Author: Steven Sahiounie

The economy expanded in the first quarter despite Western sanctions, according to the national statistics service

Türkiye’s Disaster Management Agency (AFAD) announced on Sunday that the country is sending a night vision search and rescue helicopter and 32 rescuers following a request from Iran. “Iran has requested a night vision search and rescue helicopter from Türkiye” through the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the agency said on X. “32 search and rescue mountaineers from the Van and Erzurum branches of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and 6 vehicles are en route to the area,” it added. Also, “15 mountaineer search and rescue personnel from Ankara, Diyarbakir, and Konya are on standby,” the agency said and added…

The Commander in Chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has described Israel as a regime which understands nothing but the language of force. Salami said on Sunday that Iran’s mid-April military operation against Israel was necessary to punish a violent and insane regime that has created instability and chaos in the region. Speaking in a ceremony in Tehran, Salami was making a reference to Iran’s missile and drone attacks against Israel on April 14 which was carried out in response to the regime’s airstrike earlier that month against Iranian consulate in Syria’s Damascus. The general insisted, however, that…

Saudi Arabia expressed its support for Iran and said it was ready to provide any assistance required after a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed on Sunday. The Foreign Ministry said the Kingdom was following reports about the crash with “great concern.” Meanwhile, the Iraqi government said in a statement it had instructed its interior ministry, the Red Crescent and other relevant bodies to offer help to neighboring Iran in the search mission. Iranian search and rescue teams were scouring a fog-shrouded mountainside after the helicopter carrying the president and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian went missing in an “accident”…

The Jordanian FM sheds light on a “political assassination attempt” targeting UNRWA following October 7, detailing that all accusations made by the Israeli occupation have no evidence. Jordanian FM Ayman Safadi reaffirmed his country’s continuing support for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, despite a campaign spearheaded by “Israeli” charges against the institution. In a joint news conference with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, Safadi expressed that UNRWA is “fulfilling its duty in Gaza despite the aggression on the Strip,” explaining that its role in the area cannot be “replaced or dispensed with by any other entity.” He went on to say that UNRWA…

This evening, Israeli colonist militias set fire to agricultural lands and a scrapyard in the village of Yatma, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Ahmed Sanobar, head of the Yatma Village Council, told WAFA that hundreds of colonists attacked the village under the protection of Israeli occupation forces. The assailants torched a scrapyard and large areas of farmland, and also threw stones at a house on the outskirts of the village, he added. Sanobar reported that villagers confronted the attackers and managed to extinguish the fires. Confrontations ensued between the residents and the attacking colonists, supported by…

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has expressed his concern and sympathies to the Iranian nation after the helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raeisi experienced a hard landing in a mountainous region in northwestern Iran. “We hope that the Almighty God returns the respected and esteemed President and his companions to the embrace of the nation,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Sunday. The Leader urged all Iranians to pray for the health and safety of President Raeisi and other public servants on board the helicopter. “The Iranian nation should not be worried or anxious, there will be no disruption…

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to China is set to determine the future of the world, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The trip laid the groundwork for many years to come, she said on TVC television. “These are momentous steps that will determine the future not only of our region, but also of the entire planet,” the diplomat said. Zakharova also said relations between Russia and China is seen by the world-majority countries as an alternative. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier on Saturday that Putin’s visit to China reaffirmed that relations of comprehensive partnership between the countries…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against a full-scale ground operation in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah and called for more aid for the Palestinian population. “We are unanimous in our opinion, we in Germany, in Europe, as well as the American government: it is irresponsible now to think about an attack on Rafah, where many millions of refugees have taken refuge and are unprotected,” Scholz said in Karlsruhe. His words are quoted by the DPA agency. “This cannot end well,” he said. The Chancellor also said that sufficient humanitarian aid should be delivered to Gaza. His statement was met…

Resistance fighters are opposing the occupation’s incursions into the West Bank as the IOF conduct a campaign of raids and arrests. In the early morning hours on Sunday, Israeli occupation forces carried out a widespread operation involving raids and arrests across diverse regions of the West Bank, with confrontations unfolding in numerous locations. A large contingent of Israeli occupation forces raided the city of Qalqilya, bolstered by jeeps and military vehicles, according to local sources. They raided two residences in the al-Qaraan neighborhood and used loudspeakers to force locals to evacuate. Confrontations broke out between Resistance fighters and occupation forces in Qalqilya.…