At least 10 US warships operating in Middle East - BBC Verify

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards naval forces will carry out live-fire exercises next week in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state-run English-language Press TV reported.

Earlier on Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Iran had warned mariners it planned to conduct naval live-fire drills in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday, citing a notice to mariners broadcast by VHF radio.

The report cited two unnamed Pakistani security officials, who confirmed the warning had been issued.

Iran summoned Germany’s ambassador to Tehran on Thursday over remarks by Germany’s chancellor a day earlier that Tehran said amounted to interference in its internal affairs, Iranian state media reported.

A day earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking about Iran, said a government that could only hold on to power through “sheer violence and terror against its own population” had its days numbered, adding that “it could be a matter of weeks” before it lost legitimacy.

Plainclothes Iranian security forces have carried out thousands of arrests in recent days in a campaign aimed at deterring any renewed protests following the deadliest unrest since Iran’s 1979 revolution, Reuters reported, citing sources.

Security forces launched widespread arrests and intensified their street presence through checkpoints, five activists inside Iran told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. They said detainees were being taken to secret locations.

Similar accounts were provided to Reuters by lawyers, medics, witnesses and two Iranian officials, who said many detainees were being held in unofficial detention sites, including warehouses and other improvised locations.

The report cited two unnamed Iranian officials who confirmed that thousands of arrests had been carried out in recent days and said the judiciary was moving quickly to process cases.

The European Union on Thursday imposed new sanctions on four Iranian individuals and six entities over Tehran’s military support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, targeting those involved in Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programmes, according to an implementing regulation published in the EU’s Official Journal.

Those listed include Amir Radfar, director of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group linked to Iran’s ballistic missile production, and Hossein Bakshayesh, head of Sahara Thunder, a company the EU said acts as a front for Iran’s defence ministry and supplies drones and components to Russia.

Several companies were sanctioned for facilitating the transfer of Iranian-made UAVs, missile technology and components to Moscow, including Sahara Thunder, Fanavaran Sanat Ertebatat Company, Khojir Missile Development and Production, and shipping and logistics firms accused of supporting weapons deliveries.

The EU said Iran-produced drones and missiles have been used by Russia in attacks on civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine, describing the transfers as a violation of international law and a threat to European security. The measures include asset freezes and travel bans and took effect immediately upon publication on Thursday.

The European Union on Thursday imposed new human rights sanctions on 15 Iranian individuals and six entities, citing their roles in the violent suppression of nationwide protests, arbitrary detentions, executions and internet repression.

Those listed include Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, police chiefs, judges of Iran’s revolutionary courts and cyber officials involved in censorship and surveillance, according to the regulation published in the EU’s Official Journal.

The EU said those sanctioned were responsible for “serious human rights violations,” including the killing of protesters, torture, mass arrests, death sentences for demonstrators and systematic restrictions on access to information.

Entities targeted include Iran’s Audio-Visual Media Regulatory Authority (SATRA), the Working Group for Determining Instances of Criminal Content, and several IRGC-linked cyber and technology organizations accused of enforcing internet shutdowns, censorship, disinformation campaigns and online surveillance.

The measures were adopted under the EU’s human rights sanctions regime and include asset freezes and travel bans. They entered into force immediately upon publication on Thursday.