Iranian state TV shows footage of Israeli drone
Iranian state TV aired footage purporting to show an Israeli Hermes drone that was shot down in Isfahan, Iran. CNN cannot independently verify the footage. In a statement, the IDF said a drone "fell in Iran" after a surface-to-air missile was fired towards an Israeli Air Force drone.
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Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Deep in a bunker, Iran's supreme leader faces a dilemma: Must he drink his cup of poison?
Somewhere deep in a bunker, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confronting the most momentous decision faced by any Iranian leader since the Revolution of 1979. One phrase sums up his dilemma – must he drink the 'cup of poison'? Four decades ago, he was a loyal follower of Ayatollah Khomeini, the previous supreme leader, who vowed never to relent in Iran's 'sacred' war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. For years, Khomeini adamantly rejected any thought of compromise. Then, in July 1988, he realised that Iran could take no more and, in his words, drank the 'cup of poison' and allowed a truce. 'After accepting the ceasefire, he could no longer walk,' wrote Khomeini's son, Ahmad. 'He never again spoke in public.' Eleven months later, Khomeini was dead, and his quietly dependable lieutenant became his successor. Now Khamenei is brooding over his own 'cup of poison' – only this time the stakes are even higher. With Donald Trump demanding 'unconditional surrender' and threatening to hurl US military might into the Israeli campaign, Khamenei will realise the gravity of the situation. Unlike in 1988, the very survival of the Islamic Republic hangs in the balance. In the skies above, Israeli jets have demonstrated their ability to strike almost any target at will. Last Friday, they wiped out all the generals in the Islamic Republic's high command. On Tuesday, they killed one of their successors. As well as bombing the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and the conversion facility at Isfahan – two crown jewels of Iran's nuclear programme – Israel is destroying the regime's most vital infrastructure, including refineries and oilfields. If Mr Trump sends US forces into action, the military might arrayed against Iran will be many times greater. And all of this colossal firepower is designed to exert maximum pressure on one 86-year-old man, and force him to emulate his late master and do what he has always sworn never to do. Accepting US and Israeli terms would require Khamenei to sacrifice the entirety of Iran's nuclear programme, especially its ability to enrich uranium. Yet he has spent the past two decades vehemently refusing any compromise on exactly that issue. Why? Because enrichment is the vital process that could be used to produce the weapons-grade uranium at the core of a nuclear bomb. Only a handful of countries have this ability. Under Khamenei, Iran became one of them. The cost was immense, both financial and human, because Israel began assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists as long ago as 2010. And the Ayatollah began this momentous project decades ago. In the 1990s, he started building a clandestine uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, found in the Dasht-e-Kavir, the Great Salt Desert, about 200 miles south of Tehran. The plan was that Iranian scientists would master the whole process in total secrecy, leaving Khamenei free to decide whether to go the whole way and order them to produce weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb. But the plot failed when Natanz was discovered and its existence announced to the world in 2002. Suddenly the regime came under huge international pressure to halt its enrichment programme. Khamenei's response was not just to defy these demands but to construct a second secret enrichment plant, hidden in a mountain at Fordow. Once again, the scheme failed when America and Britain jointly disclosed the existence of Fordow in 2009. Crippling economic sanctions were then imposed to compel Iran to stop enriching uranium. And still Khamenei pressed on, even as the world's richest countries set out to cripple the Iranian economy. His defiance was rewarded in 2015, when the US and its allies signed an agreement that allowed Iran to keep its enrichment capacity, albeit under tight restrictions and constant inspection. This was the deal scorned by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and destroyed by Mr Trump during his first term. Whereupon the Khamenei resumed expanding Iran's nuclear programme, amassing about 20,000 centrifuges and over eight tonnes of enriched uranium in the teeth of threats and pressure. Now, as bombs fall on Iran, probably destroying or disabling all the centrifuges at Natanz, every fibre of the Ayatollah's being will urge him to stand firm and give the same answer as before – that Iran will never relinquish its hard-won ability to enrich uranium. But one factor – and one alone – might force him to change his mind. Despite Mr Trump's threats, it will not be personal safety. Khamenei may be an obscurantist fanatic, but he is no coward. He would gladly trade his own life for what he sees as Iran's nuclear rights. Yet he has one supreme and overriding responsibility, and that is to guarantee the survival of the regime. He will hope that he can stand firm against Israel and the US while still ensuring that the Islamic Republic outlives this crisis. Hence Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump are striving above all to convince the Iranian leader that this option does not exist. Everything they do is designed to force him to contemplate the downfall of the regime, pushing him to the brink, and making him understand that accepting their terms and sacrificing the enrichment programme is the only way of preventing that outcome. This is the ultimate example of power politics in action. Khamenei will probably not dwell on how his own decisions have led him to this pass. The nuclear programme, designed to make the regime impregnable, has instead brought it to the edge. The terrorist groups that Iran sponsored to deter an Israeli attack – particularly Hizbollah in Lebanon – have instead been eviscerated. The resources squandered on that futile cause could have been used to strengthen Iran's air defences and prepare for this onslaught. Instead, Israeli jets are striking with impunity. And all around, Israeli intelligence has obviously penetrated every nook and cranny of Khamenei's regime. By his own folly, he has brought this fate upon himself. Now only one question remains – will he crack and drink the poison? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Miami Herald
23 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Report warns Latin America's criminals are turning drones into tools of war
As unmanned aerial vehicles increasingly dominate global battlefields, Latin America is quietly emerging as a testing ground for drone warfare by non-state actors — from drug cartels to guerrilla insurgencies, according to a report released Wednesday. In just over a year, drone attacks in the region have surged in frequency, lethality and sophistication, posing a growing threat to public safety, national sovereignty and regional stability, the report 'Latin America's Drone Problem' warns. 'Even before Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, unmanned aerial systems (UASes) and other advanced technologies were being employed by criminals, terrorists, and other non-state actors in Latin America in increasingly innovative and problematic ways,' wrote Evan Ellis, the report's author and a professor at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute. That includes the use of commercially available drones to spy on authorities at border crossings, smuggle cellphones into prisons and deliver crude explosives to high-value targets. Drones have long served as tools for drug trafficking, transporting narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border. What's new, the report notes, is the increasing weaponization of the technology. In March 2025, a Colombian soldier was killed in Catatumbo by a drone launched by the ELN guerrilla group during a military operation that left more than 80 people dead and displaced at least 50,000 others. Just weeks earlier, in Mexico, a drone narrowly missed assassinating General Jorge Alejandro Gutiérrez during an ambush in Chihuahua. In Ecuador, a drone loaded with 40 pounds of explosives slammed into the roof of La Roca, the country's maximum-security prison, in September 2024, in an apparent attempt to trigger a mass escape. Even diplomatic gatherings are no longer off-limits. During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima that same year, Peruvian authorities intercepted 35 drone threats, highlighting the vulnerability of global leaders to aerial sabotage. What began as the use of drones for smuggling has evolved into the deployment of GPS-guided weapons capable of precision strikes. Between 2012 and 2014, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration identified more than 150 drones involved in cross-border criminal activity. Today, that number is far higher—and the payloads far deadlier. Nowhere is this trend more visible than in Mexico. In Michoacán and Guerrero, cartels such as Jalisco Nueva Generación and La Nueva Familia Michoacana — recently designated as terrorist organizations by the United States — have become early adopters of low-cost drone warfare. These groups have deployed drones equipped with explosives, infrared sensors and thermal imaging to track human targets, enabling nighttime ambushes and coordinated assaults. Colombian military sources say criminal factions are now operating drone teams in synchronized missions—first mapping areas with heat-sensitive drones, then launching strikes on soldiers or civilians. The barrier to entry is shockingly low, Ellis warned. Anyone with internet access and a few hundred dollars can become an aerial threat. In response, some Latin American governments have begun investing in drone detection and counter-drone technologies. Brazil leads the region with the largest state-operated drone fleet and a growing domestic drone manufacturing sector. At least 14 other countries now use unmanned aerial vehicles for law enforcement and surveillance. Still, efforts to counter the threat remain fragmented and underfunded. Procurement delays, weak coordination between agencies, and limited access to cutting-edge tools have left many nations scrambling to keep up with increasingly tech-savvy adversaries. And the threat isn't limited to the skies, the report says. Criminal organizations are reportedly exploring maritime and land-based unmanned systems. In Ukraine, waterborne drones have successfully struck Russian naval targets. Experts warn that similar technology could soon be used in Latin America to hit commercial ports, liquified natural gas tankers, or cruise ships—either for smuggling or extortion. Terrestrial and even subterranean unmanned vehicles are also on the radar. With countries like China and Russia rapidly advancing in robotic warfare, it may be only a matter of time before Latin America's cartels and insurgents gain access to next-generation battlefield technologies.
Business Insider
26 minutes ago
- Business Insider
The US Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier is readying to deploy to Europe again
The US Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier is set to deploy next week. A US official said USS Gerald R. Ford and ships in its strike group are headed to Europe. The scheduled deployment comes as the Navy moves ships near Israel amid an escalating Iran fight. The US Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier is preparing to head to Europe for its second-ever major deployment, a US official told Business Insider on Wednesday. USS Gerald R. Ford and ships in its strike group are set to leave their homeport at Naval Station Norfolk, in Virginia, next week on a regularly scheduled deployment that will have them operating in the European Command theater initially, the official said. The deployment gives the Trump administration an option to tap a third aircraft carrier nearby for operations countering Iran and defending Israel. Ford completed a series of intensive training exercises several weeks ago. These drills and their realistic battle problems serve as a final pre-deployment assessment for Navy strike groups and amphibious ready groups. Ford was commissioned in July 2017 as the lead ship of its class. The $13 billion supercarrier left for Europe in May 2023 on its first major deployment, which was extended by nearly 80 days following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. The vessel primarily operated in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Israel, acting in a show of support to the country and as a deterrent against Iran and its regional allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. Unlike other carriers, the Ford did not sail to the waters off Yemen to counter attacks on international shipping by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group. The carrier returned to Norfolk in January 2024. The first-in-class Ford experienced years of delays in getting new technology working, such as its elevators, which move weapons to the flight deck, and its electromagnetic catapults, which get aircraft airborne. Top Navy officials said its first deployment to the European theater "validated" the state-of-the-art carrier's ability to operate for long periods at sea. Ford's deployment next week comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East after Israel launched days of strikes inside Iran aimed at degrading Iran's nuclear program, a major escalation that threatens to plunge the region into more conflict. Since Friday, Israeli aircraft have launched scores of airstrikes across Iran, targeting the country's nuclear facilities, top scientists, senior commanders, missile launchers, air defenses, bases, and other high-profile military assets. Iran has retaliated by launching around 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. Navy destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean and American ground forces in the Middle East have helped defend Israel from the Iranian missiles, a US official told BI earlier this week. The Pentagon has also moved additional warships into the region, and more could soon be on their way, including Rota, Spain-based destroyers armed with ballistic missile defense systems. Meanwhile, the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Middle East and will eventually be replaced by the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. There are no indications that the Ford is going directly to the Eastern Mediterranean or into the Middle East. However, this would not be unusual; US aircraft carriers have long been used to signal American military power and deterrence in the face of heightened tensions. Ford's embarked aviation wing is capable of shooting down hostile drones, and the warships in its strike group can launch missiles in a defensive or offensive capacity.
