Author: Steven Sahiounie

Iran’s Army Chief Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi says in any “war of wills” the Islamic Republic will respond to any act of aggression in a more crushing style than ever before. Addressing a meeting with a number of Iranian Army commanders in Tehran on Thursday, Mousavi stressed the importance of remaining vigilant in the face of any possible threat but reiterated at the same time that Iran has no intention to spread war. He added that a series of Iran’s retaliatory strikes against the Israeli-occupied territories earlier this month manifested unity among Iran’s Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps…

Iran has called on the BRICS group of emerging economies to play a role in putting an immediate stop to Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. The call by Iran’s deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani in Moscow on Thursday came as his counterparts and special representatives of BRICs nations met to discuss the latest developments in the West Asia and North Africa region. “The manner and quality of role-playing of individual countries and international organizations in relation to the Israeli regime’s crisis mongering and the position they adopt in this regard is effective and will be recorded in history,” he said.…

Hala Rharrit, the Arabic-language spokeswoman for the US State Department, has resigned from the post in protest against the Biden administration’s Gaza policy. Her resignation, effective Wednesday, was confirmed through her State Department biography page, where she had also served as the Deputy Director of the Dubai Regional Media Hub. In a statement attributed to her on a LinkedIn page believed to be hers, Rharrit stated, “I resigned April 2024 after 18 years of distinguished service in opposition to the United States’ Gaza policy. Diplomacy, not arms. Be a force for peace and unity.” Having commenced her Foreign Service career…

The Gaza Government Media Office confirms the martyrdom of a Palestinian journalist following an Israeli strike on his house in Rafah. Palestinian journalist Mohammad Bassam al-Jamal and several members of his family were martyred after their home in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, was bombed by the Israeli occupation forces. The Gaza Government Media Office confirmed the martyrdom of al-Jamal, who worked for the Palestine Now news agency. With the announcement, the number of journalists killed at the hands of Israeli occupation forces since the beginning of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip now stands at 141, according to the Office. In…

The Israeli occupation forces are heavily mobilized in Al-Aqsa Mosque in a bid to provide protection for the illegal Israeli settlers storming the holy site. The Islamic Endowments Department in Palestine reported on Thursday that more than 900 Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups through Al-Mughrabi Gate to mark the third day of Jewish Passover. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian worshipers, inspecting their IDs at the gates of al-Quds, and preventing many of them from entering the mosque. Al-Quds has been turned into a military fortress, with over 3,000 Israeli police officers deployed throughout the city. It…

The West introduces sanctions banning Russian goods, then bends the rules when their industries need these products to survive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We understand [the West’s] selective approach. We see that, according to some parameters, companies in Europe and other regions can hardly maintain their competitiveness if they completely abandon our products,” the Kremlin official said, commenting on the Canadian government granting permission to use Russian titanium for Airbus. According to Peskov, “in such cases, Westerners act at their discretion, without paying attention to conventions.” On Wednesday Reuters reported that the Canadian government had given Airbus the…

The Iranian foreign minister abhorred the US police’s violent clampdown on the university students and professors attending demonstrations in support of Palestine, saying it lays bare Washington’s double standards on freedom of expression. In a post on his X account on Thursday, Hossein Amirabdollahian said the American police and security forces’ violent crackdown on university students and professors protesting against the Israeli regime’s genocide and war crimes is deeply worrying and abhorred by the world’s public opinion. “Such a crackdown is in parallel with the continuation of Washington’s full-scale support and backing for the Israeli regime and clearly reveals the…

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan al Saud discussed Thursday the situation in Gaza over a phone call, according to Turkish diplomatic sources. The two ministers also spoke on regional developments, the sources added. Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which claimed about 1,200 lives. More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, and 85% of the enclave’s population has been forced into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of essentials such as food and…

During a telephone call today, President Mahmoud Abbas and the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, discussed the latest developments in Palestine in the light of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip. President Abbas stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, underscoring the importance of accelerating the introduction of humanitarian, relief and medical assistance, preventing displacement and stopping the dangerous escalation carried out by Israeli forces and extremist colonists in the West Bank, including Jerusalem. He also reaffirmed during the call the new government’s commitment to fulfill its…

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza with Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands. During a phone call from Rutte on Thursday, the Egyptian leader warned that any Israeli assault on Rafah will have “catastrophic consequences” for the humanitarian situation in the enclave. The leaders discussed bilateral relations, and ways to enhance cooperation across various political and economic levels consistent with the current momentum in Egyptian-European relations. Ahmed Fahmy, presidential spokesman, said the call also focused on the situation in Gaza, and Egypt’s efforts to restore regional stability by reaching a ceasefire…