The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the execution of wave 83 of Operation True Promise 4 in the early hours of Friday, targeting key American and Israeli military installations across the region with missiles and drones.

According to a statement from the IRGC’s Public Relations, the operation was dedicated to the “warm-hearted people of the southern strip of the country in the north of the ever-Persian Gulf” and was conducted under the blessed code “Ya Aba Abdullah Al-Hussein (AS).”

The strikes targeted a range of strategic assets belonging to American and Zionist forces.

Among the targets were storage tanks and the oil depot in Ashdod, a military personnel site in the Modi’in settlement, and a US military information exchange center in the region.

The IRGC also struck American military bases at Al-Dhafra and Al-Udeiri, along with maintenance and storage hangars for transport aircraft and drones at Ali Al-Salem Air Base.

Additional targets include fuel tanks for jets and fighter aircraft of American forces, as well as the maintenance and repair hangar for the Patriot missile system at Sheikh Isa Base.

The IRGC statement noted that the operation employed a combination of advanced weaponry, including long-range and medium-range systems, solid and liquid fuel missiles, precision-strike and multi-warhead capabilities, as well as suicide and loitering drones.

It further emphasized that the retaliatory attacks were carried out with “full success by the grace of God.”

In its statement, the IRGC highlighted the impact of ongoing operations on daily life for Israeli settlers, noting that “siren-to-siren living and prolonged confinement in shelters have become a daily routine for the Zionists.”

The IRGC concluded with a stark warning: “As we said, we will find you, and with God’s will, we will make you pay for your despicable deeds.”

Iranian armed forces have so far carried out 83 waves of missile and drone strikes with advanced weaponry targeting Israeli military facilities in the occupied territories, as well as US occupation bases and assets scattered across the West Asia region.

The retaliatory operations were launched immediately after the US-Israeli coalition carried out an unprovoked act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28, leading to the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, some top-ranking military commanders, and over 170 schoolchildren in Minab.

The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have also joined the front against the external aggressors, inflicting heavy blows on the enemy.

The retaliatory operations by the Iranian armed forces, as well as the resistance groups, have inflicted heavy blows on the enemy, decimating its military and strategic infrastructure.

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesperson for the armed forces, in remarks on Thursday, said that US personnel are now forced to abandon military bases and take refuge in civilian hotels, a move that he condemned as an attempt by the US to use civilian structures for military cover.

“The Americans, who once relied on their military bases to establish a presence, are now hiding in hotels and relying on the civilian areas of our region as a protective shield,” Shekarchi said.

“This marks a humiliating retreat and an admission of their inability to defend themselves.”

The Iranian Army also continues to inflict severe blows on the enemy. It targeted sensitive locations in the strategic Haifa port on Thursday with a barrage of drones.

“The center for manufacturing and maintenance of various military vessels of the Zionist regime in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that played a key and sensitive role in logistics for the regime’s Navy as well as the huge fuel storage facilities for warplanes in Haifa port were, among others, targeted in the recent drone attack by the Islamic Republic’s Armed forces,” it said in a statement.

VIENNA: A headscarf ban for girls under 14 in Austrian schools has stirred unease, anger and fears of further targeting of Muslims in the EU member state.

Austrian lawmakers in December approved the measure, which is set to take effect from the new school year in September.

With anti-immigration sentiment running high, the conservative-led government argues the law is aimed at protecting girls from “oppression”.

But rights groups and experts say it is discriminatory, risks deepening social division and is likely unconstitutional.

“It’s my decision… No one can force me to wear a headscarf, and no one can force me to take it off,” a 12-year-old student told AFP at a protest against the ban in Vienna last month, declining to give her name.

‘Legal consequences’

The government estimates around 12,000 girls would be affected by the new law, but this projection has been questioned as too high.

Roughly 8% of Austria’s nine million residents are Muslim, according to 2021 government statistics.

The education ministry sent out information to all schools several weeks ago on how to enforce the new law.

It contains illustrations of different Islamic head coverings.

“Every teacher who observes a violation must instruct the student to remove her headscarf. If she does not immediately comply, the teacher must report the violation to the school administration without delay,” the instructions state.

“The school administration must immediately hold a meeting with the student and her legal guardians.”

For repeated non-compliance, parents can face fines ranging from 150 to 800 euros ($175 to $930).

Failure to report those in violation of the law could also have “legal consequences” for teachers and school managements, the instructions warn.

One Vienna schoolteacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP she was not planning to enforce the law.

“It’s a populist measure” that fails to address “the real problem when parents of any religion use violence or psychological violence against children,” she said.

‘Deeply rooted racism’

Last month, hundreds gathered at a central Vienna square to protest the ban before marching to the chancellery.

Malika Mataeva, co-founder of the Muslim Women Network, decried “years of systematic, deeply rooted racism in Austria.”

“It’s simply another step that makes us say, ‘Enough is enough,'” she told AFP, adding “guaranteed freedoms” were not being respected.

Austria has long drawn immigrants, as well as asylum seekers fleeing conflict. But anti-immigration sentiment is strong.

In the 2024 elections, the far-right Freedom Party won for the first time even though it failed to form a government.

Muslims in Austria suffered the highest rates of racism and discrimination in the EU, according to a 2024 report by Europe’s FRA rights agency.

Past ban struck down

The IGGOe, the body which officially represents the country’s Muslim communities, is set to challenge the ban in court.

Austria introduced a similar ban on headscarves in primary schools in 2019, but the constitutional court struck it down.

“It is clear that we consider this law… to be unconstitutional in Austria, given its focus on a specific religious item of clothing,” the Ombud for Equal Treatment told AFP.

At the Vienna protest, an 11-year-old, who only gave her name as Hadiya, said she is the only student in her class of 27 who wears a headscarf.

“I’m angry…. I find it (the ban) is without reason,” she said.

A mother of two girls, aged 11 and 13, also said the ban has weighed heavily on her family, with her daughters not wanting to take off their headscarves.

“It’s supposed to be for their protection, but they’ve been suffering for months now and are worried about what to do,” she told AFP at the protest.

DUBAI: A powerful storm system swept across the United Arab Emirates overnight, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and near-constant lightning that lit up the night sky for more than two hours, residents said.

Flashes were so bright in some areas that parts of the country appeared “like daytime in the dark,” with booming thunder waking residents around 11pm local time.

The storm affected multiple emirates, including Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi. Fujairah recorded 47.9mm of rainfall, while Ras Al Khaimah saw flooding on sections of Emirates Road caused by overflow from Al Beeh and Qada’a valleys, prompting authorities to advise motorists to take alternative routes.

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) issued a flash flood alert after midnight as the storm moved from western regions into Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 

Dubai Police and the Ministry of Interior also issued public advisories, including messages in Urdu, urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel, maintain safe distances on roads, and stay away from pools of water or fast-moving rivers to prevent vehicles from skidding. Hail and reduced visibility in some areas were reported.

Dubai Airports warned travellers to allow extra time for journeys to DXB and DWC airports as adverse weather might cause delays. Authorities also announced the temporary closure of Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah due to hazardous conditions.

The UAE Government and NCM said unstable weather, including heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, and occasional hail, is expected to continue through Friday before gradually easing from Saturday, with clearer skies and cooler temperatures forecast. Officials urged residents to remain vigilant and cooperate with authorities to stay safe.