Iran test-fires anti-warship cruise missile with a range of more than 600 miles

Iran test-fired an anti-warship cruise missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) capable of reaching US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, Iranian state TV reports.

“This is a Ghadr-380 mile type L. It has over 1,000 kilometers range. It has anti-jamming capability,” said Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, the head of the navy of the Revolutionary Guard, in a report that shows an underground missile facility on the southern coast of Iran.

The report elaborates neither on the warhead that the missile carried, nor the time of the test.

Tangsiri said the facility is “only one part of the missile systems of the Guard,” adding that the missiles can create “a hell for the enemy’s warships.”

The report says the new weapon was a “sophisticated missile,” without elaborating, which could be launched from the underground facility. The missile was launched from central Iran into the Sea of Oman, it says.

It claims the missile can be made ready and launched by one member of personnel in less than five minutes.

Since 2011 Iran has occasionally announced the inauguration of underground missile facilities along with missile tests. It has boasted of underground facilities across the country as well as along the southern coast near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran claims to have missiles that can travel 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, within range.

Cars and houses in Sydney vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in latest incident targeting Jews

Cars and houses in Sydney have been daubed in antisemitic graffiti, police said early Sunday, the latest in a string of incidents targeting Jews in Australia’s biggest city.

The spate of attacks in recent months has alarmed the country’s Jewish community, drawn criticism from Israel and placed pressure on the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who faces re-election in polls that must be held by May.

In the latest incident, police say that vehicles and residences were damaged with antisemitic graffiti in Sydney’s east, an area with a significant Jewish community, overnight.

“Crime scenes have been established,” police say in a statement, a day after they doubled to 40 the number of officers in a special task force set up in December to target antisemitic crime in the country’s most populous state of New South Wales.

David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, says in the attack “cars and homes were defaced with hate speech for the sole purpose of intimidating and terrorizing the Jewish community and destabilizing Sydney’s social harmony.”

On Thursday, antisemitic graffiti was sprayed on three sites including Mount Sinai College in the city’s east, one of almost a dozen incidents in the city of around 5 million in recent months that police say appeared to be coordinated.

Police said on Wednesday they found explosives in a caravan, or trailer, in Sydney that could have created a blast wave of 40 meters (130 feet), and may have been intended for a mass casualty attack on Jews.

Another bad night in Sydney. More antisemitic vandalism in Kingsford and a petrol can found in a vehicle in Rose Bay after a police pursuit. Further evidence of a situation out of control. pic.twitter.com/bVTIFw8f3O

— Alex Ryvchin (@AlexRyvchin) February 1, 2025

Biden welcomes Keith Siegel’s release from Gaza, hopes remaining hostages will be freed soon

Former US president Joe Biden welcomes the release of American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel from Hamas captivity, and says he is looking forward to the rest of the hostages “being reunited with their families soon.”

“I can only imagine the relief and joy that Keith’s family must be feeling today,” Biden writes on X, recalling the frequent meetings between himself, members of his administration and Siegel’s family as they advocated for his release.

“I was continuously inspired by their strength and resilience as they did everything in their power to ensure he was not forgotten,” Biden adds. “My thoughts and prayers are with them and with all the families of the hostages today, all of whom have suffered so much.”

I join Americans, Israelis, and people around the world in welcoming home Keith Siegel, an American held hostage by Hamas for 484 days, as part of the ceasefire deal my team and I negotiated. I look forward to the remaining hostages, including additional Americans, being reunited…

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 2, 2025

White House: Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China, Mexico to come into effect Tuesday

US President Donald Trump orders 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China starting on Tuesday to address a national emergency over fentanyl and illegal immigrants entering the US, White House officials say.

Energy products from Canada will have only a 10% duty, but Mexican energy imports will be charged the full 25%, the officials tell reporters.

Trump has declared a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to back the tariffs, which allows sweeping powers to address crises.

The White House officials say there will be no exclusions from the tariffs. Moreover, in the case of Canada specifically, they said the “de minimis” US tariff exemption for small shipments under $800 would be canceled.

The moves follow through on a repeated threat Trump has made since shortly after winning last year’s presidential election, and they likely will trigger retaliation and risk igniting a trade war that could cause broad economic disruption for all countries involved.

It is unclear if Trump, who golfed at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday before signing the order, will speak to the media about the duties.

Trump set the February 1 deadline to press for strong action to halt the flow of the opiate fentanyl and precursor chemicals into the US from China via Mexico and Canada, as well as to stop illegal immigrants crossing US borders.