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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)
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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.

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World

Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
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Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa

The true number of Ebola cases in Congo is at least double, and possibly four times, ‌the official tally, ‌the World ‌Health ⁠Organization's emergencies chief said ⁠on Tuesday.

"We think, with some of our support and ⁠modelling, the ‌scale of ‌the outbreak is ‌at least ‌2-4 times the number of cases we are finding," ‌Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director ⁠of ⁠the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Reuters.

World

Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted five ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a raft of overnight attacks, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday, though other missiles and drones got through and hit the capital Kyiv.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine claimed to have downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles.

Ukrainian air defenses likely used the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war.

In Kyiv, the attack caused fires at two warehouses, while a school was also damaged, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack targeted military manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian capital that produce long-range missiles and drones.

Moscow wants to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.

Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defense shield as another winter looms. Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that, since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, have hammered the power grid.

In an important step forward for Kyiv’s air defense effort, nine other countries joined Ukraine in a coalition announced Monday to build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system.

Zelenskyy was still in Paris on Tuesday where he attended France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations.

President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the US will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems itself. However, Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will be at least a few years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.

Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.

In the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, the attack caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, local authorities said.

Unconfirmed media reports said an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was also hit by the attack. Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but didn’t specify what was hit.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula and the Azov and the Black seas.

World

Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
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Iran Condemns Britain's Designation of Revolutionary Guards as Security Threat

British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo
British MPs called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be listed as a terrorist group. Reuters file photo

Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a security threat, calling the ‌move "unjustified" and "irresponsible".

The ‌ministry said ‌the ⁠IRGC was an ⁠official part of Iran's armed forces and accused Britain of violating international law by ⁠targeting a ‌state ‌institution, said Reuters.

Britain on Monday ‌banned support for ‌the IRGC and a linked group under new powers aimed ‌at preventing foreign states from using proxies ⁠for ⁠activities such as surveillance and sabotage.

Iran, which is at war with the United States and Israel, has previously denied using proxies.