Iran to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia soon, intel sources say

Iran to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia soon, intel sources say
Moscow possesses an array of its own ballistic missiles, but the supply of Fath-360s could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line. (File/AFP)
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Updated 10 August 2024
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Iran to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia soon, intel sources say

Iran to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia soon, intel sources say
  • Russian defense ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract on Dec. 13 in Tehran with Iranian officials

TEHRAN: Dozens of Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources told Reuters, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of the satellite-guided weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Russian defense ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract on Dec. 13 in Tehran with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another ballistic missile system built by Iran’s government-owned Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) called the Ababil, according to the intelligence officials, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters.
Citing multiple confidential intelligence sources, the officials said that Russian personnel have visited Iran to learn how to operate the Fath-360 defense system, which launches missiles with a maximum range of 120 km (75 miles) and a warhead of 150 kg. One of the sources said that that “the only next possible” step after training would be actual delivery of the missiles to Russia.
Moscow possesses an array of its own ballistic missiles, but the supply of Fath-360s could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line, while employing Iranian warheads for closer-range targets, a military expert said.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council said the United States and its NATO allies and G7 partners “are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with such transfers.”
It “would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” the spokesman said. “The White House has repeatedly warned of the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
Russia’s defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York said in a statement that the Islamic Republic had forged a long-term strategic partnership with Russia in various areas, including military cooperation.
“Nevertheless, from an ethical standpoint, Iran refrains from transferring any weapons, including missiles, that could potentially be used in the conflict with Ukraine until it is over,” the statement said.
The White House declined to confirm that Iran was training Russian military personnel on the Fath-360 or that it was preparing to ship the weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.
The two intelligence sources gave no exact timeframe for the expected delivery of Fath-360 missiles to Russia but said it would be soon. They did not provide any intelligence on the status of the Abibal contract.
A third intelligence source from another European agency said it had also received information that Russia had sent soldiers to Iran to train in the use of Iranian ballistic missile systems, without providing further details.
Such training is standard practice for Iranian weapons supplied to Russia, said the third source, who also declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the information.
A senior Iranian official, who requested anonymity, said Iran had sold missiles and drones to Russia but has not provided Fath-360 missiles. There was no legal prohibition on Tehran selling such weapons to Russia, the source added.
“Iran and Russia engage in the mutual purchase of parts and military equipment. How each country uses this equipment is entirely their decision,” the official said, adding that Iran did not sell weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.
As part of the military cooperation, Iranian and Russian officials often traveled between the two states, the official added.
“Destabilizing actions“
Until now, Iran’s military support for Moscow has been limited mainly to unmanned Shahed attack drones, which carry a fraction of the explosives and are easier to shoot down because they are slower than ballistic missiles.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said in July 2023 that a new training system for the Fath 360 had been successfully tested by the country’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force.
Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow for Air Power at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based defense think-tank, said: “Delivery of large numbers of short-range ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would enable a further increase in pressure on already badly overstretched Ukrainian missile defense systems.”
“As ballistic threats, they could only be intercepted reliably by the upper tier of Ukrainian systems,” he said, referring to the most sophisticated air defenses Ukraine has such as the US-made Patriot and European SAMP/T systems.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense did not have any immediate comment.
In March, G7 leaders voiced concern at reports Iran was considering transferring ballistic missiles to Russia and warned in a statement that they would respond in a coordinated manner with significant measures against Iran.
The NSC spokesman, in response to Reuters questions, noted that Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian “claimed he wanted to moderate Iran’s policies and engage with the world. Destabilizing actions like this fly in the face of that rhetoric.”
A British government spokesman expressed deep concern at the reports suggesting that Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran. “Iran must not proceed” with the transfer of ballistic missiles, he said.
UN Security Council restrictions on Iran’s export of some missiles, drones and other technologies expired in October 2023. However, the United States and European Union retained sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program amid concerns over exports of weapons to its proxies in the Middle East and to Russia.
Reuters reported in February on deepening military cooperation between Iran and Russia and on Moscow’s interest in Iranian surface-to-surface missiles.
Sources told the news agency at the time that around 400 Fateh-110 longer-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles had been delivered. But the European intelligence sources told Reuters that according to their information, no transfer had happened yet.
Ukrainian authorities have not publicly reported finding any Iranian missile remnants or debris during the war.


US military says it destroyed 5 Houthi drones and 2 missile systems

US military says it destroyed 5 Houthi drones and 2 missile systems
Updated 6 sec ago
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US military says it destroyed 5 Houthi drones and 2 missile systems

US military says it destroyed 5 Houthi drones and 2 missile systems
  • During the last three months, the Houthis have abducted at least 70 Yemenis working for UN agencies, international aid and humanitarian organizations, and foreign missions in Yemen
  • Minister blames international community’s inaction for escalating militia crackdown on civil, humanitarian society in Yemen

AL-MUKALLA: The US military said on Wednesday that it had destroyed several Houthi drones and missile systems that were threatening international shipping lanes off Yemen as the Houthis reported that US and UK warplanes had struck an area under their control in the southern province of Taiz.

The US Central Command said that over the last 24 hours, its forces destroyed five Houthi drones and two missile systems in Houthi-controlled Yemeni areas that “presented a clear and imminent” threat to international and US and allies’ ships in the region.

The Houthis reported on Wednesday new strikes on Taiz for the second day in a row, with two airstrikes by US and UK aircraft on unidentified targets in the province’s Al-Kamp region.

Since Sunday, Houthi media has reported daily airstrikes by the two nations on Hodeidah, Ibb, and other Yemeni locations.

The Houthis said on Tuesday that two students were killed and at least 10 were injured in a stampede at a school in Al-Janad, Taiz province, caused by large explosions from a location targeted by US and UK warplanes.

In response to the Houthi attacks on ships that began in November, the US formed a coalition of marine task forces to protect ships, designated the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, and launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, including military bases where drones and missiles were being assembled and coastal areas where drone boats were being prepared to attack ships.

The Houthis claim that their campaign, which has targeted over 100 commercial and naval ships over the last 10 months, is intended to force Israel to end its war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

This comes as Yemen’s Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani has reiterated his calls for tougher international action to punish the Houthis for abducting dozens of Yemenis with international organizations as well as the militia’s violations of human rights.

During the last three months, the Houthis have abducted at least 70 Yemenis working for UN agencies, international aid and humanitarian organizations, and foreign missions in Yemen, accusing them of using their positions with those organizations to spy for the US and Israel.

In a lengthy post on X on Tuesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Houthi abduction of workers, the Yemeni minister blamed the international community’s inaction for the escalating Houthi crackdown on civil and humanitarian society in Yemen, noting that the world had long “turned a blind eye” to the Houthis’ violations that preceded their latest crackdown.

“The terrorist Houthi militia considered the hesitant international positions a green light to escalate its repressive measures against international and humanitarian organizations operating in the areas under its control, and the local employees working there, without any regard for the disastrous effects of these practices on the difficult economic and humanitarian conditions in the areas under its control,” Al-Eryani said.

He also reiterated his government’s call for international organizations, including UN agencies, to relocate offices to Aden, the country’s interim capital, to protect workers from Houthi repression.


Gaza rescuers say 10 killed in Israeli strike on school

Gaza rescuers say 10 killed in Israeli strike on school
Updated 18 min 27 sec ago
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Gaza rescuers say 10 killed in Israeli strike on school

Gaza rescuers say 10 killed in Israeli strike on school
  • The Al-Jawni school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, already hit several times during the war, was struck again on Wednesday
  • The Israeli military said its air force had “conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command-and-control center” on the school grounds

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: An Israeli air strike Wednesday hit a central Gaza school, with the Hamas-run territory’s civil defense agency reporting 10 killed in the facility turned displacement shelter and the military saying it had targeted militants.
The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, with many seeking safety in school buildings.
Israeli forces have struck several such schools in recent months, saying Palestinian militants were operating there and hiding among displaced civilians, charges denied by Hamas.
The Al-Jawni school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, already hit several times during the war, was struck again on Wednesday, civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
“There are 10 martyrs, including women and children, in the Israeli bombing of Al-Jawni school,” he said, also reporting “a number” of wounded. AFP was unable to independently verify the toll.
The Israeli military said its air force had “conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command-and-control center” on the school grounds, without elaborating on its outcome or the identities of those targeted.
The Hamas government media office said about 5,000 displaced people were sheltering at the school, which used to be run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, when it was hit on Wednesday.
Al-Jawni has been hit at least five times in more than 11 months of war, Bassal said.
In July, at least 16 people were killed in an Israeli air strike the military said had targeted “terrorists.”
Israel’s military offensive since the October 7 attack has killed at least 41,084 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
The Hamas attack on southern Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which also includes hostages killed in captivity.


Tunisia flag blunder lands 4 behind bars

Tunisia flag blunder lands 4 behind bars
Updated 43 min 57 sec ago
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Tunisia flag blunder lands 4 behind bars

Tunisia flag blunder lands 4 behind bars
  • Footage circulated online in recent days showed the Turkish flag flying over the Tunis headquarters of the national railway company SNCFT
  • It said the Turkish flag had been purchased by mistake, and that staff “didn’t notice until it was raised“

TUNIS: Four Tunisians have been arrested after Turkiye’s red-and-white flag, which bears a strong resemblance to Tunisia’s but is not the same, was raised atop a government building, local media said Wednesday.
Footage circulated online in recent days showed the Turkish flag flying over the Tunis headquarters of the national railway company SNCFT, prompting a formal apology and arrests.
The two flags have the same colors and both bear the Islamic symbols of a star and crescent, with the most noticeable difference being a white circle on the Tunisian one.
SNCFT on Tuesday announced it had removed the wrong flag, apologizing in a statement for the mix-up and saying an investigation had been launched.
It said the Turkish flag had been purchased by mistake, and that staff “didn’t notice until it was raised.”
The blunder did not go unnoticed on social media, and on Wednesday Mosaique FM radio and other Tunisian news outlets said four railway workers had been arrested.
The media reports did not elaborate on the identities of those arrested or the charges they may face.
In May, the covering of the national flag at a sporting event in Tunis, due to sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency, led to the arrests of three officials.
The sports officials faced charges including “attack on the flag of Tunisia” and “plot against the internal security” of the state, and were released last week after a three-month sentence.
The incident had provoked outrage from Tunisian President Kais Saied, who has been readying for elections next month which he is widely expected to win.
Photos from the May flag incident showed Kais in tears during a visit to the venue.


Gaza carpenter crafts wooden sandals for daughters as war rages

Gaza carpenter crafts wooden sandals for daughters as war rages
Updated 11 September 2024
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Gaza carpenter crafts wooden sandals for daughters as war rages

Gaza carpenter crafts wooden sandals for daughters as war rages
  • “When we were displaced, we started running and the sandals broke,” said Heba
  • “I threw them off and started running. Our feet became very hot. So, we had to make sandals from wood,” she said, walking on hot sand with her new footwear

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza: Twelve-year-old Heba Dawas lost her footwear in the chaos while fleeing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
So, her carpenter father made wooden-soled sandals for her so she can tread more safely through the tons of rubble, hot sand and twisted metal of the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“When we were displaced, we started running and the sandals broke,” said Heba, who lives in a tent camp with her family in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
“I threw them off and started running. Our feet became very hot. So, we had to make sandals from wood,” she said, walking on hot sand with her new footwear.
Her father Saber Dawas, 39, came up with the idea after finding the price of sandals too expensive. Now his daughter does not have to go barefoot amid the ruins of Gaza.
“I had to make a tailored size for each daughter,” he said.
SANDALS IN DEMAND
Soon enough, his neighbors noticed him making the sandals and started asking him to make some for their children.
Using basic carpentry tools, he made them for “a symbolic price,” he says.
The sandals have a wooden sole and a strap made of a rubber strip or fabric. But there was a challenge in finding more wood because Palestinians needed it for cooking and fires.
“Everything here in Gaza is difficult to find,” Dawas said, rubbing the base of a sandal with one of his young daughters watching by his side.
Making wooden sandals may ease the pressure of the war but life is still fraught with challenges in Gaza, where the Israeli offensive against Hamas has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Nearly 2 million people have been displaced, often repeatedly, Gazan health officials say.
Hamas triggered the war on Oct. 7 when the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
A humanitarian crisis has gripped Gaza since then with Palestinians struggling to find food, water and fuel as they move up and down the territory seeking a safe place to shelter.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have failed to secure a ceasefire through mediation after many attempts.
The border crossing with Egypt has been shut, bringing the flow of aid and basic goods such as shoes to a halt.
“People now are walking around with mismatched shoes,” said Momen Al-Qarra, a Palestinian cobbler repairing old shoes in a little market in Khan Younis.
“If the situation continues like this for two weeks or a month at the most, without the opening of the border, people will be barefoot.”


Casbah building collapse kills woman in Algiers

Casbah building collapse kills woman in Algiers
Updated 11 September 2024
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Casbah building collapse kills woman in Algiers

Casbah building collapse kills woman in Algiers
  • The uninhabited building fell shortly after midnight onto a neighboring home

ALGIERS: A building collapse in the UNESCO-listed Casbah of Algiers killed a woman and injured three of her family members on Wednesday, emergency services said.
The uninhabited building fell shortly after midnight onto a neighboring home where the woman lived, said the civil defense agency in the Algerian capital.
The Casbah, a historic city built on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean, has suffered multiple building collapses in recent years.
In 2019, five people, including a baby, died when their home collapsed in the old city. Following that incident, the mayor of Algiers was sacked.
Originally fortified under Ottoman rule in the 16th century, the Casbah played a key role during Algeria’s 1954-1962 war for independence.
Despite ongoing conservation efforts, many structures remain at risk, propped up solely by wooden and metal supports.