Selena - News and Updates

U.S. is carrying out airstrikes against multiple sites in Iran as a response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including Chabahar, Abu Musa Island, Kharg Island, Lavan Island, Sirik, Jask, Konarak, Bandar Abbas, and Bushehr. The targets include IRGC-linked facilities, the Imam Ali military base, a Basij base, maritime infrastructure in Chabahar, and energy-related sites. Power outages are reported in Chabahar and Bandar Abbas.

Iranian Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati: The verbal declaration of the cancellation of the memorandum of understanding by the pirate politician [Trump], who is connected to Epstein, is once again pushing the region toward the flames. The Axis of Resistance will not remain silent in the face of this humiliation, and it stands with its finger on the trigger, ready to demand revenge for the blood of the martyr commander, with the aim of purifying the region. *** I am glad that at least they admit they were humiliated. Big time I would add.

Eight Iranian military personnel were killed in overnight U.S. strikes on southern Iran, in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr. Iran vowed retaliation.

Israel carried out a targeted UAV attack on a vehicle near the Islamic University in Western Gaza City, northern Gaza. 1 terrorist was killed and 2 were injured. 9 were killed today in various strikes across Gaza.

The Israeli military captured a Hezbollah Radwan Force terrorist during operations near Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, in the same area where an Israeli reservist was seriously wounded in a clash last week. A second Hezbollah terrorist opened fire from a building during the operation, killing an Oketz military dog before being shot dead by Israeli forces after refusing to surrender. The captured operative was transferred to Israel for questioning by the Intelligence Directorate's Unit 504. No Israeli soldiers were injured in the incident.

After US President Donald Trump’s statements today regarding the ending of the memorandum of understanding, the Iranian currency weakened and is trading at around 1.8 million rials to the dollar. Yesterday, the Iranian currency was trading at a rate of 1.75 million rials to the dollar.

The Israeli military killed Mohammad Imad al-Rahman Abu Taima, the commander of a Hamas Nukhba Force cell who infiltrated Kibbutz Nirim during the October 7 massacre, in an airstrike in southern Gaza on Tuesday. Abu Taima later led ambushes against Israeli troops, worked to recruit new terrorists and prepare additional attacks.

Israeli police arrested 24 criminals during a large-scale operation in the Bedouin town of Ar'arat an-Naqab (Arara in the Negev), targeting individuals linked to ongoing criminal violence. Authorities seized two pistols, ammunition, swords, combat gear, ski masks, and more than ₪160,000 in cash, along with foreign currency, while also arresting suspects in connection with a recent vehicle arson attack. Several perpetrators were remanded for further investigation, while others were released under restrictive conditions.

Overnight (Wednesday), IDF soldiers completed dozens of counterterrorism activities across Judea and Samaria, during which they apprehended 20 wanted individuals, including suspects who were planning to carry out a terror attack, an arms dealer, a suspect involved in smuggling illegal entrants, and suspects affiliated with the Hamas terrorist organization. The soldiers completed an airborne operation overnight in the Menashe Brigade area. During the operation, the soldiers searched more than 50 structures in the area of Jenin. After gunfire in Hebron overnight, IDF soldiers apprehended 5 suspects and questioned additional suspects in the Judea Brigade area. In the area of Tulkarm, IDF soldiers and Israel Border Police officers apprehended four Hamas-affiliated suspects, as well as an additional wanted suspect on suspicion of incitement to terrorism in the area of Funduq.

The European Commission refered Ireland, Spain, France, and the Netherlands to the EU Court of Justice for failing to transpose the EU's cybersecurity framework, NIS2 Directive, into national law and asked the Court to impose financial sanctions. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1499

Yesterday, Israeli troops killed a Hezbollah terrorist who opened fire during a search of a building near Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, the site of a last week's clash in which an Israeli reservist was seriously wounded.

Moroccan authorities dismantled an Islamic State-linked cell operating with support from the group’s Sahel branch, arresting 10 terrorists, including a minor, in coordinated raids across Agadir, Taroudant, Casablanca, El Hajeb, Tetouan, Fqih Ben Salah and Safi. Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations said the cell was in an advanced stage of preparing attacks against sensitive sites, infrastructure and public security targets, and that security forces seized bladed weapons, bomb-making materials, chemicals, military-style clothing, extremist propaganda and a vehicle allegedly modified for use in an attack.

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez publicly thanked and met with an Israeli rescue delegation assisting after the country’s deadly earthquakes, in a rare humanitarian contact between Caracas and Jerusalem despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations. The Israeli team, makes up of search-and-rescue, medical and infrastructure-assessment experts, was deployed after the June 24 earthquakes and works with Venezuelan authorities on rescue and damage-assessment efforts. Rodríguez praised the delegation’s professionalism and said Venezuela appreciated the assistance. As part of the aid delegation’s mission, Home Front Command expert teams conducted structural assessments of residential complexes, hospitals, and destruction sites in cooperation with the local authorities. The assessments were carried out to evaluate the condition of the buildings and establish a situational assessment on the ground, with the goal of restoring critical infrastructure and enabling displaced residents to return safely to their homes.

Huge crowds participated in the funeral of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several members of his family in Revolution Square in the city of Najaf, Iraq. The body of Ali Khamenei has arrived in Najaf along with senior Iranian leadership, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Esmail Qaani. The funeral procession will depart from Najaf to Karbala.

U.S. President Donald Trump offered details on the latest strikes against Iran while on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey. While speaking to reporters alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran is over as far as he in concerned. Keynotes: ● on Iran and its leadership: They are villains. I hate them, nobody likes them. We are wasting our time with them. We cannot allow them to obtain nuclear weapons. I don't think they know what they are doing, but they are evil. They are impotent; otherwise, they would make a deal with me. A cancer that must be eradicated. As far as I'm concerned, the ceasefire is over. They're liars. We make a deal. Everyone's agreed. No nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, talk to the press, they say we never even talked about it. There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. They're liars, they're cheats, they're sick people. They've hurt their people. They killed 54,000 people — as of now — that were protesting. You know when people say how come they haven't taken over? They can't take over because they're dead. They killed them. Nobody's going to take over — they have no guns, and the other side has machine guns. And then they're killing them. The press doesn't report it. I'll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don't see it. I think the Iranians are incompetent. If they were competent, they would have made a deal 47 years ago. I'm on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I've been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn't last very long. Because that's the way it goes, but we have great people. But these are evil, sick people, and we have to rid their cancer. That cancer. And you know what you do? You got to cut out cancer early. ● on Erdogan and Netanyahu: I like President Erdogan. He rolled out the red carpet. He's terrific. But Bibi said rough things yesterday about Turkey and Erdogan. And I said, you know, I spoke to him. I said he could have gone into the war because he doesn't like Israel much. And he doesn't like Bibi much. And he didn't go because of me. And this is a military power. Millions of soldiers. Turkey is very strong. They have a lot of our best equipment. They're trying to get the F-35s. But he didn't go in. He wanted. He would go in. If it weren't for me, he would have gone in. And it would have been on the other side. ● on Erdogan: I don't think Erdogan likes Iran either. Erdogan happens to be very sane, and the Iranians happen to be very crazy. ● on China: I think China treated us right. He never went into the war. He never supplied equipment to Iran. Xi was great. I am a big fan of President Xi. ● on Spain: We dont want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits. Watch them come running back. He will come running back. They treat Mark Rutte terribly.

In parallel with the American strikes last night in southern Iran, Israel carried out a series of extensive strikes on Hezbollah terrorist targets on the following villages in southern Lebanon: Beit Yahoun, Baraachit, Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Ali al-Taher ridge.

According to a release from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the U.S. struck over 80 targets in Iran overnight, including air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 IRGC small craft. Iran said that in response to U.S. retaliatory strikes overnight, they targeted 85 targets in Bahrain and Kuwait, including Kuwait’s Ali Salem Airbase and the U.S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters in Manama, Bahrain. It also added that it downed a MQ-9 Reaper American drone over Khormouj, Bushehr Province. Statement from Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters:

We will not allow any interference in the affairs of the Strait of Hormuz or its management under any circumstances. The unprecedented event and public presence in the funeral procession and farewell ceremony for the martyred leader brought a humiliating defeat to global arrogance and the criminal United States. The US terrorist army, without any regard for its commitments, and while the pure body of the martyred leader is being received by officials and the brave people of Iraq, blatantly targeted some areas in the southern parts of our beloved Iran. The Iranian Armed Forces will deliver a resounding response to the US aggression and terrorist act, and under no circumstances will they allow any interference in the affairs of the Strait of Hormuz or its management. It is reiterated that the only safe route for the passage of commercial ships and oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz is the route determined by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Statement from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards:

In response to American aggression, the naval and air forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps executed a joint operation utilizing missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. This operation targeted 85 significant American military sites, including Salman Port, the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Furthermore, an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle attempting to intervene in the operation was shot down.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy:

Several electricity transmission lines have gone out of service, causing power outages in multiple areas across the country. Emergency teams have activated the national response plan and are working to determine the cause of the disruption and restore electricity as quickly as possible.

Iranian Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a statement that the US has violated the US-Iran MoU.

The German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz is funding a nationwide campaign promoting the slogan "Muslims: A part of you!" as part of its "Action Weeks Against Anti-Muslim Racism." The whole program is funded at the expense of German taxpayers. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs has awarded €624,997 in 2026 to CLAIM, the organization coordinating the campaign, which includes billboards, exhibitions, conferences, school programs and public events across Germany. The funding has drawn criticism because CLAIM inherited the structures and staff of a previous alliance of around 50 Muslim organizations that was dissolved in 2025. Germany's domestic intelligence services tied that network to groups linked to political Islam, including Muslim Brotherhood circles and Hamas-supporter networks. Subscribe Visegrád24

Additional waves of American airstrikes were carried out in Iran. The United States alerted the Gulf countries to the necessity of preparing for a possible Iranian response in the coming hours.