Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran's First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri said Sunday that Iran is prepared to frustrate U.S. Nov. 4 sanctions on its crude exports.

The Iranian government has prepared plans to counter the impacts of returning U.S. sanctions by maintaining oil exports above one million barrels per day, Jahangiri was quoted as saying by Press TV.

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories), Oct  29; GANASHAKTI: Three Palestinians were killed Sunday in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip, the health ministry in the enclave said.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said emergency crews were transporting the bodies of the dead, who appeared to be in their early teens, to hospital in Gaza.

The Israeli military said that one of its aircrafts had fired on a group of Palestinians near the Gaza border.

By Erric Permana

JAKARTA, Indonesia; 28 Oct 2018; Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday condemned Israeli airstrikes that damaged a hospital in northern Gaza.

"The attack not only damaged our hospital but also the surrounding area," President Joko Widodo said in Sidoarjo Regency Hall on Sunday.

The president added that support for the independence of the Palestinian people from Israeli occupation has always been a priority for Indonesia's international diplomacy.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held plenty of grand opening ceremonies in his 15 years at Turkey’s helm. On Monday he will unveil one of his prized jewels — Istanbul New Airport — a megaproject that has been dogged by concerns about labor rights, environmental issues and Turkey’s weakening economy.

ISTANBUL, October 27. /TASS/. The four-way summit on Syria did not touch upon Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s future in the country’s political system, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday at a news conference after the summit.

"Certainly, we did not discuss any individuals," the Russian leader said when asked about the al-Assad’s fate. "It is counterproductive if we seek a positive result at the end of our road."

ISTANBUL, October 28. /TASS/. Turkey is ready to launch legal proceedings into Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder if Saudi Arabia is reluctant to do so, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told reporters.

"The crime was committed in Istanbul, so if Saudi Arabia fails to continue its legal proceedings, the Turkish justice system will initiate them," he said.

TASS, October 28. Tehran expects that the US sanctions won’t reduce its oil exports to the level of less than 1 million barrels per day, First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said on Sunday, according to the IRNA news agency.

Over the past months, Iran has been exporting 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, Jahangiri said. The US cannot halt Iranian oil exports as there is no substitution for them on the market, he noted.

TEHRAN, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iranian parliament on Saturday approved all four ministers proposed by President Hassan Rouhani to reshuffle his cabinet.

Mohammad Eslami became the minister of transport and urban development with 151 votes in favor and Mohammad Shariatmadari got 196 votes to become the minister of cooperative, labor, and social welfare.

Farhad Dejpasand received 200 votes in favor to be the minister of economy and Reza Rahmani was approved by 203 votes as the minister of industry, mine and trade.

ISTANBUL (AP) — The leaders of Turkey, Russia, France and Germany said at a summit on Saturday that Syrians must lead efforts to make peace in their war-torn country, a challenge that was highlighted by the absence of any Syrian groups from the Istanbul talks.

Meeting in an Ottoman-era mansion, the leaders set aside divisions over Syrian President Bashar Assad to agree on broad goals, including the eventual, voluntary return of millions of refugees who fled a conflict that has lasted more than seven years and killed over 400,000 people.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants ceased rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel and relative calm prevailed Saturday afternoon after a night-long exchange of fire that prompted Israeli threats against Iranian forces in Syria.

The Islamic Jihad group, a militant faction operating in the Hamas-ruled Gaza but that has close ties to Iran and Syria, said they agreed to Egyptian mediation efforts and halted the rocket fire, the heaviest to emanate from Gaza in months.