Yemen's Huthis Launch Hypersonic Missiles at Israel
SANAA: Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels said Sunday they had launched several missiles at Israel as it came under Iranian fire, following a massive Israeli bombardment campaign on the Islamic republic.
The Huthis said in a statement they had 'carried out a military operation targeting sensitive targets of the Israeli enemy' in central Israel.
The group, which holds vast swathes of territory in Yemen including the capital Sanaa, said it had targeted the area 'at different times over the past 24 hours' with 'a number of Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missiles'.
The Huthis said their attacks were 'coordinated with the operations carried out by the Iranian military'.
The Yemeni rebels began launching missiles and drones at Israel and Israeli-linked targets after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Israel has carried out numerous attacks on Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including on ports and the airport in Sanaa.
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Malay Mail
25 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Ambassador says 12 Malaysians still in Iran, Foreign Ministry keeping watch
SEPANG, June 24 — At least 12 Malaysians reportedly remain in Iran and are being closely monitored by Malaysian authorities following a successful evacuation mission over the weekend. According to New Straits Times, Malaysian Ambassador to Iran, Khairi Omar, said those still in the country include students and Malaysians married to Iranian nationals, currently residing in cities such as Tehran and Shiraz. 'We are keeping track of their whereabouts and ensuring they are safe,' he was quoted as saying during a press conference at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) last night. Khairi reportedly led the evacuation of 24 individuals — comprising 17 Malaysians, six Iranian dependents and a Singaporean — who arrived safely in Kuala Lumpur yesterday after a 1,000km overland journey to the Turkmenistan border. 'It was a long and challenging journey, but Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly,' he said. The Foreign Ministry has temporarily closed Malaysia's embassy in Tehran and directed staff to return home. The evacuation follows nine consecutive days of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets, with tensions further escalating after the United States entered the conflict by launching strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Malaysian evacuated from conflict-stricken Iran recalls enduring similar trauma 40 years ago
SEPANG: A sense of relief sank in as the 24 Malaysians evacuated from conflict-stricken Iran stepped foot at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport last night. For some, it was a return to peace. For others, it was déjà vu as the evacuees from Iran recounted their ordeals. Dr Suraiya Ali, one of the evacuees, said the evacuation marked the second time she had been trapped in conflict in the Islamic republic, the first being over four decades ago during the Iran–Iraq war. "Forty years ago, after I got married and finished my studies, I lived in Iran. I was there when the Iran–Iraq war broke out. "I even worked there briefly but had to return to Malaysia when my son was just two years old. "I never returned until two weeks ago, and once again, war broke out. I was trapped twice, 40 years apart," she told reporters when met at KLIA. Dr Suraiya had travelled to Iran on June 13 with her husband to celebrate Aidiladha and visit her family. They were scheduled to return on June 18, but flight cancellations and airport closures left them stranded. "We didn't know what to do. My husband bought tickets to Dubai for June 29, but the situation kept deteriorating," she said. Her prayers were answered when her son in Malaysia informed her that the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran and Wisma Putra had arranged an evacuation. "That same night, we boarded a 15-hour bus ride from Shiraz to Tehran to meet the embassy's departure deadline. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Malaysian government and Wisma Putra. "The embassy staff treated us like family. It wasn't easy, we endured long journeys and dangerous roads, but we were never left on our own," she said. Meanwhile, for 33-year-old Fadli Yusni, the crisis pushed him to make a bold decision. He attempted to fly to Iran to be with his wife, Zainab, an Iranian national and student in Malaysia who had been stranded while visiting her parents. "I couldn't just wait here. I wanted to go to her, to bring her home myself," he said. But his effort fell short. Fadli only made it as far as Uzbekistan before the conflict forced him to abandon the mission. "The past 10 days were filled with panic. I kept checking the news, my phone. Every time I couldn't reach her, I feared the worst," he said. Fadli eventually sought help from the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran, staying in close contact with Ambassador Khairi Omar, who assisted him in registering Zainab for evacuation. "I told her to immediately get in touch with the embassy. Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly after that. "I'm truly grateful to everyone involved," he said. The evacuees' journey involved a 1,000 kilometre overland route from Tehran to the Iran–Turkmenistan border, an overnight stop, and flights from Ashgabat via Bangkok before finally landing at KLIA. They were greeted by their loved ones at KLIA's arrival hall, with smiles and sighs of relief as families reunited after their arduous journey across borders and multiple countries.
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
US warns Iran against retaliation as Trump hints at ‘regime change' after strikes
WASHINGTON, June 23 — US President Donald Trump on Sunday raised the question of regime change in Iran following US strikes against key military sites over the weekend, as senior officials in his administration warned Tehran against retaliation. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' Trump wrote on his social media platform. Trump's post came after officials in his administration, including US Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed they were not working to overthrow Iran's government. 'This mission was not and has not been about regime change,' Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, calling the mission 'a precision operation' targeting Iran's nuclear programme. Vance, in an interview on NBC's Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, said 'our view has been very clear that we don't want a regime change.' 'We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it's already been built out. We want to end their nuclear programme, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here,' Vance said, adding the US 'had no interest in boots on the ground.' 'Operation Midnight Hammer' was known only to a small number of people in Washington and at the US military's headquarters for Middle East operations in Tampa, Florida. Complete with deception, seven B-2 bombers flew for 18 hours from the United States into Iran to drop 14 bunker-buster bombs, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters. In total, the US launched 75 precision-guided munitions, including more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, and more than 125 military aircraft in the operation against three nuclear sites, Caine said. The operation pushes the Middle East to the brink of a major new conflagration in a region already aflame for more than 20 months with wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and a toppled dictator in Syria. Damage to facilities With the damage visible from space after 30,000-pound US bunker-buster bombs crashed into the mountain above Iran's Fordow nuclear site, experts and officials are closely watching how far the strikes might have set back Iran's nuclear ambitions. Caine said initial battle damage assessments indicated all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear capabilities might still be intact. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi was more cautious, saying while it was clear US airstrikes hit Iran's enrichment site at Fordow, it was not yet possible to assess the damage done underground. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow, the site producing the bulk of Iran's uranium refined to up to 60 per cent, had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. Vance told NBC the US was not at war with Iran but rather its nuclear programme, and he thought the strikes 'really pushed their programme back by a very long time.' Trump called the damage 'monumental,' in a separate social media post on Sunday, a day after saying he had 'obliterated' Iran's main nuclear sites, but gave no details. Tehran has vowed to defend itself and responded with a volley of missiles at Israel that wounded scores of people and destroyed buildings in its commercial hub Tel Aviv. But, perhaps in an effort to avert all-out war with the superpower, it had yet to carry out its main threats of retaliation, to target US bases or choke off the quarter of the world's oil shipments that pass through its waters. Caine said the US military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria. The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defence systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles. Reuters reported last week the Pentagon had started to move some aircraft and ships from bases in the Middle East that may be vulnerable to any potential Iranian attack. Not open-ended With his unprecedented decision to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, directly joining Israel's air attack on its regional arch foe, Trump has done something he had long vowed to avoid — intervene militarily in a major foreign war. There were sporadic anti-war demonstrations on Sunday afternoon in some US cities, including New York City and Washington. It was unclear why Trump chose to act on Saturday. At the press conference, Hegseth said there was a moment in time when Trump 'realised that it had to be a certain action taken in order to minimise the threat to us and our troops.' After Trump disputed her original assessment, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Friday said the US had intelligence that should Iran decide to do so, it could build a nuclear weapon in weeks or months, an assessment disputed by some lawmakers and independent experts. US officials say they do not believe Iran had decided to make a bomb. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked on CBS' Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan whether the US saw intelligence that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered nuclear weaponisation, said: 'That's irrelevant.' Hegseth, who said the Pentagon notified lawmakers about the operation after US aircraft were out of Iran, said the strikes against Iran were not open-ended. Rubio also said no more strikes were planned, unless Iran responded, telling CBS: 'We have other targets we can hit, but we achieved our objective. There are no planned military operations right now against Iran — unless they mess around.' — Reuters
