said in May that Israel should approve 10,000 settlements in the West Bank, establish a new settlement for every country that recognizes a state of Palestine, and cancel travel permits for Palestinian Authority officials.

It is unclear if any of these radical ideas are part of the proposals currently under consideration in Israel.

Three people die of dengue fever in Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Ambulance Iran

Meanwhile, the director of the Center for Hospital Management and Excellence in Clinical Services affiliated with the Health Ministry said the habitat of the Aedes mosquito in the country is more than that of malaria, adding that the Iranian hospitals are prepared to deal with dengue fever.

Hassan Vaezi warned that the Fars, Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Sistan and Baluchistan, Mazandaran, Gilan, and Golestan provinces are high-risk areas in terms of the existence of the disease and there are many accidental cases of Dengue fever in those regions.

Pointing to the spread of Dengue fever in some world countries, he said efforts are underway to prepare outpatient and inpatient treatment staff for diagnosis and treatment of diseases transmitted by the Aedes mosquito.

Vaezi stressed that protection against transmission of the disease protection of medical personnel and management of waste and sewage are among the key preventive measures in hospitals.

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne acute viral disease presenting with hemorrhagic manifestations in severe cases. It is more common in tropical and subtropical climates.

Most people who get this potentially deadly disease will not have symptoms. But for those who do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and rash.

IAEA head says Iran’s nuclear deal holds no real significance

By
IFP Media Wire
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Rafael Grossi

“I believe we need to return to diplomacy,” Grossi said in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia.

“We had the JCPOA, but now it’s just a paper agreement that nobody is adhering to.”

“There have been attempts to revive it here in Vienna, but unfortunately, despite coming close to success, they fell through for reasons unknown to me, as I wasn’t directly involved in the process. It’s no surprise that the US and Iran are blaming each other for its failure,” he remarked.

The IAEA chief stressed the importance of avoiding a repeat of the North Korean scenario, where decades of negotiations ultimately proved futile.

Grossi also confirmed ongoing difficulties with gaining access to Iranian nuclear facilities.

The JCPOA was a multilateral international agreement signed between Iran and five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany in 2015, which required Iran to scale back some of its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of cruel sanctions imposed on the country, especially by the United States.

However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the UNSC-endorsed agreement in May 2018, imposing severe economic sanctions against Tehran while Iran was adhering to its commitments under the deal and even continued to do so for a year after the US withdrawal.

Tehran started to reduce its commitments under the deal in a series of pre-announced and clear steps after witnessing the other parties’ failure to secure its interests under the agreement.

The Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions law was adopted by Iranian lawmakers in December 2020 to counter sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and its Western allies, and to promote the country’s peaceful nuclear program.

Under the parliament’s law, the Iranian administration is required to restrict the IAEA’s inspections and accelerate the development of the country’s nuclear program beyond the limits set under the JCPOA.

Iran Environmental protection officers rescue trapped bear

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Black Bear

The river is located in Kavand village in the city of Ardal.

The main habitats of the brown bears in Iran are Caspian forest areas, Arsbaran forests, and Zagros forests as well as high mountain meadows near the forests and downstream valleys.

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