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Renewed Iranian Strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan Leave Casualties

Tehran previously launched attacks that killed more than a dozen people in Iraq's Kurdistan region in late September. Reuters file photo
Tehran previously launched attacks that killed more than a dozen people in Iraq's Kurdistan region in late September. Reuters file photo
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Renewed Iranian Strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan Leave Casualties

Tehran previously launched attacks that killed more than a dozen people in Iraq's Kurdistan region in late September. Reuters file photo
Tehran previously launched attacks that killed more than a dozen people in Iraq's Kurdistan region in late September. Reuters file photo

One person was killed and at least 8 others were wounded on Monday when Iranian rockets and drones hit the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish parties in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

An Iranian military source confirmed that "Iran has carried out attacks with drones and missiles targeting the headquarters of terrorist parties in the northern region of Iraq," said Iran's Fars News Agency, managed by the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran has been hit by almost two months of protests since the death of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, 22, after she was arrested by the country's morality police for allegedly breaching the strict dress code for women.

Tehran previously launched attacks that killed more than a dozen people in Iraq's Kurdistan region in late September, after accusing Kurdish armed groups based there of stoking the wave of unrest.

Monday's attacks struck targets near Erbil and Sulaimaniya. A hospital official in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Koye told Reuters that two people were killed and at least 10 wounded in the attacks.

Tariq al-Haidari, mayor of Koysanjaq, told AFP that "five Iranian missiles targeted a building used by the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran".

"One person is dead and eight wounded," said the health ministry in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Other strikes hit elsewhere in Iraqi Kurdistan.

"Four drone strikes" targeted bases of the Iranian Communist Party and the Iranian Kurdish nationalist group Komala in the Zrgoiz region, said Atta Seqzi, one of the leaders of Komala.

The UN mission in Iraq condemned the renewed Iranian missile and drone attacks, which it said “violate Iraqi sovereignty.”

“Iraq should not be used as an arena to settle scores and its territorial integrity must be respected. Dialogue between Iraq and Iran over mutual security concerns is the only way forward,” said UNAMI.

The US Consulate in Erbil also condemned the attack on Iraqi Kurdistan.

It called on Iran “to stop attacking its neighbor and the people of Iraq,” and condemned the violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

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World

SKorea Says to Train 500,000 'Drone Warriors' to Counter NKorea

Motorists commute on a road along the Hangang River in Seoul on June 24, 2026. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
Motorists commute on a road along the Hangang River in Seoul on June 24, 2026. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
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SKorea Says to Train 500,000 'Drone Warriors' to Counter NKorea

Motorists commute on a road along the Hangang River in Seoul on June 24, 2026. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
Motorists commute on a road along the Hangang River in Seoul on June 24, 2026. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

South Korea will rapidly expand its drone and counter-drone capabilities to counter North Korea, including by training 500,000 "drone warriors" and distributing tens of thousands of unmanned systems across frontline units, the Defense Ministry said on Friday.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the military planned to produce 110,000 drones by 2029 for deployment across the army, navy, air force and marines, but the ministry later revised this to about 60,000, with around 11,000 to be introduced in 2026.

According to Reuters, it said the systems would ⁠be issued across ⁠services, aiming to make drones a standard item for individual soldiers.

"Drones should no longer be equipment used by a limited number of units, but a universal combat tool," Ahn told a briefing, adding they should be used by troops like a "second personal weapon."

Ahn said Seoul would rely on 100% domestically produced components rather than Chinese parts in building the systems, in response to security concerns.

The announcement comes as both Koreas accelerate efforts ⁠to build drone capabilities, shaped by lessons from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, where unmanned systems have emerged as game changers on the battlefield.

"Low-cost drones operated in large numbers are fundamentally changing the nature of warfare," Ahn said, warning North Korea was also advancing unmanned systems, increasing threats to military and civilian facilities in the South.

South Korea's plan includes expanding counter-drone systems such as lasers and high-power microwave weapons, and shifting operations so each service can conduct surveillance and strike missions using drones rather than relying on a centralized command.

A senior defense official said the military would also move quickly to acquire more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable drones and introduce AI-based swarm systems and ⁠loitering munitions.

The ministry ⁠said it would revamp procurement rules to speed up adoption of civilian technology and position the military as a major buyer to help build a domestic drone ecosystem.

The expansion comes amid political sensitivity over drone operations under the previous administration. A South Korean court this month sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison over a military drone incursion into North Korea that prosecutors said was aimed at justifying his 2024 martial law bid.

Current President Lee Jae Myung's government dismantled the drone operations command in the fallout from those allegations, with the plans on Friday aiming to replace it with a new organization focused on policy, capability development and support while leaving operations to individual military units.

South Korea also faces pressures from demographic decline, pushing the military to rely more on automation and unmanned systems to sustain combat capabilities.

World

Venezuelans Hunt for Survivors after Quakes Kill at Least 235

Volunteers search for possible victims in a collapsed building following twin earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, some 40 km northeast of Caracas, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP)
Volunteers search for possible victims in a collapsed building following twin earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, some 40 km northeast of Caracas, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP)
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Venezuelans Hunt for Survivors after Quakes Kill at Least 235

Volunteers search for possible victims in a collapsed building following twin earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, some 40 km northeast of Caracas, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP)
Volunteers search for possible victims in a collapsed building following twin earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, some 40 km northeast of Caracas, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP)

Rescuers used heavy machinery and their bare hands on Friday in a race to save survivors of deadly twin earthquakes in Venezuela that killed at least 235 people, hurt thousands and flattened scores of buildings.

International rescuers and aid have begun arriving to help a nation struggling to respond two days after its strongest quake in well over a century struck west of Caracas.

Rubble from collapsed buildings had trapped more than 200 people under debris, National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez said Thursday.

At the site of one of those flattened buildings, workers used sledgehammers to break the debris and called for "absolute silence" in order to hear survivors, AFP footage showed.

Health Minister Carlos Alvarado reported the death toll had risen to at least 235, with around 4,300 people injured.

Rescue efforts have moved slowly, with bodies still visible under debris hours after the quakes, while time ran out for some of those who were trapped and injured.

But help has begun to arrive, with a senior American military official landing in Venezuela's capital Caracas to oversee US relief efforts.

Nations around the world have pledged send rescuers, money and aid, with the United States saying it was deploying two warships, transport planes and helicopters and mobilizing $150 million in aid.

A view shows a heavily damaged apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas, on June 25, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)

In the worst-hit state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, Amparo del Giudice dug with her bare hands at a huge mound of concrete in search of her son.

"It is a lot of rock, and with bare hands it is impossible," she said, exasperated and flailing at the rubble.

Elsewhere, a young girl died after crying out for help for hours as onlookers listened helplessly, local residents told AFP.

"We need people... military personnel, to come and help so we can get her out," said resident Dani Rizo, 48.

The dead include foreigners, with Two Spaniards, one Portuguese national, two Brazilians, one Italian-Venezuelan, and two Chinese nationals are among those killed.

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reported on Friday that 80 Spaniards remain unaccounted for.

A rescue worker, speaking off the record, told AFP conditions were precarious, with a shortage of trained personal and significant technical limitations.

Interim president Delcy Rodriguez visited La Guaira on Thursday after the area was declared a "disaster zone."

AFP reporters witnessed residents looting a local supermarket in the city.

Venezuela's director of the International Rescue Committee, Nicole Kast, described the situation as catastrophic.

Offers of support poured in from around the world, with Switzerland, Spain, France, Portugal and Mexico among those sending specialists and rescue teams to Venezuela.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier promised a "whole-of-government response. It'll be big, it'll be fast, and it'll be effective."

Washington is closely involved in oil-rich Venezuela after US forces ousted and arrested president Nicolas Maduro in January.

China, India, Brazil and even war-battered Iran offered help, while Pope Leo XIV has sent an initial 100,000 euros in aid to the country.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply saddened" by the disaster as the global body vowed to assist Venezuela.

Venezuela's northern coast sits on a boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, but has not experienced a significant quake since 1997, when 73 people died. Another quake in 1967 killed 236 people.

Wednesday's 7.5-magnitude earthquake was the most powerful since October 29, 1900, when a 7.7-magnitude tremor struck offshore.

World

IAEA Head: 'Very Strong' Nuclear Verification Needed in Iran after War

26 June 2026, Japan, Tokio: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi addresses the media during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club. Photo: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
26 June 2026, Japan, Tokio: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi addresses the media during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club. Photo: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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IAEA Head: 'Very Strong' Nuclear Verification Needed in Iran after War

26 June 2026, Japan, Tokio: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi addresses the media during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club. Photo: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
26 June 2026, Japan, Tokio: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi addresses the media during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club. Photo: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

"Very strong" verification is needed in Iran following the Middle East conflict to ensure that it does not develop nuclear weapons, the UN atomic watchdog chief said on Friday.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi's remarks come as the United States and Iran negotiate a broader agreement to end the war, with Tehran's nuclear program a key sticking point.

"I think the objective of this (recent US-Iran preliminary) agreement is to ensure that there is no development of nuclear weapons in Iran. The government of Iran has declared quite clearly that this is not their intention," Grossi told reporters in Japan.

"But of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place... as soon as is practicable," AFP quoted the IAEA chief as saying.

Grossi said the watchdog had also "barely initiated" talks with Iran following its preliminary agreement with the United States about what to do with Tehran's uranium stockpile.

"Initial conversations have taken place... We expect this work to pick up soon," Grossi said.

Before the conflict, the IAEA estimated that Iran had 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent.

That is close to the 90 percent needed to make a bomb and well above the 3.67-percent limit set by a now-defunct 2015 agreement with Iran.

Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA after Israel and the United States launched a previous wave of attacks in June 2025, and its inspectors have not seen the material since.

Under the terms of the preliminary agreement between Tehran and Washington, this stockpile is meant to be "downblended" under IAEA supervision.

Grossi said the "widespread impression" was that the stockpile remains where it was before June 2025 near Iran's Isfahan facility.

However, that facility was bombed and Iran said that it does not plan to allow the IAEA to inspect sites that were attacked.

Grossi also said on Friday that an alternative to diluting could be shipping the enriched uranium out of Iran.

"The memorandum of understanding, as you may have noted, includes the possibility of downblending as one alternative," Grossi said.

"It could also be shipped out directly. It would perhaps be more complicated, but there are a few technical alternatives to deal with the material," he said.

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire an atomic bomb, while remaining adamant about its right to operate a full-scale civilian nuclear program.

Before the 12-day war in 2025, Iran as a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty -- unlike Israel, which is widely assumed to have atomic weapons -- allowed the IAEA to inspect its nuclear sites under its safeguards deal with the Vienna-based body.

Iran agreed a landmark nuclear deal with six big powers in 2015 limiting its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, but US President Donald Trump walked away from the agreement during his first term.