Iran President Raisi Says Action, Not Words, Needed on Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) with the head of Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh (File photo: AFP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) with the head of Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh (File photo: AFP)
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Iran President Raisi Says Action, Not Words, Needed on Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) with the head of Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh (File photo: AFP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (left) with the head of Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh (File photo: AFP)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the time had come for action over the conflict in Gaza rather than talk as he headed to Saudi Arabia to attend a summit on the war between Israel and Hamas.

"Gaza is not an arena for words. It should be for action," Raisi said at Tehran airport before departing for the summit of Arab and Islamic nations in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

"Today, the unity of the Islamic countries is very important," he added, Reuters reported.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the expansion of the war in the Gaza Strip is "inevitable" in light of the escalation of aggression against civilians.

During a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart, Fouad Hussein, Amir-Abdollahian said the US support for Israel is "the main reason for the escalation of the current crisis in the region."

The two ministers agreed to support the Palestinian people during their discussion of the developments in Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, according to the Arab World News Agency.

On Saturday, according to IRNA, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei received the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.

Hamas representative in Lebanon, Othman Hamdan, said Haniyeh traveled to the Iranian capital a few days ago to hold talks.

Iranian media did not report the meeting, and it appears that the visit was kept secret, as the timing of Haniyeh's arrival in Tehran was unclear.

Iran maintains good relations with Hamas. Amir-Abdollahian continuously discussed with Haniyeh the developments of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, thousands of protesters gathered in Palestine Square, in the center of Tehran, Friday to express their support for the Palestinians, according to IRNA news agency.

The protesters carried the Palestinian flags and chanted in solidarity with the Palestinians and Gaza.

Deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ali Fadavi praised the fighting that Hamas is waging against Israel and told supporters to have faith and be prepared to use all means against the enemy when the time comes.



Pope Urges Leaders to Temper Divisions at Start of Spain Trip

Spain's King Felipe VI (L), Queen Letizia (R), Crown Princess Leonor (L, rear), and Princess Sofia (R, rear) go up the Ambassadors Staircase with Pope Leo XIV during the welcoming ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, 06 June 2026.   EPA/DANIEL GONZALEZ
Spain's King Felipe VI (L), Queen Letizia (R), Crown Princess Leonor (L, rear), and Princess Sofia (R, rear) go up the Ambassadors Staircase with Pope Leo XIV during the welcoming ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, 06 June 2026. EPA/DANIEL GONZALEZ
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Pope Urges Leaders to Temper Divisions at Start of Spain Trip

Spain's King Felipe VI (L), Queen Letizia (R), Crown Princess Leonor (L, rear), and Princess Sofia (R, rear) go up the Ambassadors Staircase with Pope Leo XIV during the welcoming ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, 06 June 2026.   EPA/DANIEL GONZALEZ
Spain's King Felipe VI (L), Queen Letizia (R), Crown Princess Leonor (L, rear), and Princess Sofia (R, rear) go up the Ambassadors Staircase with Pope Leo XIV during the welcoming ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, 06 June 2026. EPA/DANIEL GONZALEZ

Pope Leo on Saturday urged global leaders to avoid dividing their electorates with "sterile simplifications" to gain popularity and called on them to listen to the world's cries for peace, in a forceful speech opening a week-long tour of Spain.

"Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated," Leo said in a speech before King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Reuters reported.

"I invite everyone to set aside the divisive and polarizing narratives of your societal reality and history, so as to overcome sterile simplifications through the fruitful appreciation of complexity," he added.

Technology was partly to blame for creating an environment which magnifies prejudices and weakens critical thinking, Leo said. The world was crying "from its depths for peace," he said.

He drew on Spain's history as an example of peaceful co-habitation between religions and cultures, making reference to how Christians, Muslims and Jews cooperated during medieval times to enhance human knowledge by translating Arabic texts into Latin, Spanish and Hebrew at the School of Translators in Toledo.

"Your own history suggests that a culture of encounter, not confrontation, is what fosters stability and prosperity. In reality, the message of peace, which at present unfortunately strikes some as naïve and others as confrontational, is welcomed by those who do not shut themselves off in preconceived ideologies, but are rather open to the truth," he said.

Thousands lined the streets of central Madrid, some waving Vatican and Spanish flags under clear spring skies, as Leo toured in an open-air popemobile. Huge gatherings are expected in the coming days for the first visit to Spain by a pope since 2011.

Leo, who has adopted a more assertive tone against the direction of global leadership in recent months, is scheduled to give more than 20 speeches during his first trip to a European Union country outside Italy, and will be the first pope to address the Spanish parliament.

Leo spent decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru before becoming pope last May, and will speak Spanish throughout most of the trip.


Pakistan's Interior Minister Heads to Iran for Talks

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (from his account on X).
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (from his account on X).
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Pakistan's Interior Minister Heads to Iran for Talks

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (from his account on X).
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (from his account on X).

Officials said on Saturday that Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was heading to Tehran as part of Islamabad's diplomatic efforts to promote dialogue between Iran and the United States amid renewed attacks.

Diplomatic and security sources said: "Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is travelling to Tehran today for a series of high-level meetings with Iranian officials."

Naqvi is widely seen as being close to Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has also visited Iran as part of Islamabad's efforts to mediate between the warring parties.

Photo released by Iran's Foreign Ministry showing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran.

The interior minister has made repeated visits to Tehran and Islamabad since the first round of direct talks between Iran and the United States.

The visit comes after Naqvi met his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, on the sidelines of a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization interior ministers in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday and Friday.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Pakistan's Interior Ministry said: "The two interior ministers emphasized the need to continue diplomatic efforts steadfastly in pursuit of lasting peace in the region."

The visit also comes after the United States and Iran recently resumed attacks against each other in the Gulf despite a ceasefire that has been in place for nearly two months since the outbreak of the war on Feb. 28.


Trump Says Iran Has '22 Percent' of Missiles Left

US President Donald Trump (AFP)
US President Donald Trump (AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Has '22 Percent' of Missiles Left

US President Donald Trump (AFP)
US President Donald Trump (AFP)

Iran still has "21, 22 percent" of its missiles left, US President Donald Trump said on Friday, after Tehran fired dozens across the region during a week marked by repeated violations of a fragile ceasefire.

"They still have capacity. They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say, percentage wise, maybe 21, 22 percent of their missiles," Trump told NBC News in an interview.

That estimate for Iran's remaining missile stockpile is higher than the 18 percent Trump gave in May. He has often claimed to have completely destroyed Iran's war-fighting capacity.

Iran's military said Friday it had fired "warning missiles" at two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman -- a claim promptly denied by the US military.

Two days earlier, Kuwait said it had intercepted 30 ballistic missiles fired as part of "heinous Iranian aggression."

Weeks of complex talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war.

But Trump said Iran has "got no choice" except to reach an agreement.

"They're strong, they're proud, there are things they never thought they'd be doing that they're going to have to do," he told NBC.