TEHRAN -- Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that the Iranian people have achieved a "decisive victory" in the war against the United States and Israel, adding that Iran will move the management of the Strait of Hormuz into a new phase.
Khamenei made the remarks in a message carried by Iranian media on the 40th day after the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes at the start of the conflict. (Iran-Strait of Hormuz-Supreme Leader)
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TEHRAN -- A member of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that all affairs concerning the country's armed forces are being conducted under the supervision of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Speaking anonymously to state-run IRIB TV while wearing a face mask and sunglasses, the representative from the IRGC's Aerospace Division said that Khamenei serves as the commander-in-chief of the Iranian armed forces. (Iran-IRGC-Supreme Leader)
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JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his cabinet to open direct negotiations with Lebanon on a peace agreement, his office said Thursday.
The office said the proposed talks would focus on "establishing peaceful relations" between the two countries, which have no official ties and remain formally at war. (Israel-Lebanon-Talks)
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KHARTOUM -- At least 56 people were killed and 107 injured in a drone strike on the town of Kutum in Sudan's North Darfur state, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a medical source said Thursday.
The RSF said that the Sudanese army carried out the strike on Wednesday evening, targeting a social gathering. At least 56 civilians were killed, including 17 children, and 107 others were wounded, it added. (Sudan-Drone Strike-Casualties) ■
