Iran Supreme Leader Calls for Cutting Ties with Israel ‘for Limited Period’

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen at a military exhibition. (Supreme Leader's website)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen at a military exhibition. (Supreme Leader's website)
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Iran Supreme Leader Calls for Cutting Ties with Israel ‘for Limited Period’

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen at a military exhibition. (Supreme Leader's website)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen at a military exhibition. (Supreme Leader's website)

Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei urged regional countries to sever their "political relationship with the Zionist [Israeli] regime at least for a limited period."

Khamenei said Israel's "defeat" in its war against the Hamas movement is "a reality" and reveals the "failure" of Western countries.

During a visit to the Ashura Aerospace University of Science and Technology, Khamenei toured an exhibition showing the latest achievements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force.

During the visit, officials unveiled the "Fattah 2" hypersonic cruise missile, the "Mehran" mobile defense system, the upgraded "9th of Dey" system, and the "Shahed 147" drone.

"Some Islamic governments have condemned Israeli crimes in assemblies while some have not. This is unacceptable," Khamenei said, reiterating that the main task of Islamic governments should be to cut off Israel from energy and goods, reported Reuters.

He made similar remarks weeks ago.

Khamenei added: "Islamic governments should at least cut off political ties to Israel for a limited time."

His website quoted him as saying that the events in Gaza revealed "many hidden facts", including the support of the heads of Western countries for "racial discrimination".

"Despite the massive bombings in Gaza, the Zionist regime has so far failed in its action because they said from the beginning that their goal is to destroy and cripple Hamas and the Resistance, but after more than 40 days and after using all their military power, they have not yet been able to do this," he said.

He noted that the "savage bombardment of hospitals, women, and children in Gaza is a sign that the Zionist leaders are enraged by their defeat."

"The Zionist regime's defeat in Gaza is a fact. Advancing and entering hospitals or people's homes is not a victory because victory means defeating the other side, which is something that the Zionist regime has not been able to achieve so far, nor will it be able to do in the future," he added.

Khamenei accused the leaders of the US, Germany, France and the UK of being racist because of their support and help to the "racist" Israeli regime.

"The Zionists consider themselves as a superior race and consider the rest of the human race to be inferior. That is why they have killed several thousand children without any remorse," he added.



Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

 In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
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Typhoon Gaemi Weakens to Tropical Storm as It Moves Inland Carrying Rain toward Central China

 In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)
In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Taiwanese soldiers clear debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi in Kaohsiung county in southwestern Taiwan, Friday, July 26, 2024. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)

Tropical storm Gaemi brought rain to central China on Saturday as it moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength on the country's east coast Thursday night.

The storm felled trees, flooded streets and damaged crops in China but there were no reports of casualties or major damage. Eight people died in Taiwan, which Gaemi crossed at typhoon strength before heading over open waters to China.

The worst loss of life, however, was in a country that Gaemi earlier passed by but didn't strike directly: the Philippines. A steadily climbing death toll has reached 34, authorities there said Friday. The typhoon exacerbated seasonal monsoon rains in the Southeast Asian country, causing landslides and severe flooding that stranded people on rooftops as waters rose around them.

China Gaemi weakened to a tropical storm since coming ashore Thursday evening in coastal Fujian province, but it is still expected to bring heavy rains in the coming days as it moves northwest to Jiangxi, Hubei and Henan provinces.

About 85 hectares (210 acres) of crops were damaged in Fujian province and economic losses were estimated at 11.5 million yuan ($1.6 million), according to Chinese media reports. More than 290,000 people were relocated because of the storm.

Elsewhere in China, several days of heavy rains this week in Gansu province left one dead and three missing in the country's northwest, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Taiwan Residents and business owners swept out mud and mopped up water Friday after serious flooding that sent cars and scooters floating down streets in parts of southern and central Taiwan. Some towns remained inundated with waist-deep water.

Eight people died, several of them struck by falling trees and one by a landslide hitting their house. More than 850 people were injured and one person was missing, the emergency operations center said.

Visiting hard-hit Kaohsiung in the south Friday, President Lai Ching-te commended the city's efforts to improve flood control since a 2009 typhoon that brought a similar amount of rain and killed 681 people, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

Lai announced that cash payments of $20,000 New Taiwan Dollars ($610) would be given to households in severely flooded areas.

A cargo ship sank off the coast near Kaohsiung Harbor during the typhoon, and the captain's body was later pulled from the water, the Central News Agency said. A handful of other ships were beached by the storm.

Philippines At least 34 people died in the Philippines, mostly because of flooding and landslides triggered by days of monsoon rains that intensified when the typhoon — called Carina in the Philippines — passed by the archipelago’s east coast.

The victims included 11 people in the Manila metro area, where widespread flooding trapped people on the roofs and upper floors of their houses, police said. Some drowned or were electrocuted in their flooded communities.

Earlier in the week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up efforts in delivering food and other aid to isolated rural villages, saying people may not have eaten for days.

The bodies of a pregnant woman and three children were dug out Wednesday after a landslide buried a shanty in the rural mountainside town of Agoncillo in Batangas province.