TEHRAN, Nov. 30 (MNA) – The people of Tehran participated in the funeral ceremony of General Kioumars Pourhashemi, a senior Iranian military adviser to Syria who was killed in a terrorist attack in the city of Aleppo, on Thursday.
Riyadh ‘urgently’ seeking to boost ties with Tehran: Report
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is “urgently” looking to strengthen ties with Iran before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, according to a report.
The New York-headquartered news agency, Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the kingdom’s moves, said bin Salman had made an “offer of increased trade” to Iranian officials in recent weeks in the hope of ratcheting down tension with the West.
The offer would build on a March 2023 Chinese-brokered rapprochement between the two countries as Tehran and Riyadh are pushing to forge closer ties amid escalated tensions in the region, Bloomberg added.
The news agency said it was unclear what bin Salman had offered to Iran, but a person who worked on the 2023 detente between the two sides said trade could initially focus on products in the food and medical sectors that would not breach European and US sanctions against Tehran.
The news agency pointed to Trump’s victory in the US election earlier in the month and the prospect of a renewal of the West Asia policies introduced in his first term, which may include his maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.
The Saudi crown prince was said to have sent National Security Adviser Musaad al-Aiban to Washington last month for talks before President Joe Biden leaves office in January.
“The Saudis see the dual-channel approach of closer ties with both Washington and Tehran as vital geopolitically, though it could leave the kingdom in an awkward spot,” the news agency said.
“Prince Mohammed’s top priority is his trillion-dollar plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. The agenda, known as Vision 2030, relies on peace as well as foreign investment to help fund its ambitious mega-projects.”
Speaking at the annual investment conference in Riyadh late October, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said his primary mandate was to protect Vision 2030 and further its advancement.
Bloomberg also touched on the Iranian officials’ concerns that Saudi trade and investment pledges under what was known as the Beijing Agreement had not materialized.
China, which is the biggest buyer of oil from both countries, has been urging Riyadh and Tehran to buttress their rapprochement, said Dina Esfandiary, senior adviser for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group.
“It’s a pretty simple, noncontroversial way for Riyadh to demonstrate its commitment to the new dialogue with Tehran,” she said.
Reports said a Saudi-Chinese-Iranian committee following up on the accord held a second meeting in Riyadh on November 19, reaffirming commitment to the pact.
In a statement, the parties touted the nearly 140,000 Iranian pilgrims that have visited the Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia this year as a sign of closer ties, along with things like the Iranian exhibition in Riyadh.
Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations following a seven-year hiatus under a Beijing-mediated deal in March 2023, which saw the two sides re-open diplomatic missions.
As part of a joint statement issued by the two sides, Tehran and Riyadh highlighted the need to respect each others’ national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another.
They also agreed to implement a security cooperation agreement signed in April 2001 and another accord reached in May 1998 to boost economic, commercial, investment, technical, scientific, cultural, sports, and youth affairs cooperation.
Farewell ceremony of IRCG force martyred in Syria
Palestine calls for meeting of Arab League over Israeli massacres
Palestine has called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League over Israeli massacres in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Palestinian Presidency on Friday called for a meeting of Arab foreign ministers after the Israeli army killed nearly 100 Palestinians in northern Gaza in just 24 hours.
The statement, cited by the official Wafa news agency, warned against what it called starvation warfare against Palestinians in Northern Gaza.
The statement called on the Arab League “to hold an emergency meeting at the level of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs given the ongoing Israeli genocidal aggression, forced displacement, and starvation of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
It cited Israel’s policy of separating the north from the rest of the Strip as it deploys “starvation as a method of warfare against Palestinians to displace them from their lands and houses.”
It also called on the international community to intervene urgently and end Israeli onslaught on Gaza.
Palestinians are facing diminishing conditions for survival in northern Gaza under siege by Israeli forces.
The regime has prevented virtually any aid from delivering to the area.
The chief of the World Health Organization says 90 percent of people in the coastal enclave are now living in tents, leaving them “vulnerable to respiratory and other diseases, food insecurity and malnutrition as winter approaches.”
“The ultimate solution to this suffering is not aid but peace,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
90% of people in #Gaza are now living in tents, leaving them vulnerable to respiratory and other diseases, food insecurity and malnutrition as winter approaches.
The ultimate solution to this suffering is not aid, but peace. pic.twitter.com/z6aj1QTOUW
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 29, 2024
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has raised alarms about the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, warning that Israel’s severe limitations on essential goods are intensifying the suffering of nearly two million displaced Palestinians amid cold weather.
The Geneva-based organization stated on Wednesday, criticizing Israel for restricting the flow of essential goods such as clothing, blankets, and shoes, which the NGO said is aimed at imposing dire living conditions on the Palestinian population that will ultimately lead to their destruction as part of a broader genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli genocide has killed over 44,360 civilians since October 2023. The onslaught has injured over 105,000 others.
Liberating Palestine most important battle facing humanity
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said Friday that the “liberation” of Palestine is the “most important” battle facing humanity, and he assured that the South American country will do “everything possible” to ensure that solidarity is expressed in “concrete terms.”
“We are deeply saddened by the crimes committed daily against the children, women and men of Palestine, the sacred land of all, which today suffers a living genocide,” the head of state said on Telegram.
In a message shared on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Maduro reaffirmed the “firm and historic” position of the Chavista Executive against the extermination policy carried out by the Zionist regime.
“I am not exaggerating when I say that defending Palestine and its right to life, independence and existence is defending the right to existence of Venezuela, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a crucial battle between fascism, colonialism in its new forms, Zionism, and the right to a new society, to decorum and cultural diversity,” said Iran’s ally in Latin America.
MNA
Nov. 29: ‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation
By Press TV Website Staff
Amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 44,400 Palestinians so far, resistance groups in Palestine and across the region continue their operations against the Tel Aviv regime.
The major operations carried out by the Palestinian resistance groups on Friday, November 29, are as follows:
Al-Qassam Brigades’ operations on Nov. 29:
- Targeted gatherings of Israeli forces in multiple places in northern Gaza using appropriate weapons.
Mujahideen Brigades’ operations on Nov. 29:
- Targeted the “Fajjah” Israeli military site with a number of Haseb-111 rockets.
Al-Quds Brigades’ operations on Nov. 29:
- Targeted a gathering of Israeli forces and military vehicles with mortar shells in the middle of Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip.
- Confronted the Israeli forces invading the combat axes in the city of Jenin, occupied West Bank, and attacked them with a barrage of bullets.
- Detonated a pre-prepared explosive device on an Israeli military vehicle in the city of Jenin, occupied West Bank.
Russia confirms death of 200 terrorists in northwestern Syria
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that these people were killed during the attack by Russian Air Force fighters in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib.
The terrorists claimed that 23 people were killed and wounded in the Russian attack on the city of Idlib.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed that four people were killed and 19 others were injured in these attacks.
SD/IRN
ICC prosecutor rejects Israeli appeal of arrest warrants for Netanyahu
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) says Israel’s attempt to suspend arrest warrants for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant should be dismissed and the appeal proceedings halted.
In a document posted on the ICC website, Karim Khan urged the Appeals Chamber of The Hague-based tribunal to turn down the Tel Aviv regime’s request, emphasizing it doesn’t meet the legal conditions required under ICC rules.
He noted that the decision Israel is challenging doesn’t involve “admissibility,” a key requirement for such appeals, but instead addresses procedural complaints about the investigation.
Khan said the decision tells Israel that it cannot file a challenge to jurisdiction before the court has made a decision under Article 58 of the Rome Statute; but also holds that such a challenge could potentially be made once that condition is satisfied.
“The decision is not a decision ‘with respect to jurisdiction’ and it is therefore not directly appealable under Article 82(1)(a) of the Statute,” he said.
“Accordingly, these appeal proceedings should be discontinued and Israel’s Suspension Request be rejected while the proceedings before Pre-Trial Chamber with respect to the same Decision follow their course.
“In any event, there is no legal basis to suspend the arrest warrants issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber,” the prosecutor stated.
Earlier this week, Israel filed a direct appeal to the Appeals Chamber, alleging that the investigation and arrest warrants were procedurally flawed.
It also demanded a suspension of the warrants while the appeal is resolved. At the same time, Israel filed an appeal with the Pre-Trial Chamber, which issued the warrants.
Last week, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
According to ICC regulations, The Hague-based court does not conduct trials in absentia, and the defendants must be physically present in order for the case to begin.
As the tribunal has no police to enforce its warrants, it depends on its member states to implement its orders.
The White House has rejected the ICC warrants for both Netanyahu and Gallant.
Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to the occupying entity’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed 44,363 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 105,070 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.
Aleppo has not fallen to terrorists: Envoy
Mojtaba Amani dismissed on Friday rumors circulating on social media that the terrorists have captured Aleppo, attributing such claims to a “cyber army” spreading false information.
“If the terrorists think they can repeat the events of the early 2010s in Aleppo, they are mistaken,” he said. “The Syrian government is now stronger, and the Russian government is more determined to defend Syria. The Resistance Front and Iran also continue to support the Syrian government and its people.”
He explained that terrorist groups in Syria believed the war against the Zionist regime had weakened the Resistance Front and Hezbollah.
“The terrorists think they can succeed at this stage, but I doubt they will even secure a relative victory,” Amani said.
He also highlighted US collaboration with the terrorist groups, saying, “In recent years, the US has supplied them with new weapons, and Turkey’s borders have remained open to them. Currently, the Syrian army is directly engaged with these groups and has somewhat managed to stop their advances.”
The Iranian ambassador added that the developments will likely strengthen the Syrian government’s resolve to eliminate the presence of terrorist groups in some of the Arab country’s regions.
On Wednesday, the terrorists launched a large-scale attack in Aleppo and Idlib provinces in the northwest of Syria.
The Syrian military announced on Friday that its forces had managed to kill and injure hundreds of the terrorists during defensive and retaliatory operations in the Arab country’s north.
Amani also said that these developments would likely strengthen the Syrian Government’s resolve to eliminate terror groups in certain regions, adding that probably, Syria would probably no longer trust previous agreements, such as the one between Russia and Turkiye.
MNA/
Oxford Union declares Israel ‘apartheid’ regime committing ‘genocide’
The Oxford Union has voted that the “apartheid” Israeli regime is “responsible for genocide” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli regime launched a war on the people in Gaza on October 7, 2023, following a retaliatory operation by the Palestinians.
Since then, it has killed at least 44,363 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 105,070 others, forcing almost the entire population of the Palestinian territory to flee their homes.
The student debating society, founded in 1823 in Oxford, England, voted on the motion after a heated debate between speakers from pro-Palestinian groups and Israeli supporters.
The Oxford Union held the unprecedented debate on Thursday night on the motion: “This house believes Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide.” The motion was carried with an overwhelming majority of 278 to 59.
One pro-Israeli speaker, Yoseph Haddad, was even told to leave the chamber for lack of decorum after calling the audience “terrorist supporters” when he was heckled during his speech.
The speakers in favor of the motion included Union President Ebrahim Osman Mowafy, Israeli-American activist and author Miko Peled, Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd and prominent writer Susan Abulhawa.
Peled described the October 7 operation as “heroic”. According to Oxford University’s student newspaper, Cherwell, he described Operation al-Aqsa Floiod as “acts of heroism of a people who were oppressed.”
Osman-Mowafy, who stood in for prominent American academic Norman Finkelstein that could not come, spoke about 19-year-old Shaban al-Daloum, who was burnt alive in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital, describing the death as part of the Israeli committed “holocaust” against Gazans.
The Oxford Union debate comes days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over the genocide against Palestinians.
Susan Akram, director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Boston University School of Law, stressed the role that civil society needed to play to mount pressure on Tel Aviv to end the war.
“Public opinion and civil society have a huge role to play in pressuring their governments to comply with the ICC. In fact, civil society has already played a significant role in submitting evidence to both the ICC and ICJ that has contributed to both courts’ decisions and orders,” Akram said.
The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed 44,363 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 105,070 others.
Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the strip.
The Israelis have also been committing war crimes such as starving the population and intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population in the besieged territory.
