Middle East

Iran enhanced ties with regional states beneficial to Muslims

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In a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, Taha said Iran plays a pivotal role in the Muslim world.

He added that Muslim countries should reinforce their unity to confront Israel and the threats facing the Muslim world and solve their problems and misunderstandings through dialogue.

The OIC chief also decried the desecration of the Holy Qur’an and the sanctities of Muslims with the slogan of freedom of expression.

Several incidents have occurred in recent months that featured the desecration of the Holy Qur’an both in Denmark and Sweden with the approval of the two countries’ authorities.

The incidents drew strongly-worded condemnations from across the globe. The sacrilegious acts also opened the floodgates of protests throughout the Muslim world, including in Iran, with all Muslim countries condemning them in the strongest terms.

Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, said Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi held aloft a copy of the holy Qur’an during his address to the General Assembly to urge the international community to prevent more acts of sacrilege against the holy book and sanctities.

The Iranian foreign minister expressed hope that the resolution adopted by the OIC after its emergency meeting would be seriously pursued to prevent blasphemous acts against the holy Qur’an.

He hailed great efforts by the OIC chief to boost unity among Muslim countries and invited him to visit Tehran.

The top Iranian diplomat welcomed political dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen and threw Tehran’s support behind the settlement of the Yemeni crisis through political approaches.

He also called on the Muslim world to support the Palestinian people and resistance.

Pointing to “very good” talks between senior Iranian and Saudi officials, Amir-Abdollahian praised progress made by both sides to improve constructive ties.

MNA/Press TV 

Middle East

Israel bombards Gaza Strip as anti-regime protests continue there

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The Israeli regime has bombarded a number of locations in the east of the Gaza Strip as part of its crackdown on protesters who have gathered along the fence separating the strip from the occupied territories.

The Israeli military said a drone hit two military posts on Friday belonging to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

Separately, an Israeli tank hit another military post, claiming that shots were fired from there towards Israeli troops confronting protesters.

The regime claimed these were a response to incendiary balloons aired by Palestinians causing fire in the occupied territories.

The Hamas-affiliated radio station Aqsa said two people had been wounded in the strikes.

Palestinians in Gaza have been holding protests along the separation fence for days over the regime’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners and provocative visits by settlers to the Al Aqsa mosque compound.

On Friday, the health ministry said 28 Palestinian protesters had been wounded by Israeli troops, which came days after a protester was shot dead by troops.

Hamas has reacted to the Israeli attack, with its spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanoua saying the assaults are a continuation of the Israeli aggression.

“It comes in the context of continuous and extended Zionist aggression against all our people in an attempt to break his will and defeat his will.

The spokesman stressed that the Palestinian people have the right to express their anger and engage in resistance in all its forms and use all the tools at their disposal against the Israeli occupation.

Israel’s violence against Palestinians has escalated in recent months under what is seen as the most right-wing Israeli Cabinet.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed this year in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza.

Those figures indicate that 2023 is already the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the United Nations began keeping track of fatalities in 2005.

Previously, 2022 had been the deadliest year with 150 Palestinians killed, of whom 33 were minors, according to the United Nations.

Middle East

Iran congratulates Saudi Arabia on National Day

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Iran’s newly-reopened embassy in Riyadh broke the news in a post on the X social network (formerly Twitter), which also included images of two letters.

The letters were addressed to King Salman bin Abdulaziz as well as his son, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established on September 23, 1932, by Abdulaziz Al Saud, the father of King Salman.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume ties following a seven-year hiatus under a China-brokered agreement in March.

The two countries have reopened their respective diplomatic missions and exchanged ambassadors.

MNA/PressTV 

Middle East

Iran summons Swiss envoy to protest baseless PGCC-US claims

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According to a Friday statement by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, the Swiss chargé d’affaires was summoned on Thursday to express Iran’s “strong protest and condemnation” of a joint statement issued following the ministerial meeting of the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council in New York on Tuesday and the US acts of provocation.

The ministry reiterated Iran’s determination to “defend its territorial integrity, and protect its security and interests against any threats posed by the US government in connection with maritime security and commercial shipping.”

“Iran will take the necessary strategies in this regard and to secure its national interests,” it said.

Based on its wise approach to safeguard security and stability in the region, the statement added, Iran would never allow the US to plunder regional assets and resources through the continuation of its Iranophobia policy. The Swiss envoy assured that he would convey Iran’s message to American officials, it noted.

The US-PGCC statement renewed their call for Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

It accused Iran of proliferating unmanned aerial vehicles and other dangerous weapons that pose a grave security threat to the region and called on Tehran to stop its activities in this regard.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, which are entirely meant for defense.

The US and PGCC foreign ministers also reiterated their support for the United Arab Emirates’ call to reach a peaceful solution to the dispute over the three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice, in accordance with the rules of international law including the UN Charter.

The three Persian Gulf islands have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.

The three islands fell under British control in 1921 but on November 30, 1971, a day after British forces left the region and just two days before the UAE was to become an official federation, Iran’s sovereignty over the islands was restored.

Iran recognizes that Arabs ruled the islands for centuries, but all historical documents show that they did so from the Iranian port city of Lengheh and therefore as Iranian subjects.

MNA/PR

Middle East

Iran congratulates Saudi Arabia on its national day

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This illustrative picture shows the national flags of Iran (L) and Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has congratulated Saudi leaders on the Arab country’s national day, as the two countries move forward on the reconciliation path following the resumption of ties.

Iran’s newly-reopened embassy in Riyadh broke the news in a post on the X social network (formerly Twitter), which also included images of two letters.

The letters were addressed to King Salman bin Abdulaziz as well as his son, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established on September 23, 1932, by Abdulaziz Al Saud, the father of King Salman.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume ties following a seven-year hiatus under a China-brokered agreement in March.

The two countries have reopened their respective diplomatic missions and exchanged ambassadors.

Middle East

Iran gives Iraq several days to fully enforce deal on disarming terrorists: Top commander

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A top Iranian military commander said the country has given Iraq several more days to fully implement a March agreement to relocate and disarm anti-Iran groups operating from the Arab country’s Kurdistan region, stressing that all terrorist groups in the region must be disarmed.

Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, the Chief of General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, said the March agreement stipulated that these groups be disarmed by September 19 but this has not happened yet.  

“What happened during this six-month respite was that [they] just distanced a bit from the borders of our country,” he said while thanking the Iraqi government for its efforts to disarm the separatists.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a Friday military parade marking the beginning of the National Holy Defense Week.

“The president said that the armed forces give [them] a few days. We will wait for several days and we will send observer teams to this region to see if the disarming is completed or not. After that, we decide what to do,” he said.

General Baqeri stressed all the terrorist groups should be disarmed and relocated.

“The president said separatist terrorists’ armed forces should not be present in the Kurdistan region and all of Iraq. These terrorists should be fully disarmed and get expelled from Iraq,” he said. 

Iraqi officials have in recent days reported that government forces have gained full control over all border points with neighboring Iran and the terrorists have been evacuated from the border regions.

Iraq’s defense minister Thabet Muhammad Saeed al-Abbasi on Tuesday told the Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya that the presence of Kurdish groups operating against Iran has been limited to five camps inside Iraq.

Iraqi authorities have repeatedly stressed Baghdad is committed to the security agreement with Iran.

The presence of Kurdish terrorist groups, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Komala, Kurdistan Free Life Party, and the Kurdistan Freedom Party, has been a source of tension between Iran and Iraq for years, with these groups often carrying out terrorist attacks on Iranian soil.

Following last year’s riots, triggered by the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, these groups intensified their subversive operations against Iran and smuggled weapons to their local agents.

That prompted Iran to push Iraq to put an end to terrorist activities of the anti-Iran groups, leading to the March agreement.  

Middle East

Palestinian killed in Zionist military raid in northern WB

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Abdullah Emad Abu al-Hasan, 18, succumbed to wounds from live fire by Israeli occupation forces during an assault on the village of Kafr Dan, located 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) northwest of Jenin, early on Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. 

The injured teenager was transferred to a hospital for medical treatment, where he has pronounced dead shortly afterward.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that confrontations broke out in the village as young Palestinians tried to repel the Israeli soldiers following the incursion.

Israeli troops fired live rounds, stun grenades and tear gas canisters to disperse the protesting crowd.

The young Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli military vehicles, while resistance fighters exchanged gunfire with the soldiers.

Witnesses said Hasan was struck in the abdomen with a bullet. A number of Palestinians were also shot and injured during the raid, while several others suffered breathing difficulties as a result of Israeli-fired tear gas.

Meanwhile, seven Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were injured and more than 100 others suffered from tear gas inhalation after Israeli soldiers raided the city of Nablus on Friday.

Local sources reported that Israeli special forces stormed the Rafidia neighborhood in the western part of the occupied West Bank city, and surrounded a residential building amid heavy gunfire before targeting the house with four rockets.

The Israeli military later announced the arrest of a “wanted” Palestinian and two other young men. Meanwhile, a report by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed identified the arrested Palestinian as Khaled Tabila, one of the founders of Lions’ Den.

Armed clashes erupted in the area, where several residents were injured.

According to Palestinian medical sources, Israeli forces prevented ambulances from reaching the neighborhood where the raid was taking place. 

MNA/PressTV

Middle East

Iran’s Quds Force commander in Syria for joint drill

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The reports said General Esmail Ghaani oversaw a joint Iran-Syria drill and visited several regions in a continuation of efforts to help Syria deal with military and security challenges. The reports did not provide any details about the nature or location of the drill.

In the Syrian capital Damascus, the commander also saw down for talks with senior officials and military commanders.

The reports quoted Ghaani as saying during the visit that the US is the main root of chaos, terrorism and fighting in Syria, the region and the world.

“Syria and Iran are brother states and they enjoy significant, all-out and deep strategic relations. The Islamic Republic of Iran will be by the side of the Syrian people and leadership in dealing with challenges,” he was quoted as saying.

Iran and Syria developed friendly relations after the 1979 revolution in Iran. Iran rushed to Syria’s help following the breakout of foreign-backed militancy in the country in 2011.

Syria, assisted by Iranian military advisors as well as Russian warplanes that came to its help, has managed to retake most of the territory lost to foreign-backed militants and terrorist groups, including Daesh. 

MNA/PressTV

Middle East

'Important visit': Iran’s Quds Force commander in Syria for joint drill

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An undated photo released by Iranian media shows General Esmail Qa’ani addressing fighters in an undisclosed location in Syria.

The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Quds Force has visited Syria on an “important” trip and supervised a joint drill, according to Iranian media reports.

The reports said General Esmail Qa’ani oversaw a joint Iran-Syria drill and visited several regions in a continuation of efforts to help Syria deal with military and security challenges. The reports did not provide any details about the nature or location of the drill.

In the Syrian capital Damascus, the commander also saw down for talks with senior officials and military commanders.

The reports quoted Qa’ani as saying during the visit that the US is the main root of chaos, terrorism and fighting in Syria, the region and the world.

“Syria and Iran are brother states and they enjoy significant, all-out and deep strategic relations. The Islamic Republic of Iran will be by the side of the Syrian people and leadership in dealing with challenges,” he was quoted as saying.

Iran and Syria developed friendly relations after the 1979 revolution in Iran. Iran rushed to Syria’s help following the breakout of foreign-backed militancy in the country in 2011.

Syria, assisted by Iranian military advisors as well as Russian warplanes that came to its help, has managed to retake most of the territory lost to foreign-backed militants and terrorist groups, including Daesh. 

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raiei paid a visit to Syria in May, during which he sat down for talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad as well as other top officials.

During the visit, a first by an Iranian president in over 10 years, Raeisi stressed that the Islamic Republic will stand by its Syrian brothers in the post-war era of reconstruction and development as was the case during the fight against terrorism.

The Syrian president also hailed Iran’s support for Syria throughout the Arab country’s conflict, and called for Iran to play a bigger role in the establishment of sustainable peace in the country and reconstruction of war-torn parts of Syria.