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Israel Slams Newly Signed Iran-Russia Treaty as ‘Dangerous for the Entire World’
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attend a ceremony to sign an agreement of comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Israel is deeply concerned about a recently signed “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” between Iran and Russia, according to the Jewish state’s ambassador to Moscow.
“Iran is a country that has openly and publicly stated many times its intention to destroy Israel,” Simona Halperin told the Russian state news agency TASS in an interview published on Monday when asked about the pact.
“Any cooperation aimed at developing Iran’s ability to realize those intentions, or any agreement intended to strengthen Iran’s economic, strategic, or military capabilities, is dangerous for the entire world and particularly for Israel,” she added.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, strengthened military ties between their countries by signing a 20-year strategic partnership.
Under the agreement, Russia and Iran will deepen bilateral cooperation across numerous sectors, including defense, energy, finance, transport, and agriculture. They will also enhance security ties through joint military drills, warship port visits, and officer training.
While the signatories pledged not to assist aggressors in the event of an attack on either country, the agreement does not include provisions for mutual military assistance in the case of an armed attack.
Following the signing of the agreement, Putin emphasized the strengthened bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and economic relations.
“We need less bureaucracy and more concrete action. Whatever difficulties are created by others, we will be able to overcome them and move forward,” he said, referring to Western sanctions on both countries.
Pezeshkian also pointed to the potential of the agreement, saying it serves as another stimulus for “the creation of a multi-polar world” — a phrase referring to an international system in which the US is not the dominant country.
Meanwhil, Iranian and Russian officials have been working on an international alliance with Russia against US sanctions called the “International Union Against US Sanctions.” An Iranian lawmaker spearheading the effort said last month that it will soon be completed and ready to be put into practice.
The new agreement already seems to be fostering further defense ties.
On Monday, Iran confirmed the purchase of Russian Sukhoi-35 fighter jets, amid increasing tensions with Israel and the United States, potentially bolstering its ailing air force.
According to the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency, Ali Shadmani, a senior official in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, revealed the purchase but did not specify the number of jets or their delivery status.
After purchasing the new Russian fighter jets, Iran threatened Israel with potential consequences for any aggressive actions.
“If the enemy acts foolishly, it will taste the bitter taste of being hit by our missiles, and none of its interests in the occupied territories will remain safe,” Shadmani said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has refused to comment on these reports, neither confirming nor denying Russia’s role in supplying Su-35 fighter jets to Iran.
Iran’s current fighter fleet mainly consists of American planes acquired before the 1979 Islamic revolution, when the US and Iran had diplomatic ties, as well as Soviet planes from the 1970s and 1980s.
Last year, Tehran received two Su-35SE fighter jets from Russia as part of a program to replace its fleet of outdated US-made F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft, according to the German newspaper Flugrevue.
This bilateral cooperation comes at a time when Iran’s influence in the Middle East is in retreat, with the fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Israel’s military successes against two of Iran’s terrorist proxies: Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The post Israel Slams Newly Signed Iran-Russia Treaty as ‘Dangerous for the Entire World’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.