Iran FM Reiterates Israel Retaliation Warning

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
TT

Iran FM Reiterates Israel Retaliation Warning

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi looks on as he meets with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Tehran will not hesitate to take "stronger defensive actions" if Israel retaliates for last week's missile attack by Tehran, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday.
Iran is "fully prepared to take stronger defensive actions, if necessary, in response to any further aggression, and will not hesitate to do so," Araqchi said in a letter to other foreign ministers, according to a ministry post on X.
Israel has repeatedly said it will respond to Iran's missile attack on Oct. 1, launched in retaliation for Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Gaza and the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran.
Araqchi said in his letter that Iran’s missile attack on Israel had been in accordance with its right to self-defense under international law and followed much restraint as it sought a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel will hit Iran in a way that will be "lethal, precise and surprising.”



German Christmas Market Attacker Asked about Whereabouts of Saudi Ambassador

People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024.  EPA/FILIP SINGER
People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER
TT

German Christmas Market Attacker Asked about Whereabouts of Saudi Ambassador

People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024.  EPA/FILIP SINGER
People mourn at the mourning site in front of St. John's Church following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, 22 December 2024. EPA/FILIP SINGER

The perpetrator who drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, Germany, has reportedly offered a reward in return for information about the whereabouts of the Saudi ambassador to Germany, a source told Independent Arabia on Sunday.
The source said that the attacker, Taleb al-Abd al-Mohsen, had offered a SAR 10,000 (equivalent to 2662 euros) in reward for anyone who provides information pertaining to the residence of the Saudi ambassador to Germany, and the timing of his presence.
The Saudi embassy had informed the German authorities about the threat, said the source but the latter “did not take the matter seriously”, he stated.
On Friday, Taleb al-Abd al-Mohsen drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in Germany, killing four women ranging in age from 45 to 75, as well as a 9-year-old boy and injuring 200, including 41 in serious condition.
The police apprehended the perpetrator at the scene of the attack. He is a doctor who had fled Saudi Arabia, where he was wanted on criminal charges. He had been residing in Germany for two decades.
Saudi Arabia condemned the ramming attack and expressed solidarity with the people of Germany.
A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned the German authorities about the suspect who appears to have been an active user of the social media platform X, sharing extremist tweets and retweets daily.
In 2023 and 2024, Germany received warnings about the man from Saudi authorities, a German source affirmed.