Iran Dismisses European Calls for Restraint

An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Iran Dismisses European Calls for Restraint

An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks near a billboard of new Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar hanging on a wall at the Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 12 August 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that calls for restraint regarding Israel from France, Germany and Britain "lack political logic and contradict principles of international law.”

The three European countries issued a statement on Monday calling on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks against Israel following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

The statement was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Tehran and its allies Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have accused Israel of carrying out the assassination. The Israeli government has made no claim of responsibility.

"Without any objection to the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel), the E3 statement impudently requires Iran not to respond to a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Kanaani said.
Kanaani said Tehran is determined to deter Israel and called on Paris, Berlin and London to "once and for all stand up against the war in Gaza and the warmongering of Israel.”

Starmer held a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, asking him to refrain from attacking Israel and saying that war was not in anyone's interest, his office said.

Starmer told Pezeshkian he was deeply concerned by the situation in the Middle East and called on all parties to de-escalate to avoid further regional confrontation.

Scholz also spoke by phone Monday with Pezeshkian and “expressed his great concern about the danger of a regional conflagration in the Middle East.”
The German government said Scholz made clear that “the spiral of violence in the Middle East must now be broken.”
 



India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

India's navy on Wednesday simultaneously launched a submarine, a destroyer and a frigate built at a state-run shipyard, underscoring the importance of protecting the Indian Ocean region through which 95% of the country's trade moves amid a strong Chinese presence.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Atlantic Ocean’s importance has shifted to the Indian Ocean region, which is becoming a center of international power rivalry.

“India is giving the biggest importance to making its navy powerful to protect its interests,” he said.

“The commissioning of three major naval combatants marks a significant leap forward in realizing India’s vision of becoming a global leader in defense manufacturing and maritime security,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while commissioning the vessels at the state-run Mazagon dockyard in Mumbai.

The situation in the Indian Ocean region is challenging with the Chinese navy, India’s main rival, growing exponentially, said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst.

Bedi said that the INS Vagsheer submarine, the sixth among a French license-built Kalvari (Scorpene)-class conventional diesel-electric submarines, is aimed at replacing aging Indian underwater platforms and plugging serious capability gaps in existing ones. India now has a total of 16 submarines.

The P75 Scorpene submarine project represents India’s growing expertise in submarine construction in collaboration with the Naval Group of France, Bedi said.

India’s defense ministry is expected to conclude a deal for three additional Scorpene submarines to be built in India during Modi’s likely visit to Paris next month to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, the first of these boats, according to the Indian navy, is only likely to be commissioned by 2031.

India commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in 2022 to counter regional rival China’s much more extensive and growing fleet and expand its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.

The INS Vikrant, whose name is a Sanskrit word for “powerful” or “courageous,” is India’s second operational aircraft carrier. It joins the Soviet-era INS Vikramaditya, which India purchased from Russia in 2004 to defend the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.