Latest news with #IranianArmy
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
World Refugee Day: An Iranian refugee in Pune dreams of a day when his motherland will become a democratic nation
Behzad Amiri, a 74-year-old Iranian refugee in Pune, dreams of a future when Iran will become a democratic nation. 'I don't know if I will be alive to see that day, but I'm sure one day Iran will become a democratic country,' said Amiri, speaking to The Indian Express ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20. Born in Iran's Bushehr province, Amiri lives in Pune. Before coming to India to pursue higher education at the age of 26, he completed compulsory two-year service in the Iranian Army, working with a special camp of the Shah of Iran. 'I did my BA in Economics from Wadia College in Pune. Then I took admission for a Masters course… But I went back to my country nearly two months after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, led by Ayatollah Khomeini. My father told me I should not have returned as the Islamic Republic in Iran would execute me. I supported democracy and have always been against the Islamic regime. So I left Iran. I went to Tehran and from there I came to India again and started living in Pune Camp,' he said. Amiri said he was blacklisted by the Islamic Republic in Iran. 'On August 26, 1982, I got refugee status in India' he said. Settling down in Pune, he married an Indian woman, Ismat, who passed away about 15 years ago. His son and daughter were born in India. He now stays on NIBM Road in Pune, with his son, who is an engineer working for a private firm. Amiri said his father was put behind bars by the Islamic regime and was later released. 'I lost my mother at an early age. My father once came to meet me in Pune. He went back after spending ten days with me. After a period of time, he died in Iran. But I could not attend his funeral as I would have got killed there. I avoided talking to my friends and relatives fearing it could get them in trouble… I started a new life in Pune with the help of supporters and well-wishers,' he said. Amiri is an active member of the National Movement of the Iranian Resistance (NAMIR), founded by Iran's former prime minister Shapour Bakthiar. He said NAMIR is a broad-based coalition of Iranian people, inside and outside the country, who are working for 'ending Islamic cleric's tyrannical, theocratic regime and its replacement by a democratic government, which will protect human rights.' 'While living in Pune, I joined NAMIR and had at least five telephonic interactions with Bakthiar, who had moved to France after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. He led NAMIR from Paris,' he said. Bakhtiar was murdered in France in 1991. 'Bakhtiar was pro-democracy. He gave us the slogan 'Iran Will Never Die'. Twice a year, NAMIR members spread in different countries meet online. Through NAMIR we continue to oppose the Islamic Republic in Iran and propagate the thought of establishing democracy,' Amiri said. Everyday Amiri circulates on WhatsApp several reports about various incidents in Iran, along with the slogan 'Iran Will Never Die'. Asked about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, he said, 'I am against the dictatorial Islamic regime in Iran. But I am also against the killing of ordinary citizens in Iran by Israel…. I have deep respect for Indian democracy. I want Iran to be a democratic nation like India.' In charge of NAMIR's India arm, Amiri has been active in holding events like 'International Day of Cyrus the Great'. During this programme, Amiri along with a few more Iranian nationals gather in Pune to remember 'Cyrus the Great', the King of Persia, who they said had 'declared the first charter of human rights in the world, also known as 'Cyrus Cylinder'. At the programme, they observe one-minute silence around a photo of 'Cyrus the Great' along with the flag of Iran before the 1979 Islamic revolution. Amiri said Iranians believe 'October 29 (7th of Aban)' is the anniversary of the entrance of Cyrus into Babylon. 'Cyrus was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire and is well-respected for his achievements in human rights, politics and military strategy. We Iranians want October 29 to be called Unity Day,' he said. Amiri has also held solidarity meetings of NAMIR in Pune to protest against the 'rule of anarchy in Iran' on the occasion of the anniversary of Iranian revolution of February 11, 1979.
Saba Yemen
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Iranian Army Launches Sixth Phase of Drone Attack on Zionist Entity
Tehran - (Saba): The Iranian Army announced, Wednesday evening, the launch of the sixth phase of its attack using suicide drones equipped with anti-bunker warheads on occupied territories. According to the Iranian Fars News Agency, Iranian drones equipped with bunker-busting warheads struck targets in the Zionist entity today. Since dawn last Friday, Iran has been subjected to a Zionist aggression using warplanes and drones, resulting in the martyrdom of dozens of civilians, military personnel, and scientists, and targeting civilian, military, and nuclear facilities. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Iran leader rejects U.S. demand for surrender; Trump says no decision on action
A destroyed drone, which the Iranian Army says belongs to Israel, is seen in Isfahan, Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 18, 2025. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS By Steve Holland, Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Donald Trump's demand for unconditional surrender on Wednesday, and the U.S. president said his patience had run out, though he gave no clues about what his next step would be. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said Iranian officials want to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that." But he said, "It's a little late" for such talks. He said he had not made a final decision on whether to join Israel's bombing campaign against arch-enemy Iran. Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall, Trump said: "Sure, anything could happen." Earlier on Wednesday, Trump was asked about his call for Iran to surrender unconditionally in the face of Israeli aerial bombardments of its nuclear sites and missile facilities, and said: "Unconditional surrender, that means I've had it." Iranians jammed highways out of the capital Tehran, a city of 10 million people, as residents sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes. In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran's police headquarters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday evening, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. "We control the skies over Tehran. We are striking with tremendous force at the regime of the ayatollahs. We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said. The prime minister's office published a photo showing Netanyahu convening his cabinet and said it was meeting on Wednesday evening. He also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel", for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact. Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The Americans "should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said. "Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender." Iran summoned the Swiss envoy in Tehran, as the representative of U.S. interests, to protest Trump's "provocative remarks," Iranian media said. Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the six-day-old war to suggesting the United States might join it. In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei, then demanded Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Iran's mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X: "Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance," it wrote. Israel's military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles. "We are focusing on Tehran. Among the targets we attacked was the site of a centrifuge manufacturing site crucial to the Iranian regime's attempt to enrich uranium," Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said. FLEEING TEHRAN Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "We will stay here as long as this war continues. My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear programme?' In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. There were no immediate reports of serious damage, while a motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said. The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed. At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about. "I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days. In Israel, the Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes. Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. LEVERAGE Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important shipping artery for oil. Oil prices leapt 9% on Friday and have marched higher this week. The CEO of Italian energy company Eni said the rises so far were still limited. Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed. The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on internet access would be imposed to help prevent "the enemy from threatening citizens' lives and property". Iran's ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran's regional allies - Hamas and Hezbollah - in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Saba Yemen
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Iranian Army: We Destroyed 28 Hostile Israeli Targets
Tehran – Saba: The Iranian Army announced on Tuesday that it had destroyed 28 hostile Israeli targets and shot down a Hermes 900 drone with air defense fire. According to Fars News Agency, the Army stated that the hostile targets were shot down using radar, surveillance, electronic interception, missile, and artillery systems. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
NHK
3 days ago
- Politics
- NHK
Israel hints at more strikes against Iran's nuclear sites
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz suggested on Tuesday that strikes against Iranian nuclear sites will continue. He told local media that the Fordow facility in central Iran "will certainly be addressed." Israeli forces have already targeted other sites, including one in Natanz. The one in Fordow is considered significant, but it is located deep underground. Israel does not possess the so-called bunker-buster bombs that it would need to carry out a successful attack. It has reportedly asked the US to supply them. Israeli commanders have targeted top Iranian military figures, facilities and nuclear sites. Local media reported that they believe they can complete the mission in one or two weeks. Iran has hit back with its own barrage of missiles, which reportedly wounded five people in central Israel. Iranian Army commander-in-chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said Tehran is not yet finished with the attacks: "The operations carried out so far have merely been warnings for deterrence. Punitive operations will be executed soon." Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported that a new round of attacks has already begun.
