Iran Unveils New Drone, Missile amid Rising Tensions

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, listens to commander of the Revolutionary Guard's ground force Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, left, as the army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, right, stands while they review an annual armed forces parade marking the anniversary of the beginning of war against Iran by former Iraq's Saddam Hussein 44 years ago, in front of the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, listens to commander of the Revolutionary Guard's ground force Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, left, as the army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, right, stands while they review an annual armed forces parade marking the anniversary of the beginning of war against Iran by former Iraq's Saddam Hussein 44 years ago, in front of the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran Unveils New Drone, Missile amid Rising Tensions

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, listens to commander of the Revolutionary Guard's ground force Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, left, as the army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, right, stands while they review an annual armed forces parade marking the anniversary of the beginning of war against Iran by former Iraq's Saddam Hussein 44 years ago, in front of the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, listens to commander of the Revolutionary Guard's ground force Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, left, as the army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, right, stands while they review an annual armed forces parade marking the anniversary of the beginning of war against Iran by former Iraq's Saddam Hussein 44 years ago, in front of the shrine of the late revolutionary founder Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran unveiled a new ballistic missile and an upgraded one-way attack drone at a military parade on Saturday, state media said, amid soaring regional tensions and allegations of arming Russia.

Iran stands accused by Western governments of supplying both drones and missiles to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, a charge it has repeatedly denied.

The solid-fuel Jihad missile was designed and manufactured by the aerospace arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and has an operational range of 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles), state news agency IRNA said.

The Shahed-136B drone is an upgraded version of the Shahed-136, with new features and an operational range of more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles), it added.

New President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the annual parade in Tehran, commemorating the 1980-88 war with Iraq.

"Today, our defensive and deterrent capabilities have grown so much that no demon even thinks about any aggression towards our dear Iran," he said.

"With unity and cohesion among Islamic countries... we can put in its place the bloodthirsty, genocidal usurper Israel, which shows no mercy to anyone, women or children, old or young."

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei delivered a similar tirade against Israel to delegates to an annual meeting of Muslim clerics hosted by Iran, calling on Islamic countries to "completely cut off their economic relations" with Israel and "weaken political ties."

"This inner strength can eliminate the Zionist regime, this malignant cancerous tumor, from the heart of the Islamic community in Palestine and get rid of US domination and coercive interference in the region," he said.

Middle East tensions have soared since Iran-backed Palestinian armed group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 sparking war in Gaza and drawing in Iranian allies around the region.

The tensions have intensified in recent days as the focus of Israel's firepower has shifted north to the Lebanon border where its troops have been battling Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

An Israeli air strike on Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold on Friday killed 31 people, including two of its top commanders, Lebanese authorities said, hot on the heels of deadly sabotage attacks on the group's communications earlier this week.

Britain, France, Germany and the United States slapped new sanctions on Iran earlier this month, alleging that it had been providing ballistic missiles for Russia's war effort in Ukraine.



Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Monday expressed "full support" for Venezuela as the South American country confronts a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers by US forces deployed in the Caribbean, the two governments said.

In a phone call, the foreign ministers of the two allied countries blasted the US actions, which have included bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats and more recently the seizure of two tankers.

A third ship was being pursued, a US official told AFP Sunday.

"The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington's actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping," the Russian foreign ministry said of the call between ministers Sergei Lavrov and Yvan Gil.

"The Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context," it added.

"The ministers agreed to continue their close bilateral cooperation and to coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN, in order to ensure respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs."

The UN Security Council is to meet Tuesday to discuss the mounting crisis between Venezuela and the United States after a request from Caracas, backed by China and Russia.

On Telegram, Venezuela's Gil said he and Lavrov had discussed "the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law being perpetrated in the Caribbean: attacks on vessels, extrajudicial executions, and illicit acts of piracy carried out by the United States government."

US forces have since September launched strikes on boats Washington said, without providing evidence, were trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

More than 100 people have been killed, some of them fishermen, according to their families and governments.

US President Donald Trump on December 16 announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" sailing to and from Venezuela.

Trump has claimed Caracas under Maduro is using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.

Gil said Lavrov had affirmed Moscow's "full support in the face of hostilities against our country."


Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
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Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)

Turkish intelligence agents have captured a senior member of the ISIS terror group in an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, allegedly thwarting planned suicide attacks in Türkiye and elsewhere, Türkiye's state-run news agency reported Monday.

Anadolu Agency said the suspect was identified as Mehmet Goren and a member of the group's Afghanistan-based ISIS-Khorasan branch. He was caught in a covert operation and transferred to Türkiye.

It was not clear when the operation took place or whether Afghan and Pakistani authorities were involved.

The report said the Turkish citizen allegedly rose within the organization’s ranks and was given the task of carrying out suicide bombings in Türkiye, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Europe.

ISIS has carried out deadly attacks in Türkiye, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.

Monday's report said Goren’s capture allegedly also exposed the group's recruitment methods and provided intelligence on its planned activities.


Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

A Norwegian-Iranian dual citizen has been arrested in Iran, Norway's foreign ministry told AFP on Monday.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware that a Norwegian citizen has been arrested in Iran, but due to our obligation to respect confidentiality we cannot provide further details," ministry spokesman Mathias Rongved said in an email.

He confirmed the individual was a dual Norwegian-Iranian national and noted the government advises against travel to Iran.

On its website, the Norwegian government states that Iran does not recognise dual citizenship, and it is "therefore very difficult -- virtually impossible -- for the embassy to assist Norwegian-Iranian citizens if they are imprisoned in Iran".

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) identified the dual national as Shahin Mahmoudi, born in 1979.

It said she was arrested on December 14 after being ordered to report to authorities in Saqqez, in Iran's western Kurdistan province.

She is being held at a detention center in Sanandaj, it added.

HRANA said her family had not been informed of the reason for her arrest nor had they received any news of her health and well-being.