
Air defences activated as Israel strikes western Iran, media report
Iranian state media says air defence systems have been activated over western Tehran in response to 'hostile targets.'
Meanwhile, Israeli media is reporting that Israeli forces have launched strikes on western Iran, though there has been no official confirmation from either side.
This is a report from Reuters and is a developing story.

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New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Middle East Eye can reveal that the union's standing committee voted on Monday to publish the full video of Abulhawa's speech - but some union officials fear the president will not do so under pressure from trustees. "The Oxford Union was one of few places where we could have debates like this without the influence of moneyed interests," a senior union official who asked to remain anonymous told MEE. "Students are supposed to organise debates without being influenced by power and money. But now the trustees are pressuring the committee. "This is censorship of pro-Palestinian speech." 'Apartheid state responsible for genocide' In November 2024, the union voted by an overwhelming majority that Israel is an "apartheid state responsible for genocide". The debate made national headlines but the real scandal was yet to come. On 5 December, the union published a speech from the debate by Susan Abulhawa, a renowned Palestinian-American author, on YouTube, where it racked up hundreds of thousands of views within a few days. But in under a week the video was removed from YouTube without explanation. At the same time, another version of the video, with 73 seconds of Abulhawa's speech removed, was uploaded. Sources told MEE the decision was taken under intense pressure from the union's board of trustees, and after the president who presided over the debate, Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy, finished his term as president. Censored speech In the censored sections of the speech, heard by MEE, Abulhawa discussed the Israeli military's documented use of booby-trapped toys and systematic rape in Israeli prisons. She argued that Zionists feel divinely favoured and entitled and that they are unable to live with others without dominating them. 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In a bizarre twist, a senior union official told MEE that some members of the standing committee want the president to hold another vote or simply refuse to implement the vote's result. "Some on the standing committee are claiming the vote was invalid or that the president can ignore it," the official said. "The Oxford Union is on its knees under pressure from the trustees. "This has never happened in the history of the society." MEE has contacted the Oxford Union for comment. Abulhawa told MEE that "this is part of a widespread pattern of silencing Palestinian and pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide voices in western institutions, media and political life." Now, all eyes are on the Oxford Union's president - and on the society's YouTube channel.


Sharjah 24
an hour ago
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UAE and Turkish Presidents discuss regional developments
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