Iranian Commander Threatens to Destroy Haifa, Tel Aviv

Iran's regular army ground forces' commander Kiumars Heydari. Fars
Iran's regular army ground forces' commander Kiumars Heydari. Fars
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Iranian Commander Threatens to Destroy Haifa, Tel Aviv

Iran's regular army ground forces' commander Kiumars Heydari. Fars
Iran's regular army ground forces' commander Kiumars Heydari. Fars

Iran will raze the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa should its enemy Israel make any mistake, Commander of the Iranian army ground forces Kiumars Heydari threatened on Tuesday.

“For any mistake made by the enemy, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground by the order of the Supreme Leader,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the Iranian commander as saying.

Heydari said all units of the army are being equipped with precision-guided, long-range and smart weapons, adding that the range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and that the operational missiles of the army have increased.

He underlined that the military and defense achievements of the Iranian army are a thorn in the enemies' eyes.

“All this equipment is to respond to the stupid aggressions of the enemies of the Islamic Revolution,” Heydari noted.

The Army commander reiterated that the usurper Zionist regime has occupied Muslim lands and these lands will return to Islam in less than 25 years.

However, Heydari failed to refer to any of the security developments that shook Iran lately.

Last May 25, an engineer died and another employee was injured after an accident in a research center at the Parchin military site affiliated with Iran's Defense Ministry.

The next day, Iranian authorities confirmed the death of engineer Ehsan Ghad Beigi in an "industrial accident" at the military site.

The New York Times said that according to three Iranians with knowledge of the attack and to a US official, a drone strike targeted the highly sensitive military site outside Tehran where Iran develops missile, nuclear and drone technology.

The attack came four days after a senior member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Col. Sayad Khodayee, was assassinated in Tehran outside his home, according to a statement by the Guards.

NYT said Israel told the United States that it was behind his killing, according to one intelligence official.

The Israelis intended it as a warning to Iran to stop targeting Israeli citizens abroad, the official said.

Few days following the Parchin explosion, another commander of IRGC Quds Force died under suspicious circumstances in Karaj. There were conflicting reports concerning the reason for his death, his role at the IRGC and his link to Khodayee.

Later, reports revealed that Ayoob Entezari, a senior Iranian engineer who held a PhD in aerospace engineering and was reported dead under unclear circumstances early this month, had been intentionally poisoned in the city of Yazd.

A letter written by the governor called him a "martyr" and a picture allegedly showed officials paying a condolence visit to his home.

Khodayee’s killing and the Parchin bombing dealt a major blow to Iranian authorities, who tried to reduce Israel’s ability to carry out operations deep inside Iranian territory, especially after hardliner Ibrahim Raisi was elected President.



Ukraine’s New Defense Minister Reveals Scale of Desertions as Millions Avoid the Draft

Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)
Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)
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Ukraine’s New Defense Minister Reveals Scale of Desertions as Millions Avoid the Draft

Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)
Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)

Wide-scale desertions and 2 million draft-dodgers are among a raft of challenges facing Ukraine's military as Russia presses on with its invasion of its neighbor after almost four years of fighting, the new defense minister said Wednesday.

Mykhailo Fedorov told Ukraine's parliament that other problems facing Ukraine’s armed forces include excessive bureaucracy, a Soviet-style approach to management, and disruptions in the supply of equipment to troops along the about 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

“We cannot fight a war with new technologies but an old organizational structure,” Fedorov said.

He said the military had faced some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed 34-year-old Fedorov at the start of the year. The former head of Ukraine’s digital transformation policies is credited with spearheading the army's drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms.

His appointment was part of a broad government reshuffle that the Ukrainian leader said aimed to sharpen the focus on security, defense development and diplomacy amid a new US-led push to find a peace settlement.

Fedorov said the defense ministry is facing a shortfall of 300 billion hryvnia ($6.9 billion) in funding needs.

The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan program to help fund Ukraine’s military and economy over the next two years, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

Fedorov said Ukraine’s defense sector has expanded significantly since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. At the start of the war, he said, the country had seven private drone companies and two firms developing electronic warfare systems. Today, he said, there are nearly 500 drone manufacturers and about 200 electronic warfare companies in Ukraine.

He added that some sectors have emerged from scratch, including private missile producers, which now number about 20, and more than 100 companies manufacturing ground-based robotic systems.


France Explores Sending Eutelsat Terminals to Iran Amid Internet Blackout

 Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
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France Explores Sending Eutelsat Terminals to Iran Amid Internet Blackout

 Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)

France is looking into sending Eutelsat satellite terminals to Iran to help citizens after Iranian authorities imposed a blackout of internet services in a bid to quell the country's most violent domestic unrest in decades.

"We are exploring all options, and the one you have mentioned is among them," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday in ‌the lower house ‌after a lawmaker asked whether France ‌would ⁠send Eutelsat ‌gear to Iran.

Backed by the French and British governments, Eutelsat owns OneWeb, the only low Earth orbit constellation, or group of satellites, besides Elon Musk's Starlink.

The satellites are used to beam internet service from space, providing broadband connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers in underserved areas.

Iranian authorities in recent days have ⁠launched a deadly crackdown that has reportedly killed thousands during protests against clerical rule, ‌and imposed a near-complete shutdown of internet ‍service.

Still, some Iranians have ‍managed to connect to Starlink satellite internet service, three people ‍inside the country said.

Even Starlink service appears to be reduced, Alp Toker, founder of internet monitoring group NetBlocks said earlier this week.

Eutelsat declined to comment when asked by Reuters about Barrot's remarks and its activities in Iran.

Starlink’s more than 9,000 satellites allow higher speeds than Eutelsat's fleet of over 600, ⁠and its terminals connecting users to the network are cheaper and easier to install.

Eutelsat also provides internet access to Ukraine's military, which has relied on Starlink to maintain battlefield connectivity throughout the war with Russia.

Independent satellite communications adviser Carlos Placido said OneWeb terminals are bulkier than Starlink’s and easier to jam.

"The sheer scale of the Starlink constellation makes jamming more challenging, though certainly not impossible," Placido said. "With OneWeb it is much easier to predict which satellite will become online over a given ‌location at a given time."


China Says It Opposes Outside Interference in Iran’s Internal Affairs

Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)
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China Says It Opposes Outside Interference in Iran’s Internal Affairs

Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)

China opposes any outside interference in Iran's ​internal affairs, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump warned that Washington ‌would take "very ‌strong action" ‌against Tehran.

China ⁠does ​not ‌condone the use or the threat of force in international relations, Mao Ning, spokesperson at ⁠the Chinese foreign ministry, said ‌at a ‍regular ‍news conference when ‍asked about China's position following Trump's comments.

Trump told CBS News in ​an interview that the United States would take "very ⁠strong action" if Iran starts hanging protesters.

Trump also urged protesters to keep protesting and said that help was on the way.