Iran’s army chief has threatened preemptive military action over the “rhetoric” targeting the Islamic Republic.

Iran says that its third homegrown vaccine has reached the phase of clinical trials, even as details about its production remained slim. AdBut details are scant about the Islamic Republic's vaccine production efforts. Two other Iranian vaccines are also in the phase of clinical trials, with the most advanced, called Barekat, tested on 300 people so far. Earlier this week, the government launched a vaccine production factory it claims can make 3 million doses a day. Iran formally launched its limited vaccination campaign last month, doling out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine to health workers and those with chronic health conditions.

(Iranian Defense Ministry via AP)TEHRAN – A top Iranian security official on Monday accused Israel of using “electronic devices” to remotely kill a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic's military nuclear program in the 2000s. Israel insists Iran still maintains the ambition of developing nuclear weapons, pointing to Tehran’s ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Iran long has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Shahin Gobadi, an MEK spokesman, dismissed Shamkhani's remarks as “rage, rancor and lies” sparked by the group's earlier exposes over Iran's nuclear program. Though long suspicious of Iran’s nuclear program, the Emirates has said it wants to de-escalate the crisis.