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Iran says coastal attack will lead to full Gulf closure and mine-laying

An attack on Iran's southern coast and islands will lead to Gulf routes being cut with the laying of sea mines, the country's Defence Council said on Monday, according to state media. The US is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island, the country's main oil export hub, to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping, according to Axios. "Any attempt to attack Iran's coasts or islands will cause all access routes in the Gulf (...) to be mined with various types of sea mines, including floating mines that can be released from the coast," the statement read. "In this case, the entire Gulf will practically be in a situation similar to the Strait of Hormuz for a long time (...) One should not forget the failure of more than 100 minesweepers in the 1980s in removing a few sea mines." The Defence Council recalled that non-belligerent states can only pass through the Strait of Hormuz by coordinating passage with Iran...
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Israeli military intelligence head resigns over Oct. 7 failures

The head of Israeli military intelligence has resigned after accepting responsibility for the failures that allowed the devastating Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the military said on Monday. Major General Aharon Haliva, a 38-year veteran of the military, was one of a number of senior Israeli commanders who said they had failed to foresee and prevent the deadliest attack in Israel's history. "The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I have carried that black day with me ever since," he said in a resignation letter released by the military. He will remain in post until a successor is named. Israeli media and commentators expect further resignations once the main military campaign in Gaza wraps up. The Oct. 7 attack badly tarnished the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services, previously seen as virtually unbeatable by armed Palestinian groups like Hamas. Read also: Israel will defend itself, Netanyahu says, as West calls for restraint In the early hours of the morning, following an intense rocket barrage, thousands of fighters from Hamas and other groups broke through security barriers around Gaza, surprising Israeli forces and rampaging through communities in southern Israel. Some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the attack, most of them civilians, and around 250 were taken into captivity in Gaza, where 133 remain as hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The head of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, and the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, both accepted responsibility in the aftermath of the attack but have stayed on while the war in Gaza has continued. By contrast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far not accepted responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack, although surveys indicate that most Israelis blame him for failing to do enough to prevent or defend against it. In response to the attack, Israel launched an offensive against Gaza that has so far killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and left the densely populated enclave in ruins.

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At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

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