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Ukraine claims it hit Russian patrol ship, oil platform in Caspian Sea

By
IFP Media Wire
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Ukraine War

The patrol ship is designated Project 22460 Hunter, part of the Rubin class of Russian Coast Guard vessels designed to combat surface and airborne threats.

“They are equipped with weapons and systems to perform a wide range of missions in coastal waters. Several SSO drones successfully hit the target,” the SSO said on Facebook.

In the same operation, SSO drones also hit a Russian oil platform located at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea. The platform is owned by Russian oil company Lukoil and is used for oil and gas extraction.

“The platform ensures oil and gas production, the export of which fills the Russian budget and funds the war. The initial reserves of the field are estimated at approximately 129 million tons of oil and 30 billion cubic meters of gas,” the SSO added.

The extent of the damage and the platform’s operational status are being clarified.

Ukrainian forces have previously carried out successful strikes on Russian patrol vessels and other naval assets. In September 2025, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) announced it hit and damaged a multifunctional Russian Project MPSV07 ship patrolling the Black Sea.

On the same day the SSO announced the strike on the Hunter vessel, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported an hit on a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the Mediterranean sea — the first such attack of its kind.

Ukraine has allegedly destroyed or disabled one-third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet during the full-scale war, including the Caesar Kunikov landing ship, the Sergei Kotov patrol ship, the Ivanovets missile corvette, and multiple high-speed landing crafts.

 

Pentagon declassifies Syria ‘vengeance’ attack against Daesh

By
IFP Media Wire
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Pentagon

In a post on X late Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American and Jordanian forces struck more than 70 targets across central Syria using over 100 precision-guided munitions.

The Pentagon added that the strikes were conducted under Operation Hawkeye Strike and involved US fighter jets, attack helicopters, artillery, and Jordanian fighter aircraft.

The released footage shows airstrikes and explosions hitting suspected militant positions at multiple locations, with the targets described as terrorist infrastructure and weapons sites.

“This operation is critical to preventing ISIS from inspiring terrorist plots and attacks against the US homeland,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region.”

Since the December 13 attack on US and partner forces, American and allied troops have carried out ten operations in Syria and Iraq, resulting in the killing or detention of 23 suspected IS operatives, according to CENTCOM. Over the past six months, more than 80 counterterrorism operations have been conducted in Syria, it added.

President Donald Trump stated the new Syrian government was aware of and supported the retaliatory strike, while Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stressed that the operation was a “declaration of vengeance” rather than war.

 

Pakistan court hands Ex-PM Imran Khan, wife 17-year jail terms in another graft case

By
IFP Media Wire
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The latest conviction adds to a series of legal troubles for Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in a separate land graft case.

He faces dozens of cases filed since he was ousted from office in 2022, ranging from corruption to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges. Khan has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which his party says are politically motivated.

“The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence and sentenced 17 years imprisonment to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with heavy fines,” Khan’s family lawyer Rana Mudassar Umer told Reuters.

They were handed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal breach of trust and a further seven years under anti-corruption laws, the special court of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency noted in its verdict.

Khan’s jail term from Saturday’s ruling would begin after he has served the 14 years from the land graft case, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

The case relates to luxury watches gifted to Khan by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during official visits, which prosecutors said Khan and his wife then purchased from the state at a heavily discounted price in violation of Pakistan’s gift rules.

Tarrar added the purchase resulted in losses of several million rupees for the state.
Zulfi Bukhari, a spokesperson for Khan, said the verdict “ignores basic principles of justice” and turns the process into “a tool for selective prosecution.”

Khan has told his legal team to appeal the decision at the Islamabad High Court, Salman Safdar, another one of his lawyers, told reporters outside the jail where the trials were being held, Geo News reported.

 

 

US drafts $112bn Gaza reconstruction plan: WSJ

By
IFP Media Wire
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According to the article, Project Sunrise was designed “to turn Gaza’s rubble into a futuristic coastal destination.”

The US sides estimates that the project will require $112.1 billion over ten years. The plan does not specify which companies will be involved in rebuilding the Gaza strip and where 2 million Palestinians will be accommodated while the project is being implemented.

Washington “would commit to being an ‘anchor’ supporting nearly $60 billion in grants and guarantees on debt for ‘all the contemplated workstreams’ in that time period,” the article added.

It is projected that Gaza could self-fund many projects over the following years of the plan, and eventually pay down its debt.

The US has already shown the slides of the project “to prospective donor countries, <…> including wealthy [Persian] Gulf kingdoms, Turkey and Egypt,” an unnamed US official told the newspaper.

The daily reported that Kushner, Witkoff, senior White House aide Josh Gruenbaum and other US officials pulled the proposal together over the past 45 days and received input from Israeli officials, people in the private sector and contractors.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Some US officials familiar with the plan have serious doubts about how realistic it is. They are skeptical that Hamas will agree to disarm and that the US could convince wealthy nations to foot the bill for transforming “a dangerous postwar environment into a high-tech cityscape.”

 

Ashraf Boroujerdi, prominent Iranian reformist and cultural figure, passes away

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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She was also the first woman to serve as head of Iran’s National Library and Archives Organization.

Born in 1957 and the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ali Mohammad Boroujerdi, Ashraf Boroujerdi was a prominent figure in Iran’s reformist movement.

She was the first female deputy in the Ministry of Interior after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, working alongside ministers Abdullah Nouri and Seyed Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari in social and local council affairs.

From 2016 to 2021, by appointment of then-president Hassan Rouhani, she led the National Library and Archives Organization. Prior to that, she served as deputy for culture at the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.

Boroujerdi was married to the late engineer Gholamali Motamedi, a martyr of the July 7, 1981, tragedy and deputy minister of labor in the Rajai government. Beyond her executive roles, she was active in academia, authored numerous works, and contributed significantly to the advancement of Iranian culture.

Government Spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani expressed condolences, describing Boroujerdi as an enlightened woman, civic activist, and political figure whose years of dedicated service in social, cultural, and administrative fields left a lasting legacy.

Commemorative stamp marking Prophet Muhammad’s 1,500th birth anniv. unveiled

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The event was attended by senior government officials, religious scholars, and members of the national organizing committee. After the official unveiling, Aref registered the stamp’s first issue.

The commemorative stamp is inspired by the miniature artwork “Ascension” by renowned Iranian artist Mahmoud Farshchian and has been produced in various philatelic formats.

Officials said the initiative aims to honor Islamic spiritual heritage, showcase Iranian-Islamic art, and promote the message of compassion of Prophet Muhammad at national and international levels.

UN chief condemns Houthi detention of 10 more UN staff in Yemen

By
IFP Media Wire
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Yemen Houthi

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for Guterres, confirmed on Friday that the previous day’s arrests had brought the total of detained local staffers to 69, calling for their immediate release.

“These detentions render the delivery of UN humanitarian assistance in Houthi-controlled areas untenable. This directly affects millions of people in need and limits their access to life-saving assistance,” Dujarric said.

The Houthis, who control most of northwestern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have stepped up their arrests of UN staff since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, accusing them of spying for the United States and Israel.

The UN has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations that its staff or operations in Yemen are involved in spying, a charge that carries the death penalty in the country.

On Thursday, the organisation confirmed that the detainees were all Yemeni nationals.

The latest arrests came days after Guterres discussed detained UN, diplomatic and NGO staff with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, which has served as a mediator in the conflict in Yemen.

Guterres also commented this week on the Houthis’ recent referral of three detained UN staffers to a criminal court, saying they had been charged in relation to “their performance of United Nations official duties” and calling for charges to be dropped.

A decade of war has plunged Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the UN.

Guterres stated this week that 19.5 million people in the country – nearly two-thirds of the population – need humanitarian assistance.

China threatens ‘forceful measures’ over US weapons sales package to Taiwan

By
IFP Media Wire
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The package, the largest ever by the United States to the island Beijing views as its own territory, comes as China has been stepping up its military and political pressure on Taiwan.

The ministry said it had lodged “stern representations” with the United States, and urged the country to immediately cease arms sales to Taiwan and abide by its commitment not to support “Taiwan independence forces”.

“The ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, at the cost of the safety and well-being of Taiwan compatriots, use the hard-earned money of ordinary people to fatten US arms dealers in an attempt to ‘seek independence by relying on military force’,” the ministry statement read.

The United States, by repeatedly going back on its word, indulging and supporting Taiwan independence, is “bound to get burned itself”, the ministry added.

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army will continue to strengthen training and combat readiness, take strong measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely frustrate attempts at ‘Taiwan independence’ separatism and external interference.”

It did not give details on what exact steps it might take.

Washington has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, but maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island’s most important arms supplier. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though such arms sales are a persistent source of friction with China.

The latest weapons package includes HIMARS rocket systems, made by Lockheed Martin and which have been used extensively by Ukraine against Russian forces.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed into law a nearly $1 trillion annual defence policy bill, which fully funds the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative at $1 billion and authorises funding for US forces to continue training for Taiwan.

Taiwan’s defence ministry on Friday thanked the United States for those provisions, saying it would strengthen the island’s armed forces’ combat capabilities and ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and broader region.

Taiwan’s democratically elected government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.

China has rebuffed repeated offers of talks with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”. It has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island.

Iran executes man convicted of espionage for Israel

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Iran Prison

The execution of Aqil Keshavarz was carried out after his conviction for espionage in favor of the Zionist regime, as well as for intelligence links and cooperation with the regime and filming military and security sites.

The sentence was implemented following confirmation by Iran’s Supreme Court and the completion of all legal procedures.

Keshavarz was arrested in April 2025 while filming the headquarters building of the Urmia Infantry Division in the capital of Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, by a patrol of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army’s protection unit.

During an inspection of his mobile phone, a message from an Israeli-numbered contact and an individual using the username “Osher” was discovered.

A search of the hotel where Keshavarz was staying also led to the discovery of a coded notebook containing the names and addresses of several security institutions.

Further investigations revealed that in 2022 Keshavarz had also established contact and cooperation on Telegram with one of the groups affiliated with the anti-Iran terror group MKO, sending images and carrying out slogan-writing activities as directed by the group’s administrators.

After each mission, a Mossad officer transferred payments to the accused in the form of cryptocurrency and sent him the transaction receipts.

UN warns Gaza hunger gains are ‘fragile’ as 1.6M still face extreme food insecurity

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

“Famine has been pushed back. Far more people are able to access the food they need to survive,” Guterres told a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York.

“Gains are fragile, perilously so.”

He said 1.6 million people in Gaza, more than 75% of the population, are projected to face “extreme levels of acute food insecurity and critical malnutrition risks.”

“And in more than half of Gaza, where Israeli troops remain deployed, farmland and entire neighborhoods are out of reach. Strikes and hostilities continue, pushing the civilian toll of this war even higher and exposing our teams to grave danger,” he added.

Guterres also renewed calls for “a durable ceasefire,” stating: “We need more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access, including for NGOs.”

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released its news findings on Friday, noting that famine conditions in the enclave have been temporarily offset following a reduction in hostilities and improved access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries. The latest report, however, warned that the overall situation in Gaza remains critical.

The UN chief also touched on Israel’s refusal to move onto the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan until the return of the remains of a final deceased hostage.

“It is essential to move to phase two, and I don’t think that we should have any pretext to avoid it,” said Guterres.

“It’s very important to move with the peace process as a whole. And it’s not only phase two. It’s to make sure that phase one, and namely the ceasefire, are fully implemented,” he added.

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