Iran wins backing of BRICS allies over Israel, US strikes

Leaders attending the 17th annual BRICS summit pose for a group photo in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 06 July 2025
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Iran wins backing of BRICS allies over Israel, US strikes

  • The 11-nation grouping said the strikes “constituted a violation of international law”

RIO DE JANEIRO: Iran won the support of fellow BRICS nations meeting in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, with the bloc condemning recent Israel and US air strikes that hit military, nuclear and other targets.

“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025,” leaders said in a summit statement, without naming the United States or Israel.

“We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” the bloc said.

The 11-nation grouping said the strikes “constitute a violation of international law.”

The declaration is a diplomatic victory for Tehran, which has received limited regional or global support after a 12-day bombing campaign by the Israeli military, which culminated in US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

The BRICS gathering includes Israel’s arch foe Iran, but also nations like Russia and China, which have ties with Tehran.

BRICS diplomats had been in disagreement over how strongly to denounce Israel’s bombing of Iran and its actions in Gaza, but ultimately strengthened their language at Tehran’s request.


More than 100 Palestinians detained in West Bank since start of Ramadan, including women, children

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More than 100 Palestinians detained in West Bank since start of Ramadan, including women, children

  • Arrests by Israelis accompanied by extensive field interrogation

RAMALLAH: Israeli forces have detained more than 100 Palestinians from the West Bank since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, including women, children, and former prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reported on Sunday.

The organization said the detentions coincided with Israel’s announcement of the intensification of such actions during Ramadan, with recent settler attacks providing cover for widespread detentions across most West Bank governorates, including Jerusalem. Many detainees from Jerusalem have been barred from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

A statement pointed out that arrests by Israelis are accompanied by extensive field interrogation which often targets all sections of Palestinian society.

Documented violations accompanying detentions include severe beatings, organized terror campaigns against detainees and their families, destruction and looting of homes, confiscation of vehicles, money and gold, demolition of family homes, use of family members as hostages, employment of prisoners as human shields, and extrajudicial executions.

The society stressed that Israel exploits detention campaigns to expand settlement activity in the West Bank, with settlers serving as a key tool to impose a new reality.

The Palestinian Detainees Affairs Commission has revealed harrowing details of the abuses faced by Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Wajih Mahamid from Jenin during his incarceration in Israeli prisons.

The commission said that on Nov. 15, 2023, Mahamid was severely beaten on his right knee with a baton used by prison guards, causing a serious injury that left him unable to walk without crutches.

He was beaten again on the same knee on March 29, 2025, resulting in severe swelling which was later confirmed to be a fracture. Despite his condition, the prison authorities only provided painkillers and refused to transfer him to hospital, maintaining a policy of deliberate medical neglect.

The commission stressed that these abuses reflected the harsh reality faced by Palestinian detainees, who are deprived of basic human rights, medical treatment and care.