
Israel says struck military sites in west Iran
JERUSALEM : Israel's military said it struck surface-to-surface missile launch sites in western Iran today, as fighting between the two foes raged for the 11th day.
The military said in a statement that more than 15 fighter jets had struck the Kermanshah area in western Iran, 'neutralising a number of surface-to-surface missile launch and storage sites aimed toward Israeli territory'.
In an earlier statement, it said the air force was 'currently striking military infrastructure sites in Kermanshah in Iran'.
Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on June 13 targeting its missile and nuclear facilities, as well as military leaders and security services.
Aerial assaults raged between the two foes early today, while Tehran vowed retaliation over the bunker-buster bombs American warplanes unleashed at the weekend on three nuclear sites.
US President Donald Trump insisted the attack had 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to determine how significantly Tehran's nuclear programme had been impacted.

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Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Iran executes two opposition members accused of attacks; Amnesty alleges torture, unfair trial
DUBAI, July 27 — Iran executed two members of the banned Mujahideen-e-Khalq group for attacking civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles, the judiciary news outlet Mizan said today, amid criticism from Amnesty International over a 'grossly unfair' trial. Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, identified as 'operational elements' of the MEK, were sentenced to death in September 2024 — a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, which denied their request for a retrial, Mizan said. 'The terrorists, in coordination with MEK leaders, had built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centres,' the report said. The defendants were indicted with 'moharebeh' — an Islamic term meaning waging war against God — destroying public property and 'membership in a terrorist organisation with the aim of disrupting national security.' Amnesty International said that Ehsani-Eslamloo and Hassani were arrested in 2022 and maintained their innocence during a trial which the rights group called 'grossly unfair and marred by allegations of torture and forced confessions.' 'According to informed sources, agents interrogated them without lawyers present and subjected them to torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings and prolonged solitary confinement, to extract self-incriminating statements,' it said in January. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the number of people executed in Iran rose to at least 901 in 2024, the highest number since 2015. The MEK, known in English as People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, was a powerful leftist-Islamist group that staged bombing campaigns against the shah's government and US targets in the 1970s but ultimately fell out with the other factions of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then, the MEK has opposed the Islamic Republic and its leadership in exile has been Paris-based. The group was listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union until 2012. — Reuters


Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Gaza-bound activist boat Handala brought to Israel after interception in international waters
PORT OF ASHDOD (Israel), July 27 — Israeli forces brought the pro-Palestinian activist boat Handala into the port of Ashdod today, after seizing the vessel in international waters and detaining the crew, an AFP journalist saw. Campaigners from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition had attempted to breach an Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian territory of Gaza, but were intercepted late yesterday. The legal rights centre Adalah told AFP its lawyers were in Ashdod and had demanded to speak to the 21-strong international crew, which includes two French parliamentarians and two Al Jazeera journalists. 'After 12 hours at sea, following the unlawful interception of the Handala, Israeli authorities confirmed the vessel's arrival at Ashdod port,' said the group, set up to campaign for the rights of Israel's Arab population. 'Despite repeated demands, Israeli authorities have refused to allow Adalah's lawyers access to the detained activists to provide legal consultation,' it continued. 'Adalah reiterates that the activists aboard the Handala were part of a peaceful civilian mission to break through Israel's illegal blockade on Gaza. The vessel was intercepted in international waters and their detention constitutes a clear violation of international law.' Earlier, the Israeli foreign ministry said the navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering the coastal waters off the territory of Gaza. 'The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe,' it said. Just before midnight local time yesterday, video live streamed from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza. The ship had been on course to try to break an Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory's Palestinian residents. The Handala's crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on a hunger strike if the Israeli army intercepted the boat and detained its passengers. On board were activists from 10 countries, including two French MPs from the left-wing France Unbowed party, Emma Fourreau and Gabrielle Cathala. There are also American, European and Arab activists among those detained. A previous boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was also intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters on June 9 and towed to Ashdod. It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel. — AFP

The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
Thailand, Cambodia weigh peace talks after Trump's tariff threat
A man looks on inside a bunker in Sisaket province, as Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas early on Sunday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said the leaders of both countries had agreed to work on a ceasefire, Thailand, July 27, 2025. - Reuters BANGKOK: Thailand and Cambodia may hold talks as soon as Sunday (July 27) to bring an end to their deadly border clashes after US President Donald Trump warned Washington wouldn't make a trade deal with either country while the conflict continued. Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said foreign ministers on both sides could soon talk, but any ceasefire agreement would be subject to conditions such as resolving the dispute bilaterally, and withdrawing troops and the use of lethal weapons. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, who's welcomed Trump's bid to end the conflict, has already assigned his foreign minister to talk with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate peace talks with Bangkok. After separate calls with the Thai and Cambodian leaders on Saturday, Trump said they agreed to "quickly work out a ceasefire,' according to posts on Truth Social. Phumtham said he told Trump that Thailand wanted assurances the terms of any ceasefire agreement will not be reversed. Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and Rubio are also scheduled to hold talks, he said. "Bilateral negotiations, a genuine desire for a ceasefire, and the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons from where they are now, will help assure us of their sincerity in pursuing a ceasefire agreement,' Phumtham told reporters. Heavy artillery shelling was reported on Sunday from multiple locations across the 800-kilometre shared border. Both sides blamed the other for further renewed aggression. The Thai army said Cambodian forces launched rockets and artillery into civilian areas including homes and hospitals in the early hours of Sunday. It also warned Phnom Penh could potentially deploy long-range missiles. Cambodia in turn said that Thai troops were the first to launch attacks early Sunday. Cambodia remained committed to an immediate ceasefire and to resolving all disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, said Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman at Cambodia's Ministry of National Defense. Clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, which erupted on July 24 after months-long tension along the border, has killed more than 30 people and displaced over 150,000 civilians on both sides. It remains to be seen if Trump's threat of trade as a tool to end hostilities - a tactic he claims to have successfully used in halting India-Pakistan clashes in May - could lead to a lasting agreement. The Trump administration has threatened 36 per cent tariffs on both Thailand and Cambodia. We "do not want to make any Deal, with either Country, if they are fighting - And I have told them so,' Trump said on Truth Social. Both parties "are also looking to get back to the 'Trading Table' with the United States, which we think is inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting STOPS,' he said. Thai officials have previously said they are nearing a deal with the US to lower the tariff with offers of greater market access to American products to narrow the US$46 billion trade surplus with Washington. The Thai government is under pressure to strike a deal before the Aug. 1 deadline, especially as neighboring Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have secured trade agreements with the Trump administration. The US is Thailand's largest export market with shipments valued at US$63 billion last year. Thailand has put the death toll on its side at 21 including eight soldiers, with at least 36 civilians injured. Cambodia has so far reported 13 deaths including five soldiers, and injuries to 70 others. Thailand and Cambodia have a long history of border tensions, though ties have remained mostly stable since a deadly clash in 2011 that killed dozens. The last major escalation focused on the Preah Vihear temple, a historic flashpoint rooted in disputes dating back to the French colonial period. Much of the current dispute stems from maps drawn on differing interpretations of early 20th-century Franco-Siamese treaties, which defined the border between Thailand and Cambodia, then part of French Indochina. Fighting erupted last week after Thailand expelled Cambodia's ambassador and recalled its own envoy from Phnom Penh in response to landmine explosions that maimed at least two Thai soldiers and injured several others. The clashes have involved fighter jets, rocket launchers and heavy artillery with Thailand using its navy to repel Cambodian attacks near the Gulf of Thailand. - Bloomberg