Fresh airstrike hits Sana’a as Israel prepares for new battlefront

The plant, located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's southern Tatarstan region, utilizes a range of Chinese components in the production of these Iranian-designed attack and surveillance drones, according to the report.

Satellite imagery analyzed by CNN and experts shows that two additional buildings have been constructed at the site, and security increased.

In June 2023, US intelligence alleged Iran was aiding Russia in building a drone manufacturing facility in Yelabuga, within the Alabuga Special Economic Zone on the steppes of the Tatarstan region.

The plant focuses on producing Shahed-136 drones domestically, which Russia rebranded as the Geran-2. The collaboration aims to manufacture approximately 6,000 drones by mid-2025, ensuring a consistent supply for Russia's military needs.

CNN's analysis of associated social media accounts and assessments from Ukrainian defense intelligence sources reveal the factory's significant expansion and its reliance on a young, low-skilled workforce of Russian teenagers and African women.

The sources, who spoke to CNN anonymously for safety reasons, said that the factory is now also producing thousands of “decoy” drones, designed to exhaust Ukrainian defenses.

The Arab League bloc of nations has called on Iran to refrain from actions that could sow discord in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, a long-time ally of Tehran.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Arab League warned against igniting strife in Syria and denounced statements by Iranian officials that risk destabilizing the country. The statement did not name any specific officials.

“The Arab League rejects the recent Iranian statements aimed at inciting strife among the Syrian people,” the bloc’s secretariat said, adding that “it is following with concern the events taking place in several Syrian cities and areas with the aim of igniting the sparks of conflict."

Deadly clashes between Syria's new rulers and forces loyal to Assad in recent days have fueled fears of rekindling the civil war in the country.

Syria’s new authorities said Tuesday that pro-Assad forces ambushed interior ministry troops near Tartous, killing 14 and wounding 10 in a direct challenge to de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa. On Thursday, the new leaders launched an operation in the area, historically a stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite Muslim sect.

“The General Secretariat stressed the need for all parties to respect Syria's sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability, to restrict weapons to the hands of the state, dissolve all armed formations and reject all destabilizing foreign interventions," said the Arab League, which last year welcomed back Assad after a decade of isolation.

The bloc also expressed confidence in the ability of the Syrian people, with all their components and leaders, through wisdom, to preserve civil peace and national unity at this critical stage.

Earlier this week, Syria’s new foreign minister warned Iran not to destabilize the country's fragile calm after a call by Iran’s Supreme Leader for Syrian youth to rise up against the new Sunni Islamist rulers.

"Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and the sovereignty and safety of its country. We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and hold them responsible for the consequences of their recent statements," Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said on X.

In at least two public speeches this month, Ali Khamenei predicted "the emergence of a strong,” noting that the country's young men had nothing to lose.”

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday that media reports about Iran interfering in Syria's internal affairs are baseless. “Tehran is committed to supporting the territorial integrity and national unity of Syria and the formation of an inclusive political system," he said in a statement.

Most recently, Mohsen Rezaei, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, wrote on X,"The resistant youth and nation of Syria will not remain silent against foreign occupation and aggression and the internal totalitarianism of one group. In less than a year, they will revive the resistance in Syria in another form."

In an interview with an Egyptian media outlet last week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran had advised Assad to engage in talks with Turkey and opposition forces before his fall, adding that Assad rejected the idea.

“Assad believed that he would not engage in talks with Turkey until their forces withdrew from Syrian territory, questioning how it would be possible to negotiate with a country that had occupied his land,” he said.

“I repeatedly advised the Syrian government, the foreign minister, and even Bashar al-Assad himself to enter into negotiations with Turkey. However, the Syrian government and Mr. Assad were not in favor of negotiating—whether with the opposition or with Turkey," Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Egypt's Al-Ghad network. The interview took place last week when Araghchi was in Cairo for an economic event, but its text was published on Friday.

“Regarding Turkey, Assad believed that he would not engage in talks with them until their forces withdrew from Syrian territory, questioning how it would be possible to negotiate with a country that had occupied his land,” he added.

Araghchi noted that while Iran provided advice on dealing with Syria’s people, neighbors, and opposition groups, Damascus maintained its independence in decision-making. “The Syrian government acted independently, and we were merely friends offering counsel.”

Earlier this week, Syria’s new foreign minister warned Iran not to destabilize the country's fragile calm after a call by Iran’s Supreme Leader for Syrian youth to rise up against the new Sunni Islamist rulers.

An armed Shi'ite movement which controls most of northern Yemen, the Houthis are armed by Iran and part of its so-called Axis of Resistance against Israel.

The group is one of Iran's only robust armed allies after rebels toppled Syria's Bashar al-Assad in Syria while Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah have been degraded by Israeli ground and air raids for much of the last 14 months.

"We are determined to cut off this terror arm of the Iranian axis of evil. We will persist in this until we complete the job," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement from the the air force command center in Tel Aviv.

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In a statement, the Israeli military said it had struck military infrastructure at Sana’a International Airport, two power stations and three Red Sea ports including the country's largest, Hodeida.

"These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials, the Israeli military said. "This is a further example of the Houthis' exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes."

The Houthis have launched multiple missile attacks at Israel in recent weeks, setting off warning sirens and stoking unease just as other military fronts mostly die down.

Yemen's rulers deny being a proxy of Tehran and say their fight against Israel and the United States is in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

"The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world," the Israeli military said.

"(It) operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks."

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that Israel would dole out the same treatment it gave Assad, Hamas and Hezbollah to the Houthis, while Defense Minister Israel Katz, vowed to "behead" Houthi leaders.

“The resilient youth and people of Syria will not remain silent in the face of foreign occupation, external aggression, and the internal authoritarianism of a single group. Within less than a year, they will revive resistance in Syria in a new form,” Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, wrote on his X account.

Rezaei's comments come amid a regional reconfiguration and shifting power dynamics in Syria following the fall of the Bashar Assad government. Earlier this week, Syria’s new foreign minister warned Iran to refrain from "spreading chaos" in the country after a call by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for Syrian youth to rise up against the country's new Sunni Islamist leaders.