IRGC General Renews Threats to Israel

Second Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif
Second Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif
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IRGC General Renews Threats to Israel

Second Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif
Second Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif

The recent assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist was carried out remotely with the help of satellite guidance, artificial intelligence, and facial recognition, according to Iranian military officials cited by Iranian media on Sunday.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, believed to be the mastermind of Iran's controversial nuclear program, was traveling by car east of Tehran when he was shot dead on the afternoon of Friday, November 27. There are conflicting reports on how the attack unfolded, but most Iranian accounts agree that it was a sophisticated attack with gunfire and an explosion.

The killing deployed an "advanced electronic tool" guided by a "satellite device," according to Second Brigadier General Ramazan Sharif, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as reported by Iran's semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA).

In response to the assassination, Sharif said: “The Zionists know very well that their actions will not go unanswered.

"In the past years it has been proved that their actions will not go unanswered.”

The Zionist Regime does all its efforts to prevent the Islamic Word from attaining scientific achievements, he said, adding: “Today, however, under the light of the Islamic Revolution, Iran has achieved independence in all fields of politics, science, the economy as well as military and defense issues.”



Driver Plows into People in German City of Leipzig, Killing 2 People

 04 May 2026, Saxony, Leipzig: A police car is parked behind a police cordon at the spot where a car has driven into a group of people in Leipzig. (dpa)
04 May 2026, Saxony, Leipzig: A police car is parked behind a police cordon at the spot where a car has driven into a group of people in Leipzig. (dpa)
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Driver Plows into People in German City of Leipzig, Killing 2 People

 04 May 2026, Saxony, Leipzig: A police car is parked behind a police cordon at the spot where a car has driven into a group of people in Leipzig. (dpa)
04 May 2026, Saxony, Leipzig: A police car is parked behind a police cordon at the spot where a car has driven into a group of people in Leipzig. (dpa)

A driver plowed into people in the center of the German city of Leipzig on Monday, leaving two people dead, authorities said.

The city's fire service director, Axel Schuh, said that another two people were seriously injured and taken to hospitals. He said that about 20 additional people were “affected,” without offering details.

Much about the incident remained unclear.

Mayor Burkhard Jung said authorities didn’t know of a motive. But he said that “there is no longer any danger ... it is under control. The police have caught the suspected perpetrator.”

Photos from the scene showed a silver car with a battered front after the incident, which happened at about 5 p.m.

The incident happened in Grimmaische Strasse, a street that leads into central Leipzig's shopping area.

Leipzig is located southwest of Berlin and has more than 630,000 inhabitants, making it one of the biggest cities in eastern Germany.


Türkiye and Armenia Pledge to Restore Historic Border Bridge

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz gestures during the welcome ceremony for the 8th European Political Community Summit, at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, 04 May 2026. (EPA)
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz gestures during the welcome ceremony for the 8th European Political Community Summit, at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, 04 May 2026. (EPA)
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Türkiye and Armenia Pledge to Restore Historic Border Bridge

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz gestures during the welcome ceremony for the 8th European Political Community Summit, at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, 04 May 2026. (EPA)
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz gestures during the welcome ceremony for the 8th European Political Community Summit, at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, 04 May 2026. (EPA)

Türkiye and Armenia on Monday signed an agreement to jointly restore the medieval Ani bridge on their shared border, as part of moves to normalize ties between the two countries.

"We believe that symbolic and concrete areas of cooperation, such as the joint restoration of the Ani bridge which was formalized today by a memorandum of understanding, will help establish a lasting climate of peace and security," said Türkiye's Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.

Yilmaz met Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the eighth European Political Community summit in Yerevan.

Pashinyan wrote on X that he had a "fruitful exchange" with Yilmaz and hailed the bridge restoration deal.

The bridge was built in the 10th century over the Arpacay river, which borders the medieval site of Ani in eastern Türkiye, the capital of the former Armenian kingdom.

It had two levels, one for caravans underneath and another above for pedestrians.

Only its piers are still standing and visible.

Restoration of the site, which was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016, is already the subject of scientific cooperation between the two countries.

Yerevan and Ankara have not established diplomatic relations and their land border, which was briefly opened in the early 1990s, remains shut.

The two countries have pursued a cautious rapprochement since the end of 2021 and Azerbaijan's seizure of Karabakh, which saw most of the Armenian population leave.

At the end of last month, they decided to put the Kars-Gyumri railway line back into service on both sides of the border.

Türkiye's national carrier, Turkish Airlines, operated its first direct flight between Istanbul and Yerevan in March.

But the two sides remain divided.

The Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed under the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917 and seek international recognition that it was genocide.

Türkiye strongly denies the accusation of genocide and disputes the numbers, saying that the Armenians were among hundreds of thousands of people who died in the turmoil of World War I as the Ottoman Empire disintegrated.


US Says Rubio to Discuss Middle East in Vatican Visit

27 March 2026, France, Vaux-De-Cernay: Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, attends the last working session at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in France. (dpa)
27 March 2026, France, Vaux-De-Cernay: Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, attends the last working session at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in France. (dpa)
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US Says Rubio to Discuss Middle East in Vatican Visit

27 March 2026, France, Vaux-De-Cernay: Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, attends the last working session at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in France. (dpa)
27 March 2026, France, Vaux-De-Cernay: Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, attends the last working session at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in France. (dpa)

Pope Leo XIV will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, the Vatican said, just weeks after the pontiff faced a barrage of criticism by President Donald Trump.

During his trip to Rome, the US diplomat is also expected to meet with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who Trump insulted after she defended the Catholic leader.

"Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere," the State Department said, confirming the Wednesday-Friday visit.

"Meetings with Italian counterparts will be focused on shared security interests and strategic alignment."

The trip by Rubio, a devout Catholic who regularly attends Mass, comes after Trump stunned many observers by attacking Pope Leo, the first American-born pontiff.

Trump called the pope "WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy" after Leo called for peace in the Middle East war, and said that Trump's call to destroy Iranian civilization was unacceptable.

The pope has also spoken out against Trump's sweeping crackdown on immigration.

Italian media have presented this week's meetings as an attempt to "thaw" relations.

Rubio's private audience with the pope, at 11:30 am (0930 GMT) Thursday, comes the day before Leo marks one year as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Christians across the world spoke out in support of Pope Leo after Trump's outbursts, which analysts say could hurt the US president politically.

Even before the clash, polls conducted in March and April showed growing disapproval of Trump among American Catholics, a warning sign after he won a majority of Catholic voters in the 2024 election.

Cuba is another likely topic of discussion in the talks at the Vatican.

The Holy See has long played an active role in diplomacy on Cuba, where Rubio -- a Cuban-American -- has been leading the Trump administration's efforts to pile pressure on the communist government.

Rubio requested the meeting with Meloni, an Italian government source told AFP on Sunday. That is scheduled for Friday morning.

The far-right Italian leader has been one of Trump's closest European allies, but the president criticized her as lacking courage after she defended the pope.

Trump has also threatened to pull US troops from Italy, saying Rome "has not been of any help to us" in the Iran war.

The pope and Rubio previously met at the Vatican with US Vice President JD Vance just days after Leo's election.