NetBlocks says Iran blackout enters day 16 as arrests target Starlink users

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the end of the war would depend on guarantees that attacks would not be repeated and on the payment of compensation for damage caused during the conflict.

In remarks to the Arabic newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Araghchi said Tehran was ready to form a joint investigative committee with regional countries to examine attacks on targets in the region.

He said Iran’s operations were aimed only at US bases and interests in the region, adding that Tehran had not targeted any civilian or residential areas in neighboring countries.

Araghchi also suggested that Israel could be behind attacks on civilian targets in Arab countries in an effort to damage relations between those states and Iran.

He added that the United States had developed a drone similar to Iran’s Shahed system, called “Lucas,” which he said had been used to strike targets in Arab countries.

Araghchi warned that if Iran’s energy facilities were targeted, Tehran would respond by striking American companies’ facilities in the region.

He added that no concrete initiative to end the war had yet been presented, but said Iran would welcome any regional proposal that, in its view, could lead to a just end to the conflict.

Addressing speculation about Khark Island – Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf – Araghchi said any attempt to occupy it would be “an even greater mistake than attacking it.”

He also said the Strait of Hormuz remained open to all countries, “except for American vessels and their allies.”

Araghchi said the country’s supreme leader was “in full health” and fully managing the situation, dismissing remarks by the US president who said he had heard Mojtaba Khamenei might not be alive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia is supplying Iran with Shahed drones for use in attacks against the United States and Israel.

Speaking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Zelenskiy said it was “100% facts” that Iran had used Russian-made Shahed drones to target US bases.

The Shahed drone, originally developed by Iran as a low-cost alternative to missiles, has been widely used in Russia’s war against Ukraine since 2022. Russia now manufactures its own versions, while similar drone systems have also been adopted by other militaries.

Iran’s judiciary in Tehran has banned the use of firecrackers during this year’s Chaharshanbeh Suri, the traditional fire festival held on the eve of the last Wednesday before the Persian New Year.

Authorities urged people to avoid lighting fires or using fireworks so that emergency services remain available for what they described as “essential incidents.”

Chaharshanbeh Suri is an ancient Iranian celebration marking the beginning of Nowruz festivities, during which people traditionally light bonfires, jump over flames and set off fireworks in streets and neighborhoods.

In recent years the festival has also drawn heightened security attention, with authorities wary that large gatherings and firecrackers can turn into flashpoints for anti-government slogans or clashes with security forces.

South Korea said on Sunday it would carefully review US President Donald Trump’s call for allies to send warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, while Japan’s ruling party policy chief said the bar for such a deployment remained “extremely high.”

Seoul’s presidential office said it would stay in close communication with Washington before making a decision.

In Tokyo, Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi told NHK that Japan did not rule out the move legally, but said the ongoing conflict meant any decision would need to be considered with great caution.

Iran’s ballistic missile capability has fallen by about 90% and its drone capability by around 95% since the start of the US-Israeli war, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.

Leavitt also said the United States has sunk more than 65 Iranian naval vessels and struck over 6,000 targets across the country during the two-week campaign.

“We have sunk more than 65 of their naval ships. We’ve hit more than 6,000 targets across the country, and it’s a very big country,” she said.

She added that ballistic missile attacks from Iran are now down 90% and drone capabilities down 95%, calling the operation a major success and saying Washington would continue its campaign.

“We are totally eradicating this threat of Iran building a nuclear bomb to threaten the world and to attack US troops and personnel in the region with their ballistic missile arsenal,” she said.