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Fire at Hospital in Iran’s North Kills 9 Patients

The Iranian flag. (AFP)
The Iranian flag. (AFP)
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Fire at Hospital in Iran’s North Kills 9 Patients

The Iranian flag. (AFP)
The Iranian flag. (AFP)

A fire broke out at a hospital in Iran's north, killing nine patients, state media reported Tuesday.

The blaze started at 1:30 local time (2200GMT) at Qaem Hospital in the city of Rasht, some 330 kilometers (about 205 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran, state TV said, leaving six women and three men dead.

Chief of the city fire department, Shahram Momeni, said on state TV that an electric short circuit in the basement — which harbors the intensive care unit — malfunctioned, causing the fire.

Momeni said emergency workers rescued more than 140 people, patients and hospital staff, after being trapped because of the smoke, and that 120 of them were hospitalized in other medical facilities. He added that an investigation has been ordered.

A video posted online appeared to show smoke billowing from the hospital in the middle of the night.

Iranian media occasionally report on fires in hospitals and clinics that are mainly blamed on technical issues.

In 2020, an explosion from a gas leak in a medical clinic in northern Tehran killed 19 people.

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EU and Zelenskiy Expected to Sign Ukraine Security Pact

A serviceman of 24th Mechanized brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces crosses the street, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 25, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters
A serviceman of 24th Mechanized brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces crosses the street, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 25, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters
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EU and Zelenskiy Expected to Sign Ukraine Security Pact

A serviceman of 24th Mechanized brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces crosses the street, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 25, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters
A serviceman of 24th Mechanized brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces crosses the street, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 25, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters

The European Union is expected to sign a security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday, pledging to keep delivering weapons, military training and other aid to Kyiv for years to come.

The agreement will lay out the EU's commitment to help Ukraine in nine areas of security and defense policy - including arms deliveries, military training, defense industry cooperation and demining, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

Zelenskiy is expected to sign the pact at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels. His visit has not been officially announced but diplomats said he was expected to attend.

The pact is intended to complement similar agreements sealed between Ukraine and its allies as it continues its defense against Russia's invasion.

In the event of "future aggression", the document says the EU and Ukraine intend to consult within 24 hours on Kyiv’s needs and "swiftly determine" next steps in line with the commitments.

The document is part of a broader effort by Ukraine’s partners to provide assurances that they will stand by Kyiv for the long haul, with no end in sight to the war and no immediate prospect of Ukraine joining the EU or NATO.

Countries including the United States, Britain, France and Germany have sealed security pacts with Kyiv.

Officials say such agreements are not the same as the mutual defense pact between NATO nations, but are pledges to provide Ukraine with weapons and other aid to bolster its own security and deter any future invasion.

The draft EU document says its commitments will remain in effect "as Ukraine pursues its European path" and will be reviewed in 10 years at the latest.

It does not specify the value or quantity of future assistance. It notes the EU agreed to give 5 billion euros ($5.34 billion) to a fund for Ukraine military aid this year. But it stops short of pledging the same for the coming years.

"Further comparable annual increases could be envisaged until 2027," the document says.