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.



Train Driver Killed, Dozens Injured as French TGV Collides with Truck

The accident occurred at a level crossing between the towns of Bethune and Lens in the northern French region of Pas-de-Calais. (AFP file)
The accident occurred at a level crossing between the towns of Bethune and Lens in the northern French region of Pas-de-Calais. (AFP file)
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Train Driver Killed, Dozens Injured as French TGV Collides with Truck

The accident occurred at a level crossing between the towns of Bethune and Lens in the northern French region of Pas-de-Calais. (AFP file)
The accident occurred at a level crossing between the towns of Bethune and Lens in the northern French region of Pas-de-Calais. (AFP file)

The driver of a high-speed TGV train was killed and 27 people injured in France on Tuesday when the train collided with a truck, officials said.

The accident occurred at a level crossing between the towns of Bethune and Lens in the northern French region of Pas-de-Calais at around 7:00 am (0500 GMT), said rail operator SNCF.

"I am heading to the scene with the chief executive of the SNCF, Jean Castex," Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on X.

Neither the SNCF nor the prefecture were able to provide details of the circumstances of the accident.

The SNCF said that rail services would be suspended between Bethune and Lens until at least late Tuesday.

In France, serious accidents involving high-speed rail lines are rare compared to traditional railways.


Overnight Attacks Kill Children in Ukraine, Russia

 The site of a Russian strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 06 April 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
The site of a Russian strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 06 April 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
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Overnight Attacks Kill Children in Ukraine, Russia

 The site of a Russian strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 06 April 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
The site of a Russian strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 06 April 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)

Two boys were killed in Russia and Ukraine overnight, officials said Tuesday, as the two sides exchanged latest strikes more than four years after Moscow sent troops into its neighbor.

Moscow has been launching drones and missiles at Ukraine almost nightly throughout its offensive -- the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks in a bid to reduce Moscow's earnings from oil exports, as the Middle East war pushes up prices.

As a result of the latest strikes, in Russia a boy born in 2014 was among three people killed in the Vladimir region after a drone struck a residential building, the regional governor said.

In Ukraine, an 11-year-old boy died and five others were wounded when a house caught fire as a result of a drone strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the head of the regional military administration said.

In Russia's Vladimir region, two adults and their son, born in 2014, were killed, governor Alexander Avdeev said on Telegram, adding that the couple's five-year-old daughter was in hospital with burns.

According to the Russian defense ministry quoted by media, Russia shot down 45 Ukrainian drones over the country overnight.

In Ukraine, "the enemy attacked four districts of the region more than 10 times with drones," Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional military administration said on Telegram.

A house caught fire while three other homes and a vehicle were damaged in the Synelnykove district, Ganzha said.

"An 11-year-old boy was killed," he added, saying two women and a man were hospitalized. In other areas, strikes sparked fires and damaged an administrative building and power lines, wounding two men.


Strikes ‘Completely Destroyed’ Synagogue in Iranian Capital

Workers remove debris at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology complex that Iranian authorities say was hit early Monday by a US-Israeli strike, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP)
Workers remove debris at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology complex that Iranian authorities say was hit early Monday by a US-Israeli strike, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP)
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Strikes ‘Completely Destroyed’ Synagogue in Iranian Capital

Workers remove debris at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology complex that Iranian authorities say was hit early Monday by a US-Israeli strike, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP)
Workers remove debris at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology complex that Iranian authorities say was hit early Monday by a US-Israeli strike, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP)

US-Israeli strikes early on Tuesday "completely destroyed" a synagogue in Tehran, Iran's Mehr news agency and the Shargh newspaper reported.

"According to preliminary information, the Rafi-Nia Synagogue... was completely destroyed in this morning's attacks," Shargh wrote.

Judaism is one of Iran's legally recognized minority religions, and the country has a small Jewish community, although many members fled in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution.

There are no publicly available official numbers, but there are thought to be a few thousand Jewish people in Iran.

Shargh called the synagogue "one of the most important places for Khorasan Jews to gather and celebrate", referring to the northeastern province of Iran.