Iran: Response of Resistance Factions Will Only Stop with Immediate End to War on Gaza

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)
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Iran: Response of Resistance Factions Will Only Stop with Immediate End to War on Gaza

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani. (Iran Foreign Ministry)

The response of the resistance factions will end once the war in Gaza has stopped, announced Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday.

"We have repeatedly said that the resistance groups represent their nations and make decisions and act independently based on the interests of their nations," he added.

Israel cannot accept the "strategic defeat" by a resistance group in Gaza, so it is trying to justify its shocking loss by pinning blame on Iran, he added.

The spokesman indicated that the "continuation and escalation of the clashes are due to the United States’ absolute support of the Zionist regime's criminal acts."

Kanaani stated that the resistance groups had repeatedly warned that they would not stand idly by if the military attacks did not end.

The widespread global wave of opposition to the war on Gaza shows that people around the world also reject the aggression and want to bring an end to the atrocities, said the spokesman.

"The US and the Zionist regime must understand that they can escape the situation only by stopping the war completely and immediately, allowing the dispatch of humanitarian aid [to the coastal enclave], and ending the forced displacement of the people of Gaza," he stressed

Meanwhile, President Ebrahim Raisi sent separate messages to the leaders and presidents of 50 countries, including Russia, China, Türkiye, South Africa, and Jordan, calling for unity in the course of lifting the siege on Gaza and ending the Zionist atrocities in Palestine.

In his letter, Raisi said they should use diplomatic and economic channels to pressure Israel to stop its crimes in Gaza.

He noted the brutal crimes and massacres carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip over a period of 45 days, which have resulted in the killing of over 13,000 persons, according to the Iranian News Agency (IRNA).

Raisi criticized the double standards adopted by some Western governments and their deliberate neglect of the principles of humanity, ethics, and rights.

He stressed that "today is the day of the divine and human test of all governments," calling on the nations to use all the available tools for pressure, including stopping commercial and political cooperation and communications with Israel.



Air Tankers Fight Los Angeles Fires from Frantic Skies

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
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Air Tankers Fight Los Angeles Fires from Frantic Skies

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

In the skies above Los Angeles, air tankers and helicopters silhouetted by the setting California sun dart in and out of giant wildfire plumes, dropping much-needed flame retardant and precious water onto the angry fires below.
Looking in almost any direction from a chopper above the city, AFP reporters witnessed half a dozen blazes -- eruptions of smoldering smoke emerging from the mountainous landscape like newly active volcanoes, and filling up the horizon.
Within minutes, a previously quiet airspace above the nascent Kenneth Fire had become a hotbed of frenzied activity, as firefighting officials quickly refocused their significant air resources on this latest blaze.
Around half a dozen helicopters buzzed at low altitude, tipping water onto the edge of the inferno.
Higher up, small aircraft periodically guided giant tankers that dumped bright-red retardant onto the flames.
"There's never been so many at the same time, just ripping" through the skies, said helicopter pilot Albert Azouz.
Flying for a private aviation company since 2016, he has seen plenty of fires including the deadly Malibu blazes of six years ago.
"That was insane," he recalled.
But this, he repeatedly says while hovering his helicopter above the chaos, is "crazy town."
The new Kenneth Fire burst into life late Thursday afternoon near Calabasas, a swanky enclave outside Los Angeles made famous by its celebrity residents such as reality television's Kardashian clan.
Aircraft including Boeing Chinook helitankers fitted with 3,000-gallon tanks have been brought in from as far afield as Canada.
Unable to fly during the first few hours of the Los Angeles fires on Tuesday due to gusts of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, these have become an invaluable tool in the battle to contain blazes and reduce any further devastation.
Helicopters performed several hundred drops on Thursday, while conditions permitted.
Those helicopters equipped to operate at night continued to buzz around the smoke-filled region, working frantically to tackle the flames, before stronger gusts are forecast to sweep back in to the Los Angeles basin overnight.