Security Official: Iran Will Respond Against Israel if Infrastructure Attacked

FILE - Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
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Security Official: Iran Will Respond Against Israel if Infrastructure Attacked

FILE - Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Iran will respond to any attack against its infrastructure, including by striking Israel, the head of the country's top security body said on Friday, as Tehran and Washington have resumed fighting this week.

"Any attack on infrastructure will be retaliated against, and the criminal Zionist regime responsible for these atrocities will not be safe from the response of our fighters," Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr said in a statement carried by state TV.

Fighting picked up again this week between the US and Iran in the most significant exchange of fire since the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17, seeking to formalize an April ceasefire and guide talks to conclusively end the war.

The US military carried out heavy strikes overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, saying it targeted 90 military sites.

But Iran accused Washington of also targeting civilian infrastructure in order to detract from the funeral of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Bridges and railway links between the capital Tehran and Khamenei's hometown of Mashhad, where he was buried on Thursday, were hit, according to Iran.

Iranian authorities say 17 people have been killed in US strikes.

Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the Israeli prime minister spoke on Thursday with the US president, who informed him of the latest American moves in the Gulf.

Later on Thursday evening, Iranian state media reported a US-Israeli attack on a military headquarters near Bushehr, where Iran's only civilian nuclear plant is located.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was prepared to resume its military campaign against Iran if needed, vowing to do so "with even greater force".



Trump Says Iran 'Collapsing' Ahead of Sanctions Announcement

Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Trump Says Iran 'Collapsing' Ahead of Sanctions Announcement

Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran is "collapsing" hours before the US government was set to announce details of what it says will be crushing sanctions against Tehran.

"IRAN IS COMPLETELY COLLAPSING!!!" Trump posted in his trademark all-caps style on his social media platform Truth Social.

“President Trump decimated Iran’s economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker and inflation has rarely been higher,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Sunday in an opinion piece in the Financial Times.

“The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace.”


Health of Norway's King Deteriorated but he is Stable Now

(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)
(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)
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Health of Norway's King Deteriorated but he is Stable Now

(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)
(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)

Crown Prince Haakon visited his father King Harald of Norway on Monday at the hospital, after the king's health deteriorated over the weekend, public broadcaster NRK reported.

The 89-year-old monarch, who has been on sick leave for several weeks, was admitted to the National Hospital a week ago. He is now receiving antibiotics for a bacterial blood infection and has responded to treatment, the royal palace said late Sunday, adding that his condition is stable.

Haakon, has been serving as regent during that time, The Associated Press quoted the palace as saying.

The king has hemolytic anemia and was being treated with cortisone, leading to fluid accumulation in the body that required hospital treatment, the palace said last week.

Norway's prime minister sent his wishes for the king and said that “all of Norway is following and thinking about the king,” NRK reported.

“My strong wish is that he continues to receive good treatment from the good healthcare system we have,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.

Harald, who has been monarch since 1991, has been in and out of the hospital several times in recent years.

In February, he was admitted to a hospital in Spain’s Canary Islands during a winter vacation for treatment for a skin infection.

Two years ago, the king fell ill during a private vacation with the queen in Malaysia and received a temporary pacemaker there. Harald returned aboard a medical airplane to Norway, where he was fitted with a permanent pacemaker.


Report: Pakistan’s Munir Spoke to Trump Ahead of Tehran Visit

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir. (Reuters file)
Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir. (Reuters file)
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Report: Pakistan’s Munir Spoke to Trump Ahead of Tehran Visit

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir. (Reuters file)
Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir. (Reuters file)

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir spoke with US President Donald Trump last week, according to three Pakistani sources, days before Munir was expected to hold talks in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday.

The call, which has not been previously reported, came as the US threatened to roll out major economic sanctions targeting Iran and its trade partners.

The White House Office of the Press Secretary did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear what Munir and Trump ‌discussed.

Pakistan's military ‌confirmed the visit on Monday, saying ‌it was "part ⁠of Pakistan’s efforts ⁠to promote regional peace and stability." Iranian officials had confirmed the visit on Sunday, saying it was focused on security and peace.

Trump last week warned of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran" as he seeks to isolate the country. Iran in turn vowed ⁠to shut down all oil exports from the ‌Gulf.

Pakistan, which has played ‌a key mediating role between the US and Iran this year, has ‌remained a trading partner of Iran throughout the recent ‌fighting.

Munir was expected to meet with people close to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday, one Pakistani source said.

Pakistan's earlier mediation efforts between the US and Iran resulted in an interim peace agreement signed in June. But the Islamabad Memorandum quickly faltered, amid new fighting between Iran and the US that has threatened to spiral into a wider regional conflict in recent weeks.

"There is a trust deficit on both sides," a third Pakistani source said about the US and Iran, adding that Munir's aim was to mitigate the lack of mutual trust on Monday.