'Minor' Fire Breaks Out at Oil Facility In Southern Iran

Oil refinery in Iran - File/Reuters
Oil refinery in Iran - File/Reuters
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'Minor' Fire Breaks Out at Oil Facility In Southern Iran

Oil refinery in Iran - File/Reuters
Oil refinery in Iran - File/Reuters

A fire that broke out at an oil export facility in southern Iran was brought under control without causing any damage, according to local media.

"A fire has occurred in an open oil channel leading to the export port in the city of Mahshahr," Fars news agency reported after the Sunday incident.

Thick smoke filled the sky over the port, the agency stated.

Mahshahr is located in Khuzestan, an oil-rich province bordering Iraq.

The Tasnim agency described the fire as "minor", adding that there was no "human or financial loss".

A security manager at the port, quoted by the Rokna news website, said the fire was caused by technical failure in a lighting system near the open channel.

Mahshahr Governor Fereydoun Bandari said "firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to oil tanks at the export port", according to Fars.

The cause of the incident is under investigation, he added.

It occurred following weeks of protests in Iran after the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, three days after her arrest by vice police.

In a separate incident in the same city, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said Sunday its forces had killed an "element hostile to the revolution" after an attack on a military base in Mahshahr.

"The forces fired on two terrorists on motorbikes in order to protect the headquarters, killing one of them while steps were taken to identify and arrest the second person," the IRGC said in a statement.

Iran has the world's second largest gas reserves, after Russia, and the world's fourth largest oil reserves, but is under strict US sanctions which have restricted exports and isolated it from the global financial system.



China Says US Is ‘Playing with Fire’ after Latest Military Aid for Taiwan

 A Taiwan Army's paratrooper performs with a national flag during a military exercise in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP)
A Taiwan Army's paratrooper performs with a national flag during a military exercise in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP)
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China Says US Is ‘Playing with Fire’ after Latest Military Aid for Taiwan

 A Taiwan Army's paratrooper performs with a national flag during a military exercise in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP)
A Taiwan Army's paratrooper performs with a national flag during a military exercise in Pingtung County, southern Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP)

The Chinese government protested Sunday the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.”

US President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and in military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department said Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement urged the US to stop arming Taiwan and stop what it called “dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

Taiwan is a democratic island of 23 million people that the Chinese government claims as its territory and says must come under its control. US military sales and assistance aim to help Taiwan defend itself and deter China from launching an attack.

The $571 million in military assistance comes on top of Biden's authorization of $567 million for the same purposes in late September. The military sales include $265 million for about 300 tactical radio systems and $30 million for 16 gun mounts.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry welcomed the approval of the two sales, saying in a social media post on X that it reaffirmed the US government's “commitment to our defense.”