Air defenses engage drones over Tehran, witnesses say

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians abroad to protest outside Iranian embassies during Charshanbeh Suri, an ancient Iranian fire festival held before Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

“My compatriots… this year, we will mark Charshanbeh Suri with solemn national pride in memory of the brave souls who have sacrificed their lives to reclaim Iran and our national identity,” Pahlavi wrote in a message posted on X.

“I call on all Iranians abroad to gather on Charshanbeh Suri in front of the regime’s embassies around the world and shout with one voice: the Iranian nation will not rest until Iran is liberated and the Islamic Republic is consigned to history,” he added.

Pahlavi also urged US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to monitor developments during the festival to ensure Iranian authorities do not use violence against people marking the day inside the country.

“By celebrating the glorious tradition of Charshanbeh Suri, we welcome Norooz and the spring of Iranian freedom, and we show the world that the day of Iran’s liberation draws near,” he said.

Most of the missiles Iran is currently firing were produced about a decade ago, while many newer missiles developed after the 12-day war in June have not yet been used, the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.

He also challenged US President Donald Trump’s statement that US forces had destroyed Iran’s navy.

“Does Donald Trump not say he has destroyed Iran’s navy? If so, then if he has the courage, let him bring his ships into the Persian Gulf,” Ali Mohammad Naeini said.

Iran’s security forces detained protest rapper Hossein Afrasiab in Isfahan Province and transferred him to a detention facility run by the intelligence unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.

Afrasiab was arrested at the entrance to Shahin Shahr, a city in Isfahan Province, by plainclothes security agents who “violently beat him” before transferring him to the IRGC intelligence detention facility known as Alef-Ta at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan, the sources said.

There is no information yet on the charges against him or what accusations he may face.

Afrasiab has previously collaborated musically with Iranian protest rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was sentenced to death in 2024 before the sentence was later revoked.

Iran is not responsible for attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery and attempted drone strikes on the Shaybah oil field, Reuters reported, citing an interview with Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

“Iran is not the party responsible for these attacks, and if Iran had carried them out, it would have announced it,” Reuters quoted Alireza Enayati, as saying.

He said he was in ongoing contact with Saudi officials, with relations “progressing naturally.”

A drone attack struck the Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait on Sunday, destroying an Italian remotely piloted aircraft but leaving Italian personnel unharmed, Italy’s defense chief said.

“This morning the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait, which hosts American and Italian capabilities and personnel, was the target of a drone attack that struck a shelter where an Italian Air Task Force remotely piloted aircraft was housed, destroying it,” Chief of Defense Staff General Luciano Portolano said on X.

He said all Italian personnel at the base were safe at the time of the attack and were not involved.