EL AL to launch evacuation flights for US citizens from Monday

The Australian federal government has confirmed that a fifth member of Iran’s women’s football team withdrew her asylum claim and left the country overnight, ABC News Australia reported.

Seven members of the team, including a player handler, were granted humanitarian visas by the Australian government last week while they were in the country for the Asian Cup tournament.

Earlier Iran International reported that a member of the women’s national football team staff who sought asylum in Australia along with several of her players is trying to persuade the others not to follow suit but instead return to Iran.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end disruption to global shipping in calls with US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Starmer spoke with Trump about the need to reopen the strategic waterway, the spokeswoman said.

He also spoke with Carney, with the two leaders discussing the impact of the strait’s continued closure on international shipping.

Starmer and Carney agreed to continue talks on the Middle East conflict at a meeting on Monday, the spokeswoman added.

Air defense systems were heard engaging drones over parts of Tehran on Sunday night, according to eyewitness accounts.

Witnesses in western Tehran reported hearing air defense activity and explosions at around 22:09 local time.

Air defense activity was also reported in southeast Tehran at around 21:26 local time.

In central Tehran, around Jomhouri and Enghelab streets, residents said they heard air defenses firing at drones in the sky on Sunday evening.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians abroad to protest outside Iranian embassies during Charshanbeh Suri, an ancient Iranian fire festival held before Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

“My compatriots… this year, we will mark Charshanbeh Suri with solemn national pride in memory of the brave souls who have sacrificed their lives to reclaim Iran and our national identity,” Pahlavi wrote in a message posted on X.

“I call on all Iranians abroad to gather on Charshanbeh Suri in front of the regime’s embassies around the world and shout with one voice: the Iranian nation will not rest until Iran is liberated and the Islamic Republic is consigned to history,” he added.

Pahlavi also urged US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to monitor developments during the festival to ensure Iranian authorities do not use violence against people marking the day inside the country.

“By celebrating the glorious tradition of Charshanbeh Suri, we welcome Norooz and the spring of Iranian freedom, and we show the world that the day of Iran’s liberation draws near,” he said.

Most of the missiles Iran is currently firing were produced about a decade ago, while many newer missiles developed after the 12-day war in June have not yet been used, the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.

He also challenged US President Donald Trump’s statement that US forces had destroyed Iran’s navy.

“Does Donald Trump not say he has destroyed Iran’s navy? If so, then if he has the courage, let him bring his ships into the Persian Gulf,” Ali Mohammad Naeini said.