Iran Holds Missile Drills in Various Cities, State Media Say

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
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Iran Holds Missile Drills in Various Cities, State Media Say

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Iran held missile ​drills in various cities on Monday, state media reported, citing unnamed sources and witnesses, in what was the second such reported exercise in a month.

NBC News reported on Saturday that US President Donald Trump was to be briefed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‌that any ‌expansion of Iran's ballistic ‌missile program ⁠poses ​a threat ‌that could necessitate swift action.

Western powers regard Iran's ballistic missile arsenal both as a conventional military threat to Middle East stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them. It denies any intent to build ⁠atomic bombs.

The Telegram channel of Iran's public broadcaster and semi-official ‌Nournews published videos of what ‍appeared to be missile launches, ‍without specifying the whereabouts, Reuters reported.

However, the outlets ‍said launches took place from the capital Tehran and the cities of Isfahan and Mashhad. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.

State media ​later on Monday cited "informed sources" as denying that missiles were tested and saying the ⁠circulated images were of "high-altitude aircraft". No clarification regarding the conflicting reports was provided.

NBC reported that Israeli officials are concerned that Iran is reconstituting nuclear enrichment sites the US bombed in June, and were preparing to brief Trump for options on attacking the missile program again.

Earlier this month, the navy of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards held a two-day exercise aimed at countering foreign threats, firing ‌ballistic and cruise missiles at simulated targets in the Gulf.



Türkiye's Top Officials Visit Syria as Deadline for Kurdish Integration Looms

FILE: In this handout photo released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, left, sits with Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa, during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry press service via AP)
FILE: In this handout photo released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, left, sits with Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa, during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry press service via AP)
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Türkiye's Top Officials Visit Syria as Deadline for Kurdish Integration Looms

FILE: In this handout photo released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, left, sits with Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa, during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry press service via AP)
FILE: In this handout photo released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, left, sits with Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa, during their meeting in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Turkish Foreign Ministry press service via AP)

Türkiye's top diplomat and military and intelligence chiefs visited Syria on Monday as a deadline to implement a deal between authorities in Damascus and Kurdish-led forces in the country’s northeast looms.

Appearing alongside his Syrian counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the talks focused on the integration of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the new Syrian army, as well as on Israel’s military incursions in southern Syria and the fight against the ISIS group.

“The stability of Syria has great importance to Türkiye,” he said. Fidan headed a delegation that also included Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. They met with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Under the March agreement signed between al-Sharaa’s government and the SDF, the Kurdish-led force was to merge with the new Syrian army, but details were left vague and implementation has stalled.

A major sticking point had been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or whether it would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military.

Türkiye has been opposed to the SDF joining as a single unit. Ankara considers the SDF as a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Türkiye, although a peace process is now underway.

Kurdish officials have said that a preliminary agreement has been reached to allow three divisions affiliated with the SDF to integrate as units into the new army, but it's unclear how close the sides are to finalizing it. The original deadline for implementation of the March deal was the end of the year, and there have been fears of a military confrontation if progress is not made by then.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, speaking alongside Fidan, said, “We have not seen an initiative or a serious will from the Syrian Democratic Forces to implement this agreement. There has been systematic procrastination.”

He said Damascus had submitted a proposal to the SDF for moving forward with the military merger and received a response Sunday, without elaborating.

Fidan criticized Israel’s “expansionist policies” in Syria and accused the SDF of coordinating with Israel, without giving evidence. Israel has been wary of new authorities in Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024.

Although al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group, has said he does not want a conflict with Israel, Israeli forces have moved to seize a UN-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and have launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites.

While Türkiye had a complicated relationship with al-Sharaa when he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an armed faction, that governed much of northwest Syria, Ankara has backed his government since he led a charge that overthrew Assad.


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.


Russia Says 'Slow Progress' in Talks with US on Ukraine

A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
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Russia Says 'Slow Progress' in Talks with US on Ukraine

A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

Moscow on Monday said there was "slow progress" in talks with the United States over a plan to end the war in Ukraine, following weekend talks in Miami that failed to break the deadlock, AFP reported.

"Slow progress is being observed," state media reported Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.

This came after both Russia and Ukraine sent negotiators to the Florida city for separate talks with US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.