Iranian Commander Repeats Threats to Israel

This picture shows projectiles being intercepted by Israel near the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
This picture shows projectiles being intercepted by Israel near the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
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Iranian Commander Repeats Threats to Israel

This picture shows projectiles being intercepted by Israel near the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
This picture shows projectiles being intercepted by Israel near the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

The chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Israel on Thursday with more missile barrages if it strikes Iran.
“Do not repeat your mistake — if you misbehave, if you strike anything of ours either in the region or in Iran, we will again hit you painfully,” said Gen. Hossein Salami in a funeral ceremony for Iranian Guard commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed alongside the head of the Hezbollah militant group in Beirut in September.
Salami said a missile barrage by Iran on Israel earlier in October in retaliation for killing Nasrallah and Nilforoushan was the “tiniest” action by Iran. He said an air defense battery deployed to Israel by the US will not prevent Iranian retaliation, The Associated Press said.
“We do know about your weakness, and you know too,” said Salami.
Earlier this month, Iran launched some 180 missiles at Israel in retaliation for the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killed in Iran in July, as well as Nilforoushan and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who were killed in Israel strikes on Beirut in September.
Iran is the main backer of Hezbollah and supports militant groups opposed to Israel across the region including Hamas.



Series of Ethiopia Earthquakes Trigger Evacuations

People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)
People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)
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Series of Ethiopia Earthquakes Trigger Evacuations

People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)
People view a truck that fell off the Gelan Bridge as it was returning from a wedding ceremony in the southern Sidama region of Ethiopia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Str)

Evacuations were underway in Ethiopia Saturday after a series of earthquakes, the strongest of which, a 5.8-magnitude jolt, rocked the remote north of the Horn of Africa nation.

The quakes were centered on the largely rural Afar, Oromia and Amhara regions after months of intense seismic activity, AFP reported.

No casualties have been reported so far.

Ethiopia's government Communication Service said around 80,000 people were living in the affected regions and the most vulnerable were being moved to temporary shelters.

"The earthquakes are increasing in terms of magnitude and recurrences," it said in a statement, adding that experts had been dispatched to assess the damage.

The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission said 20,573 people had been evacuated to safer areas in Afar and Oromia, from a tally of over 51,000 "vulnerable" people.

Plans were underway to move more than 8,000 people in Oromia "in the coming days", the agency said in a statement.

The latest shallow 4.7 magnitude quake hit just before 12:40 pm (0940 GMT) about 33 kilometers north of Metehara town in Oromia, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

The earthquakes have damaged houses and threatened to trigger a volcanic eruption of the previously dormant Mount Dofan, near Segento in the northeast Afar region.

The crater has stopped releasing plumes of smoke, but nearby residents have left their homes in panic.

Earthquakes are common in Ethiopia due to its location along the Great Rift Valley, one of the world's most seismically active areas.

Experts have said the tremors and eruptions are being caused by the expansion of tectonic plates under the Great Rift Valley.