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Iran's al-Quds Force Commander Issues Conflicting Statements

Al-Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani next to IRGC leaders (Tasnim)
Al-Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani next to IRGC leaders (Tasnim)
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Iran's al-Quds Force Commander Issues Conflicting Statements

Al-Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani next to IRGC leaders (Tasnim)
Al-Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani next to IRGC leaders (Tasnim)

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard's (IRGC) foreign operations official made contradictory statements about Tehran's connection with regional factions.

Al-Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said the resistance groups across the Middle East each have their independent arrangements, saying the Iraqi resistance will launch operations against the US if it continues its activities in Iraq.

Qaani said at a commemoration of Hossein Pourjafari, Qassem Soleimani's close associate, that "resistance" groups across the Middle East each have independent and individual structures.

"Palestinian resistance began its work with its preparation and the plan it had set," Qaani said.

Last week, the IRGC retracted a statement from its spokesman claiming the al-Aqsa Flood operation in the Gaza Strip was a retaliatory act for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the al-Quds Force.

Hamas swiftly rejected the spokesperson's statements, emphasizing that all of its actions are "in response to the presence of the occupation and its continued aggression against our people and our sanctities."

Subsequently, the Revolutionary Guard's media outlets distributed a brief statement indicating a partial revision of the spokesperson's statements, asserting the al-Aqsa Flood was an "entirely Palestinian operation."

The alteration was attributed to a "misunderstanding" of the spokesperson's earlier statements.

- Mousavi's mission in Syria

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that the assassination of Reza Mousavi would not diminish Iran's goals to ensure the maximum amount of regional security.

Tasnim Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, reported that Amirabdollahian said he was in contact with Mousavi during his visits to Syria.

Amirabdollahian pointed out that the assassination of Mousavi was evidence of Israel's failure during the past eighty days at the hands of the resistance in Gaza.

Earlier, IRGC commander Hussein Salami pledged to "eliminate" Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Mousavi and said, "Palestinian fighters will wipe out the geographical and political name of this evil and fake regime," according to what Reuters reported last Thursday.

Last Monday, the IRGC adviser was killed in an Israeli air strike in Syria in the Sayyida Zeinab area near Damascus, which heightened fears of additional regional escalation amid the war in the Gaza Strip.

It was reported that Mousavi helped monitor the delivery of missiles and other weapons to numerous Iranian-backed militias in the region since the beginning of the battles in the Gaza Strip, according to a New York Times report.

Since the killing of Qassem Soleimani in a US raid in Baghdad in 2020, Iranian officials issued statements threatening "response and revenge," but Tehran appears to be adhering to the rules of engagement.

Observers believe that the Iranian authorities' execution of four "saboteurs" linked to the Israeli Mossad intelligence service falls within the reaction to the killing of the supplies official.

Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, reported that "four members of a sabotage team associated with the Zionist regime ... were executed this morning following legal procedures," accusing them of "extensive" actions, guided by Mossad officers, targeting Iran's security.

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World

South Sudanese Migrant Jailed in UK for Piloting Record Channel Boat Crossing

FILE PHOTO: Life jackets abandoned by migrants are seen in the Slack dunes, the day after migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they attempted to cross the English Channel, in Wimereux, near Calais, France, November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Life jackets abandoned by migrants are seen in the Slack dunes, the day after migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they attempted to cross the English Channel, in Wimereux, near Calais, France, November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
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South Sudanese Migrant Jailed in UK for Piloting Record Channel Boat Crossing

FILE PHOTO: Life jackets abandoned by migrants are seen in the Slack dunes, the day after migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they attempted to cross the English Channel, in Wimereux, near Calais, France, November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Life jackets abandoned by migrants are seen in the Slack dunes, the day after migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they attempted to cross the English Channel, in Wimereux, near Calais, France, November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

A South Sudanese man was jailed for two years and three months in an English court on Friday after he admitted piloting a small boat across the Channel from France, which carried a then-record 165 people.

Chan Mathok Atak, 19, previously pleaded guilty to endangering another during a July crossing to Britain in an inflatable dinghy.

The record for most migrants travelling to Britain across the Channel by small boat was broken again last month, when 230 people made the journey.

Atak's sentencing comes as the numbers of those arriving in Britain across the Channel have fallen, but the crossings remain a prominent political issue which ⁠successive British governments have ⁠struggled to tackle.

Earlier this month, hundreds of black-clad protesters gathered twice in two days on Britain's south coast, blocking streets in response to arrivals of small boats, which a government minister described as "thuggish".

Right-wing opposition parties and anti-migration activists have called for more action, but greater cooperation with French authorities and even repeated deaths have not ⁠deterred many people from seeking to make the perilous journey.

Atak was sentenced to 27 months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court. Prosecutor James Harrison said Atak piloted the dinghy for at least 90 minutes while it carried 164 other people, including 31 children aged 14 to 17.

He said there was no navigational or first aid equipment on the boat, which had only one of its two engines working and was slowly deflating and taking on sea water before it was intercepted by Britain's Border ⁠Force.

Atak's lawyer ⁠Audrey Cherryl Mogan said Atak was a young asylum seeker from South Sudan who did not have anything to do with the number of people or the conditions on board.

Judge Sarah Counsell accepted there was no evidence Atak organized the journey, but said that "those who chose to steer such vessels assume responsibility for the safety of those on board".

"This undermines public confidence in the immigration system and places considerable strain on already stretched public resources," she added.

The National Crime Agency's senior investigating officer John Turner said in a statement: "Chan Atak was unimaginably reckless and his actions could have easily resulted in many deaths had this boat not been intercepted."

World

At Least 16 Killed in Suicide Attack on Police Facility in Northwest Pakistan

File photo: Firefighters work to extinguish the burning cars at the site of bomb explosion, in Quetta, Pakistan, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)
File photo: Firefighters work to extinguish the burning cars at the site of bomb explosion, in Quetta, Pakistan, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)
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At Least 16 Killed in Suicide Attack on Police Facility in Northwest Pakistan

File photo: Firefighters work to extinguish the burning cars at the site of bomb explosion, in Quetta, Pakistan, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)
File photo: Firefighters work to extinguish the burning cars at the site of bomb explosion, in Quetta, Pakistan, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

At least 16 people, including five police personnel, were killed in northwest Pakistan on Friday after a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden car into a police facility as people were praying at a mosque inside, police said. 

The incident occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Kohat city, with the ‌vehicle ramming ‌into an outer wall ‌of ⁠the police facility and ⁠gunmen who accompanied it opening fire, provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed said. 

It was a suicide attack, he added. 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, according to Reuters. 

The blast occurred close ⁠to a mosque where the ‌police personnel, their ‌family members, and other civilians were offering ‌Friday prayers, a police statement said. 

A ‌gun battle was still raging between police and the attackers, and one assailant wearing an explosives-laden vest had been killed, ‌the statement said. 

The interior ministry said the "cowardly actions" of ⁠the attackers ⁠could not weaken the "nation's firm resolve". 

Militancy in Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent months, targeting mainly the military and police. 

Islamabad says the militants use safe havens in Afghanistan to train and plan attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan's Taliban government has denied the charge and said militancy is Pakistan's domestic problem. 

 

World

Spanish Police Launch Operation to Clear Ceuta Migrants off Beach

The Spanish National Police transfer hundreds of migrants who had been sleeping on the street to a new location consisting of several tents, aiming to prevent them from continuing to sleep outdoors, in Ceuta, Spain, 13 September 2026. EPA/Reduan
The Spanish National Police transfer hundreds of migrants who had been sleeping on the street to a new location consisting of several tents, aiming to prevent them from continuing to sleep outdoors, in Ceuta, Spain, 13 September 2026. EPA/Reduan
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Spanish Police Launch Operation to Clear Ceuta Migrants off Beach

The Spanish National Police transfer hundreds of migrants who had been sleeping on the street to a new location consisting of several tents, aiming to prevent them from continuing to sleep outdoors, in Ceuta, Spain, 13 September 2026. EPA/Reduan
The Spanish National Police transfer hundreds of migrants who had been sleeping on the street to a new location consisting of several tents, aiming to prevent them from continuing to sleep outdoors, in Ceuta, Spain, 13 September 2026. EPA/Reduan

Spanish riot police fired rubber ‌bullets into the air and struck people with batons on Friday as they began an operation to clear thousands of migrants off beaches in the North African enclave of Ceuta and move some of them into temporary housing. 

Spain estimates 10,000 migrants remain in the tiny territory. More than 72,000 crossed into the enclave from Morocco at the end of July in an unprecedented border rush, although most later left, Reuters said. 

The authorities have built new temporary housing inside the enclave's port to hold 1,700 people. ‌NGOs say ‌thousands remain unhoused and have been sleeping rough ‌in ⁠camps. 

Friday's operation to ⁠clear the beaches began shortly before 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and involved both riot police and the Spanish military. 

Migrants who had spent the night waiting on the beach in hope of a place in temporary shelter initially applauded as the march got under way, but tussles later broke out as ⁠they competed for the limited number of places ‌available. 

Footage from state broadcaster TVE ‌showed crowding and jostling as people struggled to enter the designated route. Police ‌fired rubber bullets into the air and struck several migrants ‌with batons before the situation calmed down and the operation resumed. 

Later footage showed mostly adult men carrying belongings, walking in small groups under police escort along a route of just over 1 km (0.6 miles) ‌from the El Trampolin beach to the port. 

The vast majority of the migrants are men ⁠and boys. ⁠The temporary housing is built only for adult men, so minors are being separated and housed separately. 

Three NGO leaders told Reuters that authorities had been too slow to provide migrants with minimum shelter required under the European migration pact, and that reception centers opened so far could not accommodate those still sleeping on the streets. 

One NGO estimated that about 4,000 migrants remained outdoors on Ceuta's beaches and pavements, meaning the new center would not be sufficient to clear makeshift camps in public areas. Two NGO leaders said officials probably expect most migrants to return voluntarily to Morocco.