Iran welcomes Gaza peace plan but stresses Palestine must decide own fate

China

Iran welcomes Gaza peace plan but stresses Palestine must decide own fate

2025-10-09 17:09 Last Updated At：20:07

Iran has said it welcomes the agreement between Israel and Hamas on implementing the first face of a U.S.-backed peace plan, but stressed that Palestine must decides its own fate.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of the peace plan designed to end the Gaza conflict and secure the release of hostages.

At a press conference on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei emphasized that Tehran welcomes efforts to end the war in Gaza and provide humanitarian aid, yet expressed skepticism regarding the proposal.

"We welcome any initiative that leads to stopping the genocide in Gaza and providing assistance to the oppressed people of occupied Palestine. We support any plan that recognizes the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and ends the occupation and crimes by the Zionist regime," said Baghaei.

The spokesman also cautioned against repeating the mistakes of past peace initiatives, which he claimed undermined the rights of Palestinians.

"We have serious concerns about this plan and its consequences. Decisions about Palestine's fate must be made by the Palestinian people themselves, free from external pressure or interference," said Baghaei.

The peace plan outlines a ceasefire-for-hostages deal, a phased Israeli withdrawal, a demilitarized Gaza, and international oversight of Gaza's reconstruction and governance after the end of the conflict. Hamas will be excluded from the governance structure.

EU expects economy to expand moderately

The European Commission's autumn 2025 economic forecast shows that driven by a surge in exports in anticipation of U.S. tariff increases, the European Union's (EU) economy maintained growth in the third quarter of this year, and it is expected to continue expanding at a moderate pace over the forecast horizon.

In the report released on Monday, the Commission said the gross domestic product (GDP) of the EU is expected to grow 1.4 percent in 2025, with the eurozone expanding 1.3 percent. Growth in 2026 is forecast at 1.4 percent for the EU and 1.2 percent for the eurozone, both slightly lower than projections made in May.

Eurozone headline inflation is projected to ease to 2.1 percent this year from 2.4 percent in 2024. Inflation across the EU is seen declining from 2.6 percent in 2024 to 2.2 percent in 2027, remaining slightly above the eurozone rate.

Due to the increase in defence spending, the EU's fiscal deficit is expected to rise to 3.4 percent of GDP in 2027 from 3.1 percent in 2024. The EU debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to rise from 84.5 percent in 2024 to 85 percent in 2027, with the eurozone ratio set to rise from around 88 percent to 90.4 percent.

The forecast noted that globally, trade barriers have reached historic highs, and the EU now faces higher average tariffs on exports to the U.S. compared with the spring forecast. Persistent trade policy uncertainty continues to weigh on economic activity, with tariffs and non-tariff restrictions potentially constraining EU growth more than expected. Any escalation in geopolitical tensions could intensify supply shocks, it noted.