Iran's missile program
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps says it has developed a new cruise missile with a range of over 16 hundred kilometers. The commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Force says the missile is dubbed after the city of Paveh, to honor the martyrs of Kurdistan province. Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh made the comment in an interview on the national broadcaster. He said Iran now possesses hypersonic missiles which no air defense system may ever be able to intercept. The general said all missiles Iran is now producing are precision-strike weapons. The country has made quick advancements in its missile program in recent years. Tehran, however, has repeatedly stressed that its missile program is purely defensive and meant for deterrence.
The war in Ukraine
The European Union approves a tenth package of sanctions on Russia, on the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. The EU presidency is calling the sanctions the most forceful and far-reaching against Russia ever. The package includes tighter export restrictions, as well as measures against entities supporting the war. The US has also imposed new sanctions on Russia, primarily targeting banks and the defense industry. Washington and its allies have imposed a volley of sanctions on Russia since the war began last February. But the policy has backfired and caused a surge in food and fuel prices across the US and Europe.
Turkey, Syria quake
The death toll from the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria earlier this month now tops 50 thousand. Turkish authorities have confirmed more than 44 thousand fatalities as more bodies are pulled from under the rubble. Syria earlier raised the number of deaths from the magnitude seven-point-eight earthquake to nearly 6-thousand. The February 6 temblor completely destroyed or severely damaged more than 160 thousand buildings in Turkey. According to official figures, it has also displaced one-point-five million people.