Middle East

In the past 24 hours the virus caused 358 new deaths in the country with a population of more than 80 million, and 13,922 new cases of infection, Iran's Health Ministry says.

The US Treasury Department slaps sanctions on Shahid Meisami Group and its director, accusing the entity of being involved in Iran's chemical weapons research.

The elimination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, “the father of the Iranian nuclear bomb,” was a “service to mankind,” Saudi writers assert.

Coronavirus lockdowns have made it difficult to export its hand-crafted Christmas gifts from Gaza to Europe and to Bethlehem.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia lashes out at Iranian FM for implicating Riyadh in killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, says, "It is not the policy of Saudi Arabia to engage in assassinations; unlike Iran, which has done so since the Khomeini Revolution in 1979."

Iran's official IRNA news agency says 251 lawmakers in the 290-seat chamber voted in favor, after which many began chanting "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!"

"The assassination of the scientist will not stop the progress of Iran’s nuclear program but will only accelerate it," says Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami.

WHO delivers 15 ventilators, paid for by Kuwait, to Gaza Strip hospitals one week after local and international public health advisers said hospitals in the enclave could soon become overwhelmed. Gaza has logged nearly 20,000 coronavirus cases and 97 deaths, mostly since August, amid concern of a wider outbreak in the densely populated enclave of 2 million people.

According to reports in Syrian pro-rebel news agency, the senior official, apparently a logistic officer in the IRGC's elite Quds Force, was killed along with two other Iranians in a drone strike near the country's border with Iraq. Jets believed to belong to US coalition forces carry out strikes on 10 targets near the border town of Al-Bukamal, killing several pro-Iranian militia members and destroying ammunition depots and equipment.

Iran has accused Israel of directing the assassination, calling the incident an act of "state-sponsored terrorism." Local police have distributed the photos across the country, as authorities launch searches for the four suspects.