Iran Intends to Inaugurate Fifth University in Syria

 Iranian and Afghan boys study in a classroom at the Be'sat school in Kerman, Iran, October 23, 2016. (REUTERS/Gabriela Baczynska)
Iranian and Afghan boys study in a classroom at the Be'sat school in Kerman, Iran, October 23, 2016. (REUTERS/Gabriela Baczynska)
TT

Iran Intends to Inaugurate Fifth University in Syria

 Iranian and Afghan boys study in a classroom at the Be'sat school in Kerman, Iran, October 23, 2016. (REUTERS/Gabriela Baczynska)
Iranian and Afghan boys study in a classroom at the Be'sat school in Kerman, Iran, October 23, 2016. (REUTERS/Gabriela Baczynska)

Iran is planning to inaugurate the fifth Iranian university in Syria, revealed Mansour Gholami, Iran’s science, research and technology minister.

“The planned establishment of the Tarbiat Modares University in Syria aims to provide education for Syrian students in their own country,” Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted Gholami as saying.

The university will provide an opportunity for Syrian students to complete their graduate and post-graduate studies, according to Gholami. "We’re hoping to receive a larger number of students," the minister said.

Iran exerts restless efforts to spread the Iranian ideology in Syria through schools and Persian language teaching centers. The past years have witnessed the opening of several schools in Damascus, Lattakia, Deir Ezzor, and Boukamal.

Iran has allocated monthly salaries for students of its Islamic schools, amounting to SYP10,000 (USD20) – this is considered a high salary for poor Syrian children. Iran’s endeavors to infiltrate inside the Syrian community where it has military dominance have expanded towards regions considered anti-regime such as Hama.

Unprecedentedly, the University of Hama has announced signing three agreements of scientific cooperation with three Iranian universities (Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Amirkabir University of Technology and Al-Zahra College for Women.)



South Korea 'Closely Monitoring' Trump Call to Send Warships to Hormuz

A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
TT

South Korea 'Closely Monitoring' Trump Call to Send Warships to Hormuz

A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)

South Korea said on Sunday it was paying close attention to US President Donald Trump's call for Seoul and other countries to send warships to help protect oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Since US-Israeli forces launched a war against Iran on Feburary 28, Tehran has responded with attacks and threats that have nearly halted shipping in the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies normally passes. 

After earlier vowing that the US Navy would begin escorting tankers through the waterway, Trump said on social media on Saturday that "Many Countries" would also send warships to keep it open, naming South Korea and Japan among others. 

But after a senior Japanese official said on Sunday that Tokyo maintained a high threshold for such a move, Seoul also refrained from making any explicit commitments. 

"We are closely monitoring President Trump's remarks on social media and will carefully consider the matter in close consultation with the United States," a South Korean presidential official told AFP. 

Seoul was "comprehensively considering and exploring various measures... to ensure the safety of energy transport routes", the official said. 

Like other Asian economies, South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, including through the Strait of Hormuz. 

The war has already prompted Seoul to impose a fuel price cap to ease pressure on its energy supply, the first such measure since 1997. 

Earlier on Sunday, Takayuki Kobayashi, the policy chief of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said the bar for sending Japanese navy ships to the region under existing laws was "extremely high". 

"Legally speaking, we do not rule out the possibility, but given the current situation in which this conflict is ongoing, I believe this is something that must be considered with great caution," he said on the public broadcaster NHK's political debate program. 

Trump also mentioned China, France and Britain by name in his post, saying he hoped countries "that are affected by this artificial constraint will send Ships to the area". 

 


Drone Debris Sparks Fire at Oil Facility in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, Authorities Say

 Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)
Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)
TT

Drone Debris Sparks Fire at Oil Facility in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, Authorities Say

 Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)
Smoke is seen through the broken window of a residential neighborhood damaged by Russian aerial guided bomb in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP)

A fire broke out at an oil facility in Russia's Krasnodar region after debris from a downed drone fell on it, Russian authorities said on Sunday.

According to ‌preliminary reports, ‌there were no ‌casualties.

The ⁠damaged oil facility ⁠is located near Tikhoretsk, where Ukrainian drones struck an oil pumping station on Thursday. The fire ⁠had been extinguished on ‌Friday.

Authorities ‌did not clarify whether ‌it was the ‌same facility.

The Tikhoretsk hub is one of the largest oil points in southern ‌Russia and is the only supply route ⁠for ⁠petroleum products to the key Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

The attack was the latest in a series of drone strikes on the region's energy and port infrastructure.


Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
TT

Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war with Israel and the United States continues.

"If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force," said the Guards on their website Sepah News.