Monday, January 12, 2026
type here...
Home Blog Page 2163

US base in Iraq comes under fresh attempted drone attack

By
IFP Media Wire
-

An official of the international military coalition stated on Tuesday two armed drones were shot down as they approached the base in western Anbar province.

“Two fixed-wing drones rigged with explosives were engaged and destroyed by defensive capabilities at the Iraqi Ain al-Asad airbase early this morning,” the official was quoted as saying by news agencies.

“The attempted attack was unsuccessful. All forces are accounted for,” the official added.

On Monday, the coalition announced it had shot down two armed drones as they approached a base hosting US forces near Baghdad’s international airport.

Nobody was hurt in that incident, either. There was no claim of responsibility.

The attacks come as Tehran and its allies across the Middle East on Monday held emotional commemorations marking the second anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant in a US drone attack at Baghdad airport.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a televised speech former US President Donald Trump must face trial for ordering the attack on Soleimani, or Tehran would take revenge.

The US is leading the international military coalition fighting Daesh, with troops present in Iraq having switched to a training and advisory role since the end of the combat mission last month.

“While we have ended our combat mission, we maintain the inherent right of self-defense,” the official stated.

“These are attacks against Iraqi installations and an attack against the Iraqi people and the military that protects them. We maintain a minimal footprint on Iraqi bases – the coalition no longer has its own bases in Iraq,” the official added.

Report: Iran expects to purchase Su-35, S-400 during Raisi Russia visit

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Raisi is expected to sign a 20-year, $10 billion security and defense cooperation agreement that will potentially include the purchase of a satellite, the report added.

The new pact is seen as an extension of an earlier deal signed in 2001 and automatically renewed every five years. But Tehran slowed down the prolongation in 2020, indicating the need to update the text.

In March 2021, Iran and China signed a 25-year cooperation agreement to strengthen their long-standing economic and political alliance.

The main intrigue of Raisi’s visit to the Russian Federation is the path along which the development of military-technical cooperation (MTC) between Iran and Russia will move.

Tehran expects to purchase at least 24 multi-purpose super-manoeuvrable Su-35 fighter jets.

The seriousness of Iran’s intentions is evidenced by the fact that the Iranian Air Force has already selected three dozen pilots who will learn to fly the Su-35SE. If Moscow and Tehran manage to reach an agreement in January, the preparatory work will begin almost immediately, experts say.

A separate issue is the extension of the service life, repair and modernisation of two dozen MiG-29 and 25 Su-24MK aircraft, which are in service with the Air Force of the Islamic Republic.

At the same time, there is an assumption that the Iranians may request Russian S-400 air defense systems.

Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali has stated that the upcoming visit of the Iranian President to Russia will be a turning point in historical relations between the two countries. Raisi will leave for Russia in coming days.

Floodwaters wreak havoc in southern Iranian Hormozgan Province

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

In the worst-hit Minab County, the village of Tonbek was completely evacuated. According to officials, only in Minab, over one thousand houses were flooded and dozens of homes were damaged.

The area saw 200 millimeters of rain in only three hours.

There were also reports of widespread damage to residential houses and infrastructures in the village of Jalabi.

Other areas are also reporting blackouts since Monday.

It comes as over two dozen roads across the Hormozgan Province were closed for hours, after authorities were forced to open floodgates of several dams to avoid damage to the structures.

The local road maintenance authority says roads have been mainly reopened except for those in eastern areas of the province, which bore the brunt of the flooding.

Ex-UK diplomat: Assassination of Gen. Soleimani US ‘systematic deception’

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Monday marked two years since the US assassination of Soleimani, which comes less than a week after the 15-year anniversary of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s execution.

“It is helpful when a counter-narrative with the ring of truth eventually emerges, because cumulatively the United States is establishing a track record of systematic deception,” Ford said.

“When the US kills or captures its eminent enemies, deception is standard operating procedure (SOP),” he added.

On December 30, 2006, Hussein was executed after the United States invaded Iraq on the pretext of searching for weapons of mass destruction – which were never found.

Following Hussein’s arrest at the end of 2003, the Pentagon claimed that the former Iraqi president was found hiding in an eight-foot-deep hole under a farm. However, a former interpreter with US forces told Sputnik that Hussein was in a room and unconscious at the time of his arrest.

“In the endgame of the illegal invasion of Iraq the US was terrified lest Saddam emerge as a hero, defeated but unbowed. Regardless of truth the politics demanded that Saddam be arrested in humiliating conditions,” Ford stated.

“It can’t be proven, of course, but seen in this light the interpreter’s denial of the story that Saddam was found cowering in a hole must be seen as highly likely to be true,” he noted.

With respect to Soleimani, killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020, Ford recalled that “no proof was ever provided” to support Washington’s allegations that the Iranian commander was planning imminent operations against US troops.

“The same SOP was used, obviously, to justify the original invasion of Iraq with fabricated charges of production of weapons of mass destruction. Similarly Syria was framed with crisis actors for alleged use of chemical weapons,” Ford continued.

Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi, he added, was liquidated after the United States invented a story that his troops were aiming at a bloodbath in Benghazi.

Ford said the US government continues to fabricate these tales basically because “it gets away with it.”

“Most international media uncritically relays the US narrative,” Ford concluded.

“Occasionally, as with Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), the US gets found out, but by that time the caravan has moved on,” he noted.

Iran envoy: President Raisi Russia visit turning point in mutual ties

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Kazem Jalali, Iran Ambassador to Russia
Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Russia

Kazem Jalali added that no long-term pact or agreement for comprehensive cooperation is planned to be signed during the visit.

“The reason is that a draft agreement has been prepared by the Islamic Republic of Iran and it, naturally, requires the Russian side to also express its viewpoints on the draft, and this will take time,” he said.

“Expansion of ties with neighboring countries is a primary principle of the foreign policy of the new administration and Russia, as our large neighbor and the power bordering Iran on the north, is one of the countries with great potential for this purpose.”

Jalali further explained that Raisi’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will cover mutual, regional and international developments.

The envoy added that Iran and Russia first signed a 20-year cooperation agreement in 2001, which would have expired in 2021. He said, however, that the agreement contains a mechanism that allows its automatic extension for another five years if both sides agree to do so.

Jalali noted that the draft Iran has prepared is based on consensus among top officials of the two countries to update the 20-year agreement, before its extension. He said the updates documents will then require the approval of Iranian and Russian parliaments to come into force.

US-Turkey top diplomats discuss normalization of ties

By
IFP Media Wire
-

“The talks, which took place in the run-up to NATO and OSCE meetings, touched upon tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the activation of the strategic mechanism (to normalize relations between Ankara and Washington), the Turkish-US relations, and the developments in Sudan, Ethiopia and in the Caucasus,” a source at the Turkish Foreign Ministry told TASS.

In the early hours of December 31, US President Joe Biden held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The conversation lasted 50 minutes. Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told journalists that the Kremlin was satisfied with the conversation which generally was constructive. According to him, the upcoming talks on security guarantees were the main subject and both leaders agreed to control them personally and maintain phone contacts.

On January 10, Geneva will host Russian-US talks on security guarantees. On January 12, Russia will discuss its concerns in the security sphere in Europe as well as the Russian projects on security guarantees at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels and on January 13 – at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the draft agreements between Moscow and Washington on security guarantees and the measures of ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. These drafts were submitted to Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried on December 15.

Lately, in the West and Ukraine, the claims of an alleged possible Russian “invasion” into Ukrainian territory are being touted increasingly more often. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov branded such information as the empty and groundless escalation of tension, emphasizing that Russia does not represent a threat to anyone. That said, he did not exclude the possibility of provocations being whipped up in order to justify such claims and warned that attempts to resolve the problem in southeastern Ukraine through the use of force would have the most serious consequences.

Iran police seize half a ton narcotics shipment

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Ali Sokhangoo, Rigan County’s prosecutor in the southeastern Province of Kerman stated on Monday the Iranian intelligence forces managed to identify a big shipment of narcotics in Rigan city.

According to the judicial official, the shipment contained 221 kg of opium, 157 kg of hashish, and eight 35-liter gallons of liquid used to produce industrial narcotics.

Sokhangoo added that the security forces will identify the members of the drug trafficking group and take legal action against them.

Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking and thousands of Iranian forces have been so far martyred to protect the world from the danger of drugs.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past decades.

Iran has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab, and Central Asian countries.

Iran govt. paper hits out at Worker House for criticism over budget draft

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

“The political party of Worker House after eight years of silence on the economic developments of the country and the problems of the workers’ community, in a strongly-worded statement, criticized the 13th administration for eliminating the subsidized foreign currency rate of 42,000 rials in the next year’s budget,” Iran Daily wrote.

The daily accused the Worker House of engaging in political activity under the cover of a workers’ association, to help its favorite candidates obtain seats in the parliament and the local councils of cities and towns as well as government positions.

The daily said Worker House failed to address workers’ problems despite protests in several major industrial plants, including Hepco and Haft Tappeh, because the protests were held during the reformist-leaned administration of former President Hassan Rouhani.

Ali Rabiee, a Labour minister and later government spokesman in Rouhani’s administration, is now a member of the central committee of the Worker House.

The association had lambasted the incumbent government of President Ebrahim Raisi for the removal of the subsidized exchange rate for the dollar, saying it destabilizes the economy.

Worker House also dismissed the government’s talk about the benefits of its move saying it is a deceitful way to pay for part of the budget deficit by devaluing the national currency.

8 dead in Fars province floods; 2 missing

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

The province’s deputy head of Red Crescent Society search and rescue operations said eight people died in severe flooding in the cities of Lar, Mehr and Darab, and five others were injured and taken to medical centers. Two people are also missing.

The relief forces of the Red Crescent Society have provided assistance to thousands of the affected people, and dozens more were given emergency accommodation over the past week, he added.

Iran Meteorological Organization had forecast heavy rains for Fars Province days before the latest downpour, with authorities in different cities announcing their readiness to deal with possible impact, but many of the cities of Fars Province have been inundated.

2 killed in Israeli military copter crash

By
IFP Media Wire
-

The maritime “Atalef” helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Haifa city during a training flight with an aerial observer and two pilots on board, a military spokesperson said in a statement.

The aerial observer was moderately injured and sent to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa. He was “in a stable condition” and treated for hypothermia, Micky Halbertal, director of the Rambam Hospital, told reporters.

The two pilots were found after a rescue search and were declared dead “after extensive resuscitation efforts,” the statement added.

Israeli Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin has ordered the suspension of training flights as well as the use of the “Atalef” helicopters.

Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported that the cause of the crash appeared to be a technical failure that set the chopper ablaze.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz wrote on Twitter that the air force will investigate the incident to “draw the necessary lessons.”

1...2,1622,1632,164...5,037Page 2,163 of 5,037

© All Content by IFP News ( Iran Front Page ) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Us

Popular Articles

Editor Picks