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Jailed French Tourist to Appear in Iran Court on Thursday on Spying Charges

A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)
A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)
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Jailed French Tourist to Appear in Iran Court on Thursday on Spying Charges

A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)
A woman holds a photo of Benjamin Briere during a rally in Paris, France, on January 8, 2022. (AP)

A jailed French tourist in Iran, Benjamin Briere, will appear before a Revolutionary Court on Thursday on spying charges, his Iranian lawyer told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Benjamin will attend the court to be tried for spying and acting against national security charges," one of his lawyers Saeid Dehghan said.

Briere has been held since May 2020, when he was arrested after flying a helicam - a remote-controlled mini helicopter used to obtain aerial or motion images - in the desert near the Turkmenistan-Iran border. He was charged with espionage and propaganda against Iran.

His trial comes as the United States and parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal including France are trying to restore the pact, which was abandoned in 2018 by then-US president Donald Trump.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners in recent years, mostly on espionage charges.

Rights activists have accused Iran of arresting dual citizens and foreigners to try to win concessions from other countries. Tehran denies holding people for political reasons.

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World

Revolutionary Guards Conduct Military Drills in Iran’s South

Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.
Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.
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Revolutionary Guards Conduct Military Drills in Iran’s South

Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.
Images of the drill carried out on Tuesday as shown on Iranian state television.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military, are carrying out drills on the country's southern shores of the Gulf, state media said Tuesday.

"Combined 1404 (2026) exercise of the IRGC Ground Forces has begun," state TV reported, referring to this year in both the Iranian and Gregorian calendars.

The war games are focused on the south coasts but similar drills are happening in other parts of Iran, the report added.

They include drones, vessels, amphibious vehicles, ground-to-sea missiles and rockets as well as artillery, state TV said.

"Very good measures have been designed in various sectors, including missiles, artillery, drones, special forces, armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers," Mohammad Karami, commander of IRGC ground forces, told state television.

He said the drills were being conducted "based on the threats that exist", without elaborating.

The drills come after Washington and Tehran concluded two rounds of Oman-mediated talks aimed at reaching a deal on Iran's nuclear program, with further talks set for Thursday.

Washington has repeatedly called for zero uranium enrichment by Iran but has also sought to address its ballistic missile program and support for militant groups in the region, demands Iran has rejected.

Western countries accuse Tehran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions but insists on its right to nuclear technology for civilian purposes.

US President Donald Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the Middle East. He once again on Monday threatened Iran with a military attack if a deal is not reached.

Last week, Iranian naval forces conducted another round of military drills in the Gulf and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

World

Iran Issues Death Sentence Linked to January Unrest, Source Says

Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Issues Death Sentence Linked to January Unrest, Source Says

Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians go shopping at the Tehran old grand bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 24 February 2026. (EPA)

A revolutionary court in Tehran has issued a death sentence for an Iranian man accused of "enmity against God", which if confirmed would be the first such sentence linked to mass protests in January, a source close to the man's family said.

The ‌source told Reuters ‌on Tuesday that ‌Iran's ⁠judiciary had not yet ⁠announced the sentence against the man, Mohammad Abbasi, and that Iran's Supreme Court was yet to uphold it.

Abbasi was accused of killing a security officer, ⁠an allegation his family denied, the ‌source ‌said.

Rights groups say thousands of people were ‌killed in a crackdown on ‌the protests, the worst domestic unrest in Iran since the era of its 1979 revolution.

During the unrest, ‌US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that he could order ⁠military ⁠action if it carried out executions.

The source said the defendant's daughter, Fatemeh Abbasi, was handed a 25-year prison sentence over her role in protests.

"The defendants do not have access to the lawyer they wanted, and were given a public defender," the source added.

World

USS Gerald Ford, World’s Largest Aircraft Carrier, at US Base on Crete 

Aircraft are on the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 24, 2026. (Reuters) 
Aircraft are on the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 24, 2026. (Reuters) 
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USS Gerald Ford, World’s Largest Aircraft Carrier, at US Base on Crete 

Aircraft are on the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 24, 2026. (Reuters) 
Aircraft are on the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, February 24, 2026. (Reuters) 

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, has reached the US naval base of Souda Bay on Crete, en route to joining a massive military build-up in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump, who ordered strikes on Iran last year, has repeatedly threatened Tehran with fresh military action if it does not cut a new deal on its contentious nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic weapon.

The Ford reached the Greek island on Monday, according to an AFP photographer.

The Greek defense ministry declined to comment on the aircraft carrier's arrival, and the US embassy in Athens did not immediately respond to questions from AFP.

US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay is home to approximately 1,000 people, including active duty military, US civilian employees, local national employees, contractors, and family members.

Washington currently has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier -- the USS Abraham Lincoln -- nine destroyers and three littoral combat ships.

It is rare for there to be two US aircraft carriers -- which carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors -- in the Middle East.

The United States had two of the massive warships in the region in June last year when it bombed three Iranian nuclear sites during Israel's 12-day war with Iran.

In his first term in office, Trump abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that placed curbs on its atomic activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Following the United States' withdrawal, Iran began enriching uranium at higher levels -- up to 60 percent, near the 90 percent needed for a bomb -- though it has always maintained its program is strictly peaceful.

A previous round of nuclear diplomacy last year fell apart when Israel launched its surprise campaign against the country.