IRGC says its missiles can strike any enemy target

Daniel Khalife received six years for breaching the Official Secrets Act, six years for a terrorism offense, and two years and three months for escaping from prison, with the sentences to be served consecutively.

Khalife, 23, joined the British Army in 2018 and served with the Royal Corps of Signals. While enlisted, he "exposed military personnel to serious harm" by gathering and passing on sensitive information to Iran.

The judge said Khalife "took payment on two occasions and traveled to meet intelligence officers from Iran in Turkey." She noted that he "recorded a great deal of information," including the full names of fellow soldiers, and was "driven firmly to the conclusion that this was to send to the Iranians."

Khalife, who escaped from Wandsworth Prison in September 2023 but was caught days later, passed information to Iranian agents for cash and told handlers he would stay in the military for more than 25 years to serve them.

"We have repeatedly said that regional countries can ensure the region's security and that there is no need for foreign presence," IRGC navy chief Alireza Tangsiri was quoted as saying by state media.

In addition to Persian Gulf forces, coalition forces including the US, Iran's archenemy, have a strong presence around the Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE and Iran repaired diplomatic ties in 2022, abou six years after Abu Dhabi cut diplomatic relations in allegiance with Saudi Arabia after the 2016 looting of the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Saudi followed one year later.

The IRGC navy chief announced there will be ongoing drills with other countries neighboring Iran such as Oman, which was one of the mediators involved in the repairing of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

"We have had engagements with Oman's navy in this regard and have participated in joint drills with Oman," he said.

A multi-purpose drone carrier will also be integrated into the IRGC navy, he said.

"Countries should take their neighbors' sensitivities into consideration," Kharrazi said during a Sunday meeting with the Azeri presidential assistant Hikmet Hajiyev in Tehran.

Last month, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned remarks by Iranian cleric Seyyed Hassan Ameli, the Friday Prayer Leader of Ardabil who accused Azerbaijan of collaborating with Israel and described President Aliyev's policies as part of a "multi-billion-dollar gamble with the Israelis."

Tehran has long been critical of Baku’s close ties with Israel, while Azerbaijan has expressed frustration over Tehran’s alleged provocations, including inflammatory rhetoric by Iranian clerics and media.

On January 25, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the chargé d'affaires at Iran's Embassy in Baku to lodge a protest over alleged anti-Azerbaijan content in Iranian media.

Tensions further escalated earlier in January after Azerbaijan’s security services said they had foiled a plot to assassinate a prominent local Jewish figure for $200,000.

Two suspects were arrested, with Azerbaijani officials alleging they acted "under the guidance of a foreign country." While no nation was explicitly named, sources within Azerbaijan’s Jewish community have pointed to Iran.

Also in December, an Iranian lawmaker has accused the United States, Israel, and Azerbaijan of orchestrating the helicopter crash that claimed the life of former President Ebrahim Raisi, rejecting the official explanation of a weather-related malfunction as implausible.

Iranian officials have also been occasionally accusing Azerbaijan of allowing Israel to set up intelligence and military bases on its territory as an operational base against Iran.

However, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Israel Mukhtar Mammadov said in 2023 his country would not let Israel’s military to use Azerbaijan as a base for a possible attack against Iran.

The exact time and location of the footage are unclear, but social media users say it has been recorded in the religious city of Mashhad within the past two weeks.

The new video is circulating three months after a similar incident at Tehran's Islamic Azad University, where a female Iranian student stripped to her underwear in protest after reportedly being assaulted by security forces.

During the student's arrest, Ahoo Daryaei was subjected to severe physical assault, including her head striking either a car door or a pillar, which caused heavy bleeding. “Blood stains from the student were reportedly seen on the car’s tires,” the report noted.

Since the emergence of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 while in police custody over hijab violations, hardliners have intensified efforts to enforce strict dress codes for women.

Despite widespread public defiance, government measures to reinforce mandatory hijab laws have escalated, resulting in the closure of businesses and the impoundment of vehicles associated with hijab offenses.

In a Sunday editorial, Ham-Mihan, a newspaper aligned with Iran’s Reformist faction, argued that the Foreign Ministry’s performance over the past six months has led to a diminished and weakened position in at least three key areas.

The newspaper pointed to Iran’s handling of overtures for negotiations with the United States as a key concern.

Iran’s policy toward Washington has long been a sensitive and contentious issue, especially after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018 and the imposition of sanctions. With President Donald Trump’s return, many Iranian politicians and commentators are voicing concerns over the possibility of harsher sanctions as the country struggles with a deep economic crisis.

Ham-Mihan said that efforts at engagement—whether overt or behind closed doors—have consistently encountered resistance from hardliners in both Tehran and Washington.

Beyond internal challenges, Ham-Mihan warned that Trump’s different view of foreign policy makes Iran’s diplomatic messaging particularly sensitive.

“One of Trump’s main arguments for withdrawing from the JCPOA was the lack of economic benefits for American companies,” the paper added, suggesting that any new diplomatic overtures must be framed in a way that aligns with Trump’s priorities.

Araghchi, however, has been criticized for failing to take such dynamics into account. The newspaper pointed to his recent interview with Al Jazeera, in which he asked for the release of frozen Iranian assets as a confidence-building measure.

Ham-Mihan argued that this approach misjudged Trump’s negotiating style and contrasted it with other Iranian officials who have suggested offering American companies investment opportunities in Iran instead.

The newspaper also expressed alarm over the apparent disarray within Iran’s foreign policy structure. Unlike the administration of President Hassan Rouhani where the foreign ministry led negotiations, figures like former Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani and Strategic Council on Foreign Relations President Kamal Kharrazi now seem to be pursuing independent agendas, leading to confusion.

Additionally, Ham-Mihan criticized some of Araghchi’s recent regional visits, suggesting they have become more about symbolic appearances than meaningful diplomatic efforts.

The paper particularly highlighted his trips to Beirut and Damascus right before Bashar al-Assad's fall, arguing that they failed to achieve meaningful results to bolster Iran's influence and instead reinforced the country's image as a passive observer rather than an influential actor.

The newspaper urged Araghchi to reassess his approach, warning that without a more unified and strategic direction, the Foreign Ministry risks becoming increasingly sidelined in shaping Iran’s diplomatic agenda.