Middle Orient

TEHRAN (FNA)- The issue of Palestine and Gaza is a proper test for Obama, Iranian Supreme Leader’s representative at the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rouhani said here on Tuesday. “We should see what Obama does when declaring his policies and taking action. I think there is a test …

TEHRAN (FNA)- EU is ready to monitor implementation of ceasefire in Gaza, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said in a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari. At the meeting held in Brussels on Monday, the two diplomats discussed Gaza, Afghanistan, Caucasia and the Central Asia and other …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in separate letters to independent heads of state, praised them for boycotting Israel and supporting the oppressed people in Gaza. The Iranian president called cut of commercial and political ties with Israel a “revolutionary and valuable stance”. Ahmadinejad in his letters expressed his confidence …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Saudi Health Minister Hamad Al-Manea, in a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Riyadh Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, described Iran as a permanent supporter of oppressed nations. “Iran always assists the oppressed nations around the globe,” the minister said on Monday. “Iran as a powerful nation within the Islamic world …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwafaq Al-Rubaie here in Tehran on Monday underlined his country’s decisiveness to implement an earlier decision for closing the headquarters of the anti-Iran terrorist group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), in Diyala province. “Iraq has made a decision for Ashraf camp and will implement …

GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas said on Sunday it would cease fire immediately along with its Islamist allies in the Gaza Strip and give Israel, which already declared a unilateral truce, a week to pull its troops out of the territory. A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Barack Obama welcomes Israel’s ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and is committed to helping Israelis and Palestinians work toward peace, a spokesman said on Sunday. Obama will say more on the situation in Gaza after he is inaugurated on Tuesday, spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said in …

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict, in his strongest comments yet on the situation in Gaza, on Sunday condemned the violence that has killed hundreds of “innocent victims.” Speaking at his weekly Sunday noon prayer, the pope also asked his listeners in St Peter’s Square and around the world to …

GAZA (Reuters) – After 22 days of devastating Israeli air strikes and shelling, shocked Palestinians emerged onto the rubble-strewn streets of the Gaza Strip on Sunday to collect their dead and inspect their shattered homes. Women sat weeping amid the ruins of their houses, hiding their faces, many too distressed …

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) – European and conservative Arab leaders said on Sunday Israel and the Palestinians must turn a shaky ceasefire in Gaza into a permanent peace that prevents any recurrence of violence. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the host of a summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm …