May 31: Qalibaf says Iran pushing back enemy, as IRGC downs another enemy drone

By Press TV Website Staff

Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf said Sunday that Iran is pushing back the enemy in a "history-making" war by relying on national unity.

Meanwhile, a new University of Tehran poll found that nearly two-thirds of Iranians take pride in the country's position on the international stage after the recent US-Israeli war of aggression against the country.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) air defence units shot down a US MQ-1 Predator drone that entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.

The IRGC Navy reported 28 commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, while officials said contacts with Washington remain focused on ending the war and preventing renewed aggression.

Key developments on day 93 of the war, the fifty-third day of the ceasefire:

• Parliament Speaker Qalibaf on Sunday said Iran, relying on national unity, is pushing back the enemy in a “history-making” war.
• A recent poll conducted by the University of Tehran found that nearly two-thirds of Iranians take pride in the country’s position on the international stage, despite years of political pressure and media campaigns against Iran.
• IRGC Deputy for Political Affairs Second Brigadier General Yadollah Javani said US President Donald Trump has no good option about Iran and has to choose between a “bad” or “worse” path.
• The IRGC Navy said 28 more commercial vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours after receiving permission and coordinating their transit with the Iranian naval forces.
• The IRGC air defence units detected and successfully shot down an intruding MQ-1 Predator drone belonging to the “aggressor US military”, shortly after it encroached upon Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.
• The spokespersons of the Iranian Army and the foreign ministry underscored the close coordination between the country's military capabilities and diplomatic instruments, describing the two as complementary pillars in protecting the country's national interests, security, and dignity.
• Deputy Army Commander for Coordination, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, strongly warned the adversaries against attempting fresh aggression against the country, asserting that such a miscalculation will receive a response more forceful than previous retaliation
• Iran's deputy parliament speaker, Hamid Reza Haji Babayi, said the country should increase its use of land trade routes to circumvent a US naval blockade. Iran has vast potential to activate imports and exports through land and sea borders that avoid its southern waters, he stated.
• The commander-in-chief of the IRGC praised young Iranian athletes for recent sporting victories, describing them as a source of national pride in the wake of the US-Israeli war of aggression imposed against the country.
• Esmail Kowsari, member of the Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, said ongoing talks with the United States are focused on ending the war and preventing a renewed aggression, adding that Iran's nuclear issue is no longer part of the negotiations.
• Iran has resumed gas production at three offshore platforms in the South Pars field after output was suspended due to Israeli strikes that disrupted processing operations at onshore facilities.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) forcibly shut down the Iranian Red Crescent Hospital in Dubai, expelled patients from the facility, froze its assets, and subjected its director to interrogations, according to the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society.
• Israel has been caught off guard by the scale and intensity of Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks, launched in response to the regime’s expanded ground offensive and deadly airstrikes in southern Lebanon, Hebrew Channel 13 reported.
• The Federation of Labour and Health Unions in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, issued a strong condemnation of the latest Israeli aggression targeting Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, saying killings of health workers have reached a “dangerous level.”
• Pakistan firmly rejected speculation about joining the so-called Abraham Accords after US President Donald Trump urged Muslim-majority nations to normalize relations with Israel as part of what he described as a broader “regional peace initiative.”
• The Handala hacking group said it has targeted the databases of Israel’s so-called "National Center for Support of Holocaust Victims" and managed to gain access to a large amount of information from the center.

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