https://arab.news/zg78j
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday that at least 40,878 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants, now nearing its 12th month.
The toll includes 17 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 94,454 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
BEIRUT: Iranâs top security chief vowed in Lebanon on Wednesday that his government would continue to provide support, after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Ali Larijaniâs trip to Lebanon comes after Iran expressed opposition to a government plan to disarm Hezbollah, which before a war with Israel last year was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.
âIf... the Lebanese people are suffering, we in Iran will also feel this pain and we will stand by the dear people of Lebanon in all circumstances,â Larijani, the head of the National Security Council, told reporters after landing in Beirut.
Dozens of Hezbollah supporters gathered along the airport road to welcome Larijani. He briefly stepped out of his car to greet them as they chanted slogans of support.
In Lebanon, Larijani is scheduled to meet President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, as well as parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is close to Hezbollah.
Iran has suffered a series of blows in its long-running rivalry with Israel, including during 12 days of open war between the two countries in June.
Hezbollahâs grip on power has slipped since a war with Israel ended in a November 2024 ceasefire and the new Lebanese government, backed by the United States, has moved to further restrain it.
Hezbollah is part of Iranâs so-called âaxis of resistanceâ â a network of armed groups in the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Yemenâs Houthi rebels, united in their opposition to Israel.
The ouster in December of Bashar Assad in Syria, which long served as a conduit for weapons deliveries between Iran and Hezbollah, cut off the supply route to Lebanon.
CAIRO: Jordanian Customs and the anti-narcotics department foiled an attempt to smuggle a total of 517,000 Captagon pills into the country, according to Petra News Agency.
The Karameh Customs Center said Wednesday the seized drugs were professionally hidden inside metal trays that seemed to be designed specifically for the purpose of smuggling.
The drugs were carried inside a truck arriving from a neighboring country, it added.
At dawn, the Jordanian military also thwarted another drug smuggling attempt in which smugglers loaded balloons with drugs and controlled them using primitive devices. The seized items were transferred to the competent authorities.
WASHINGTON: The Iraqi Embassy in Washington reiterated on Wednesday Baghdadâs right to independently conclude agreements with any party asserting the countryâs full sovereignty despite US criticism.
The embassy said Iraq âhas the right to enter into agreements in accordance with its constitution and national laws, in a manner consistent with its supreme interests,âaccording to Iraqi News Agency (INA).
It emphasized that Iraqâs decisions are rooted in its âindependent national willâ and that the country âis not subordinate to the policies of any other state.â
The remarks come in the wake of a new security pact signed between Iraq and Iran in Baghdad earlier this week, aimed at tightening coordination along their shared border.
However, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce commented on the memorandum, saying: âWe support genuine Iraqi sovereignty, not legislation that would turn Iraq into a client state of Iran.â
The agreement, reached during the visit of Iranian top security official Ali Larijani, builds on a March 2023 deal to enhance security in Iraqâs Kurdish region, which Tehran accuses of harboring armed opposition groups.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who oversaw the signing, framed the pact as part of broader cooperation to secure both countriesâ frontiers and promote regional stability.
Iraqi officials say the measures are intended to curb cross-border infiltration by Iranian Kurdish groups accused by Tehran of fomenting unrest.
The timing of the agreement underscores the complex balancing act facing Baghdad. While deepening ties with Tehran, the Iraqi government is also under intensifying US pressure to rein in pro-Iran militias.
