عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

US Sanctions Iranians over Plots to Kill John Bolton, Others

FILE - The Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - The Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
TT
TT

US Sanctions Iranians over Plots to Kill John Bolton, Others

FILE - The Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - The Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The US imposed sanctions Thursday on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official and others it says took part in wide-ranging plots to kill former national security adviser John Bolton and others around the world, including at least one additional US government official.

The alleged 2021 plot against Bolton, one of the best-documented of the alleged assassination efforts, is part of what US prosecutors and former government officials describe as ongoing efforts by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to kill Trump-era officials behind a 2020 US airstrike that killed the head of the Iranian guard’s elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, The Associated Press reported.

In all, Thursday’s sanctions accuse three people, a company affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force and two senior officials of Iran’s Intelligence Organization in global plots to kill former US officials, journalists and Iranian dissidents abroad, according to the US Treasury Department.

Brian E. Nelson, Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement the US is focused on disrupting plots by the Iranian military, which has “engaged in numerous assassination attempts and other acts of violence and intimidation against those they deem enemies of the Iranian regime.”

Those sanctioned include Revolutionary Guard official Shahram Poursafi. US prosecutors charged Poursafi last year with seeking to carry out a murder-for-hire, saying he worked to find a US-based person willing to kill Bolton somewhere in the Washington area for $300,000.

Federal prosecutors say Poursafi also spoke of an “additional job” for which he was offering $1 million. Axios reported last year that the second target was former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing sources close to Pompeo. US officials have reported “serious and credible” threats against the lives of Pompeo and his top Iran aide.

Poursafi remains wanted by the FBI in the alleged plots.

Prosecutors say the scheme against Bolton unfolded more than a year after Soleimani was killed by a US airstrike as he traveled from Baghdad’s international airport in January 2020.

After the strike, Bolton, who by then had left his White House post, tweeted, “Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran.”

Pompeo and former top Iran envoy Brian Hook both played a role in the Trump administration’s decision to kill Soleimani and led the administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2014 nuclear deal with Iran.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iran Executes Two Men Linked to Anti-govt Protests

Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).
Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).
TT
TT

Iran Executes Two Men Linked to Anti-govt Protests

Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).
Iranians protest to halt the implementation of the death penalty (file - Reuters).

Iran's judiciary said two men were executed on Monday for involvement in the deaths of four police officers during anti-government protests that peaked in January.

Authorities accused them of murdering the officers in the central city of Isfahan during protests that began in the capital Tehran in December over economic grievances before spreading nationwide.

The movement rapidly evolved into large anti-government rallies that peaked on January 8 and 9, causing unprecedented destruction and thousands of deaths.

"Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raissi were hanged this morning after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said, without specifying the dates of their arrest or trial, AFP reported.

The court had sentenced the two men, whose ages were not given, to death "for membership in an armed group and undermining national security", Mizan added.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

Foreign-based NGOs, citing much higher death tolls, maintain however that Iranian security forces fired on protesters.

The number of executions in Iran has risen since the start of the Middle East war, which was triggered in late February by US-Israeli strikes.

In 2025, Iran executed at least 1,639 people, the largest number in any year since 1989, according to the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.

Amnesty International says Iran carries out more executions than any country except China.

On Saturday, Iran announced the execution of another man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during the protests.

World

Hundreds of French Schools Stay Closed ahead of Nationwide Day of Student Protests

A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah
A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah
TT
TT

Hundreds of French Schools Stay Closed ahead of Nationwide Day of Student Protests

A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah
A pedestrian walks past damage in the aftermath of clashes occurred between riot police and demonstrators during a high school students' protest against education conditions in Paris, France, 02 October 2026. EPA/Firas Abdullah

Hundreds of French high schools will begin a second week of closures on Monday as protests over dilapidated schools and classrooms, overcrowding and teacher shortages precede a nationwide day of demonstrations on Tuesday.

The nationwide demonstrations and blockades underline a fraught social atmosphere as France's government embarks on trying to pass a deficit-narrowing 2027 budget. France's 10-year bond yield briefly topped 5% last week, its highest since 2002, as the protests compounded investor concerns over the country's fiscal outlook, said Reuters.

About 400 to 500 high schools are expected to remain completely or partially closed on Monday ‌in France, ‌out of a total of 3,700, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Sunday ‌evening, Reuters said.

The ⁠protests began in ⁠late September at a high school in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages before spreading nationwide.

"Our priority is to restore order," government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told CNews television on Monday.

Geffray said that 24 schools had been burned or ransacked and that 78 teaching staff had been injured since the beginning of the demonstrations.

POLICE AND STUDENTS CLASH, TEAR GAS USED

On Monday, BFMTV showed images of police and students clashing in Lille in northern France, tear gas being used in Toulouse in the southwest and of ⁠a fire being lit as people tried to break into a school ‌in central Paris.

Carole Zerbib, head of the vandalized Lycee ‌Vauquelin in the 13th district of Paris, said her school had been attacked by a "very determined" group ‌wearing hoods and masks who tried to break through the school's entrance door and then ‌lit a fire.

Police and firefighters quickly put out the fire and the school was evacuated and classes suspended.

"It was very violent and happened very quickly," she said, adding that the attack lasted 15-20 minutes.

"It was terrible for students who witnessed this outburst of violence," she said, adding those behind the attack on her school ‌were not students of the school.

Since last Monday, around 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been arrested nationwide and dozens injured. Teachers and members of ⁠the public have ⁠been attacked, while damage to property is estimated in the tens of millions of euros.

Bregeon said the French government would fast-track a bill in parliament on October 27 to make those found to have damaged property during protests financially liable.

Paris police chief Patrice Faure, in an open letter published on X on Saturday, said those who had launched the protests no longer controlled them and called on students to abandon blockades in favor of peaceful protest.

Student unions have nevertheless called for a national day of demonstrations on Tuesday. Security officials fear that an organised protest in central Paris in particular could see further violence amid concerns that far-left and anarchist groups could try to take over the protests.

CGT union head Sophie Binet told TF1 television on Monday that CGT union members will attend Tuesday's demonstrations "to protect high school students."

"We've been appalled by what we have seen over the past 10 days and by the unprecedented crackdown that the government has organized against the protests by high school students," she said.

World

Israeli Officials: Co-pilot Planned Flydubai Attack before Joining Airline

30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
TT
TT

Israeli Officials: Co-pilot Planned Flydubai Attack before Joining Airline

30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa

The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.

A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the co-pilot, an Omani national, had planned to crash last Wednesday's flight into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He had also operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and intended to hijack and crash the plane then, but opted not to, the source added.

It was not immediately clear why the co-pilot changed his mind on that previous flight, although the co-pilot ‌is thought to have ‌known someone onboard, the source said.

All of the sources spoke on condition of ‌anonymity ⁠to discuss the investigation.

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which had been bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said, calling the incident a "terrorist attack".

Two sources have said the co-pilot is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli officials have not named the co-pilot but have said he is from Oman. UAE authorities and flydubai have not publicly disclosed the co-pilot's identity.

The UAE has ⁠not announced any formal charges against him and it is not known if he ‌has appointed legal counsel. Oman has not commented on the incident.

The two Israeli officials said the co-pilot told interrogators that he had applied for ‌a job at Dubai state-owned flydubai after searching for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv.

A multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit is also investigating links to Australia of the co-pilot, who was once enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria. A fourth source said the co-pilot had studied there around a decade ago.

Disaster on board flight FZ1073 was averted after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot. The pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, survived the attack and has been hailed as a hero for managing to open the cockpit door. The plane was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli.

A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the ‌flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at a regional airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities and later transferred ⁠to the UAE on Thursday.