
'Strange phenomenon!': Iranian official says Israel used supernatural forces in war; accuses Netanyahu of 'jinn' tactics
A senior Iranian figure has claimed that Israel employed occult powers and supernatural forces during the recent 12-day conflict between the two countries.
Abdollah Ganji, the former editor of the IRGC-linked newspaper Javan, made the statement on Wednesday in a post on X.
'After the recent war, a few sheets of paper were found on the streets of Tehran containing talismans with Jewish symbols,' Ganji wrote calling it a 'strange phenomenon!'
He also referred to previous unverified reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had met with occult specialists during the early stages of the Gaza war. 'In the first year of the Gaza war, news had also leaked about Netanyahu meeting with occult specialists,' he said.
The Iranian official further claimed that the use of supernatural methods by foreign intelligence services had long been warned about by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. 'Hostile countries and Western and Hebrew intelligence services use occult sciences and jinn entities for espionage,' he quoted.
The post quickly sparked online backlash and mockery. Israel's political advisor to the permanent representative at the United Nations, Waleed Gadban, responded sarcastically by reposting a Mossad message with the Farsi caption, 'Jinn, jinn are everywhere,' followed by a ghost emoji.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
So sánh mức trượt giá: Hợp đồng tương lai (CFD) Bitcoin vs Ethereum
IC Markets
Tìm hiểu thêm
Undo
Several users ridiculed Ganji's comments. One wrote, 'If you say this nonsense anywhere else in the world, they'd send you to a mental hospital.' Another added, 'Mr Ganji, as soon as I was about to curse you out, I saw that friends had already pointed out that you're an idiot, so we shouldn't take you seriously.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
12 minutes ago
- First Post
Doval, Jaishankar to visit Moscow this month amid Trump's 'dead economies' criticism and trade penalty
NSA Ajit Doval and EAM S Jaishankar are set to visit Moscow this month. The visits come shortly after Trump slammed India's close ties with Russia as 'dead economies' and announced new tariffs and penalties read more Advertisement External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday. X - @DrSJaishankar National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are expected to visit Moscow this month, The Economic Times reported. Doval could travel in early August, while Jaishankar is likely to visit around mid-month. This comes following harsh remarks by Donald Trump, who called India and Russia 'dead economies' and announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods along with penalties. He also warned of penalties for countries maintaining strategic trade ties with Russia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Senior Indian officials clarified that the new penalties are aimed at India's growing energy and defence ties with Moscow. India's import of Russian crude has surged from just 0.2 per cent before the Ukraine war to nearly 40 per cent of its total oil purchases, making it Russia's second-biggest buyer after China. India has also continued to acquire advanced military equipment from Russia despite ongoing Western sanctions. Earlier, Trump on Thursday lashed out at both India and Russia, calling their economies 'dead' and saying he doesn't care about New Delhi's ties with Moscow. 'They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, also accusing India of having 'some of the highest tariffs in the world,' which he claimed hampers US-India trade. In the same post, Trump took a swipe at Russia's Deputy Security Council chief Dmitry Medvedev, calling him a 'failed former President' and warning him to 'watch his words,' saying he is 'entering very dangerous territory.'


Hans India
42 minutes ago
- Hans India
Protest rally on Aug 7 against attacks on Palestine
Khammam: A protest rally will be held in Khammam on Thursday to condemn the ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestine, particularly the killings of innocent children in Gaza. The rally, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, will begin at 10:00 am from Pavilion Ground and proceed to the Zilla Parishad Centre. Organisers said the violence in Gaza, including airstrikes on schools, hospitals, and civilian areas, has resulted in immense suffering, with unofficial figures reporting over 18,500 child deaths. The rally aims to raise awareness and demand immediate action from national and international bodies to stop the violence and restore peace. Palestine Solidarity Committee key man Ravi Maruth and other leaders of different parties and organisations participated in the programme.

The Hindu
42 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S. penalty risk on Russian oil may add $9-11 billion to India's import bill, analyst say
India's annual oil import bill could rise by $9-11 billion if the country is compelled to move away from Russian crude in response to U.S. threats of additional tariffs or penalties on Indian exports, analysts said. India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, has reaped significant benefits by swiftly substituting market-priced oil with discounted Russian crude following Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian oil, which accounted for less than 0.2% of India's imports before the war, now makes up 35-40% of the country's crude intake, helping reduce overall energy import costs, keep retail fuel prices in check, and contain inflation. Editorial | Soured relations: On Trump's 25% tariff, 'penalty' The influx of discounted Russian crude also enabled India to refine the oil and export petroleum products, including to countries that have imposed sanctions on direct imports from Russia. The twin strategy of Indian oil companies is posting record profits. This is, however, now under threat after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian oil and weapons. The 25% tariff has since been notified, but the penalty is yet to be specified. Coming within days of the European Union banning imports of refined products derived from Russian-origin crude, this presents a double whammy for Indian refiners. Sumit Ritolia, Lead Research Analyst (Refining & Modelling) at global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler, termed this as "a squeeze from both ends". EU sanctions — effective from January 2026 — may force Indian refiners to segment crude intake on one side, and on the other, the U.S. tariff threat raises the possibility of secondary sanctions that would directly hit the shipping, insurance, and financing lifelines underpinning India's Russian oil trade. "Together, these measures sharply curtail India's crude procurement flexibility, raise compliance risk, and introduce significant cost uncertainty," he said. Last fiscal, India spent over $137 billion on import of crude oil, which is refined into fuels like petrol and diesel. For refiners like Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy — who collectively account for a bulk (more than 50% in 2025) of the 1.7–2.0 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude imports into India - the challenge is acute. While Nayara is backed by Russian oil giant Rosneft and was sanctioned by the EU last month, Reliance has been a big fuel exporter to Europe. As one of the world's largest diesel exporters — and with total refined product exports to Europe averaging around 200,000 bpd in 2024 and 185,000 bpd so far in 2025 — Reliance has extensively utilised discounted Russian crude to boost refining margins over the past two years, according to Kpler. "The introduction of strict origin-tracking requirements now compels Reliance to either curtail its intake of Russian feedstock, potentially affecting cost competitiveness, or reroute Russian-linked products to non-EU markets," Mr. Ritolia said. However, Reliance's dual-refinery structure — a domestic-focused unit and an export-oriented complex — offers strategic flexibility. It can allocate non-Russian crude to its export-oriented refinery and continue meeting EU compliance standards, while processing Russian barrels at the domestic unit for other markets. Although redirecting diesel exports to Southeast Asia, Africa, or Latin America is operationally feasible, such a shift would involve narrower margins, longer voyage times, and increased demand variability, making it commercially less optimal, he said. Kpler data shows a notable decline in India's Russian crude imports in July (1.8 million bpd versus 2.1 million bpd in June), aligning with seasonal refinery maintenance and weaker monsoon-driven demand. However, the drop is more pronounced among state-run refiners, likely reflecting heightened compliance sensitivity amid mounting geopolitical risk. Private refiners, who account for over 50 per cent of Russian crude intake, have also begun reducing exposure, with fresh procurement diversification underway this week as concerns over US sanctions intensify. Mr. Ritolia said replacing Russian crude isn't plug-and-play. The Middle East is the logical fallback, but has constraints - contractual lock-in, pricing rigidity, and a mismatch in crude quality that affects product yield and refinery configuration. "The risk here is not just supply but profitability. Refiners will face higher feedstock costs, and in the case of complex units optimized for (Russian) Urals-like blends, even margins will be under pressure," he said. In the future course, Kpler believes India's complex private refiners — backed by robust trading arms and flexible configurations — are expected to pivot toward non-Russian barrels from the Middle East, West Africa, Latin America, or even the U.S., where economics permits. This shift, while operationally feasible, will be gradual and strategically aligned with evolving regulatory frameworks, contract structures, and margin dynamics. However, replacing Russian barrels in full is no easy feat — logistically daunting, economically painful, and geopolitically fraught. Supply substitution may be feasible on paper, but remains fraught in practice. "Financially, the implications are massive. Assuming a $5 per barrel discount lost across 1.8 million bpd, India could see its import bill swell by $9–11 billion annually. If global flat prices rise further due to reduced Russian availability, the cost could be higher," it said. This would increase fiscal strain, particularly if the government steps in to stabilize retail fuel prices. The cascading impact on inflation, currency, and monetary policy would be difficult to ignore.