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Spain Arrests ISIS Cell Planning Terrorist Attacks in Europe

FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin
FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin
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Spain Arrests ISIS Cell Planning Terrorist Attacks in Europe

FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin
FILE: Spanish civil guard members lead a person arrested on suspicion of links to militant group ISIS after a house search in Granada, southern Spain April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pepe Marin

The Spanish police have detained five people on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group. Earlier, three other suspects were detained this year on charges of belonging to the same cell.

Investigations revealed that the ISIS affiliates have been trying to establish bases in several European Union countries and form cells to carry out terrorist plots.

The source said that these elements arrived in European countries through illegal immigration networks that use the seaports in southern Spain.

A spokesman for the Spanish police said that the detainees were very dangerous, and they almost acquired automatic weapons, including Kalashnikovs.

The spokesman said that the cell includes a group of Algerian youths, including two ISIS members, who had previously participated in the Syrian war. The agencies monitored their entry to Spain late last year.

Police sources said that following investigations and analysis of documents seized from the first group of suspects, a fourth person of Algerian nationality was arrested, whom they referred to as "Sheikh."

The sources said that the Sheikh entered from southern Spain by the sea with a group of illegal immigrants two months after the arrest of the cell members.

A Spanish security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Sheikh is responsible for recruiting new jihadist elements.

He was already known to law enforcement after being arrested in Turkey in 2016 while trying to join ISIS in Syria. He was deported to Algeria and sentenced to prison on terrorism charges.

After his release, he visited countries including Malaysia, Tanzania, and from there to the lands south of the Sahara, where he continued to recruit new members.

The source said that he continued to communicate with leading ISIS members and that he is the leader of the cell whose members were arrested.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the Sheikh was surrounded by Algerian youths who had previously been prosecuted for robbing tourists in Barcelona. ​

He persuaded them to join ISIS given his "great influence," and they began to help him recruit elements.

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World

US Authorizes Iranian Oil Sales Amid Talks on Final Peace Deal

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Authorizes Iranian Oil Sales Amid Talks on Final Peace Deal

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a bilateral meeting during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)

The United States authorized Iranian oil sales on Monday, easing decades-old sanctions as it pushes toward a final peace deal with Tehran in return for commitments on nuclear inspections and free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

The general license, announced by the Treasury Department, allows the sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21.

The license says Iranian oil can be imported into the US when necessary to complete ‌its sale, delivery ‌or offloading. The US has not meaningfully imported Iranian ‌oil ⁠since Washington imposed measures ⁠after the 1979 revolution.

"In line with the ongoing productive talks in Switzerland, Iran has committed to free and open transit in the Strait of Hormuz and to permit International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors into their country," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X.

"As part of the framework, Treasury has issued a temporary 60-day general license authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil."

Under a memorandum of ⁠understanding signed last week between Washington and Tehran, the US ‌agreed to issue waivers for the export ‌of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives, and all associated services, including banking transactions, insurances ‌and transportation.

Payment of funds to Iran may be made in US dollar-denominated ‌funds, according to the license.

Cuba, North Korea and Crimea are among those excluded from the license.

Washington first sanctioned Iran in 1979 when revolutionary students seized the US embassy in Tehran, holding diplomats hostage. Numerous additional sanctions have been imposed since then over the ‌nuclear program and Iran's support for groups the US deems terrorist organizations.

Independent Chinese refiners have been the main buyers ⁠of sanctioned Iranian ⁠oil, taking advantage of deep discounts as others avoided such purchases. India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Türkiye were also major buyers of Iranian crude before US sanctions were reimposed in 2018.

Mediators said on Monday that Washington and Tehran made "encouraging progress" at the first round of talks aimed at reaching a final peace deal. The talks began under the terms of the memorandum of understanding reached last week to extend a tenuous ceasefire from April for at least another 60 days.

Oil prices had risen sharply when Tehran started blockading the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a US blockade of Iranian ports, but after the interim deal, fell to their lowest since before the war began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

World

Taiwan Begins 5-Day Military Drill with Tanks Patrolling Streets

This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)
This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)
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Taiwan Begins 5-Day Military Drill with Tanks Patrolling Streets

This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)
This picture taken and released by Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) on June 22, 2026 shows a row of armored military vehicles driving along the highway in Taoyuan, Taiwan. (AFP photo / CNA Photo)

Taiwan kicked off a five-day set of military drills on Monday aimed at boosting the island's combat readiness in case of a Chinese military attack.

In the city of Taoyuan, home to the island's largest international airport, tanks drove down city streets and highways, videos and photos of the exercise showed, as armored vehicles from the Army’s 269th Infantry Brigade conducted combat readiness patrols morning.

The Immediate Combat Readiness Exercises are meant to test how rapidly military units can deploy, especially in the face of a possible sudden escalation of Chinese grey-zone warfare. Grey-zone tactics refer to a range of aggressive tactics that vary from navy ship patrols to drone flights, but fall short of direct combat.

The exercises, announced Sunday afternoon, are meant to be realistic, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement, with an emphasis on “real-time, live-fire and on-site."

These exercises are designed to simulate what would happen before enemy forces launched their ships, according to Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency. The series of exercises could also include impromptu ones in the future, including real-time responses to Chinese military drills.

China's People's Liberation Army sent 23 aircraft towards Taiwan from Sunday into Monday morning, according to Taiwan's defense ministry. That was accompanied by seven navy ships and five other Chinese government ships. China sends war planes, drones and navy ships towards the island on a daily basis.

Taiwan regularly conducts combat readiness drills as it seeks to bolster its defense capabilities amid ongoing military pressure from China, which claims the self-governed island as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control. Earlier in June, Taiwan fired rockets in China's direction for the first time as part of a military exercise.

World

EU Chief Hails 'Statesman' Starmer after Resignation

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a press statement on sanctions against Russia at the EU headquarters in Brussels on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a press statement on sanctions against Russia at the EU headquarters in Brussels on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
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EU Chief Hails 'Statesman' Starmer after Resignation

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a press statement on sanctions against Russia at the EU headquarters in Brussels on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a press statement on sanctions against Russia at the EU headquarters in Brussels on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Monday praised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for bolstering "European" security after he announced his resignation.

"It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years. European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir," the European Commission president posted online.