Trump said an Iran strike won’t involve “boots on the ground.” From this, one could infer another one-off strike of the kind he has favored in the past might transpire.

The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites to circle the Earth on a 500-kilometer (310-mile) orbit from the Vostochny launchpad in eastern Russia. The three satellites are dubbed Paya, Kowsar and Zafar-2.

Iran said it sent three satellites into orbit from Russia on Sunday, a move that may intensify tensions over Tehran’s broader actions.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos launched the Iranian satellites alongside two Russian Aist-2T Earth observation satelites and dozens of cubesats aboard a Soyuz 2.1b rocket on a mission that lifted off from the country's Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia. Fifty-two satellites were launched in all.

Warships from China, Russia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been arriving in False Bay for the joint naval exercise Will for Peace, which South Africa is hosting from 9-16 January.

In this news bulletin, the focus is on the escalating tensions in Iran following a warning from the US President. The President has stated that the United States will 'hit hard' if the Iranian regime targets protesters,

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly plans to escape to Moscow if his security team falters or turns on him amid ongoing unrest in his country featuring protesters chanting for his death.

Illegal activity in the crypto sector is nothing new but, in recent months, it is nation-states that account for a growing share of it. In the last year, there has been a 694% increase in crypto received by sanctioned entities, including from Russia and Iran, according to a new section of Chainalysis’ Crypto Crime Report.