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Iran President-elect to Be Sworn in on July 30

Iran's reformist president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian
Iran's reformist president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian
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Iran President-elect to Be Sworn in on July 30

Iran's reformist president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian
Iran's reformist president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian

Iran's reformist president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian will take the oath of office in parliament on July 30, a member of the legislature's presiding board, Mojtaba Yousefi, said on Wednesday.
“The swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian will be held on July 30,” state news agency IRNA quoted Yousefi as saying.
Yousefi had said earlier this week that the swearing in would be held on August 4 or 5.
The 69-year-old reformist won a second-round runoff against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili. But the President in Iran retains limited authority, as ultimate power rests in the hands of the country's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who is considered head of the State.
The Iranian presidential election was called early after the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May and amid public discontent caused by the deteriorating economic situation due to international sanctions imposed on Tehran.
On Wednesday, Hadi Tahan Nazif, the spokesperson for Iran's Constitutional Council affirmed that in accordance with the nation's constitution and historical precedents set after the Iranian Revolution, the presidency will continue to have a four-year tenure.
Nazif clarified that the president's four-year term commences immediately following the election.
He cited that the First Vice President retains the executive responsibility of the country until the new president takes the oath.
Meanwhile, the Tasnim news agency cited an “informed source” as saying that former Iranian deputy foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi is likely to become Iran’s new foreign minister.
It said that advisors to President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian have “almost reached a final conclusion” about the foreign minister post, and “the most likely option” is Araghchi.
Sources also confirmed that Araghchi has directly consulted in recent days with Pezeshkian about holding contacts with officials of the resistance groups and a number of regional heads of states.
On Tuesday, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he would not serve as a minister in the new cabinet or as the vice president.
“Based on the decisions aimed at rejuvenating the administration, 60% of the ministers will be first-timers under 50 years old,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, Pezeshkian on Wednesday met with former Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani and with senior government officials and high-profile figures.
The president-elect also met with Chief Justice of Iran, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, who underlined his full readiness to assist Pezeshkian in forming a new cabinet that is “in line with the Iranian Republic.”
He also affirmed the Judiciary readiness to assist the government in the realization of social justice.
Pezeshkian had met with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
During the meeting, Ahmadian affirmed to Pezeshkian the Council’s readiness for cooperation in political and security affairs with the government, according to Nour News, the news outlet close to Iran's SNSC.

 

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World

NKorea's Kim Showcases Missile Capable of Reaching US as Trump Signals Possible Meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS
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NKorea's Kim Showcases Missile Capable of Reaching US as Trump Signals Possible Meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS KCNA via REUTERS

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a defense industry museum displaying an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States, state media KCNA showed on Tuesday.

The report came a day after US President Donald Trump said he might meet Kim during a planned trip to Asia. Trump is expected to attend ⁠the Asia-Pacific Economic ⁠Cooperation summit in China in mid-November.

Kim, accompanied by his daughter known as Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju, attended the opening of the newly opened Defense Revolution Museum on Sunday, KCNA said.

The museum displayed weaponry developed under Kim's leadership ranging from drones to the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), KCNA photographs showed.

A display in front of the Hwasong-20 launcher appeared to show a multiple ⁠warhead design and a world map depicting ranges extending beyond the US mainland to the Middle East, Australia and South America, said Shin Jong-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the National Defense Revolution Museum of the Second Economic Committee, North Korea, October 11, 2026, in this picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA/via REUTERS

"The exhibition appears intended to highlight the achievements of Kim's defense science development program," Reuters quoted Shin as saying. "It gave the impression of propaganda aimed at gaining a strategic advantage ahead of potential a North Korea-US summit."

Analysts said the museum also reflected a broader effort by Kim to elevate North Korea's weapons displays into lasting symbols of the regime's military accomplishments.

"By turning what were once temporary weapons exhibitions into a permanent ⁠museum, Kim ⁠is institutionalizing his military achievements and portraying North Korea's nuclear and missile buildup as a completed and enduring legacy," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

Separately, North Korea said it test-fired a tactical ballistic missile on Monday to confirm the successful technical upgrade of an unspecified key component.

KCNA said the upgrade marked an important step in improving the performance of all offensive weapons systems, without providing further details.

South Korea's military said on Monday that North Korea had fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast. The launch was Pyongyang's fourth in a month, following Seoul's recent test of a hypersonic missile.

World

Nobel Peace Laureate Defends International Justice as It Comes Under US Criticism

Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)
Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)
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Nobel Peace Laureate Defends International Justice as It Comes Under US Criticism

Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)
Former ICC judge Navi Pillay, who was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, poses for a photograph in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP)

Navi Pillay, the South African-born jurist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week, told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that, as a judge, she had to see the evidence of her win before she could believe the news.

“I received the letter in writing ... so now I have read it for myself, and it’s true,” said Pillay, 85, who won the award for promoting international law at a time when the system is under attack.

Her career has ranged from defending the rights of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela to leading a panel that found that Israel committed genocide in Gaza to serving as a judge on three international courts.

“To be honored for that kind of work is tremendous, not only for me, but for all my colleagues,” Pillay said.

On the 125th anniversary of the prize’s inception, the Norwegian Nobel Committee sought “to remind the world that the rule of law, national and international, underpins the system we have set up to ensure peace and resolve conflicts nonviolently. Peace requires justice,” committee Chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said.

Pillay’s win is seen as a high-profile rebuke to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have both rejected the findings of the UN commission she led on Gaza. The leaders also have been highly critical of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, both of which have had Pillay on the bench.

“I value the focus of the selection committee on this important area, because it does affect the whole world if the rule of law is not respected,” she said.

Pillay had sharp words for Trump, who has coveted the peace prize for years, calling Washington’s attacks on the International Criminal Court “completely unlawful” as well as “negative and cruel.”

“Heads of countries have a particular responsibility to spell out the principles, which is that you respect the law, you respect international law,” she said.

Hours after the announcement of her award was made in Oslo, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sweeping new sanctions on the ICC, where Pillay once sat as a judge, as part of a campaign to dismantle the institution.

The octogenarian called on countries to defend the court and the international legal order more broadly, saying she would like to see “collective action, not just words” from the rest of the world.

Pillay said that impunity is unpopular everywhere and that the public wants justice. People are dismayed, she said, that powerful countries like Russia and the United States are not members of the International Criminal Court but sit on the United Nations Security Council and can reject any attempt to hold them to account.

She faced strong criticism from Israel for her work chairing a UN commission on Gaza, which concluded last year that Israel was responsible for genocide in Gaza with a specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. Pillay dismissed the Israeli response, saying only the US and Israel took issue with the conclusions.

“We just have this condemnation by the state of Israel because they are the ones that we have held responsible,” she said.

Human rights groups and many experts on genocide have reached similar conclusions.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel strongly denies the allegations.

Pillay says that while things in the world may seem challenging at the moment, she said that international law is a relatively recent development for humanity. “Justice is slow, so we must not be impatient,” she said.

But she urged people not to be complacent and to see the world a bit more like a judge would. “Don’t fall for false propaganda or just repeat slogans,” Pillay said, urging everyone to make sure they check the evidence.

World

British Airbase Plot ‘Almost Certainly Directed’ by Iran Guards, Says UK PM

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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British Airbase Plot ‘Almost Certainly Directed’ by Iran Guards, Says UK PM

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month at Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 12, 2026. (Reuters)

Britain's government Monday accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of being behind a major scare at a UK airbase used by the United States, as allies including Washington warned Tehran against hostile acts.

Iran denied any involvement.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the British parliament that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "almost certainly directed" an incident at the Royal Air Force base of Fairford in southwest England last month.

The US, which had been using the base for its war in Iran, abruptly withdrew all its B-1 bombers from the site last week after the mysterious episode on September 27.

Burnham said Britain's assessment of the incident was that it "is highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran, almost certainly directed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard".

"We will not tolerate these threats on our soil. We will crack down on Iran's use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams," he told MPs.

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that "the Iranian ambassador in London, Ali Moussavi, has again categorically rejected the accusations concerning Tehran's role in the incident at the Fairford military base" and "called on the British government to present evidence supporting its allegations if it possesses any."

Shortly after Burnham spoke to parliament, 29 countries, including the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, France and Germany, released a joint statement denouncing "in the strongest terms Iran's use of violent attacks".

The statement said such attacks included "acts of lethal plotting, arson, sabotage, cyber-attacks, and other hybrid activities against us and our partners".

"Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our territories through proxies or any other means is unacceptable," it read.

The Foreign Office confirmed in its own statement Monday that Iran's ambassador to the UK had been summoned for talks.

"We are also announcing the designation of two Iranian nationals for their role in facilitating or engaging in hostile activity on behalf of the Iranian regime, with the clear intent of threatening, planning or conducting attacks overseas," foreign minister Ed Miliband said.

The foreign ministry said the individuals included Ruhollah Bazghandi, the IRGC's head of counterespionage operations, who is "now subject to an immediate asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification".

Speculation has swirled about the incident since police were called to the base after a local farmer reported a group of men with several white vans engaged in "suspicious" activity.

- 'Major' incident -

Despite a major counter-terrorism probe, seven suspects arrested in the days following, including a British-Iranian national, have all since been released on bail. None has been charged.

The incident was declared "major" by British authorities and triggered the evacuation of a nearby village.

But the source and nature of the threat have remained shrouded in mystery.

Investigators did not find any explosives in the vans, but did recover some petrol, according to officials.

Burnham has previously said there were "strong indications that Iran played a part" in the incident, which Tehran has rejected.

Britain gave Washington permission in March to use Fairford for "specific defensive operations into Iran," and US bombers and other planes had been seen taking off and landing at the base.

US President Donald Trump has said Washington withdrew its bombers because of "threats" he believed were linked to Tehran.

In the foreign ministry statement, Miliband noted that the UK had already "designated the IRGC under our new state threats powers, and imposed major sanctions on those responsible for Iran's malign activity".