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Israel claims its weapons exports hit record sales amid Gaza war

By
IFP Media Wire
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Israel Arms Weapons

The report by the defence ministry said that the total exports of Israeli arms reached $13.1bn in 2022, an increase of $500m from the previous year and double the amount of exports from five years ago.

More than a third of the sales comprised missiles, rockets and air-defence systems, with one of the biggest contracts of 2023 being with Germany, which signed a deal to purchase the Arrow 3 long-range air defence system for around $4bn.

“While our industries are primarily focused on providing the defence establishment with the capabilities to support our troops and defend our citizens, they are also continuing to pursue areas of cooperation and exports to international partners,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.

Roughly half, 48 percent, of all sales went to the Asia and Pacific region, while Europe accounted for 35 percent of sales, and North America accounted for nine percent.

The figures were released by the defence ministry as a growing number of countries have begun to boycott or suspend the purchase of weaponry from Israel, citing its ongoing destruction of Gaza and killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians there.

Colombia announced it would be pausing its purchases of Israeli arms, after its president, Gustavo Petro, called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide.

In May, a French court banned Israeli companies from participating in an annual defence industry exhibition, with the country’s defence ministry saying the move was likely linked to Paris’ objection to an Israeli assault on Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where more than a million Palestinians had fled to in order to escape Israeli bombardment.

Bloomberg reported that some of Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturers were asked in the early weeks of Israel’s war on Gaza to prioritise supplies to Israel’s military. However, with the war still going on and there being no end in sight, these companies are focused on the international market.

“If Rafael wants to be able to provide for Israel as well as stay ahead of the game in research and development, we need international markets, which are our only assurance for real growth,” Gideon Weiss, the company’s vice president for international business development, stated in a statement given to Bloomberg.

Israel’s war on Gaza began on 7 October, when Palestinian fighters led by Hamas broke out of Gaza and launched on attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 people captive.

Israel responded with an immediate siege of Gaza, and launched an aerial bombardment campaign followed by a ground invasion. So far, Israel has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The US has supported Israel’s war efforts, sending tens of thousands of weapons, including precise bombs and ammunition to help fill the military’s supply lines. Israel currently has around $23bn worth of active military contracts with the US.

For years, the US has been Israel’s largest suppliers of weapons, making up for 69 percent of Israeli arms imports between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

The US also provides Israel with $3.8bn in military assistance each year.

Many of these recent arms transfers, given their size and individual cost, have also gone under the public radar, making it difficult to know the true extent of how many weapons the US has sent to Israel since October.

US selling dozens of F-15s to Israel amid Gaza war

By
IFP Media Wire
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F-15

Citing three unnamed officials familiar with the issue, the Washington Post reported on Monday that Representative Gregory Meeks and Senator Ben Cardin, who had for months held up the sale, had signed off on the deal several weeks ago.

“The decision, which has not been previously reported, underscores the substantial appetite in Washington to continue the flow of arms to Israel despite concerns from younger members of Congress that the United States should use its leverage to pressure Israel to reduce the intensity of the war and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the newspaper said.

Meeks and Cardin are two of four lawmakers who can effectively veto a foreign military sale.

“Any issues or concerns Chair Cardin had were addressed through our ongoing consultations with the (Biden) Administration, and that’s why he felt it appropriate to allow this case to move forward,” Eric Harris, communications director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the daily in a statement.

Meeks stated he has been in “close touch” with the White House about the package and “repeatedly urged the administration to continue pushing Israel to make significant and concrete improvements on all fronts when it comes to humanitarian efforts and limiting civilian casualties”.

The State Department can now proceed with notifying Congress of the approved sale, the next step to completing the transaction.

If ultimately approved, the deal would be one of the largest arms sales to Israel since the war on Gaza began.

The United States has been providing the regime with thousands of tons of military equipment since Tel Aviv launched the war in October 2023.

Israel unleashed the Gaza onslaught on October 7 after Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups carried out Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 37,350 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 85,372 others, according to the Gaza-based health ministry.

Tel Aviv has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

Mild weather lures more tourists to northern, northwestern Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Mountaineers and nature lovers travel to the region to enjoy the pristine nature, the nice weather, and the peace during springtime.

The pictures below worth thousands of words:

Over 1.3 million people displaced from Rafah to other parts of Gaza: UN

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza War

“UNRWA estimates that 65,000 people are sheltering in Rafah,” it said on X.

“Six weeks ago there were around 1.4 million.”

UNRWA didn’t provide any detail as to where in Gaza those people had been displaced to.

“Since the war began, families in Gaza have been forced to flee again and again,” the agency noted, adding, “They keep looking for safety where there is none.”

Last week, the Norwegian Refugee Council outlined in a report that almost a million people — half of Gaza’s population — have been displaced in the past month following Israel’s expanded military operations in Rafah.

The report stated that it is becoming increasingly difficult for displaced people in Gaza to relocate, facing issues such as clogged streets, overcrowding, fuel shortages, and a sixfold surge in transport costs. It also warned of a rise in Hepatitis A cases, with the accumulation of solid waste becoming a “critical problem”.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 37,300 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 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.

11 Iranian Hajj pilgrims pass away in Saudi Arabia

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Hajj

Pir-Hossein Koulivand gave the update on Tuesday as the annual pilgrimage is culminating amid the intense heatstroke in Saudi Arabia that set a record of 47 degrees Celsius.

He said Red Crescent Society clinics and health centers have provided over 11,000 Iranian pilgrims with medical services.

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

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.

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