Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has appointed a new head of the elite Revolutionary Guard, it was announced tonight.

The US must recognise Iran as a “big, regional power,” the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, General Yahya Rahim Safavi, said today.

A top Iranian military official today said the country can now defend against any invasion originating from outside the region – a clear reference to the United States – as it tested a second new radar-avoiding missile.

The commander of the ground forces of the elite Revolutionary Guards died today when a small military passenger jet crashed in north-western Iran trying to make an emergency landing, official media reported.

Flash floods have killed at least 28 people in northeastern Iran, flooding farmlands and villages and cutting off communications in two provinces, interior ministry officials said today.