News in brief

By The Associated Press

Ukraine: Iranian missiles in Russia are legitimate target

KYIV, Ukraine | A senior Ukrainian official says Western partner countries must allow Ukraine to use weapons they have supplied to strike military warehouses inside Russia because of strong suspicions Iran has provided ballistic missiles for the Kremlin’s war effort.

Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press at the weekend that the United States has told allies it believes Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Western countries supporting Ukraine have hesitated to let its military strike targets on Russian soil, fearing they could be sucked into Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. But the head of the Ukrainian presidential office said Monday that “protection is not escalation.”

Edward B. Johnson dies

at age 81

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Edward B. Johnson, who as a Central Intelligence Agency officer traveled into Iran with a colleague to rescue six American diplomats who fled the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran, has died, the CIA confirmed on Monday. He was 81.

Johnson’s identity for decades had been hidden from the public, with him known only by the pseudonym “Julio” after fellow CIA officer Antonio “Tony” Mendez published a book recounting the operation. The 2012 Academy Award-winning film “Argo,” directed by and starring Ben Affleck, didn’t include the second man on the team.

—From AP reports