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Ali Larijani Reappointed Secretary of Iran’s Top Security Body

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani gives a press conference in Tehran, Iran, December 1, 2019 (AP)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani gives a press conference in Tehran, Iran, December 1, 2019 (AP)
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Ali Larijani Reappointed Secretary of Iran’s Top Security Body

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani gives a press conference in Tehran, Iran, December 1, 2019 (AP)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani gives a press conference in Tehran, Iran, December 1, 2019 (AP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to the supreme leader, as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.

The appointment takes place amid institutional changes following a 12-day air war with Israel in June, the country's most severe security challenge since a war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1980s.

A former member of the Revolutionary Guards, Larijani held the same top security position from 2005 to 2007 and was parliamentary speaker from 2008 to 2020. He now replaces Ali Akbar Ahmadian, who had become SNSC secretary in 2023.

On Sunday, Iran revived an Iraq war-era Defense Council to review defense plans and enhance the capabilities of its armed forces in a centralized manner.

Both the Defense Council and the SNSC are headed by Iran's president.

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World

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Disconnected from One of Two Power Lines

A Russian all-terrain armored vehicle is parked outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
A Russian all-terrain armored vehicle is parked outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
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Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Disconnected from One of Two Power Lines

A Russian all-terrain armored vehicle is parked outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
A Russian all-terrain armored vehicle is parked outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)

One of two high-voltage lines supplying electricity to the Russian-controlled ​Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been disconnected, the Russian management of the station said on Saturday.

The 330-kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna-1 line was disconnected ‌by a protection ‌system but ‌the ⁠plant ​continued ‌to receive power via the 750 kV Dniprovska line, the management said on the Telegram messaging app.

Radiation levels remained normal, the ⁠management said, Reuters reported.

The International Atomic Energy ‌Agency (IAEA) said on ‍X that it ‍had been informed about ‍the situation and was investigating the cause.

The station, which is not producing electricity but ​relies on external power to keep nuclear fuel cool, ⁠regularly loses power from one or both power lines.

Russian forces seized the nuclear plant, Europe's largest, in the early weeks of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and each side regularly accuses the other of ‌actions endangering safety there.

World

UK's Starmer Says Britain Was Not Involved in US Strikes on Venezuela

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts a reception to celebrate Hanukkah at Downing Street in London, Britain December 16, 2025. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts a reception to celebrate Hanukkah at Downing Street in London, Britain December 16, 2025. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS
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UK's Starmer Says Britain Was Not Involved in US Strikes on Venezuela

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts a reception to celebrate Hanukkah at Downing Street in London, Britain December 16, 2025. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts a reception to celebrate Hanukkah at Downing Street in London, Britain December 16, 2025. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was not involved in ​the United States' strikes on Venezuela on Saturday and that it was important to uphold international law, and that he wanted to speak to US President Donald Trump and find out exactly what had happened.

Trump said in a post on social media early ‌on Saturday that US ‌forces had captured Venezuela's ‌President ⁠Nicolas ​Maduro and ‌removed him from the country while Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said she did not know Maduro's location or if he was still alive.

Asked if he condemned the US action like the leaders of Britain's left-leaning Liberal Democrat and Green ⁠parties, who both called it unlawful, Starmer said he first ‌wanted to understand exactly what had ‍happened, Reuters reported.

"It's obviously a ‍fast-moving situation and we need to establish all ‍the facts," he said in a statement to British broadcasters.

"I want to speak to President Trump. I want to speak to allies. I can be absolutely ​clear that we were not involved ... and I always say and believe we ⁠should all uphold international law," he added.

Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party which is currently highest in the opinion polls, said he believed the US actions broke international law "but if they make China and Russia think twice, it may be a good thing".

Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, also said the foreign ministry was working to ensure the roughly 500 British ‌citizens in Venezuela remained safe.

Britain's foreign ministry advises against all travel to Venezuela.

World

Zelensky Proposes Moving Defense Minister to Energy in Cabinet Overhaul

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. File Photo/The AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. File Photo/The AP
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Zelensky Proposes Moving Defense Minister to Energy in Cabinet Overhaul

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. File Photo/The AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. File Photo/The AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday proposed moving his current defence minister into the role of energy minister, the latest top job to switch hands in a widening wartime reshuffle.

In a post on X, Zelensky said he had proposed "Denys Shmygal's appointment as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy", a day after announcing he wanted to replace Shmygal with his current minister of digital transformation.