Author: Steven Sahiounie

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that sets national development goals for 2030 and for a longer run, the Kremlin said. The decree is titled On the National Development Goals of the Russian Federation until 2030 and for a Longer Term until 2036. The new May decree defines such national development goals as population preservation and family support, education of a patriotic and socially responsible person, comfortable and safe living environment, environmental well-being, sustainable and vibrant economy, technological leadership, as well as digital transformation of government administration, economy and social area, and others. Structure of the decree The preamble…

Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations has roundly dismissed the Israeli regime’s groundless accusations and provocative rhetoric against the Islamic Republic, stressing that no resistance group was involved in the country’s legitimate missile and drone strikes against the occupied territories. In two identical letters addressed to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UN Security Council President Pedro Comissário Afonso on Tuesday, Amir Saeid Iravani unequivocally rejected the lies and misinformation against Iran raised by the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, in a letter dated April 19, 2024. “Contrary to such unfounded claims, Iran has consistently upheld international law, adhered to the principles…

Hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip have only three days of fuel left, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday, due to closed border crossings.Despite international objections, Israel sent tanks into the overcrowded southern city of Rafah on Tuesday and seized the nearby crossing into Egypt that is the main conduit for aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.“The closure of the border crossing continues to prevent the UN from bringing fuel. Without fuel all humanitarian operations will stop. Border closures are also impeding delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X,…

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi denounced the Israeli regime’s deliberate prevention of medical and relief aid supplies from being delivered into Gaza, calling on the international community and the “awakened human consciences” to help Palestinians. In a message on the occasion of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on Wednesday, Raisi decried the Zionist regime’s obstructions to providing basic health, medical and relief services to the oppressed people of Gaza. He called on the world assemblies and all awakened human consciences to help the oppressed people of Gaza and provide the grounds for sending humanitarian aids and reducing the…

The request of the Westerners was that if you want to respond, do not hit hard

Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa today met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Hanke Bruins-Sloat, during which they both discussed the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, including the need for coordinated efforts for the delivery of essential aid to Gaza. They further affirmed the need for urgent international intervention to put pressure on Israel to release withheld Palestinian funds and cease the Israeli deductions. This came during Mustafa’s reception of the Dutch Minister, in his office in Ramallah in the presence of the Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Farsin Shaheen, and the Dutch Representative to Palestine, Michel…

Jordan’s Queen Rania on Tuesday discussed the global effects of Israel’s war on Gaza and called for a just solution to the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Speaking during a session at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2024 in Los Angeles on Monday, she said the war has “exposed old fractures” and “divided people along new battle lines,” which has contributed to a growing global polarization. “Polarization leads to binary thinking; it makes us think of our world as us versus them, left versus right, East versus West,” she added. “And even though that might give us a false sense of security…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Israel and Saudi Arabia seemed on the verge of establishing normal relations, but the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 changed everything after Israel began a horrific bombardment of Gaza in a revenge attack. The dead Israelis numbered about 1,400, but the dead Palestinians now amount to about 35,000, with more deaths recorded daily. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office for the sixth time, he stated he had two main goals: to increase illegal settlements in the Occupied territory of the West Bank, and to sign a normalization pact with…

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli regime forces seized control of the Rafah crossing.

The UN human rights office says Israel has strict obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the safety of civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip.