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Merz Warns Against Iran State Collapse, Refugee Flows

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a speech during a campaign event of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for the state election of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stockach, Germany, 06 March 2026. (EPA)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a speech during a campaign event of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for the state election of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stockach, Germany, 06 March 2026. (EPA)
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Merz Warns Against Iran State Collapse, Refugee Flows

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a speech during a campaign event of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for the state election of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stockach, Germany, 06 March 2026. (EPA)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a speech during a campaign event of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for the state election of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stockach, Germany, 06 March 2026. (EPA)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday the Middle East war must not lead to the collapse of the Iranian state, warning of the impact this would have on migration to Europe.

"An endless war is not in our interest. The same applies to a collapse of Iranian statehood or proxy conflicts fought on Iranian soil," he said in a statement.

"Such scenarios could have far-reaching consequences for Europe, including for security, energy supply and migration."

He added that "we share the goals of the United States and Israel regarding the Iranian nuclear and missile program, Tehran's threats against Israel, and its support for terrorism and proxies.

"The Iranian people have the right to freely decide their own destiny."

He warned against chaos, a point he also stressed speaking at a trade fair in Munich.

Germany and its European allies were "pushing hard for Iran's sovereignty to be preserved", he said there.

"We do not want to see a Syrian scenario here," he added.

"I am appealing both in Washington and in all talks with the Israeli government to create the conditions for this country to be stabilized as quickly as possible."

Merz said that "we naturally have a strong interest in this ourselves in order to avoid new waves of refugees from the region".

The United Nations refugee agency on Friday declared the Middle East war a major humanitarian emergency and insisted all fleeing civilians should be granted safe passage.

UNHCR said the war -- which began on Saturday when Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran and has spread across the region since -- had already caused large numbers of people to flee their homes.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin would provide 100 million euros ($116 million) in humanitarian aid for Lebanon, which became engulfed in the war after the Iran-backed group Hezbollah on Monday fired missiles at Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

"We are currently seeing a new dynamic and a dramatic situation in Lebanon with many internally displaced persons, and we want to help throughout the region in order to provide assistance on the ground," Wadephul said.

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India Says 12 Seafarers Injured in Hormuz Tanker Attack

A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)
A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)
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India Says 12 Seafarers Injured in Hormuz Tanker Attack

A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)
A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)

India said 12 crew members on a Panama-flagged tanker had been injured in an attack while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, with those hurt receiving medical treatment in Oman.

“We condemn the attack earlier today on a Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace... it was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” New Delhi’s foreign ministry said in a statement cited by AFP.

The ministry said the tanker had a 19-member crew, including 17 Indians. Of those injured, 11 are Indians.

“With the assistance of Omani authorities, the injured crew have since been evacuated and are receiving medical treatment in Khasab, Oman,” it said.

India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, and several of its mariners have been killed in Hormuz attacks since the Middle East war began on February 28.

An attack on a cargo ship in the same region last month killed an Indian sailor, according to New Delhi.

“The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region remain a cause of deep concern for India,” the ministry said.

Iran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane for Gulf oil and gas since the start of the war, occasionally striking ships accused of failing to coordinate with its authorities or deviating from its preferred route.

In retaliation, the United States has been enforcing a counterblockade of Iranian ports, carrying out strikes of its own on ships it says refuse to comply.

“We reiterate our call for an immediate cessation of such attacks in the interests of peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.

“The targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and navigation and commerce through international waterways must be restored at the earliest.”

World

Iran Nominates ‘Aerospace and Missile Official’ For Defense Minister Post

Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)
Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)
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Iran Nominates ‘Aerospace and Missile Official’ For Defense Minister Post

Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)
Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has nominated Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, a senior official linked to the country’s missile industry, for the position of defense minister, an official said Monday.

Pezeshkian “in a letter, introduced Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi to Parliament to take up the post of defense minister and armed forces logistics,” Sasan Valizadeh, a presidential advisor, said, as cited by semi-official Mehr News Agency.

The nomination was sent to Parliament, requiring a confidence vote after lawmakers review Akhlaghi Ketabchi’s program.

In Iran, parliamentary approval of nominees for sensitive security positions is generally regarded as a formality, as the nomination and public announcement of a candidate typically indicate that he or she has already secured the Supreme Leader’s approval.

However, Iranian media outlets say the nomination of Akhlaghi Ketabchi has raised questions about how the appointment received approval at the highest levels of Iran’s political establishment, given the Supreme Leader’s continued absence from public view.

The nomination came to fill a post vacant since Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed in US-Israeli strikes in February.

The ministry has been run by acting minister Majid Ebn-e-Reza since March 2. A former deputy defense minister, Ebn-e-Reza has represented Iran domestically and abroad but was not put forward for the permanent role.

A Longtime Defense Official

Akhlaghi Ketabchi is a longtime Defense Ministry official with deep ties to Iran’s missile and aerospace sectors.

The UN Security Council listed him in 2007 as head of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program; his name reappeared on UN sanctions lists when earlier measures were re-imposed in September 2025.

In 2014 he was appointed head of the Aerospace Industries Organization. He was also sanctioned by the US in 2020 over his alleged links to Iran’s arms-related activities, while the UK sanctioned him in 2023 over his alleged involvement in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities.

World

Trump Says Nobody Knows Who Is Running Iran

Iranians walk next to a wall painting of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 06 October 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk next to a wall painting of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 06 October 2026. (EPA)
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Trump Says Nobody Knows Who Is Running Iran

Iranians walk next to a wall painting of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 06 October 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk next to a wall painting of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, 06 October 2026. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that nobody knew who was running Iran during the US-Israeli war with Iran, now in its eighth month.

"Their leaders are gone, their second group of leaders are gone, and the biggest problem I have is nobody knows who the hell is running the country," ‌Trump said.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said on ‌Sunday Washington ⁠knows very well ⁠who their counterpart is in Iran and how the decision-making system in Iran works.

"The problem is actually the opposite: it lies in the contradictory positions and mixed messaging from US officials," Esmaeil Baghaei said in a news conference.

Iran's Supreme ⁠Leader Ali Khamenei was killed ‌on the first day of ‌the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February ‌28. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeded him but ‌has not been seen in public since he was injured in the same strike that killed his father.

Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and ‌Gulf states. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks ⁠on ⁠Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Fuel prices that have risen in response to the war are also a risk to Trump's Republican Party ahead of the November US midterm elections in which control of Congress is at stake.

Trump, whose approval rating has held at a record low amid concerns of high cost of living spurred by soaring gasoline and diesel prices, has offered shifting timelines and goals for the war.