عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Iran Army Gets 200 New 'Strategic' Drones

Minister of Defense, Commander of the Iranian Army, Commander of the Air Force and Commander of Air Defense during the inauguration of the drones in an unknown location (AP)
Minister of Defense, Commander of the Iranian Army, Commander of the Air Force and Commander of Air Defense during the inauguration of the drones in an unknown location (AP)
TT
20
TT

Iran Army Gets 200 New 'Strategic' Drones

Minister of Defense, Commander of the Iranian Army, Commander of the Air Force and Commander of Air Defense during the inauguration of the drones in an unknown location (AP)
Minister of Defense, Commander of the Iranian Army, Commander of the Air Force and Commander of Air Defense during the inauguration of the drones in an unknown location (AP)

Iran's defense ministry has delivered the army with more than 200 new drones equipped with missile capabilities and electronic warfare systems, state media reported on Thursday.

In a ceremony broadcast on television, Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani handed over "more than 200 long-range strategic drones" to army chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, the official news agency IRNA said.

Produced by the Iranian defence ministry, the drones are designed for reconnaissance and strike missions, and can carry air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, IRNA said.

The UAVs were received by the Iranian Army as part of a deal with the Defense Ministry to enhance the country’s combat readiness.

In this regard, Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani said that "Iran will continue to enhance its drone capabilities."

"He said that assessment of combat scenes brought the Defense Ministry to the conclusion that drones play a key role in the battles. Therefore, he added, measures to design and manufacture different types of drones for delivery to the Iranian Army were taken in the past years," he noted, IRNA reported.

Most Viewed

 
World

South Korea Sees High Chance of US-North Korea Summit After March Next Year 

In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)
In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)
TT
20
TT

South Korea Sees High Chance of US-North Korea Summit After March Next Year 

In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)
In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)

South Korea's spy agency sees a high possibility that North Korea and the United States will hold a summit after joint US-South Korea military drills in March next year, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The NIS believes that Kim Jong Un is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States and will have contact with the United States in the future when conditions are met," lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters, after a parliamentary audit on the National Intelligence Service, according to the report.

North Korean leader Kim has said he would be willing to talk to the US if Washington dropped demands for denuclearization, but he did not publicly respond when US President Donald Trump offered to hold talks during his visit to South Korea last week.

World

Report: Russia Says It Is Tightening Its Encirclement of Ukrainian Forces in Pokrovsk 

Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)
Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

Report: Russia Says It Is Tightening Its Encirclement of Ukrainian Forces in Pokrovsk 

Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)
Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its forces were tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub they have been trying to capture for over a year.

In a statement carried by the state TASS news agency, the ministry said its forces had cleared 35 buildings in Pokrovsk of Ukrainian troops.

It said Russian forces were also tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops near the Kharkiv region town of Kupiansk.

Reuters was unavailable to verify the battlefield reports.

Ukraine has denied that its troops are surrounded in either location.

World

Afghans Begin Clean-up After Powerful Earthquake That Killed 20 

People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)
People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Afghans Begin Clean-up After Powerful Earthquake That Killed 20 

People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)
People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Residents of northern Afghanistan began a clean-up operation on Tuesday after a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake left at least 20 dead and almost 1,000 injured.

The quake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people and damaging the city's historic Blue Mosque, authorities said.

Some 945 people have been injured, according to the latest figures from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of houses were either completely or partially destroyed, according to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, a figure that aid groups said was concerning just ahead of the Afghan winter, where temperatures drop below freezing.

On Tuesday, residents in Tangi Tashqurgan, an area close to the quake epicenter, were digging out rubble and reinforcing affected buildings.

Mohammad Yasin, a local shopkeeper, said dozens of structures had been damaged or destroyed in the quake.

"If you go inside the shops, you feel afraid they might collapse any moment, maybe now or in 10 minutes," he said.

The disaster is the latest challenge for Afghanistan's Taliban administration, already grappling with crises including an earthquake in August that killed thousands in the east of the country, a sharp drop in foreign aid and mass deportations of Afghan refugees by neighboring countries.

The United Nations has pledged assistance, along with India, which is seeking to thaw ties with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which is still under sanctions from many Western nations. China said on Tuesday it would also offer aid.

Hemmed in by rugged mountains, Afghanistan is prone to a range of natural disasters, but its earthquakes cause the most fatalities, killing about 560 people on average each year and causing annual damage estimated at $80 million.

Rudimentary building quality also contributes to the casualty figures, with experts recommending new structures be built in an earthquake-resistant way and existing buildings be retrofitted to reduce the chances of collapse.