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Middle East conflict

Iran denies former president Ahmadinejad was killed

Some news media earlier reported that the former president was killed in Tehran

TEGERAN, June 17. /TASS/. News reports that former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was killed are false, the IRNA news agency reported, citing a statement from the former president's office.

According to the report, Ahmadinejad's office dismissed the reports as a lie.

Some news media earlier reported that the former president was killed in Tehran.

Trump says BRICS `fading out fast’ in wake of his 10% tariff threat for group

"BRICS wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar, and the standard of the dollar," US President said

Russian forces capture foreign mercenaries in DPR, scout says

According to the scout with the callsign Husky, the foreigners were stationed in a building that Russian forces seized in about five minutes

Trump demands Germany transfer Patriot from its stocks to Kiev — Bild

According to the newspaper, the president does not intend to share the systems that the American army has

Moscow dismisses media reports that North Korean resort closed to Russians as fake news

"The American media, in cahoots with US intelligence, planted this fake news story," Maria Zakharova said

Israel has no objection to Russia supplying nuclear materials to Iran — envoy in Moscow

Simona Halperin added that same goes for the removal of spent materials

Trump calls Biden cruel, incompetent

US leader said that the previous American administration "tried to crush the industry" of cryptocurrencies

Russia to treat 'coalition of the willing' forces in Ukraine as military target — MFA

"The Russian side has repeatedly stated that a deployment of armed forces of other countries in Ukraine under any pretense would be absolutely unacceptable and it would regard this as preparations for foreign military intervention," Maria Zakharova stated

Press review: Trump’s Ukraine stance raises doubts as EU states opt out of US arms funding

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, July 17th

Trump says looking forward to media magnate Murdoch’s testimony in court

The WSJ reported earlier that US leader sent a drawing with an outline of a woman’s breasts accompanied by a letter as a gift for Epstein’s 50th birthday, following this publication, the president said he would sue the Wall Street Journal and media magnate Rupert Murdoch

Trump sketched erotic drawing for Epstein’s birthday, WSJ claims

According to the newspaper, the drawing, depicting an outline of a woman’s breasts and a "Donald" signature was accompanied by the line: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret"

Thousands of Bedouins flee Syria’s Sweida amid clashes - TV

According to the television channel, more than 1,000 Arab families have crossed into the Daraa governorate

Ukraine sees three deaths to every birth since start of year

According to the service, the country's population is decreasing by more than 300,000 people annually

Germany cannot recognize Taliban as Afghanistan’s leadership — Chancellor Merz

Germany, according to Friedrich Merz, does not recognize the de facto government of Afghanistan but has never severed diplomatic ties with that country

Ukraine doesn’t have resources to carry out offensive — Strana

Analysts note that recently all Ukrainian attempts to attack have ended with heavy losses and little or no result

FACTBOX: What we know about EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia

The 18th package includes an expanded blacklist of individuals and legal entities, restrictions on tankers transporting Russian oil, measures targeting several banks, and new export controls on dual-use goods and technologies

Press review: US and EU delay weapons to Ukraine as Syria fighting alarms Turkey

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, July 18th

Complicated effort underway to pull Russia-US ties from deplorable state — Kremlin

"The process itself is very complicated and time-consuming," Dmitry Peskov added

Russia set to protect its interests in Arctic from other countries' pressure — Kremlin

The French Defense Ministry earlier published its Arctic defense strategy, under which Paris plans to deploy armed forces in the region and strengthen the influence of the EU and NATO

EU makes ‘concessions’ for Slovakia to approve sanctions against Russia — DPA

The document will now be published in the Official Journal of the EU, after which the sanctions will come into force

Trade with EU could drop to zero — Russian Foreign Ministry

Alexander Grushko also noted that the EU has adopted its 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions and intends to fully abandon Russian energy resources, including oil and gas

Russian embassy in Canada denies Moscow behind UK cyberattacks

Earlier on Friday, the UK imposed sanctions on 18 Russians, who were allegedly involved in cyberattacks

Russian ambassador says full-scale gas supplies to Moldova must resume

According to Oleg Ozerov, Russia has repeatedly called and continues to call for the "normalization of energy supply issues" with Moldova

'No illusions' any more regarding relations with West, Russia’s Medvedev says

The Russian security council deputy chairman was commenting on the idea that decisions from the Potsdam Conference were almost immediately breached by the Soviet Union’s former allies in the anti-Hitlerite coalition

Israeli military intercept missile launched from Yemen

Earlier in the day, sirens sounded in many parts of Israel, including in Tel Aviv

Russia says EU’s 18th package of sanctions not to have desired effect

The restrictions imposed on imports from third countries of petroleum products produced from Russian oil "will inevitably lead to an increase in fuel prices on the EU market, the Russian Permanent Mission to the EU said

Western arms makers likely to support Kiev’s idea to test weapons versus Russia — expert

According to the expert, it is rather difficult to mock up actual battlefield conditions and weapons that were tested and entered into service in peacetime may turn out to be not that effective on the battlefield as expected

Times says Trump may meet with Putin, Xi in China

According to the report, a series of trade deals between the United States and China forced Trump to reconsider his hostile course towards Beijing

Russia considers Western military sites in Ukraine legitimate targets — Kremlin

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated Moscow’s position that the deployment of any foreign troops to Ukraine was unacceptable

Bulgaria denies smuggling arms from Ukraine

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said that it "consistently implements" strict standards of arms export control

Air defense system shoots down three Ukrainian UAVs flying to Moscow

Sergey Sobyanin said that emergency services specialists are working at the crash site

Ukraine pulling best infantry, drone units to Krasnoarmeisk — expert

According to Igor KImakovsky, units of Russia’s Battlegroup Center are pushing Ukrainian troops west of the city near the village of Udachnoye

Erdogan says Syria's disintegration inadmissible, calls Israel terrorist country

The Turkish president stressed that Israel's aggression is the biggest problem for the region today

Two Chinese banks included in EU sanctions package

Head offices of both banks are located in the Province of Heilongjiang in Northeast China

Gabbard accuses Obama administration of fabricating data on Russian interference in 2016

Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp US leader Donald Trump from fulfilling the mandate, Director of National Intelligence said

Zelensky wants to sack Zaluzhny because of his secret talks with West — Hersh

Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, says journalist, talks about the possibility of a ceasefire and peace process

Kiev prepping provocation with ammonia detonation in Donetsk region — Russia’s top brass

"The intention is to subsequently accuse our country of deliberately creating a man-made disaster and inflict reputational damage on our country," Alexey Rtishchev specified

EU’s rejection of Russian gas leading to adverse consequences — Putin

Huge restrictions have already been introduced for EU countries

India cautions EU against double standards in energy trade — Foreign Ministry

Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stressed that Government of India considers the provision of energy security a responsibility of paramount importance to meet the basic needs of its citizens

Russia must respond to West’s treachery and even act preemptively — Medvedev

According to the Russian official, "the Potsdam Conference taught us that relations with the West should not be based on illusions"

WhatsApp must comply with Russian laws — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov noted that WhatsApp remained the most popular messaging service in many countries, including Russia

Putin reaffirms commitment to peace deal on Ukraine in call with Erdogan

On June 2, the second round of Russia-Ukraine talks took place in Istanbul

Russia’s anti-tank missile system gets ‘top attack’ capability similar to US Javelin

As its specific feature, a Javelin missile climbs above using an arched flight trajectory and then strikes down the turrets of tanks and other armored vehicles where the armor is the thinnest

PM says Ukraine agrees in principle to sell UAVs to US

Yulia Sviridenko said Defense Minister Denis Shmygal will develop this proposal with the American side

Russia must respond to West’s treachery and even act preemptively — Medvedev

According to the Russian security council deputy chairman, Russia has learned the lessons of Potsdam and no longer has any illusions about relations with the West

Bogota says to crack down on Colombian mercenaries fighting overseas

Deputy Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo stressed that sending Colombians to third countries to fight for foreign armies is a topic that the authorities would like to resolve

Russia treats Ukraine, bilateral relations as separate lines in dialogue with US — Kremlin

"One topic is the Ukrainian settlement, and another one is our bilateral relations, all irritants in our ties, problematic issues, which we have a lot of," Dmitry Peskov said

NATO strategy aimed at preparing for war with Russia — Deputy Russian Foreign Minister

Alexander Grushko stressed that Ukraine, in the eyes of the West, is an instrument of "fighting the Russian Federation to inflict a strategic defeat on it"

Israel to allow limited presence of Syria’s 'internal security forces' in Sweida — media

According to a newspaper’s source, the Syrian "Internal security forces" will be allowed to enter Sweida for 48 hours

Britain may join Trump plan to buy US weapons for Ukraine — Bloomberg

According to the report, Defense Secretary of the United Kingdom John Healey and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius intend to discuss this on July 21

Trump says 'smoking gun' on Epstein doesn't exist

Donald Trump and his team repeatedly promised to declassify the Epstein files and ensure maximum transparency of this story during the election campaign last year

Trump says BRICS `fading out fast’ in wake of his 10% tariff threat for group

"BRICS wanted to try and take over the dollar, the dominance of the dollar, and the standard of the dollar," US President said

Moscow says shelling of Kramatorsk by Ukraine confirms Russian operation is justified

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed confidence that Kiev won’t be able to evade responsibility for the shelling of civilians in Kramatorsk

Russia’s Medvedev responds to Trump by saying 'one really bad thing' would be WWIII

Donald Trump said earlier on Tuesday that if it weren’t for him "really bad things would have already happened to Russia"

Netanyahu calls Pope after church in Gaza hit during Israeli strike

Earlier, Netanyahu said that Israel deeply regrets that a "stray projectile" hit the church in Gaza

Israeli strike on church in Gaza leaves three dead, nine wounded — patriarchy

Casualties include the community’s parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who sustained light injuries

Mobilization of women in Ukraine would be 'humanitarian disaster' — expert

Yan Gagin said these measures are allegedly demanded by Kiev’s European partners in exchange for military aid, particularly arms deliveries in 2025

Hamas threatens to take back offer to release ten hostages if Gaza talks stall

Hamas "has repeatedly offered to release all the hostages in recent months" and hopes that the current talks in Doha "will lead to an agreement that would guarantee the end of the war" in Gaza

US pressures Israel to help resolve crisis in Syria — Sky News Arabia

According to the source, the United States is participating in negotiations aimed at agreeing on the deployment of security forces of the Syrian transitional government in the province of Al-Suwayda

Ukrainian officer says Zelensky's demobilization comments spell doom for scores of troops

When Vladimir Zelensky says 'only after victory' it’s effectively a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of people, Denis Yaroslavsky said

Fifth drone shot down near Moscow — mayor

Earlier in the day, Sergey Sobyanin reported the elimination of four drones flying toward Moscow

Russian envoy hopeful for ties reset after Moldova’s elections

According to Oleg Ozerov, Moscow continues to be guided by the 2001 bilateral agreement in its relations with Chisinau, with Moldova’s contacts with Brussels in no way required to obstruct its ties with Russia

EU lowers price ceiling for Russian oil to $47.6 per barrel

The EU also imposed further sanctions across the shadow fleet value chain

West’s push for rare-earth metals access borders on robbery — Russian MFA

"Rare-earth metals are the prize in the trade wars underway between the key suppliers of AI solutions to the market," Maria Zakharova pointed out

Russia discovers Ukrainian weapons cache containing chemical-laced IEDs

A cache with drone equipment was found by the Federal Security Service near the village of Ilyinka in the Donetsk People’s Republic in May 2025

Trump calls Netanyahu over Israeli shelling of Gaza church

"It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic Church," the White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said

Russian troops liberate three communities in Ukraine operation over past day

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted roughly 160 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy armored combat vehicle in its areas of responsibility over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Yemen’s Houthis report delivering missile strike on international airport in Israel

According to the rebels’ spokesperson Yahya Saree, the operation "successfully achieved its objective"

Company of Russian businessman will invest in Musk’s deal with Twitter — Bloomberg

Earlier, Alexander Tamas put money into rocket company SpaceX and brain-machine maker Neuralink Corp., which also belong to Elon Musk

Paris prosecutor’s office to make statement on Durov’s detention on Monday

According to the media, the Telegram messenger founder might be charged with terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering and child pornography

Russian banks’ profit in June rises by one third, reaching $5 bln — Bank of Russia

Overall, banks earned $21.7 bln in the first half of the year, matching the result for the same period in 2024

UK to lower price cap for Russian oil, following EU — Chancellor

Rachel Reeves said that the UK and its EU allies are turning the screw on

Russian MFA spokeswoman talks about weapons smuggling from Ukraine, raps German officials

TASS has put together the highlights from the news conference

EU Council approves 18th sanctions package against Russia — Danish EU Presidency

The document will now be published in the Official Journal of the EU, after which the sanctions will come into force

Kremlin says is unaware of plan for Putin, Trump, Xi to meet in China in September

The British newspaper reported that Xi wants the US and Russian leaders to meet for war commemorations in September

Trump's ultimatum suggests Ukraine able to hold on no longer than 50 days — expert

According to Ralph Bosshard, the US leader now has “little time left” to help Ukrainian forces stabilize the front before he and Vladimir Zelensky present new proposals to Russia aimed at resolving the conflict

UN cuts aid to refugees worldwide amid funding issues

In 2025, the main UNHCR assistance programs have already been reduced by $1.4 billion

Brazilian president accuses Trump of attack on country’s sovereignty

According to the Brazilian leader, he was outraged by the fact that "this attack on the country was supported by many Brazilian politicians"

Western plan to destroy Russia fails, says senior Russian diplomat

Alexander Grushko specified that the West had failed to defeat Russia on the battlefield, to run Russia’s economy into the ground and to disintegrate Russia

Medvedev calls Western actions against Russia a full-out war

"To Western elites, an independent and strong Russia has always seemed a historical anomaly and a very effective rebuff to the idea of their `civilizational superiority’", the politician maintained

Russia developed immunity to sanctions and adapted — Kremlin

The most recent EU’s 18th package of sanctions includes a lower price cap on Russian oil purchases within the bloc, restrictions on the possible restoration of Nord Stream gas pipelines, and measures targeting oil tankers, banks, as well as various export categories

Russia nixes defense cooperation agreement with Germany

The agreement was signed in 1996

Russia not ruling out countermeasures against new EU sanctions — Foreign Ministry

"We will take measures supporting our interests in case of necessity," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stressed

Russia seeks to prevent fragmentation of Eurasian space — Foreign Ministry

According to Alexander Grushko, many influential players, primarily the United States, the European Union, China and Turkey are trying to play an increasingly active role in the region

Russia to give decisive response if attacked by Taurus — MFA

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also noted that Germany’s assistance in the production of long-range systems in Ukraine could mask plans to localize the assembly of Taurus missiles at Ukrainian defense industry facilities

Putin, Erdogan call for respecting Syria’s sovereignty

The situation in Syria aggravated on July 13 when clashes between Arab tribal militias and Druze self-defense groups broke out in the heavily Druze-populated Sweida governorate

Russian lawmaker reminds US general of nuclear doctrine

"An attack on the Kaliningrad Region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures, stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine," Leonid Slutsky said

Ukrainian attack on Energodar, regional power equipment fails to disrupt ZNPP's operations

The plant noted that all safety protocols remain intact and operational conditions have not been compromised

US has couple more major trade deals in pipeline — Trump

"We have a couple of big ones to announce pretty soon," the president said

Trump believes Ukraine should go on offensive — media

The US president also asked "if Ukraine could bomb Moscow or St. Petersburg"

Brazil to reroute exports from US to other countries after tariff move — Lula da Silva

According to the president, Brazil values relations with the US, but not at the expense of its sovereignty

EU fully prohibits financial transactions with Belarus — EU Council

"Today’s package also further mirrors the measures imposed on Belarus’ trade with those imposed on Russia," the EU Council added

RDIF calls for dialogue instead of sanctioning spiral — chief executive

Kirill Dmitriev stressed that the EU is afraid of peace and continues to be in the grip of hostile narratives

Russia’s Medvedev proposes fourth 'D' for Ukraine as deparasitization

Exactly 80 years ago, on July 17, 1945, the Potsdam Conference began, bringing together the heads of government from the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain. The meeting laid the foundation for the post-war world order.

Russian troops liberate ten communities in Ukraine operation over week — top brass

Russia’s Battlegroup South inflicted more than 1,040 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed 13 enemy artillery guns in its area of responsibility over the week, the Defense Ministry reported

Russian, Turkish leaders discuss recent escalations in Syria over phone — Kremlin

The situation in Syria aggravated on July 13 when clashes between Arab tribal militias and Druze self-defense groups broke out in the heavily Druze-populated Sweida governorate

Russian forces destroy two groups of Ukrainian soldiers in Dnepropetrovsk Region

Among the enemy personnel destroyed, there were soldiers of recently deployed rear units

West’s threats of secondary sanctions to benefit multipolar world — Russian diplomat

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said earlier that secondary sanctions may be applied against China, India and Brazil

Russia, US discuss plans for deorbiting International Space Station — Roscosmos

The commission’s experts discussed among other issues, measures to reduce risks stemming from air leaks from the transfer module

Russian ballistic missiles evade Ukrainian radars, hinder Patriots — paper

According to the report, Europe plans to supply Ukraine with its Samp/T air defense systems, which could rival the US-made Patriots

US strikes only destroyed one Iranian nuclear site — TV

According to the broadcaster, two other facilities sustained significantly less damage and could be restored to operational levels within months

Russia’s Consulate General slams banning frigate Shtandart from entering Scottish harbor

It noted that "although the Shtandart does not belong to the Russian Federation, she is a replica of the Russian frigate built in 1703 by Peter the Great"