Iran Has Fired 400 Missiles at Israel, 92% Intercepted since Start of War

A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani
A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani
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Iran Has Fired 400 Missiles at Israel, 92% Intercepted since Start of War

A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani
A woman stands inside a destroyed building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 21, 2026. Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani

Israel's military said on Sunday that Iran had fired more than 400 ballistic missiles at Israel since the start of the Middle East war, with around 92 percent of them intercepted.

The figures were announced a day after Iranian missiles struck two towns in southern Israel, leaving around 175 people needing medical treatment.

"Iran has fired over 400 ballistic missiles. We have had great interception rates. We have approximately a 92 percent successful interception rate," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.

One of the towns hit on Saturday was Dimona, widely believed to hold Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal.

The impact of the missile was just five kilometres from the town's nuclear facility, AFP reported.

The other nearby town to be hit was Arad, which saw extensive damage to several buildings.

Shoshani said the missiles fired on Saturday were "not different from ballistic missiles" and that there had now only been four direct hits during the war so far.

The Israeli military has said it will investigate the failure to intercept the incoming fire on Saturday.

"We have intercepted in the past and will intercept in the future," Shoshani said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Saturday was a "very difficult evening" and urged residents to head to protection centres whenever sirens blare.

On Sunday he visited Arad, where he vowed to continue pursuing top Iranian officials.

"We are going after the IRGC (Iran's Revolutionary Guards), this criminal gang," Netanyahu told journalists at the site.

"We're going after them personally, their leaders, their installations, their economic assets. We're going after them personally."

One man was wounded Sunday in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv in what local media said was a blast from a cluster munition.



Iran Threatens US with New 'Economic Warfare'

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
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Iran Threatens US with New 'Economic Warfare'

Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /

Iran threatened the United States with "economic warfare" on Tuesday and said it had fired an advanced missile at US warships, underscoring the risks of further escalation in the war only days after both sides traded blows again.

The six-month-old war has been marked by a cycle of pauses followed by periodic flare-ups, with the US last reporting attacks on Iranian targets on Saturday, when US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers. Iranian state media on Sunday reported that Iran fired the Qassem Basir missile in its attacks on several US vessels.

Despite US attempts to open up the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has continued to disrupt shipping through the critical artery ⁠for global oil ⁠and gas supplies, with commodity vessel traffic slowing again this week.

Tehran has vowed to announce a new restricted zone in the coming days, along with maps of a new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, though it was unclear when details would emerge.

The new restricted zone would begin from where the US blockade of Iran begins and extend into areas of the Gulf, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told state television on Sunday, adding that any vessel entering the area would be placed on an Iranian sanctions list.

On Tuesday, Rezaei reissued dual economic and military threats on ⁠X.

"In recent days, Washington has received a clear warning from Iran’s new missiles,” he said, adding “economic warfare will be met by a maritime exclusion zone” across the Arabian Gulf to the blockade perimeter.

“The operational posture toward US warships and bases has been fundamentally recalibrated," Rezaei said.

He was likely referring to the Qassem Basir ballistic missile that Iranian media reported was fired at US warships near the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said its warships evaded any missile attacks.


Far-Right Triumph in Eastern Germany Leaves Migrants Questioning Their Future

A general view taken on September 7, 2026 in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, shows Saxony-Anhalt's State Parliament, the day after the state election. (AFP)
A general view taken on September 7, 2026 in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, shows Saxony-Anhalt's State Parliament, the day after the state election. (AFP)
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Far-Right Triumph in Eastern Germany Leaves Migrants Questioning Their Future

A general view taken on September 7, 2026 in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, shows Saxony-Anhalt's State Parliament, the day after the state election. (AFP)
A general view taken on September 7, 2026 in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, shows Saxony-Anhalt's State Parliament, the day after the state election. (AFP)

Mamad Mohamad watched with mixed emotions as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) swept to a historic victory on Sunday evening in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

A member of the Greens, the 46-year-old is set to become one of the first lawmakers with an immigrant background to enter the state parliament, alongside Mustafa Groener of the Left (Die Linke) party.

For Mohamad, who arrived in Germany from Syria as a 16-year-old Yazidi Kurd in 1996, it was a milestone that should have been a moment of celebration. Instead, he described it as a "poisoned victory".

"My heart was split," Mohamad said, recalling the first projections that showed the AfD outperforming expectations ‌while Chancellor Friedrich Merz's ‌governing conservatives slumped to a historic low.

'CULTURALLY ALIEN'

The AfD has long ‌campaigned ⁠for tighter immigration ⁠and asylum policies, arguing that Germany has lost control of its borders and that migration is putting heavy pressure on public services, security and social cohesion.

According to its election manifesto, an AfD-led Saxony-Anhalt would launch a state-level campaign to deport rejected asylum seekers.

The party also proposes encouraging businesses to adopt artificial intelligence and automation rather than rely on skilled migration from what it describes as "culturally alien" backgrounds.

The AfD rejects accusations that its rhetoric contributes to a hostile climate for migrants, insisting it opposes only illegal and uncontrolled ⁠migration.

"Everyone is warmly welcome who contributes positively to our society, who ‌wants to work here, who is qualified, who pays taxes, ‌and who abides by the law," AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said on Monday.

PACKED BAGS

The mood in Mohamad's ‌family was somber on Monday.

His daughter, he said, was reluctant to attend school, one of ‌several criticized by the AfD over projects that examine threats to democracy.

Though anxiety is running high in many immigrant communities, the result has prompted unease rather than surprise, said Undra Dressler, managing director of the State Network of Migrant Organizations in Saxony-Anhalt.

People with migrant backgrounds have long faced discrimination and structural barriers in access ‌to work, education, healthcare and public services, Dressler said.

"All of this is our reality," she told Reuters.

Sunday's result nevertheless marks a turning ⁠point, she said. "There are ⁠many people in our communities who say: 'We've already packed our bags and have concrete plans, and we'll be leaving soon,' or, in some cases, have already left."

Pascal Begrich, managing director of democracy advocacy group Miteinander, said he did not expect a large-scale exodus, partly because of economic realities, but agreed that many migrants but also employers were reassessing their future in Saxony-Anhalt.

"There are companies asking themselves whether they really want to locate here and whether they can ensure their workers will be safe," Begrich told Reuters.

CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS

Mohamad said he feared the political shift could make it harder to attract newcomers to a state already grappling with demographic decline.

"Skilled workers and families will look elsewhere," he said.

Despite concerns about the state's political direction, both Dressler and Begrich stressed that any future government would remain bound by Germany's constitutional order and protections for minorities.

"Every government is bound by this," Dressler said. "And the 15 other federal states have a duty to monitor this and, if necessary, to intervene."


Russia Announces the Closure of the German Consulate in St. Petersburg

A person walks past the German Consulate General in Saint Petersburg, Russia September 2, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Dmitry Vasilyev
A person walks past the German Consulate General in Saint Petersburg, Russia September 2, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Dmitry Vasilyev
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Russia Announces the Closure of the German Consulate in St. Petersburg

A person walks past the German Consulate General in Saint Petersburg, Russia September 2, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Dmitry Vasilyev
A person walks past the German Consulate General in Saint Petersburg, Russia September 2, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Dmitry Vasilyev

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the German consulate in St. Petersburg will have to close, a tit-for-tat move that reflected the simmering tensions between the two countries.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the German consulate must stop operations by Sept. 18, following an earlier move by Moscow to close German cultural centers on its territory.

The ministry said the closure was in retaliation for Germany’s decision Wednesday to close both the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in the German capital, Berlin.

Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4, when an explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian plane.

The airport is a major international freight hub used for providing support to Ukraine. The drone was later defused.

Moscow has denied involvement.