NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Sunday, October 22, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- Water project glimmer of hope for thirsty se Iran
An Iranian lawmaker expressed confidence that the desalination project and the transfer of water from the Oman Sea to Zahedan and other water-scarce areas of Sistan and Baluchestan Province will be completed by mid-March 2025. This development is expected to provide the people with sufficient healthy drinking water.
In an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Iranian MP Esmaeil Hossein Zehi highlighted that besides the Oman Sea water transfer project, the government is also taking additional measures to address the water problem in various cities and villages across the province.
“However, there is a need for special attention and swift implementation of these measures by the government,” he said.
The plan to transfer water from the Sea of Oman to the southeastern region of the country has been under discussion for several years, with the objective of addressing water scarcity in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, which is the largest province in the southeast. As part of this project, pipeline operations commenced in May 2023 to transport water from the Oman Sea to Sistan and Baluchestan, South Khorasan, and Khorasan Razavi provinces. Approximately 1,700 kilometers of pipelines were laid for this purpose. The water transferred to Sistan and Baluchestan will not only be used for industrial consumption but also for drinking purposes.
The main goal of this project is to provide sustainable water resources in the eastern region of the country and develop water infrastructure as a prerequisite for overall development. It aims to meet the water needs of industries and mines in the eastern provinces, support the growth of mining industries, and the development of petrochemicals, refineries, and other sectors in the area, create employment opportunities, eliminate deprivation, stabilize the population in the eastern region, prevent migration, and provide drinking water to the cities and villages of the region.
The legislator expressed concern over the current water shortage in different regions of the province, especially the city of Khash, which he represents in Parliament.
“Despite the approaching rainy season, only 30 percent of Khash City’s water requirements are being met, resulting in a lack of drinking water and health-related challenges,” Hossein Zehi said, and called for “more urgent action to ensure that water reaches the city faster to avoid a potential disaster.”
Hossein Zehi pointed out that the lack of drinking water and adequate agricultural resources in various regions of Sistan and Baluchestan Province have contributed to the abandonment of villages in these areas. He stressed that the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture are responsible for implementing water supply and irrigation projects in these regions. He emphasized the need for close monitoring and follow-up by relevant institutions to expedite these measures.
The lawmaker identified poor water resource management as a key factor contributing to the water shortage in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
“Despite Khash receiving considerable rainfall in recent years, no measures have been taken to collect surface water and manage watersheds effectively,” the MP said.
Regarding Iran’s rights to the Helmand River, the lawmaker stated that both the Parliament and the government are actively pursuing the fulfillment of Iran’s rights from Afghanistan.
“Although the matter is still ongoing, consultations and negotiations are progressing in a manner that raises hope for a resolution in the near future,” said Hossein Zehi in that regard.
Hossein Zehi further emphasized the urgency of resolving the issue of water flow from the Helmand River to Hamun Lake.
“It’s been six years that the lake has not received any water from Helmand River. If left unresolved, the lake might dry up, posing significant risks. Currently, the water from the lake is used for drinking purposes in Zahedan and other locations,” he said.
-- China’s BRI to shape future of global trade
China hosted leaders and delegates from 130 countries in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday for the third Belt and Road Forum 10 years after it launched its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The project, a key component of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s strategic agenda, aims to establish connections between Beijing and various spots across five continents. The event welcomed a distinguished guest, Russian President Vladimir Putin. Iran Daily has sat down with Shuaib Bahman, the director of Tehran-based Contemporary World Research Institute and an expert on Eurasian affairs to get his take on the forum’s significance and the messages it conveys for the West.
Iran Daily: The Chinese hosted representatives from 130 countries. What objectives does China seek with such an international gathering, and what message does it convey to the world?
Bahman: The Belt and Road Initiative Summit is important from several angles. On one hand, it pertains to economic and international trade matters. The BRI is the world’s most extensive economic project launched by a single nation. Given its immense importance and massive investments, various countries are keen to participate, integrating themselves into this initiative to reap its economic benefits.
From another perspective, there is rivalry and disagreement between China and the United States. The US and Europe have tried to establish alternative or opposing plans in response to China’s large-scale project. The latest example is the India-Saudi-Israel Corridor, a project designed to link with Europe and unveiled during the recent G20 summit.
Zooming out further, the BRI can be seen as a key arena for competition between Beijing and Washington. If we consider the presence of envoys from 130 countries in China as a form of alignment, it signifies that more nations are motivated to engage with the Chinese plan. This has the potential to challenge America’s international standing while simultaneously bolstering China’s global influence.
Should we interpret Putin’s visit to China and his meeting with Xi as merely an aspect of mutual cooperation, or does it carry broader implications?
Putin’s visit to China serves the dual purpose of fostering cooperation and cementing the strategic relationship between the two nations, while also delivering a unified political message from Moscow and Beijing to the West. Russia and China are actively working to maintain harmonious relations in military, economic, and political domains. Such collaborations have remarkably gathered pace, particularly in the economic sector, following the war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, China and Russia, both global powers, are locked in opposition or rivalry with the United States. Thus, Putin’s presence in China and his meeting with Xi can be seen as a challenge to the US and its sanctions imposed against Putin. It also sends a clear political message to both America and Europe.
Above all, Russia is a part of the BRI. The northern route of the project, originally intended to connect China to Europe via Central Asia through Russia, faced
obstacles
after the Ukraine war. However, by attending the Chinese forum, Putin aims to show his commitment to active engagement in the BRI and underscores that blocking the Russian route is detrimental to Europe. The Russian route offers both proximity to Europe and cost-efficiency, due to its extensive railway network established since the former Soviet Union.
The BRI, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS, all seem to revolve around China and Russia. Are these projects and groupings linked to an emerging international order based on a multipolar world?
Indeed, the BRI, the SCO, and BRICS are integral components of the strategic relationship between China and Russia. Their objective goes beyond mere bilateral ties, as they seek to advance their interests by establishing international and regional mechanisms and organizations.
Through such initiatives, China and Russia not only bolster their own partnership but also bring on board other nations into their own alliances, enlarging and reinforcing the front against the West. Each of these
organizations holds its unique significance, acknowledged even by Western nations. For instance, the SCO is seen as an Eastern counterpart to NATO, with the potential to challenge the Western military alliance in the realm of security. Thanks to its diverse capabilities, BRICS, comprising emerging economies, can put up a fight against the Western monetary and financial system set up in the wake of World War II. The BRI, on the other hand, represents a promising future for international trade, prompting countries to participate in it to avoid being sidelined in the global commercial competition. Therefore, these institutions, predominantly driven by China and Russia, are part of efforts to reshape the international system or compete against the Western hegemony in terms of military and financial dominance. These groupings operate in concert, with China, Russia, and other participating countries keenly aware of the direction they are heading. Their collective trajectory aims to establish a new world order free from Western and American hegemony.
-- Climate change world’s ‘most pressing issue’: Vice President
The head of Iran’s Department of the Environment (DoE) emphasized the global significance of environmental issues in his talk at the 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World in Jeddah.
Ali Salajegheh emphasized that the Article 50 of Iran’s Constitution encompasses a vital and progressive principle that forms the foundation of environmental policies and strategies. This principle advocates for knowledge-based development and emphasizes the importance of how knowledge is generated and disseminated within the country.
Head of DoE also expressed gratitude to the Saudi Arabian government and educational organization for hosting the event. He acknowledged the role of education in shifting the dominant development-focused mindset of industrial societies towards sustainable thinking.
Salajegheh stressed that environmental awareness is crucial for changing attitudes and fostering sustainable values such as justice, equality, contentment, respect for nature, and the rights of all living beings. These values are deeply rooted in the religious and cultural teachings of the Islamic world and align with the principles of sustainable development, making them an effective model to propose.
The Iranian environmental official pointed to the importance of combining traditional value-oriented knowledge and culture with scientific rationalism, considering the changing world and the emergence of green development thinking.
“Both aspects are necessary to achieve balanced development,” he said. Furthermore, he brought to the fore the need for regional and international cooperation and collective participation due to the universal nature of environmental issues.
“The opportunity to exchange opinions and share experiences at this meeting should be seen as valuable for addressing common concerns,” he said.
The VP also discussed the effective measures taken in Iran to promote balanced development through education. Notably, the literacy rate in Iran has surpassed 90 percent, with faster growth among women compared to men. Additionally, rural areas have experienced higher literacy growth rates than urban areas. In terms of university education, the number of female students has exceeded that of male students, indicating progress in gender equality.
“The focus now is on improving the quality of education and enhancing practical skills,” Salajegheh said.
He further outlined various actions undertaken to integrate environmental topics into the official education system, implement extracurricular training programs, establish urban environmental assistants, and enhance the development of social capital and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the environmental sector.
“Currently, there are over 1,470 active environmental NGOs in Iran. These policies aim to expand community-oriented organizations and improve the quality of environmental activities,” the official said.
To further these efforts, DoE has initiated the establishment of “Environmental Houses,” which serve as local community-oriented organizations.
“These houses aim to raise environmental awareness, promote qualitative environmental growth, provide a platform for sustainable livelihoods, and encourage broad participation from all social and local groups in environmental planning,” Salajegheh said.
According to him, over 2,000 environmental houses have been established to date, facilitating conscious, voluntary, and effective public engagement in environmental protection and improvement.
Salajegheh then proposed several measures to strengthen the higher environmental education sector. These include establishing specialized environmental faculties, increasing scientific disciplines related to the environment, and conducting fundamental research through knowledge-based companies focused on environmental education. The goal is to implement the green development plan and promote environmental culture, with the aim of engaging people in protecting the environment and supporting environmental
activists.
Iranian scientist awarded
During the 9th Conference of Environment Ministers in the Islamic World, Lo’bat Taqavi, an Iranian environmental scientist won the Islamic World Environmental Management Award from the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO).
Taqavi, an associate professor of environment and energy department at the Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch, was honored for being among the authors of the world’s most cited research in the field.
-- Iran’s SWO pushes for expansion of free counseling services
The director general of the counseling and psychological affairs office at the Social Health Deputy of the Iranian State Welfare Organization (SWO) revealed that over 56,000 Yaribarg (health coupon) were provided to individuals in need, allowing them to access psychological and counseling services throughout the past year.
Masoumeh Tavakoli highlighted the SWO’s three-decade-long commitment to mental health support, explaining that these efforts were carried out in compliance with legal obligations and assigned duties, ISNA reported.
“Due to limited capacities and challenges related to the availability of human resources and funding, non-governmental counseling centers were established in the 1990s to enhance mental health at a community level and provide high-quality services,” Tavakoli said.
She further stated that SWO currently holds the legal responsibility for licensing non-governmental counseling centers. Over the years, more than 30,300 counseling centers have been established in the country under SWO’s supervision.
“The organization diligently monitors, evaluates, and reviews the performance of even the most remote counseling centers in the smallest cities,” she said.
In addition to the efforts of governmental and non-governmental counseling centers, Tavakoli acknowledged that some individuals in society face financial barriers preventing them from accessing these services.
“To address this issue, counseling and psychological services subsidies, known as ‘Yaribarg’ have been designed for those in need,” the official said.
Explaining how the coupons are utilized, Tavakoli elaborated that individuals receive counseling services through non-governmental counseling centers, and the welfare organization covers the cost on their behalf.
Tavakoli proudly announced that over 56,000 people benefited from counseling and psychological services in the past year, with an additional 25,000 people benefiting within the first six months of the current year. Pointing to the high demand for the coupons, Tavakoli acknowledged that the available funding does not fully meet the needs of the population.
“Efforts are underway to increase funding in this area,” she noted.
Tavakoli also mentioned the provision of non-attendance counseling services through the 1480 hotline.
“This hotline offers free counseling services to individuals nationwide who may not have the desire or financial means to visit counseling centers in person,” Tavakoli added.
According to the official, last year, the hotline provided psychological and counseling services to over 1.7 million callers. She further emphasized the organization’s commitment to expanding the availability of free counseling and psychological services and increasing its capacity to meet the growing demand.
Finally, Tavakoli highlighted the economic benefits of investing in mental health.
“According to conducted research, every dollar spent in the field of mental health results in the saving of four dollars for society,” she said.
The SWO deputy posited that by prioritizing mental health, societies can benefit from a stronger and more productive workforce, improved work quality, and reduced social conflicts and damages.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Official: Iran Against Monopolizing Outer Space
Managing Director of Foreign Ministry International Peace and Security Office Asadollah Eshraq-Jahromi has said Iran strongly advocates against monopolizing outer space. “Iran strongly advocates against monopolizing outer space or attempting to curtail the peaceful use of space-related science, technology, and services for developing countries,” Eshraq-Jahromi told the Debate on Disarmament Aspects of Outer Space Exposes First Committee Rift over Ways to Sustain Space Security, Prevent Domain’s Weaponization.
-- Diplomat Warns of Danger of War Escalation
The war in the Middle East could expand in unpredictable and dangerous ways if the occupying regime of Israel further increases its attacks on Gaza, Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK has warned.
Mehdi Hosseini Matin, the Iranian chargé d’affaires, said that if this happened it was possible that UK interests would be affected. But he insisted Iran had no control over the “resistance forces” in the region, who he said would make their own decisions independently of Tehran.
-- U.S. Budget Deficit Swells to $1.7 Trillion
The U.S. government posted a $1.695 trillion budget deficit in fiscal 2023, a 23% jump from the prior year as revenues fell and outlays for Social Security, Medicare and record-high interest costs on the federal debt rose.
The Treasury Department said the deficit was the largest since a COVID-fueled $2.78 trillion gap in 2021. It marks a major return to ballooning deficits after back-to-back declines during President Joe Biden’s first two years in office.
The deficit comes as Biden is asking Congress for $100 billion in new foreign aid and security spending, including $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, along with funding for U.S. border security and the Indo-Pacific region.
The big deficit, which exceeded all pre-COVID deficits, including those brought about by Republican tax cuts passed under Donald Trump and from the financial crisis years, is likely to enflame Biden’s fiscal battles with Republicans in the House of Representatives, whose demands for spending cuts pushed the U.S. to the brink of default in early June over the debt ceiling.
A deal to avoid a government shutdown over deeper spending cut demands from Republican hardliners led to the ouster of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the party is still divided over who should lead them, which is expected to make negotiations ahead of a new fiscal deadline in mid-November more difficult.
For September, the final month of the fiscal year, the deficit fell to $171 billion from $430 billion in September 2022.
“Falling revenues are a significant contributor to the 2023 deficit, underscoring the importance of President Biden’s enacted and proposed policies to reform the tax system,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in a joint statement.
The fiscal 2023 deficit would have been $321 billion larger, but was reduced by this amount because the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s student loan forgiveness program as unconstitutional. The ruling forced the Treasury to reverse a pre-emptive charge against fiscal 2022 budget results that increased that year’s deficit.
The fiscal year 2022 deficit was $1.375 trillion.
Taking into account the two one-off adjustments, last fiscal year’s deficit would have been closer to $1 trillion and this year’s closer to $2 trillion, a Treasury official said.
The 2023 deficit marks an abrupt end to two years of falling deficits for Biden as COVID-19 spending faded. The U.S. deficit peaked in fiscal 2020 at $3.13 trillion as the sharpest downturn since the 1930s severely constrained tax revenues while spending on unemployment benefits, direct payments to consumers and aid to businesses peaked.
But the Congressional Budget Office has warned that based on current tax and spending legislation, U.S. deficits will approach COVID-era levels by the end of the decade, reaching some $2.13 trillion in 2030 as interest, health and pension costs mount.
For the 2023 fiscal year, total revenues fell $457 billion, or 9% from fiscal 2022, to $4.439 trillion, largely due to a drop in non-withheld individual income tax payments amid a worse performance in stocks and other financial assets as interest rates rose.
Other revenue declines included a $106 billion drop in Federal Reserve earnings as interest paid on bank reserves ate up any portfolio income.
Fiscal 2023 outlays fell $137 billion, or 2% from the prior year to $6.134 trillion. Outlays would have been more modest were it not for large increases in spending on retirement and healthcare benefits for the elderly and in debt service costs.
Social Security spending rose 10% to $1.416 trillion due to cost of living adjustments for inflation, and spending for the Medicare senior healthcare program rose 4% to $1.022 trillion.
Interest costs on the more than $33 trillion in federal debt also rose sharply, up 23% to $879 billion, a record. Net interest payments, excluding intragovernmental transfers to trust funds, rose 39% to $659 billion, also a record, according to a Treasury official.
Gross interest payments amounted to 3.28% as a share of gross domestic product, the highest since 2001, and the net share at 2.45% was the highest since 1998, the official said.
Interest rates have soared over the last year and a half as the Federal Reserve jacked up borrowing costs to slow inflation. The average interest cost on the Treasury’s outstanding debt was 2.97% last fiscal year, up from 2.07% the year before.
-- Over 100,000 Rally in London for Gazans
More than 100,000 people took to the streets of London on Saturday in protest as they defended the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank following brutal airstrikes by the occupying regime of Israel.
Around 1,000 Met Police officers deployed in the capital after a similar event last week saw tens of thousands turn out in solidarity with Palestinians trapped in the Gaza strip.
The protest got off to a peaceful start on Saturday, with large crowds waving Palestinian flags taking to the streets of central London. By 2pm, the Met Police said more than 100,000 people had joined the march which bypassed Marble Arch on its way to Whitehall.
Alongside the main march, people held protest outside the Egyptian and Turkish embassies.
Other marches in support of Palestinians also took place in the UK on Saturday, including a small protest outside Windsor Castle.
Multiple Palestinian flags were also spotted at Anfield during the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton.
Images from London showed a large police presence around the Israeli embassy, including more than 20 police vans and dozens of officers in riot gear patrolling the streets.
Large metal and concrete barriers were placed in front of the entrance to the embassy, with officers seen stacking riot shields inside the gates.
It follows a largely peaceful series of marches in cities across the UK last weekend, although isolated incidents including young women with images of paragliders attached to their backs and a woman in Glasgow yelling ‘remember where the Jews were in 1940’ sparked outrage in the days that followed.
In Australia, thousands took part in a pro-Palestinian march in its biggest city, Sydney.
Protesters worldwide on Friday demanded an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after nearly two weeks of intense air and artillery strikes.
In Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, around 15,000 people attended Saturday’s march, organizer Palestine Action Group said, with demonstrators chanting “Palestine will never die” and waving Palestine flags. Police, including officers on horseback, patrolled the event that closed city streets, and a police helicopter circled overhead.
Police said no arrests had been made, and Palestine Action Group spokesperson Amal Naser said the march was peaceful.
Protester Barbara O’Neill described Palestinians as “my brothers
and sisters”, saying, “They have been suffering genocide publicly and in a very high-profile way.”
Rally-goer James McGlone said people had a “right to know what’s going on with the Palestinians... If they knew what the state of Israel has done and is continuing to do, they would support Palestine.”
A protester who gave her name only as Doaa, said: “I’m here because this is a humanitarian cause first and foremost. And I’m supporting, you know, humanity in every way.”
Pro-Palestine rallies were also scheduled on Saturday in state capitals Brisbane, Perth and Hobart, Palestine Action Group said, after thousands attended largely well behaved rallies around Australia last weekend.
-- Zionists Get Cold Feet on Gaza Invasion
Several Israeli airstrikes were reported on Saturday with reports of people martyred and wounded, according to local media.
At least 53 Palestinians were martyred as Israeli warplanes carried out a fresh round of airstrikes against various residential neighborhoods across the besieged Gaza Strip.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said several buildings were targeted in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least 14 people and wounding others.
Fourteen others were martyred in Jabalia town in the north of the Gaza Strip. Israeli warplanes further struck the eastern flank of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing and wounding several people.
Israeli warplanes also pounded a number of residential buildings in the northwestern Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City, as well as the eastern and northern parts of Beit Lahiya, WAFA reported. Houses were hit in Khan Yunis city.
The occupying regime of Israel has been bombing Gaza non-stop for two weeks. The Zionist military said on Saturday it’s continuing to “prepare for the next phase of the war” a week after saying plans to launch a ground invasion of Gaza were underway.
In a communique posted on social media platform X, the army announced that plans were approved in recent days for the “expansion of combat”.
On Saturday morning, the Palestinian health ministry said the Israeli air force killed 248 people and wounded 400 more in the previous 24 hours.
The Israeli military has killed nearly 4,500 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since the conflict started on 7 October, according to the latest tally.
More than 70 percent of those killed are children, women and elderly people.
A mass burial was held in Gaza on Saturday for 43 people authorities and citizens have not been able to identify, according to the local government media office.
Among them were women who were martyred while holding their children, mixing their remains together and making it difficult to identify them.
Other victims included unborn foetuses whose mothers’ bodies were torn apart from Israeli shelling, the media office said. There were also dismembered corpses among those buried on Saturday.
Salam Marouf, the head of the government media office, said sets of family members were put together in one shroud ahead of the mass burial.
It is the second time authorities have been forced to conduct mass burials of unidentified people since October 7, due to the corpses being placed in morgues for too long without anyone being able to identify them.
“We took the step to honor the martyrs by burying them,” Marouf said in a statement. “Their features began to change in [the morgue],” he added.
Authorities previously said pictures and forensic analyses of unidentified people are taken before their burial, and their graves are marked, so their families can identify them at a later time.
The Zionist military dropped leaflets in Gaza informing citizens they would be “identified as a partner in a terrorist organization” if they didn’t adhere to Israel’s orders to move south.
The Israeli forced displacement orders to 1.1 million Palestinians living in north Gaza, without any guarantees of safety or return, are a crime against humanity and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, according to a UN expert.
The army has ordered hospitals, UNRWA schools and citizens to move to the southern part of Gaza. Hospitals and hundreds of thousands of people have refused to comply.
An Israeli airstrike martyred at least 70 people who were on a convoy last week from north to south Gaza, following the orders by Israel. The Zionist air force has also continued to pummel south Gaza.
An Israeli airstrike hit a building near Al Jazeera Arabic reporter in Gaza, causing a massive explosion that was captured live on TV. There were no immediate reports of injuries to Al Jazeera’s staff.
The Israeli military said it can confirm 210 people were taken to Gaza during the October 7 Palestinian operation.
Between 150-200 others remain missing with their fate unknown. The Zionist military has not been able to establish whether they are dead or alive and whether they are in occupied territories or Gaza.
Hamas estimates 200-250 people are held in Gaza but said they couldn’t provide an exact number due to “operational difficulties” caused by the incessant Israeli bombardment.
The Zionist military also confirmed that an Israeli soldier was killed by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon on Thursday. At least 309 soldiers have been killed since October 7, including at least six killed in fighting near the Lebanese border.
Overall, around 1,400 people in Israel have been killed since the conflict began, the majority of them killed on the first day.
-- ‘Sepoy’ Sunak’s Futile Support for Zionist Terrorism
Among the astounding achievements of the heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Storm of the besieged defenders of Gaza that shattered the military might of the illegal Zionist entity and proved to the whole world the ineptitude of its self-acclaimed intelligence apparatuses, in addition to exposing the cowardliness of its horrified soldiers followed by the unmanly terroristic aerial bombardment of civilians, was unmasking of the chief criminals visibly worried at the approaching end of Israel.
Of the notorious enemies of humanity who flew to Tel Aviv to embrace child-killer Benjamin Netanyahu and extol his slaughter of civilians, was Joe Biden, the US president who despite claims to be a Christian shamelessly supported the destruction of Gaza’s Al-Ahli Christian Hospital and the killing of almost a thousand people – doctors, nurses, patients, staff, visitors, and others,
The next notorious culprit to land in Usurper Israel was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who shamelessly expressed solidarity with Netanyahu’s war crimes in Gaza.
Reports say France’s Islamophobic president, Emmanuel Macron, is scheduled to visit Tel Aviv to celebrate the genocide of Palestinians, but Britain the arch foe, which had seized Palestine from the Ottoman Turks in 1917 and created the illegal Zionist entity in 1948 by settling hundreds of thousands of east European non-Semitic Khazar Jews, rushed its ‘sepoy’ prime minister to Occupied Palestine.
Yes, Rishi Sunak is not his own man, but a “sepoy” (English corruption of the Persian/Urdu word ‘sipahi’ for soldier), and that too a hereditary one.
It was thus no surprise for a person who slavishly serves the interests of the ‘white sahibs’ to heartily embrace Netanyahu and promise him every kind of support from London for the continued massacre of the people of Gaza.
Of Punjabi Indian descent whose forefathers had been ‘sepoys’ treasonously fighting the Sikh nationalist dynasty of Ranjit Singh in early 19th century on behalf of the British, Sunak’s grandparents were rewarded by the colonizers with lands in Kenya.
It was thus natural for a person of ‘sepoy’ ancestry to be granted British nationality and finally the premiership in view of the fact that if not for the treason of the ‘sepoys’ against their own homeland India, the Duke of Washington would not have won the Battle of Assaye in 1803 against the Hindu nationalist Maratha Confederacy.
So, the Palestinians and the other Arabs, especially the Saudi Heir Apparent Mohamed bin Salman, whom Sunak met by landing in Riyadh from Tel Aviv, should not be deceived by the British premier’s claim to be a Hindu, which he is definitely not.
Hinduism, with its emphasis on ‘ahmisa’ which means “non-injury” and “non-killing” is a peaceful creed which respects the rights of the followers of all religions, and strongly opposes violence, let alone terrorism and mass massacres.
No matter what aid the criminals of the world promise and the weapons they send to Occupied Palestine, they will not be able to guarantee the survival of the illegal Zionist entity, since the ‘sepoy’ strategy that was used by Britain to seize control of West Asia in the last century has long ended.
-- Devastating Retaliation Awaits Zionists, Backers
Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib on Saturday warned the Zionist regime and its sponsors that they will have to pay a heavy price for the heinous attacks on Palestinian people in Gaza.
The U.S. and all other governments backing the Zionist regime must bear in mind that their support for the Israeli crimes won’t remain unanswered by the regional people and the freedom-seekers, Khatib said.
The Iranian intelligence minister said the Zionist regime and its backers must await a harsh, devastating, and calamitous revenge for their crimes against Gazans.
“The (Israeli) regime will never experience security. Its social rift and political discord will escalate both from within and from outside,” he added.
The minister stated that the Zionist regime’s atrocities against Palestine have ruined the course of normalization of ties with Israel irreparably.
Khatib reminded the governments that sought to appease the U.S. by normalizing ties with the Zionist regime that the situation has changed and the attempts at the normalization of ties will get nowhere.
Gaza has been hit by a relentless barrage of Israeli fire following an operation by Hamas fighters on October 7.
The Zionist regime’s campaign since has martyred about 4,400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians.
-- Iran’s U-14 Girls Claim CAFA Championship
Iran defeated Tajikistan 2-0 in the 2023 Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) U14 Girls Championship to win the title.
Fatemeh Lotfzadeh and Maryam Khalili were on target for Iran at the Dushanbe Central Stadium in Tajikistan.
The Persians had been held by Kyrgyzstan 1-1 in their opening match and edged past Uzbekistan 1-0.
The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) is one of five regional bodies of governance in association football in Asia. It governs association football, futsal, and beach football in Central Asia.
CAFA consists of six national association members, namely Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Devil’s advocates play the blame game
The bloomberg.com titled its October 11 analysis as “Israel May Erase Hamas But Iran Has Already Won”. Jessica Karl, Bloomberg’s opinion columnist, quotes Marc Champion as saying: “The Hamas attack is precisely the kind of ostentatiously disruptive operation Iran has wanted to see for years, and offers a welcome distraction from its many internal problems”. Connecting the Hamas operation to Iran is a plot to somehow cover up Tel Aviv’s humiliation. Yet Iran has always stood next to the oppressed Palestinian nation. Also, the author’s point about Iran’s effort to divert attention from internal problems is the most superficial analysis. Of course, it cannot be denied that Tel Aviv’s weaknesses have a positive effect not only on Iran’s internal security, but on the entire region as Israel has a dark history of carrying out assassinations, supporting terrorists, and trying to destabilize countries. Iran has left behind the 2022 riots and is moving forward despite the sanctions imposed on the country. However, the Israeli regime is grappling with demonstrations and instability, so connecting the Hamas operation to Iran with a logic that Iran seeks distraction from its internal problems is baseless. Iran enjoys the internal tranquility which has paved the way for the country’s development in various aspects. Iran has been supporting the oppressed Palestinian people since 1979. Connecting the recent conflicts between the occupying regime and the Palestinian resistance forces under the title of geopolitical competition between Iran and the Israeli regime, in fact, ignores a large part of the history and the sufferings that the Palestinian people have tolerated since 1948.
-- Cairo summit raises concern over absence of key players, casting doubt on tangible results
Leaders and high-ranking officials from various countries convened in Egypt for the Cairo Summit for Peace on Saturday with the stated goal of de-escalating the current conflict between Israel and Palestinians and preventing a possible spillover in the West Asia region. Attendees included representatives from Jordan, France, Germany, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Qatar, and South Africa, as well as officials from the United Nations and the European Union. On top of the summit’s agenda was devising a plan to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and revive peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
-- Geopolitics of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm
From now on, what really matters is the “geopolitics of war”. A complex matrix of calculations has been created, the elements of which are tightly intertwined. In a short period of time, the volume of complexity of calculations and geopolitical interactions has far exceeded initial expectations. The U.S. is concerned about the transformation of the ‘Al-Aqsa Storm’ into a regional battle and knows that if Israel steps into Gaza, the trigger will be pulled. It looked like Biden visited the occupied territories to offer help to the Israeli regime, but in reality, he was there to warn Tel Aviv about the consequences of a ground offensive into Gaza. More importantly, since October 7, Washington has been deeply concerned about the Israeli regime’s security and political collapse. Americans have seen how weak the Israeli regime’s foundations are, how limited its security sources are, how nonexistent its political cohesion is, and how unstable people’s attachment to the system is.
-- Around 100,000 join proPalestine march in London
About 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London on Saturday, marching through the British capital to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel two weeks ago. Chanting “Free Palestine”, holding banners and waving Palestinian flags, the protesters moved through London before massing at Downing Street, the official residence and office of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Police estimated 100,000 people had taken part in the “National March for Palestine” demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. “As a Palestinian who’d like to return home one day, as a Palestinian who has brothers and sisters in Gaza, and family, I wish we can do more but protest is what we can do at the minute,” one woman, who declined to giver her name, told Reuters. Many of the chants and banners contained strong anti-Israel slogans, and one protester held a banner with pictures of Sunak, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the message “Wanted For War crimes”
-- ISIS ringleader arrested in southeast Iran
Forces from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry have arrested a ringleaderer linked to the ISIS terrorist group in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan Province. The ringleader was planning to recruit members and build a network and terror base to conduct acts of sabotage, the ministry announced on Saturday. The arrest was made after a series of intelligence operations inside and outside Iran. The arrested person had created several social media accounts with help from foreign nationals and domestic elements and formed teams in hard-to-reach locations in the province. All members of the teams were also arrested by security forces.
-- Iran’s exemplary exporters honored on National Exports Day
Iran’s 27th National Exports Day ceremony was held at Tehran’s Islamic Summit Conference Hall on Saturday, in which the country’s exemplary exporting companies were honored, IRIB reported. Organized by the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), the ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials including Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Abbas Ali-Abadi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari, and TPO Head Mehdi Zeyghami. As reported, the process of registration and evaluation of the top exporters started a few months ago, and one part of this evaluation included self-declaration and another part was based on the statistics regarding the companies’ export performance. Speaking at the ceremony, Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Abbas Ali-Abadi.
NOURNEWS