Israel Destroyed 90 Percent of Iranian Capacities in Syrian Territories

Smoke rises from a fire in a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7, 2021. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire in a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7, 2021. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
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Israel Destroyed 90 Percent of Iranian Capacities in Syrian Territories

Smoke rises from a fire in a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7, 2021. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire in a container storage area, after Syrian state media reported an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian port of Latakia, Syria, in this handout picture released by SANA on December 7, 2021. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)

The Israeli military has destroyed about 90 percent of Iran's military infrastructure and attempts to entrench itself with Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militias in Syria, three officials in the Israeli army said.

According to the officials, Israel has in recent years succeeded in almost completely curbing Iran's ability to transfer weapons to Syria, to manufacture weapons on the country's soil and to establish a base in it with pro-Iranian forces.

There have been talks on Wednesday about Israel halting raids in Syria in the past months out of fear of a Russian response.

However, last Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an Israeli airstrike near Damascus destroyed an Iranian-backed drone manufacturing and weapons storage site.

According to the sources, the plan of the former commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the Americans in 2020, has failed due to the Israeli army’s continued air campaign against the forces in Syria.

The security officials emphasized that the army severely damaged Iran's smuggling routes from the sea, air and even from the land from Iran to Syria.

As a result of the attacks, the ability of the Syrian army to produce weapons and ammunition has also been damaged since the Iranians and Hezbollah used the same factories for the production of their weapons.

The focus of the attacks in recent years has also been to stop the smuggling of components for CERS – the Centre D’Etudes et de Recherches Scientifiques (CERS) in Masyaf that is used by Iran to produce advanced missiles and weapons for its proxies.

According to sources in Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad has realized that in the coming years he will not be able to regain territories occupied by the Kurds, including the Turks, and instead is focused on reducing the activity of Iran and Hezbollah in his country, with an emphasis on the Syrian Golan Heights.



Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Monday expressed "full support" for Venezuela as the South American country confronts a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers by US forces deployed in the Caribbean, the two governments said.

In a phone call, the foreign ministers of the two allied countries blasted the US actions, which have included bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats and more recently the seizure of two tankers.

A third ship was being pursued, a US official told AFP Sunday.

"The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington's actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping," the Russian foreign ministry said of the call between ministers Sergei Lavrov and Yvan Gil.

"The Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context," it added.

"The ministers agreed to continue their close bilateral cooperation and to coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN, in order to ensure respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs."

The UN Security Council is to meet Tuesday to discuss the mounting crisis between Venezuela and the United States after a request from Caracas, backed by China and Russia.

On Telegram, Venezuela's Gil said he and Lavrov had discussed "the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law being perpetrated in the Caribbean: attacks on vessels, extrajudicial executions, and illicit acts of piracy carried out by the United States government."

US forces have since September launched strikes on boats Washington said, without providing evidence, were trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

More than 100 people have been killed, some of them fishermen, according to their families and governments.

US President Donald Trump on December 16 announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" sailing to and from Venezuela.

Trump has claimed Caracas under Maduro is using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.

Gil said Lavrov had affirmed Moscow's "full support in the face of hostilities against our country."


Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
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Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)

Turkish intelligence agents have captured a senior member of the ISIS terror group in an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, allegedly thwarting planned suicide attacks in Türkiye and elsewhere, Türkiye's state-run news agency reported Monday.

Anadolu Agency said the suspect was identified as Mehmet Goren and a member of the group's Afghanistan-based ISIS-Khorasan branch. He was caught in a covert operation and transferred to Türkiye.

It was not clear when the operation took place or whether Afghan and Pakistani authorities were involved.

The report said the Turkish citizen allegedly rose within the organization’s ranks and was given the task of carrying out suicide bombings in Türkiye, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Europe.

ISIS has carried out deadly attacks in Türkiye, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.

Monday's report said Goren’s capture allegedly also exposed the group's recruitment methods and provided intelligence on its planned activities.


Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

A Norwegian-Iranian dual citizen has been arrested in Iran, Norway's foreign ministry told AFP on Monday.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware that a Norwegian citizen has been arrested in Iran, but due to our obligation to respect confidentiality we cannot provide further details," ministry spokesman Mathias Rongved said in an email.

He confirmed the individual was a dual Norwegian-Iranian national and noted the government advises against travel to Iran.

On its website, the Norwegian government states that Iran does not recognise dual citizenship, and it is "therefore very difficult -- virtually impossible -- for the embassy to assist Norwegian-Iranian citizens if they are imprisoned in Iran".

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) identified the dual national as Shahin Mahmoudi, born in 1979.

It said she was arrested on December 14 after being ordered to report to authorities in Saqqez, in Iran's western Kurdistan province.

She is being held at a detention center in Sanandaj, it added.

HRANA said her family had not been informed of the reason for her arrest nor had they received any news of her health and well-being.