Israel Says ‘No Interceptor Shortage’ After Reports of Scarcity as Iranian Missiles Injure at Least 8

15 March 2027, Israel, Tel Aviv: People watch the site of a projectile impact following an Iranian strike on Tel Aviv. (dpa)
15 March 2027, Israel, Tel Aviv: People watch the site of a projectile impact following an Iranian strike on Tel Aviv. (dpa)
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Israel Says ‘No Interceptor Shortage’ After Reports of Scarcity as Iranian Missiles Injure at Least 8

15 March 2027, Israel, Tel Aviv: People watch the site of a projectile impact following an Iranian strike on Tel Aviv. (dpa)
15 March 2027, Israel, Tel Aviv: People watch the site of a projectile impact following an Iranian strike on Tel Aviv. (dpa)

An Israeli military source on Sunday denied media reports that Israel was running low on missile interceptors crucial to its air defenses, adding that the army was "continuously monitoring the situation". 

Citing US officials, news outlet Semafor had reported that Israel had informed the United States that it was "running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors", as the US-Israeli war against Iran entered its third week. 

"As of now, there is no interceptor shortage. The Israeli army is prepared for prolonged combat. We are continuously monitoring the situation," the military source said, in response to media queries. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also dismissed the reports when questioned by journalists earlier on Sunday. 

At least eight people were injured in Israel Sunday following repeated missile launches from Iran, at least two of which contained cluster munitions according to Israeli authorities. 

Israeli police released footage from a CCTV camera in the Tel Aviv area showing an impact on a road, saying that it was from "cluster munitions" that caused "damage at several locations". 

Bomblets and shrapnel from the missile wounded four people in various parts of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, according to the Magen David Adom (MDA) rescue service. 

A man in his 60s was hospitalized with moderate injuries to his head from broken glass, while three were treated due to the shock waves from the blast. 

In another barrage shortly before noon, two men aged 62 and 44 reported minor injuries "from pieces of asphalt that struck them as a result of the blast", according to MDA. 

During a salvo toward the Tel Aviv area at around 3:00 am (0100 GMT), a man and a woman in their 80s suffered light injuries, from glass shards and smoke inhalation respectively. 

Another Iranian missile directed at Israel's southernmost city of Eilat was intercepted before reaching the target, without causing injuries. The municipality of Eilat quoted security sources saying it was a cluster missile. 

By late midday on Sunday, seven missile salvos were launched from Iran toward the State of Israel, some of which were intercepted. 

Saar on Sunday accused Iran of targeting civilian areas, during a visit to the northern Arab Israeli town of Zarzir, hit two days prior by shrapnel from an Iranian missile that lightly wounded almost 60 residents. 

"While we are targeting military objectives... the Iranian regime is targeting civilians," Saar said. 

"All the casualties we faced during these two weeks of confrontation... are civilians from Iranian missiles. This is of course a war crime," he added. 

His words were echoed by police superintendent Shlomi Schlezinger while speaking near the site of one of the impacts on Sunday. 

Iran is "always targeting crowded places, with people, the big major cities," he said in central Tel Aviv. 

He attributed the relatively low number of Israeli casualties to civilians' adherence to safety instructions. 

"We have a lot of collateral damage to cars and buildings, as you can see," he said. 

"We're used to, in the last 16 days, to be in shelters and in safe rooms when we have the alarm." 

According to Haaretz, citing security officials, 250 ballistic missiles had been fired by Iran at Israel as of March 13. 

Twelve people have been killed in Israel by missiles or falling debris since the start of the war, according to an AFP tally of figures given by Israeli authorities and first responders. 



US Voices Hope on Iran Deal Progress Before Pakistan Army Chief Visit

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
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US Voices Hope on Iran Deal Progress Before Pakistan Army Chief Visit

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope on Thursday of progress on ending the war with Iran, with mediator Pakistan's army chief due to arrive in Iran for talks.

The expected visit by Field Marshal Asim Munir, a powerful figure with a growing role in Pakistan's foreign relations, comes a day after US President Donald Trump warned that negotiations to end the war were on the "borderline" between a deal and renewed strikes.

"I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to Tehran today. So hopefully that'll advance this further," Rubio told reporters on Thursday, according to Reuters.

A ceasefire on April 8 halted the war launched weeks earlier by the US and Israel, but negotiation efforts have so far failed to yield a lasting peace agreement.

A war of words has taken the place of open conflict but the impasse continues to weigh on the world economy, leaving everyone from investors to farmers in a painful state of uncertainty.

On Thursday, Iran's ISNA news agency said Munir's visit was aimed at continuing "talks and consultations" with Iranian authorities, without providing details. Other Iranian media carried the same report.

Pakistan hosted in April the only direct negotiations between US and Iranian officials to take place since February 28, the day the war began.

Munir was at the center of the action during that round of talks, greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying remarkable bonhomie with US Vice President JD Vance.

But the talks ultimately failed, with Iran accusing the US of making "excessive demands".

Since then, the two sides have exchanged multiple proposals, with the threat of renewed war looming all along.

"It's right on the borderline, believe me," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "If we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We're all ready to go."

He said a deal could come "very quickly" or "in a few days", but warned Tehran would have to provide "100 percent good answers".

Rubio also criticized NATO allies for their refusal to help Trump's war against Iran.

"He's not asking them to commit troops. He's not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything," he said.

"We were very upset about that."

Tehran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday accused Washington of seeking to restart the war, warning of a "forceful response" if Iran were to be attacked.

"The enemy's movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war," Ghalibaf said.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was examining points received from Washington, while repeating Tehran's demands for the release of its assets frozen abroad and an end to a US naval blockade.

Trump is under political pressure at home as energy costs rise.

The ceasefire halted the fighting but has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

The future of Hormuz remains a key sticking point in the negotiations, with fears growing that the global economy will feel more pain as pre-war oil stockpiles run down.

Iran imposed the blockade of Hormuz as part of its retaliation in the war, allowing only a trickle of vessels through in recent weeks while introducing a toll system.


Trump Postpones Signing Order on AI Oversight

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK
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Trump Postpones Signing Order on AI Oversight

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 21 May 2026. EPA/AL DRAGO / POOL NEWS SERVICE OK

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had postponed signing an executive order on AI because he "didn't like certain aspects of it."

Trump had planned to sign the order at a ceremony on Thursday afternoon attended by CEOs of AI companies.

The order would create a voluntary framework for AI developers to ⁠engage with the ⁠US government before the public release of covered models, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The president also had planned to direct the US government to use the advanced models to improve the cybersecurity defenses of ⁠government systems, along with networks owned by sectors that are vital to the nation's economy, such as banks and hospitals, according to another source.

Concerns are growing across the US government and in the private sector about the cybersecurity risks posed by powerful new AI systems, including Anthropic’s Mythos.

Anthropic has warned that Mythos could supercharge complex cyberattacks, though cybersecurity experts ⁠told ⁠Reuters that fears of unfettered hacking are overstated.

The president's executive order, if implemented, could hurt the industry's profits if it slows the rollout of new models or prompts companies to change how they perform to address security concerns.

Trump, who spoke to reporters on Thursday in the Oval Office, did not say which parts of the order he didn't like.


Teen Among 3 Dead in Türkiye after Floods, Landslides Hit Southern Province

FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
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Teen Among 3 Dead in Türkiye after Floods, Landslides Hit Southern Province

FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)
FILE - A Navy officer helps a woman cross a flooded street after heavy rain in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez, File)

Three people have died during flooding in southern Türkiye on Thursday, officials said, as the Interior Ministry issued weather warnings for 15 of the country's 81 provinces.

Heavy rainfall in Hatay, the province most affected by a devastating earthquake in 2023, caused the Asi river, also known as the Orontes, to break its banks, submerging fields and villages. Roads and bridges were also washed away, The Associated Press reported.

Among the victims was a 15-year-old boy who died in a house that collapsed during a landslide in Antakya, the provincial capital, Hatay Gov. Mustafa Masatli said.

A 66-year-old man died when his car rolled into a ditch in Defne, while and another man, aged 62, was swept away in floodwaters in the Samandag district.

Masatli said the flooding had caused significant damage to agriculture across 2,900 hectares (7,166 acres) as disaster teams continued to assess the impact. Firefighters rescued many people by boat as residents bailed out their homes and tried to hold the waters at bay with makeshift barriers.