Iran, Azerbaijan forge stronger economic ties with new customs agreement

Iran and Azerbaijan signed a customs cooperation MoU at the Bileh Savar border to facilitate trade and transit. The agreement aims to address border congestion and infrastructure gaps, with both sides committing to 24-hour online communication for issue resolution. Key infrastructure projects include completing bridges at Astara and Nakhchivan, the Kalaleh–Aghband bridge, and the Astara rail terminal. A broader 10-sector cooperation document covers transport, energy (joint oil blocks, power grid connections), water projects (Khoda Afarin and Qiz Qalesi dams), customs, industry, tourism, and agriculture. Iran aims to increase INSTC transit to 15 million tons by 2030. Trade has reached ~$650 million annually, with both sides expressing high-level political commitment.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/528728/Iran-Azerbaijan-forge-stronger-economic-ties-with-new-customs

🏅 Iranian swimmer wins gold medal in Kazakhstan

🔹The West Asian Swimming Championships (AOSI 2026) kicked off today in Astana, Kazakhstan, with Iran's national team competing among the region's top swimmers.

🔹In the 100m backstroke (Open category), Hoomer Abbasi delivered a stellar performance, clocking 57.45 seconds to finish ahead of all competitors and claim the gold medal.

Gen. Ibn al-Reza: Defense industry must move faster than battlefield needs

🔹Acting Defense Minister, in a meeting with defense industry scientists, stated that future wars will be shaped by intelligence dominance, space-based technologies, and defense economics.

🔹"The defense industry must produce maximum combat power with minimum cost and respond to battlefield needs in real-time," he emphasized .

🔹He also stressed that spillover of defense technologies into various sectors is a requirement for national development, adding that every technology produced in the defense industry should serve as a driving force for progress in industries, transport, energy, and communications.

🔹Ibn al-Reza highlighted that this interaction is one of Iran's key defense industry advantages.

🔴 Baghaei's Quranic response to Bahrain's king: Arabic doesn't make you a Prophet's representative

🔹Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei, responding to Bahrain's ruler, emphasized that the criterion for superiority is righteousness, quoting: "Indeed the most noble of you is the most righteous" (49:13).

🔹"No ruler has the right to use Arabic language as a pretext to claim representation of the Prophet's (PBUH) mission," he stated.

🔹Baqaei questioned aligning with forces that aggress against Muslim states, citing the Quranic warning: "Do not incline toward those who have wronged" (11:113), and the Prophet's hadith that "whoever supports a tyrant will be handed over to him."

🔹He challenged hosting enemies of Muslims and supporting aggression against a Muslim neighbor as incompatible with Islamic brotherhood.

The grave Saudi-US mistake in attacking PMF positions in Iraq

This analysis argues that the joint U.S.-Saudi airstrikes on Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) positions—killing at least 20 and wounding 32—represent a profound strategic miscalculation. It claims the US has "decisively lost the war with Iran," citing damaged regional bases, depleted interceptors, and failure to achieve any strategic objectives (regime change, uranium enrichment elimination, ending missile programs). Saudi Arabia is described as a "Yazidi state" that serves Israeli interests while attacking Arab nations. The piece warns the confrontation will expand, with Yemen imposing a naval blockade and Saudi Arabia forming a 50-nation coalition to reopen Bab el-Mandeb. It concludes that Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and US naval supremacy has ended.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/528770/The-grave-Saudi-US-mistake-in-attacking-PMF-positions-in-Iraq

Another coalition meets its grave in the Red Sea

This analysis argues that Saudi Arabia's newly announced 43-nation maritime coalition against Yemen is doomed to failure, repeating the failures of past coalitions ("Operation Decisive Storm," "Prosperity Guardian," "Poseidon Archer"). Only 14 countries signed on, with the UAE and Oman notably absent. The coalition was triggered by Ansarullah's absolute maritime embargo on Saudi-linked vessels after Saudi airstrikes on Sana'a airport. The article claims Yemen has trapped Saudi oil between the Red Sea and Hormuz, while Saudi infrastructure (Abqaiq, Ras Tanura, desalination plants at Shoaiba and Jubail) remains exposed. It concludes that Yemen cannot be subdued militarily, and the only solution is lifting the blockade and recognizing Yemeni sovereignty.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/528776/Another-coalition-meets-its-grave-in-the-Red-Sea

‼️ Tehran Times Exclusive:

Iran's strikes undermined Israel's long-standing military superiority: John Helmer

In an interview with Tehran Times, veteran journalist John Helmer argues that Iran's ability to penetrate Israeli air defenses with precision strikes has undermined Israel's sense of military superiority, though this has not yet translated into a lasting regional balance shift. He analyzes Trump's handling of Netanyahu as driven by ego, campaign funding (Miriam Adelson's $105M), and electoral politics, with Netanyahu receiving only a "consolation prize" meeting. Helmer describes the Caspian Sea attack on the Iranian vessel *Ana* as a U.S.-planned operation, but notes Iran's ambassador framed it as Russia's responsibility. He expects a "permanent war" of limited retaliation rather than major escalation, constrained by U.S. electoral concerns over inflation and casualties.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/528736/Iran-s-strikes-undermined-Israel-s-long-standing-military-superiority

📰 Foreign Ministry: Iran's epic defense continues against illegal US aggression

The Foreign Ministry has issued a statement praising the Armed Forces' "unmatched sacrifice" in defending Iran's sovereignty, reaffirming the nation's commitment to resistance until "all enemy aggression is repelled."

The Ministry emphasized that Iran is exercising its inherent right to self-defense under international law against ongoing US violations of the 28 Khordad ceasefire agreement, including a naval blockade, brutal strikes on civilian infrastructure, and economic warfare. It condemned the UN Security Council's inaction, stating that US actions meet all three criteria under Article 39 of the UN Charter—a threat to peace, a breach of peace, and an act of aggression.

The statement described the 75-year legacy of US hostility against Iran, citing the 1953 CIA-backed coup, and exposed the "false pretexts" used to justify the current aggression. It said the July 17 attack coincided with the martyr's funeral and was triggered by "contrived incidents" involving vessels transiting unauthorized southern routes—contrary to Article 5 of the ceasefire MoU.

Tehran stressed that defensive strikes target the source of US attacks, not regional states, and called on neighboring governments to stop facilitating US-Israeli aggression. The Foreign Ministry reaffirmed that this battle is not only for Iran's sovereignty but also for international law and shared human values against violent colonial ambitions.