India expressed shock on Thursday over the “terrible” twin blasts that killed 95 people in Iran’s Kerman city at a memorial service for Iranian General Qassem Solemani, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020. Randhir Jaiswal, the new spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, stated in a tweet that New Delhi has expressed support for the Iranian government and people.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu will embark on a six-day visit to China from 7-12 January. The pro-China president has yet to visit India since he assumed office. Muizzu earlier went to Turkey for his first state visit and was in the UAE for the COP28 Summit. Muizzu’s decision is a break from the tradition of Maldivian presidents travelling to India for their first visit.
On Thursday, China slammed the US and the Philippines’ “provocative” moves in the South China Sea, as both sides held drills in the disputed waters. The US aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, was conducting two days of drills with the Philippine Navy, while the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command said a two-day deployment of its navy and air force was carrying out “routine patrols” in the sea on Wednesday.
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has ordered authorities to increase the production of mobile launch vehicles for missiles, as the secretive regime pushes to make its launches harder to detect. According to state media, Kim visited a factory that produces transport erector launchers, or TELs, and said the factory’s role is “very important” in bolstering Pyongyang’s national defence “given the prevailing grave situation that requires the country to be more firmly prepared for a military showdown with the enemy.”
US State Secretary Antony J. Blinken will visit the Middle East from 4-11 January. According to a State Department press release, Blinken will underscore the necessity of protecting civilians in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and also securing the release of all remaining hostages. He will also discuss urgent mechanisms to reduce regional tensions, such as deterring Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and avoiding an escalation in Lebanon.
US forces in Iraq today carried out a self-defence attack that killed Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, a leader of the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba terrorist group that operates in both Iraq and Syria, Air Force Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing on Thursday. “It is important to note that the strike was taken in self-defence, that no civilians were harmed, and that no infrastructure or facilities were struck,” Ryder assured.