Iran says it has replaced air defences damaged in Israel war
During the conflict in June, Israel's air force dominated Iran's airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country's air defences while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.
"Some of our air defences were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure," Mousavi said.
Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defence system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defence systems to Iran in past weeks.
Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defences in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack. REUTERS
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AsiaOne
21 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
Indian firm shipped explosives to Russia despite US warnings, World News
WASHINGTON/KYIV/NEW DELHI — An Indian company shipped US$1.4 million (S$1.78 million) worth of an explosive compound with military uses to Russia in December, according to Indian customs data seen by Reuters, despite US threats to impose sanctions on any entity supporting Russia's Ukraine war effort. One of the Russian companies listed as receiving the compound, known as HMX or octogen, is the explosives manufacturer Promsintez, which an official at Ukraine's SBU security service said has ties to the country's military. The official said that Ukraine launched a drone attack in April against a Promsintez-owned factory. According to the Pentagon's Defence Technical Information Centre and related defence research programmes, HMX is widely used in missile and torpedo warheads, rocket motors, exploding projectiles and plastic-bonded explosives for advanced military systems. The US government has identified HMX as "critical for Russia's war effort" and has warned financial institutions against facilitating any sales of the substance to Moscow. The HMX sale to Russian firms has not been previously reported. Russian defence manufacturers have been working around the clock for the past several years to sustain President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, which intensified with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022. India, which has recently forged closer ties with the United States in an effort to counterbalance China's growing influence, has not abandoned its longstanding military and economic ties with Moscow. India's trade with Russia — especially its purchases of Russian oil — has remained robust, even as Western nations have tried to cripple Russia's war economy with sanctions. US President Donald Trump threatened earlier in July to hit nations with a 100 per cent tariff if they continued purchasing Russian crude. The US Treasury Department has the authority to sanction those who sell HMX and similar substances to Russia, according to three sanctions lawyers. HMX is known as a "high explosive," meaning it detonates rapidly and is designed for maximum destruction. Reuters has no indication that the HMX shipments violated Indian government policy. One Indian official with knowledge of the shipments said that the compound has some limited civilian applications, in addition to its better-known military uses. India's foreign ministry said in a statement: "India has been carrying out exports of dual-use items taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation, and based on its robust legal and regulatory framework that includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria on such exports." The US State Department did not comment on the specific shipments identified by Reuters but said it had repeatedly communicated to India that companies doing military-related business are at risk of sanctions. "India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in full and frank dialogue, including on India's relationship with Russia," a spokesperson said. "We have repeatedly made clear to all our partners, including India, that any foreign company or financial institution that does business with Russia's military industrial base are at risk of US sanctions." Russia's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. "While India has not typically been among the primary jurisdictions used for circumventing sanctions, we are aware that isolated cases can occur," Ukrainian presidential adviser Vladyslav Vlasiuk told Reuters. 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Promsintez and High Technology Initiation Systems also did not respond to requests for comment. While several Indian entities were sanctioned during the administration of former US President Joe Biden for supporting Russia's war effort, sanctions were applied sparingly due to geopolitical considerations, according to two US officials who worked on sanctions under Biden. Under Trump, Russia-related sanctions work has slowed to a trickle, and it is not clear if the United States will take further action against Indian companies doing business with Russia's defence industry. Washington has long sought closer relations with India to pull the South Asian country away from China. Eric Prince, a partner at Washington-based law firm Akin, said the US government often prefers to communicate its concerns privately to allies and only take punitive actions as a last resort. [[nid:720550]]

Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Rwandan President Kagame appoints new prime minister
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame arrives at the African Union Commission (AUC) headquarters during the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 15, 2025. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo KIGALI - Rwandan President Paul Kagame has replaced the country's prime minister, naming the deputy governor of the central bank to the role without explaining the decision. The appointment of Justin Nsengiyumva, a former British government worker who holds a PhD in economics from the University of Leicester, was announced by the office of the government spokesperson in a post on X late on Wednesday. The post did not say why the incumbent, Edouard Ngirente, was dropped. Ngirente, who had been prime minister since 2017, thanked Kagame on X, but did not elaborate on the reasons for his departure. "This journey has been deeply enriching," he said. In Rwanda, the prime minister is the head of government and is responsible for the running of the government's day-to-day operations. Rwanda last held elections in 2024 when Kagame was re-elected with 99.18% of the vote, extending his near quarter-century in office. REUTERS


AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Thailand F-16 jet deployed against Cambodian forces as border clash escalates, Asia News
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH — A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday (July 24), both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least two civilians. Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said. Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday. "We have used air power against military targets as planned," Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Thailand also closed its border with Cambodia. Cambodia's defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it "strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia". The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia's envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area. Thai residents in the Surin border province fled to shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tires as the two countries exchanged fire. "How many rounds have been fired? It's countless," an unidentified woman told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) while hiding in the shelter with gunfire and explosions heard intermittently in the background. For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817 km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011. Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes. Landmines The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the eastern border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360 km from the Thai capital Bangkok. "Artillery shell fell on people's homes," Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, told Reuters, describing the firing by the Cambodian side. "Two people have died," he said, adding that district authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations. Thailand's military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the temple. Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers. A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate. "We have to be careful," he told reporters. "We will follow international law." An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia's influential former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court. Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military. Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war. Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups. But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations. [[nid:720548]]