Pentagon Probe Finds Hegseth’s Use of Signal Risked Exposing Sensitive Yemen Strike Details 
Israel Receives Body of Deceased Hostage as Rafah Crossing Reopening Hinges on Final Returns 
UN General Assembly Demands Russia Return Ukrainian Children Amid Ongoing Conflict 
Australia and Japan Strengthen Defence Cooperation Amid Rising Regional Tensions 
U.S.-Russia Talks Leave Ukraine Peace Efforts Uncertain 
Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns 
U.S. Defense Chief Pete Hegseth Defends Controversial Second Strike on Suspected Drug-Smuggling Vessel 
China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
Hong Kong Faces Low Turnout in “Patriots-Only” Election Amid Public Grief After Deadly Fire 
Trump Administration Halts Immigration, Green Card, and Citizenship Processing for 19 Countries 
Cuba Reaffirms Anti-Drug Cooperation as Tensions Rise in the Caribbean 
New Orleans Immigration Crackdown Sparks Fear as Federal Arrests Intensify 
Taiwan Signals Openness to Renew Ties with Honduras as Election Unfolds 
Drones Spotted Near Zelenskiy’s Flight Path in Ireland Trigger Security Alert 
Trump Claims He Will Void Biden Documents Signed with Autopen 
Honduras Election Turmoil Intensifies as Nasralla Blames Trump for Shift in Results 
In a retaliatory move, Iran has expelled two German diplomats from the country. The move follows Berlin’s similar move the week before.
On Wednesday, the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesman Nasser Kanani announced that Tehran has declared two German diplomats personae non gratae due to Berlin’s recent “interventional and irresponsible measures.” The move by Iran follows a similar measure taken by Germany last week.
“The priority of the Islamic Republic of Iran is always to maintain cooperation in an atmosphere of respect but if other sides want to ignore the fundamental tenets and national governance of our country, then defining new options is unavoidable,” said Kanani, adding that the German ambassador was informed after being summoned.
Last week, Berlin expelled two Iranian diplomats following Tehran’s sentencing of Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd, who also holds residency in the United States. The judiciary convicted Sharmahd of “corruption on Earth” which carries the death penalty. Tehran said Sharmahd was the leader of a US-based terrorist group responsible for a 2008 bombing at a mosque that led to 14 people dead and hundreds wounded.
Sharmahd and a pro-monarchist group were also found guilty of launching other attacks and planning more “terrorist” operations in Iran. Sharmahd’s family has maintained his innocence, and Germany condemned the sentencing as “unacceptable,” calling for his release.
Iran and Germany have been at odds in the past several months, largely over Tehran’s crackdown on the ongoing protests that have been taking place across the country since September last year. Berlin has strongly backed European Union sanctions on Iran over its crackdown on the demonstrations, and the bloc intends to widen the scope of the sanctions to include Iranian individuals and entities involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Tehran has accused the West of fomenting the protests which sparked in September after the death of a Kurdish-Iranian woman in morality police custody.
On Thursday, the British Navy said it seized Iranian weapons, including anti-tank guided missiles, last month from a smugglers’ vessel in the Gulf of Oman. The United Kingdom said the vessel was detected travelling south from Iran during the dark hours by an unmanned US intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft and was also tracked by a British helicopter.
When the Royal Navy flagged the vessel, it attempted to navigate to Iran’s territorial waters but was stopped by a unit of Royal Marines, according to the British defense ministry.
