Iran’s Guard Holds Ballistic Missile Drill

FILE - Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard march during a parade in Tehran, Sept. 22, 2011. Reuters
FILE - Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard march during a parade in Tehran, Sept. 22, 2011. Reuters
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Iran’s Guard Holds Ballistic Missile Drill

FILE - Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard march during a parade in Tehran, Sept. 22, 2011. Reuters
FILE - Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard march during a parade in Tehran, Sept. 22, 2011. Reuters

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces on Friday held a military exercise involving ballistic missiles and drones in the country's central desert, state TV reported, amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

In the first phase of the drill Friday morning, the Guard’s aerospace division launched several surface-to-surface ballistic missiles against simulated enemy bases, state TV reported. It said the drill included Zolfaghar and Dezful solid-fuel ballistic missiles. Bomb-carrying drones were also deployed.

The Dezful, a version of the Zolfaghar, has a 700-kilometer range and 450-kilogram warhead.

In recent weeks, Iran has increased its military drills. On Wednesday, Iran’s navy held a two-day short-range missile drill in the Gulf of Oman. On Saturday, the Revolutionary Guard held a naval parade in the Arabian Gulf. A week earlier, Iran held a massive drone maneuver across half the country.

Tensions are again rising in the waning days of the administration of President Donald Trump, as Iran ramps up pressure on the West over the US sanctions campaign against Tehran.

Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the US from Iran’s nuclear deal, in which Tehran had agreed to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump cited Iran’s ballistic missile program among other issues in withdrawing from the accord.

When the US then increased sanctions, Iran gradually and publicly abandoned the deal’s limits on its nuclear development.



WHO Members Reach Accord 'in Principle' over How to Tackle Future Pandemics

(FILES) This photograph shows a sign of the World Health Organization (WHO) displayed at their headquarters in Geneva on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows a sign of the World Health Organization (WHO) displayed at their headquarters in Geneva on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
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WHO Members Reach Accord 'in Principle' over How to Tackle Future Pandemics

(FILES) This photograph shows a sign of the World Health Organization (WHO) displayed at their headquarters in Geneva on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows a sign of the World Health Organization (WHO) displayed at their headquarters in Geneva on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Members of the World Health Organization have reached an accord "in principle" over how to tackle future pandemics after three years of discussions, the co-chair of the negotiating body told Agence France-Presse on Saturday.
The WHO did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The organisation's 194 member states have been negotiating over an agreement that could increase collaboration before and during pandemics after acknowledged failures during COVID-19.
The United States, which was slow to join the early talks, left the discussions this year after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February withdrawing from the WHO and barring participation in the talks.