Exclusive: Supreme Leader's military adviser says Iran's response will be 'against military sites' - CNN

In an exclusive interview with CNN in Tehran, Hossein Dehghan, the military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, said: "The response for sure will be military and against military sites."

Dehghan, a former defense minister, is the main military adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is very close to the Supreme Leader.

"Let me tell you one thing: Our leadership has officially announced that we have never been seeking war and we will not be seeking war," Dehghan said.

"It was America that has started the war. Therefore, they should accept appropriate reactions to their actions. The only thing that can end this period of war is for the Americans to receive a blow that is equal to the blow they have inflicted. Afterward they should not seek a new cycle."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday the United States committed a "grave mistake" in killing Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and US President Donald Trump responded on Twitter, writing that if Tehran attacks American assets, the US will strike "very hard and very fast."

The US has a list of 52 Iranian targets, Trump tweeted. The number was chosen to match the number of hostages taken in the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy, he said.

Dehghan described the tweets as "ridiculous and absurd."

"[Trump] doesn't know international law. He doesn't recognize UN resolutions either. Basically he is a veritable gangster and a gambler. He is no politician he has no mental stability," Dehghan said.

Making reference to United National resolution 2347 which condemns the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage, Dehghan said "if [Trump] wants to imposed rule, logic and rationality over his decision he should accept that he is a war criminal and must be tried in a relevant court."

Asked what would happen if Trump were to carry out his threat to strike any of Iran's cultural sites, Dehghan said "for sure no American military staff, no American political center, no American military base, no American vessel will be safe. And they are accessible to us."

Major escalation

Rouhani said earlier Americans would face consequences for killing Soleimani "not only today, but also in the coming years."

Rouhani's remarks came on the same day mourners in neighboring Iraq had chanted "Death to America" at a funeral procession for Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader who died with him in a US airstrike in Iraq early Friday.

The strike killed Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces. At least six people were killed in the strike, an Iraqi security source told CNN on condition of anonymity.

It marks a major escalation in regional tensions that have pitted Tehran against Washington and its allies in the Middle East.

Trump on Friday said he ordered the death of Soleimani, one of Iran's most powerful men, to stop a war, not start one, as tensions between the two nations were already escalating.

Trump said Soleimani was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks" on Americans.

The Pentagon blamed Soleimani and Iran-backed Iraqi militias for recent assaults on coalition bases in Iraq, including a December 27 strike that killed an American civilian contractor and wounded several US and Iraqi military personnel.

After retaliatory US airstrikes against the militias last month, hundreds of protesters stormed the US Embassy compound in Baghdad on December 31, an attack the US blamed on Soleimani.

Soleimani was the head of Quds Force, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unit in charge of foreign operations, and he became the architect of Tehran's proxy conflicts in the Middle East. The Pentagon blamed Soleimani for hundreds of deaths of Americans and their allies over the years.

CNN's Radina Gigova, Tamara Qiblawi, Jason Hanna and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

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2020-01-05 13:24:00Z
52780536809258

Exclusive: Supreme Leader's military adviser says Iran's response will be 'against military sites' - CNN

In an exclusive interview with CNN in Tehran, Hossein Dehghan, the military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, said: "The response for sure will be military and against military sites."

Dehghan, a former defense minister, is the main military adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is very close to the Supreme Leader.

"Let me tell you one thing: Our leadership has officially announced that we have never been seeking war and we will not be seeking war," Dehghan said.

"It was America that has started the war. Therefore, they should accept appropriate reactions to their actions. The only thing that can end this period of war is for the Americans to receive a blow that is equal to the blow they have inflicted. Afterward they should not seek a new cycle."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday the United States committed a "grave mistake" in killing Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and US President Donald Trump responded on Twitter, writing that if Tehran attacks American assets, the US will strike "very hard and very fast."

The US has a list of 52 Iranian targets, Trump tweeted. The number was chosen to match the number of hostages taken in the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy, he said.

Dehghan described the tweets as "ridiculous and absurd."

"[Trump] doesn't know international law. He doesn't recognize UN resolutions either. Basically he is a veritable gangster and a gambler. He is no politician he has no mental stability," Dehghan said.

Making reference to United National resolution 2347 which condemns the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage, Dehghan said "if [Trump] wants to imposed rule, logic and rationality over his decision he should accept that he is a war criminal and must be tried in a relevant court."

Asked what would happen if Trump were to carry out his threat to strike any of Iran's cultural sites, Dehghan said "for sure no American military staff, no American political center, no American military base, no American vessel will be safe. And they are accessible to us."

Major escalation

Rouhani said earlier Americans would face consequences for killing Soleimani "not only today, but also in the coming years."

Rouhani's remarks came on the same day mourners in neighboring Iraq had chanted "Death to America" at a funeral procession for Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader who died with him in a US airstrike in Iraq early Friday.

The strike killed Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces. At least six people were killed in the strike, an Iraqi security source told CNN on condition of anonymity.

It marks a major escalation in regional tensions that have pitted Tehran against Washington and its allies in the Middle East.

Trump on Friday said he ordered the death of Soleimani, one of Iran's most powerful men, to stop a war, not start one, as tensions between the two nations were already escalating.

Trump said Soleimani was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks" on Americans.

The Pentagon blamed Soleimani and Iran-backed Iraqi militias for recent assaults on coalition bases in Iraq, including a December 27 strike that killed an American civilian contractor and wounded several US and Iraqi military personnel.

After retaliatory US airstrikes against the militias last month, hundreds of protesters stormed the US Embassy compound in Baghdad on December 31, an attack the US blamed on Soleimani.

Soleimani was the head of Quds Force, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unit in charge of foreign operations, and he became the architect of Tehran's proxy conflicts in the Middle East. The Pentagon blamed Soleimani for hundreds of deaths of Americans and their allies over the years.

CNN's Radina Gigova, Tamara Qiblawi, Jason Hanna and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

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2020-01-05 12:17:00Z
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Al-Shabab attacks military base in Kenya - Al Jazeera English

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2020-01-05 11:04:05Z
52780535514997

Trump threatens attacks on 52 sites if Iran retaliates for Soleimani killing - NBC News

President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Iran that if it retaliates for the killing of one of its top leaders, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, it will face U.S. attacks on 52 targets, a number he said was symbolic.

The president tweeted that the number of targets matched the number of hostages held by Iran in 1979, when 52 American diplomats and citizens were held for 444 days.

"Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have.........targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD," he said. "The USA wants no more threats!"

Trump's tweet was vaguely worded, but the United Nations Security Council appears to suggest the targeting of cultural heritage sites is prohibited.

Trump later added in further tweets that "They attacked us, & we hit back. If they attack again, which I would strongly advise them not to do, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before!"

The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way...and without hesitation!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2020

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded early Sunday, accusing Trump of threatening a "war crime" and breaching the norms of international law.

"That is, a big(ly) "no no"," he said.

Those masquerading as diplomats and those who shamelessly sat to identify Iranian cultural & civilian targets should not even bother to open a law dictionary.

Jus cogens refers to peremptory norms of international law, i.e. international red lines. That is, a big(ly) "no no".

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 5, 2020

Thousands gathered in Baghdad Saturday to mourn the death of Soleimani and others killed in the U.S. airstrike, which has sent tensions soaring throughout the Middle East.

Also on Saturday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement that there were two early evening attacks, including rocketfire, near Iraqi bases that host American and coalition forces.

No injuries to coalition service members were reported.

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

“We have increased security and defensive measures at the Iraqi bases that host anti-ISIS Coalition troops,” Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a coalition spokesman, said in a statement.

Jan. 4, 202002:50

Soleimani, the influential commander of Iran's secretive Quds Force, was killed by drone strikes Friday at the Baghdad airport. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later tweeted: "The great nation of Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime."

Trump said Friday the attack was undertaken to prevent war and further bloodshed for Americans who had been targeted by Soleimani in future operations.

"We took action last night to stop a war," he said in a televised address to the nation. "We did not take action to start a war."

But the White House has yet to offer the public proof that the general's plans were significantly out of line with his history of directing Iran's proxy wars and covert operations, which have indeed cost American lives.

The White House blamed violent protests earlier this week at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on the general.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted that Trump was "threatening to commit war crimes."

"We are not a war with Iran," she wrote. "The American People do not want a war with Iran. This is a democracy. You do not get to start a war with Iran, and your threats put our troops and diplomats at greater risk. Stop."

Some congressional leaders, including U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, have said Americans deserve to see the evidence behind the targeting of Soleimani.

Two senior Capitol sources told NBC News that Congress on Saturday received formal White House notification of the attack.

Such documentation, which the sources said was classified, is required by law.

Jan. 4, 202001:39

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said in a statement Saturday night that the notification was insufficient.

“This classified War Powers Act notification delivered to Congress raises more questions than it answers," she said. "This document prompts serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification of the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran."

She said the White House's lack of transparency in the Soleimani attack is concerning.

"The highly unusual decision to classify this document in its entirety compounds our many concerns, and suggests that the Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security," Pelosi said.

The speaker called on the Trump administration to brief Congress on its plans for Iran.

Trump's tweet came after a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander, General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying late on Friday that Iran will punish Americans wherever they are within reach of the Islamic Republic, and raised the prospect of attacks on ships in the Gulf.

"The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there. ... Vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran since long time ago. ... Some 35 U.S. targets in the region as well as Tel Aviv are within our reach," he was quoted as saying.

A spokesman for the U.S. Government Publishing Office said the website of its Federal Depository Library Program was hacked Saturday night, and that authorities were investigating.

Although officials have not said who is responsible for the hack, a group purporting to be Iranian hackers claimed responsibility.

"An intrusion was detected on GPO’s FDLP website, which has been taken down," GPO spokesman Gary Somerset said in a statement. "GPO’s other sites are fully operational. We are coordinating with the appropriate authorities to investigate further."

The White House and the FBI declined to comment on the hacking.

Dennis Romero

Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.

Leigh Ann Caldwell, Alex Moe, Sally Bronston and Reuters contributed.

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2020-01-05 10:38:00Z
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Blood-red skies loom over southeast Australia after deadly bushfires bring 'one of worst days ever' - CNN

Photographs of Pambula, in the state of New South Wales, showed an eerie, smoke-filled landscape, with deserted streets illuminated by an otherworldly, blazing red sky.

About 30 kilometers (19 miles) south, blood-red skies loomed over the town of Eden. There, hundreds of residents were seeking shelter on the beach on police advice, one Eden resident told CNN. Many houses have been destroyed in the area, and officials said they feared there would be fatalities.

A total of 146 fires are burning across the state, with 65 uncontained, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS). About 2,700 firefighters were tackling the blazes on Sunday.

"Conditions have eased today and firefighters have gained the upper hand on several dangerous fires. There are no total fire bans in place for Monday," the NSWRFS posted on Twitter.

Earlier, NSWRFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told a news conference that Saturday was "one of our worst days ever on record."

A "considerable number" of properties were lost across NSW on Saturday, Fitzsimmons said, adding that a 47-year-old man had died from cardiac arrest while fighting a fire threatening his friend's home in Batlow. The man is the 24th person to die nationwide this fire season.

Separately, four firefighters in NSW were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion and hand burns. They have since been released.

Fitzsimmons said that conditions could worsen again in the coming days. "Today will be a relief -- psychological relief but not what we need," he said.

Australia's flag carrier Qantas canceled all flights to and from the country's capital, Canberra, on Sunday due to smoke and hazardous weather conditions.

An airline passenger spotted huge clouds caused by the fires over NSW during a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Sunday. They are pyrocumulonimbus clouds -- fire-induced thunderstorms -- which form when hot air rises from a ground based fire, according to CNN meteorologists. The air cools and condenses as it ascends, causing a cloud to form.

"This process is similar to the development of a thunderstorm," said CNN Weather's Derek Van Dam. "As such, a downdraft forms within the base of the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, allowing for embers to be picked up and carried to form new fires."

In the neighboring state of Victoria, three fires have combined to form a single blaze bigger than the New York borough of Manhattan. The fires joined overnight Friday in the Omeo region, creating a 6,000-hectare (23 square mile) blaze, according to Gippsland's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

The country's capital, Canberra, smashed its heat record of 80 years, reaching 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday afternoon, according to the country's Bureau of Meteorology. In the western Sydney suburb of Penrith, the mercury climbed to 48.9 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) -- setting a new record for the whole Sydney basin.

Victoria has declared a state of disaster, and NSW has declared a state of emergency -- both granting extraordinary powers and additional government resources to battle the fires.

It marked the first time Victoria has activated these powers since the 2009 Black Saturday fires, the deadliest bushfire disaster on record in Australia with 173 people killed and 500 injured.

Speaking at a news conference Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was another difficult night across the country -- in particular in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Morrison -- who in December faced criticism for taking a vacation to Hawaii during the fires -- said the government's response was the most significant and comprehensive ever to a natural disaster.

"I believe that's where we need to focus our attention, and we are seeking to communicate that directly to Australians to ensure they have comfort that the response is matching the need," he said.

"Sure there's been a lot of commentary, there's been plenty of criticism. I've had the benefit of a lot of analysis on a lot of issues. But I can't be distracted by that, and the public, I know, are not distracted by that.

"What they need us to focus on, all of us actually, all of us focusing on the needs there and getting the support where it needs to go. That's very much where my focus is, and that's where it will continue to be."

In a news release on Sunday, the Australia Defence Force (ADF) said it was significantly increasing its support in fighting the massive fires and had called up 3,000 army reserve forces and others with specialist capabilities.

They will also provide aircraft, ships and its largest vessel, HMAS Adelaide, with helicopter landing capabilities.

One priority for the ADF will be to assist in evacuations of people in isolated communities. HMAS Adelaide, the Australian Navy's largest ship, arrived off the coast of Eden on Sunday as evacuations took place there.

Some ADF bases will be opened to house those displaced by the fires. Troops will also help move material and supplies, support recovery centers, and aid in fire trail clearance.

New Zealand and Singapore have also offered military support, and the ADF is assessing where they can help, the news release said.

CNN's Anna Coren, Nectar Gan, Jennifer Hauser, Angus Watson and Susanna Capelouto contributed reporting.

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2020-01-05 08:54:00Z
52780530786337

Trump threatens attacks on 52 sites if Iran retaliates for Soleimani killing - NBC News

President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Iran that if it retaliates for the killing of one of its top leaders, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, it will face U.S. attacks on 52 targets, a number he said was symbolic.

The president tweeted that the number of targets matched the number of hostages held by Iran in 1979, when 52 American diplomats and citizens were held for 444 days.

"Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have.........targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD," he said. "The USA wants no more threats!"

Trump's tweet was vaguely worded, but the United Nations Security Council appears to suggest the targeting of cultural heritage sites is prohibited.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded early Sunday, accusing Trump of threatening a "war crime" and breaching the norms of international law.

"That is, a big(ly) "no no"," he said.

Those masquerading as diplomats and those who shamelessly sat to identify Iranian cultural & civilian targets should not even bother to open a law dictionary.

Jus cogens refers to peremptory norms of international law, i.e. international red lines. That is, a big(ly) "no no".

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 5, 2020

Thousands gathered in Baghdad Saturday to mourn the death of Soleimani and others killed in the U.S. airstrike, which has sent tensions soaring throughout the Middle East.

Also on Saturday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement that there were two early evening attacks, including rocketfire, near Iraqi bases that host American and coalition forces.

No injuries to coalition service members were reported.

“We have increased security and defensive measures at the Iraqi bases that host anti-ISIS Coalition troops,” Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a coalition spokesman, said in a statement.

Jan. 4, 202002:50

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

Soleimani, the influential commander of Iran's secretive Quds Force, was killed by drone strikes Friday at the Baghdad airport. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later tweeted: "The great nation of Iran will take revenge for this heinous crime."

Trump said Friday the attack was undertaken to prevent war and further bloodshed for Americans who had been targeted by Soleimani in future operations.

"We took action last night to stop a war," he said in a televised address to the nation. "We did not take action to start a war."

But the White House has yet to offer the public proof that the general's plans were significantly out of line with his history of directing Iran's proxy wars and covert operations, which have indeed cost American lives.

The White House blamed violent protests earlier this week at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on the general.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted that Trump was "threatening to commit war crimes."

"We are not a war with Iran," she wrote. "The American People do not want a war with Iran. This is a democracy. You do not get to start a war with Iran, and your threats put our troops and diplomats at greater risk. Stop."

Some congressional leaders, including U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, have said Americans deserve to see the evidence behind the targeting of Soleimani.

Two senior Capitol sources told NBC News that Congress on Saturday received formal White House notification of the attack.

Such documentation, which the sources said was classified, is required by law.

Jan. 4, 202001:39

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said in a statement Saturday night that the notification was insufficient.

“This classified War Powers Act notification delivered to Congress raises more questions than it answers," she said. "This document prompts serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification of the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran."

She said the White House's lack of transparency in the Soleimani attack is concerning.

"The highly unusual decision to classify this document in its entirety compounds our many concerns, and suggests that the Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security," Pelosi said.

The speaker called on the Trump administration to brief Congress on its plans for Iran.

Trump's tweet came after a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander, General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying late on Friday that Iran will punish Americans wherever they are within reach of the Islamic Republic, and raised the prospect of attacks on ships in the Gulf.

"The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there. ... Vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran since long time ago. ... Some 35 U.S. targets in the region as well as Tel Aviv are within our reach," he was quoted as saying.

A spokesman for the U.S. Government Publishing Office said the website of its Federal Depository Library Program was hacked Saturday night, and that authorities were investigating.

Although officials have not said who is responsible for the hack, a group purporting to be Iranian hackers claimed responsibility.

"An intrusion was detected on GPO’s FDLP website, which has been taken down," GPO spokesman Gary Somerset said in a statement. "GPO’s other sites are fully operational. We are coordinating with the appropriate authorities to investigate further."

The White House and the FBI declined to comment on the hacking.

Dennis Romero

Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.

Leigh Ann Caldwell, Alex Moe, Sally Bronston and Reuters contributed.

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2020-01-05 09:09:00Z
52780536809258

Blood-red skies loom over southeast Australia after deadly bushfires bring 'one of worst days ever' - CNN

Photographs of Pambula, in the state of New South Wales, showed an eerie, smoke-filled landscape, with deserted streets illuminated by an otherworldly, blazing red sky.

About 30 kilometers (19 miles) south, blood-red skies loomed over the town of Eden. There, hundreds of residents were seeking shelter on the beach on police advice, one Eden resident told CNN. Many houses have been destroyed in the area, and officials said they feared there would be fatalities.

A total of 146 fires are burning across the state, with 65 uncontained, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS). About 2,700 firefighters were tackling the blazes on Sunday.

"Conditions have eased today and firefighters have gained the upper hand on several dangerous fires. There are no total fire bans in place for Monday," the NSWRFS posted on Twitter.

Earlier, NSWRFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told a news conference that Saturday was "one of our worst days ever on record."

A "considerable number" of properties were lost across NSW on Saturday, Fitzsimmons said, adding that a 47-year-old man had died from cardiac arrest while fighting a fire threatening his friend's home in Batlow. The man is the 24th person to die nationwide this fire season.

Separately, four firefighters in NSW were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion and hand burns. They have since been released.

Fitzsimmons said that conditions could worsen again in the coming days. "Today will be a relief -- psychological relief but not what we need," he said.

Australia's flag carrier Qantas canceled all flights to and from the country's capital, Canberra, on Sunday due to smoke and hazardous weather conditions.

An airline passenger spotted huge clouds caused by the fires over NSW during a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Sunday. They are pyrocumulonimbus clouds -- fire-induced thunderstorms -- which form when hot air rises from a ground based fire, according to CNN meteorologists. The air cools and condenses as it ascends, causing a cloud to form.

"This process is similar to the development of a thunderstorm," said CNN Weather's Derek Van Dam. "As such, a downdraft forms within the base of the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, allowing for embers to be picked up and carried to form new fires."

In the neighboring state of Victoria, three fires have combined to form a single blaze bigger than the New York borough of Manhattan. The fires joined overnight Friday in the Omeo region, creating a 6,000-hectare (23 square mile) blaze, according to Gippsland's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

The country's capital, Canberra, smashed its heat record of 80 years, reaching 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday afternoon, according to the country's Bureau of Meteorology. In the western Sydney suburb of Penrith, the mercury climbed to 48.9 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) -- setting a new record for the whole Sydney basin.

Victoria has declared a state of disaster, and NSW has declared a state of emergency -- both granting extraordinary powers and additional government resources to battle the fires.

It marked the first time Victoria has activated these powers since the 2009 Black Saturday fires, the deadliest bushfire disaster on record in Australia with 173 people killed and 500 injured.

Speaking at a news conference Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was another difficult night across the country -- in particular in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Morrison -- who in December faced criticism for taking a vacation to Hawaii during the fires -- said the government's response was the most significant and comprehensive ever to a natural disaster.

"I believe that's where we need to focus our attention, and we are seeking to communicate that directly to Australians to ensure they have comfort that the response is matching the need," he said.

"Sure there's been a lot of commentary, there's been plenty of criticism. I've had the benefit of a lot of analysis on a lot of issues. But I can't be distracted by that, and the public, I know, are not distracted by that.

"What they need us to focus on, all of us actually, all of us focusing on the needs there and getting the support where it needs to go. That's very much where my focus is, and that's where it will continue to be."

In a news release on Sunday, the Australia Defence Force (ADF) said it was significantly increasing its support in fighting the massive fires and had called up 3,000 army reserve forces and others with specialist capabilities.

They will also provide aircraft, ships and its largest vessel, HMAS Adelaide, with helicopter landing capabilities.

One priority for the ADF will be to assist in evacuations of people in isolated communities. HMAS Adelaide, the Australian Navy's largest ship, arrived off the coast of Eden on Sunday as evacuations took place there.

Some ADF bases will be opened to house those displaced by the fires. Troops will also help move material and supplies, support recovery centers, and aid in fire trail clearance.

New Zealand and Singapore have also offered military support, and the ADF is assessing where they can help, the news release said.

CNN's Anna Coren, Nectar Gan, Jennifer Hauser, Angus Watson and Susanna Capelouto contributed reporting.

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2020-01-05 08:45:00Z
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