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Shiite Islam may be the official religion in Iran, but entering Tehran’s brand-new Maryam Moghaddas metro station, you could be forgiven for feeling as if you’re stepping inside a Christian church.Maryam Moghaddas in Persian translates as “Holy Mary”. And the station’s vaulted and arched concourse, with a dome decorated with Persian motifs, features religious frescoes and artworks honouring Christianity’s Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ.Mary is also a venerated figure in Islam. And she is depicted here in prayer with her eyes closed, a white dove hovering just above her head. Another artwork, along the platform, depicts her son Jesus Christ, who appears to be watching over passengers as they wait for their train.The Virgin Mary enjoys universal respect in Iran, and she is a figure seen to be able to foster ties between believers of whatever religion.Maryam is also one of the most common female names in the country.”Every single element you see at this station was designed so that when someone passes through here, they understand that our goal was to respect other religions, Christianity in particular,” Tina Tarigh Mehr, the artist behind the works, told AFP.”This bird (the white dove) is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The olive tree is a symbol of peace and friendship,” she said during a tour organised for the press on Saturday, ahead of the station’s upcoming public opening.- Woman and ‘purity’ -In Iran, a vast multicultural country, Shiite Islam is the official state religion. However, the Constitution recognises Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity as minority religions, each of which has its own representatives in the Iranian parliament.Christianity was present in this part of the world long before the rise of Islam during the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century AD.”This station recalls the divine woman who awakened the world through her purity and by nurturing a great prophet,” said Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani on X.He added that the building was designed to “showcase the coexistence of divine religions in Tehran.”The official number of Christians living in Iran is unknown, but various sources estimate it at between 130,000 and one million.In Tehran, a metropolis of over 10 million people, the Saint Sarkis Cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church is one of its most visible symbols.It is located near the new station, the construction of which began 10 years ago.The first metro line in Iran opened in Tehran in 1999 and currently the Iranian capital has approximately 160 operational stations.Several are renowned for their artistic finesse, a clever blend of modern architecture and traditional Persian elements.

Hamas said it will hand over the bodies of two hostages later on Saturday, after Israel warned that the main crossing from Egypt into Gaza would remain shut until the Palestinian group returns the remains of all deceased captives.The UN relief chief meanwhile called for massive humanitarian support for the devastated Gaza Strip during a tour of the area.Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said on its Telegram channel that the group would “handover at 10:00 PM (1900 GMT) today the bodies of two Israeli captives, whose remains were recovered earlier today in the Gaza Strip”.Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has so far released all 20 living hostages, along with the remains of nine Israelis and one Nepalese.The most recent handover was on Friday night, that of the body identified by Israel as Eliyahu Margalit, who died aged 75 in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and 135 other bodies of Palestinians since the truce came into effect on October 10.The Palestinian mission in Cairo announced that the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt could open as early as Monday, though only for Gazans living in Egypt who wished to return to the territory. Shortly after, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had “directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice”. “Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and in implementing the agreed-upon framework,” it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal.Further delays to the reopening of Rafah could complicate the task facing Tom Fletcher, the UN head of humanitarian relief, who was in Gaza on Saturday.  The British diplomat and his team travelled in a convoy of SUVs to see a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. “I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation — this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland — and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP.- Digging latrines -Surveying the damaged pumping equipment and a lake of sewage at the Sheikh Radwan wastewater plant, Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a “massive, massive job”.He said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes who were trying to dig latrines in the ruins.”They’re telling me most of all they want dignity,” he said. “We’ve got to get the power back on so we can start to get the sanitation system back in place.”We have a massive 60-day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school.”The Rafah crossing has yet to reopen but, just over a week since the brokering of the truce, hundreds of trucks are rolling in each day via Israeli checkpoints and aid is being distributed.According to figures supplied to mediators by the Israeli military’s civil affairs agency and released by the UN humanitarian office, on Thursday some 950 trucks carrying aid and commercial supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel.Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines, and Turkey has a team of rescue specialists waiting at the border to help find hostage bodies in the rubble.- ‘What did they do wrong? -Some violent has persisted despite the ceasefire. Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said on Saturday that it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians — two men, three women and four children — from the Shaaban family after Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus.Two more victims were blown apart in the blast and their remains have yet to be recovered, it said. At Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital, the victims were laid out in white shrouds as their relatives mourned.  “My daughter, her children and her husband; my son, his children and his wife were killed. What did they do wrong?” demanded grandmother Umm Mohammed Shaaban. “They were little… What did they do wrong? There is no truce.”The military said it had fired on a vehicle that approached the so-called “yellow line”, to which its forces withdrew under the terms of the ceasefire, and gave no estimate of casualties “The troops fired warning shots toward the suspicious vehicle, but the vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them,” the military said.”The troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement.”burs-dc-jd/spm/dcp

Israel warned on Saturday the main gateway into Gaza from Egypt would remain shut while Hamas recovered the bodies of former hostages, just as the UN relief chief said the devastated territory needed massive humanitarian support.The Palestinian mission in Cairo had announced that the Rafah crossing could open as early as Monday, though only for Gazans living in Egypt who wished to return to the territory. Shortly after, however, Netanyahu’s office said he had “directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice”. “Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and in implementing the agreed-upon framework,” it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal.Further delays to the reopening of Rafah could complicate the task facing Tom Fletcher, the UN head of humanitarian relief, who was in Gaza on Saturday.  The British diplomat and his team travelled in a convoy of SUVs to see a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. “I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation — this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland — and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP.The densely populated cities of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, have largely been reduced to ruins by two years of bombardment and intense fighting between Hamas and the Israeli military.The Rafah crossing has yet to reopen but, just over a week since the brokering of the truce, hundreds of trucks are rolling in each day via Israeli checkpoints and aid is being distributed.- Digging latrines -Surveying the damaged pumping equipment and a lake of sewage at the Sheikh Radwan wastewater plant, Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a “massive, massive job”.He said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes who were trying to dig latrines in the ruins.”They’re telling me most of all they want dignity,” he said. “We’ve got to get the power back on so we can start to get the sanitation system back in place.”We have a massive 60-day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school.”According to figures supplied to mediators by the Israeli military’s civil affairs agency and released by the UN humanitarian office, on Thursday some 950 trucks carrying aid and commercial supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel.Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines, and Turkey has a team of rescue specialists waiting at the border to help find hostage bodies in the rubble.Some violent has persisted despite the ceasefire. Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said on Saturday that it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians — two men, three women and four children — from the Shaaban family after Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus.Two more victims were blown apart in the blast and their remains have yet to be recovered, it said. At Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital, the victims were laid out in white shrouds as their relatives mourned.  “My daughter, her children and her husband; my son, his children and his wife were killed. What did they do wrong?” demanded grandmother Umm Mohammed Shaaban. “They were little… What did they do wrong? There is no truce.”The military said it had fired on a vehicle that approached the so-called “yellow line”, to which its forces withdrew under the terms of the ceasefire, and gave no estimate of casualties “The troops fired warning shots toward the suspicious vehicle, but the vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them,” the military said.”The troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement.”- Hostage remains -Hamas has returned the final 20 surviving hostages it was holding and has begun to hand over the remains of another 28 who died.On Friday night, it turned over a body identified by Israel as Eliyahu “Churchill” Margalit, a resident of Nir Oz kibbutz who died aged 75 in the October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in Gaza.”He was a cowboy at heart, and for many years managed the cattle branch and the horse stables of Nir Oz,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a support group founded by relatives of the hostages. “On October 7, he went out to feed his beloved horses and was kidnapped from the stable.”Margalit was married with three children and three grandchildren. His daughter Nili Margalit, also taken hostage, was freed during the war’s first brief truce in November 2023.burs-dc/jd/dcp

The United Nations’ aid chief took stock of the monumental task of restoring basic necessities in the devastated Gaza Strip on Saturday, as Israel and Hamas exchanged more human remains.In a short convoy of white UN jeeps, relief coordinator Tom Fletcher and his team wound their way through the twisted rubble of shattered homes to inspect a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City. “I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation, this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland, and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP.The densely packed cities of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, have been reduced to ruins by two years of bombardment and intense fighting between Hamas and the Israeli army.Just over a week since US President Donald Trump helped broker a truce, the main border crossing to Egypt has yet to be reopened, but hundreds of trucks roll in daily via Israeli checkpoints and aid is being distributed.Hamas has returned the final 20 surviving hostages it was holding and has begun to hand over the remains of another 28 who died.On Friday night, it turned over a body identified by Israel as Eliyahu Margalit, 75, who died in the October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war in Gaza.On Saturday, in line with the terms of the ceasefire deal, Israel returned the bodies of 15 more Palestinians to Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.- Digging latrines -Surveying the damaged pumping equipment and a grim lake of sewage at the Sheikh Radwan wastewater plant, Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a “massive, massive job”.The British diplomat said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes trying to dig latrines in the ruins.”They’re telling me most of all they want dignity,” he said. “We’ve got to get the power back on so we can start to get the sanitation system back in place.”We have a massive 60 day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school.”According to figures supplied to mediators by the Israeli military’s civil affairs agency and released by the UN humanitarian office, on Thursday some 950 trucks carrying aid and commercial supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel.Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines, and Turkey has a team of rescue specialists waiting at the border to help find bodies in the rubble.Some violent incidents have taken place despite the ceasefire. Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said Saturday that it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians from the Shaaban family after Israeli troops opened fire on a bus.The military said it had fired on a vehicle that approached the so-called “yellow line”, to which its forces withdrew under the terms of the ceasefire. “The troops fired warning shots toward the suspicious vehicle, but the vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them,” the military said.”The troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement.”- Hostage remains -Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the ceasefire but is under pressure at home to restrict access to Gaza until the remaining bodies of the hostages taken during Hamas’s brutal attacks have been returned.On Saturday, his office confirmed that the latest body, returned by Hamas via the Red Cross on Friday night, had been identified as Margalit, an elderly farmer who was known to his friends at the Nir Oz kibbutz as “Churchill”.”He was a cowboy at heart, and for many years managed the cattle branch and the horse stables of Nir Oz,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a support group founded by relatives of the hostages. “On October 7, he went out to feed his beloved horses and was kidnapped from the stable.”Margalit had been married with three children and three grandchildren. His daughter Nili Margalit, also taken hostage, was freed during the war’s first brief truce in November 2023.In its statement about Margalit, Netanyahu’s office said “we will not compromise… and will spare no effort until we return all of the fallen abductees, down to the last one”. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Friday that the group “continues to uphold its commitment to the ceasefire agreement… and it will continue working to complete the full prisoner exchange process”. Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, negotiated by Trump and regional mediators, the Palestinian militant group has returned all 20 surviving hostages and the remains of 10 out of 28 deceased ones.burs-dc/smw