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Israeli FM Thanks Turkey for Foiling Attacks on Israelis

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid shake hands after statements, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid shake hands after statements, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)
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Israeli FM Thanks Turkey for Foiling Attacks on Israelis

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid shake hands after statements, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid shake hands after statements, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, June 23, 2022. (AP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday thanked Turkish authorities for their cooperation in allegedly foiling attacks against Israeli citizens in Turkey, and warned Israel would not "sit idly by' in the face of threats to its citizens from Iran.

Lapid made the comments after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, as the two countries press ahead with efforts to repair ties that have been strained over Turkey’s strong support for the Palestinians.

Earlier this month, Israel issued a warning for its citizens to avoid travel to Turkey and urging Israelis in Turkey to leave immediately. The warning said Israeli citizens could be targets of Iranian attacks.

Turkish media reports said authorities had detained five Iranians suspected of planning attacks on Israelis in Istanbul.

"In recent weeks, the lives of Israeli citizens have been saved thanks to security and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and (Turkey)," Lapid said. "We are full of appreciation for the Turkish government for this professional and coordinated activity."

Lapid continued: "For its part, Israel won’t sit idly by when there are attempts to harm its citizens in Israel and around the world. Our immediate goal is to bring about calm that will enable us to change the travel warning to (Turkey)."

The travel warning angered Turkey, whose economy depends on tourism to a large extent. Ankara responded by issuing a statement that said Turkey was a safe country.

Standing next to Lapid, Cavusoglu said Turkey "cannot permit these kinds of incidents taking place in our country."

"We have delivered the necessary messages," he said, without elaborating.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said that a joint operation with Turkey succeeded in thwarting several attacks and resulted in the arrest of several suspected operatives on Turkish soil in recent days.

Hurriyet newspaper reported on Thursday that Turkish authorities detained five Iranian nationals on Wednesday suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate Israeli citizens in Istanbul. Police seized two pistols and two silencers in searches conducted in houses and hotels where the suspects were staying, according to the report.

Lapid’s visit comes amid political turmoil in Israel, where Bennett’s fragile, year-old government decided this week to dissolve parliament, triggering new elections which are set to take place in the fall. Under the agreement that forged Bennett’s coalition government, Lapid is expected in the coming days to become caretaker prime minister until a new government is cobbled together after the elections.

The developments deepen a political crisis in Israel, which has held four elections since 2019, each largely a referendum over former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule. Netanyahu hopes to return to power in the upcoming vote, but polls show that as in previous rounds it will unlikely produce a clear winner.

Turkey, beset by economic troubles, has been trying to end its international isolation by normalizing ties with several countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but relations grew tense under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is a vocal critic of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Turkey’s embrace of the Hamas movement, has angered Israel.

The countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power there in 2007.

Nine Turkish activists were killed. Israel apologized to Turkey for the deaths under a US-brokered agreement, but reconciliation efforts stalled.

Turkey recalled its ambassador in 2018 after the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, prompting Israel to respond in kind. The two countries have not reappointed their ambassadors.

The two ministers said Thursday that they had agreed to hold discussions on re-appointing ambassadors.

The latest rapprochement has been led by Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, who has held several telephone calls with Erdogan and visited Turkey in March, becoming the first Israeli leader to do so in 14 years. Cavusoglu visited Israel last month. It was first official visit to Israel by a Turkish official in 15 years.

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World

China, Russia and Iran Join South Africa for Naval Drills as Tensions Run High

The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)
The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)
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China, Russia and Iran Join South Africa for Naval Drills as Tensions Run High

The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)
The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, left, and the Russian corvette Stoikiy, right, in the Simon's Town harbor, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP)

Chinese, Russian and Iranian warships launched a week of naval drills with host South Africa off the Cape Town coast Friday as geopolitical tensions run high over the United States' intervention in Venezuela and its move to seize tankers carrying Venezuelan oil.

The Chinese-led drills were organized last year under the BRICS bloc of developing nations and South Africa's armed forces said the maneuvers will practice maritime safety and anti-piracy operations and “deepen cooperation.”

China, Russia and South Africa are longtime members of BRICS, while Iran joined the group in 2024.

The Iranian navy was taking part in the drills while protests grow back home against the country's leadership.

It was not immediately clear if other countries from the BRICS group would take part in the drills. A spokesperson for the South African armed forces said he wasn't yet able to confirm all the countries participating in the drills, which are due to run until next Friday.

Chinese, Russian and Iranian ships were seen moving in and out of the harbor that serves South Africa's top naval base in Simon's Town, south of Cape Town, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. China's ships include the Tangshan, a 161-meter (528-foot) -long destroyer class vessel. Russia's Baltic Fleet said it sent a smaller warship, the Stoikiy, and a replenishment tanker to South Africa.

South Africa also hosted Chinese and Russian ships for navy drills in 2023.

The latest drills were meant to happen in late November but were delayed for diplomatic reasons because South Africa hosted Western and other world leaders for the Group of 20 summit around the same time.

The drills are bound to further strain ties between the US and South Africa, which is the most advanced economy in Africa and a leading voice for the continent but has been especially targeted for criticism by the Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump said in an executive order in February that South Africa supports "bad actors on the world stage" and singled out its ties with Iran as one of the reasons for the US cutting funding to the country. China and Russia have often used BRICS forums to launch criticism of the US and the West.

South Africa has long claimed it follows a nonaligned foreign policy and remains neutral, but Russian presence on the southern tip of Africa has strained its relationship with the US before. The Biden administration accused South Africa in 2023 of allowing a sanctioned Russian ship to dock at the Simon's Town naval base and load weapons to be taken to Russia for the war in Ukraine. South Africa denied the allegation.

South Africa's willingness to host Russian and Iranian warships has also been criticized inside the country. The Democratic Alliance, the second biggest political party in the coalition government, said it was opposed to hosting drills that included “heavily sanctioned” Russia and Iran.

“Calling these drills ‘BRICS cooperation’ is a political trick to soften what is really happening: Government is choosing closer military ties with rogue and sanctioned states such as Russia and Iran,” the Democratic Alliance said.

World

Iran Shuts off Internet as Protests Blaze Across Country

This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
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Iran Shuts off Internet as Protests Blaze Across Country

This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
This frame grab from a video released by Iran state TV shows vehicles burning amid night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)

Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as video showed buildings aflame in anti-government protests raging in cities across the country. 

Rights groups have already documented dozens of deaths of protesters in nearly two weeks and, with Iranian state TV showing clashes and fires, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several police officers had been killed overnight. 

In a televised address, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed not to back down, accusing demonstrators of acting on behalf of émigré opposition groups and the United States, and a public prosecutor threatened death sentences. 

DOZENS KILLED IN TWO WEEKS OF PROTEST 

The protests pose the biggest internal challenge in at least three years to Iran's clerical rulers, who look more vulnerable than during past bouts of unrest amid a dire economic situation and after last year's war with Israel and the United States. 

While the initial protests were focused on the economy, with the rial currency losing half its value against the dollar last year and inflation topping 40% in December, they have morphed to include slogans aimed directly at the authorities. 

Iranian rights ‌group HRANA said ‌on Friday it had documented the deaths of at least 62 people including 14 security personnel and ‌48 ⁠protesters since demonstrations began ‌on December 28. 

The internet blackout has sharply reduced the amount of information flowing out of the country. Phone calls into Iran were not getting through. At least 17 flights between Dubai and Iran were cancelled, Dubai Airport's website showed. 

Images published by state television overnight showed what it said were burning buses, cars and motorbikes as well as fires at underground railway stations and banks. 

Videos verified by Reuters as having been taken in the capital Tehran showed hundreds of people marching. In one of the videos, a woman could be heard shouting "Death to Khamenei!" 

Other chants included slogans in support of the monarchy. 

Iranian rights group Hengaw reported that a protest march after Friday prayers in Zahedan, where the Baluch minority predominates, was met with gunfire that wounded several people. 

Authorities have tried a dual approach - describing protests over the economy as ⁠legitimate while condemning what they call violent rioters and cracking down with security forces. 

Last week President Masoud Pezeshkian urged authorities to take a "kind and responsible approach", and the government offered modest financial incentives to help ‌counter worsening impoverishment as inflation has soared. 

But with unrest spreading and clashes appearing more violent, the ‍Supreme Leader, the ultimate authority in Iran, above the elected president and ‍parliament, used much tougher language on Friday. 

"The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of hundreds of thousands of honorable people. It will not ‍back down in the face of vandals," he said, accusing those involved in unrest of seeking to please US President Donald Trump. 

Tehran's public prosecutor said those committing sabotage, burning public property or engaging in clashes with security forces would face the death penalty. 

FRAGMENTED OPPOSITION 

Iran's fragmented external opposition factions called for more protests, and demonstrators have chanted slogans including "Death to the dictator!" and praising the monarchy that was overthrown in 1979. 

Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late shah, told Iranians in a social media post: "The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets." 

However, the extent of support inside Iran for the monarchy or for the MKO, the most vocal of émigré opposition groups, is disputed. A spokesperson for the MKO said units with the group had taken ⁠part in the protests. 

"The sense of hopelessness in Iranian society is something today that we haven't seen before. I mean, that sense of anger has just deepened over the years and we are at record new levels in terms of how Iranian society is upset," said Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington. 

Trump, who bombed Iran last summer and warned Tehran last week that the US could come to the protesters' aid, said on Friday he would not meet Pahlavi and was "not sure that it would be appropriate" to support him. 

Despite the increased pressure, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday the chance of foreign military intervention in Iran was "very low". He said the foreign minister of Oman, which has often interceded in negotiations between Iran and the West, would visit on Saturday. 

UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was "deeply disturbed by reports of violence" and by communications shutdowns. 

Iran has weathered repeated bouts of major nationwide unrest across the decades, including student protests in 1999, mass demonstrations over a disputed election outcome in 2009, demonstrations over economic hardships in 2019, and the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022. 

The 2022 protests, sparked by the killing of a young woman in the custody of Iran's religious morality police, drew a large variety of people onto the ‌streets, with men and women, old and young, rich and poor. 

They were ultimately suppressed, with hundreds of people reported killed and thousands imprisoned, but authorities also subsequently ceded some ground with women now routinely disobeying public dress codes. 

World

US Announces Aid to Bolster Thailand, Cambodia Truce

This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
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US Announces Aid to Bolster Thailand, Cambodia Truce

This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) on January 2, 2026 shows a general view of damaged houses following clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers, in Chouk Chey village in Banteay Meanchey province. (Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) / AFP)

The United States on Friday announced some $45 million in aid as it tries to bolster a fragile truce between Thailand and Cambodia.

Michael DeSombre, the top State Department official for East Asia, was visiting Thailand and Cambodia to discuss ways to strengthen the ceasefire, which President Donald Trump has sought to highlight as an achievement.

DeSombre said the United States would offer $20 million to help both countries combat drug trafficking and cyber scams, which have become a major concern in Cambodia.

He also said the United States would give $15 million to help support people displaced by the recent fighting as well as $10 million for demining, AFP said.

"The United States will continue to support the Cambodian and Thai governments as they implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords and pave the way for a return to peace, prosperity and stability for their people and the region," DeSombre said in a statement.

He was referring to an agreement signed between the two countries in the presence of Trump during an October visit to Malaysia, then head of the ASEAN regional bloc.

Major new clashes erupted last month. The two sides reached a truce on December 27 after three weeks of fighting, although Thailand accused Cambodia of violating in apparent accidental fire.

Cambodia has called on Thailand to pull out its forces from several border areas that Phnom Penh claims as its own.

The nations' long-standing conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.

Trump has listed the conflict as one of a number of wars he says he has solved as he loudly insists he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump on taking office drastically slashed foreign aid, including for months freezing longstanding assistance to Cambodia for demining, with the administration saying it will provide money only in support of narrow US interests.