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Iranian Army Set to Hold 'Large-Scale' Drone Drill

FILE PHOTO: An Iranian locally made cruise missile is fired during war games in the northern Indian Ocean and near the entrance to the Gulf, Iran June 17, 2020. Picture taken June 17, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
FILE PHOTO: An Iranian locally made cruise missile is fired during war games in the northern Indian Ocean and near the entrance to the Gulf, Iran June 17, 2020. Picture taken June 17, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iranian Army Set to Hold 'Large-Scale' Drone Drill

FILE PHOTO: An Iranian locally made cruise missile is fired during war games in the northern Indian Ocean and near the entrance to the Gulf, Iran June 17, 2020. Picture taken June 17, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
FILE PHOTO: An Iranian locally made cruise missile is fired during war games in the northern Indian Ocean and near the entrance to the Gulf, Iran June 17, 2020. Picture taken June 17, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran’s army is set to hold a “joint and large-scale” drone drill with its different divisions primarily in central Iran on Tuesday, the state news agency IRNA reported.

The two-day drill will involve “hundreds of operational drones of the army’s ground, air and navy forces in the general area of Semnan (province) and different parts” of the country, IRNA said on Monday.

The Iran-manufactured drones will undertake “combat, surveillance, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare” in short and long distances flights, the agency added, AFP reported.

IRNA said the army will also showcase its “achievements” regarding drone manufacture in an exhibition with the presence of high-ranking military commanders.

The announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions with the US, and a day after Iran marked the first anniversary of the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani.

He was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in January last year.

It also follows the US decision on Sunday to reverse a plan to bring the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz home from the sensitive Gulf waters.

The Pentagon said the Nimitz would stay in the region due to alleged “recent threats” by the Islamic Republic.

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UK PM Says Russia Could Attack NATO Within Four Years

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he visits STARK, a leading defense tech company in Swindon, England, Friday, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he visits STARK, a leading defense tech company in Swindon, England, Friday, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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UK PM Says Russia Could Attack NATO Within Four Years

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he visits STARK, a leading defense tech company in Swindon, England, Friday, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he visits STARK, a leading defense tech company in Swindon, England, Friday, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Russia could attack a NATO country within four years according to western intelligence assessments, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned on Friday.

He made the comments as he pledged his government would publish a long-delayed defense investment plan before next month's NATO summit.

"It is our intelligence assessment and the assessment of other countries in NATO that there could be an attack by Russia on NATO as soon as 2030," Starmer said.

"So you can see the urgency and the priority that we're putting behind this now," he added during a visit to a drone manufacturer in southwest England.

It echoes similar timeframes expressed by other European leaders and NATO chief Mark Rutte who warned in December that Russia "could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years".

Starmer has pledged to raise defense spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product from next year, increasing to three percent in the next parliament.

A 10-year defense investment plan following a review of the UK's defense capabilities was meant to be published late last year but has not yet been produced.

Starmer announced it would be published before the NATO summit in Türkiye, beginning on July 7.

UK media has reported that the plan has been delayed due to disagreement between the finance ministry and other departments over the cost.

Starmer insisted to reporters it would be "fully funded".

Earlier Friday, Britain's military chief warned that Britain must boost its defenses in response to threats posed by Russia, which invaded Ukraine more than four years ago.

"In my 35-year career, this is the most dangerous period that I have known," Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton told the BBC.

"And as a consequence, it is important that we enhance the capability and the readiness of our armed forces alongside our allies to deter our adversaries from doing something daft."

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged NATO countries to spend more on defense and become less reliant on Washington for security.

World

France Opens ‘War Crime’ Probe Over Israel Treatment of Gaza Flotilla Activists

Boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Türkiye, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP)
Boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Türkiye, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP)
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France Opens ‘War Crime’ Probe Over Israel Treatment of Gaza Flotilla Activists

Boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Türkiye, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP)
Boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Türkiye, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP)

France has opened an investigation into an alleged "war crime" and "torture" over Israel's treatment of French activists who took part in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a prosecutor's office said Friday.

The probe was opened at the government's request, the national counterterrorism prosecutor's office (PNAT) said, after activists accused Israeli authorities of mistreatment during their detention last month.

Israel detained more than 430 activists from countries around the world after intercepting them in international waters on May 18 as they made the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation after he posted a video mocking the flotilla activists while they were bound.

France banned Ben Gvir from entry over the incident.

Several French activists described what they said was a violent and humiliating ordeal when eight of them returned to France on May 22.

Two of the more than 30 French people who were on board the flotilla were still in hospital in Türkiye, they told reporters.

One returnee described a soldier groping and slapping her in a dark container, and being terrified that she would be raped.

Another recounted detained activists being put in what she called a "stress position", on their knees with their foreheads on the ground for several hours, while the Israeli national anthem played on repeat.

Asked by AFP to respond to the claims of physical and psychological violence, sexual harassment, assault and rape, the Israeli prison service said the accusations were "entirely without factual basis".

Francesca Albanese, an outspoken UN expert on the Palestinian territories, has said the treatment of the flotilla activists "is a luxury compared to what is inflicted on Palestinians in Israeli prisons".

World

WHO Announces $518 Million Six-month Plan to Fight Ebola

A health worker stands at a temporary health clinic at the Mpondwe border crossing linking Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)
A health worker stands at a temporary health clinic at the Mpondwe border crossing linking Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)
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WHO Announces $518 Million Six-month Plan to Fight Ebola

A health worker stands at a temporary health clinic at the Mpondwe border crossing linking Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)
A health worker stands at a temporary health clinic at the Mpondwe border crossing linking Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP)

The World Health Organization chief announced a $518 million six-month joint plan to fight Ebola on Friday, calling for money and political commitment to halt the spread of the outbreak that is already the fourth biggest on record.

“It's time-bound plan covering June to November this year, and ... the cost of the plan is at $518 million," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announcing the strategy with Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The outbreak is moving fast and we are still playing catch-up," he said. "Containing Ebola requires political commitment, sustained finances and trust in engaging the communities," he added.

The epidemic persisted for weeks undetected, the Africa CDC said at the same briefing, leaving health authorities now behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control.

So far there have been 381 confirmed cases in Congo and 62 confirmed deaths, according to Africa CDC.

The rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine, is responsible for the current outbreak.

"This outbreak is very serious. If you compare with previous Bundibugyo outbreaks this is the most serious Bundibugyo outbreak we have," Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said at the same press conference.

He said that donors have so far pledged $315.8 million towards containing the disease, down from an original $498 million after he said some donors "corrected" their figures. It was not immediately clear if that pledged money would go towards the six-month plan or not and he did not provide further details.

The Africa CDC announced the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Congo's 17th Ebola outbreak, on May 15, and the World Health Organization swiftly declared it a public health emergency of international concern.