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."



Russia Releases Video Footage to Challenge Kyiv Over Alleged Attack

A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
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Russia Releases Video Footage to Challenge Kyiv Over Alleged Attack

A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
A Russian service member stands next to the remains of a drone, which, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, was downed during the repelling of an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian presidential residence in the Novgorod Region, in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image from a video released December 31, 2025. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

Russia's defense ministry released video footage on Wednesday of what it said was a downed drone at a briefing intended to show Ukraine tried this week to attack a presidential residence and challenge Kyiv's denials that such an attack took place. 

Kyiv says Moscow has produced no evidence to support its allegations and that Russia invented the alleged attack to block progress at talks on ‌ending the war ‌in Ukraine. Officials in several ‌Western ⁠countries have ‌cast doubt on Russia's version of events and questioned whether there was any attack. 

Video footage released by Russia's defense ministry showed a senior officer, Major-General Alexander Romanenkov, setting out details of how Moscow says it believes Ukraine attacked one of President Vladimir Putin's residences in ⁠the Novgorod region. 

Romanenkov said 91 drones had been launched from Ukraine's Sumy ‌and Chernihiv regions in a "thoroughly ‍planned" attack that he said ‍was thwarted by Russian air defenses, caused ‍no damage and injured no one. 

The video released by the ministry included footage of a Russian serviceman standing next to fragments of a device which he said was a downed Ukrainian Chaklun-V drone carrying a 6-kg explosive device which had not detonated. 

The ministry did ⁠not explain how it knew what the device's target was. 

Speaking to Reuters, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said the footage was "laughable" and that Kyiv was "absolutely confident that no such attack took place". 

Reuters could not confirm the location and the date of the footage showing fragments of a destroyed device. The model of the destroyed device could not be immediately verified. 

Other footage featured a man, identified as Igor Bolshakov from a ‌village in the Novgorod region, saying he had heard air defense rockets in action. 


China Slams Countries That Criticized Taiwan Drills as 'Irresponsible'

A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
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China Slams Countries That Criticized Taiwan Drills as 'Irresponsible'

A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)
A screen broadcasting news about military drills conducted by China around Taiwan is seen on a street in Beijing, China, 30 December 2025. (EPA)

Beijing slammed on Wednesday countries including Japan and Australia for their "irresponsible" criticism of China's military drills in waters around Taiwan.

China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels around the island on Monday and Tuesday in live-fire drills.

There has been a chorus of international criticism of China's drills, including from Japan, Australia and European countries.

Japan said Wednesday that China's exercises "increase tensions" across the Taiwan Strait, while Australia's foreign ministry condemned the "destabilizing" military drills.

The European Union on Tuesday said the military activity "endangers international peace and stability".

Beijing on Wednesday hit back at the remarks.

"These countries and institutions are turning a blind eye to the separatist forces in Taiwan attempting to achieve independence through military means," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a news briefing.

"Yet, they are making irresponsible criticisms of China's necessary and just actions to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, distorting facts and confusing right and wrong, which is utterly hypocritical."

Lin said Beijing appreciated countries such as Russia, Pakistan and Venezuela expressing their support for China.

"We want to reiterate China's unwavering resolve for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity," he added.

"Any egregious provocative act that crosses the line on the Taiwan issue will be met with a firm counter from China."


Iran Appoints New Central Bank Governor After Record Currency Fall and Mass Protests

A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran Appoints New Central Bank Governor After Record Currency Fall and Mass Protests

A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A person walks past a sign at a currency exchange, as the value of the Iranian rial drops, in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran on Wednesday appointed a new governor to the central bank after the former one resigned following a record currency fall against the US dollar that sparked large protests.

The plummeting of the rial, Iran's currency, sparked the largest protests in the country in three years, with rallies that began Sunday and continued until Tuesday.

A report by the official IRNA news agency said President Masoud Pezeshkian’s Cabinet appointed Abdolnasser Hemmati, a former economics minister, as new governor of the Central Bank of Iran. He replaces Mohammad Reza Farzin, who resigned on Monday.

Experts say a 40% inflation rate led to public discontent. The US dollar traded at 1.38 million rials on Wednesday, compared to 430,000 when Farzin took office in 2022.

Many traders and shopkeepers closed their businesses and took to the streets of Tehran and other cities to protest.

The new governor's agenda will included a focus on controlling inflation and strengthening the currency, as well as addressing the mismanagement of banks, the government’s spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani wrote on X.

Hemmati, 68, previously served as minister of economic and financial affairs under Pezeshkian.

In March parliament dismissed Hemmati for alleged mismanagement and accusations his policies hurt the strength of Iran’s rial against hard currencies.

A combination of the currency's rapid depreciation and inflationary pressure has pushed up the prices of food and other daily necessities, adding to strain on household budgets already under pressure due to Western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Inflation is expected to worsen with a gasoline price change introduced in recent weeks.

Iran’s currency was trading at 32,000 rials to the dollar at the time of the 2015 nuclear accord that lifted international sanctions in exchange for tight controls on Iran’s nuclear program. That deal unraveled after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from it in 2018, during his first term.