WATCH PRESS TV NEWS HEADLINES

Here is a brief look at Press TV newsroom's headlines from 18:00 GMT, June 12, to 08:00 GMT, June 13, 2017.

Iran secures berth at World Cup

Iran qualify for the 2018 Football World Cup by a two-nil victory against Uzbekistan in Azadi stadium in the capital Tehran. The country becomes the second team in the group-A to qualify for next year's World Cup in Russia. Iran started the Match STRONG, and managed to take the lead midway through the first half, after Sardar Azmoun beat the offside trap, and rippled the net with a low shot. And TWO minutes later, Mahdi Taaremi made it two-nil, and sealed Iran’s passage to the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia. Brazil were the first team to qualify for the finals.

‘US destabilizing region’

The Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution has blamed the United States and its proxies for creating instability in the Middle East. Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said that the US created Daesh and therefore its claim of fighting the terrorist group is a lie. He added that Washington would also strongly oppose those trying to eliminate this phenomenon. Iran’s leader said that many problems with the US cannot be resolved since Washington is against the essence of the Islamic Republic. Speaking about Iran’s nuclear deal with the P-Five-Plus one group of countries, Ayatollah Khamenei noted that Iranian officials should carefully observe if the terms of the agreement are implemented by the other side. He also called on the Iranian officials not to trust Tehran’s enemies.

Kuwait warning

Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul-Rahman Al Thani has denounced the Saudi-led sanctions against his country, calling them unfair and illegal. Thani, who is in Paris on a diplomatic visit, reiterated his previous remarks that the accusations against Doha have reasons other than the charges. He added that diplomacy and dialogue based on clear foundations can resolve the crisis and voiced support for Kuwait's mediation efforts. Meanwhile, Kuwait's emir has cautioned that the ongoing dispute can lead to "undesirable consequences." Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said he would do everything to stop the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council from falling apart. The six-member council has been locked in a new crisis since Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain plus Egypt announced the break of their diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Russia protest

A court in Russia has sentenced opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, to 30 days of administrative detention. Authorities said Navalny was arrested before joining an anti-government rally on Monday. He was charged of repeatedly staging unsanctioned rallies and resisting arrest. Over one thousand five hundred people were also reportedly detained following clashes between police and supporters of Navalny in the capital Moscow. Officials had agreed to allow the rally in certain areas. The scuffles broke out as demonstrators defied the permit and gathered on an access road to the presidential palace. Navalny who is set to run for president in the 2018 election, accuses the government of corruption. Kremlin dismisses the allegation as smear campaign.

Saudi blockade of Yemen

Nearly ten thousand Yemeni civilians in need of medical treatment have lost their lives due to the Saudi blockade of Yemen. A spokesman of the Ministry of Public Health and Population of Yemen said that about 75-thousand Yemenis, at the moment, require urgent medical treatment abroad. Abdul Hakim Kahlani said that people can’t receive the treatment due to Saudi Arabia’s continued aggression and its siege of Sana’a International Airport. The official added that based on the UN reports, one Yemeni child dies every ten minutes from preventable causes like diarrhoea, breathing infections and malnutrition. Kahlani described the Saudi air restriction as one of the greatest crimes in history. Saudi Arabia has been waging war on the impoverished nation since 2015. Over 12,000 Yemenis have been killed in the Saudi aggression.

Gaza power crisis

The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas has warned of catastrophic consequences if Israel cuts electricity supply to the besieged Gaza strip. A Hamas spokesman says any reduction will be dangerous and speed up the deteriorating situation in Gaza. That after an Israeli official said Tel Aviv was preparing to reduce the amount of power supply at the request of the Palestinian Authority. The West Bank-based governing body has been covering the power bill for Gaza, which already gets just four hours of electricity a day. The Palestinians have warned of an impending crisis in health care and the environment in the coastal enclave.

‘Global threat’

The US undersecretary of state has voiced concern about the success of North Korea’s nuclear and inter-continental missile programs. Thomas Shannon has warned that North Korea’s possible success in that area would make Pyongyang "a global threat." Shannon made the comments in Tokyo after a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister’s top national security advisor. Tensions have recently intensified on the Korean peninsula following a number of missile tests by the North, raising the prospects of a military confrontation.

Ready to respond

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has held closed-door talks with EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, in Oslo. Zarif and Mogherini were planned to focus on the latest tensions in the Middle East. Zarif said, before the meeting, that they would also discuss the unconstructive policies of the U-S regarding the Iran nuclear deal. Earlier, Zarif told reporters after meeting his Norwegian counterpart that the U-S administration will end up abiding by the accord. Zarif also slammed the recent U-S Senate push to impose fresh sanctions on Iran as short-sighted. He pledged that Tehran will respond in kind to any violation of the nuclear deal. On June seventh, the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee voted for moving forward a bill to impose new sanctions on Iran over its missile program. Iran has repeatedly said the nature of its missile program is defensive and non-negotiable.

Driving out Daesh

US-backed forces in Syria have made further advances against Daesh terrorists in the city of Raqqah. A spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces or S-D-F says the group has reached the walls of the old city in Eastern Raqqah. The spokesman added that fierce clashes with Daesh terrorists are ongoing in Al-SANAA industrial district in the city’s east. The S-D-F began attacking Raqqah last Tuesday. The force, which is made up of Kurdish and Arab militants, has taken territory to the west, east and north of the Daesh strong hold. Thousands of terrorists are said to remain in the city.

Low-level and shocking

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says he was shocked by the state of military readiness to fight due to years of budget caps. Mattis slammed congress for confronting budget challenges saying it has sidelined itself from its active constitutional oversight role by blocking new programs and preventing service growth that placed troops at greater risk. Mattis urged the lawmakers to approve US president’s proposed army budget for the 2018 fiscal year, which is 639 billion dollars. Meanwhile Republicans are seeking to thirty million more to be added to the budget.But Democrats are worried about where the extra funding will come from, given the Trump administration’s pressure to cut taxes.

Crisis continues in Venezuela

An anti-government rally in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, has turned into a fire incident as protesters set ablaze a building. The fire started when the demonstrators attacked a court branch with Molotov cocktail bombs, damaging a bank and a kindergarten in the same building as well. The incident came after a court ruling that rejected a challenge by country’s chief prosecutor to a government plan to elect a constituent assembly. President Nicolas Maduro wants to rewrite the Constitution and argues that a constituent assembly is necessary to address inflation and product shortages. The opposition says the move aims to alter the rules in favor of the government to keep Maduro in power.

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