NOURNEWS- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
IRAN DAILY:
-- 10% of Iranians to have 5G internet by 2025: Minister
Iran’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology (CIT) Issa Zarepour said that the current government has plans to provide access to 5G internet for 10% of the country’s population by 2025.
All those plans need certain groundworks, and the CIT Ministry is seriously following up on preparing them, Zarepour said at the IRAN-5G conference in the Iranian capital on Monday, IRNA reported.
The provision of communication infrastructure for the development of 5G Internet is a necessity, the minister noted.
Regarding some speculations about the 5G internet radiation and its health risks, the minister said its radiation is not different from the previous generations.
He stressed that such radiation has always been at a lower level “in our country” compared to the world standards.
According to Iran’s Seventh Five-Year Development Plan — which was recently submitted to the Parliament — all Iranian organizations should prepare separate plans for maximum use of new technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, the minister noted.
“Another great project that is being undertaken by the ministry is in the field of fiber optics, which will update the communication status in the country,” Zarepour announced, adding that infrastructure will also be provided for the development of mobile internet in the country.
-- Iran-Turkey trade rises to $13.4b
Iran’s minister of roads and urban development said that the trade exchanges between Iran and Turkey have increased to over $13.4 billion.
In his meeting with Turkey’s Ambassador to Iran Hicabi Kırlangıç on Monday, Mehrdad Bazrpash stated that the two countries enjoy high potential to further enhance bilateral trade, Tasnim news agency reported.
Iran’s roads minister said that the incumbent government attaches great importance to its relations with neighbors within the framework of the good neighborliness policy as the Republic of Turkey has a special position and importance for Tehran.
Benefiting from having many cultural and religious commonalities and being located on the historical Silk Road, the two countries have played a leading, effective role in regional equations, he emphasized.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Turkey in the near future to participate in the 8th Meeting of the Iran-Turkey Supreme Council of Cooperation and explore avenues for enhancing mutual ties, Bazrpash added.
Bazrpash also congratulated the National Day of Turkey to the government and noble nation of the neighboring country.
-- Launching infrastructure projects on agenda
Iranian Agriculture Minister Mohammad Ali Nikbakht emphasized the timely implementation of infrastructure projects, which were categorized into 10 groups in accordance with the announced comprehensive plan of the ministry, in a meeting with his deputies.
The projects include removing barriers to issuing land documents, planting one billion saplings, maintaining the stability of the chicken and red meat market, gaining self-sufficiency in the production of strategic products along with increasing the country’s self-sufficiency in other products, developing greenhouse cultivation, reactivating closed units, managing the supply and demand of agricultural products market, IRNA reported.
All the capacities of the ministry and its subsidiary bodies are dedicated to the fulfillment of the projects, said the minister, adding that their progress is being monitored.
A sum of 11.52 million tons of basic goods were unloaded in Iranian ports in the first seven months of the current Iranian year, according to data released by the Ports and Maritime Organization on Sunday.
From March 21 to October 22, nearly 2.7 million tons of wheat were discharged in Iranian ports, while around 1.3 million tons of barley were unloaded during the period.
-- Azerbaijan allocates funds for construction of road to Iran
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on measures related to the continuation of work on the construction of a new road from the Horadiz-Jabrayil-Zangilan-Aghband highway to Iran and a bridge over the Aras River.
In general, 14 million manat ($8.2 million) will be allocated from the reserve fund of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan — provided for in the state budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2023 — to the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads in order to continue the construction projects, azernews.az reported.
The Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan was instructed to provide financing in the amount specified in part one of this decree.
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan was instructed to resolve issues that may arise from this decree.
On October 25, a senior Azerbaijani official said that his country is no longer interested in securing a land corridor through Armenia to the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan and will instead discuss the issue with its southern neighbor Iran.
Routing a potential corridor through Iran, which borders both Armenia and Azerbaijan, could help reduce tensions around southern Armenia.
“Azerbaijan had no plans to seize Zangezur,” Hikmet Hajiyev, a top foreign policy adviser to Aliyev, told Reuters, referring to the corridor that would link Azerbaijan proper to its enclave of Nakhichevan.
“After the two sides failed to agree on its opening, the project has lost its attractiveness for us — we can do this with Iran instead,” he said.
A groundbreaking ceremony marked on October 6, the beginning of construction for a road bridge and border-customs infrastructure near Aghband settlement in Azerbaijan's Zangilan district.
This momentous project is being undertaken as part of the memorandum of understanding "Between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the establishment of new communication ties between the East Zangazur region and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic through the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Azerbaijani news agency APA said.
Several high-ranking officials from both countries attended the ceremony, including Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister and Co-chair of the State Commission on Cooperation in the economic, trade, and humanitarian fields between Azerbaijan and Iran, Shahin Mustafayev, and Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Developments and Co-chair of the Commission on behalf of Iran, Mehrdad Bazrpash.
-- Family Doctor Program in Iran gaining momentum
It’s an ordinary day at the office of a specialist doctor in a major city in Iran. A quick glance around the room reveals many - perhaps even too many - patients patiently waiting for their turn.
However, the doctor is yet to arrive.
Despite having made prior examination appointments, these patients find themselves waiting, waiting, and waiting some more. Regardless of the doctor’s skill or reputation, it is evident that the system in place is deeply flawed.
Every patient deserves not only access to high-quality healthcare, but also respect for their time, energy, and financial resources. It goes without saying that this one-sided system, which primarily benefits doctors in terms of revenue, fails to honor the patients’ entitlement to a humanistic treatment. Regrettably, this has become the prevailing norm in our country, tarnishing the very profession that is meant to save lives.
Iran’s healthcare system
Iran enjoys a powerful healthcare system with highly skilled medical staff and state-of-the-art equipment. Additionally, there is a certain level of widespread health insurance coverage. The presence of advanced mega-hospitals, extensive patient capacity, and numerous health centers scattered throughout the country are clear indicators of this strength. In fact, Iran’s healthcare system is considered the best in the region.
Iran has also demonstrated significant potential in becoming a leading destination for health tourism, not only within the region but also beyond. Furthermore, the country has embraced the realm of cyber medicine, offering several applications that facilitate its citizens’ access to treatment and healthcare services.
However, despite these notable achievements, the aforementioned issue – crowded offices, clinics, and hospitals, in addition to long waiting times – continues to be a significant ordeal. It burdens patients and their families with unnecessary stress and unexpected financial troubles, and, therefore, acts as the system’s Achilles’ heel.
Family doctors to the rescue
But don’t despair. Fortunately, family doctors can save us from such unpleasant conditions, and they are on their way – actually, some of them are already here. These white-coated rescuers can save us hours of needless waiting in specialists’ offices or spare us the trouble of unnecessary hospitalizations. Having a family doctor comes with many perks, including personalized and continuous care, as well as a comprehensive and holistic approach to health and treatment.
A family doctor is a primary care physician specializing in providing ongoing and comprehensive healthcare for families and individuals of all ages, genders, and medical conditions.
Perks of having a family doctor
Having a family doctor offers several benefits. First of all, one receives personalized care based on their specific needs and medical history.
Also, family doctors provide continuity of care, ensuring consistent and comprehensive healthcare management, which greatly adds to the quality and depth of treatments received.
Moreover, family doctors prioritize preventive medicine, focusing on proactive healthcare to prevent illness. This, in turn, reduces overall costs of healthcare for society, allowing resources to flow into other crucial sectors such as education.
Family doctors offer a wide range of services, diagnose and treat common illnesses, and provide referrals when needed. The medical service referral system is a method of providing medical and health services in which patients must be referred to medical centers based on a hierarchical structure, beginning with the family doctor. This feature of the program is the one that will eliminate the needless waiting at specialists offices and hospital halls.
Having a family doctor is cost-effective, accessible, and fosters trust and comfort. They serve as health advocates, guiding you through the healthcare system and empowering you to make informed decisions about your health.
Family doctors in Iran
The Family Doctor Program and referral system in Iran was planned for nationwide implementation around 20 years ago; however, it has yet to achieve its desired goals.
According to former Deputy Minister of Health Kamal Heidari, the primary reason for the non-implementation of the Family Doctor Program in Iran is the faulty referral system.
Additionally, Heidari cited a lack of resources as another significant factor contributing to the delayed implementation of the program.
The Family Doctor Program in Iran was officially launched in 2005 as provisioned in the country’s 4th Development Plan. Initially, the program faced some challenges, leading to the decision to start it as a pilot and eventually expand it nationwide.
However, the approach to health reform during Rouhani’s first administration took a different direction. The Family Doctor Program, in the form of the health transformation plan, was initiated in cities with populations of less than 20,000. Sadly, the envisioned family doctor concept was never fully realized.
“The implementation of this program in the provinces of Fars and Mazandaran has been ongoing for about nine years, with the intention of addressing its shortcomings in other provinces,” stated Heidari.
According to Kamali, the family doctor program reduces the burden of diseases on the country.
“The implementation of this program can bring us closer to our goals in terms of health economics and equitable access to medical services. The rationalization of drug prescription and treatments is another advantage of the family medicine program.”
Improved healthcare access, continuity of care, and preventive medicine are among the well-known benefits of family medicine practice.
Wider implementation and continuous delays
On June 27, 2023, Hossein Farshidi, the then Deputy Minister of Health, announced, “The Family Doctor Program has entered the implementation phase in the country, and the government supports this program comprehensively.”
According to him, the Family Doctor Program could transform the healthcare system and Iranian society.
“Some provinces have already declared their readiness to enter the second phase of the program. As we continue the implementation of the Family Doctor Program, which began in 59 cities across the country, we will witness its nationwide implementation,” he said.
Farshidi emphasized that with the full implementation of the family medicine program, the programs of all health departments and organizations will undergo changes. He continued, “We all need to approach the Family Doctor Program and the referral system with a new perspective. Therefore, there may be delays in implementing phase one of the program in certain parts of the country.”
Program’s progress
According to the current Deputy Minister of Health, the family doctor program is currently being carried out in 95 cities, with healthcare teams from medical sciences universities participating in the program.
“The Ministry of Health considers nationwide implementation of the family doctor program as one of its most important priorities,” said Saeed Karimi on October 29, 2023, according to IRNA.
He added that under the new program guidelines, one family medicine team, consisting of two healthcare workers and one doctor, will be assigned to every three thousand people.
Karimi further explained that healthcare providers will deliver care services, and if a doctor is needed, patients will be referred to the family doctor at nearby centers until a doctor is recruited at the health center.
According to the Deputy Minister of Health, the Family Doctor Program and the referral system are among the five main goals of Iran’s healthcare system.
He further noted that acceptable standards for family health and family doctors are being reviewed.
KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL:
-- Office: 19 MKO Elements Arrested
Iranian security forces have arrested 19 elements of the terrorist MKO group in Sistan and Baluchestan, the province’s Intelligence Department and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’s Intelligence Organization said Monday.
According to a joint statement, Iranian security forces, in a series of joint intelligence and operational measures, identified a vast network of the MKO terror group and arrested 19 of its elements in Sistan and Baluchestan.
-- OIC Secretary: Israel ‘Butchering’ Palestinians
Israel’s bombing the besieged Gaza Strip constitutes war crimes and a flagrant violation of international law, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said Monday, describing the regime’s conduct as “butchering” thousands of people. Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said in a statement that Israeli airstrikes have also resulted in “wounding innocent civilians, including women, children, medical personnel and journalists.” He said Israeli forces have “deliberately carried out attacks on hospitals, schools, places of worship, and United Nations facilities”.
-- 300 Senior Economists Warn: Israel Facing Economic Crisis
A group of about 300 senior economists on Monday appealed in a letter to Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to immediately halt all nonessential expenditure data-x-items in the state budget, and reconsider spending priorities in order to cope with a looming economic crisis during the ongoing war.
“You do not understand the magnitude of the economic crisis that Israel’s economy is facing,” they warned in the letter. “Continuation of the current conduct harms Israel’s economy, undermines citizens’ trust in the public system, and undermines Israel’s ability to recover from the situation it finds itself in.”
Among the signatories of the letter are Prof. Jacob Frenkel, former governor of the Bank of Israel; Rony Hezkiyahu, former Bank of Israel supervisor of banks and accountant general; Yair Avidan, former supervisor of banks; Haim Shani, former finance ministry director general; Prof. Eugene Kandel, former chairman of the so-called national economic council; former deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Eytan Sheshinski; Prof. Leo Leiderman of Tel Aviv University; and 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Economics Joshua Angrist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
With Israel’s war with the Hamas in its fourth week, about 70 percent of Israeli tech firms and startups are facing disruptions in their operations as a chunk of their employees have reported for reserve duty, according to a survey by the Israel Innovation Authority and Start-Up Nation Policy Institute (SNPI). Many companies from builders to restaurants have shut and other retail firms have furloughed their employees.
The economists’ letter called on Netanyahu and Smotrich to reconsider spending priorities, as the expected war rehabilitation costs are estimated in the order of tens of billions of shekels, if not more.
“The severe blow inflicted on Israel requires a fundamental change in the order of priorities and a massive diversion of budgets in order to deal with the damage caused by the war, aid the victims, and rehabilitate the economy,” they wrote in the letter. “Cosmetic changes within the existing budget do not come close to the required scope of expenditure.”
They urged the occupying regime to immediately stop the budget expenditure that is not essential to the war campaign and economic rehabilitation, including the transfer of coalition funds of an estimated NIS 9 billion ($2.2 billion).
The 2023-2024 state budget, passed in May, included more than NIS 13 billion in discretionary coalition spending, much of which is allocated to educational programs for the ultra-Orthodox community.
“At the same time, the budget for the year 2024 must be opened and updated according to an order of priorities that reflects the needs of the entire economy in light of the war,” they urged in the letter.
Last week, the Bank of Israel cut its growth forecasts for 2023 and next year while warning about the negative repercussions of the war on the local economy and financial markets. The central bank’s research department expects the economy to grow by 2.3% in 2023 and by 2.8% in 2024, as private consumption falls and the ability to work is constrained, down from its previous forecasts of 3% growth for both this year and next.
-- Gaza Fighters Repel Ground Incursion
Zionists troops and tanks attacked Gaza’s main northern city from both sides on Monday, three days after they began a major ground invasion in the Palestinian enclave that has drawn international condemnation.
Palestinian resistance fighters said they had repelled an attempted push from Israel tanks into Gaza City from the east and were fighting them on the fence separating the besieged enclave from the occupied territories.
“Our duty today is fight and fight,” the Islamic Jihad group, fighting alongside Hamas, said in a statement, adding that now was not the time for a truce.
The government in the Gaza Strip said Israeli tanks withdrew from Salah al-Din Street in Gaza City after a brief incursion.
“There are no Israeli tanks in Salah al-Din Street and life has returned to normal,” the Government Media Office said in a statement.
“The Occupation is trying to paint an unreal picture regarding the presence of its forces inside Gaza, but they can’t stay in the Territory under the resistance strikes,” the media office said.
“There is no ground incursion into residential neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip,” it added.
Meanwhile, Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said its fighters shelled two Israeli armed vehicles east of Zeitoun district in Gaza.
Islamic Jihad said its fighters trapped Israeli forces east of Zeitoun district and inflicted casualties
The occupying regime of Israel renewed warnings for civilians to move from the north of the tiny coastal enclave to the south as it began a big push into Gaza late on Friday.
Many people have stayed in the city, afraid of becoming homeless like their forefathers and concerned by Israeli bombing further south.
On Monday, residents said Israeli forces carried out dozens of airstrikes on the city’s eastern side, with some reporting the roar of tanks rolling in amid exchanges of fire. A social media post appeared to show one tank on the main Salahudeen road that connects the city to the south.
Later, residents and the Hamas-run government’s media office said the tanks had pulled back towards the fortified fence around Gaza. The resistance group’s armed wing said intense mortar fire had pushed them back and Islamic Jihad said its fighters were battling Israeli forces there.
To the west, the coast road was
hit several times from the air and sea, residents said.
Palestinian health officials said airstrikes had hit near three large
hospitals in Gaza City on Monday. The UN humanitarian office OCHA said 117,000 civilians are sheltering alongside patients and doctors in hospitals in the north.
Airstrikes could also be heard in the southern towns of Rafah near Gaza’s only operational border crossing, with Egypt, as well as east of Khan Younis, where Palestinian media said Hamas clashed with Israeli troops.
Medical authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, which has a population of 2.3 million people, said on Monday that 8,306 people - including 3,457 minors - had been martyred.
OCHA said rescuers were struggling to reach people.
“As of 29 October, about 1,800 people, including at least 940 children, have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery,” it said.
The UN agency also said that resistance groups continued firing rockets at Zionist targets.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they were also fighting Israeli forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The Palestinian health ministry said four people were martyred there on Monday and Israel said an airstrike killed several fighters.
The Palestinian health ministry said 121 people had been martyred in the West Bank and East Al-Quds since Oct. 7. The Palestinian Prisoners Association said 1,680 people had been detained, including women, the elderly and minors.
The conflict has led to large demonstrations worldwide in support of the Palestinians.
Weeks after Israel followed through with its threat to cut water supplies to Gaza, Palestinians living in the besieged territory are struggling to survive without the basic necessities.
Residents of the area currently being bombarded by Israeli warplanes told Middle East Eye that obtaining water has become a “daily ordeal”, and they fear the spread of disease with a number of residents already dealing with stomach ailments and other illnesses.
The Zionist regime cut off water supply to Gaza shortly after the October 7 operation by resistance fighters, during which around 1,400 Zionists died and more than 220 were taken captive.
Israeli authorities have conditioned the resumption of water supplies on the return of the captives, but have also attacked other means of water delivery and sewage treatment in the territory, such as desalination plants.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, released a video of what the group said were prisoners held by their members in Gaza.
One of the three women filmed in the video addressed Benjamin Netanyahu.
The unnamed prisoner rebuked the extremist Zionist premier for rejecting a ceasefire with Hamas that could facilitate their release.
“Netanyahu has failed politically and militarily, and we demand that he return all the prisoners immediately,” she said. “The day before yesterday there were discussions about a ceasefire and the release of everyone, but Netanyahu backed down.”
The video ended with a passionate appeal to Netanyahu to bring back all prisoners “now, now, now”.
Hamas wants a five-day pause in Israel’s aggression to allow aid and fuel into Gaza in return for the release of all prisoners held by the resistance fighters, a source briefed on Qatar-mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas told Reuters.
A correspondent for Al Jazeera English received a “threatening phone call” from the Zionist army on Monday asking her to leave her home, the Qatar-based network has said.
Youmna ElSayed, based in Gaza, received the call “as explosions were going off all around” the neighborhood where her home is located, Al Jazeera added.
-- U.S. Priority Shifts to Israel From Ukraine
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson said that a stand-alone bill to provide Israel with billions more in military aid will be brought to the House floor this week instead of President Biden’s $105 billion request that also includes spending for Ukraine, Taiwan, and the border.
“We’re going to move a stand-alone Israel funding bill this week in the House. I know our colleagues, our Republican colleagues in the Senate, have a similar measure,” Johnson said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” according to The Hill.
A group of Senate Republicans introduced a bill to provide the Zionist regime with $14.3 billion in additional military aid, the same amount for Israel that’s in Biden’s request. The $14.3 billion is on top of the $3.8 billion that the occupying regime receives from the U.S. each year. Johnson, an evangelical Christian, has expressed support for continuing the proxy war in Ukraine but says Israel is the priority.
“We believe that that is a pressing and urgent need. There are lots of things going on around the world that we have to address,” Johnson said. “And we will. But, right now, what’s happening in Israel takes the immediate attention. And I think we have got to separate that and get it through.”
Rep. Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has also said a stand-alone Israel bill will be coming this week. “I think what we’re going to do is really because the need is so urgent now in Israel, is to start with Israel first and then deal with the other.”
Johnson has previously voted against Ukraine aid packages but said in an interview this past Thursday night that he believes the U.S. should keep supporting the war. “Now we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine because I don’t believe it would stop there,” he said.
A senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Monday Israel’s genocide in Gaza will not last even a single day without support of the United States and European countries.
Ali Akbar Velayati, who is also the secretary general of the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening, made the remarks in an address to a conference -- dubbed Gaza, the symbol of resistance and awakening -- in Tehran.
He described the United States as the “main accomplice” to the crimes committed by the Zionists in Gaza and said Washington offers considerable encouragement to the Israeli regime.
“An entity called the Zionist regime will not be able to survive for more than a few weeks without the U.S. support,” the senior Iranian official emphasized.
He added that the unwavering political, diplomatic, media and financial support as well as military, security and defense backing provided by the U.S. to Israel are the “main factors” behind the occupying regime’s survival.
Washington’s full support for Israel encourages the Zionist regime’s killing machine as well as heinous crimes of the occupiers in the Gaza Strip and the entire occupied territories, he said.
Velayati warned that Muslims and Islamic resistance groups are running out of patience and said the Israeli regime needs to stop its genocide, violence and killing of the Palestinian people in Gaza immediately.
He also stressed the importance of lifting the Gaza siege completely, opening the Rafah border crossing for delivery of humanitarian aid, especially medicine, water and food and putting an immediate end to the bombardment and killing of innocent people, including children, women and the elderly.
Velayati defended the Palestinians’ right to self-defense and said the Islamic resistance front in the region also makes decisions and acts based on the ongoing circumstances.
He said the Zionist regime and the U.S. are responsible for any possible spread of tensions and conflicts in the region.
The Leader’s aide warned the international system that its failure to recognize the Islamic resistance front and its deterrent activities in the face of the occupiers would worsen the situation, the adverse consequences of which would affect the entire region and world.
He said the ongoing war waged by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas against Israel, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, has inflicted irreparable damage on the terrorist Zionist regime.
The military operation is the manifestation of dignity, strength and resistance against a criminal regime that has carried out every possible act of crime and massacre against the Palestinians over the past 75 years, he added.
“What the Zionist regime is committing in Gaza is beyond war crime and crime against humanity,” Velayati pointed out.
He said the US, Europe, the Security Council, and other international and human rights organizations are complicit in the Zionists’ crimes and genocide in Gaza and must be held accountable for their performance in this regard.
-- Palestinian Chivalry vs. US-Israeli Unmanliness
Chivalry is a code of honour with respect for the dignity of women, the safety of children and never attacking an unarmed opponent until he is using a similar weapon in self-defence.
The opposite of chivalry is cowardice, unmanliness, deceit and use of superior weapons while preventing the opponent from even having some primitive means of defence.
This should sum up the ongoing genocide in Gaza by the Zionists who are indeed despicable cowards for their indiscriminate massacre of civilians, including women, children, the youth, the elderly, the doctors, the nurses, the paramedics, the journalists, the priests in both mosques and churches, and all other sections of society in disproportionate response to the October 7 chivalrous Operation Al-Aqsa Storm launched by the heroic Hamas defenders.
The facts are obvious. The Gazans during their defensive operation of October 7 only targeted Israeli soldiers and armed Zionist thugs (male and female), and did not harm any defenceless women and children. They actually saved several such people by escorting them to Gaza in order to protect them from being deliberately killed by the cowardly Israeli military forces.
The most dastardly criminal, of course, is Joe Biden of the US, whose terroristic regime is providing massive quantities of weapons and the wealth of the American tax payers to Israel for intensifying the carnage in Gaza, while preventing relief aid, let alone arms and ammunition, to the besieged Palestinian defenders.
He thinks, his supposedly heavily armed navies and marines will help the Zionist murderers to complete the genocide in Gaza without being worried of the opening of other warfronts.
Biden and his criminal clique are totally wrong. Neither the Palestinians nor the rest of the Resistance Front are afraid of the so-called over-inflated military power of the Americans.
They will choose the right time to retaliate, and the American bases all over the region as well as their navies are sitting ducks when this happens.
In view of these facts, it is still not too late for Washington to rectify its wrong policies and stop aiding and abetting the crimes against humanity of the illegal Zionist entity.
We know that by nature the US regime has no sense of chivalry, fair-play or justice, which means it will never ever show sympathy to the persecuted Palestinians or redress their 75-year long suffering.
At least, before things get out of control, it will be wise for Washington to withdraw its navies and close down its bases all over the region in order to avoid the ghastly scenario of sinking American ships and return of the Yankees to the US in body bags.
Palestine is for Palestinians, from the banks of River Jordan in the east to the shores of Mediterranean Sea in the west, and from the borders of Egyptian Sinai in the south to the frontier of Lebanon in the north.
Thus no amount of Israeli atrocities and the unmanly military support of the West will save the illegal Zionist entity from its fast approaching end.
-- Gen. Bagheri: Palestinians Ready for Zionist Ground Invasion
Iran’s top military commander said Monday the Palestinians have decided to stand up against the occupying regime of Israel and uphold their rights instead of giving in to their gradual death at the hands of the occupying regime.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Muhammad Bagheri said Israel’s bombing campaign on the blockaded Gaza Strip “has no military value” compared to the October 7 operation of the resistance fighters.
The Zionists “are the losers of the war even if they continue the bombing for one year,” he said, adding that it is because “attacks on hospitals and ambulances, as well as the aerial bombardment of homeless people and women and children, are not a sign of victory.”
Bagheri also said the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was the result of “the accumulation of cruelty and oppression” by the Zionists against Palestinians over many years.
“Through self-reliance, the Palestinian resistance managed to break the Zionist regime’s false images of invincibility by relying on its strength,” he added.
The top general said the resistance fighters have dug over 400 kilometers of tunnels in Gaza, where they boost their defense industries.
Bagheri further reiterated Iran’s fair proposal for the Palestine conflict, namely the holding of a referendum among all Palestinian people to decide their own fate.
He said attempts attributing Operation Al-Aqsa Flood to outside of Palestine are meant to cover up Israel’s defeat.
“An oppressed nation, with its own capability using weapons mainly produced by itself under the strictest controls, was able to carry out such a faultless and worthwhile operation which… shattered the Zionists’ power and glory,” Bagheri said.
The operation, he said, showed that the Palestinian land occupied by the occupying regime of Israel is no place for settlers.
He also said the Zionist regime cannot support unpopular governments in the region.
“This fake administration does not have the power to maintain itself upright, let alone be a supporter of other governments.”
TEHRAN TIMES:
-- Behind the scenes of Biden’s messages to Iran
In an analysis, Javan discussed Washington’s messages to Tehran and wrote: The self-desired crisis by the Zionist regime and its Western allies in the occupied territories has forced Joe Biden to seek Iran’s help to reduce the current tension in the region. Biden’s move to underplay his perceptual error of the ongoing war in Gaza is presented as a warning to Iran in a superior tone and literature to try to compensate for the White House’s failure in the bloody events of the Middle East. Despite America’s military support for the Zionist regime, the United States attributed attacks on its military bases in Syria and Iraq to Iran and asked the authorities of the Islamic Republic to stop these attacks. The U.S. Secretary of Defense claimed Iran has a role in these attacks and said the U.S. President ordered an attack on two weapons and ammunition facilities used by military groups supported by Iran.
-- Iran, and Qatar urge immediate halt to Israel’s onslaught against Gazans
On Sunday, the Iranian and Qatari foreign ministers also demanded an immediate halt to Israel’s aggressive bombing raids on the beleaguered Gaza Strip. Iran’s Amir Abdollahian and Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani emphasized that Israel’s indiscriminate attacks against the enclave must end immediately. They also demanded an uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
-- No place for ethics in US and certain European statesmen’s discourse: Iran
Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been severely condemned by the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, who asserts that moral and humanitarian norms are completely absent from the political discourse of U.S. politicians and their European allies. The remarks were made by Nasser Kanaani on Monday during a weekly news briefing in Tehran. “I also offer my condolences to the international community and freedom-loving nations of the world for the death of ethics and humanitarian values in the lexicon of the U.S. administration and certain European countries,” Kanaani said. The top Iranian diplomat described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as more than catastrophic, emphasizing that Israeli aggression against the Palestinian nation has been ongoing for the past 75 years, and the heinous crimes committed by Israeli military forces against Gazans exposed the Tel Aviv regime’s racist and apartheid nature. Iran urges intl. legal committee to investigate Israeli war crimes Kanaani further demanded the establishment of an international legal commission to look into Israel’s war crimes in the Gaza Strip, stating that all four instances of international crimes - namely crimes of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide - have been committed by the Tel Aviv regime against Palestinians. “Sometimes all four crimes have been committed simultaneously,” he said, adding that the legal pursuit and legal and international prosecution of war crimes is an international responsibility that must be especially shouldered by the UN. “Israel has gone beyond all boundaries” He also stressed that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has been legally following up on the Israeli atrocities and that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian noted during his recent speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York that Israel has waged over 20 wars in the West Bank region and is still occupying swathes of land from neighboring countries.
-- Israel’s mythical image shattered by Al-Aqsa Storm: intel minister
Iran’s Intelligence Minister on Monday hailed the Hamas resistance movement’s recent offensive against Israel, saying the move helped reveal the true colors of the Israeli regime. “This surprising and irreparable attack has shattered the entire security apparatus of the Zionist regime, a regime that created a mythical image and a Hollywood-like portrayal for itself and emphasized it for years,” explained Esmail Khatib. The official added that Israel liked to call its military the 4th most powerful in the world. That premise was completely rejected after the regime’s colossal security and military defeat against Palestinians, according to the intelligence minister. Khatib stressed that the October 7 successful Palestinian operation wasted every effort the Israeli regime and U.S. had made in the past decades. “This regime was shattered by a powerful, committed, motivated, and jihadi-oriented force with an operation that did not have the equipment, facilities, information, and organization comparable to the fully armed and trained military, a military which was backed by powerful entities of the world and the self-proclaimed superpower, the United States,” the minister said, noting that according to confessions by Israel and the U.S., the regime can never go back to how things were before the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation. The official also stressed that the U.S. has decided to take over and mastermind the current attacks by the Israeli regime against the people of Gaza. “The Zionist regime, in order to demonstrate and consolidate its power position, engaged in direct management and command by America and the official presence of American officers…, launched a confrontation that aims strengthen its power and influence by committing crimes, killing civilians, and continuous bombings,” he said, adding that Israel’s relentless crimes against civilians has turned the public opinion against it. Khatib also called for the U.S. to be held accountable for facilitating the brutal killing of Palestinians at the hands of Israel.
-- Iran to send ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza
The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said on Monday that it will soon send a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza via Egypt. Pir Hossein Kulivand, the head of the IRCS, said the ship will carry aid provided by the Iranian people to Egypt and then will be delivered Gaza via Egypt. “So far, a lot of aid from the people has been delivered to the Red Crescent Society,” Kulivand said, according to Fars News. The Iranian official also criticized the pace at with aid is getting into Gaza. He said aid is being delivered to Gaza very slowly and in a very limited amount. “So far, perhaps no more than 90 aid trucks from the people have been delivered to Gaza,” Kulivand said. The IRCS has launched an aid collection campaign since the start of the Israeli aggression against Gaza. The Iranian people have donated a considerable amount of money in humanitarian aid to the IRCS to be ultimately delivered to the besieged Gaza Strip.
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