Iran says it executed 9 Islamic State group militants detained after a 2018 attack
The extremist group, which once held vast territory across Iraq and Syria in a self-described caliphate it declared in 2014, ultimately was beaten back by U.S.-led forces.
It has been in disarray in the years since, though it has mounted major assaults. In neighboring Afghanistan, for instance, the Islamic State group is believed to have grown in strength since the fall of the Western-backed government there to the Taliban in 2021.
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The group previously claimed a June 2017 attack in Tehran on parliament and a mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. It has claimed other attacks as well in Iran, including two suicide bombings in 2024 targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike. That assault killed at least 94 people.
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Newsweek
30 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Ukraine Reacts To US Slashing Aid For Kyiv
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Cuts to U.S. aid for Ukraine in the upcoming budget "will lead to more casualties" for Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian lawmaker has told Newsweek. His warning comes as spluttering ceasefire negotiations fail to yield significant progress toward a deal to end the fighting, and Russia keeps up its aerial bombardment of the war-torn country. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told U.S. lawmakers during a committee hearing on Tuesday that there will be a "reduction" in the next fiscal year's budget for aid heading for Ukraine. He did not specify what the cutbacks in the upcoming budget will be. Any cuts to military aid to Kyiv slashes at Ukraine's ability to defend itself and plays into Russia's hands, said Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee. "Such a reduction will lead to more casualties on the Ukrainian side, including casualties among [the] civilian population," he said. "Anyone in the U.S. who is acting in support of the reduction of the military aid to Ukraine becomes morally responsible for the increased casualties among civilians," Merezhko said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana The U.S. under former President Joe Biden was the single-largest contributor of military support to Kyiv, pledging to support Ukraine for "as long as it takes." Washington has provided more than $66 billion in aid for Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, including use of existing U.S. military stocks. Ukraine On Shifting Sands Post-Biden "This administration takes a very different view of that conflict," Hegseth told lawmakers on Tuesday. President Donald Trump pledged to end the war in Ukraine in just 24 hours, but his senior officials have grappled with the slow pace of talks and threatened to walk away from negotiations if a deal remains elusive. The administration thawed relations with the Kremlin, largely refraining from heaping fierce criticism on Russia while publicly taking aim at Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. While Kyiv is no longer as dependent on Western aid as it was in the earlier stages of the conflict, the flow of supplies including ammunition, air defense systems and interceptor missiles is still crucial for Ukraine. Trump appeared to leverage Ukrainian officials to the negotiating table earlier this year by briefly cutting off military aid and U.S. intelligence. "We believe that a negotiated peaceful settlement is in the best interest of both parties and our nation's interests, especially with all the competing interests around the globe," Hegseth added. Peace Talks Flounder Two rounds of direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations have yielded agreements on prisoners of war, but no discernible steps toward a ceasefire accord. It is too early to pencil in a third meeting, a spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding there is "no pressure" on Russia to sign off on a deal. Kyiv agreed to a U.S. proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire back in March. Moscow has not consented to this deal, despite repeated visits from Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Russia. Ukraine said Russia has not responded to a document outlining possible ceasefire conditions and the need for a face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. Russia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said Moscow had handed over its own document outlining road maps to stop the fighting, including a pause for up to 3 days on "certain sections of the front." Zelensky claimed Russian officials at the talks earlier this month admitted openly to Ukraine's delegation that they knew Kyiv could not accept Moscow's conditions. War Rages On As the talks rumble on, Russia has carried out intensive aerial strikes on Ukraine, firing ballistic missiles that are hard for Kyiv's exhausted air defenses to intercept, and launched waves of explosive drones toward the country's cities. Moscow has kept up the pressure on the hundreds of miles of front lines, advancing in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region toward bordering Dnipropetrovsk. The Kremlin has also inched closer to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, but took a significant hit to its long-range bomber fleet after Ukraine targeted multiple Russian bases with explosive drones at the start of June. Shrinking aid for Ukraine now will "embolden" Putin, said Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian member of parliament for the southern Odesa region. "It's completely opposite to President Trump's intention to end the war," he told Newsweek. Hegseth did not attend a meeting of tens of defense chiefs gathered to coordinate support for Ukraine earlier this month, marking the first time the U.S. Defense Secretary has not appeared at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Hegseth's Strategic Pivot Hegseth on Tuesday reiterated the U.S.'s desire to pivot toward the Indo-Pacific to face the "pacing threat" of China, an intention the administration has long made clear. European countries allied with the U.S. have scrambled to conjure up commitments of increased defense spending, designed to rely less on American personnel and U.S.-supplied kit. Hegseth, during an address at a major defense forum in Singapore earlier this month, said China was "preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific" and was gearing up for the "real deal" of an invasion push on Taiwan. Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway part of mainland China that it intends to one day reunite under central control. But Taipei, which has established a democratic government, asserted its independence from Beijing and aligned itself with Western allies. China's Foreign Ministry denounced the speech as "filled with provocations and intended to sow division." "China deplores and firmly opposes them and has protested strongly to the U.S.," Beijing added.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Poland detains citizen suspected of spying for Russia
A Polish citizen has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, the Polish Prosecutor's Office announced on June 11. According to prosecutors, 28-year-old Wiktor Z. was detained on June 4 by Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) on charges of gathering and passing sensitive information to Russia's intelligence services. The arrest followed searches of several properties in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region in northern Poland, authorities said. Warsaw has intensified its crackdown on Russian intelligence activity following a number of sabotage attacks allegedly directed by Moscow. Several suspected spy networks, allegedly run by Minsk and Moscow, have been uncovered in Poland over the past years. Prosecutors said Wiktor Z. is suspected of offering to cooperate with Russian intelligence and engaging in espionage between February 2024 and April 2025 in the city of Bydgoszcz and abroad. He allegedly collected data about infrastructure critical to Poland's defense, the disclosure of which could pose a serious threat to national security. The suspect acted "out of ideological and pro-Russian convictions," the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Wiktor Z. has been placed in pretrial detention for three months. If convicted, he faces a minimum of eight years in prison or up to a life sentence. In May, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced the closure of the Russian consulate in Krakow after accusing Russian intelligence of orchestrating a 2024 arson attack that destroyed the Marywilska shopping center in Warsaw. Polish officials, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, have blamed the Kremlin for directing the sabotage, citing detailed intelligence. Multiple individuals have been arrested in connection with the fire, which burned down a complex housing over 1,400 stores. Authorities in Lithuania have also linked Russia's intelligence services to similar sabotage incidents, including an arson attack on an IKEA warehouse in Vilnius, causing over half a million euros in damages. Polish and Lithuanian officials are reportedly cooperating on the investigations. Russia has denied involvement and condemned Poland's move to shut down its diplomatic post, warning of retaliation. Western officials have warned of a growing Russian sabotage campaign across Europe targeting states that support Ukraine amid Moscow's ongoing invasion. Read also: From spy rings to arson — Russia's sabotage across Europe continues unpunished We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran threatens to strike US bases in region if military conflict arises
DUBAI (Reuters) -If nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises with the United States, Iran will strike American bases in the region, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday, days ahead of a planned sixth round of Iran-U.S. nuclear talks. "Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don't come to fruition. If a conflict is imposed on us ... all U.S. bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries," Nasirzadeh said during a weekly press briefing. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with bombing if it does not reach a new nuclear deal. The next round of talks is due this week, with Trump saying negotiations would be held on Thursday while Tehran says they will take place on Sunday in Oman. Iran is expected to hand a counter-proposal to a previous U.S. offer for a nuclear deal it rejected, with Trump saying on Tuesday that Iran was becoming "much more aggressive" in nuclear talks. Tehran and Washington have clashed on the issue on uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, which Western powers say is a potential pathway to the development of nuclear weapons. Iran holds that its nuclear programme is purely for civilian purposes. "As we resume talks on Sunday, it is clear that an agreement that can ensure the continued peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program is within reach — and could be achieved rapidly," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X on Wednesday. Another sticking point in the talks has been Iran's missile programme. Ballistic missiles form an important part of Iran's arsenal. Nasirzadeh said that Tehran recently tested a missile with a two-ton warhead and does not accept limitations. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said in February that Iran should further develop its military, including its missiles.
