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Reza Pahlavi, opposition figure and son of Iran’s former shah, sends message to Iranians
Reza Pahlavi, an exiled Iranian opposition figure and the son of the former shah, whose name was chanted during some of the protests that swept across the country earlier this year, said Tuesday that Iran was “in a very sensitive stage of our final struggle,” in a statement shared on social media.
“I ask you to prepare your essential needs as soon as possible, and for the sake of your own security, leave the streets and stay in your homes,” Pahlavi said, addressing the Iranian people. “Continue the strike and do not show up for work. To demonstrate your unity, keep up the nighttime chants with full force.”
Pahlavi warned Iran’s military and security forces that it was their “last chance to separate yourselves from the repressive forces and join the people.”
Pahlavi told Iranians to “await my final call,” without providing any further information on any action he expected in the coming hours or days.
UAE says it is intercepting new “missile and drone attacks” from Iran
The United Arab Emirates said it was deflecting a new round of missiles and drones launched by Iran on Wednesday morning.
“The UAE’s air defenses are currently dealing with missile and drone attacks originating from Iran,” the country’s Ministry of Defense said in a social media post, explaining bangs heard in various parts of the country as “the result of air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles and fighter jets intercepting drones and other aerial vehicles.”
The UAE has been pummeled by relentless drone and missile attacks by Iran since the war began on Feb. 28, and multiple sources told CBS News on Tuesday that the White House was aware of America’s Gulf allies running short on missile interceptors, forcing them to choose which objects to blow up and which not to.
The White House has discussed the matter, the sources told CBS News.
CBS News’ Margaret Brennan first reported on March 5 that Gulf states were running dangerously low on missile interceptors and had asked the U.S. to expedite new supplies. U.S. allies in the region were told that officials in Washington were creating a task force to get them new supplies, but the sources said it wasn’t happening as quickly as they needed.
Iran says it will target U.S. and Israeli-linked banks across Middle East, tells people to stay away
An Iranian military spokesperson said Wednesday that the country would begin targeting banks across the Middle East linked to the U.S. and Israel, following an alleged attack on an Iranian bank.
“Following their failed campaign, the terrorist U.S. army and cruel Zionist regime (Israel) have targeted one of the country’s banks,” Iranian state media quoted Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for the Islamic Republic’s central military command, as saying.
“With this illegitimate and uncommon action, the enemy is forcing our hand to target economic centres and banks linked to the U.S. and Zionist regime in the region.”
He warned people to stay at least a kilometer, or about half a mile, away from banks in the region.
Drones injure 4 people “in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport,” government says
Dubai’s government said Wednesday that four people suffered minor to moderate injuries when drones fell in or near the major airport in the United Arab Emirates.
“Authorities confirm that two drones fell in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport (DXB) a short while ago, resulting in minor injuries to two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national, and moderate injuries to one Indian national. Air traffic is operating as normal,” the Dubai administration said on its official social media channels.
Dubai has been hit repeatedly by Iranian missile and drone strikes during the war, and the wider UAE has seen at least six people killed and more than 100 wounded in the attacks.
Cargo ship hit by projectile in Strait of Hormuz, fire put out but damage caused
A projectile hit a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday morning, causing damage and a fire on board, after President Trump warned Iran to stop hindering shipping traffic through the vital waterway.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, said the vessel, identified by CBS News Confirmed as the Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree, was hit Wednesday just north of Oman in the strait.
In a subsequent update, UKMTO said the fire was out, there was no environmental impact, and that a skeleton crew remained aboard the vessel.
Container ship damaged in strike off UAE coast
British authorities said a container ship was hit off the United Arab Emirates coast early Wednesday morning, about 25 nautical miles northwest of the UAE port of Ra’s al Khaymah.
“The Master of a container vessel has reported that the vessel has sustained damage from a suspected but unknown projectile. Extent of the damage is currently unknown but under investigation by the crew. The Master additionally reports that all crew members are safe and accounted for,” UKMTO said.
CBS News Confirmed identified the vessel as the Japanese-flagged container ship ONE Majesty.
Container vessel hit by projectile west of Strait of Hormuz, off Dubai coast
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, said it had received a report from a cargo ship about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, west of the Strait of Hormuz, that it had been hit by an unknown projectile.
“There is no report of any environmental impact. The crew are reported safe and well. Authorities are investigating,” the UKMTO said, without naming the vessel.
CBS News Confirmed identified the ship as the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Star Gwyneth.
6 of 7 Iranian soccer players granted asylum in Australia staying in the country, officials say
Two more members of the Iranian national women’s soccer team were granted asylum in Australia before their teammates departed, but one of the women later changed her mind and decided to return to Iran, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters on Wednesday.
He said the two were reunited with five players who were granted humanitarian visas a day earlier.
One of the women later changed her mind and will return to Iran, Burke said. The rest of the team left Sydney to return to Iran late on Tuesday.
Read more here.
CBS/AP
Iran’s new supreme leader “safe and sound” despite war injury reports, president’s son says
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, the son of the Iranian president said Wednesday.
“I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel.
State television had called Khamenei a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury.
The new supreme leader is the son and successor of the Islamic republic’s longtime ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that triggered a war across the Middle East.
The 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, a discreet figure who has rarely appeared in public or spoken at official events, has not addressed the nation or issued a written statement since he was declared supreme leader on Sunday.
In a Wednesday report, The New York Times quoted three unnamed Iranian officials as saying Khamenei “had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication.”
