Hawzah News Agency- The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Sunday, November 17, 2024:
** IRAN DAILY
- Tehran, Riyadh improve defense ties at crucial time
Iran and Saudi Arabia’s senior military officials have discussed ways to improve defense relations, enhance bilateral cooperation in this field, and launch joint projects. Last Sunday, the Chief of Staff of Saudi Arabia’s Armed Forces General Fayyad bin Hamed al-Ruwaili arrived in Tehran leading a high-level military delegation and met with senior Iranian military officials, including his Iranian counterpart, General Mohammad Baqeri. In November 2023, during a phone conversation with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Iran’s top military commander stated that the Iranian Armed Forces are fully prepared to enhance military ties with Saudi Arabia.
- In an about-face, Israel seeking direct confrontation with Iran
Over the past 45 years, Iran and Israel have repeatedly threatened each other but these threats have always been made through a mediator. To the extent that even Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has always said in his statements that Iran supports those who fight against Israel. On the other hand, Israel has been so cautious in this confrontation that it has never taken official responsibility for menacing actions against Iran, such as the assassination of nuclear scientists, including the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, known as Iran’s nuclear father, sabotage of nuclear facilities, arming of terrorists in the region against Iran and etc.
- Pezeshkian: Expedite construction of Rasht-Astara railway
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized the need to expedite the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, the ultimate segment of the North-South corridor rail line. During a meeting with his minister of roads and urban development and ambassador to Russia, the president reviewed the latest reports on the project and made the remarks, according to president.ir.
Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh explored the obstacles facing the project, citing limited resources for land acquisition as the main challenge. The president issued instructions to facilitate assistance in this area and stressed the need to speed up land acquisition along the route. Iran and Russia see the 162 km Rasht-Astara railway as an important link in the International North-South Transport Corridor.
** TEHRAN TIMES
- Thirst for genocide
Nothing is more synonymous with genocide than slaughtering defenseless civilians, in particular women and children. Israel has committed this heinous act over the past decades, especially since launching war on Gaza on October 7, 2023. More than a year into the conflict, the Israeli army has butchered nearly 44,000 Palestinians. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, almost 70 percent of the victims are women and children.
- Larijani discusses Resistance in Beirut visit, says ‘Iran backs any decision Lebanon makes’
Ali Larijani, a prominent advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, emphasized Iran's unwavering support for the decisions of the Lebanese government and Resistance in an interview aired on Saturday.
Speaking to Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV, the official said he had conveyed Ayatollah Khamenei's message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during his back-to-back visits to Damascus and Beirut.
- Hezbollah attacks Israeli Golani headquarters
The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah continues to target Israeli military sites and troops, showing no signs of retreating from the battlefield. The resistance movement announced on Saturday that its fighters have targeted “the Shiraga base (the administrative headquarters of the Golani Brigade) north of the occupied city of Akka, with a rocket barrage.”
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
- Hezbollah evicts Zionist troops from strategic hill
Israeli ground forces reached their deepest point in Lebanon since they invaded six weeks ago, before pulling back early Saturday after fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters, Lebanese state media reported. Zionist troops occupied a strategic hill in the southern Lebanese village of Chamaa, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the border early Saturday, the state-run National News Agency reported. It said Israeli troops were later pushed back from the hill.
- Trump’s cabinet picks alarm US Muslims
US Muslim leaders who supported Republican Donald Trump to protest against the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon have been deeply disappointed by his cabinet picks, they tell Reuters. “Trump won because of us and we’re not happy with his secretary of state pick and others,” said Rabiul Chowdhury, a Philadelphia investor who chaired the Abandon Harris campaign in Pennsylvania and co-founded Muslims for Trump.
- Palestinians: Israeli genocide directly linked to US
At least eight Palestinians were martyred and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on northern and southern Gaza on Saturday. Medical sources said the airstrike in Beit Lahia left three people dead and several wounded. The injured were transported to nearby hospitals, including Al-Ahli Baptist and Kamal Adwan hospitals, for urgent medical care. Eyewitnesses reported intense artillery shelling by Israeli forces in Beit Lahia and Jabalia, with dozens of houses destroyed in western Jabalia.
