EU targets Iranian judges and cyber figure with new sanctions

Kuwait’s military said Friday in a post on X that its air defenses were confronting attacks by “hostile” drones launched from Iran.

The military said any explosions heard were caused by air-defense systems intercepting the attacks and urged the public to follow security and safety instructions issued by the authorities.

Iran's armed forces, particularly the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces, are fully prepared to respond if the enemy launches another attack, parliamentary National Security Committee spokesperson Hassan Ghashghavi said on Friday.

Ghashghavi said the committee met with the commander of an IRGC ground forces headquarters, who briefed lawmakers on the latest deployment of what he described as hostile forces and outlined plans for pre-emptive strikes and defensive operations in the event of any new attack on Iran.

The European Union imposed new sanctions on five Iranian judges and a leading cyber-group figure over serious human rights violations, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday.

"While the world's attention is on the war in the Middle East, we can't lose sight of Iran's repression against its own people," Kallas wrote on X.

The EU said the judges, who serve on regional Revolutionary Courts, had presided over cases against religious minorities, political dissidents and human rights activists, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. It accused them of handing down death sentences, long prison terms, flogging and other punishments, including in connection with the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.

The bloc also sanctioned Nima Salehi, an Iranian hacker and founder of the Ashiyane cyber group, accusing him of helping the Iranian authorities suppress dissent through cyber operations. The EU said Ashiyane worked closely with Iran's Cyber Police (FATA) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and had carried out cyberattacks against domestic opponents and foreign institutions.

"As Tehran intensifies its domestic crackdown, the EU will continue to hold those responsible to account," Kallas wrote.

The EU said its Iran human rights sanctions regime now covers 269 individuals and 53 entities. The measures include asset freezes, travel bans, a prohibition on making funds available to those listed, and restrictions on exports to Iran of equipment that could be used for internal repression, including telecommunications monitoring technology.

Jordan's military said it intercepted seven Iranian missiles and six drones on Friday, according to state television.

A senior Iranian cleric said the United States had military power but lacked God's support, arguing that Iran should rely on faith rather than comparing defense budgets.

"The United States has money and equipment, but it does not have God. God supports us, so the size of the enemy's military budget does not matter," Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader in Mashhad, said on Friday.

Alamolhoda also said that compromising on issues such as compulsory hijab enforcement would amount to siding with Iran's enemies.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they struck the US al-Azraq air base in Jordan, damaging several warplanes and hitting accommodation for US troops, in what they described as the 27th wave of Operation Nasr 2.

In a statement on Friday, the IRGC also said they destroyed a Patriot air defense system and a surveillance balloon in Erbil, Iraq, and struck as accommodation used by US personnel.

The Guards added the United States would face further responses if it continued attacks.

The attacks came after the US military said it had carried out a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran to halt attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waters.

Iranian state TV reported several explosions were heard in the southern city of Jask in Hormozgan Province at around 2:30 pm local time on Friday.

A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday there was no reason to negotiate with the United States until Washington changed its behavior, adding that Iranians felt hatred and distrust toward talks with the US.

Mohammad-Bagher Mohammadi Laeini, Friday prayer leader in the northern city of Sari, said Iranian political and diplomatic officials should deal with the United States "with dignity" and that "as long as there is no change in its behavior, there is no reason for negotiations."

"The Iranian nation also feels hatred and distrust toward negotiations with the United States," he said.

Laeini said Iran's enemies had a problem with "an independent Iran, the Islamic Republic and Islam," adding that Western culture was incompatible with religious values.

He also said any country that stood alongside the United States and Israel was "on the side of falsehood," while governments and nations that supported "the oppressed" were "on the side of truth."