Iranian FM: The Region will Enter New Phase through 'Resistance Forces'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
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Iranian FM: The Region will Enter New Phase through 'Resistance Forces'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned of the expansion of the war amid the renewed Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying that the region will enter a new phase "through resistance forces."

On Sunday, the foreign minister made the remarks during a press conferen with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi in Tehran.

The two ministers discussed the recent developments in Gaza amid reports about a possible Oman mediation in the Iranian nuclear program.

Amirabdollahian said that the new phase of the Israeli attacks on Gaza began with the presence of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the ministerial meeting of the Zionist entity.

He added that the US must bear the consequences of this hypocritical behavior in supporting Israel, saying Washington claims it recommends Israel does not kill civilians while granting it the green light for genocide.

For more than 50 days, "we have been following the developments in Palestine to return stability and security in the region and stop the killing and genocide of the Zionist regime in Gaza," he said.

The leaders of the resistance warned that if the Israeli attacks continue, the region will enter a new phase, he indicated, warning that the killing of children and women must stop before it is too late.

He asserted that Iran never wanted the war to expand, but the warmongers in the region were strongly warned to stop their support for Israeli crimes.

He said that there is documented evidence that the Zionist regime is seeking to displace people in the Gaza Strip forcibly.

"In a part of the documents that were seized by the Resistance forces during the al-Aqsa Storm operation and in a part of the laptops that were captured, this hypothesis has been proven that the Israeli regime seeks to relocate all the residents of Gaza to a part of the territory and land of Egypt, and it seeks to transfer the residents of the West Bank to parts of Jordan," he noted.

"We hope that our brothers in Egypt will take immediate and serious action to reopen the Rafah border crossing and prevent this Israeli conspiracy against the territorial integrity of Jordan and Egypt."

- Discussing nuclear power

Earlier, the official IRNA agency reported that the two ministers were scheduled to discuss developing cooperation, achieving a ceasefire in the Strip, and delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Ahead of his visit to Tehran, Busaidi and his Iranian counterpart discussed over the phone Israel's resumption of war crimes in Gaza without any regard to the international community and global public opinion.

Busaidi warned against the outbreak of war and its expansion in the region, stressing the necessity of establishing a sustainable truce, sending humanitarian aid on a large scale, and establishing an effective international action.

Iranian media expected Busaidi's visit to Tehran to be within the context of exchanging messages between Tehran and Washington to prevent the expansion of tension in the region.

During the past two months, Iranian officials welcomed an Omani initiative proposed by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

However, they noted it was not a new agreement or a new plan but rather a practical initiative to converge views between Washington and Tehran and the return of all parties to the 2015 agreement.

Last week, the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said in press statements that talks with Iran might require a new framework rather than an attempt to revive the 2015 accord.

- Borrell urges Tehran to cooperate constructively

The nuclear agreement was part of the telephone conversation between Amirabdollahian and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.

The Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday that Amirabdollahian called on Borrell to stop the Israeli military attacks on the Strip and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

The Iranian diplomat repeated previous warnings against displacing Palestinians and warned of the possibility of expanding the war in the region.

The two officials also addressed Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency's cooperation, and Amirabdollahian noted that the "cooperation will continue within a technical and legal framework."

Borrell expressed hope that constructive cooperation between Iran and the IAEA will continue.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi defended his country's positions in the Gaza war.

Speaking on Sunday at the "Second National Conference on Responsibility for the Implementation of the Constitution," Raisi said Iran's support for Gaza and Palestine is wholly based on the constitution's principles, which considers the protection of the oppressed as one of its duties.

"Since the beginning of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, one of the basic principles and approaches of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been to support the rights of the Palestinian people and to recognize this issue as the first issue of the Islamic world."

He asserted that the principle is still standing and that global political developments will not change the primary direction of foreign policy.

Raisi reiterated that 6,000 children killed by the "Zionist usurpers will bring down this fake, cruel and usurping regime."



Ukrainian Drones Hit Warehouses and Other Sites Across Russia, Killing 9

This photograph shows smoke rising from a fire at the Russian e-commerce firm Wildberries' logistics complexes in the town of Elektrostal outside Moscow on July 18, 2026. (Photo by TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP)
This photograph shows smoke rising from a fire at the Russian e-commerce firm Wildberries' logistics complexes in the town of Elektrostal outside Moscow on July 18, 2026. (Photo by TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP)
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Ukrainian Drones Hit Warehouses and Other Sites Across Russia, Killing 9

This photograph shows smoke rising from a fire at the Russian e-commerce firm Wildberries' logistics complexes in the town of Elektrostal outside Moscow on July 18, 2026. (Photo by TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP)
This photograph shows smoke rising from a fire at the Russian e-commerce firm Wildberries' logistics complexes in the town of Elektrostal outside Moscow on July 18, 2026. (Photo by TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP)

Ukrainian drones struck two sprawling warehouses, one of them just east of Moscow, as part of attacks overnight and on Saturday afternoon that killed nine people and wounded more than 60, Russian officials said.

Kyiv's forces have pressed their relentless aerial campaign against energy infrastructure and military targets inside Russia, aiming to undermine Moscow’s war effort and make Russians feel the consequences of the Kremlin's all-out invasion of Ukraine that is well into its fifth year.

Two sprawling warehouses of Russia's major online retailer, Wildberries, were hit by Ukrainian drones overnight, according to Russian officials — one in the town of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, some 360 kilometers (220 miles) from the border with Ukraine, and another in the city of Elektrostal, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Moscow.

A Ukrainian drone also hit an oil depot in the city of Noginsk, just north of Elektrostal, sparking a fire and prompting evacuations of a nearby maternity hospital and a residential building, according to the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov. Drone debris also hit a kindergarten building, The Associated Press quoted Vorobyov as saying, sparking a fire that has since been put out.

Seven night shift workers were killed at the warehouse in Kotovsk and 25 others were wounded, Tambov regional Gov. Yevgeny Pervyshov said. A total of 37 people were wounded in the Moscow region, Vorobyov said, adding that one of those later died in the hospital.

This photo, released by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov's official telegram channel, shows a building damaged during a Ukrainian drone attack in Elektrostal, Moscow region of Russia, on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov's official telegram channel via AP)

One more person was killed and another wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Belgorod region on Saturday afternoon, according to local authorities.

Both warehouses caught fire, Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim said, and the blaze in Kotovsk was put out. Images and footage released by Russian online outlets showed a fire raging at the Elektrostal facility, with massive plumes of smoke towering over it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post on Saturday that Ukrainian long-range strikes hit two “significant logistical facilities in the Moscow and Tambov regions."

“These facilities were used by the aggressor to supply sanctioned components for the production of drones and navigation equipment,” he wrote. An oil facility was also hit, he said.

In the city of Vladimir, some 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Moscow, a Ukrainian drone hit a residential building, sparking a brief fire, Vladimir Gov. Alexander Avdeyev said. There were no casualties, he added.

Ukrainian special operations also conducted strikes against targets in the Sea of Azov and in occupied territory, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement on Saturday that the fuel depot in Noginsk that was targeted overnight supplied the Russian armed forces. It also reported hitting two tankers, two floating cranes and a tugboat in the Black and Azov seas, saying the vessels were used to transport oil, fuel and military cargo.

Separately, the military said it struck a Project 10410 Svetlyak-class patrol ship in Kerch, describing it as the second vessel of that class hit in two days, as well as a railway bridge over the Bila River near Sabivka in the occupied Luhansk region that it said Russia uses for military logistics.

Overall, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 379 Ukrainian drones over 19 Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.


Iran’s Supreme Leader Warns of ‘Unforgettable Lessons’ if US Continues Attacks

Mourners chant slogans as one of them holds a poster of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a ceremony commemorating the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Mourners chant slogans as one of them holds a poster of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a ceremony commemorating the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Warns of ‘Unforgettable Lessons’ if US Continues Attacks

Mourners chant slogans as one of them holds a poster of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a ceremony commemorating the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Mourners chant slogans as one of them holds a poster of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a ceremony commemorating the late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Saturday of ‘unforgettable lessons’ if US continues attacks.

A new statement attributed to Khamenei, still unseen since the war began, was read out on state television.

He also called US President Donald Trump’s signature “worthless and invalid,” after an Iranian negotiator earlier Saturday said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed by both countries about a month ago.

The deal was aimed at permanently ending the war.

Khamenei said ⁠the ⁠United States should know that the Iranian nation and the "resistance front" had "unforgettable lessons" for it.

Washington and Tehran have exchanged strikes after a ceasefire agreement fell apart last week, raising fears of a return to all-out war.

The US Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

The US has violated its commitments under the deal that was signed about a month ago and now Iran is “no longer implementing them,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state TV.

The most significant damage from Iranian strikes on Saturday occurred in Kuwait, where a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit, according to the Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.

The strikes injured several people at the oil facility and caused a fire at the desalination plant, forcing several power generation units offline. It was the second attack against a desalination plant in two days.

Several firefighters and a worker were injured while battling two other blazes sparked by Iranian strikes, according to the Kuwait Fire Force. Kuwait briefly closed its airspace due to missile threats, and Kuwait Airways said it was rescheduling most flights to and from the capital.

Meanwhile, Iraq said it shot down attack drones over the city of Irbil. Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency said the kingdom’s air defense systems had downed Iranian missiles, while air sirens sounded multiple times in Bahrain throughout the day.


Mamdani Says He May Order Netanyahu's Arrest

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers remarks during a ceremony marking the 250th anniversary of US independence at City Hall in New York on July 3, 2026. (Photo by Anna CONNORS / POOL / AFP)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers remarks during a ceremony marking the 250th anniversary of US independence at City Hall in New York on July 3, 2026. (Photo by Anna CONNORS / POOL / AFP)
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Mamdani Says He May Order Netanyahu's Arrest

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers remarks during a ceremony marking the 250th anniversary of US independence at City Hall in New York on July 3, 2026. (Photo by Anna CONNORS / POOL / AFP)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers remarks during a ceremony marking the 250th anniversary of US independence at City Hall in New York on July 3, 2026. (Photo by Anna CONNORS / POOL / AFP)

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration was still discussing whether to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to New York as expected for the UN General Assembly in September.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told Lulu Garcia-Navarro this week on “The Interview,” a New York Times show, referring to the home of the International Court of Justice.

“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” Mamdani added. “And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

According to NYT, the mayor said it was unclear to him whether he has the legal authority to order the Police Department, which he oversees, to detain a foreign leader like Netanyahu.

He said he was in “an active conversation” with the city’s Law Department about the matter.

“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” Mamdani added.