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DUBAI Iranian rescuers have removed three bodies from the rubble of a high-rise building in Tehran that collapsed after a fire, a fire department spokesman said on Saturday, as hopes of finding survivors trapped beneath the shopping mall were fading.

"Because of rekindling fires and the extreme heat..., we feel that it is unfortunately unrealistic that anyone would survive, although our hope is that some may come out alive," fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki told state television.

The television quoted Maleki as saying equipment used to locate survivors had not given any indications on the third day of rescue efforts.

"The total number of those under the rubble, including the firemen, is a maximum of 25," Maleki said. "So far, three bodies have been brought out."

Iran's top emergency response official put the number of people buried in the building collapse at up to 30, many of them firefighters.

"Based on the available indications, the number of people under the rubble are between 25 and 30," Esmail Najjar, head of the National Disaster Management Organization, told the state news agency IRNA.

Officials had said on Friday that 25 people were still unaccounted for after the collapse of the 17-storey building on Thursday, in addition to 20 firefighters who were feared dead in the blaze.

At least two of the recovered bodies belonged to firemen and a third injured fireman had died in hospital, state TV reported.

"This is a lesson and a warning for all officials over the security of the lives of citizens, which is a civil right," President Hassan Rouhani told state TV during a visit to the site of the building on Saturday, declared a day of national mourning.

Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi visited the site of the building and said there were "no indications pointing to sabotage", the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Managers of the building, built 54 years ago, had ignored repeated warnings about poor safety standards and the building's weak structure, Tehran's mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said.

Authorities have estimated the damage at about $500 million, and said that most of the shops and businesses were not insured because safety standards had not been met.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alistair Bell)

JERUSALEM Israel approved building permits on Sunday for hundreds of homes in three East Jerusalem settlements, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump took office, expecting him to row back on the last administration's criticism of such projects.

BAGHDAD Islamic State detonated explosives in the largest hotel in western Mosul on Friday, in an attempt to destroy it and prevent Iraqi forces from using it as a landing spot or base in their offensive to capture the city, witnesses said on Sunday.

LONDON British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she would not be afraid to tell Donald Trump when she finds something he has said unacceptable, as she prepares to meet the new U.S. President in Washington this week.

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Iran rescuers find three bodies at collapsed building, hopes for survivors fade - Reuters

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly two dozen former top U.S. government officials have urged President-elect Donald Trump to work with Iran's opposition once in office, according to a letter obtained by Fox News.

A letter signed by 23 former officeholders calls on Trump to consult with the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The group has called for free elections and freedom of religion in Iran, as well as an end to what it calls Tehran's "religious dictatorship."

READ THE LETTER

While the Iranian government calls the group terrorists, the NCRIs network of supporters in Iran helped the U.S. with intelligence during the Iraq invasion. The group also helped expose Iran's nascent nuclear weapons program.

"Iran's rulers have directly targeted US strategic interests, policies and principles, and those of our allies and friends in the Middle East," the letter reads, in part. "To restore American influence and credibility in the world, the United States needs a revised policy."

The letter's signatories include former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani; former Sen. Joe Lieberman; and retired Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton.

IRAN DISSIDENTS SEEKING MEETING WITH TRUMP

Last month, Fox obtained a letter to Trump from a group of Iranian dissidents that urged the president-elect to follow through on his campaign promise to revisit the nuclear deal between Iran and six global powers, including the U.S.

"I think what's being offered here is to say, 'Look, there is an opposition in Iran,'" former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton told Fox News. "It's a lot of different pieces, like all opposition movements [and] a lot of the groups don't get on well together, but let's be clear: There is an alternative to the ayatollahs."

The Trump transition team has not given any official response to the letter, and it's unclear whether Trump has any plans to take a meeting with Iran dissidents and groups.

Earlier Sunday, Iran's deputy foreign minister told reporters that "the new U.S. administration cannot abandon the deal."Abbas Araghchi added that the agreement "will not be renegotiated" and repeated an earlier warning by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who publicly stated, "If they tear it up, we will burn it," without elaborating.

Fox News' Eric Shawn and Ben Evansky contributed to this report.

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Former U.S. officials urge Trump administration to work with ...

A historic high-rise building in the heart of Iran's capital caught fire and later collapsed Thursday, killing at least 30 firefighters and leaving their stunned colleagues and bystanders weeping in the streets.

The disaster at the 17-story Plasco building, inadvertently shown live on state television, came after authorities said they repeatedly warned tenants about blocking stairwells with fabric from cramped garment workshops on its upper floors.

Firefighters, soldiers and other emergency responders dug through the debris into the night, looking for survivors. While it was not clear how many people were in the steel-and-concrete building, witnesses said many had slipped through a police cordon while the fire burned to go back inside for their belongings.

"They asked us ... using loudspeakers to evacuate the building, but some people went inside again, saying their precious documents, their bank checks, their entire life was in their shops," said witness Masoud Hosseini. "They went inside to fetch those documents. I felt like they cared about their belongings, checks and money more than their lives.

"Firefighters went inside to bring them out, and then suddenly the building collapsed," Hosseini said.

Iranian authorities did not immediately release definitive casualty figures, which is common in unfolding disasters.

Iran's state-run Press TV announced the firefighters' deaths, without giving a source for the information. Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said more than 20 bodies of firefighters had been recovered by Thursday night.

Local state television said 30 civilians were injured, while the state-run IRNA news agency said 45 firefighters had been injured.

Firefighters began battling the blaze around 8 a.m., some 3 1/2 hours before the collapse. The fire appeared to be the most intense on the upper floors, the site of workshops where tailors cooked for themselves and used old kerosene heaters for warmth.

The building came down in seconds, shown live on state television , which had begun an interview with a journalist at the scene. One side collapsed first, tumbling perilously close to a firefighter perched on a ladder and spraying water on the blaze.

A thick plume of brown smoke rose over the site afterward, and onlookers wailed in grief.

"God willing, nothing happened to firefighters who were there," the journalist said, then began crying.

Watching the disaster unfold was Masoumeh Kazemi, who said she rushed to the building because her two sons and a brother worked in the garment workshops on the upper floors.

"I do not know where they are now," Kazemi said, crying.

In a nearby intersection, Abbas Nikkhoo stood with tears in his eyes.

"My nephew was working in a workshop there," he said. "He has been living with me since moving to Tehran last year from the north of the country in hopes of finding a job."

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed sorrow over the fire in a statement and praised the courage and sacrifice of the firefighters.

President Hassan Rouhani ordered Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to investigate the disaster, IRNA reported. Rouhani also ordered the ministry to ensure the injured were cared for and immediately compensate those affected by the disaster. Rouhani, whose administration struck the nuclear deal with world powers, will probably be standing for re-election in May.

The cause of the blaze wasn't immediately known. However, fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki said authorities had visited the building often to warn tenants about conditions there.

"Everyone stacked up goods outside their shops and in the staircases and corridors," Maleki said. "We warned them many times, but they wouldn't listen."

In the hours after the collapse, authorities also described the building as having a "weak structure," without elaborating.

Another fire broke out later Thursday at a building next to the collapsed tower, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Firefighters worked into the night to extinguish it.

The Plasco building was an iconic presence on Tehran's skyline, one of the first to rise against the backdrop of the snowcapped Mount Damavand. Opened in 1962, it was the first privately owned tower to be built during the era of the U.S.-backed shah, when oil money fueled the capital's rapid development.

The tower, the tallest in Tehran at the time and just north of the sprawling Grand Bazaar, got its name from the plastics manufacturing company owned by its builder, Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution that overthrew the shah, Iran's new clerical rulers had Elghanian tried on charges that included spying for Israel. He was executed by firing squad an outcome that prompted many of the remaining members of the country's longstanding Jewish community to flee.

The state-controlled Islamic Revolution Mostazafan Foundation took ownership of the building. The foundation, which has ties to the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, made no immediate statement about the collapse.

The fire was the worst in Tehran since a 2005 blaze at a historic mosque killed 59 worshippers and injured nearly 200 others.

Thursday's disaster stunned the city. Firefighters openly wept on the streets, holding each other for support. Dozens of people lined up to donate blood.

"It is a humanitarian duty," said Gholamreza Heidari, a university student. "It is nothing compared to the dedication that our firefighters showed in rescuing people."

Associated Press

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Iran shocked by raging fire that collapsed iconic high-rise ...

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Trump Vs. Iran: Going Beyond The JCPOA Forbes Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) sits next to Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, after they received the Medal of Honor for their role in the implementation of a nuclear deal with world powers, on February ... Trouble for Trump: Iran, North Korea, Palestine, ChinaAljazeera.com Iran: Trump's Comments 'Psychologically Affected' Nuclear DealBreitbart News Can Europe Save the Iran Deal?National Iranian American Council Reuters -Jewish Telegraphic Agency -Huffington Post all 277 news articles »

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Trump Vs. Iran: Going Beyond The JCPOA - Forbes

Ahistoric high-rise in the heart of Tehran caught fire and collapsed Thursday in a giant cloud of smoke, killing dozens of firefighters who were battling the blaze, Iranian news media reported.

At least 50 firefighters were killed in the collapse of the 17-story Plasco Building, a symbol of modernity that was constructed in the early 1960s, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said.

Local news media quoted emergency operations officials as saying at least 70 people were believed trapped under the wreckage. More than two dozen had been hospitalized.

Rescue dogs were helping the hunt for survivors as police cordoned off several blocks in an area populated with embassies just north of the capitals main bazaar.

President Hassan Rouhani issued a statement asking the Interior Ministry to investigate the cause of the fire, which broke out on the top floors shortly after 8 a.m. while garment merchants were doing business and tour guides were leading visitors through the building.

Videos on television and social media captured the shock of Iranians at the scene, some bursting into tears, others holding their heads.

This landmark of modernity is gone, said Siavash Ramesh, a tour guide who was working in the building Thursday morning.

The building was a familiar and beloved part of the low-slung capitals scattered skyline, erected during a decade of rapid economic growth under Irans former monarchy and attached to a large shopping mall.

A rectangular block that seemed drab by todays standards, it was for a generation of Iranians the tallest and most magnificent high-rise in the country.

It also stood out for its builder: a Jewish plastics tycoon, Habib Elghanian, who was executed in the months after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Irans ruling mullahs accused Elghanian, the head of a prominent association of Jewish Iranians, of spying for Israel, and that triggered an exodus of Jews from the country.

For some Iranians, the buildings collapse was akin to losing a family member.

Our landmark monument is gone, right before our eyes, said Nasrin Sadvand, a Tehran resident who was near the site.

Others saw deeper meaning in the buildings collapse. Ramesh, the tour guide, recalled the story of how a political activist who opposed the ruling theocracy was allegedly dropped from the top of the building by security agents for refusing to disclose sensitive information.

The building took revenge from the people who misused it, Ramesh said.

Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran and staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India

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UPDATES:

3:55 a.m.: Updated with Times reporting and a death toll of 50 firefighters.

2:35 a.m.: Updated with 75 injured.

1:35 a.m.: Updated with state-run media reporting 30 deaths.

12:55 a.m.: Updated with details and background on the tower.

This article was first published at 12:40 a.m.

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50 firefighters killed in Iran as burning high-rise collapses - Los Angeles Times