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Iran Ordered to Pay $879 Million over Khobar Towers Blast

A US Air Force sergeant stands in front of a bomb crater during a tour of the wreckage of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia June 29, 1996. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
A US Air Force sergeant stands in front of a bomb crater during a tour of the wreckage of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia June 29, 1996. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
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Iran Ordered to Pay $879 Million over Khobar Towers Blast

A US Air Force sergeant stands in front of a bomb crater during a tour of the wreckage of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia June 29, 1996. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
A US Air Force sergeant stands in front of a bomb crater during a tour of the wreckage of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia June 29, 1996. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

A Washington, D.C. federal court has ordered Iran to pay $879 million in its decision after finding the Iranian defendants directed the 1996 terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia where US forces were housed.

Lead attorney Adora Sauer, of MM~LAW LLC, said, “Justice has not forgotten these brave US Air Force veterans and their families. It is an honor and privilege to fight for justice and compensation for these families. The passage of over two decades since the Khobar Towers attack has not thwarted our efforts. We will continue to seek to hold the Government of Iran accountable for this terrorist attack as long as is necessary.”

According to The Associated Press, the plaintiffs, which include 14 injured US Air Force members and 21 of their immediate family members, brought the lawsuit under the terrorism exception to the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The defendants are Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

The court ruled that the Iranian government directed and provided material support to Hezbollah terrorists that detonated a 5,000-pound truck bomb at the Khobar Towers complex in Dhahran. The blast killed 19 US airmen and injured more than 400 others at the site charged with monitoring Iraqi compliance with United Nations security council resolutions.

US District Judge Beryl A. Howell found the defendants liable and awarded plaintiffs $132 million for pain and suffering as well as prejudgment interest for a total compensatory damage award of $747 million and $132 million for punitive damages.

The plaintiffs will be eligible for partial payments from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, the concept and legislation of which was originated by MM~LAW, to compensate American victims of acts of international terrorism with funds obtained from fines and forfeitures levied against companies caught illegally laundering money for sanctioned countries and persons.

The attorneys also intend to pursue enforcement of the judgments through litigation intended to seize Iranian assets, AP said.

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World

Fewer Migrants but More Deaths on European Sea Route, Says UN

Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo
Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo
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Fewer Migrants but More Deaths on European Sea Route, Says UN

Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo
Some of the immigrants rescued at sea, after arrival at the dock of Arrecife, Lanzarote island, Spain, 16 September 2026. EPA/Adriel Perdomo

Fewer migrants and refugees have tried to make the journey to Europe by sea this year but more have died in the attempt, the UN warned Thursday.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said 60,000 people had tried to get to Europe by boat so far this year, down 39 percent on the same period last year, AFP reported.

But 2,292 had died, up from 1,999 last year.

"Nearly every death and disappearance at sea is preventable," said IOM Director General Amy Pope, adding that the figures showed people were taking increasingly dangerous journeys.

"The consequences continue long after. Human remains go unidentified, leaving families searching across borders for answers, often for years."

The sharpest drop in arrivals was recorded on the central Mediterranean route to Italy, where the figure of 21,393 was less than half last year's number.

But that route was the most deadly, with fatalities rising from 844 to 996.

The route to Spain via the Atlantic and western Mediterranean was the next most deadly, with 879 people killed.

The IOM warned that the data was likely to be an undercount as shipwrecks and disappearances are often not recorded.

World

India, Pakistan Trade Blame and Protests over Navy Collision

Pakistan and India (file photo)
Pakistan and India (file photo)
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India, Pakistan Trade Blame and Protests over Navy Collision

Pakistan and India (file photo)
Pakistan and India (file photo)

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan traded blame on Wednesday for a collision at sea between two vessels operated by their navies, summoning each other's top diplomats to lodge "strong" protests.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said the incident took place on Tuesday while its navy was conducting a biennial exercise in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

New Delhi meanwhile noted the incident occurred in international waters and "did not cause any major damage".

A senior Indian official said that the incident happened late Tuesday in the north of the Arabian Sea.

"A Pakistan naval ship closed in on a frontline Indian naval warship on a routine surveillance mission...at high speed, maneuvering in a unprofessional and unsafe manner," the official told AFP.

Islamabad meanwhile said that "the Indian vessel carried out aggressive maneuvers in dangerously close proximity of Pakistani naval ship, resulting in contact between the two vessels".

Both countries said they had summoned each other's charge d'affaires.

"A strong protest was lodged with him over the unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval units at sea that led to a collision with a unit of the Indian Navy," New Delhi's foreign ministry said in a statement.

For its part, the Pakistani foreign ministry asked India's representative "to convey...that Pakistan strongly rejects this belligerent Indian action."

"Pakistan urges the international community to call upon India to abandon its belligerent posture and refrain from irresponsible actions that could further destabilize South Asia," the foreign ministry said.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan share a deep distrust and have fought multiple wars since gaining independence in 1947, primarily over Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, which both countries claim.

They also have tens of thousands of heavily-armed soldiers deployed all along their long and militarized border.

In May 2025, the two countries fought a deadly four-day conflict after armed gunmen killed over two dozen tourists, mostly Hindus, in Kashmir.

New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack, a charge Pakistan denied.

World

Russia Strikes Kyiv, Other Cities Hours after US Sanctions Passed

A handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on September 15, 2026 shows firefighters extinguishing a fire in a train locomotive after it was targeted by a Russian drone in the Volyn region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)
A handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on September 15, 2026 shows firefighters extinguishing a fire in a train locomotive after it was targeted by a Russian drone in the Volyn region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)
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Russia Strikes Kyiv, Other Cities Hours after US Sanctions Passed

A handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on September 15, 2026 shows firefighters extinguishing a fire in a train locomotive after it was targeted by a Russian drone in the Volyn region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)
A handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on September 15, 2026 shows firefighters extinguishing a fire in a train locomotive after it was targeted by a Russian drone in the Volyn region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian State Emergency Service / AFP)

Russia battered the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities with missiles and drones overnight, injuring more than two dozen people, officials said on Thursday, hours after the US Congress approved a major sanctions bill targeting Moscow. 

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the sweeping sanctions and tariff legislation, championed by late Senator Lindsey Graham, designed to tighten the economic squeeze on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The bill has now been sent to President Donald Trump to sign into law, Reuters said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the passage of the bill, calling it, alongside existing measures, an "extremely powerful tool" that could help force Russia to end a war now entering its fifth year. 

"It ‌is symbolic that ‌the US House of Representatives passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia ‌and ⁠Iran Act on ⁠the night of yet another Russian attack on Ukraine with ballistic and other missiles and drones," Zelenskiy said. 

Moscow has escalated its air attacks in recent months on Ukraine, which runs critically low on US-designed interceptors needed to down ballistic missiles. 

The overnight barrage included Oniks anti-ship cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and nearly 160 drones, Ukraine's air force said on Thursday. 

It did not specify the number and whether any of the more deadly ballistic missiles were intercepted. 

Zelenskiy said ⁠tougher sanctions were essential to force Russia to return to the ‌negotiating table, after US-backed peace talks unraveled earlier this ‌year. 

"Sanctions must be strong so that all efforts for peace – including our joint diplomatic efforts with the ‌United States, Europe, and our other friends – can succeed," he said. 

DAMAGE IN EIGHT REGIONS 

Zelenskiy ‌said damage was recorded in eight regions across Ukraine, with Moscow hitting energy infrastructure in the Sumy and Odesa regions. 

Russian defense ministry said Moscow had struck vessels used by the Ukrainian military. 

In Kyiv, the wail of air raid alerts and boom of air defenses sounded through the night. Explosions were ‌heard on Thursday morning as an attack with jet-powered drones continued. 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 18 people, including two children, were wounded ⁠in the city. 

Most of ⁠them where in a damaged 16-storey apartment building, officials said. Damage was recorded in four city districts, including warehouse facilities, and petrol stations, which are now a frequent target of attacks. 

The strike also temporarily disrupted water supply on the left bank of the Dnipro river. 

Six people, including two children, were wounded in the Black Sea port of Odesa, where the attack damaged a 19-storey apartment building, residential buildings and other sites, officials said. 

Three others were wounded in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia where a missile strike hit industrial facilities, triggering fire at one of them, authorities there said on Telegram. 

Ukraine has also increased its attacks on Russia, targeting oil facilities and logistics infrastructure to try to undermine Moscow's ability to wage war. 

A Ukrainian drone attack damaged an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl, causing a fire that was later doused, the region's governor said on Thursday.