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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

Fighting Rages along Cambodia-Thailand Border ahead of Expected Trump Call

Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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Fighting Rages along Cambodia-Thailand Border ahead of Expected Trump Call

Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Vehicles carrying people who evacuate, amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, wait in a long line to get into a refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, December 10, 2025. (Reuters)

Fighting raged Thursday along the border of Cambodia and Thailand, with explosions heard near centuries-old temples ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned phone call to the leaders of both nations.

At least 19 people have been killed in the latest round of border fighting that reignited last week, officials said.

More than half a million people, mostly in Thailand, have fled border areas near where jets, tanks and drones have waged battle, AFP reported.

The Southeast Asian nations dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier, where both sides claim a smattering of historic temples.

This week's clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed, following intervention by Trump.

The US president said he expected to speak Thursday with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to demand a halt to the clashes.

"I think I'm scheduled to speak to them tomorrow," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said there had been "no coordination" yet with Trump.

"But if there's a call from the US president, we definitely will answer the phone and we will explain to him... He does not have more details of the situation than me," Anutin said.

"This is an issue between two countries. He has good intentions to see peace but we have to explain what the problems are and why it turned out this way," the prime minister added.

Both sides blame the other for reigniting the conflict, which has expanded to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia, according to an AFP tally of official accounts.

In Thailand's northeast on Thursday morning, hundreds of evacuated families woke inside a university building in Surin city that has been transformed into a shelter.

A few older women pounded chilli paste while volunteers stirred big pots of food.

Nearby, 61-year-old farmer Rat, who declined to give her last name, said she had to leave her home before she could plant a cassava crop this season, fleeing with her family of eight.

"I just want to go home and farm again," she told AFP.

"Every time the fighting starts, it feels like life gets paused all over again."

- Cultural heritage -

Nine Thai soldiers have been killed this week and more than 120 wounded, Thai defense ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri told reporters on Thursday.

"The operation is still ongoing across the border from Ubon Ratchathani down to Trat province," Surasant said

Cambodia's defense ministry has reported 10 civilian deaths and 60 wounded.

AFP journalists in Cambodia's northwestern Oddar Meanchey province heard blasts of incoming artillery from the direction of disputed temples from dawn on Wednesday.

Cambodia's defense ministry said in a statement that Thai forces initiated an attack early Thursday morning in the province, "shelling into Khnar Temple area".

On the other side of the border, the Thai military announced an overnight curfew from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am in parts of Sa Kaeo beginning Wednesday night.

The Thai army said Wednesday that Cambodian forces fired rockets earlier that day that landed in the vicinity of the Phanom Dong Rak Hospital in Surin province -- to the north of Sa Kaeo, and which was struck in the fighting in July.

Cambodia's defense ministry said more than 101,000 people have been evacuated, while in Thailand, authorities said more than 400,000 civilians have taken shelter elsewhere.

The United States, China and Malaysia, as chair of the regional bloc ASEAN, brokered a ceasefire back in July.

In October, Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration, touting new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to prolong their truce.

But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month.

The United Nations cultural agency called Wednesday for "protection of the region's cultural heritage in all its forms".

It added that it was concerned about the hostilities near the Temple of Preah Vihear, a UNESCO heritage site.

In 2008, military clashes between Thailand and Cambodia erupted over a patch of land next to the 900-year-old temple, located on the border.

Sporadic violence from 2008 to 2011 led to the deaths of two dozen people and displacement of tens of thousands.

World

US, Japan Hold Joint Air Exercise after China-Russia Patrols

The 6th Air Wing of Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-15 fighters hold a joint military drill with the US B-52 bombers over Sea of Japan, in this handout picture taken by Japan Air Self-Defense Force and on December 10, 2025, and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan on December 11, 2025. Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/Handout via REUTERS
The 6th Air Wing of Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-15 fighters hold a joint military drill with the US B-52 bombers over Sea of Japan, in this handout picture taken by Japan Air Self-Defense Force and on December 10, 2025, and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan on December 11, 2025. Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/Handout via REUTERS
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US, Japan Hold Joint Air Exercise after China-Russia Patrols

The 6th Air Wing of Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-15 fighters hold a joint military drill with the US B-52 bombers over Sea of Japan, in this handout picture taken by Japan Air Self-Defense Force and on December 10, 2025, and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan on December 11, 2025. Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/Handout via REUTERS
The 6th Air Wing of Japan Air Self-Defense Force's F-15 fighters hold a joint military drill with the US B-52 bombers over Sea of Japan, in this handout picture taken by Japan Air Self-Defense Force and on December 10, 2025, and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan on December 11, 2025. Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/Handout via REUTERS

Japan said Thursday it held a joint air exercise with the United States in a show of force, days after Chinese-Russian patrols in the region and following weeks of diplomatic feuding between Tokyo and Beijing.

The Japanese joint chiefs of staff said Wednesday's exercise with the US Air Force was conducted in "an increasingly severe security environment surrounding our country".

Tokyo said Wednesday that two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew a day earlier from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country, reported AFP.

Japan said that it scrambled fighter jets in response.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi angered Beijing last month by suggesting that Japan would intervene with military force in any Chinese attack on Taiwan.

Thursday's announcement by Japan's chiefs of staff said: "We confirmed the strong resolve of Japan and the United States not to allow any unilateral change of the status quo by force, as well as the readiness of the Self-Defense Forces and the US military."

In a separate statement it said that the "tactical exercises" over the Japan Sea involved two US B52 bombers, three Japanese F-35 fighter jets and three Japanese F-15s.

The joint exercise came as the United States criticized Beijing for the first time on Wednesday after Chinese military aircraft locked radar onto Japanese jets on Saturday.

The J-15 jets from China's Liaoning aircraft carrier twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft in international waters near Okinawa, according to Japan, which scrambled jets in response.

"China's actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability," a US State Department spokesperson told AFP on Wednesday.

"The US-Japan Alliance is stronger and more united than ever. Our commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues."

Fighter jets use their radar for fire control to identify targets as well as for search and rescue operations.

Tokyo also summoned Beijing's ambassador following the radar incident, over which the two countries offer differing accounts of events.

Japan said it scrambled its F-15 jets because it was worried about possible "airspace violations".

Guo Jiakun, spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs, accused Japan Wednesday of sending the jets "to intrude into the Chinese training area without authorization, conduct close-range reconnaissance and harassment, create tense situations, and continue to maliciously hype up the situation".

Takaichi's comments about intervening in any Taiwan emergency enraged Beijing as China claims the self-ruled island as its own and has not ruled out seizing it by force.

Tokyo was forced to deny a Wall Street Journal report that said US President Donald Trump had advised Takaichi not to provoke China over Taiwan's sovereignty.

But Tokyo is apparently frustrated at the lack of public support from top officials in Washington and has urged the US to be more vocal, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

- 'Regrettable' -

NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the radar incident and the joint Chinese-Russian patrols were "regrettable", Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on X.

The statement followed a 15-minute video conference between Rutte and Koizumi, the defense ministry said in a statement.

Rutte "affirmed that security in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions is completely inseparable", Koizumi said.

South Korea said Tuesday that Russian and Chinese warplanes also entered its air defense zone, with Seoul also deploying fighter jets that same day.

Beijing confirmed later on Tuesday that it had organized drills with Russia's military according to "annual cooperation plans".

Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.

World

US Weighs Hitting UN Palestinian Refugee Agency with Terrorism-related Sanctions

FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
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US Weighs Hitting UN Palestinian Refugee Agency with Terrorism-related Sanctions

FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings in Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa

Trump administration officials have held advanced discussions on hitting UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA with terrorism-related sanctions, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, prompting serious legal and humanitarian concerns inside the State Department.

The United Nations agency operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing aid, schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinians.

Top UN officials and the UN Security Council have described UNRWA as the backbone of the aid response in Gaza, where the two-year war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe, Reuters said.

The Trump administration, however, has accused the agency of links with Hamas, allegations UNRWA has vigorously disputed.

Washington was long UNRWA's biggest donor, but halted funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio then accused the agency in October this year of becoming "a subsidiary of Hamas," which the US designated as a terrorist organization in 1997. It was not immediately clear if current US discussions were focused on sanctioning the entire agency - or just specific UNRWA officials or parts of its operation, and US officials do not appear to have settled on the precise type of sanctions they would deploy against UNRWA.

Among the possibilities that State Department officials have discussed include declaring UNRWA a "foreign terrorist organization," or FTO, the sources said, though it is not clear if that option - which would severely isolate UNRWA financially - is still a serious consideration.

Any blanket move against the entire organization could throw refugee relief efforts into disarray and cripple UNRWA, which is already facing a funding crisis.

'UNPRECEDENTED AND UNWARRANTED' Sanctioning UNRWA on terrorism-related grounds would be striking and unusual, as the United States is a member and the host country of the United Nations, which created the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in 1949.

William Deere, director of the UNRWA office in Washington, said the agency would be "disappointed" if US officials were in fact discussing an FTO designation. He said such a move would be "both unprecedented and unwarranted."

"Since January 2024, four independent entities have investigated UNRWA's neutrality including the US National Intelligence Council. While occurring at different times and from different perspectives, they have all come to the same conclusion: UNRWA is an indispensable, neutral, humanitarian actor," Deere said.

In response to a request for comment, a State Department official called UNRWA a "corrupt organization with a proven track record of aiding and abetting terrorists."

"Everything is on the table," the official said. "No final decisions have yet been made."

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. The State Department and other departments have various sanctioning options at their disposal, which generally allow for asset freezes and travel bans targeted at specific individuals and entities. An FTO designation would be among the most severe tools available to Washington and such designations are generally reserved for groups who kill civilians, like branches of ISIS and al-Qaeda. Dozens of key US allies provide funding to UNRWA, raising questions about whether foreign officials could face sanctions for aiding an organization if Washington sanctions UNRWA or one of its officials on terrorism-related grounds.

The United Nations has said that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed in September by Israel - was also found to have had a UNRWA job. The UN has vowed to investigate all accusations made and has repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided.

DISCUSSIONS PROVOKE HUMANITARIAN, LEGAL CONCERNS

The sources directly aware of the UNRWA discussions, who requested anonymity to disclose non-public deliberations, privately expressed various humanitarian and legal concerns, given the organization's singular role in aiding displaced Palestinians. Politically-appointed staff at the State Department who have been installed since the beginning of Trump's term have generally led the push to hit UNRWA with terrorism-related sanctions, the sources said.

Many career State Department officials - including some lawyers responsible for drafting designations language - have pushed back, those sources added.

In recent weeks, the potential sanctions have been discussed by officials in the State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism and members of its Policy Planning Staff, a powerful internal policymaking entity, one of the sources said.

Gregory LoGerfo, the nominee for the department's top counterterrorism post, has recused himself from the UNRWA discussions while he awaits Senate confirmation, that source added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for years called for UNRWA to be dismantled, accusing it of anti-Israeli incitement. Since January 30, Israel has banned UNRWA's operation on Israeli land - including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally - and contact with Israeli authorities. Israel and Hamas signed a US-brokered peace deal in October, but apparent ceasefire violations have been routine, and progress toward fulfilling the broader terms of the peace plan has been halting. More than 370 UNRWA workers have been killed in Gaza during the war, the UN agency has said.