World
Israel’s advanced military technology on full display during Iran's attack
JERUSALEM — Some of Israel’s most advanced military technology was on display over the weekend when its multi-level aerial defense array led the way in striking down an estimated 99% of the more than 350 drones, rockets and missiles that were fired by Iran in an unprecedented attack on the Jewish state.
From the Iron Dome, which in its latest format uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve accuracy when shooting short-range surface-to-surface rockets, to David’s Sling, which intercepts short- to medium-range and medium- to long-range surface-to-surface missiles, to the Arrow 2 and 3 systems, which is used for longer-range ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as AI-driven aircraft and other technology, Israel’s defensive operation proved it was far superior to the offensive capabilities of the Islamic Republic.
In a press briefing following the attack, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari hailed Israel’s defensive operation, which was carried out together with partners from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), as a “very significant strategic achievement.” He said it demonstrated the “exceptional professionalism” of Israel’s Aerial Defense Array and the “defensive abilities of the air force as well as the army’s military and technological superiority.”
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Tal Mimran, of the Cyber Security Research Center in the Faculty of Law at Hebrew University, told Fox News Digital that broader cyber methods and even AI technology were also likely used in the successful defense operation.
“AI-powered algorithms analyze radar and other sensor data to track incoming missiles and calculate the best time to intercept these more effectively and prioritize targets,” he said. “AI makes the system more effective against a wider range of threats, like drones and other small, low-flying objects.”
Mimran said the Iron Dome, which Israel has been using for more than a decade to thwart rocket attacks from Gaza and Lebanon, now uses a “significant application of AI to improve system accuracy.”
“Using AI increases the Iron Dome’s success rate to over 90% and reduces operating costs,” he said. “This is important because these threats are becoming increasingly common and pose a challenge to traditional air defense systems, as is evident in the Russia-Ukraine war.”
Rockets fired by Hamas terrorists from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense missile system in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2023. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
Mimran also noted that over the past few months “IDF officials have acknowledged using AI-based tools for several purposes, including targeting support, intelligence analysis, proactive forecasting and streamlined command and control.”
According to Mimran, Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has spotlighted the IDF’s Habsora, or “the Gospel,” an AI-based system that is used to generate possible military targets for attack. However, he said, accusations that the IDF has been using AI systems to commit mass assassinations give too much credit to the AI-powered tools currently in use.
Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, played down the role of AI in the weekend operation, telling Fox News Digital that while the technology is incorporated in some air force systems, “a live event with 300 incoming projectiles cannot be left to AI; there needs to be responsible human in the loop making real-time decisions.”
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Dozens of Israeli Air Force planes were deployed to intercept UAVs and cruise missiles launched from Iran over the weekend. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
“I know that senior air force personnel were involved in controlling every aspect of this,” said Conricus, a former IDF spokesperson for the international media. “I find it hard to believe that any significant part of the targeting done [over the weekend] was done with AI.”
He said that over the past six months – since Oct. 7 when the Palestinian terror group Hamas carried out a brutal attack in southern Israel, sparking a full-blown war in Gaza and daily rocket fire by the militant Shiite terror group Hezbollah across Israel’s northern border, too – Israel has been forced to utilize its innovative missile defense technology.
“All of the systems have been fully operational since Oct. 7 and all have confirmed real-world hits,” Conricus said, adding that Israel’s newest layer of aerial defense, the Arrow 3 system, debuted just a few months ago by intercepting ballistic missiles fired by the Yemen-based Houthis, an extremist Islamist group that is supported and funded by the fundamentalist Islamist regime in Tehran. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are also Iranian proxies.
Israeli defense systems intercept an Iranian missile over Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem, in the early hours of April 14, 2024. (Matanya Reichman/TPS)
“I think that today what we have is a pretty solid and well-rounded air defense that deals with a very wide array and broad spectrum of incoming threats, from very small and fast projectiles like UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to extremely large and lethal ballistic missiles, which are also very fast, tremendously big and carry a ton of explosives,” he said.
Iran’s attack on Sunday – the first ever directly from its soil – brought together all the different tiers of Israel’s defensive system, Conricus said.
“They are all interlinked and communicate with each other,” he said, describing how a central command office provided an overall picture of the attack as it unfolded, giving a threat assessment in real time and coordinating the entire operation with the U.S. and other CENTCOM partners.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
Iran on April 14 urged Israel not to retaliate militarily to the Islamic Republic’s unprecedented attack over the weekend, which Tehran presented as a justified response to Israel’s recent deadly strike on Iran’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Conricus said that while many of the innovative defense systems were created by Israel, “a large part of the development was also carried out with the Americans,” allowing “the radar systems and the digital intercepting systems” to communicate with U.S. defense systems.”
“They were developed together with congressional funding and support,” he said, explaining that there were “a lot of plug-and-play capabilities” and, if needed, the U.S. systems can easily connect with the Israeli system.
According to Israeli army estimates, Iran fired some 30 cruise missiles, 120 ballistic missiles and 170 suicide drones that carried about 60 tons of warheads and explosives combined. While most of the projectiles were shot down before reaching Israel’s borders, two air force bases were lightly hit and a 7-year-old Israeli girl was seriously injured. Forces from the U.S., British and French militaries, as well as from several countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan, participated in the operation.
“To coordinate such an attack is not an easy task because all three weapon systems have [different] velocities and performances,” said Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
He said that the UAVs, mostly Iranian-produced Shahed 136s, would have been fired first because they move at the slowest pace; followed by the cruise missiles and finally the ballistic missiles, which have a relatively short flight time from Iran to Israel, depending on the launch site.
U.S. CENTCOM Gen. Michael Kurilla, left, meets with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant amid rising tensions with Iran. (Ariel Hermoni/IMoD/File)
Inbar noted that Iran’s decision to use drones gave Israel several hours to “prepare itself to the maximum.”
In addition to deploying advanced missile defense systems and scrambling fighter planes, he said Israel also put in place some levels of cyberprotection, including disrupting satellite navigation, which is effective in stopping some of the projectiles from reaching their targets.
“Ballistic missiles cannot be jammed because they use an internal navigation system, but this is not the case with drones,” Inbar said, noting that Israelis have become used to GPS disturbances over the past six months.
Recent media reports also suggest that Israel deployed its new $1 billion spy plane, the Oron, which provided vital information that was used to track and destroy the drones and missiles in flight. The high-tech jet, which Israel unveiled at last year’s Paris Air Show, is equipped with thousands of advanced sensors. The Oron has the ability to scan vast terrain and gather an unprecedented amount of information at a considerable distance from the targets being tracked. When asked about the Oron spy plane, the IDF did not comment.
World
Naomi Watts to Star as Ballerina Margot Fonteyn in Romantic Drama ‘Margot & Rudi,’ With WestEnd Films Selling in Cannes
Naomi Watts is set to star in romantic drama “Margot & Rudi,” which tells the true story of ballet legends Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. The film, to be directed by “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” filmmaker Anthony Fabian, has been boarded by world sales agency WestEnd Films.
The story unfolds when Fonteyn, the greatest ballerina in the West, is 42 and sensing her career is over. Nureyev is 23, a rebellious Soviet defector — magnetic, explosive, unstoppable. Together, they ignite the stage and become icons of the Swinging Sixties. Fonteyn is reborn by Nureyev’s wild energy, but their bond is complicated by her marriage and his affair with another dancer. To preserve what they have, they will risk everything for one defining ballet—because the only place they can truly be together… is on stage.
Watts, who studied dance before becoming an actress, will star as Fonteyn. She broke through with her performance in “Mulholland Drive” and earned Academy Award nominations for her leading roles in “21 Grams” and “The Impossible.”
She next stars in “The Housewife,” as well as Cody Fern’s untitled debut feature film, with Sarah Paulson, Dianne Wiest and Odessa A’Zion.
On television, she received Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations for her performance in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans,” and recently starred in “Love Story.”
Alexandr Trush, principal dancer with the Hamburg Ballet, will portray Nureyev. A Russian-speaking Ukrainian ballet star, he has headlined major productions including “Giselle” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
The film also stars Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” “Saltburn,” “Nuremberg”), Academy Award nominee Demián Bichir (“A Better Life,” “Land,” “The Hateful Eight”) and BAFTA nominee Harriet Walter (“Succession,” “The Crown,” “Sense and Sensibility”), with additional cast to be announced.
The screenplay is written by BAFTA nominee Olivia Hetreed (“Girl With a Pearl Earring,” “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”).
The creative team includes Academy Award nominee hair and makeup designer Karen Hartley Thomas (“Golda,” The Son,” “The Courier”), choreographer Arthur Pita (“Ex Machina,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Sunshine on Leith”), and BAFTA-winning costume designer Fotini Dimou (“The Children Act,” “King Lear”), with additional crew to be announced.
The film, which is set to shoot in October, is produced by Mike Goodridge for Good Chaos (“Triangle of Sadness,” “Ballad of a Small Player,” “Quo Vadis, Aida?”), Anthony Fabian for Elysian Films (“Skin,” “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”), Olivia Hetreed for Sympathetic Ink and Chris Coen (“Funny Games,” “The Childhood of a Leader,” “Shadow Dancer”). Executive producers are Thom Mount, Jeffrey Berg and Andy Paterson.
Fabian said: “Growing up in Mexico City, watching Margot and Rudi’s performances in the cinema sparked my passion for stories that blend music, theater and dance. The film explores the private joy and pain behind their public personas, capturing their unique chemistry. Ballet sequences from the duo’s most iconic roles and performances together drive the story, using movement and cinematic fantasy to reveal the truth behind a couple as famous in their day as The Beatles. Their love, defying barriers of culture, age, class and sexuality, is romantic, unconventional and thrilling — a love story like no other.”
Fabian’s previous film “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” was released worldwide by Focus Features/Universal International Pictures in 2022. It grossed over $30 million at the box office and received BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.
Watts said: “Dance was my first love, and I’ve long dreamed of making a dance film. I feel deeply honored and excited to be playing Margot Fonteyn, one of the greatest dancers of all time. Her relationship with Rudolf Nureyev was extraordinary — both artistically and emotionally — and I’m thrilled to be exploring it with such sensitivity and imagination under the direction of Anthony Fabian.”
Maya Amsellem, managing director of WestEnd Films, said: “’Margot & Rudi’ is a sweeping and beautiful story about two iconic artists who redefine each other at a pivotal moment in their lives. Naomi Watts is set to deliver one of the most transformative performances of her career, combining emotional intensity with the physicality of dance. With Anthony Fabian’s visionary direction and the film’s bold, cinematic use of ballet, this will be a powerful big-screen experience we’re excited to bring to the international market.”
WestEnd will introduce the film to buyers at Cannes Film Festival.
Watts is repped by CAA, Untitled and HJTH. Fabian is repped by Jon Cassir at CAA and Olivia Gray at Independent Talent. He is managed by Ensemble Entertainment.
Ships reportedly attacked in Strait of Hormuz as blockade turns 28 vessels around
Daniel Turner, Power The Future founder and executive director, analyzes the US blockade against Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s strategy to outlast the US economically. He details the impact on oil and gas prices, arguing that markets need confidence to stabilize. Turner critiques current climate policies, stating they’ve made lives expensive and hurt the US economically and militarily.
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Iran reportedly opened fire upon three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre noted that a container ship was fired upon by an IRGC gunboat near Oman Wednesday, causing “heavy damage to the bridge.”
“No fires or environmental impact reported. All Crew reported safe,” the notice said.
Another UKMTO warning said “an outbound cargo ship” west of Iran reported “having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water.” The notice said the crew was safe and accounted for.
“There is no reported damage to the vessel,” it added.
IRAN FIRES ON 2 SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AFTER TRUMP EXTENDS CEASEFIRE
Maps4Media processed and enhanced Sentinal-2 satellite imagery shows a broad view of the Strait of Hormuz between southern Iran and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, including surrounding islands, coastal terrain, and turquoise shallow-water zones at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. (Photo enhanced and published by maps4media via Getty Images)
Iranian media said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was bringing two ships to Iran after seizing them in the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) Command claimed in an X post that the two vessels, the MSC-FRANCESCA and EPAMINODES, “had endangered maritime security by operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems.”
It said the vessels “were seized by the IRGC Navy and escorted to Iran’s coast,” according to a translation.
“Disruption of order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” the command wrote.
It also claimed the MSC-FRANCESCA is “linked to the Zionist regime.”
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Motorists ride past the Imam Sadiq (AS) mosque with a giant Iranian flag installed on its front at the Palestine Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian media also reported that the IRGC attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, according to the AP.
The development comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that the United States was extending a ceasefire.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” the president wrote on Truth Social..
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President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 13, 2026. (Salwan Georges/Bloomberg)
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“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Published on
A court in Moldova sentenced oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc to 19 years in prison on Wednesday in a case linked to the disappearance of $1 billion (€850 million) from the country’s banking system.
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A former businessman, lawmaker and kingpin in the Democratic Party of Moldova, Plahotniuc fled Moldova in 2019, as he faced a series of corruption charges.
That included complicity in the scheme that led to money disappearing from Moldovan banks in 2014, which at the time was equivalent to around one-eighth of the country’s GDP.
He was extradited from Greece last year, after being arrested at Athens airport under an Interpol international alert.
A Chișinău judge announced the ruling on Wednesday.
The court also ordered the seizure of some $60 million (€51 million) from Plahotniuc’s accounts, said prosecutor Alexandru Cernei after the sentencing.
Plahotniuc, 60, was not present in court on Wednesday.
He had previously dismissed the charges, calling his trial “political” and “flawed from the outset.”
His lawyer Lucian Rogac said he would appeal the decision, deeming it “clearly illegal.”
“The entire process was conducted in a tremendous rush, with numerous violations of the defendant’s rights,” Rogac said.
After Plahotniuc’s return to the country, Moldovan prosecutors had demanded 25 years in jail, the maximum provided by law, in a case linked to the disappearance of money from three banks in 2014.
They accused Plahotniuc of forming and leading a criminal organisation, fraud and money laundering on a particularly large scale.
The influential businessman and politician was added to a US State Department sanctions list in 2022 for alleged corruption.
The charges included controlling the country’s law enforcement to target political and business rivals and meddling in Moldova’s elections.
He was added to a UK sanctions list in 2022 and barred from entering the country. His assets were frozen in Britain and its overseas territories.
Plahotniuc was accused of involvement in pro-Russian political campaigns and efforts to derail Moldova’s pro-EU course.
Additional sources • AP, AFP
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