Khamenei Urges Belarusian President to Confront US Sanctions

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)
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Khamenei Urges Belarusian President to Confront US Sanctions

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AP)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to confront US sanctions, noting that countries subject to Western sanctions must counter the scheme through cooperation and by setting up a joint assembly.

The two countries signed a roadmap to boost political, economic, and cultural cooperation.

Lukashenko arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a two-day visit and was officially received by President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday. The visit comes as the two countries mark 30 years of official diplomatic relations.

Khamenei called for employing the two countries' will to implement cooperation agreements and promote their level of relations.

Raisi hailed three decades of close ties with Belarus after talks with his counterpart.

"Thirty years after the start of relations... the two countries have the will to strengthen cooperation," Raisi said, praising their "common strategic vision."

For his part, Lukashenko praised "with great respect the perseverance with which the (Iranian) people resist external pressures, attempts to impose the will of others on them."

"And I see that, despite everything, you are developing modern technologies and nuclear energy," he added about Iran's contested nuclear program, which has sparked tough international sanctions against the country.

"We could be very helpful to each other if we put our efforts together," added Lukashenko.

The two presidents did not mention the Ukraine war in their statements.

Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Tehran maintains close ties with Russia while at the same time asserting it maintains a neutral diplomatic stance in the Ukraine war.

However, Washington recently warned of the "dangerous" increase in military cooperation between Russia and Iran, accusing Tehran of providing Moscow with drones to use in Ukraine, which Tehran denies.

Iran recently announced that it finalized a contract with Russia to purchase Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets.

Lukashenko recently paid a three-day visit to China, during which he said he fully supports Beijing's proposals to stop the war.

Belarus, neighboring Ukraine, did not send soldiers to fight alongside the Russian army, but its territory served as a rear base for Moscow's troops.



Iran’s New Supreme Leader ‘Safe and Sound’ Despite War Injury Reports, Says President’s Son

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2016. Rouhollah Vahdati/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2016. Rouhollah Vahdati/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran’s New Supreme Leader ‘Safe and Sound’ Despite War Injury Reports, Says President’s Son

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2016. Rouhollah Vahdati/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2016. Rouhollah Vahdati/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "safe and sound" despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, said the son of the Iranian president on Wednesday.

"I heard news that Mar Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound," said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel.

State television had called Khamenei a "wounded veteran of the Ramadan war" but never specified his injury.

The new supreme leader is the son and successor of the country's longtime ruler Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 which triggered a war across the Middle East.

The 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, a discreet figure who has rarely appeared in public or spoken at official events, has yet to address the nation or issue a written statement since he was declared supreme leader on Sunday.

In a Wednesday report, the New York Times quoting three unnamed Iranian officials said that Khamenei "had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication".


North Korean Leader Kim Watches Cruise Missile Tests with His Daughter

 This picture taken on March 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae watching a televised test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) /
This picture taken on March 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae watching a televised test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) /
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North Korean Leader Kim Watches Cruise Missile Tests with His Daughter

 This picture taken on March 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae watching a televised test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) /
This picture taken on March 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae watching a televised test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the destroyer Choe Hyon, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (KCNA via KNS / AFP) /

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his teenage daughter observed tests of strategic cruise missiles fired from a warship, state media reported Wednesday, as North Korea threatened responses to US-South Korean military drills.

Images sent by the Korean Central News Agency showed the two in a conference room looking at a screen showing weapons being fired from the Choe Hyon, a year-old naval destroyer.

Kim Jong Un watched the missiles launches via video on Tuesday and underscored the need to maintain “a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent," KCNA reported in a dispatch that did not mention his daughter.

The girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and about 13, has accompanied her father at numerous prominent events including military parades and weapons launches since late 2022. South Korea’s spy agency assessed last month Kim Jong Un was close to designating her as his heir.

KCNA said the missiles hit target islands off North Korea's west coast. It quoted Kim Jong Un as saying the launches were meant to demonstrate the navy's strategic offensive posture and get troops familiarized with weapons firings.

Kim Jong Un observed similar cruise missile launches from the Choe Hyon in person last week, but his daughter was not seen at that appearance.

Tuesday's missile firings came after the start of the springtime US-South Korean military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.

On Tuesday, Kim Jong Un's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, warned the drills reveal again the US and South Korea's “inveterate repugnancy toward" North Korea. She said North Korea will “convince the enemies of our war deterrence.”

The 11-day Freedom Shield drill that began Monday is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise and will be accompanied by a field training program. North Korea often reacts to the two sets of training with its own weapons tests.


6 Killed in Swiss Bus Blaze after Person Reportedly Sets Themselves on Fire

Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly bus fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, March 10, 2026. STATE OF FREIBURG/Handout via REUTERS
Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly bus fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, March 10, 2026. STATE OF FREIBURG/Handout via REUTERS
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6 Killed in Swiss Bus Blaze after Person Reportedly Sets Themselves on Fire

Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly bus fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, March 10, 2026. STATE OF FREIBURG/Handout via REUTERS
Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly bus fire in Kerzers, Switzerland, March 10, 2026. STATE OF FREIBURG/Handout via REUTERS

At least six people died and three others were injured in a bus fire on Tuesday in a small town in western Switzerland, in what police said may have been a deliberate act following reports that a person on board set fire to themselves.

Police said the bus became engulfed in flames on a road in Kerzers, a town in the canton of Fribourg, about 20 km (12 miles) from the Swiss capital, Bern.

"At this stage, we have ⁠elements suggesting a ⁠deliberate act by a person who was inside the bus," said Frederic Papaux, a spokesperson for Fribourg police.

Investigators were looking into reports that a person had poured fuel on themselves, said Christa Bielmann, another local police spokesperson. It was too early to say whether the incident was terror-related, ⁠she told a press conference.

Three injured people were taken to hospital, Reuters quoted police as saying. Two other people caught up in the blaze also received attention but did not need to be hospitalized.

Passengers were seen escaping from the burning bus, panicked and injured, Papaux said, adding that no other vehicle was involved.

Swiss media outlet 20 Minutes said it had seen a video taken at the scene in which an injured person said: "A man set himself on fire. He poured gasoline ⁠over himself ⁠and then lit himself."

Video after the flames were extinguished showed the charred remains of the vehicle, a yellow so-called Postauto.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin offered his condolences and said the incident was being investigated.

"It shocks and saddens me that once again people have lost their lives in a serious fire in Switzerland," he said in a statement on X, noting investigations were under way. In January, Switzerland was rocked by a fire in a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans Montana that killed 41 people and injured 115.