Iran’s navy yesterday added domestically produced sophisticated cruise missiles to its arsenal, Terhan’s state media reported, a day after the Pentagon accused Iran of using a drone to strike a chemical tanker off the coast of India.
It was reported that Talaeieh and Nasir cruise missiles have arrived at a naval base near the Indian Ocean in the southern Iranian port of Konarak, about 1,400km southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Iranian Navy Commander Admiral Shahram Irani said that the Talaeieh has a range of more than 1,000km and is capable of changing targets during travel.
Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout via Reuters
The Nasi has a range of 100km and can be installed on warships, Irani said.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said a Japanese-owned chemical tanker that was struck on Saturday was targeted by a drone “fired from Iran,” in a sign of expanding risks to commercial shipping beyond the Red Sea.
It was the first time the Pentagon has openly accused Iran of directly targeting ships since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas, which is backed by Tehran.
The attack came amid a flurry of new drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on the vital Red Sea shipping lane, with the group claiming to be acting in solidarity with Gaza.
Saturday’s Indian Ocean attack took place at about 10am and caused no casualties, the Pentagon said in a statement, adding that a fire was extinguished.
The US military “remains in communication with the vessel as it continues toward a destination in India,” it added.
The drone strike occurred 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off the coast of India, it said.
The MV Chem Pluto was flying under a Liberian flag and is operated by a Dutch entity, although it is owned by a Japanese company, the Pentagon said.
Ambrey, a maritime security firm, said the “chemical/products tanker... was Israel-affiliated” and had been on its way from Saudi Arabia to India.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Dutch company operating the MV Chem Pluto “is connected to Israeli shipping tycoon Idan Ofer.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
RSS