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."



Bosnian Serb War Criminal Ratko Mladic Dead

Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic leaves a meeting at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 13, 1993. Picture taken April 13, 1993. (Reuters)
Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic leaves a meeting at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 13, 1993. Picture taken April 13, 1993. (Reuters)
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Bosnian Serb War Criminal Ratko Mladic Dead

Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic leaves a meeting at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 13, 1993. Picture taken April 13, 1993. (Reuters)
Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic leaves a meeting at the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 13, 1993. Picture taken April 13, 1993. (Reuters)

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military chief who was convicted of war crimes for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, died in hospital on Thursday, according to a United Nations international tribunal.

Mladic, who had suffered several strokes in recent months, was serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity after overseeing the Srebrenica slaughter, Europe's worst act of bloodshed since World War II.

His conviction for the wartime killings as the former Yugoslavia descended into carnage after the fall of communism led the media to dub him the "Butcher of Bosnia".

The 1992-1995 war left around 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million displaced.

Mladic was the military face of a brutal trio, led on the political side by ex-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

Serbian state officials and Mladic's family had appealed for his release due to his failing health, but those calls were rejected by the Hague tribunal.

A representative of the Mothers of Srebrenica victims' association, reacting to the death of Mladic, told AFP that his name would always "symbolize genocide".

"That will never be erased from his name," said Sehida Abdurahmanovic, who believes her missing brother was among those killed in Srebrenica.

- Srebrenica -

In the war's most infamous atrocity, Serb forces under Mladic's command executed 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys who had sought shelter in Srebrenica, which was meant to be a UN-protected enclave.

Their bodies were dumped in mass graves, many of which were dug back up and reburied in order to try to hide the evidence.

The few who escaped told harrowing stories of murder, torture and rape by the Bosnian Serb forces.

In November 1995, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicted Mladic, who was dismissed from his post but evaded capture for another 16 years.

At first, he led a life of luxury, pampered by the military in Serbia where some to this day see him as a hero.

But the pressure mounted on him after Milosevic fell from power in 2000. Mladic was finally arrested in May 2011 and transferred to The Hague.

He was convicted in 2017, with the life sentence upheld on appeal in 2021.

On the streets of Bosnia's capital Sarajevo, Hava Suljic told AFP she welcomed the news.

"I'm delighted to know there is one less war criminal walking around in this world," Suljic, a Bosnian Muslim from Srebrenica, said.

But reactions in the Serb entity of divided Bosnia were in stark contrast.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said Mladic's death had "hit hard" and that the Republika Srpska "will not forget his role", the Serb statelet's public broadcaster reported.

Locals who spoke with AFP in the Republika Srpska's capital, Banja Luka, labelled Mladic the "greatest".

"The greatest man has died, the greatest general of the Serbian people," pensioner Dragan Beric said.

- 'Epitome of evil' -

Mladic was also found guilty of orchestrating a wider campaign of ethnic cleansing to drive Muslims and Bosnians out of key areas to create a so-called Greater Serbia.

The tribunal said at the time the crimes committed were "amongst the most heinous known to humankind". Former UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein described him as "the epitome of evil".

But many Serbs continued to revere a military commander who painted himself as a "simple man" whom fate had chosen to protect his people.

His age has always been a matter of dispute. He claimed to have been born in March 1943, but the tribunal listed his birth year as 1942 -- local media widely reported that he'd died at the age of 84.


UN Chief Appeals for $1.1 Bn in Ebola Aid for DR Congo

A Uganda Red Cross Society worker in protective gear sprays disinfectant at the home of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala on May 26, 2026. (AFP)
A Uganda Red Cross Society worker in protective gear sprays disinfectant at the home of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala on May 26, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Chief Appeals for $1.1 Bn in Ebola Aid for DR Congo

A Uganda Red Cross Society worker in protective gear sprays disinfectant at the home of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala on May 26, 2026. (AFP)
A Uganda Red Cross Society worker in protective gear sprays disinfectant at the home of a suspected Ebola victim in Kampala on May 26, 2026. (AFP)

UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed Thursday for $1.1 billion to fully fund an aid plan for combating the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The plan, costing $2.1 billion in total, has received a major contribution from the United States but "without additional funding, vital operations will run out of money, just when they need to expand," he said.

The program is 48 percent funded and "current resources will last weeks, not months," Guterres added.

"That is why I am appealing for the remaining $1.1 billion..., recognizing that even more will be needed in the future."

There have been more than 5,600 confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC, including more than 2,700 deaths, since the outbreak was declared on May 15.

Driven by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus -- for which there are no vaccines or treatments -- the outbreak is the biggest in the DRC's history.


Vigil Held in Pakistan for 14 Newborns as Investigators Probe Cause of Fatal Hospital Fire

A medical staff member walks past a damaged corridor at the site, a day after a fire at the Mother and Child Health ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
A medical staff member walks past a damaged corridor at the site, a day after a fire at the Mother and Child Health ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
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Vigil Held in Pakistan for 14 Newborns as Investigators Probe Cause of Fatal Hospital Fire

A medical staff member walks past a damaged corridor at the site, a day after a fire at the Mother and Child Health ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
A medical staff member walks past a damaged corridor at the site, a day after a fire at the Mother and Child Health ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital in Islamabad on August 27, 2026. (AFP)

A candlelight vigil was held on Thursday at the scene of a devastating hospital fire in Pakistan which killed 14 newborn babies, as investigators appointed by the prime minister arrived at the site to determine the cause of the blaze.

The government is facing pressure from grieving families and the public who are seeking answers about the cause of the fire and the safety measures at a major health facility.

The scene at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad was somber as doctors, staff, patients and relatives gathered to mourn the newborns. Access was restricted to the third-floor area where the fire occurred.

During the vigil, members of civil society groups sat on the hospital floor beside rows of flickering candles, their grief and anger reflected in brightly colored, handwritten placards. “Investigators, no more graves for our babies,” one read.

A woman fought back tears as some participants chanted, “We want justice,” and demanded accountability. The police did not intervene, and the demonstrators later dispersed peacefully.

The fire early on Wednesday at the hospital was confined to a third-floor nursery and did not affect the rest of the building. Hospital officials said the blaze spread so quickly that two doctors, two nurses and other staff present were able to rescue only one baby from among the 15 in the nursery.

Witnesses, including relatives of other patients, said they saw the family of the only baby to survive the fire leave the hospital with him after the blaze broke out.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed an investigating committee, led by retired federal secretary Shahid Khan. It is expected to take statements from hospital staff, witnesses and families. The committee is also expected to make urgent recommendations to Sharif within 48 hours and deliver a comprehensive report within five days.

Hospital and district officials initially said an exploding air-conditioning unit caused the fire. In its preliminary report, however, the hospital said a blast involving a nebulizer sparked the blaze, which spread within minutes because of the high concentration of oxygen in the nursery. The committee has not reached its own conclusion and will independently determine the cause, the city administration said.

Officials said authorities handed over the bodies of all 14 newborns to their families for burial Wednesday night. Witnesses saw the families leaving the hospital with them in ambulances which were arranged by the government.

The Pakistani Taliban, a militant group also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, expressed grief over the newborns’ deaths and offered condolences to their families. The group has been behind numerous deadly attacks on security forces and civilians across the country in recent years.

The deaths prompted authorities to order broader reviews of fire-safety measures and firefighting equipment at hospitals. In Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, the government instructed the Health Department to immediately review fire-safety systems and emergency-response facilities, according to a government statement.

Sharif dismissed Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri, the Health Ministry’s highest-ranking civil servant, after the fire. Grieving parents and members of civil society have demanded answers about how the fire began and whether the nursery had adequate firefighting equipment.

The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said it was saddened by the deaths and called for an urgent review and strengthening of fire-prevention and safety standards at health facilities.

The fire was among Pakistan’s deadliest recent tragedies involving children. In June, 14 schoolchildren were killed when the roof of a tutoring center under construction collapsed in the eastern city of Lahore.