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Israel Says Targeted Tehran Airport in Wave of Overnight Strikes

Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Says Targeted Tehran Airport in Wave of Overnight Strikes

Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on March 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on March 7, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's military said on Saturday it had struck aircraft belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards at Tehran's Mehrabad airport, as part of a wave of strikes overnight on the city.

"The Israeli Air Force... completed a broad wave of strikes across Tehran and on military infrastructure located at the 'Merabad Airport' in Tehran", it said in a statement.

"16 aircraft of the 'Quds Force' unit of the IRGC were precisely dismantled", it said, referring to the branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that oversees its foreign operations.

The military accused the Guards of using Mehrabad International Airport, one of two that serve the capital, to send cash and weapons to its proxies in the Middle East, including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

"Also targeted were several Iranian fighter jets that posed a threat to Israeli Air Force aircraft operating in Iranian airspace", the statement added.

The army also said strikes overnight hit a key command center for the Iranian air force, as well as a site used to manufacture ballistic missiles.

Earlier on Saturday, Israel's military said more than 80 fighter jets completed a wave of strikes on Iranian military sites, missile launchers and other targets in Tehran and central Iran.

"Over 80 Israeli Air Force fighter jets... completed an additional wave of strikes targeting infrastructure belonging to the Iranian terror regime," the military said in a statement.

The statement said that jets hit a military academy belonging to the Revolutionary Guards which "was being used as an emergency asset".

It said the facility was being used for military operations, making it "a lawful military objective".

Other targets included an underground command center and missile storage facility as well as launch sites, "in order to reduce the scope of fire directed at the territory of the State of Israel", the statement said.

Israeli media reported that the commander of Israel's air force General Tomer Bar had personally taken part in an overnight sortie to hit Tehran.

When Israel joined the United States in a massive wave of strikes on Iran at the start of the war, the Israeli military said 200 fighter jets took part in the raids, calling it the largest in the air force's history.

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World

France's Macron to Visit Marseille after Protest Violence

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the outcome of Saturday's protests was more 'positive' than a week ago. Sylvain THOMAS / AFP
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the outcome of Saturday's protests was more 'positive' than a week ago. Sylvain THOMAS / AFP
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France's Macron to Visit Marseille after Protest Violence

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the outcome of Saturday's protests was more 'positive' than a week ago. Sylvain THOMAS / AFP
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the outcome of Saturday's protests was more 'positive' than a week ago. Sylvain THOMAS / AFP

The French government sought to draw a line Monday under weeks of protests that have been marred by violence, with President Emmanuel Macron headed to Marseille and the prime minister to meet with students demanding better school conditions.

France has been rocked by widespread anger over the rising cost of living, with nationwide demonstrations on October 17 degenerating into some of the country's worst rioting in years.

The demonstrations have come at a critical moment for France, six months ahead of a presidential election to replace centrist Macron.

The frontrunner -- far-right leader Marine le Pen -- held an election rally in Orleans Sunday, a day after yet more demonstrations also saw some violent clashes on the sidelines.

She vowed to "restore the rule of law" if elected next year. Polls show the protests and ensuing disorder have boosted her support, as the government and Macron faced sharp criticism over the unrest.

Authorities have admitted to security and intelligence failures that paved the way for the clashes, large-scale looting and vandalism of public property that erupted on October 17, and had stepped up security for Saturday's protests.

While Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the outcome of Saturday's rallies was more "positive" than a week ago, street violence still erupted in the French capital and a number of other cities including Marseille.

The Elysee said Macron would visit the city hall in Marseille, France's second-largest city, on Monday, after it was damaged in the protest violence on October 17.

He was also due to meet shopkeepers who had fallen victim to looting and vandalism, the Elysee said.

"He will also pay tribute to and thank the internal security forces that helped restore republican order," the presidency said.

After this weekend's protests, many shopfronts in the city center were still boarded up early Monday, just hours before Macron's arrival.

Macron's visit was intended to demonstrate that "the state is present, standing firm and fulfilling its mission to protect," an aide said.

- 'High level of violence' -

A total of 1,435 people were arrested on the sidelines of the most recent weekend protests, Nunez said on Monday.

"The day was brought under control and there were no serious incidents," he told broadcaster BFMTV.

"Nevertheless, we saw a very high level of violence directed at the internal security forces," Nunez added.

He said that 267 police officers and gendarmes were injured, along with 150 protesters, including three who were seriously hurt in Toulouse, Reims and Clermont-Ferrand.

The unrest followed weeks of demonstrations by students campaigning for better learning conditions.

Several teenage protesters have been seriously injured and thousands arrested.

The police response to their demonstrations, which included blockades of schools, has been criticized as heavy-handed and sparked a broader movement against the cost of living and police violence.

In Paris on Monday, Lecornu was to meet student leaders, with National Education Minister Edouard Geffray and Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste joining him for the talks. Following that meeting, Geffray and Baptiste will hold a news conference.

Macron already met representatives of secondary school pupils last Friday, but they emerged from the talks urging students to keep protesting until the government put forward concrete proposals to address their demands.

On top of the protests, the country was last week shaken by a shooting that killed one person and wounded five, including a 12-year-old girl, outside Paris.

Macron has branded the shooting a "racist terrorist attack", as most of the victims were from foreign backgrounds.

World

Bangladesh Measles Crisis 'Warning Sign' of Other Outbreaks

A child receives treatment for measles at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute in Dhaka on September 3. Salahuddin Ahmed / AFP
A child receives treatment for measles at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute in Dhaka on September 3. Salahuddin Ahmed / AFP
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Bangladesh Measles Crisis 'Warning Sign' of Other Outbreaks

A child receives treatment for measles at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute in Dhaka on September 3. Salahuddin Ahmed / AFP
A child receives treatment for measles at the Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute in Dhaka on September 3. Salahuddin Ahmed / AFP

Experts have warned Bangladesh that deadly outbreaks of diphtheria, whooping cough and polio could follow an ongoing measles epidemic that has already killed over 1,200 children, according to a report seen by AFP on Monday.

"The measles outbreak is a litmus test and a warning sign of a deteriorating immunization system," said the report by an independent committee of national and international experts, which carried out its research earlier in October.

Bangladesh has struggled since March to contain the outbreak, which has killed more than 1,200 children and infected 220,000 people, making it the country's deadliest in decades, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

"If no urgent mitigation measures are taken, it is only a matter of time before there are large outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria and even vaccine-derived poliovirus," added the report, which has been submitted to the government.

The health ministry pledged action on Monday.

"We are going to recruit vaccinators as quickly as possible as the first step towards implementing the recommendations," spokesman Zahid Raihan told AFP.

The government, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the Gavi vaccine alliance and other partners, deployed a 70-member team earlier this month to assess the country's immunization program.

The review found that just 82 percent of children were fully immunized, well below the national target of 95 percent. Around 40 percent of vaccinator posts remain vacant.

Bangladesh was long considered an immunization success story. Since its program began in 1979, the country has eliminated polio and neonatal tetanus and controlled rubella and hepatitis B.

A measles vaccination campaign planned for 2024 was delayed by the revolution that toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, while strikes and political instability further disrupted a campaign in 2025.

Authorities have since launched a mass vaccination drive, but cases continue to climb.

Measles spreads easily through coughs and sneezes and has no specific treatment. Complications include brain swelling and severe breathing problems, with young children particularly vulnerable.

Whooping cough can cause severe illness and death in infants. Diphtheria can obstruct breathing and damage the heart and nerves, while vaccine-derived poliovirus can cause paralysis in under-immunized populations.

World

Israeli President Says He Won’t Bow to US Pressure on the Next Govt

Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Andras Baka (not pictured) at the presidential Sandor Palace in Budapest on October 20, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Andras Baka (not pictured) at the presidential Sandor Palace in Budapest on October 20, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli President Says He Won’t Bow to US Pressure on the Next Govt

Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Andras Baka (not pictured) at the presidential Sandor Palace in Budapest on October 20, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart Andras Baka (not pictured) at the presidential Sandor Palace in Budapest on October 20, 2026. (AFP)

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said on Monday he won’t bend to pressure from US President Donald Trump on which party he will select first to form a government after Tuesday's national elections.

Herzog’s role is largely ceremonial. No single party is expected to outright win control of the country’s parliament, or Knesset.

The president is expected to tap the leader of the party with the most support to try to build a governing coalition, a process that could drag out for days or weeks, or fail entirely and force Israelis to return to the polls to vote again.

Herzog's remarks came after Trump reiterated his endorsement for Netanyahu, who is in a tight race to remain in power.

Herzog told the MS NOW cable news network that neither Trump nor anyone else “can intervene" and that it was up to him to see “what the facts are.”