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60% of Tehran Buildings Short of Quake-Proof Standards

FILE: Survivors sit in front of buildings damaged by an earthquake, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, western Iran, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Omid Salehi)
FILE: Survivors sit in front of buildings damaged by an earthquake, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, western Iran, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Omid Salehi)
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60% of Tehran Buildings Short of Quake-Proof Standards

FILE: Survivors sit in front of buildings damaged by an earthquake, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, western Iran, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Omid Salehi)
FILE: Survivors sit in front of buildings damaged by an earthquake, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, western Iran, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Omid Salehi)

Six out of 10 buildings in Tehran fall short of seismic standards and are likely to suffer serious damage in the event of a major earthquake, the Hamshahri newspaper reported Wednesday.

"Sixty percent of the buildings do not comply with the anti-seismic standards and will be seriously damaged" in the case of a quake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, the head of the city's risk management department Reza Karami-Mohammadi was quoted as saying.

Twenty percent of buildings in the capital would be "completely destroyed" in the case of such a quake, he added, AFP reported.

The remarks were made during a council meeting at which Karami-Mohammadi reportedly pleaded for renovations in areas with the oldest buildings to limit the damage from earthquakes.

Iran is located on the edge of several tectonic plates and crossed by several fault lines.

The Tehran metropolitan area has a population of over nine million.

In May last year, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake whose epicenter was 55 kilometres (34 miles) from the capital killed one person and injured more than 20 others.

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World

Ten US Warships in Middle East as Trump Threatens Iran

A US Navy officer walks past fighter jets sitting on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during a media tour in Port Klang, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, on November 26, 2024. (AFP)
A US Navy officer walks past fighter jets sitting on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during a media tour in Port Klang, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, on November 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Ten US Warships in Middle East as Trump Threatens Iran

A US Navy officer walks past fighter jets sitting on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during a media tour in Port Klang, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, on November 26, 2024. (AFP)
A US Navy officer walks past fighter jets sitting on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during a media tour in Port Klang, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, on November 26, 2024. (AFP)

The recent arrival of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East brings the number of US warships in the region to 10, putting significant firepower at President Donald Trump's disposal if he decides to strike Iran.

The number of ships in the Middle East is now roughly equal to that sent to the Caribbean ahead of the stunning US operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which American forces carried out at the beginning of the year.

A US official on Wednesday put the total number of US ships in the Middle East at 10. The figure includes the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group, which boasts three destroyers and F-35C stealth warplanes.

There are also six other US warships operating in the region -- three destroyers and three littoral combat ships.

"A massive Armada is heading to Iran," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Wednesday, saying: "Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary."

"Time is running out," he added, urging Tehran to "MAKE A DEAL!"

Tehran's mission to the United Nations hit back, saying in a post on X that the country "stands ready for dialogue" but "IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!"

The carrier and its accompanying ships were ordered to the Middle East as Iran cracked down on protests that were initially driven by economic grievances, but which turned into a mass movement against the regime.

The clerical leadership that took power after the 1979 revolution responded to the demonstrations with deadly force and has held onto power, with many opponents of the system looking to outside intervention as the most likely driver of change.

Trump had repeatedly warned Iran that if it killed protesters, the United States would intervene militarily, and also encouraged Iranians to take over state institutions, saying "help is on the way."

He pulled back from ordering strikes earlier this month, saying Tehran had halted more than 800 executions under pressure from Washington, but has since renewed threats against Iran.

World

Storm Kristin Kills at Least Three in Portugal, Barrels into Spain

A picture taken on January 28, 2026 shows tree branches fallen on a kiosk in Lisbon after storm Kristin hit Portugal. (AFP)
A picture taken on January 28, 2026 shows tree branches fallen on a kiosk in Lisbon after storm Kristin hit Portugal. (AFP)
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Storm Kristin Kills at Least Three in Portugal, Barrels into Spain

A picture taken on January 28, 2026 shows tree branches fallen on a kiosk in Lisbon after storm Kristin hit Portugal. (AFP)
A picture taken on January 28, 2026 shows tree branches fallen on a kiosk in Lisbon after storm Kristin hit Portugal. (AFP)

Storm Kristin killed at least three people and left over 800,000 residents of central and northern Portugal without electricity on Wednesday, as it toppled trees, damaged homes, and disrupted road and rail traffic before moving inland to Spain.

One person died when a tree fell on their car in Vila Franca de Xira, on the outskirts of Lisbon, according to emergency services. Two more were killed in the central ‌district of Leiria - ‌one of the most ‌affected ⁠areas - according to ‌the local council.

Civil protection authorities reported more than 3,000 weather-related incidents, triggered by wind gusts of up to 150 km/h (93 mph), heavy rain and snowfall in the country of nearly 11 million people.

Grid operator E-Redes said technical teams were working to reestablish power supplies to some ⁠half a million customers in the afternoon, while earlier as many ‌as 855,000 had been left without electricity.

After ‍sweeping through Portugal, the ‍storm then pushed east into Spain, which is ‍still recovering from a previous system, Storm Joseph. In the coastal town of Torremolinos, strong winds felled a palm tree on Tuesday, killing a woman.

More than 160 roads across Spain were affected by snow early on Wednesday. That included 27 motorways on the main ⁠highway network, among them the A-6 linking Madrid with the northwest. Snow also blanketed rooftops in parts of central Madrid but caused no major disruptions.

Spain's national weather agency, AEMET, warned that large areas of the country would face very strong winds, with some gusts reaching hurricane force. Authorities issued a red alert in parts of southern Almeria province due to the intensity of the winds.

Local authorities closed parks, and in some areas ‌outdoor sports and educational activities were suspended.

World

Iranian ‘Regime’s Days Are Numbered’, Says Germany’s Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference with Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan(not pictured) at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 28 January 2026. (EPA)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference with Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan(not pictured) at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 28 January 2026. (EPA)
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Iranian ‘Regime’s Days Are Numbered’, Says Germany’s Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference with Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan(not pictured) at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 28 January 2026. (EPA)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press conference with Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan(not pictured) at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 28 January 2026. (EPA)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday that the Iranian government's "days are numbered" as US President Donald Trump renews threats of intervention after a crackdown on protests in the country.

"A regime that can only hold onto power through sheer violence and terror against its own population: its days are numbered," Merz said at a press conference alongside Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.

"It could be a matter of weeks, but this regime has no legitimacy to govern the country," Merz added.

A reported death toll in the thousands during recent demonstrations "shows that the mullahs' regime can apparently only cling to power through sheer terror", the chancellor said.

One rights group -- the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA -- said that it had verified over 6,200 deaths, mostly of protesters killed by security forces, in the wave of demonstrations that rocked the clerical leadership since late December but peaked on January 8-9.

Activists say the actual toll could be many times higher, with an internet shutdown still complicating efforts to confirm information about the scale of the killings.

Merz also threw his weight behind Italy's push to have the European Union designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

"I very much regret that there are still one or two countries in the European Union that are not yet prepared" to support such a designation, Merz said.