US embassy in Beirut urges direct Lebanon-Israel engagement

Hanna Neumann, a member of the European Parliament said on Thursday the Iranian political system is “at its end,” citing visible internal divisions within the Islamic Republic.

Speaking in remarks cited by Frankfurter Rundschau, Neumann pointed to what she described as growing fractures inside Iran’s political structure, arguing that recent developments have exposed deeper instability.

She said these divisions are becoming increasingly visible, weakening the cohesion of the ruling system.

The Kingdom of Bahrain called on Iran on Thursday to refrain from interfering in its internal affairs, according to a statement published by the Bahraini foreign ministry.

"Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa affirmed that Iran must cease interfering in the internal affairs of Bahrain and the Gulf states, stressing that Bahrain has been subjected to a heinous Iranian aggression targeting its security, stability, and the safety of its people," the statement said.

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israeli military action against Iran could resume soon, saying the broader campaign against Tehran is not yet over.

Speaking at a ceremony for the incoming Israeli Air Force commander, Katz said Iran had been pushed “years backward” by recent strikes, but suggested further operations may be necessary to achieve long-term strategic goals, Fox reported.

Katz said Iran had suffered “extremely severe blows” over the past year across multiple fields, but added that Israel may soon need to act again to ensure those gains are secured.

Israel sent advanced defense systems, including a laser interceptor, to the United Arab Emirates to help counter Iranian missiles and drones, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The report said the deployment marked one of the first major examples of defense cooperation between the two countries since the Abraham Accords.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said Israel provided a version of its Iron Beam laser system, designed to intercept short-range rockets and drones, as well as a surveillance system capable of detecting incoming drones.

The systems were deployed alongside Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system and operated with the assistance of Israeli personnel, the report said.

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Newsmax on Thursday that Iran been “destroyed,” adding its navy, air force, air defenses and leadership have been severely weakened.

"We've already won. But I want to win by a bigger margin. But we have we have already we have destroyed their navy, destroyed their air force, destroyed all of their. If you look at their anti-aircraft equipment, their radar equipment, their leadership, their leadership is destroyed. We've destroyed everything," Trump said.

"If we leave right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild if they ever could rebuild. And. But it's not it's actually not good enough. We have to have guarantees. They will never have a nuclear weapon," he said.

"I will tell you that Iran would use the nuclear weapon if they had it. I deal with these people. I know people, they will use the nuclear weapon, and we're not going to give them a chance to do it. And I actually think it's very popular what I'm doing. I can tell you worldwide, the world is thanking me because I shouldn't be the one that's doing it. Other presidents should have done it long before me, and other countries should have done it. We were not helped by NATO at all. Other countries should have done it," he added.

"They're going to either have a nuclear weapon or they're not. And if they're not, they're in they're in big trouble, big, even bigger than they are right now.
And right now their economy is collapsing. Inflation is at close to 100% their their equivalent of our dollar is non-existent. I mean, it's literally non-existent. And they can't do any oil because we have a blockade that's 100% effective. So they can't sell oil. That's 500 million a day, $500 million a day," Trump said.