World Echo

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday warned of an immediate and powerful response after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was “marked for death”. “The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see. POTUS has committed the US to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them,” Araghchi said in a post on X. He said any threat against Iran’s people and leadership would receive an immediate and powerful response. Araghchi's X post ​was ⁠attached to comments made by the Israeli defence minister.  Katz further said that Israel could target Iran again “if it deems it necessary” despite ongoing US efforts to pursue diplomacy. Speaking at a memorial ceremony for those killed in the 2006 war in Lebanon, Katz said: “We have attacked twice with proactive, preemptive strikes in Iran and, if necessary, we ...

Israeli occupiers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday under the protection of Israeli police, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Citing the Jerusalem Governorate, WAFA said dozens of occupiers entered the compound, toured its courtyards and performed Talmudic rituals under the protection of Israeli police. https://ift.tt/ob73cMw Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples. Palestinians said Israel was escalating efforts to Judaize occupied East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity. The Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, in line with international resolutions that do not recognise Israel's occupation of the city in 1967 or its subsequent annexation in 1980. Israeli police begin recruiting far-right officers for Al-Aqsa Mos...

China's covert military training of Russian forces last year was personally approved by President Vladimir Putin's defence minister and directly involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals, according to two European officials and documents seen by Reuters. The officials said the involvement of such high-ranking individuals in training linked to the Ukraine war signalled the importance for Russia and China of such cooperation, which has caused alarm in Europe even as Beijing has denied it took place. A classified Russian document seen by Reuters directly referred to an internal decree issued by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov in August, 2025. It said that, in accordance with a decision by Belousov, a delegation from Russia's armed forces travelled to China to participate in training exercises at People's Liberation Army (PLA) facilities. Training in radiological, biological, chemical warfare The same report detailed one of the training courses - a three...

Iranian and US negotiating ​teams were due in Doha this week, but Iran said on Monday no meeting had been scheduled as weekend missile fire from both sides tested the interim ceasefire ‌to end the four-month-old war. Trump is sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his envoy Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiating team, according to his press secretary Karoline Leavitt. While Iran is sending its technical delegation to Qatar this week, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said this had "no relation" to the Americans' visit and no talks between the two sides were scheduled. Read: Iran says ‘no planned negotiations’ with US in coming days as Washington says Doha meeting set for tomorrow "We will not have any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days," Baghaei ​said. The disagreement over whether the sides would even meet underscored the fragility of a June 17 accord to pause a conflict that has dis...

The US Supreme Court refused on Monday to let Donald Trump fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook as it stood firm to preserve the central bank's cherished independence against an unprecedented challenge by the Republican president. The court, in a 5-4 ruling, blocked Trump from removing Cook for now, providing a safeguard for the Fed specifically, even as it boosted the president's power over government in a separate landmark ruling on Monday. In that ruling, involving Trump's dismissal of a Federal Trade Commission member, the court expanded presidential authority to fire leaders of other US agencies, overturning ​a precedent dating to 1935 in the process. No other president since the central bank's founding in 1913 had sought to oust a Fed governor. In his second term as president, Trump has tested the limits of presidential power in numerous other ways as well. Unproven allegations Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the ruling, said Trum...

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Monday that “no technical talks” with the US were scheduled this week in the Qatari capital Doha, refuting US media reports about talks to be held this Tuesday. Gharibabadi said media reports about holding technical working-group talks between Tehran and Washington in Doha “are not confirmed,” state news agency IRNA reported.  “Technical meetings of the working groups are not scheduled for this week,” he added. Read: Iran says $6B of its funds in Qatar ‘should be released’ under US deal Gharibabadi said consultations with Qatar were continuing, including efforts to follow up on the implementation of US commitments under the recently signed memorandum of understanding. “Although consultations with Qatar – including on following up on the implementation of the other party’s commitments – are ongoing as usual, the news from some media ou...