War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s state media has reported the sound of explosions in the southern Hormozgan province overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, according to AFP.

“A few minutes ago, the sound of several explosions was heard in the Karpan area of Sirik, in Hormozgan Province,” the official IRNA news agency says, adding that “local sources have not yet disclosed the nature of these explosions. “

Washington has ordered all US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, a diplomatic source has told AFP, as the kingdom comes under sustained attack by Yemen’s Houthis.

“All American staff and their families have been ordered to depart from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia,” the source says, adding that the families of embassy staff were also ordered to leave the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reports that a drone was intercepted over the Shaybah oil field in the kingdom’s east, but that two foreigners were killed and as many were injured due to falling shrapnel.

Citing an official source at the Saudi Ministry of Energy, SPA reports that the drone was downed as it attempted to target a facility at the Shaybah oil field belonging to Saudi Aramco.

“The incident resulted in a fire in a vehicle belonging to a contractor working at the field, outside the facility’s perimeter, without affecting operational activities,” the news agency says.

“The attempted attack resulted in the deaths of two residents, one Filipino and one Nepalese, and injuries to two residents, one Pakistani and one Indian,” SPA adds.

The ministry confirmed the casualties in a separate statement.

The US State Department is preparing to issue an ordered departure of some personnel and family members from US embassies across the Gulf region, three US officials say according to Reuters.

The move was due to a possible resumption of hostilities, particularly with the Houthis in Yemen, two of the officials said.

Explosions have been heard in Sirik in southern Iran, Reuters reports citing Iranian media, adding that the nature and origin of the explosions are unknown.

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Karnakis and Karnakis, a law firm based in Greece and Panama, alleging that it had provided legal assistance to Iranian shipping networks for years, Reuters reports.

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) also issued an administrative subpoena to advance an investigation into a Greek bank over potential ties to Iran, according to a US Treasury statement, which has not named the bank.

FINCEN has also issued requests for information to six other European banks that it did not name over relationships with Iranian financial institutions under US sanctions.

“Whether you are conducting illegal oil transfers at sea or sitting in the corner office of a law firm, if you are supporting the Iranian regime, we will find you and sanction you,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says in a press release.

Treasury has also imposed sanctions on shipping agents based in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates that it claims aid Iranian shadow fleet operations directly.

Karnakis and Karnakis have not immediately responded to a request for comment.

Israel’s election next week may change its leader, but not its strategy: Iran will remain its chief adversary, military force will continue to be its preferred tool and Palestinian statehood ​a distant prospect, Reuters reports citing regional policymakers and analysts say.

Tel Aviv may toughen its security policy, the analysts say, as victory for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the backing of far-right coalition partners may embolden him to step up the war with Iran, tighten Israel’s grip on the occupied West Bank and push diplomacy further to the margins.

Israel’s security doctrine now rests on three pillars: breaking Iran, holding buffer zones beyond its borders and using force to deter enemies.

The real ​divide is one of degree rather than direction — how aggressively Israel fights its wars, how far it expands Jewish settlements in the West Bank and whether any leader opts for diplomacy, the ​analysts add.

Read more here.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi writes in The Financial Times that while his country is firmly committed to seeking a dignified, peaceful resolution to the Middle East war, “we are also fully prepared to defend ourselves”.

In a separate post on X sharing the opinion piece, Araghchi stresses that Tehran is prepared to pursue diplomacy if it sees “strong evidence” of Washington sincerely desiring peace.

“But if [the] US chooses war over diplomacy, it’ll certainly result in an even greater strategic failure,” he warns.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, according to state broadcaster Press TV, with the latter stressing national unity and the need for more joint efforts by the government and parliament to address economic issues.

Ayatollah Khamenei has also called on both institutions to “work towards advancing affairs related with Iran’s strategic partners”.

The Saudi-led coalition says it has intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone headed for the kingdom’s southern regions.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has met Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, in Riyadh, where he received a written message for Saudi King Salman from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and discussed the latest regional developments, Reuters reports citing the Saudi Press Agency.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi says Cairo’s proposed military support for Riyadh is to “defend Saudi territory, and does not include an attack on Yemen,” AFP reports citing state-linked media.

Al-Qahera News reports that he also said “the stability of our brothers in the Gulf concerns Egypt’s national security,” in a speech that has yet to be aired.

The deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major-General Mostafa Izadi, says the country has the capacity to target US naval vessels with missiles, Al Jazeera reports citing the Fars News Agency.

“Our missile capabilities have not only increased in terms of quantity, but also in terms of technology,” he says.

Iranian armed forces spokesperson Brigadier-General Abolfazl Shekarchi has issued a warning to “twin toddlers” US President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Al Jazeera reports Iran’s Fars News Agency.

“You are on a path to decline and will not be able to escape the quagmire of death you are trapped in through boasting and threats,” he is quoted as saying.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the only way to remove the threat posed by Iran is to topple its government, AFP reports.

“Iran wanted to destroy us; we stopped them. They wanted to produce nuclear bombs; we stopped them … Yet they persist,” he says during an election rally in the southern town of Dimona. “Therefore, there is only one way to end this: by toppling this regime.

“This is the directive I have issued to the Israel Defence Forces, to the Mossad, and to all our security branches,” he adds, without specifying when or how that directive would be executed.

Saudi Arabia has agreed to supply extra diesel to France “for as many months as necessary,” AFP reports, citing the Elysee Palace, as President Emmanuel Macron was visiting Riyadh days after violent rioting across France.

Macron and de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman met in Riyadh where they also agreed to consult on expanding security cooperation and infrastructure projects to bypass the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, the palace added.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government has condemned attacks targeting the country’s Aden and Al Rayyan airports with ballistic missiles and drones, Al Jazeera reports.

The Ministry of Transport says Al Rayyan Airport was attacked by three drones, all of which fell near the airport’s runways, and warns against “threatening the safety of civil aviation and the lives of passengers”.

It adds that the attack on Aden International Airport, which it says had been attacked for a fourth time, occurred shortly after two flights departed for Oman and Cairo and moments after a plane carrying personnel from the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders landed.

“We stopped and postponed two flights to Addis Ababa and Cairo and evacuated Aden Airport of passengers and workers to ensure their safety,” the ministry says, noting that no casualties, injuries or damage were reported at Al Rayyan Airport.

It adds, “Aden and Al Rayyan airports will continue to serve citizens and humanitarian flights despite operational risks.”

The deputy to the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, has warned that Iran may target undersea internet cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz if the country’s infrastructure is attacked, state broadcaster Press TV reports.

In an interview with Iran’s Arabic-language Al-Alam TV channel, he addresses the possibility of strikes against undersea Internet infrastructure, noting that Iran will use its full capabilities if the country’s own infrastructure comes under attack.

“The United States and its allies have substantial investments,” he says.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says any interference in the Yemen war by Egypt or any other country will make the situation “more difficult”, AFP reports.

“Egypt has sufficient experience to avoid entangling itself in such a highly complex conflict,” Iran’s top diplomat says in an interview with Iraqi state broadcaster Al-Iraqiya. “We believe that any foreign presence or interference will only make resolving this issue more difficult.”

He adds that Egypt has said it “will not enter Yemen or engage in a war against Yemen”.

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, says that the country is prepared to rid the region of evil “once and for all” in response to the slightest operational error.

“Whatever the outcome of your elections may be, we have no doubt about your enmity,” he wrote on X. “We are prepared to rid the region of your evil once and for all in response to the slightest operational error on your part.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has said that the US cannot launch the war of choice, nor can it evade responsibility by turning the aggressor into the accuser.

In a post in X, he wrote: “They attacked Iran twice in less than nine months — while negotiations were underway. They massacred our children in Minab, murdered our daughters in Lamerd, assassinated our leaders, and intensified sanctions on our people.”

“They destroyed the very MoU (memorandum of understanding) they signed on 17 June, and now they demand that the world condemn Iran!” Baqaei added.

The world was paying the price of your unlawful aggression through regional instability and global economic insecurity, he contended.

“You cannot launch a war of choice, set the region ablaze, unleash global chaos, and then play the victim,” he warned, saying, “You cannot evade responsibility by turning the aggressor into the accuser and the victim into the culprit.”

The Dakar Rally will return to Africa for its 49th edition due to the situation in the Middle East and in particular in Saudi Arabia, where the race has been held since 2020, three people involved in the World Rally-Raid Championship tell Reuters.

According to the sources — two drivers and a team manager — the race will start in Europe with a prologue either in Spain or Portugal, before heading to Morocco for the remainder of the event, which is expected to feature around 12 stages.

The Dakar Rally is scheduled to run from January 9 to 22.

Race organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the International Automobile Federation and the International Motorcycling Federation have not immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.

The Middle East situation has forced organisers to adapt their plan amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement, which has stepped up attacks on Saudi cities, airports and energy infrastructure.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that threats and sanctions must be “practically lifted in action, so that the ground for dialogue can be provided”.

“One cannot increase the intensity of sanctions and pressures every day, close the paths of interaction, and simultaneously speak of negotiation,” he said in an X post.

“Dialogue with the language of threats and pressure has no meaning.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has landed in Riyadh, according to an AFP reporter, for a surprise stop on his Gulf tour after weeks of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

He is the first Western head of state to visit since the Yemeni rebel group intensified their attacks on the kingdom this month.