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Tehran’s influence at stake as Iran’s parliamentary election enters 2nd round

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Election

Notably, Tehran province holds 16 of these seats, historically wielding significant influence in the parliament.

This election marks a departure from previous years, with a substantial portion of parliamentary seats still vacant.

The outcome of these elections will shape the trajectory of key issues facing the new parliament.

As the second round approaches, various political factions are closely monitoring the results, recognizing the pivotal role Tehran’s representatives have historically played in shaping Iran’s political landscape.

With the balance of power in the parliament hanging in the balance, the results of Friday’s elections carry profound implications for the country’s future direction.

Iran’s parliament, officially known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly, consists of 290 representatives.

The first round of the parliamentary as well as the Assembly of Experts elections were held on March 1.

EU says “no safe zones in Gaza”

By
IFP Media Wire
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Gaza War

Despite Hamas agreeing to a draft ceasefire deal, Netanyahu has vowed to go ahead with an attack on the city. Israel has also seized control of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing.

The move is short of Netanyahu’s threatened full-scale operation on Rafah, but Borrell described it as a land offensive.

“The land offensive against Rafah has started again, in spite of all of the requests of the international community — the US, the European Union member states — everybody asking Netanyahu not to attack Rafah,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in a briefing Tuesday.

“In spite of these warnings and these requests, the attack started yesterday night. I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties, whatever they say. There are 600,000 children in Gaza. They will be pushed to so-called ‘safety zones’ — there are no safe zones in Gaza.”

Borrell also described the lack of agreement on a ceasefire as “sad news”, adding: “Hamas accepted, Israel rejected.”

UNICEF on Tuesday stressed the city of children, Rafah, “must not be invaded”, urging the continuation of humanitarian aid flow into Gaza.

“Our worst fear – Gazans’ nightmare – appears to be a reality. A reality that those holding power have the ability to prevent,” spokesperson James Elder told a UN press briefing in Geneva.

Elder noted that every warning and every “mind-boggling piece of data” on the number of children and mothers killed and of homes and hospitals destroyed” are all ignored.

Stressing that Rafah is a city of children as more than half of the children in Gaza live in Rafah, he stated: “This past weekend’s events in Gaza – the continued killing of children, more attacks from the warring parties, and now evacuation orders – yet again expose how parties to this conflict continue to utterly disregard the lives and protection of children and civilians.”

“That has to change. Indeed, this is the last chance for this to change,” he urged, and added: “Aid must flow. Hostages must be freed. Rafah must not be invaded. And children must no longer be killed.”

He reiterated UNICEF’s call for cessation of hostilities, saying: “For the children of Rafah, we need a cease-fire, now.”

The Israeli army issued immediate evacuation orders early Monday for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and called on them to move to the town of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Since then, the Israeli onslaught has killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is “plausible” that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.

Mazandaran regional water co. completes largest solar power plant in northern Iran

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran solar power plant

The project, the largest in northern Iran, is in line with the Iranian government’s green management initiatives and expected to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and operational costs significantly.

The solar power plant covers 702 square meters and boasts a production capacity of 160 kilowatts.

The annual energy output of the plant is projected to reach 215-megawatt hours, contributing substantially to the 300- megawatt hours of annual electricity consumed by the office complex.

The project, which cost approximately 80 billion Rials, was implemented in just four months. The new solar power plant will help reduce the potential for power outages during peak summer demand and will prevent the emission of 101 kilograms of CO2 annually.

In addition to the solar power plant, Mazandaran Regional Water Company is also focusing on hydropower development.

Last year, investors were attracted to construct seven hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 33.25 megawatts, and 13 other potential sites have been identified for future development.

Putin inaugurated for fifth term as president of Russia

By
IFP Media Wire
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Putin

The 71-year-old veteran politician was reelected earlier this year with a record 87.28% of the vote.

Commenting on the future of Russia and its relations with other nations, Putin stressed that “we do not refuse dialogue with Western states. The choice is theirs: do they intend to continue trying to restrain the development of Russia, continue the policy of aggression and relentless pressure that they have pursued for years, or look for a path to cooperation and peace”.

This cooperation must include discussions on issues of security and strategic stability, according to the Russian president. However, any talks must be carried out with mutual respect on equal terms, and without “arrogance, conceit, and personal exclusivity”, Putin insisted.

“Together with our partners in Eurasian integration and other sovereign development centers, we will continue to work to form a multipolar world order and an equal and indivisible security system,” Putin continued.

At the same time, Russia will strive to remain self-sufficient and competitive, he added.

Putin also stressed the importance of remembering “the tragic price of internal turmoil and upheaval”. In order to ensure its unity and independence, Russia’s statehood and socio-political system must be flexible and resistant to any challenges and threats, the president insisted.

The president also said society has changed in recent years, and has begun to value “reliability, mutual responsibility, sincerity, decency, nobility and courage”.

Putin went on to promise to use his powers as head of state to ensure that all Russian citizens who have proven their loyalty and have shown “their best human and professional qualities” are given leading positions in public administration, the economy, and other spheres.

Israel seizes key Gaza border crossing

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it had seized “operational control” of the Gaza side of the border post, which links the besieged enclave with Egypt. The closure of the crucial passage and positioning of tanks in the centre of Rafah is seen as a demonstration of Israel’s determination to press on with an assault on the southern city despite ongoing truce talks.

The 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, closing a route vital for the aid entering Gaza and any civilians able to flee the fighting to Egypt.

The military claimed that the crossing was “being used for terrorist purposes”, alleging that Hamas’s mortar attack on Sunday on the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, which remains closed, was launched from the vicinity. However, it has not so far provided evidence.

The operation came amid an overnight assault on eastern parts of the city. Warplanes pounded residential homes, killing several people.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority acknowledged to The Associated Press news agency that Israeli forces had seized the crossing and closed it for the time being.

The aggression comes despite Hamas having said on Monday that it had agreed with the terms of a truce deal hammered out by mediators.

However, pressed by hardline nationalist coalition partners who have demanded a full offensive on Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears set to press on regardless.

Despite urgent warnings from its closest allies that an offensive on the city risks huge numbers of civilian casualties, Israel insists that its plans will allow it to clear Rafah and press on to attack the Hamas command and fighters there.

Israeli troops whipped up panic on Monday as they ordered 1.4 million or so Palestinians in Rafah – most of whom are displaced following previous instructions from the Israeli military – to evacuate.

The Israeli army reiterated on Tuesday that it has “encouraged” displaced people and international humanitarian organisations operating in eastern Rafah to “temporarily evacuate”.

However, people sheltering in Rafah, amid poor conditions with little shelter, food, or medicine, have few places to go.

The closure of the border crossing only threatens to worsen those shortages and trap more people close to the fighting.

Sources from three humanitarian relief agencies told the Reuters news agency that aid shipments had been halted due to the closure of the crossing.

Students stage pro-Palestine protests at five more UK universities

By
IFP Media Wire
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UK universities protests

Students set up encampments at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) and at Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool and Edinburgh universities. They are the latest in a global student uprising that is expected to build over the coming week across European campuses after starting at universities in the US, where hundreds of students and staff have been arrested for their involvement.

A joint statement from the organisers Oxford Action for Palestine and Cambridge for Palestine read: “Over 100 universities across the globe have now taken bold and urgent action for Palestine. As members of these institutions, we refuse to accept our universities’ complicity in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people – and we refuse to stand by while they justify Israel’s campaign of mass slaughter, starvation, and displacement.”

The protesters at Oxford and Cambridge arrived on Monday with supplies, sleeping bags and cardboard signs bearing hand-painted slogans that stated: “There are no universities left in Gaza” and “Divest from genocide”.

A large banner, reading “Welcome to the people’s university for Palestine”, was put up outside the encampment in front of the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford.

They have also demanded that Oxford and Cambridge universities divest from all companies linked to Israeli genocide and occupation, help rebuild Gaza’s education system, end institutional relationships with Israeli universities and protect the safety of students and staff involved in pro-Palestinian action.

More than 170 Oxford faculty and staff members signed a letter in support of the encampment and its aims.

At the encampment on King’s Parade, Cambridge, events included deescalation training for protesters, a rally and a dinner funded by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. A crowdfunding campaign raised nearly £6,000 for the “vital supplies that will be necessary if our encampment is to be prolonged, persistent, and effective”.

Other universities involved in action so far include University College London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea, Goldsmiths and Bristol in the UK; as well as Sciences Po in France, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Earlier in the week, Goldsmiths bowed to pressure from student occupiers and agreed to a new ethical investment policy, including considering switching fund manager; to write to the government urging it to call for a ceasefire; and to fund an undergraduate Palestinian scholarship.

A University of Oxford spokesperson said: “We respect our students and staff members’ right to freedom of expression in the form of peaceful protests. We ask everyone who is taking part to do so with respect, courtesy and empathy.”

A University of Cambridge spokesperson stated, “The university is fully committed to academic freedom and freedom of speech within the law and we acknowledge the right to protest. We ask everyone in our community to treat each other with understanding and empathy. Our priority is the safety of all staff and students”, adding, “We will not tolerate antisemitism, Islamophobia and any other form of racial or religious hatred, or other unlawful activity.”

US senators threaten ICC with sanctions if they seek Netanyahu’s arrest

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

The ICC has reportedly considered a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest for weeks as accusations rise of war crimes in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“Target Israel and we will target you,” the senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), wrote in a letter late last month, threatening to “sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States”.

“You have been warned,” it concludes.

The letter, first reported by Zeteo, warns the ICC that the U.S. could invoke the American Service-Members’ Protection Act (ASPA) in any response to arrest warrants. The ASPA, signed into law in 2002, prohibits U.S. cooperation with the ICC and authorizes the president to take any action to prevent Americans or allies from being detained by the court.

Neither Israel nor the U.S. is a member of the ICC, though the Palestinian territories were given member status in 2015.

The Joe Biden administration has stated it does not support an ICC war crimes investigation into Israel, but it has not commented on whether it would pursue sanctions against the court if Netanyahu or others are ordered arrested.

“We’ve been really clear about the ICC investigation. We do not support it. We don’t believe that they have the jurisdiction. And I’m just going to leave it there for now,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated last week.

The letter said any attempt to issue warrants against Israeli leaders would be “illegitimate and lack legal basis”, adding that issuing warrants “would align the ICC with the largest state sponsor of terrorism and its proxy”.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) doubled down on the letter in a statement to The Hill on Monday.

“The credibility of the ICC is already suspect, which is why the United States would never yield to its authority,” Cramer stated, adding, “If they go forward with charging Israel’s leadership with crimes for defending their citizens against terrorists, the ICC may as well declare themselves enemies of freedom”.

The court shot back against unspecified threats in a public statement last week, a week after the GOP senators’ letter was sent to the body.

“The Office seeks to engage constructively with all stakeholders whenever such dialogue is consistent with its mandate under the Rome Statute to act independently and impartially,” the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor said in a statement posted on the social platform X.

“That independence and impartiality are undermined, however, when individuals threaten to retaliate against the Court or against Court personnel should the Office, in fulfillment of its mandate, make decisions about investigations or cases falling within its jurisdiction,” the statement continues.

“Such threats, even when not acted upon, may also constitute an offence against the administration of justice under Art. 70 of the Rome Statute,” it added.

Potential action against Israel comes after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin last year over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. President Biden backed the action, calling it “justified”.

The letter was also signed by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), as well as Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tedd Budd (R-N.C.), Cramer, Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

Iran’s nuclear chief says talks with IAEA chief constructive

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Mohammad Eslami

Addressing a joint press conference on the second day of the International Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology, in the central city of Isfahan on Tuesday, Eslami said the joint statement signed on March 4, 2023 can still serve as the basis and the roadmap for interactions between the negotiating parties.

He said both sides are hopeful that the joint statement can resolve the remaining issues and they agreed to take concrete and operational steps to implement it.

Eslami said Iran will continue interactions with IAEA over unresolved issues, including issues regarding two nuclear sites about which the IAEA has voiced concerns.

Meanwhile, Grossi said the UN atomic agency has offered Iran a proposal to continue cooperation and resolve outstanding issues, adding both sides need to take practical steps to that end.

The IAEA chief sought to assure that the atomic agency will not be influenced by any Israeli or Western pressure over Iran’s nuclear case.

Grossi also said efforts should be made to resuscitate the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the West, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or an alternative deal to Iran’s liking.

Senior Iran general says US seeks targeting all Muslim world

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Hossein Salami

Major General Salami made the remarks in a ceremony on Tuesday that marked the 40th day after the martyrdom of seven senior Iranian military advisors in an Israeli missile strike on Iran’s consulate in the Syria capital, Damascus.

The top commander said, “The borders that separate Islamic countries from each other and give them an independent political identity, will never ward off the basic policy of arrogance towards them.”

“The US-centered arrogance to dominate the Muslim world knows no boundaries and sees Muslims in a unified and continuous structure,” he warned.

Major General Salami said Iranian forces will move beyond the conventional borders and will block the path for the enemies in Eastern Mediterranean.

The Iranian commander also warned the deployment of forces by hegemonic powers will bring nothing but destruction to the region, and added the IRGC Quds Force’s mission is to block the enemy’s penetration in Islamic lands.

He also referred to the months-long Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, terming Operation Al-Aqsa Storm by the resistance factions inside the Israeli-occupied territories as the biggest victory for the Palestinian movements and the biggest loss for the Israeli regime in its history.

White House confirms US soldier detained in Russia

By
IFP Media Wire
-
White House

On May 2, “Russian authorities in Vladivostok, Russia, detained an American Soldier on charges of criminal misconduct”, U.S. Army spokesperson Cynthia O. Smith said in a statement to The Hill.

Smith added the Russian Federation notified the State Department of the criminal detention, and the Army thereafter notified the soldier’s family.

The State Department “is providing appropriate consular support to the Soldier in Russia”, she continued.

And a NSC spokesperson told The Hill that the State Department “is actively seeking consular access to this individual, who was not in Russia on behalf of or in affiliation with the U.S. government”.

They referred further questions about the individual’s employment to the Pentagon, which referred The Hill to the Army.

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby also told reporters Monday that the White House is aware of the detained soldier.

NBC first reported that a service member who had been stationed in South Korea traveled to Russia on his own and was not on official business when he was arrested May 2 in in Vladivostok, a port city near the borders with China and North Korea.

The soldier is accused of stealing from a woman, four U.S. officials told the outlet.

The NSC spokesperson said the U.S. takes seriously its commitment to assist American citizens abroad while reiterating its strong warnings that “U.S. citizens should not travel to Russia at this time — period”.

CBS News identified the detained service member as Army Staff Sgt. Gordon D. Black.

Shortly after the news broke of the arrested soldier, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he was “deeply concerned” by the reports.

“[President Vladimir] Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage,” he wrote on X, adding, “A warning to all Americans – as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia.”

Russia has increasingly arrested Americans that have traveled to the country as relations between Moscow and Washington tanked following the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin maintains that those it has arrested broke the law, while the U.S. claims Russia is targeting U.S. citizens to use as political leverage.

Included among the detained Americans is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, who has been in Russian custody for a year. He is awaiting trial in a Moscow prison on espionage charges.

Also accused of espionage is former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Moscow in 2018 while attending a friend’s wedding. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 but has said the charges against him were fabricated.

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