Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law officially ratifying a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Iran, further strengthening military ties between the two countries.

Signed off by Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in January, the Strategic Cooperation Treaty will boost collaboration between Moscow and Tehran in areas such as security services, military drills, warship port visits, and joint officer training.

According to Russian and Iranian officials, the treaty is a response to the increasing geopolitical pressure from the West. Iran’s growing ties with Russia come at a time when Tehran is facing mounting sanctions by the United States, particularly on its oil industry.

Iran’s Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said the agreement “stands as one of the most significant achievements in Tehran-Moscow relations.”

“One of the most important commonalities between the two countries is the deep wounds inflicted by the West’s unrestrained unilateralism, which underscores the necessity for broader cooperation in the future,” Jalali told Iranian state media last week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also praised the agreement, saying that Iran and Russia “are strategic partners and will continue to be so in pursuit of shared interests and for the good of the two nations and the world.”

“We are at the apex of collaboration with Russia in the history of our 500-year-old relationship,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X.

“This does not mean that the two countries recognize the legitimacy of the sanctions, but they have designed their economic cooperation in such a way that even in the presence of sanctions, they can achieve desirable results,” the top Iranian diplomat continued, apparently referring to US economic pressure on both countries.

The cooperation treaty was approved by the State Duma – the lower house of Russia’s parliament – earlier this month and passed by the Federation Council – Russia’s upper house of parliament – last week, with the presidential signature remaining as the final step.

Under the agreement, neither country will permit its territory to be used for actions that pose a threat to the other, nor will they provide assistance to any aggressor targeting either nation. However, this pact does not include a mutual defense clause of the kind included in a treaty between Russia and North Korea.

The agreement also enhances cooperation in arms control, counterterrorism, peaceful nuclear energy, and security coordination at both regional and global levels.

As Russia strengthens its growing partnership with the Iranian regime, Moscow’s diplomatic role in the ongoing US-Iran nuclear talks could be significant in facilitating a potential agreement between the two adversaries.

Indeed, Russia, an increasingly close partner of Iran, could play a crucial role in Tehran’s nuclear negotiations with the West, leveraging its position as a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council and a signatory to a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that imposed limits on the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tehran and Washington are set to have a third round of nuclear talks in Oman this weekend.

After Saturday’s second round of nuclear negotiations in Rome, Araghchi announced that an expert-level track would begin in the coming days to finalize the details of a potential agreement.

“Relatively positive atmosphere in Rome has enabled progress on principles and objectives of a possible deal,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X. “For now, optimism may be warranted but only with a great deal of caution.”

According to a Guardian report, Russia could be considered a potential destination for Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and a possible mediator in any future nuclear deal, particularly in the event of breaches to the agreement.

This option would allow Russia to “return the handed-over stockpile of highly enriched uranium to Tehran” if Washington were to violate the deal, ensuring that Iran would not be penalized for American non-compliance.

Some experts and lawmakers in the US have expressed concern that a deal could allow Iran to maintain a vast nuclear program while enjoying the benefits of sanctions relief. However, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff recently said that Iran “must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.” The comment came after Witkoff received criticism for suggesting the Islamic Republic would be allowed to maintain its nuclear program in a limited capacity.

Several Western countries have said Iran’s nuclear program is designed for the ultimate goal of building nuclear weapons. Tehran claims its nuclear activities are only for civilian energy purposes.

The post Russia Ratifies Strategic Partnership With Iran, Strengthening Military Ties first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Doctors have released from rehabilitation Amina Al-Hassouni, an 8-year-old Bedouin girl from the village of Al-Fura’a who was seriously injured in the April 13, 2024, Iranian missile and drone strike on Israel, the Islamist regime’s first direct attack on the Jewish state.

Israeli media reported on Tuesday on Al-Hassouni’s release, which followed about a year of recovery.

Shrapnel from an Israeli interceptor missile struck Al-Hassouni in her head during the attack, resulting in six weeks of a medically induced coma, multiple surgeries, and more than three months’ recovery at Beersheva’s Soroka Medical Center before starting her rehabilitation in July 2024.

Dr. Miki Gideon, head of the hospital’s pediatric neurosurgery department, operated on Al-Hassouni and described her injury as “severe, complex, and devastating.” He said at the time that “to see Amina today — fully conscious, communicating, smiling, and ready for the next step in her rehabilitation — fills our hearts with hope and strengthens our hands.”

The April attack by Iran included a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones, almost all of which Israel intercepted, leaving Al-Hassouni as the only injury. US forces used warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea to shoot down some of the projectiles, including more than 70 drones and at least three missiles. US fighter jets also shot down drones.

“When Amina was admitted to the unit that Saturday night, it was hard to believe that the small and fragile girl actually survived her severe injury,” Dr. Isaac Lazar, director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Soroka University Medical Center, said when she began her rehabilitation. “Much thanks go to the multi-professional team that treated her with great dedication and professionalism, but mostly thanks to Amina’s strength, her desire to live and recover, and her family members, who never left her bed side during the long and difficult days of hospitalization.”

Lazar added, “We were delighted to see Amina recover and get stronger until today, when she is moving to the rehabilitation ward. Amina, whose injury was so severe that we highly doubted whether she would survive, taught us what a war for life is. Her mother, father, and brother, who did not give up, stayed with her day and night and continued to talk, hug and demand from her that she get better, got Amina back.”

The girl’s father Mohammed blamed Israeli policy impeding the building of shelters in their officially unrecognized Bedouin community for his daughter’s injury. Mohammed said that Israel destroys “anything we build to protect ourselves from danger” and that he thought “if we were treated as citizens and had access to a shelter, my daughter would not be in the intensive care unit right now.”

Iran’s attack in April came in response to a suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria. The operation killed seven members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a military force and internationally designated terrorist organization, including two senior commanders. One of the commanders allegedly helped plan the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel.

The operation to defend Israel from the Iranian attack involved close coordination with the US. “An American officer sits in the control room of the Arrow weapons system and essentially conducts the coordination with the US systems, shoulder-to-shoulder,” Moshe Patel, director of missile defense at Israel’s Defense Ministry, said at the time.

“The Iranian threat met the aerial and technological superiority of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], along with a strong fighting coalition,” IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said following the attack, noting that “99 percent of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted — a very significant strategic achievement” — and that “of approximately 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that Iran launched, zero crossed into Israeli territory.”

Referencing the injuries sustained by Al-Hassouni, Hagari said at the time that “we wish her a speedy recovery.” He added that “Iran committed a very serious act tonight, pushing the Middle East towards escalation. We are doing and will do everything necessary to protect the security of the civilians of the State of Israel.”

More than one year after Iran’s unprecedented aerial attack, US President Donald Trump’s administration has begun negotiations with the theocratic regime in Tehran, aiming to derail the development of nuclear weapons by a state that has vowed to destroy Israel and spent billions supporting terrorist groups working toward that goal. Last month, Iran revealed the construction of a new underground missile launching facility.

The post Young Israeli Girl Injured in Iranian Missile Attack Released From Rehab first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A first-of-its-kind report released on Tuesday reveals staggering numbers about the global population of Holocaust survivors, including an estimated count of how many will still be around in the next 10 or 15 years.

The report provides an in-depth population projection of Jewish Holocaust survivors and estimated mortality rates through 2040. It was published ahead of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah), which begins the evening of April 23 and marks 80 years since the end of the atrocities of World War II. The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) released the report, which is based on extensive data collected by the nonprofit organization since 1952.

The Claims Conference secures material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world, specifically direct payments or social welfare services through ongoing negotiations between the organization and the government of Germany, according to its website. It negotiates on behalf of and disburses funds to Holocaust survivors, and fights for the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. Because of negotiations with the Claims Conference, the German government has so far paid approximately $90 billion in compensation and restitution to survivors of Nazi persecution.

In its new report – titled “Vanishing Witnesses: An Urgent Analysis of the Declining Population of Holocaust Survivors” – the Claims Conference reveals there are more than 200,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide, and that number is estimated to drop to 21,300 – almost a 90 percent decline – within 15 years.

Currently, the median age of Holocaust survivors is 87, but there are estimated to be more than 1,400 alive today around the world who are over 100 years old. Nearly 50 percent of all Holocaust survivors will die within the next six years, while 70 percent will no longer be alive within 10 years, the report notes. Mortality rates for Holocaust survivors are analyzed and divided in the report by sex, birth year, region, type of compensation received, and the level of home care that they have. For example, mortality rates are higher for men than for women.

There are some regional disparities regarding the mortality rates for survivors, meaning that in some geographical locations, survivors will die sooner, according to the report. For example, in Israel, which is home to the largest number of Holocaust survivors worldwide (110,100 survivors as of October 2024), there will be an estimated 62,900 survivors by 2030, a decline of 43 percent in five years, and 29,700 survivors by the year 2035.

The United States had 34,600 Holocaust survivors in the fall of 2024, but that population is estimated to decrease by 39 percent by 2030, dropping to 21,100 survivors.

Countries in the former Soviet Union had 25,500 survivors in October 2024, but the survivor population is projected to be at 11,800 in five years, down 54 percent by the start of 2030, according to the Claims Conference.

The highest mortality rates are among survivors in countries of the former Soviet Union, and the lowest rates are among survivors in Western Europe.

“It’s sobering to see exactly how few of us Holocaust survivors are left,” said Pinchas Gutter, one of the last Holocaust survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. “We have an important piece of history that only we hold and only we can tell. I hope in the time we have we can impart the learning from the Holocaust so that the world will never again have to endure that level of hate. I am a witness. Those of us witnesses still alive are working to make sure our testimonies are heard and preserved through any means possible. We are counting on this generation to hear us and future generations to carry our experiences forward so that the world does not forget.”

Malka Schmulovitz, a 109-year-old Holocaust survivor from Lithuania living in Florida, said, “To be one of the oldest survivors alive right now at my age tells me we are running out of time.”

“We all have a testimony that needs to be shared,” she added. “We all want to be sure that this generation of young people and the ones that come after them, hear and understand what truly happened during the Holocaust; if only so that we do not see it repeated.”

Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor said the report highlights the “urgency” in hearing testimonies from Holocaust survivors while the world still has living eyewitnesses to the worst atrocity in human history.

“Now is the time to hear first-hand testimonies from survivors, invite them to speak in our classrooms, places of worship and institutions,” he said. “It is critical, not only for our youth but for people of all generations to hear and learn directly from Holocaust survivors. This report is a stark reminder that our time is almost up, our survivors are leaving us, and this is the moment to hear their voices.”

The Claims Conference also released on Tuesday the second edition of its global demographic report on Holocaust survivors, which shows that Jewish Holocaust survivors live in more than 90 countries, mostly in Israel (50 percent) while only 18 percent reside in North America. The global population of Holocaust survivors is between 78 years old and over 100, and a majority (61 percent) are female.

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