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‘Terrorist Zionist Regime’: Iran Condemns ‘Reception and Protection’ of Israeli Delegation at Paris Olympics
Members of the Israeli Olympic delegation for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Photo: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs/X
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned Israel’s participation in the 2024 Olympic Games and demanded that Israeli athletes be banned from this year’s Olympics in Paris because of the Jewish state’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“Announcing the reception & protection of the Apartheid & terrorist Zionist regime’s convoy only means giving legitimacy to the child killers. They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of #Gaza,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X/Twitter. The ministry also shared a picture of the five Olympic rings, some of which bear images of wounded children. The middle ring is on fire and features an image of Israel’s national flag.
Iran’s widespread and systematic violations of human rights include torture, unlawful deaths, extra-judicial executions, arbitrary arrests, rape, sexual violence, unjust prosecution, and unfair trials. These violations have been confirmed by human rights groups, the United Nations and also the US Department of State. The Iranian regime also backs Hamas and has for years provided the terrorist organization that perpetrated the Oct. 7 deadly attacks in southern Israel with arms, funding and training. Iranian officials have continued to support Hamas and meet with its leaders as the terror group fights Israeli troops in Gaza.
Iran, which Western intelligence agencies have labeled the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, does not recognize Israel and prohibits Iranian athletes from competing against Israelis. Authorities imposed a lifetime ban on Iranian professional weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei in August 2023 after he shook hands with an Israeli competitor during a competition in Poland. Rajaei, who won the silver medal at the competition, is banned for life from all sports for what the head of Iran’s weightlifting federation described as “unacceptable and unforgivable” behavior.
Most of Israel’s Olympic delegation, which is comprised of 88 athletes, traveled to France on Monday ahead of the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday. Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik and Israeli-American swimmer Andi Murez will be Israel’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony. The Israeli delegation will have increased security this year at the Olympic, provided by Israel’s Shin Bet security agent and also French police, due to outrage and threats surrounding Israel’s participation in the 2024 Olympics amid the war in Gaza, which was sparked by the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7.
The Palestine Olympic Committee and Palestinian Football Association have made repeated attempts to have Israel banned from the Paris Olympics, and said on Monday that they sent another letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach asking him to exclude Israeli athletes from the Olympic Games.
The post ‘Terrorist Zionist Regime’: Iran Condemns ‘Reception and Protection’ of Israeli Delegation at Paris Olympics 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.