Iran Vows to Avenge the Death of 2 IRGC Members in Syria

Site after the Israeli strike in Damascus (Reuters)
Site after the Israeli strike in Damascus (Reuters)
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Iran Vows to Avenge the Death of 2 IRGC Members in Syria

Site after the Israeli strike in Damascus (Reuters)
Site after the Israeli strike in Damascus (Reuters)

Israel awaits with anticipation Iran's retaliation for the airstrike on Syria that killed four people on Monday, including two of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Syrian state media said that two civilians were killed during the attack, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said they were two Syrian militants fighting with pro-Iran militias.

The Observatory said the two dead Iranians killed were affiliated with al-Quds Force. Six militiamen were also wounded, it added.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said revenge for Monday's strike will be taken, adding that holding Israel accountable for such attacks "is one of the main goals of the resistance (forces) in the region."

The IRGC's Sepah News website said: "Guard colonels Ehsan Karbalaipour and Morteza Saidnejad were martyred, a crime committed by the Zionist regime, during a rocket attack on the suburbs of Damascus, Syria, yesterday morning."

The site stated that Israel would "pay for this crime."

The strike's target was an ammunition depot operated by Iran-backed militias near Damascus international airport.

SOHR said Israel has carried out raids in Syria at least seven times this year.

Iran is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's strongest ally in the conflict. The Syrian army and thousands of Iranian-backed militants are fighting the Syrian opposition, backed by the Russian air force.

According to Walla's military correspondent, Israel is aware of Iran's determination to respond to the killing of the two IRGC members.

The Israeli army raised the state of alert and readiness of its units operating the "Iron Dome" systems along the border with Syria and stated that it was preparing for a possible missile attack from Syria.

In April, Iran admitted to casualties among its forces during an Israeli attack on sites in Syria, including seven fighters killed in an attack on T4 airport east of Homs. A month later, Iran responded with a barrage of missiles fired by armed militia at Israeli sites.

The Quds Force unofficial Telegram channel reported that Iran retaliated for the death of its members at the Syrian T4 base after an Israeli raid that killed seven Iranian forces in 2018.

The channel reported that Tehran responded by bombing an Israeli base in the occupied Golan with fifty missiles, noting that Israelis did not report the attack and the damage incurred.

Several Israeli experts admitted that the firing of 50 missiles from Syria at Israeli bases was an unprecedented matter that surprised observers.



Iran Offers $30,000 Bounty for Killing, Capturing US Soldiers

A man waves an Iranian flag before a political billboard at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)
A man waves an Iranian flag before a political billboard at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Offers $30,000 Bounty for Killing, Capturing US Soldiers

A man waves an Iranian flag before a political billboard at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)
A man waves an Iranian flag before a political billboard at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's military announced on Sunday that it was offering a bounty equivalent to $30,000 for killing or capturing US soldiers, with the reward doubled if carried out by a woman.

Army chief Amir Hatami said the plan had been drawn up following "the large number of requests" to participate in the financial support, according to the IRNA state news agency.

There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.

Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.

"Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from Iran's Army," Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.

"Courageous Iranian women who carry out such an action will receive double the reward," he added.

The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.

Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centered in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.


Iranian Parliament Advances Bill to Curb Foreign Influence

 A woman is silhouetted against the sun as she checks her cellphone at Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP)
A woman is silhouetted against the sun as she checks her cellphone at Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP)
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Iranian Parliament Advances Bill to Curb Foreign Influence

 A woman is silhouetted against the sun as she checks her cellphone at Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP)
A woman is silhouetted against the sun as she checks her cellphone at Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP)

Iran's parliament approved on Sunday the general principles of a bill that would criminalize interviews and other communications with media deemed hostile to the country, including US or Israeli media and outlets financed by either country, Iran's Shargh newspaper reported.

Osman Salari, a member of parliament's judicial and legal commission, said the individual provisions of the bill, which is aimed at countering foreign intelligence influence, have yet to be debated and approved.

Reports about ‌the bill's ‌details should not yet be considered final, Salari ‌told ⁠the Mizan news ⁠agency.

Under the proposed bill, interviews or participation in discussions with such media would be banned and violations would carry six months to two years in prison.

Interviews with other foreign media would require notification to the intelligence ministry, while contact with foreign embassies, offices of foreign organizations or other non-Iranian institutions without ⁠notification and written permission from the foreign ministry ‌would be punishable by a fine ‌and deprivation of certain social rights.

The proposed legislation would also ‌harden penalties for economic crimes committed under the direction or ‌supervision of foreigners, ban providing information to foreigners without intelligence ministry approval and restrict scientific cooperation with foreign institutions outside an approved list.

It would punish policy or legislative proposals made under the direction of ‌foreign intelligence services if they harm Iran's security or independence, with prison terms of up ⁠to 30 years. ⁠Cases would be heard by Revolutionary Courts.

The bill will be considered article by article in parliament. Once parliament approves the final text, it will have to be reviewed by the Guardian Council before becoming law.

The move is not the first time Iran has criminalized cooperation with foreign entities. A law passed in 2025 after a 12-day war with Israel imposed tougher penalties for alleged cooperation with hostile states.

Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery was sentenced this month to 15 years under that law over allegations that included giving interviews to media deemed hostile and providing photographs to US and Israel-linked organizations.


PM Tusk: Poland to Send Emergency Aircraft to Budapest after Coach Crash

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT
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PM Tusk: Poland to Send Emergency Aircraft to Budapest after Coach Crash

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks during the Polish Armed Forces Day in Gdynia, northern Poland, 15 August 2026. EPA/Andrzej Jackowski POLAND OUT

Poland will send an emergency aircraft to Budapest following a coach crash that killed 12 people and left at least 10 critically injured, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday.

"I have made the decision to send a special Polish aircraft to Hungary with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and medical services," Tusk said on social media. "All the injured will receive the necessary medical and consular assistance," he added.