NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- Iran begins rolling new phases at Bushehr nuclear plant
Iran on Sunday started the implementation of the second phase of the second and third units of the Bushehr nuclear plant.
The operation includes pouring concrete for the construction of a part of the second nuclear reactor.
Overseeing the process, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami expressed hope that the second unit will be completed and inaugurated in less than 5 years and the third unit 1.5 years after that.
He also expressed hope that the concrete pouring operation will begin at the third nuclear reactor soon.
“The construction works in the sites of two Bushehr nuclear reactors have increased ten-fold compared to the previous years. Those involved in the project have been working round the clock in three shifts,” he added.
Masoud Nasouri, the engineer in charge of the project for the construction of the second and third Bushehr reactors, said that the two units will save the country 10 million barrels of oil and 1,600 billion cubic meters of gas per year and prevent the emission of 7 million tons of toxic gasses.
During the ceremony, Iran’s nuclear chief noted that the Bushehr nuclear plant has so far produced more than 60 billion kilowatt hours (kw/h) of electricity, including 7 billion kw/h last year.
According to the 20-year vision, it is necessary to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity, which will be realized with an investment of $50 billion, he said.
Eslami noted that the government’s support had accelerated the construction of the two reactors under deals worth €1.8 billion.
According to the facility’s authorities, the nuclear plant has produced 3.5 million megawatt hours of electricity since the beginning of the Iranian year, which begins on March 21.
The nuclear plant was built by Russia after years of delay and officially handed over in September 2013.
Over the past years, Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program has recorded many achievements in defiance of US sanctions as well as hurdles created by the West.
The country has also been closely cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
-- ‘Crushing response’ vowed to any foolish move against Iran
Iran has rejected the accusations that Tehran was involved in the Palestinian surprise attack against Israel, adding that the large-scale operation was carried out "solely" by Palestine.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on Sunday that Tehran was not involved in the Saturday attacks launched by members of Hamas and other Gaza-based resistance fighters against Israel, which resulted in the death of at least 800 Israelis and the capture of dozens more until Monday.
“Iran unwaveringly stands in solidarity with Palestine; however, It is important to note that Iran is not involved in Palestine’s response as these actions are solely determined by the Palestinians themselves,” Iran’s UN mission said in a statement.
'Legitimate defense'
The mission also called the attack a wholly legitimate defense, saying the resolute measures taken by Palestine constitute “a completely legitimate response to seven decades of oppressive occupation and the numerous atrocities committed by the Israeli regime”.
Meanwhile, dismissing the threats against Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani warned that any “foolish move” would draw Iran’s devastating response.
In the aftermath of the attack, senior US officials maintained that it was too early to determine whether Iran had any direct role in planning and supporting Hamas’ attack. “It is early” and a matter of direct interest to determine, one senior official said, CNN reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that he had “not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there’s certainly a long relationship”.
However, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on X accused Tehran of being behind the attack, writing that “Iran should pay dearly for any escalation directed at Israel”.
The American lawmaker added that an attack by Hezbollah “would be devastating to Israeli defense systems”. “If such an attack occurs, Israel and the United States should go after the Iranian oil refineries and oil infrastructure — which is the lifeblood of the Iranian economy.”
Kanaani said accusations of Iran’s involvement come in the wake of Israel’s humiliating defeat and are meant to justify Washington’s and its Western allies’ support for the misadventures of the Tel Aviv regime.
He underscored that the hostile claims against Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement will not reduce the accountability of the UK and the US for the 75-year-old-long crimes that Israel has been perpetrating against Palestinians and other nations in the West Asia region.
He warned of attempts by Israel’s supporters, chief among them the US, to swap the oppressor and the oppressed through their propaganda war.
They are turning a blind eye to the crimes of the occupying regime while leveling accusations against the innocent people of Palestine, he said.
The Hamas assault on Saturday, the biggest in decades, coincided with US-backed moves to push Saudi Arabia towards normalizing ties with Israel in return for a defence deal between Washington and Riyadh.
Hamas fighters’ attack on Israeli towns on Saturday was the deadliest such incursion since Egypt and Syria’s attacks on Israel in the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago and has threatened to ignite another conflagration in the long-running conflict.
Israel stepped up its ferocious pounding of the besieged Gaza Strip as its troops struggled to clear out Hamas fighters more than two days after they burst across the fence from Gaza and overran Israeli bases.
Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin said he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel.
Israeli warplanes bombed a densely populated neighborhood at the Jabalia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
In Gaza, more than 73,000 are sheltering in schools, some of which have been designated emergency shelters.
The Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave said the death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 560 on Monday, as Israel pounded Hamas targets for the third consecutive day.
The ministry also urged the international community to exert pressure on Israel to resume electricity supply to the besieged strip as a power outage has left hospitals and medical facilities in a tight spot, amid a shortage of medicines and medical equipment.
Prisoner swap
Qatar is leading the talks to swap Hamas-held prisoners in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source told Reuters.
The negotiations, which Qatar has been conducting in coordination with the United States since Saturday night, are “moving positively” said the source, who has been briefed on the talks. But there are no signs of breakthroughs as both sides dig in.
A Hamas member said that the group is not open to negotiating a prisoner exchange with Israel during hostilities, AFP reported.
The military wing of the Hamas resistance movement said late Sunday that its fighters have managed to capture a new group of Israeli forces, as “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” continues against the occupying regime.
-- Iran’s H1 textile products exports rise to 188k tons
Iran exported 188,000 tons of textile products, clothing, leather bags, and shoes in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21–September 22), which shows an eight percent growth compared to the same period last year.
Director General of the Clothing and Textile Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade Mohsen Gorji announced the above in a press conference Monday on the occasion of holding an exhibition of textile, clothing, shoes, bags, and leather industry scheduled for October 15–18 in Tehran, IRNA reported.
The official said the country exported 174,000 tons of textile products, clothing, leather bags, and shoes during the six months to September 22, 2022.
He put the value of the mentioned exported goods during the first six months of the current year at $368 million, six percent more than the related figure of the preceding year, which was $345 million.
The export share of this industry was $368 million in the first 6 months of the current Iranian calendar year, which has recorded a growth of 6% compared to the same period last year, which was $345 million.
“Last year, a 17.3% growth was registered in the textile industry of Iran while a 7.5% growth was recorded in the clothing and bag industry, which is the result of the efforts of Iranian artisans and their related unions.”
Gorji noted that his ministry makes every endeavor to conduct regulation and coordination to facilitate further growth.
Stating that the textile and clothing industry is growing in Iran, he said it is prohibited to import finished products of the industry. However, he added, in the field of raw materials and intermediates, the needs of producers are partly met through imports.
Smuggle stands at $3.5b
A member of the Board of Directors of Iran’s Textile and Apparel Production and Export Union announced in the press conference that the value of smuggled clothing is close to $3.5 billion per annum, which has created problems for the producers of the industry.
Majid Eftekhari said, “In the past, clothing used to be smuggled into the country from Turkey in a traditional way. Later, it mostly came from Bangladesh. And now, there is smuggling from China and Pakistan.”
Maintaining that the clothing industry is the driving force of the entire textile chain, he said the industry has the highest added value with high employment generation for Iran.
-- MPs Okay key bill on oil, gas production
Iran’s Parliament on Monday passed part of a comprehensive development bill that outlines a vision for the country’s oil and gas production for the next five years.
The government presented the 7th Development Plan to Parliament on June 18. Since then, lawmakers have held 15 sessions to discuss the bill whose Article 42 sets quantitative targets the oil and gas industries must achieve in a five-year timespan.
According to the hefty bill, Iran’s crude output will see a 37% growth to reach from 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd) to 4.45 million bpd. For natural gas extraction, a 24% surge is expected to happen with daily production to exceed 1.2 billion cubic meters from the current output of 1 billion cubic
meters.
In order to overcome fuel shortages, the motion obliges the Oil Ministry to produce 129 million liters of gasoline per day, 11% up from the current daily output of 116 million liters.
The deputies also gave their approval to a section of the bill’s Article 44 which allows the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to sign deals with neighboring countries to jointly develop shared oilfields.
Over the past two years, Iran has boosted its oil output and sales in an effort to regain its footing in the global oil market as a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Iran’s crude exports topped 1.9 million bpd in August, a high not seen in more than five years, after US sanctions curtailed the country’s oil flow under 1 million bpd.
-- 1,000 EVs to join Iran transport fleet next month: Official
Iran plans to design and manufacture localized electric vehicles by 2025 in cooperation with new technology-based firms (NTBFs) and domestic auto manufacturing firms, announced the deputy minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade for the General Industries.
Manufacturing electric cars is not a new idea as the issue was raised 10 years ago by the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, Manouchehr Manteq said, Tasnim News Agency reported.
He added that some 1,000 electric cars will enter the transportation fleet of the country as of the next month of the current Iranian calendar year (to start October 22).
Turning to the infrastructures needed for electric cars, Manteqi pointed out that 15 stations equipped with 78 charging devices have thus far been launched across the
country.
The deputy industry minister went on to say that designing and manufacturing domestic EVs have been put on the agenda of the ministry and will be carried out in cooperation with NTBFs as well as domestic and international auto manufacturing companies.
In August, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Abbas Aliabadi said that Iranian automotive companies have accelerated their plans to manufacture electric cars.
Aliabadi said, however, that the country would not wait for a scale-up in domestic manufacturing of EVs, adding that imports would also increase to respond to the growing demand for such vehicles in the country.
He said that Iran’s energy sector stands to benefit from the expansion of EV infrastructure, adding that using EVs would also be very economical for the Iranian motorists.
-- Highs and lows of Iran’s run at Hangzhou Asian Games
Sunday’s closing ceremony in Hangzhou brought the curtain down on a campaign of mixed results for the Iranians at the 19th Asian Games.
When Iran’s Ministry of Sport and the National Olympic Committee decided to send full-strength wrestling and volleyball squads to the Games the message was clear: Go all out for the top prizes.
Eight members of the Iranian freestyle and Greco-Roman teams stepped onto the mat only two weeks after the World Championships in Belgrade, with the volleyball national team leaving Hangzhou right after the final showpiece to embark on a 57-hour journey to Rio de Janeiro to take part in the qualification tournament for next year’s Paris Olympics.
The overall outcome of the Games, however, was not quite what the Iranian sport apparatus had hope for as the country’s 285-athlete delegation managed to capture only 13 gold medals across the two weeks – seven short of the figure the Iranians tallied in Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and the lowest haul since 2006, when Iran grabbed 11 golds in Doha.
In fact, Iran had to wait till the penultimate day of the competitions to reach the double figures in gold count – courtesy of title-winning performances by freestyle wrestlers Younes Emami, Hassan Yazdani and Amirhossein Zare’ as well as a men’s chess team gold.
The Iranians also collected 21 silvers and 20 bronzes, meaning the total number of the medals was also down by eight from five years ago, though the country was represented by 93 more athletes in Indonesia.
A seventh-place finish in the medals table saw Iran drop by one spot compared to the previous edition.
While it was business as usual for the Iranian participants in several sports – including wrestling, volleyball, and wushu – the performances in certain competitions will fairly go down as a failure.
“I personally expected more from our athletes in five or six competitions. We had a dozen contestants in some events but they failed to win a medal,” said Manaf Hashemi, Iran’s chef de mission in Hangzhou.
The Iranian under-23 side was knocked out of the football event after a 1-0 shock defeat against Hong Kong, with basketball team – silver medalist in 2018 – finishing fifth.
Iran was represented by 16 shooters in the Games but only grabbed a single medal – a 10m air pistol mixed team bronze for Haniyeh Rostamian and Amir Joharikhou – and it was even worse in the archery contests, where all 10 Iranians left Hangzhou empty-handed.
The Iranian 10-member weightlifting squad had to settle for Ali Davoudi’s silver in the men’s superheavyweight class, while in taekwondo and karate, in which the country is regarded as a continental force, the results were relatively average.
The country’s female athletes and teams took credit for 18 of the 54 medals in the Games, though none of the 77 Iranian girls walked away with the ultimate prize of their respective competitions, indicating there is room for more work in women’s sport.
Despite all the lack of success and below-par performances during the 15 days, there were still reasons for joy and optimism for the Iranian sport after some significant achievements in the Games.
The five-man team of Parham Maqsoudloo, Bardia Daneshvar, Mohammad-Amin Tabatabaei, Amir-Reza Pouraqabala, and Pouya Idani notched up a first-ever chess gold for the country, while Mahdi Olfati’s men’s vault silver was Iran’s maiden medal in artistic gymnastics.
Faranak Parto-Azar also had a historic run as her cross country bronze was the first won by any Iranian female biker over the 19 editions of the Asian Games.
Parto-Azar was joined in the history books by roller skater Taraneh Ahmadi, who grabbed a precious silver in the women’s inline freestyle skating speed slalom, while her teammate Romina Salek set a world record of 4.254 seconds in the preliminary round, though she was unlucky to miss out on the podium.
In table tennis, meanwhile, Alamian brothers, Nima and Noshad, enjoyed a memorable campaign as they teamed up with Amirhossein Hodaei to win the men’s team bronze – Iran’s first medal of the sport in the Asian Games in 65 years – before finishing third in the doubles contest.
Ehsan Haddai’s 16-year discus throw domination at the Asian Games came to an end with a silver medal, though he was thrilled to see his Iranian heir Hossein Rasouli stand on the top podium.
“We’ll be looking to see the Iranians still deliver in taekwondo, karate, wrestling, weightlifting, archery, and shooting in the future, though more work needs to be done,” Hashemi said, adding: “However, the Games showed that we could also fancy our chances of more glory in other events such as gymnastics, table tennis, and roller skating.”
-- Resistance goes on offensive
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm took place at a time when the Zionist occupation believed it had succeeded in subduing the resistance in Gaza and eliminating it. Zionist research centers and military generals in the entity even affirmed on more than one occasion that the resistance in Gaza was crippled. This was despite the fact that the resistance had confirmed during the Battle of the Revenge of the Free in May 2023 and subsequent exercises of the Joint Operations Room, especially the Extreme Corner 4 maneuver on September 12 last year, that it was ready to confront aggression and defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prisoners.
The Zionist arrogance continued through daily violations and incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacks on Jerusalem residents, whether Muslims or Christians, by settlers. As a result of this, the resistance faced a real test to defend its land, sanctities, and the dignity of its people. In a first for the Palestinian resistance, it managed to use the element of surprise and deception by concealing its field and military plan from the occupation until the military operation was hours away from starting. It proved the weakness and ineffectiveness of the occupation’s capabilities and military abilities that it had purportedly honed through repeated the Chariots of Fire and Decisive Strike maneuvers.
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm constitutes a moral, security, and military blow to the Zionist occupation. The battle came after the occupation executed several strategic maneuvers, most notably the Chariots of Fire and Decisive Strike maneuvers, which it claimed were aimed at training to confront Iran and strike the Iranian nuclear program. Despite these major maneuvers, the Zionist occupation, which had planned for a battle against Iran, was unable to face a group of young resistance fighters armed with only primitive weapons in an area that has been geographically besieged by land, sea, and air for 17 years. The most prominent question is how the state of the occupation army would be if it engaged in a battle with Iran or Hezbollah, given its current capabilities.
The heroic scenes made by the Palestinian resistance in this battle resonated with the Arab and Islamic world, which supported it by celebrating and demonstrating in the streets. One of the most notable official reactions was made by the Iranian Parliament in Iran, which expressed its support for the resistance operation as its members chanted slogans such as “Death to Israel,” “Death to America,” “Death to Britain,” “Israel will be annihilated,” and “Palestine is
victorious.”
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Sudan, Iran Resume Diplomatic Relations
Iran and Sudan have resumed diplomatic ties to help the interests of both nations, the two countries announced on Monday.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two sides agreed to enhance cooperation which will fulfill the interests of both nations and ensure security and stability in the region. It said the resumption of ties will be based on mutual respect for the sovereignty of each other.
-- Iran Air Flight Safely Lands in Hamburg After Scare
The CEO of Iran’s national flagship Iran Air said Monday an unknown person sent an email to the German police, claiming that a bomb had been planted on a flight heading to Hamburg from Tehran.
Shamseddin Farzadipour said the plane landed safely and all passengers were safe. According to reports, the person who had made the threat is an Australian national and is under arrest.
-- Iran Vows ‘Crushing Response to Any Foolish Move’
Iran on Monday rejected as unfounded allegations it had a role in the massive assault on Israel by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
“The accusations linked to an Iranian role… are based on political reasons,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters.
The Islamic Republic, he said, does not intervene “in the decision-making of other countries, including Palestine.”
Iran, which does not recognize Israel and has made support for the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was one of the first countries to hail the Hamas operation.
The Palestinians had “the necessary capacity and will to defend their nation and recover their rights” without any help from Tehran, Kanani said.
“Talking about an Iranian role aims at turning public opinion (away from the facts) and at justifying the potential future actions” of the occupying entity, the spokesman added.
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations also denied allegations the Islamic Republic had any role in the Hamas attack, in a statement issued overnight.
On Sunday, President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran supported the Palestinians’ right to self-defense and warned the Zionist regime must be held accountable for endangering the region.
Raisi — who has spoken with the leaders of Hamas and the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad group since the Hamas attack — also urged Muslim governments to “support the Palestinian nation.”
On Monday, the Zionist military said there was no evidence of Iran’s role.
“Iran is a major player but we can’t yet say if it was involved in the planning or training,” said military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
U.S. officials also said the Biden administration has not found any evidence linking Iran directly to planning and executing the operation.
“In this specific instance, we hav e not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has accused Tehran of being behind the operation, and said that “Iran should pay dearly for any escalation directed at Israel.”
Graham also said if Lebanon’s Hezbollah intervenes in the raging clashes, “Israel and the United States should go after the Iranian oil refineries and oil infrastructure - which is the lifeblood of the Iranian economy”.
The spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said Monday the country will not hesitate to deliver a crushing response to enemies in case they make any foolish move against it.
Nasser Kanaani said accusations and threats against Tehran are meant to justify Washington’s and its Western allies’ support for Israeli misadventures.
He said the hostile claims against Iran and Hezbollah will not reduce the accountability of the UK and the U.S. for the 75-year-old-long crimes that Israel has been perpetrating against Palestinians and other nations in West Asia.
He warned of attempts by Israel’s supporters, chief among them the United States, to change the place of the oppressor and the oppressed through their propaganda war.
“They are turning a blind eye to the crimes of the occupying regime while leveling accusations against the innocent people of Palestine,” he said.
The spokesman touched on Iran’s position regarding the Palestinian cause, stressing that Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy city of Al-Quds are of paramount importance to all Muslims around the world.
“A growing number of world countries, including Muslim states, are throwing their support behind the Palestinian nation and resistance front. The international community is also massively supporting the honorable resistance of the Palestinian nation,” he said.
The spokesman also urged the international community to exert pressure on Israel to resume electricity supply to the besieged Gaza Strip.
He said Tehran has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss regional developments.
-- ‘Beastly’ Tactic Against Gazans
The occupying regime of Israel on Monday stepped up its ferocious pounding of the besieged Gaza Strip as its troops struggled to clear out Hamas fighters more than two days after they burst across the fence from Gaza and overran Zionist bases.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel.
Israeli warplanes, meanwhile, bombed a densely populated neighborhood at the Jabalia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll from the Israeli attacks had reached 510, including 91 children and 61 women, with 2,751 others injured.
In a statement, the Israeli air force said it had dropped some 2,000 munitions and more than 1,000 ton of bombs on Gaza in the last 20 hours.
“The Zionist enemy’s military targeting and bombing of homes inhabited by women and children, mosques and schools in Gaza amount to war crimes and terrorism,” Hamas official Izzat Reshiq said in a statement.
Power outages left hospitals and medical facilities in a tight spot, amid a shortage of medicine and medical equipment.
According to rights groups, Israeli attacks have killed multiple members of several families in Gaza.
The strikes have also led to the displacement of more than 123,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations.
“Over 123,538 people have been internally displaced in Gaza, mostly due to fear, protection concerns and the destruction of their homes,” the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, said on Monday.
More than 73,000 are sheltering in schools, some of which have been designated emergency shelters.
Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said he expected the numbers to increase further.
Gaza, home to over two million Palestinians, has been under Israeli siege since June 2007. The tight blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
War minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday Israel is escalating measures against the Gaza Strip to a “total blockade” including a ban on admitting food and fuel, describing this as part of a battle against “beastly people”.
“We are putting a complete siege on Gaza... No electricity, no food, no water, no gas -- it’s all closed,” Gallant said in a video message, referring to the enclave that is overcrowded with 2.3 million people.
The occupying regime’s chief military spokesperson said Israel has drafted a record 300,000 reservists as it is “going on the offensive”.
Since Saturday’s surprise operation by Hamas, Israeli aircraft have been pounding Gaza targets while its ground forces have struggled to retake control of villages and towns overrun by Palestinian fighters.
On Monday, fighting was still raging at seven or eight locations inside the occupied territories captured by the fighters.
“It’s taking more time than we expected to get things back into a defensive, security posture,” Israeli Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told a briefing with journalists.
Hamas fighters were continuing to cross into “Israel” from Gaza, Hecht said.
An informed Palestinian official said some Israeli military personnel collaborated with resistance groups with regard to logistics and intelligence in the surprise operation.
The informed source told Tasnim that some of the information obtained from the “infiltration spots” had been acquired through long-time collaboration of certain Israeli military personnel with the resistance groups.
“During Al-Aqsa Flood, the information played a crucial role in facilitating the infiltration of forces into Israeli districts, especially the military bases surrounding Gaza,” the source said.
The official underlined that the cooperation has not been limited to intelligence and the Palestinians have for a long time been procuring a large part of their equipment from the soldiers and the body of the Israeli military.
Tasnim said numerous reports in Hebrew-language news outlets have underscored the importance of bolstered security measures within the Israeli military as the issue of drug addiction among Israeli soldiers, particularly reservists, had made many soldiers exchange their weapons for money or narcotics with Palestinians.
In the occupied territories, sirens sounded in the Tel Aviv area and Al-Quds, and witnesses in the latter city heard explosions that may have been from rocket impacts.
The Israeli military said more than 700 Zionists have been killed since Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Saturday, but Yediot Ahronot said it estimated there were 1,000 deaths among the Israelis.
Hamas has said the surprise, unprecedented operation came in response to Israel’s crimes against Palestinians in the occupied territories, its 16-year-old blockade of Gaza and the regime’s violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The group fired thousands of missiles toward Zionist targets and managed to take control of a vast area near Gaza.
Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhala has said the number of Israeli forces and settlers that have been captured by the resistance fighters and taken into Gaza amounts to “dozens and more.”
In a sign of direct involvement, the U.S. announced that it was sending additional weapons and munitions to Israel and moving an aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean closer to the occupied territories.
Austin said he has ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist the occupying regime.
Hamas slammed the U.S. aid as an “aggression” against Palestinians.
The Kremlin said there is a “high risk” of a third party entering the conflict.
“The risk of third forces becoming involved in this conflict is high,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency.
“It is very important to find ways as soon as possible to move towards some kind of negotiation process in order to reduce this escalation and move away from a military solution,” he said.
A senior official with Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, Hashem Safieddine, also warned that the move will lead to a regional escalation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a meeting with Secretary General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Moscow that it is necessary to “urgently stop clashes” between Israel and Hamas to spare civilian victims.
He also said there is a need to “pay special attention to the reasons why a solution to the Palestinian problem has not been found for decades.”
-- US Advised Against any Suicidal Bid on Behalf of Tottering Israel
t seems that certain elements of the US regime (Democrats & Republicans together) horrified at the prospects of Israel’s impending doom, want their own country to accompany the illegal Zionist entity’s going down the drain.
They have forced the aging and senile President Joe Biden to declare open support for Zionist crimes against humanity by sending a naval force to assist in the brutal bombing of the civilians of Gaza thereby dropping the mask of American neutrality, or more properly hypocrisy, since the US, right from its dubious role in the scandalous Camp David Accord of September 1978, was firmly on the side of Usurper Israel and against the rights of the oppressed Palestinians.
It was believed that Washington had learned from its miscalculations of the past, but it hasn’t, and is intent upon committing a big blunder which most surely will see the end of American hegemony in our part of the world – Insha Allah.
Instead of reining in the terrorism of Israel it is blaming and threatening countries which are justifiably backing the besieged defenders of Gaza in launching “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” in the 1948 occupied territories that shattered the supposed military might of Israel, resulting in the death of almost a thousand Zionists – mainly soldiers and the dangerously armed illegal Jewish migrants – in addition to the wounding of over 2,500 others and the capture of nearly two hundred Israeli security forces.
The western press is trying to portray the Palestinian fighters as ‘terrorists’ and the Israelis killed as ‘civilians’, which are nothing but preposterous lies.
If the Palestinian commandos had indiscriminately fired at everyone in the dozens of townships they took control of during last Saturday’s blitzkrieg the Israeli fatalities would have been in tens of thousands and the injured well over a hundred thousand.
The 7,000 missiles launched in the initial hours of the operation might have wounded or taken the life of some women and the elderly, but these persons can on no account be called innocent civilians, since these are criminal trespassers who have deprived the Palestinian people of their homeland.
Thus, the only criminals and terrorists in the ongoing conflict in Palestine are the Zionists, and of course, the US regime, which seems to be on a suicidal course, despite the protests of American citizens against involvement in another costly war.
The demonstrations on Sunday in New York, Washington and other American cities against the massacre of the innocent in Gaza was a clear indication in this regard.
The protestors carried placards and vociferously said that Washington’s blind squandering of trillions of dollars of taxpayers’ money in cash and weaponry for Israel over the past seven decades is enough, and now American blood should not be shed in the service of the Zionist entity.
Many conscientious Christians participated in the rallies and pointed out that Israel and the Zionists openly slander the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, that is, Jesus and his Virgin mother Mary (peace upon them), while the Palestinians hold these holy personages in high esteem.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry has warned that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to deliver a crushing response to enemies in case they make any foolish move against it.
Nasser Kan’ani reaffirmed Tehran’s principled support for the struggle of the Palestinians to liberate their homeland and advised Washington to rectify its wrong policies.
In Iraq, the people celebrating the Palestinian gains and denouncing the Israeli crimes in Gaza have warned that that any US interference in the ongoing developments in Palestine will make its forces a legitimate target of the Resistance movement.
Lebanon’s legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah, also advised the US from direct intervention in support of the Zionist regime, which is collapsing, and will most surely take the Americans, along with it, to the impending doom.
-- Construction of Second Reactor Gains Momentum
Iran has poured concrete for a part of the second nuclear reactor near its southern port of Bushehr.
Overseeing the process on Sunday night, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Muhammad Eslami said that the government’s support had accelerated the construction of the two reactors under deals worth €1.8 billion.
“The construction works in the two Bushehr nuclear reactors have increased ten-fold compared to the previous years. Those involved in the project have been working round the clock in three shifts,” he added.
Eslmai also expressed hope that the concrete pouring operation will begin at the third nuclear reactor soon.
“We hope that the second unit will be completed and inaugurated in less than 5 years and the third unit 1.5 years after that,” he added.
Iran’s 1,000-megawatt Bushehr was built by Russia after years of delay and officially handed over in September 2013.
Iran’s nuclear chief said that the facility produced a total of 60 billion kilowatt hours (kw/h) of electricity, including 7 billion kw/h last year.
Masoud Nasouri, the engineer in charge of the project for the construction of the second and third Bushehr reactors, said that both units will save the country 10 million barrels of oil and $1.6 billion worth of cubic meters of gas per year and prevent the emission of 7 million tonnes of toxic gasses.
Over the past years, Iran has recorded many achievements in its peaceful nuclear energy program in defiance of U.S. sanctions as well as hurdles created by the West.
The country has also been closely cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- The West crushed the honor and dignity of women: Leader
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, has criticized the West’s approach toward women, saying it destroyed the dignity and honor of women. The Leader made the remarks in a meeting with the participants in the “second national conference on the 8,000 martyrs of Hamedan Province.” The meeting took place in the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah on September 27. The statements of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution were later published on October 8. Following is the summary of the Leader’s speech: I would like to thank the respected Friday prayer leader [of Hamedan] and General [Mazaher Majidi] for the statements and reports they presented. I would also like to appreciate the very good recitation of the Quran that was recited here and the beautiful anthem that you all sang together. Many people have good backgrounds. However, when they are faced with a sensitive, dangerous situation.
-- “The magic turns on the magician”
In the early hours of October 7, the world was taken by surprise as hundreds of Palestinian resistance fighters infiltrated Zionist settlements around Gaza through ground, air (drone) and sea operations. This was in addition to the launching of over 5,000 rockets, with targets landing in the heart of Tel-Aviv within the first twenty minutes, after the resistance declared Al Aqsa Flood Operation. It is being described as the greatest intelligence failure in the Zionist entity’s history, more so than the Six-Day War in 1973, as the occupation forces today are far more powerful than they were fifty years ago, and Hamas alone is not stronger than the governments of Egypt and Syria combined. How was the intelligence apparatus unable to hatch out a plan of this magnitude.
-- Over 900 Israelis killed in Hamas attacks
The death toll from the Hamas onslaught is now over 900, Hebrew media reported. There has been no official confirmation of the death toll. Euronews put the number of Israeli fatalities at 600 and Reuters 700. Reuters also said about 1100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardments of Gaza. Meanwhile, Bahrain’s highest Shia religious authority Sheikh Isa Qassim has hailed the Palestinian operation by the Hamas resistance movement against Israel. In a statement released on Monday, the senior cleric said Operation al-Aqsa Storm was a “humiliation, disgrace, and a scandal” for the Israeli regime. “The al-Aqsa Flood is a rare lesson in courage, intense bravery, enormous sacrificial risk, careful planning, [and] abundant faith,” the statement read. Sheikh Qassim said the message of the operation should be “received by our glorious nation [Ummah] of faith”
-- Israel attacks targets in Lebanese territory
The Israeli army has issued a statement on social media saying it has hit targets in southern Lebanon using helicopter gunships. Separately, the United Nations Interim Forces in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it detected explosions near al-Boustan in southwest Lebanon. “UNIFIL Head & Force Commander Maj Gen Lazaro is in contact with the involved parties, urging them to exercise maximum restraint and utilise UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination mechanisms to prevent further escalation and loss of life,” the UN force posted on X. The Lebanon-Israel border has become an “active borderline” following reports from the Israeli military that armed infiltrators had entered the country from Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from southern Lebanon, said.
-- Israel vows complete siege of Gaza
Israel’s military ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday, halting entry of food, fuel and supplies to its 2.3 million people as it pounded the Hamas-ruled territory with waves of airstrikes. Tanks and drones were deployed to guard breaches in the border fence to prevent new incursions. Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from more than a dozen settlements near Gaza, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists — a massive mobilization in a short time. The moves, along with Israel’s formal declaration of war on Sunday, pointed to Israel increasingly shifting to the offensive against Hamas, threatening greater destruction in the densely populated, impoverished Gaza Strip.
-- Iran, Belarus ink economic co-op MOU
Iran and Belarus signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the economic fields on Monday. The document was inked by Iranian Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Abbas Ali-Abadi, and Belarussian Minister of Industry Rogozhnik Alexander Nikolaevich at the end of the 16th meeting of Iran-Belarus Joint Economic Committee in Tehran. During the meeting, which was attended by senior Iranian and Belarussian officials, the two sides discussed the ways to expand cooperation in different economic and trade fields, including export and import of agricultural products and equipment, mining machinery, public transportation, medicine and medical equipment, and petrochemicals. Mehdi Zeyghami, the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), was also present in the meeting. The 15th Iran-Belarus Joint Economic Committee meeting was held in late July 2022 in Minsk. Iran and Belarus signed a comprehensive cooperation roadmap and seven memorandums of understanding in mid-March, as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made a visit to Tehran. The cooperation roadmap and MOUs include various commercial, transportation, agricultural and cultural fields. The roadmap was signed by the presidents of the two countries, while the MOUs were inked by senior officials from the two sides. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart after signing the document, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said: “Good agreements were made in the field of industry, mining, trade, agriculture, roads and various fields, and we hope that it will be a step towards the development of the two countries.”
-- Iran, Iraq call for urgent OIC meeting on Palestine
As the Israeli regime continues to shell the Gaza Strip, the foreign ministers of Iran and Iraq have requested an urgent meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to review the most recent developments in Palestine. Hossein Amir Abdollahian of Iran and Fuad Hussein of Iraq spoke over the phone on Sunday and discussed the most recent events in Palestine. According to the website of the Foreign Ministry, the two parties stressed the need for cooperation and unity among the Islamic countries in assisting the oppressed Palestinian people. Additionally, they encouraged the OIC to convene an urgent summit to assess recent events in Palestine and offer support for the Palestinian people and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in opposition to the Zionist regime’s aggressive measures.
NOURNEWS