Iran says Kharg Island attack came from neighboring states, vows response

Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi said on Saturday that he discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy how their teams could work together in the two nations’ fights for freedom.

Pahlavi said in a statement that Ukraine was facing foreign occupation while Iran was under what he called domestic occupation.

“Ukraine and Iran are each facing occupation—theirs foreign, ours domestic. Together with our teams, President Zelenskyy and I discussed how we can work together in our fights for freedom. History is with us. Light will triumph over darkness,” he said.

Israel said on Saturday it had killed Hisham Abd al-Karim Yassin, a commander in the Palestine Corps of Iran’s Quds Force and in Hezbollah’s communications unit.

The Israeli military said Yassin was killed in an airstrike earlier this week.

According to the IDF, he played a key role in maintaining Hezbollah’s communications systems.

“As part of his role, he was responsible for strengthening the Hezbollah terrorist organization and for its re-establishment following Operation Northern Arrows. He also worked to advance Iranian entrenchment in Lebanon and carried out terror attacks under the direction of the Iranian terror regime,” read the statement.

The IDF said he was the fifth Quds Force commander and the third commander from the Palestine Corps killed since the start of Operation Roaring Lion.

US President Donald Trump dismissed reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times that US refueling tanker aircraft were destroyed in a strike in Saudi Arabia, saying on Saturday that none of the planes had been lost.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the base had been hit a few days earlier, but the aircraft were not struck or destroyed.

“Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service. One had slightly more damage but will be in the air shortly. None were destroyed, or close to that, as the Fake News said in headlines,” he wrote.

Trump accused the two newspapers and other media outlets of misleading reporting on the incident.

“Their terrible reporting is the exact opposite of the actual facts! They are truly sick and demented people that have no idea the damage they cause the United States of America,” the US president said.

Iran’s state media warned residents and workers in areas around the Jebel Ali, Khalifa and Fujairah ports in the United Arab Emirates to leave immediately, saying the locations could be targeted in the coming hours.

According to the statement, these areas have become legitimate targets because US military forces are present and hiding among civilian facilities.

It called on citizens, port workers and anyone near the facilities to evacuate as soon as possible to protect their lives.

Residents reported new explosions around midday Saturday in several Iranian cities, including Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Shiraz and Sanandaj.

Witnesses said an explosion was heard in Sanandaj, Kordestan province, around noon. In Shiraz, several blasts were reported at about 12:15 p.m. local time. A resident also reported hearing an explosion in Bandar-e Bostanu in Hormozgan province.

Later, at around 2:40 p.m., multiple explosions were reported in Isfahan, according to residents.