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)
TT

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.



N. Korea Flexes Nuclear-capable Rocket Launcher Ahead of Key Congress

A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA  EDITORIAL USE ONLY
A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY
TT

N. Korea Flexes Nuclear-capable Rocket Launcher Ahead of Key Congress

A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA  EDITORIAL USE ONLY
A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae (R), overseeing a test-fire of a large-caliber multiple-rocket launcher system at an unknown location in North Korea, 27 January 2026 (issued 28 January 2026). EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has unveiled a battery of huge nuclear-capable rocket launchers ahead of a key congress of the nation's ruling party, state media said Thursday.

Kim is expected to detail the next phase in North Korea's nuclear weapons program when he opens a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party in coming days.

The 600-mm multiple launch rocket system was front and center as preparations ramped up for the once-in-five-years gathering, widely viewed as North Korea's most important political event.

"When this weapon is used actually, no force would be able to expect God's protection," Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

"It is really a wonderful and attractive weapon."

Photos released by state media showed dozens of launch vehicles parked in neat rows on the plaza of Pyongyang's House of Culture, which will host the congress.

The weapon was "appropriate for a special attack, that is, for accomplishing a strategic mission", Kim told a ceremony on Wednesday, using a common euphemism for nuclear weapons.

He said the weapons system -- which was presented to the congress as a gift from munitions workers -- would deter unnamed enemies.

"There is no need to further explain about its destructive power and military value," AFP quoted Kim as saying.

"This is because it can reduce the aimed target to ashes through surprise and simultaneous attack by focusing its destructive energy."

The launch system could fire rockets with an estimated range of 400 kilometers (250 miles), covering all of South Korea, said analyst Hong Min from the Korea Institute for National Unification.

"Its primary purpose is to neutralize the combined air power of South Korea and the United States," he told AFP.

"If equipped with tactical nuclear warheads, a single battery firing four to five rounds could devastate an entire airbase."

South Korea's capital Seoul is less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the border at its nearest point.

Analysts believe North Korea would use its vast artillery arsenal to launch saturation strikes on the South should fighting break out.

Kim ordered the expansion and modernization of missile production in the months leading up to the Workers' Party congress.

Pyongyang has also significantly stepped up missile testing.


Iran Says No Country Can Deprive it of Enrichment Rights

A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
TT

Iran Says No Country Can Deprive it of Enrichment Rights

A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Arabian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT

Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the Iranian republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"The basis of the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the nuclear process, you need nuclear fuel," said Eslami, according to a video published by Etemad daily on Thursday.

"Iran's nuclear program is proceeding according to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology."

The comments follow the second round of Oman-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva on Tuesday.

The two foes had held an initial round of discussions on February 6 in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June.

The United States briefly joined the war alongside Israel, striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

On Wednesday, Trump again suggested the United States might strike Iran in a post on his Truth Social site.

He warned Britain against giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, saying that the archipelago's Diego Garcia airbase might be needed were Iran not to agree a deal, "in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime".

Washington has repeatedly called for zero enrichment, but has also sought to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region -- issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks.

Western countries accuse the Iranian republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

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

Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the region, which he has described as an "armada".

After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to the Gulf in January, he recently indicated that a second aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, would depart "very soon" for the Middle East.

Separately, the Iranian and Russian navies were conducting joint drills in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday.


Karachi Building Collapse after Blast Kills 16

Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
TT

Karachi Building Collapse after Blast Kills 16

Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN

A building collapse caused by an explosion in Pakistan's southern megacity of Karachi killed at least 16 people on Thursday, including children, officials said.

More than a dozen people were injured in the incident in the Soldier Bazaar neighborhood of Karachi at around 4:00 am, when Muslim families start preparing Sehri, the pre-sunrise meal eaten during Ramadan.