Sunday, January 18, 2026

Latest News and Views from Iran and the World

Iran security chief: Reprisal against Israel ‘definite’

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says the Israeli regime will definitely get a response over the assassination of the political head of the Palestinian resistance movement in Tehran last week.

Israel systematically abusing Palestinians in ‘torture camps’: Report

Israeli authorities are systematically abusing Palestinian detainees in torture camps, subjecting them to severe violence and sexual assault, the Israeli rights group  B'Tselem has reported.

President Pezeshkian: Enhancing relations with Russia Iran’s ‘foreign policy priority’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has described Moscow as a “strategic partner” of Tehran, stressing that the expansion of ties with Russia is a top foreign policy priority of his government.

9 employees ‘may have been involved’ in October 7 Hamas attack against Israel: UN

The United Nations has announced nine employees of UNRWA, its agency for Palestinian refugees, “may have been involved” in the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian group Hamas, adding that they have been fired.

Several US soldiers injured in rocket attack on military base in Iraq

A suspected rocket attack on a military base in western Iraq has wounded several US personnel, according to a defense spokesperson.

Ukraine claims West too fearful of escalation with Russia

Kiev is pushing NATO member states to create a coalition that would attempt to intercept Russian missiles but the Western nations are always concerned about possible escalation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated.

Iran’s top military official describes ties with Moscow, strategic, deep-rooted

Brigadier General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces told Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia’s National Security Council, that the ties between Tehran and Moscow are strategic, deep and long-term and will not change with the change of administrations.

Huge fire shuts economic zone in northeast Iran

A huge blaze has caused damage to the fuel tanks in the Dowqarun special economic zone in Iran’s northwest region of Taybad near the border with Afghanistan.

Nearly half of Hamas’ battalions in north, central Gaza rebuilt fighting power: Report

Nearly half of Hamas' military battalions in northern and central Gaza Strip have rebuilt some of their fighting capabilities at least once, a CNN investigation has found.

Iranian Acting FM to foreign ambassadors: Haniyeh assassination part of genocide of Palestinians 

Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri tells foreign ambassadors in Tehran that the assassination of late leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh is part of the Zionist regime’s genocidal project targeting Palestinians.

Iran’s response to Haniyeh assassination definite: Spokesman

No one can throw doubt on Tehran’s right to respond to the Israeli assassination of the Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told reporters on Monday.

Blinken tells G7 that Iran, Hezbollah may attack Israel within hours

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has informed foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) that Tehran and the Hezbollah movement could launch an offensive against Israel within the next 24 hours, Axios news website has reported citing its unnamed sources.

Iran refuses to mitigate its response to assassination of Haniyeh: Report

Iran has refused to temper its response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and will respond to Israel, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing its sources.

IRGC chief warns Israel to be buried in miscalculations

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami called the Zionist regime an entity that has been born out of terrorism, stressing Israel will fall prey to its own transgressions.

Assassinations ‘never a solution’: Pope Francis

Pope Francis has once again appealed to all sides of the conflict in West Asia to resume negotiations to achieve an “immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and on all fronts”. Fears have grown over escalation of tensions in West Asia after Israel assassinated Hezbollah and Hamas figures in Lebanon and Iran.

Iranian sanitation worker returns package worth 1bn tomans to owner

A sanitation worker in the central Iranian city of Kashan found a package containing 1 billion tomans, 16.3 thousand dollars, and returned it to its owner, according to ILNA news agency.

Dozens killed in Israeli strikes on UN-run Gaza schools

At least 30 people, including children, have been killed and many others injured in Israeli raids on two United Nations-run schools in the west of Gaza City.

Yemen Houthis say downed another US MQ-9 Reaper drone

Yemen's Houthi fighters have shot down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Sa'ada Province, amid escalating tensions with Israel, the group announced.

Thousands of Israelis stranded abroad as airlines suspend flights to Tel Aviv amid regional tensions

Nearly 4,000 Israelis have been stranded abroad due to the suspension of international flights to Tel Aviv amid rising border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel and fears of Iran's attack, according to a report.

Norwegian envoy concludes Tehran mission with Kalleh Pacheh

The Norwegian ambassador to Tehran has finished his mission in Iran by eating Iran’s trademark cuisine Kalleh Pacheh, sheep heads and trotters, for breakfast.

Zelensky confirms first F-16s reach Ukraine

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed the first F-16 fighter jets have made it to his country after a lengthy delay.

President Pezeshkian: Assassination of Haniyeh will not go unanswered

In a meeting with Ayman Safadi, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Jordan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that the Israeli move to assassinate the Hamas leader in Tehran will not go unanswered.

Iran’s Vahid Shamsaei nominated for world’s best futsal coach

Iranian national futsal team head coach, Vahid Shamsaei, has been nominated for the prestigious title of Best Coach of the Year 2023 by the renowned futsal website, Futsal Planet.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange hits lowest level since April amid fears of Iran’s retaliation

The main index of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) fell to its lowest point since April at the start of weekly trading on Sunday, driven by fears of a potential war with Iran and Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.

US, UK and France ask their citizens to leave Lebanon amid regional tensions

Several Western governments, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately as tensions rise in West Asia following the assassination of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.