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14 Iranian pilgrims die during Hajj Rituals

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Hajj

The deceased include 11 men and 3 women.

Seyyed Ali Marashi, head of the Medical Center for Hajj and Pilgrimage at the Iranian Red Crescent Society, reported that six of the deaths were due to heatstroke, while the remaining eight were attributed to pre-existing medical conditions.

Additionally, he mentioned that two pilgrims are currently hospitalized. One is being treated in the Saudi-German Hospital in Mecca, and another in Jeddah, both under artificial respiration due to a traffic accident.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society says it continues to monitor and provide medical assistance to ensure the safety and health of all pilgrims during their stay.

More than 1.8 million Muslims from around the world took part in this year’s Hajj, over 80,000 of them from Iran.

Iran’s Ahvaz, Omidiyeh, Abadan among hottest cities in world amid global heatwave

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Heat weather

The report, which ranks the 15 hottest cities in the world, includes these three Iranian cities with temperatures reaching a scorching 50 degrees Celsius.

This extreme heat places them at the top of the global list, highlighting the intense summer conditions affecting the region.

In addition to the extreme temperatures in Iran, an unprecedented heatwave has also gripped New York, USA.

The city has experienced record-breaking temperatures, marking a significant deviation from historical weather patterns.

This unprecedented heat has led to widespread discomfort and raised concerns about the capacity of infrastructure and public services to handle such extreme conditions.

Meteorologists are attributing these extreme weather events to broader patterns of climate change, which are resulting in more frequent and severe heatwaves across the globe.

Presidential hopeful raps Iran’s handling of Ukraine conflict, economic sanctions

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Mostafa Pourmohammadi

He claimed that Iran has borne significant costs due to the Ukraine crisis without reaping any benefits.

In his tweet, Pourmohammadi highlighted the severe impact of sanctions on Iran’s financial transactions, stating, “For about 10 years, financial transfers have been impossible in the country. Out of 204 countries, we are among the three on the blacklist. This issue must be resolved with strength.”

Pourmohammadi further elaborated on the critical challenges facing the country, mentioning difficulties in importing essential goods and medicine, which he described as “very dangerous.”

He emphasized the necessity of addressing the sanctions, noting that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, was only a step towards easing sanction pressures and did not fully secure Iran’s rights.

He drew an analogy between diplomacy and military action, stating, “A soldier on the front lines must be assured that they will not be attacked from behind. When a diplomatic soldier enters the field but is undermined from behind, their morale and motivation are lost. National will and consensus must support diplomatic policies.”

Pourmohammadi’s comments come amid accusations that Iran has supplied drones to Russia for use against Ukraine, a claim that Iran has consistently denied.

Russia says Western property could be seized

By
IFP Media Wire
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Maria Zakharova

The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations agreed at last week’s summit in Apulia, Italy, to use interest from frozen Russian assets to secure a $50 billion loan for Kiev.

Zakharova pointed out that Russia has a “significant” amount of Western funds and property under its jurisdiction.

“All of it may be subject to Russian retaliatory policy and retaliatory actions. The arsenal of political and economic countermeasures is wide,” she told reporters at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

Russia, however, will not disclose the nature of the retaliatory actions, Zakharova added.

G7 countries have approved in principle a US plan to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan issued against frozen Russian assets, to help Kiev buy weapons and rebuild damaged infrastructure.

The idea is to use nearly $300 billion in Russian sovereign funds frozen in the West in the wake of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, as the basis for the loan. G7 countries would use profits from the assets to cover the debt interest.

Most of the frozen assets are being held in the EU. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said recently that the profits earned from the immobilized Russian assets amounts to around $3-$5 billion per year.

The G7 intends to disburse the funds through multiple channels, directing them to Ukraine’s military, general budget, and reconstruction needs.

Disagreements, however, remain among the US and its allies as to who will carry the loan risks if Western governments lose control over the Russian assets.

Moscow has repeatedly stressed it will treat any attempt to tap into them as theft, and will retaliate.

Russia claims West plans to sacrifice Zelensky

By
IFP Media Wire
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Zelensky

“Washington considers V. Zaluzhny, a former Ukrainian commander-in-chief, to be the most suitable candidate,” the intelligence agency said in a statement.

SVR suggested that Zelensky had “run out of usefulness” for the United States, which was looking for someone in Ukraine to conduct negotiations with Russia.

Zelensky sacked Zaluzhny in February after US media reported about a deepening rift between the two. Zaluzhny reportedly ruffled feathers in Kiev with his unvarnished assessment of Ukraine’s standing in the conflict with Russia. Zaluzhny is currently serving as ambassador to the United Kingdom.

SVR argued that Washington was about to terminate what it described as “Project Zelensky,” adding that Zelensky’s promise “to bring Russia to its knees” sounded comical under such circumstances.

“Wandering around Western capitals, the self-proclaimed ‘president’ is trying to create an impression of turbulent activity and at least somehow justify the usurpation of power. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the White House is about to shut down ‘Project Zelensky,'” SVR added.

Zelensky’s presidential term technically expired on May 20. Ukraine was due to hold a presidential election on March 31, but the president delayed it indefinitely citing martial law in the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained that the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) remains the only legitimate authority in the country, while the executive branch of power lost its legitimacy.

Iran interim FM: Israel will sink in quagmire of its crimes

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Gaza War

Ali Bagheri made the remarks on Thursday in an interview with Al Jazeera, saying “The Zionists need to know that their crimes will not bring them any achievements, but will lead to the activation of new energies against them.”

The Iranian diplomat also questioned the US honesty in its mediation efforts for establishing a ceasefire in Gaza. He said, “If Washington is sincere about establishing truce in Gaza, it should not support the side that started the war.”

Warning of the repercussions of the aggression on Gaza, Bahgeri said regional peace and stability are a ‘mirage’ amid the ongoing Israeli occupation and aggression.

The Iranian caretaker foreign minister arrived on Wednesday in Doha to meet with Qatari officials and Palestinian resistance movements leaders.

He reiterated Iran’s support for Palestinians while the Israeli regime has been on a campaign of genocide since Oct 7 last year which has so far left over 37,400 Palestinians dead, in addition to hundreds of thousands more injured and displaced in Gaza.

Acting Iran FM: Canada will be held responsible for consequences of blacklisting IRGC

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani

“Canada’s illegal move to declare an integral part of the official military force of the I.R. Iran, which has played an irreplaceable role in defending the national security and territorial integrity of dear Iran, and protecting the security and stability of the region and confronting the terrorism by Daesh, was malicious and violates the principles and rules of international law, and a worthless gift to the genocidal regime, terrorists and other enemies of peace and stability in the region,” he wrote on X on Thursday.

He added that the Canadian government will be held accountable for the consequences of the hostile action.

Canada’s Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc Ottawa on Wednesday listed the IRGC as a “terrorist entity” under the Criminal Code and called on Canadians in Iran to leave. The move makes Canada the second country in North America after the United States to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

Iran condemns Canada’s blacklisting of IRGC as “unwise and unconventional step”

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Nasser Kanaani

Kanaani described the uncalculated decision of the Canadian government as a hostile act that is contrary to the accepted norms and principles of international law, including the principle of sovereign equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of states, and a clear example of a violation of Iran’s national sovereignty.

He added this irresponsible and provocative move is a continuation of the wrong path that the Canadian government has taken over the past decade under the influence of warmongers, real violators of human rights, and the main perpetrators of terrorism.

The spokesperson for the diplomatic apparatus pointed out the IRGC is a sovereign institution born from the Iranian nation and has an official and legal identity derived from the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Alongside other branches of the armed forces, it is responsible for safeguarding Iran’s national security and the country’s borders, as well as assisting in regional security and stability through combating the ominous phenomenon of terrorism.

He emphasized the disgusting act of the Canadian government against the IRGC will have no impact on the production of legitimate and deterrent power and the increase in the level and scope of the grandeur of this honorable force born from the Iranian nation.

The spokesman declared the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its right to a proportionate and reciprocal response to this action that contravenes international law and is against the Iranian nation and government.

UN report accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza War

In a report that assessed six Israeli attacks that caused a high number of casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, the OHCHR announced that Israeli forces “may have systematically violated the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack”.

“The requirement to select means and methods of warfare that avoid or at the very least minimise to every extent civilian harm appears to have been consistently violated in Israel’s bombing campaign,” stated UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

A new report by a United Nations-backed independent commission has also found the Israeli military’s “deliberate” use of heavy weapons in the Gaza Strip has been an “intentional and direct attack on the civilian population”.

Navi Pillay, chairperson of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said on Wednesday that Israel has committed crimes against humanity, forced starvation, extermination, murder, and inhuman and cruel treatment of Palestinians. She also accused Palestinian groups of war crimes.

As she presented the report to the UN Human Rights Council, Pillay said the Israeli military operating in Gaza “forcibly transferred almost the entire population into a small enclosure that is unsafe and uninhabitable” and used heavy weapons in densely populated areas in “an intentional and direct attack on the civilian population”.

Pillay stated the commission concluded that specific forms of sexual and gender-based violence constituted part of the Israeli forces’ operating procedures.

“Although Israeli officials have repeatedly stated their operations in Gaza are intended to destroy Hamas and release hostages, yet neither of these aims has been largely achieved at the expense of thousands of lives,” she added.

“We found that Israeli forces committed sexual and gender-based violence with the intent to humiliate and further subordinate the Palestinian community. Palestinian women were targeted and subjected to sexual violence and harassment online and in person.”

“Men and boys experienced specific persecutory acts, including sexual and gender-based violence amounting to torture and inhuman and cruel treatment,” she continued.

Pillay also noted that the daily onslaught in Gaza must not sideline attention to a parallel wave of violence in the occupied West Bank.

The strikes come as the US confirms it has continued to send weapons to Israel, save for the one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs it is currently reviewing.

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.

Nearly 37,400 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 85,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

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

Hamas can’t be destroyed: Israeli army spokesperson

By
IFP Media Wire
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Hamas Group

In an interview aired on Israeli Channel 13, Hagari said that anyone who promises to eradicate Hamas is “misleading the public”.

He added that if the Israeli government doesn’t find an alternative, it will remain in Gaza.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement stressing that the security cabinet “has defined as one of the war goals the destruction of Hamas’s military and governance capabilities”.

Israeli security officials have also expressed their dissatisfaction towards the Netanyahu-led government’s lack of political strategy to bring the war on Gaza to a halt, Haaretz reported.

The Israeli news outlet stated that officials have slammed, in closed meetings, Netanyahu’s demand to eradicate Hamas, without presenting a clear outline for his goals.

According to Haaretz, security and military officials said that Netanyahu’s unclear path would push the Israeli army to advance dangerously in Gaza.

Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7 have killed more than 37,000 people, 40 percent of them children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Recently, Netanyahu dissolved his war cabinet after opposition leader Benny Gantz withdrew from it.

Gantz stated Netanyahu is putting his own personal political considerations ahead of a post-war strategy. He also complained that “fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and procrastination”, calling on the Israeli prime minister to hold an election in the coming months.

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