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Iran Exploited Gulf Waters to Extract Fugitives, Smuggle Arms

The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images
The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images
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Iran Exploited Gulf Waters to Extract Fugitives, Smuggle Arms

The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images
The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images

Saudi investigations showed that a terror ring of five members linked to the architect of the Khobar tower attack, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil, have revealed crucial intel on the arms and drug trafficking industry in the kingdom’s eastern province, Qatif.

Mughassil was given asylum by Iran for some 19 years—however now is in Saudi custody.

According to confessions of the five, arms smuggled into Saudi Arabia and handed over to armed groups in Qatif province came en route Arabian Gulf waters.

Weapons were being trafficked in by Iranian vessels, and were under Mughassil’s direct supervision.
The mastermind of the Khobar bombings is accredited to plotting one of the most violent terrorist and devastating terror attacks against American missions on foreign territory.

Not only did Iranian authorities arm terrorist groups in Qatif, but also contributed to aiding fugitives wanted in Saudi Arabia providing them with means to escape by sea and securing them asylum.

Investigations filed to Saudi Public Prosecution against the five suspects stand as evidence to the full-fledged support Iran gives to terrorists compromising Saudi national security.

Charges pressed against the five defendants involve the illicit purchase of a naval vessel from Bahrain-based parties, worth an estimated 70,000 riyals, to smuggle weapons into Saudi Arabia.

The five are also believed to hide information on escaping fugitives and participating as naval mercenaries in the Arabian Gulf.

Their tasks involved providing direct aid to those trying to escape the law in Saudi Arabia and arming Qatif-based extremists with weapons.

Interrogation details added that the suspects face charges of conspiring against regional stability, and advancing Iran’s expansionist agenda, for having withheld vital information on arms smuggling into the kingdom.

A few days ago, Saudi General Prosecution uncovered the way Iran planned to revive “Hezbollah al-Hejaz” through a case filed against five Saudis it accused of being trained on weapons inside the Iranian Revolutionary Guards camps.

The five Saudis, who can be described as “Iran’s powerful men in Saudi Arabia,” were also trained on the use of RPGs, which were also used lately by terrorists in the Awamiya town.

In addition, the five suspects are accused of receiving trainings on the use of other explosives, including TNT, RDX, C4 and others.

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World

Iran Executes Afghan National over 2026 Protests

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Iran Executes Afghan National over 2026 Protests

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

Iran on Thursday executed an Afghan national convicted over the killing of police officers during anti-government demonstrations, the 30th in a wave of hangings since the start of the Middle East war, a rights group said.

Ghaem Hosseini was executed after being convicted of involvement in the deaths of four police officers, the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.

It said he was a foreign national, without providing further details. But, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said the 21-year-old was from Afghanistan and was hanged at Isfahan central prison.

Mizan Online said Hosseini was convicted "of drawing a weapon and causing fear and terror, creating widespread insecurity, acting against people's physical integrity and national security in a manner that seriously disrupted public order".

But according to IHR, Hosseini was accused of kicking one of the policemen and the "authorities have presented no evidence proving that his actions led to the death of any of the policemen".

The case "is a stark example of collective punishment and the arbitrary use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic," said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

He is the fifth person to be hanged over the case involving the death in Isfahan of four policemen during the nationwide protests that peaked in January.

He is also the second Afghan national to be executed over the protests, after Gol Mohammad Mohammadi was hanged in the same case in July.

At least 12 defendants in the case have been sentenced to death, said IHR.

IHR said that since wartime executions resumed on March 19, at least 30 protesters have been executed -- 28 in connection with the January protests and two in connection with the "Woman. Life. Freedom." protests that erupted in 2022.

"That is an average of more than one protester execution per week," it said.

IHR says hundreds of other protesters have been sentenced to death or are facing charges which could carry the death penalty, including over 70 in Isfahan, the main city of central Iran which saw intense protests in January.

Iran's escalating use of the death penalty has triggered international concern, with rights groups and governments accusing Tehran of using executions to instil fear into society and prevent further protests.

According to Amnesty International, Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025. But authorities now appear to be intensifying executions of protesters and others deemed political prisoners during the conflict.

More than 30 nations, including France, Britain and Canada, last week condemned Iran's use of capital punishment, saying the Islamic republic was executing protesters to "silence dissent".

World

UN Aid Chief Warns Russian Drones Threaten Civilians and Aid Work in Ukraine

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher briefs the media about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations (UNOG), Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 22, 2025. (EPA)
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher briefs the media about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations (UNOG), Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 22, 2025. (EPA)
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UN Aid Chief Warns Russian Drones Threaten Civilians and Aid Work in Ukraine

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher briefs the media about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations (UNOG), Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 22, 2025. (EPA)
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher briefs the media about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations (UNOG), Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 22, 2025. (EPA)

The intensifying use of drones against civilians and humanitarian workers is a dangerous obstacle for aid operations in Ukraine, the UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said on Wednesday.

Fletcher spoke to The Associated Press in an interview after a visit to the southern city of Kherson, where he witnessed how communities there are coping while living under the constant threat of Russian drones. Fletcher described the visit to Kherson, split by the Dnipro River, which acts as an active front line, as “quite chilling."

Russian forces occupy the eastern bank, while Ukrainian forces hold the western bank. From across the water, kamikaze and surveillance drones routinely hunt and attack civilians, vehicles and public transit.

“It really gives us an insight into the dangers ahead of us,” he said.

The threat is also making it harder for humanitarian organizations to reach people who need assistance.

Fletcher spoke after attending a commemoration for two humanitarian workers who had died while doing their jobs.

“Drones are a real threat to not just civilians but the humanitarians who are here to protect them,” Fletcher said.

He said that aid workers are protected under international humanitarian law and yet marked humanitarian vehicles have still been hit. “So that does restrict what we can do," he said.

Local organizations are particularly exposed. More than two-thirds of operations funded through Ukraine's humanitarian fund are carried out by local organizations, according to Fletcher.

“They’re the ones who are saying most loudly to us, we’re not protected,” he said.

Fletcher said the UN needs more than $2 billion for its prioritized humanitarian response in Ukraine this year, with winter among his biggest concerns. Damage to civilian infrastructure, including electricity, water and gas systems, could once again leave millions vulnerable during the harsh winter months, raising fears of a repeat of last winter’s severe conditions.

The UN has sharply narrowed its humanitarian priorities all over the world as donor funding has fallen. Fletcher said the organization initially identified 87 million people facing the most severe humanitarian needs, but that figure has since risen to about 92 million with the onslaught of Ebola in Africa, the earthquake in Venezuela and other conflicts.

The UN is seeking $23 billion to provide life-saving assistance to those people and had raised about $11 billion, said Fletcher.

Ukraine is relatively well funded compared with many other crises, he added, with roughly 70–75% of its hyper-prioritized funding requirement covered. But even full funding of the humanitarian plan would address only part of Ukraine’s needs.

Fletcher also admitted that raising money for humanitarian operations has become more difficult as governments have increasingly redirected spending toward defense and domestic priorities.

“We’re in a more transactional world, I would say a more selfish world,” he said.

Fletcher said the UN now has to demonstrate that it is using limited taxpayer money efficiently and strategically.

“We have to show governments that we are spending their taxpayers’ money sensibly, wisely, in a prioritized way,” he said.

In a stark new assessment released on Wednesday, the UN warned that 907 aid workers were victims of violence last year and over 1,000 have been killed in three years. Fletcher said he could not reassure colleagues that those responsible would be held accountable based on how the international community has reacted.

He said accountability should extend beyond identifying the person who physically carried out an attack.

“I want to see investigations into the people who fired the weapon or flew the drone,” he said.

World

Seoul Detects North Korean Missile Launches after Trump Says to Meet Kim

People watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul. Jung Yeon-je / AFP
People watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul. Jung Yeon-je / AFP
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Seoul Detects North Korean Missile Launches after Trump Says to Meet Kim

People watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul. Jung Yeon-je / AFP
People watch a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul. Jung Yeon-je / AFP

North Korea has fired several short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul's military said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump said he would meet Pyongyang's Kim Jong Un this year.

The latest launches from the nuclear-armed North come as South Korea and the United States hold a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, following an order from Trump to scale them back.

Pyongyang has long condemned US-South Korea joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion, often staging missile launches around the drills.

Trump, seeking to revive the bond he claims to have forged with Kim in his first term, told reporters at the White House on Wednesday he plans to meet the North Korean leader later this year.

The US president also said it was important to "get along" with Kim, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons. Seoul says there are around 80-120.

Hours after Trump's remarks, an official from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP that the North fired "around 10 short-range ballistic missiles" from the Pyongyang area.

Japan earlier said a suspected "ballistic missile launched by North Korea a short while ago has already fallen", according to an X post from the prime minister's office.

Trump's sudden focus on Kim and his scaling back of joint US-South Korean military drills have alarmed Asian allies, while sparking speculation that he was seeking a foreign policy win as the Iran war stalls.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, said on Wednesday that her brother had "good memories and feelings" about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders remains "excellent".

She said, however, that she was unaware of any current communication between the two leaders.

Her statement came hours after Seoul announced the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises would end on Friday -- about a week earlier than planned -- "at the suggestion of the US side".

The Pentagon said the reduced drills would cause "no degradation to US training objectives".

The exercises are designed to prepare for a possible attack by North Korea.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country's defenses, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

South Korea's Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Seoul remained opposed to officially recognizing the North as a nuclear-weapon state.

Asked whether Washington had "given up" on North Korea's denuclearization, Ahn said he did not believe so.

President Lee Jae Myung - who has long pushed for stronger homegrown defenses to reduce South Korea's reliance on the United States -- said on Wednesday he would "do his utmost" to support Trump's peacemaking efforts with the North.