Iran Exploited Gulf Waters to Extract Fugitives, Smuggle Arms

The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images
The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images
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Iran Exploited Gulf Waters to Extract Fugitives, Smuggle Arms

The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images
The photo above shows then Defense Secretary William Perry, center, listening to then Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, left, at the blast site on June 29, 1996, Getty Images

Saudi investigations showed that a terror ring of five members linked to the architect of the Khobar tower attack, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil, have revealed crucial intel on the arms and drug trafficking industry in the kingdom’s eastern province, Qatif.

Mughassil was given asylum by Iran for some 19 years—however now is in Saudi custody.

According to confessions of the five, arms smuggled into Saudi Arabia and handed over to armed groups in Qatif province came en route Arabian Gulf waters.

Weapons were being trafficked in by Iranian vessels, and were under Mughassil’s direct supervision.
The mastermind of the Khobar bombings is accredited to plotting one of the most violent terrorist and devastating terror attacks against American missions on foreign territory.

Not only did Iranian authorities arm terrorist groups in Qatif, but also contributed to aiding fugitives wanted in Saudi Arabia providing them with means to escape by sea and securing them asylum.

Investigations filed to Saudi Public Prosecution against the five suspects stand as evidence to the full-fledged support Iran gives to terrorists compromising Saudi national security.

Charges pressed against the five defendants involve the illicit purchase of a naval vessel from Bahrain-based parties, worth an estimated 70,000 riyals, to smuggle weapons into Saudi Arabia.

The five are also believed to hide information on escaping fugitives and participating as naval mercenaries in the Arabian Gulf.

Their tasks involved providing direct aid to those trying to escape the law in Saudi Arabia and arming Qatif-based extremists with weapons.

Interrogation details added that the suspects face charges of conspiring against regional stability, and advancing Iran’s expansionist agenda, for having withheld vital information on arms smuggling into the kingdom.

A few days ago, Saudi General Prosecution uncovered the way Iran planned to revive “Hezbollah al-Hejaz” through a case filed against five Saudis it accused of being trained on weapons inside the Iranian Revolutionary Guards camps.

The five Saudis, who can be described as “Iran’s powerful men in Saudi Arabia,” were also trained on the use of RPGs, which were also used lately by terrorists in the Awamiya town.

In addition, the five suspects are accused of receiving trainings on the use of other explosives, including TNT, RDX, C4 and others.



Kyiv Hit Russian Military Plant Using Ukrainian-Made Missile, Says Zelensky

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
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Kyiv Hit Russian Military Plant Using Ukrainian-Made Missile, Says Zelensky

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 09 June 2026. (EPA)

Kyiv struck a Russian military facility several hundred miles east of Moscow with Ukrainian-produced missiles overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday, marking a rare deployment his country's flagship weapon.

It was the latest in an increasing number of strikes on Russian territory carried out by Kyiv, more than four years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Last night Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingos struck a military plant in Cheboksary that supplies the occupier's army with components for drones and missiles," Zelensky said.

He published footage purporting to show a missile flying toward its target, and plumes of smoke rising over Russian facilities.

Cheboksary is the main city in Russia's central Chuvashia region, located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away from the Ukrainian border.

The regional governor, Oleg Nikolayev, confirmed the city had been hit.

"Early this morning, Cheboksary came under rocket attack. We are working to determine the number of casualties and the extent of damage to infrastructure," Nikolayev said on Telegram.

Ukraine also hit an oil refinery in Russia's Samara region, as well as a Russian tanker in the Black Sea, its General Staff said.

Ukraine has developed its own missile called Flamingo but its use remains relatively rare.


Netanyahu to Run for Re-Election, His Party Says, After Trump Raises Doubts

President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)
President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)
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Netanyahu to Run for Re-Election, His Party Says, After Trump Raises Doubts

President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)
President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israel's President Isaac Herzog watches at left. (AP)

Benjamin Netanyahu will seek re-election this year, his party announced on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump said he wasn't sure if the Israeli prime minister would stand again.

In a brief statement, Netanyahu's Likud Party said he would run in the election and, “God willing, he would win”. The election has not yet been formally announced but must be held by October.

Earlier, ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl posted on X that Trump had told him ‌he did ‌not know if Netanyahu would stand.

"I don't know, ‌he's ⁠had an amazing ⁠career. Does he want to continue?" the journalist quoted Trump as saying.

The Israeli election will be the first since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, the country's worst security failure, which precipitated Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu has faced a tumultuous term since returning to power in December ⁠2022 at the helm of the most ‌right-wing coalition in Israeli history. He ‌faced mass anti-government protests before the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and ‌Iran.

Polls have repeatedly indicated that his coalition would fail to ‌win a majority in the next election. A poll published by the Jerusalem-based Israel Democracy Institute think tank on June 9 said that 61% of the Israeli public believe he should not run.

However, ‌polls also show that a potential coalition of opposition parties would fall short of a ⁠parliamentary ⁠majority unless they form a coalition with Arab parties, which some opposition leaders have ruled out.

US and Israeli officials say Trump and Netanyahu, who launched the Iran war together in February, still have a close relationship, though it has at times seen strain, including in recent weeks as Trump has demanded Israel curb military action in Lebanon while Washington negotiates a peace deal with Tehran.

Last week, Trump acknowledged calling Netanyahu "[expletive] crazy" in a hot-tempered phone call, though he also said they get along well. He has repeatedly called on Israel's president to pardon Netanyahu over outstanding corruption charges that Netanyahu denies.


Iran Says US Strikes Damage Diplomatic Efforts

Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Iran Says US Strikes Damage Diplomatic Efforts

Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a large billboard featuring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 10 June 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the United States had damaged the ongoing international diplomatic effort to end the war, after more US strikes on targets in southern Iran.

"Unfortunately, the United States is damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, in a video message carried by Iranian media.

"Any diplomatic process is damaged by the use of force and by resorting to unlawful actions on the ground."

The worst bout of fighting between Washington and Tehran since their April 8 ceasefire has cast further doubt on US President Donald Trump's earlier claim that negotiations were in their "final throes" before reaching an enduring settlement to end the Middle East war.