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.



Australia PM to Invite Israeli President to Visit

 15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
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Australia PM to Invite Israeli President to Visit

 15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said his government would invite Israel's president to visit, after a mass shooting in Sydney targeting the Jewish community.

"Prime Minister Albanese advised President (Isaac) Herzog that, upon the recommendation of the Australian government, the Governor-General of Australia will issue an invitation in accordance with protocol to President Herzog to visit Australia as soon as possible," said a post on the leader's X account.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in a mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi on December 14.


Trump Says It Would Be 'Smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to Leave Power

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
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Trump Says It Would Be 'Smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to Leave Power

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak

US President Donald Trump said on Monday it would be smart for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, and the United States could keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks.

Trump's pressure campaign on Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation. At least 100 people have been killed in ‌the attacks, reported Reuters.

Asked ‌if the goal was to force ‌Maduro ⁠from power, Trump ‌told reporters: "Well, I think it probably would... That's up to him what he wants to do. I think it'd be smart for him to do that. But again, we're gonna find out."

"If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough," he said.

During the press conference, Trump ⁠also took aim at Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who he has also feuded with throughout ‌the year.

"He's no friend to the ‍United States. He's very bad. ‍Very bad guy. He's gotta watch his ass because he makes ‍cocaine and they send it into the US," Trump said when asked about Petro's criticisms towards the Trump administration's handling of the tensions with Venezuela.

In addition to the strikes, Trump has previously announced a "blockade" of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. The US Coast Guard started pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela ⁠on Sunday, in what would be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks if successful.

"Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it," Trump said when asked what would happen with the seized oil, adding it might also be used to replenish the United States' strategic reserves. Without directly referring to Trump's statements, Maduro said every leader should attend to the internal affairs of their own country.

"If I speak to him again, I will tell him: each country should mind its own internal affairs," Maduro ‌said, referring to an initial phone call between the two leaders last month.


Suspected Militants Ambush Police Vehicle in Northwest Pakistan, Killing 5 Officers

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Suspected Militants Ambush Police Vehicle in Northwest Pakistan, Killing 5 Officers

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Suspected militants opened fire on a police vehicle in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing five officers before fleeing, officials said, part of a surge in violence in the region bordering Afghanistan.

The attack took place in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province while police were on routine patrol near an oil and gas field, said local police chief Noor Wali told The Associated Press. He said the assailants, after killing the officers, poured gasoline on the vehicle and torched it.

A large police contingent cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track the attackers, according to The Associated Press.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi condemned the attack. In separate statements, they said the assailants would be brought to justice and expressed condolences to the families of the killed police officers.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, which is separate from but aligned with Afghanistan’s Taliban government and has been blamed by authorities for previous attacks.

Pakistan has seen a steady rise in militant violence, which has strained relations with Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating freely inside Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021, a charge Kabul denies.

Tensions escalated in October after Afghanistan accused Pakistan of an Oct. 9 drone strike in Kabul, followed by cross-border clashes that killed dozens, before a Qatar-brokered cease-fire on Oct. 19. Talks in Istanbul last week ended without agreement.