Putin to Decide on Armenia’s Pashinyan Congratulations After Official Election Results, Kremlin Says

 Armenian Prime Minister and leader of the Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan holds a press conference following the parliamentary election at the party's headquarters in Yerevan early on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Armenian Prime Minister and leader of the Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan holds a press conference following the parliamentary election at the party's headquarters in Yerevan early on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Putin to Decide on Armenia’s Pashinyan Congratulations After Official Election Results, Kremlin Says

 Armenian Prime Minister and leader of the Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan holds a press conference following the parliamentary election at the party's headquarters in Yerevan early on June 8, 2026. (AFP)
Armenian Prime Minister and leader of the Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan holds a press conference following the parliamentary election at the party's headquarters in Yerevan early on June 8, 2026. (AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin will decide later whether to congratulate Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his election victory, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, underlining that Moscow is ‌waiting for ‌the formal outcome of ‌the ⁠vote before making ⁠any announcements.

Commenting on the parliamentary election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated remarks made a day ⁠earlier that there had been ‌reports ‌of violations, while stopping ‌short of offering a ‌broader assessment of the vote or its legitimacy.

Armenia's governing Civil Contract ‌party won an election seen as a test ⁠of ⁠its handling of a peace deal with Azerbaijan and its growing turn to the West, despite what international election observers called blatant interference and pressure by Russia.



Iran Warns It Will Not Be Bound by Deal with US if Violations Continue

An Iranian woman walks near an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks near an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Warns It Will Not Be Bound by Deal with US if Violations Continue

An Iranian woman walks near an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks near an anti-US mural in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. (EPA)

Iran warned that it would no longer be bound by a deal with the US aimed at ending the Middle East war if Washington's violations of the agreement continued, state TV reported on Saturday.

Referring to the deal struck with the help of Pakistani mediation, Tehran's UN ambassador said in remarks in New York on Friday "that if the United States continues to violate its obligations under the Islamabad Understanding, Iran will no longer consider itself bound by its commitments under that understanding", according to a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB.

The Iran-US deal was preceded by an April ceasefire, but the two sides have exchanged significant fire in recent days over the Strait of Hormuz, threatening talks laid out under the deal aimed at finding a permanent resolution to the war.

Following the exchanges, US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire over, but said talks with Iran would continue.

In his remarks to reporters on Friday, Iranian UN representative Amir Saeid Iravani said Washington had "violated its obligation by launching and continuing large-scale military attacks against Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity".

"Iran remains committed to the faithful implementation of (the) Memorandum of Understanding provided that the United States fully and faithfully complies with its own obligations," he added.


Two Soldiers Killed in Attack in Northeast Iran

A man drives next to a billboard of Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
A man drives next to a billboard of Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Two Soldiers Killed in Attack in Northeast Iran

A man drives next to a billboard of Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
A man drives next to a billboard of Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a street in Tehran, Iran, 09 July 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Two members of Iran's security forces were killed in an attack in the northeast city of Mashhad, where the funeral of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei was held, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

The two people killed were "members of the Basij forces", a paramilitary force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Iranian military, Tasnim said.

Tasnim did not specify the date of the incident or the identity of the attackers, but said that "the perpetrator or perpetrators of this act will be punished". 

According to the agency, the two men were killed while "patrolling in the city of Mashhad, about fifteen kilometers (nine miles) from the shrine" of Imam Reza, where Ali Khamenei was buried early Friday. 

"A pedestrian was also wounded by the attackers and taken to hospital," the Iranian agency added. 

The late supreme leader was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, at the very beginning of the war in the Middle East. 

Hostilities resumed this week between Iran and the United States, exchanging their most intense strikes since they signed a memorandum of understanding last month that formalized a ceasefire agreed in April.


Boat Accident off Island in Vietnam's South Kills 15

Ambulances line up on a pier to help victims of a boating accident after a tourist vessel capsized off Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam's An Giang Province on July 11, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Ambulances line up on a pier to help victims of a boating accident after a tourist vessel capsized off Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam's An Giang Province on July 11, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Boat Accident off Island in Vietnam's South Kills 15

Ambulances line up on a pier to help victims of a boating accident after a tourist vessel capsized off Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam's An Giang Province on July 11, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Ambulances line up on a pier to help victims of a boating accident after a tourist vessel capsized off Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam's An Giang Province on July 11, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

A speedboat carrying Indian tourists capsized off southern Vietnam's Phu Quoc island on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, state media reported.

The boat was carrying 36 people when it overturned around 400 meters (440 yards) off May Rut Ngoai islet, with some people rescued from the water, according to the VNExpress website.