Page 41 - Iran

Israeli airstrike in Syria kills another Iranian general; toll rises to 3

An Israeli airstrike Monday in a Damascus neighbourhood killed a high-ranking Iranian general, Iranian state media said. The killing of Razi Mousavi, a long-time adviser of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria, comes as clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border between Hezbollah and Israel continue to intensify with fears of the Israel-Hamas war sparking a regional spillover with Iran-backed groups. The Israeli strikes killed two other generals earlier this month in Syria. Israel struck the Sayida Zeinab neighbourhood, located near a Shiite Muslim shrine, Iran's official news agency IRNA and Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. IRNA described Mousavi as a close companion of Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force who was slain in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. Neither the Israeli military nor Syrian state media immediately issued a statement about the attack. Though IRNA didn't provide other

Iran's navy adds domestically manufactured cruise missiles to its arsenal

Iran's navy on Sunday added domestically produced sophisticated cruise missiles to its arsenal, state TV reported. The TV said both Talaeieh and Nasir cruise missiles have arrived at a naval base near the Indian Ocean in the southern Iranian port of Konarak, some 1,400 kilometers (850 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. Navy chief Adm. Shahram Irani said the Talaeieh has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and called it "fully smart. Irani said the cruise missile is capable of changing targets during travel. He said the Nasi has a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and can be installed on warships. Last month, a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack from a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, as Israel wages war on Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip. From time to time Iran announces the test firing, production and commissioning of new military equipment that cannot be independently verified. The country says it has a stock of

Oil tanker MV Sai Baba with Indian crew comes under attack in Red Sea

The incident marks the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since October 17, CENTCOM said in its statement

Iran's foreign minister dismisses US claims of them backing Houthi rebels

The White House, citing newly released intelligence, said Friday that Iran was "deeply involved" in the planning of the Houthi attacks and has supplied weapons, financial support and training

Pentagon says Iranian drone struck chemical tanker in Indian Ocean: Report

The incident comes as the latest illustration of the growing regional tensions after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel

West accuses Iran of illegally testing missiles, transferring drones

The Western powers in the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran accused Tehran on Monday of developing and testing ballistic missiles, transferring hundreds of drones to Russia, and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60 per cent level for a country without a nuclear weapons programme all in violation of a UN resolution endorsing the deal. Iran and its ally, Russia, dismissed the charges by Britain, France and Germany, strongly supported by the United States, which pulled out of the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018. The six-party agreement was aimed at ensuring that Iran could not develop atomic weapons. Under the accord, Tehran agreed to limit enrichment of uranium to levels necessary for the peaceful use of nuclear power in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The sharp exchanges came at the Security Council's semi-annual meeting on the implementation of its resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal. Both Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Iravan

Oil rises by more than 1% after Houthi militants attack on Red Sea tanker

Oil rose more than 1% on Monday as attacks by the Houthis on ships in the Red Sea raised concerns of oil supply disruptions.

Suspected cyberattack paralyses the majority of gas stations across Iran

Nearly 70% of Iran's gas stations went out of service on Monday following possible sabotage a reference to cyberattacks, Iranian state TV reported. The report said a software problem caused the irregularity in the gas stations. It urged people not to rush to the stations that were still operational. Israeli media, including the Times of Israel, blamed the problem on an attack by a hacker group dubbed Gonjeshke Darande or predatory sparrow. State TV quoted a statement by the Oil Ministry as saying more than 30% of gas stations remain in service. The country has some 33,000 gas stations. In recent years, Iran has seen a series of cyberattacks on its filling stations, railway system and industries. Surveillance cameras in government buildings, including prisons, have also been hacked in the past. In 2022, the Gonjeshke Darande group hacked a major steel company in the southwest of the country. A cyberattack on Iran's fuel distribution system in 2021 paralyzed gas stations across the

Iran waives visa requirements for Indian citizens, 32 other nations

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Zarghami said the decision is aimed at boosting tourism arrivals and attracting more visitors from countries around the world

Gunmen kill 11 people, injure others in attack on Iranian police station

Suspected members of a separatist group killed 11 people and injured several others in a nighttime attack on a police station in southeastern Iran, state TV said Friday. The deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchistan province, Ali Reza Marhemati, said senior police officers and soldiers were killed in the 2 am attack in Rask town, about 1,400 kilometers (875 miles) southwest of Tehran. He said police killed several of the attackers in a shootout. State TV blamed the attack on Jaish al-Adl, a separatist group. In 2019, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a bus that killed 27 members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard force. In recent months, militants and small separatist groups in the predominantly Sunni region have attacked police stations as part of a low-level insurgency against the government.

Explosion rocks hydrocarbon refinery in Iran's special economic zone

Rescue teams have temporarily withdrawn from the spot due to the constant threat of further explosions. No casualties have been reported in the incident, according to IRNA report

Iran charges Swedish national Johan Floderus with spying for Israel

Iran on Sunday held the first hearing for a Swedish citizen who was detained last year on charges of spying for Israel, media reported. A report by Mizanonline.ir news website, which is affiliated with the country's judiciary, said that the prosecutor accused the man who was identified as Johan Floderus of having links with Israeli elements" and gathering information for Israel in the framework of projects through American, Israeli and European institutes that were active against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The prosecutor said Floderus had traveled to Israel, worked with Swedish intelligence and transferred money to Iran for projects aimed to toppling its government. He asked the judge to prosecute Floderus based on articles of Iranian law that carry penalties from six months to capital punishment. Judge Iman Afshari said a date for the next session will be decided later. The report also published images of Floderus and his lawyers in the courtroom. The report did not say anythin

Children of Narges Mohammadi to accept Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf

The children of imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi are set to accept this year's Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf in a ceremony on Sunday in the Norwegian capital. Mohammadi is renowned for campaigning for women's rights and democracy in her country, as well as fighting against the death penalty. Ali and Kiana Rahmani, Mohammadi's twin 17-year-old children who live in exile in Paris with their father, will be given the prestigious award at Oslo City Hall, after which they will give the Nobel Peace Prize lecture in their mother's name. Mohammadi, 51, was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize in October for her decades of activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. She is currently detained in a prison in Tehran. At a news conference in Oslo on Saturday, Kiana Rahmani read out a message from her mother, in which the imprisoned activist praised the role international media played in conveying the voice of dissenters, protesters and hu

Breaches by Iran-affiliated hackers spanned multiple states: US officials

A small western Pennsylvania water authority was just one of multiple organisations breached in the US by Iran-affiliated hackers who targeted a specific industrial control device because it is Israeli-made, US and Israeli authorities say. The victims span multiple US states, the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, as well as Israel's National Cyber Directorate said in an advisory emailed to The Associated Press late Friday. They did not say how many organisations were hacked or otherwise describe them. Matthew Mottes, the chairman of the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, which discovered it had been hacked on November 25, said on Thursday that federal officials had told him the same group also breached four other utilities and an aquarium. Cybersecurity experts say that while there is no evidence of Iranian involvement in the October 7 attack into Israel by Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza they ..

Russia attacked with 21 drones, 3 cruise missiles: Ukraine's Air Force

The Iranian-made Shahed drones were headed towards the Khmelnitskyi region, and the missiles for the southern parts of Ukraine, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app

Israeli ship targeted in suspected Iranian attack in Indian Ocean: Report

A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defense official said Saturday. The attack Friday on the CMA CGM Symi comes as global shipping increasingly finds itself targeted in the weeks long war that threatens to become a wider regional conflict even as a truce has halted fighting and Hamas exchanges hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The defense official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the Malta-flagged vessel was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters. The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew. We continue to monitor the situation closely, the official said. The official declined to elaborate on what intelligence the U.S. military gathered to assess Iran w

US announces sanctions against Iran-backed militia groups and its leaders

"KSS terrorist activity has threatened the lives of both US and Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS personnel in Iraq and Syria," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement

US extends sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran

The Biden administration has extended by four months a sanctions waiver that will allow Iraq to continue to purchase electricity from Iran and give Iran limited access to the proceeds to buy humanitarian goods. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed the 120-day waiver extension and it was transmitted to Congress on Tuesday, US officials said. The move is likely to draw criticism from Iran hawks on Capitol Hill and elsewhere who believe the extension will reward Iran at a time when it is coming under increasing pressure to end its support for proxy groups, including Hamas, that are destabilising the Middle East. There is roughly USD 10 billion in Iraqi payments for Iranian electricity currently being held in escrow accounts in Iraq, and the waiver will allow Baghdad to maintain its energy imports without fear of US penalties for violating sanctions on Iran. It will also keep in place a provision included in the last 120-day waiver under which portions of the electricity proceeds

US conducts airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in Syria to retaliate

The Pentagon and US officials say US fighter aircraft conducted airstrikes on locations in eastern Syria involving Iranian-backed groups, likely causing casualties and destroying weapons stored at the two targets that were struck a training facility and a safe house. A defense official said that the training facility also served as a weapons storage and that the safe house, located in the Bulbul district of Mayadin, functioned as a headquarters for Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated groups in the area. The official said Revolutionary Guard-related personnel were present at the time of the strikes and likely were hit, but the Pentagon had not confirmed whether they were killed. The defense official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details of the strikes. The US has conducted three strikes over the last two weeks against Iranian-tied weapons depots in Syria to retaliate for the more than 50 rocket and drone attacks that ...

US attacks Syrian facility in response to attacks by Iran-backed militias

The U.S. launched an airstrike on a facility in eastern Syria linked to Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in the region for the past several weeks, the Pentagon said. The strike by two U.S. F-15 fighter jets was on a weapons storage facility linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today's action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. This is the second time in less than two weeks that the U.S. has bombed facilities used by the militant groups, many operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which U.S. officials say have carried out at least 40 such attacks since Oct. 17. That was the day a powerful explosion rocked a Gaza hospital, killing hundreds and triggering protests in a number of Muslim .