** TEHRAN TIMES
– Eye for eye
The Israeli regime shocked the world on Tuesday when it struck Iran’s embassy in the Syrian capital, killing over 13 people including a high-ranking IRGC leader and his deputy.
Several countries have condemned the attack, seeing it as a dangerous escalation in a region that has already become volatile due to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.
Attacks on diplomatic missions and sites are very rare. A comparable historical event occurred when NATO bombed China's embassy in Belgrade in 1999, resulting in the deaths of three Chinese journalists. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton issued an apology for the attack, attributing it to an accident. Washington then agreed to compensate the victims and their families, as well as pay restitution for the embassy's damages.
-- Iran will make evil Israel ‘regret’ embassy attack in Syria: Leader
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says brave Iranian men will "punish" Israel and make the evil regime "regret" its crime of assassinating the country's military advisors in Syria.
Ayatollah Khamenei made the announcement in a message on Tuesday, a day after Israeli airstrikes destroyed Iran's consulate building in Damascus and killed seven military advisors of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
The Leader said Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, and his deputy General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, were martyred in this crime perpetrated by the “usurping and despicable” Zionist regime.
-- Annual foreign trade exceeds $153m
The value of Iran’s foreign trade including oil and technical engineering services reached $153.17.8 billion in the last Iranian calendar year 1402 (ended on March 19), the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said.
According to Mohammad Rezvanifar, the value of the Islamic Republic’s trade with the partners in the previous year increased by 2.6 percent compared to the same period last year, Tasnim News Agency reported.
The official put the country’s non-oil exports, excluding exports of electricity, crude oil, and techno-engineering services, at 136.4 million tons worth $49.33 billion which shows a 9.82 percent rise in terms of tonnage and an 8.87 percent decline in terms of value.
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Iran to Make Zionists Regret Their Crime
In a dangerous escalation of tension in West Asia, an Israeli airstrike targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, resulting in the martyrdom of General Muhammad Reza Zahedi along with other personnel from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC).
The brazen terrorism has drawn sharp condemnation from Iran and resistance movements and pledges of retaliation against the unprovoked act of aggression.
The airstrike on Monday destroyed the consular section of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, signifying a direct assault on Iranian sovereign soil, albeit in Syrian territory.
-- Iran’s Oil Exports Hit $35 Billion Despite Sanctions
Iran’s oil exports reached $35.8 billion in the 12 months to end-March 2024, head of Customs Muhammad Rezvanifar said on Tuesday.
Despite the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Tehran in 2018, Chinese purchases of Iranian oil have allowed the country to maintain a positive trade balance.
Without oil exports, Iran would have registered a $16.8 billion trade deficit, Rezvanifar said.
-- Aid Convoy in Gaza Bombed Three Times by Israel
Australia, Poland, the UK and the U.S. are among several countries calling on the Zionist regime to urgently explain the circumstances of Israeli airstrikes that killed seven international aid workers in central Gaza on Monday.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) said that its workers were travelling in a “deconflicted zone” when two armored cars branded with its logo were targeted by Israeli airstrikes in Deir al-Balah.
The organization said the strikes took place despite coordination with the Israeli military about its movements. It occurred just hours after the WCK team unloaded a new shipment of 100 tonnes of food aid into Gaza.
** IRAN DAILY
-- Palestinian resistance in Gaza will bring Israel to its knees
Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the resistance and steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip will bring the Israeli regime to its knees.
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with Qur’an reciters and memorizers on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in the capital Tehran on Tuesday.
“Today, what is coming to pass in Gaza is the apex of crime, malice and brutality,” the Leader said as he pointed to the 158th day of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
-- Israel is Limited by Palestinian, Regional Resistance
Sai Englert is a lecturer in political economy of the Middle East at Leiden University, Netherlands, and the author of ‘Settler Colonialism: An Introduction’. His research focuses on the Israeli state and the consequences of neoliberalism, as well as settler colonialism. He has made numerous contributions to various publications such as the New Left Review and Jacobin.
In the following interview, Englert presents the settler colonialism analysis of Israel and references the transparent ambitions of the early Zionists, who shamelessly promoted the colonial project of Israel to Europeans as a solution to the rising anti-Semitism in the continent and as a means to establish European control in the Middle East.
The Zionists have long attempted to portray the Israel-Palestine conflict as something other than what it truly is: a settler colony that must address the issue of “transferring” the indigenous people whose lands have been occupied. However, as long as we remain within this framework, it is clear that true Palestinian liberation can only be achieved once the colonizers are ousted.
-- Iranian wrestler Zare’ tops UWW superheavyweight ranking
Freestyle wrestler Amirhossein Zare’ is the only Iranian to stand atop his respective weight class in the latest United World Wrestling Rankings.
The reigning world champion Zare’ pipped Georgian great Geno Petriashvili – beaten by the Iranian in last September’s world final – to the top spot of the 125kg class, with American Mason Parris and Taha Akgül of Turkey following the top two respectively.
A glorious five months saw Zare’ add the Asian Games gold to his world crown in October before he came out on top against fellow-Iranian Amir-Reza Ma’soumi in the final in the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series event in January to secure his place in the country’s squad heading to the Paris Olympics in August.
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