Netherlands Summons Iran Ambassador over Child Killed in Iraq Attack

Civil defense team carry out search and rescue operations in a damaged building following a missile strike launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Kurdistan region's capital of Erbil, on January 17, 2024. (AFP)
Civil defense team carry out search and rescue operations in a damaged building following a missile strike launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Kurdistan region's capital of Erbil, on January 17, 2024. (AFP)
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Netherlands Summons Iran Ambassador over Child Killed in Iraq Attack

Civil defense team carry out search and rescue operations in a damaged building following a missile strike launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Kurdistan region's capital of Erbil, on January 17, 2024. (AFP)
Civil defense team carry out search and rescue operations in a damaged building following a missile strike launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Kurdistan region's capital of Erbil, on January 17, 2024. (AFP)

The Dutch government on Friday summoned the Iranian ambassador to the Netherlands following the death of a Dutch baby in an attack by Iran on Erbil, Iraq.

Iran on Monday struck Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, with ballistic missiles in what it said was an attack on an Israeli spy headquarters, a claim denied by Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish officials.

The attack killed at least four people, including a prominent Kurdish businessman and his infant child.

A Dutch child of less than one year old had died in attacks by Iran on Erbil, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said in a statement.

She added she had asked her Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, for clarification and had summoned the Iranian ambassador.

Amirabdollahian, in comments quoted by Iran's state media, told Bruins Slot: "We don't have documentary proof about the killing of a child at the Mossad terrorist compound in northern Iraq."

"We are drawing the Dutch government's attention to the genocide and massacre of thousands of Palestinian women and children in Gaza," he added in the phone call.



Trump Says US will Be 'Paid' for Guarding Strait of Hormuz

Ships anchored near the Strait of Hormuz await passage (AFP)
Ships anchored near the Strait of Hormuz await passage (AFP)
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Trump Says US will Be 'Paid' for Guarding Strait of Hormuz

Ships anchored near the Strait of Hormuz await passage (AFP)
Ships anchored near the Strait of Hormuz await passage (AFP)

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States would be paid for guarding the Strait of Hormuz after declaring that it would be "taking over" the strategic waterway.

"We'll become the guardian of the Strait," Trump told Fox News, adding that the US had been guarding it for "nothing" but now would be reimbursed by wealthy nations, AFP reported.

"We're going to get paid for guarding it. A lot of money, but we just want to be reimbursed for doing all of this, for putting our people in danger."


Türkiye Prosecutors Order Nearly 1,000 Arrests ahead of Coup Anniversary

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Prosecutors Order Nearly 1,000 Arrests ahead of Coup Anniversary

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

A decade after Türkiye ‘s failed 2016 coup, prosecutors ordered the arrest of nearly 1,000 suspects linked to an organization that Ankara holds responsible, the justice minister said Monday.

On July 15, 2016 a rogue military faction made a short-lived bid to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sparking fighting that left some 250 people dead and another 2,000 wounded, AFP said.

Ankara blamed the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally-turned-foe who has since died, vowing to eradicate his organization -- which it dubbed the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO -- from Turkish society.

Ankara imposed a two-year state of emergency during which it carried out a vast purge of the army, the police, the media, judiciary, the education system and the diplomatic sphere that saw hundreds of thousands detained and tens of thousands sacked, leaving a permanent mark on Turkish society.

Describing Monday's nationwide sweep as part of "the great purification campaign", Justice Minister Akin Gurlek and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said police were seeking "968 suspects" in order to root out FETO-related elements.

"Our nation's will and the survival of our state are under threat from the treacherous FETO/PDY network, and our struggle against it continues with the same determination as on the first day," they wrote on X, using an acronym referring to the "parallel state structure" Ankara says Gulen's group set up.

Analysts say the coup became a turning point in modern Türkiye’s history, allowing Erdogan to cement his grip on power.

Last week, Ciftci sent a letter to the governors of Türkiye’s 81 provinces, describing the events of July 15, 2016 as "a foundational and indisputable turning point".


France Set to Summon Russian Ambassador to Paris over Alleged Cyberattack Campaign

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot attends a joint press conference with the Polish foreign minister following their meeting at the Polish Foreign Ministry headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, 09 July 2026.  EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot attends a joint press conference with the Polish foreign minister following their meeting at the Polish Foreign Ministry headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, 09 July 2026. EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT
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France Set to Summon Russian Ambassador to Paris over Alleged Cyberattack Campaign

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot attends a joint press conference with the Polish foreign minister following their meeting at the Polish Foreign Ministry headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, 09 July 2026.  EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot attends a joint press conference with the Polish foreign minister following their meeting at the Polish Foreign Ministry headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, 09 July 2026. EPA/Radek Pietruszka POLAND OUT

France will summon the Russian ambassador to Paris in the coming days over an ‌alleged cyberhacking campaign ‌that Russia has carried ‌out ⁠against European countries including ⁠France, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.

He added France would also place sanctions on some Russian individuals and entities, Reuters reported.

"Today, we will publicly condemn a widespread cyber campaign conducted ⁠by Russia that aimed to ‌carry out sabotage ‌and spying conducted against a dozen countries," ‌Barrot told BFM TV.

"We will summon ‌the Russian ambassador to France in the coming days," he said, adding that France would sanction nine Russian individuals and four ‌Russian entities regarding this campaign of cyberattacks that Barrot said Russia's ⁠Federal Security ⁠Service had orchestrated.

The European Union is trying to seal a 21st package of sanctions against Moscow in response to Russia's war with Ukraine and may on Monday decide to add further names to their sanctions list, the European Union's foreign policy chief said. The French government has previously accused Moscow of conducting cyberattacks against the country.