“It Would Be Utterly Fatuous to Put Any Kind of Trust in a Deal With Iran”


Iran is convulsing under an uprising that has rapidly evolved from an expression of economic grievances to an existential threat to the Islamic Republic.

What began in late December 2025 as spontaneous anger over crushing inflation, staggering unemployment, and a collapsing rial has galvanized into a nationwide rejection of the clerical establishment.

The future of Iran, whether collapse, fragmentation, or democratic transformation, will largely depend on how the United States chooses to engage, respond, and support Iranian aspirations.

Iran faces three paths, and which prevails will depend largely on the choices Washington makes now.

The government’s response has been brutal. Iranian security forces have engaged in mass killings, live fire, and extensive arrests; independent estimates place the death toll over 12,000, dwarfing any protest movement Iran has seen in decades, and drawing global condemnation.

The regime’s tactics, including a near-total internet blackout designed to cut civilians off from each other and the outside world, reflect a government that has lost legitimate authority and now clings to power through sheer repression.

Reports of summary executions, fast-track trials, and the first death sentences for protesters underscore a leadership that has chosen violence over reform.

Iran’s political elite are massacring their own people, even as they accuse foreign powers of fomenting unrest. In this crucible, figures in exile, most notably Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, have emerged as symbolic voices of resistance. But symbolism alone cannot conjure a stable future for Iran.

Iran faces three potential futures. How the United States chooses to support a peaceful democratic transition will have a decisive impact on which path it takes.

The first potential outcome is totalitarian reprise: the regime, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and hardline judiciary, doubles down on repression, escalating violence to crush dissent.

This scenario risks not just thousands more deaths, but the transformation of Iran into an even more militarized police state, where repression is institutionalized, and society is atomized by fear.

The second is opposition fragmentation, a very real danger. Iran’s protest movement is leaderless and ideologically diverse, spanning liberals, ethnic minorities, secularists, and nostalgic monarchists alike.

Without a disciplined, unified strategy, all the momentum on the streets could evaporate into factionalism, leaving the regime’s institutions intact and the reform energy dissipated.

The third and most hopeful path is negotiated transformation. In this scenario, moderate elements within the regime and broader society recognize that the status quo is untenable.

They begin negotiations with civil movements to chart a constitutional transition toward a representative political system.

Such a path would be neither easy nor smooth, but it offers the only viable alternative to continued bloodshed and authoritarian stasis.

The United States is on the right track, but more must be done. Trump has condemned the regime’s violence, imposed targeted sanctions, and voiced support for Iranian protesters and internet access.

“It would be completely and utterly fatuous to put any kind of trust in a deal with Iran”, warns warns Pete Hegseth.

Washington must now intensify pressure, expand accountability mechanisms, and support civil society to shape Iran’s trajectory.

#iran #trump #bloodshed #repression

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L-159s Grounded: Czech Power Play Exposed

Czech President Petr Pavel wanted to send four L-159 jets to Ukraine, but Prime Minister Andrej Babiš slammed the door shut—

“The matter is closed,”

he declared, dismissing any further debate.

The head of the Czech armed forces, General Karel Řehka, quietly suggested the transfer wouldn’t hurt national security, but Babiš snapped back:

“Řehka would do better to keep his mouth shut,”

accusing the general of undermining his own defense minister.

While the president, with his NATO background, pushed for solidarity with Ukraine, Babiš’s coalition, led by his ANO party and the far-right SPD, dug in their heels.

Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna insisted the jets are vital for Czech defense, claiming they have 15 years of service left. Critics argue the refusal is less about military readiness and more about political calculation—Babiš wants to avoid the financial and diplomatic fallout of arming Ukraine.

“No L-159s — not now, not ever.”

— Andrej Babiš, Czech Prime Minister

So who’s really in charge here? The president wants to look tough and generous. The prime minister, backed by his populist coalition, plays it safe. Meanwhile, the general whispers that the jets could go without risk, but gets told to stay quiet. Is this about national defense, or is it about who gets to control the narrative—and the budget?

When both sides claim they’re protecting the country, who’s really protecting their own power?

#war #oligarchy #fakeDemocracy #CzechRepublic #Ukraine #Babis #Pavel

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Minneapolis Nurse Killed by Federal Agents Was Holding a Phone, Not a Gun

Federal agents shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and American citizen with no criminal record, in Minneapolis this weekend—claiming he was a domestic terrorist intent on a “massacre.” But videos analyzed by The New York Times show Pretti stepping between a woman and an agent who was pepper-spraying her, holding only a phone in one hand. His gun remained concealed until agents removed it from him, and he was shot in the back while lying on the ground, with at least 10 rounds fired.

Federal officials, including President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, declared Pretti a threat without evidence, claiming he intended “maximum damage.” Their narrative contradicts the video: Pretti was not seen reaching for a weapon, and agents opened fire after he was already subdued. Local authorities say he had a legal permit to carry, and his colleagues described him as a compassionate nurse and friend—

“the default look on his face was a smile,”

said one coworker.

Protests erupted in Whittier Park, with at least 1,000 people demanding justice despite subzero temperatures. Mayor Jacob Frey accused the Trump administration of terrorizing the city, asking,

“How many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?”

State investigators were blocked from the scene by federal agents, who insisted on leading the investigation themselves—despite having made claims they couldn't substantiate.

So who’s really the threat here? A nurse trying to help, or federal agents rewriting the story to justify their actions?

#policebrutality #minneapolis #federalagents #justice #Trump

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Trump’s War on the Press: Lawsuits, Payoffs, and Intimidation

President Trump has escalated his legal campaign against the media, settling some suits, losing others, and keeping a handful of major outlets in his crosshairs. ABC and CBS both coughed up millions—$15 million and $16 million respectively—to avoid protracted battles, with settlements coming suspiciously close to big regulatory approvals for their parent companies. Critics say these payouts are less about justice and more about buying peace with a president who wields the threat of retaliation like a club.

But the fight isn’t over. Trump’s lawsuits against The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC are still grinding through the courts, with claims ranging from defamation to election interference. Legal experts widely agree that most of these cases are weak, but media owners are wary: refusing to settle could mean more lawsuits, regulatory headaches, or even targeted attacks from the administration.

“This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”

— NYT spokesperson
​
Trump’s playbook is clear: sue, threaten, and settle. The message to the press is unmistakable—cross the president, and you might pay dearly, whether in court or at the negotiating table. But as the lawsuits pile up, the question remains: is this about protecting his reputation, or about silencing the watchdogs?

Who’s really afraid of whom?

#Trump #media #lawsuit #freePress #NYT #WSJ #BBC #intimidation

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📰 US Envoys Tell Netanyahu: Gaza Ceasefire Must Move to Phase Two

Top U.S. envoys, including Trump’s special negotiator Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Cairo Friday evening, pressing him to move the Trump‑brokered Gaza ceasefire into its much‑delayed second phase. The U.S. wants demilitarization, withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the opening of the Rafah crossing to begin in earnest; Netanyahu, meanwhile, is holding back, demanding that Hamas first return the body of the last remaining hostage, Ran Gvili.
​

What Is the “Second Phase”?
The clear signal that the ceasefire is advancing isn’t some vague diplomatic formula: it’s the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. If the crossing is reopened in both directions, allowing Palestinians to travel and the sick to be evacuated, then the international community will treat it as the real start of the next stage.

The proposed technocratic government for Gaza, led by Ali Shaath, says Rafah will open in both directions within days; for now, Israel has not confirmed when or how that will happen, only that it will be discussed in a cabinet meeting. The U.S. and Egypt both see this move not just as a security step, but as the “critical entry point” for launching Gaza’s reconstruction.
​
The Hostage Stalemate
The U.S. is pushing Netanyahu to keep the ceasefire deal moving, but the prime minister is under intense pressure at home: if he moves to phase two before Hamas returns Gvili’s body, he risks being accused of abandoning the last hostage. The Gvili family has launched a furious public campaign, reminding the world that Trump himself told Davos that Hamas knows exactly where their son is being held. They call Hamas’s refusal to hand over the remains a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement [Business Standard:56].
​
Hamas insists it has provided all the information it possesses and accuses Israel of blocking search efforts in areas under its control. The deadlock feeds the cynicism: each side blames the other for stalling the deal, while the U.S. envoys scramble to keep the illusion of a working mediation alive.
​
The International Machinery Kicks In
The U.S. is now treating the Gaza ceasefire as a formal international undertaking, not just a bilateral deal. Egypt’s foreign minister, Bader Abdelatty, has been in close coordination with Nickolay Mladenov, the Bulgarian diplomat leading Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace,” to coordinate the next phase. Their agenda includes the international monitoring force, Rafah, and the pullback of Israeli troops, in the hope that collective pressure will keep the fragile truce on track.
​
The Muddy Reality on the Ground
Even as diplomats talk about phases, the killing continues. In the “safe zones” near the so‑called Yellow Line, Israeli strikes are still killing Palestinian civilians, including two teenage cousins, 13 and 15, who were picking up firewood in areas Israel declared safe. Since the ceasefire officially began on October 10, more than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Hundreds of thousands live in tents or half‑ruined buildings, exposed to the cold and winter storms, while the international “New Gaza” project floats somewhere between a PR stunt and a distant blueprint for reconstruction.

The U.S. wants to move to the next phase, but the real question is: when the guns stop, what kind of Gaza is being built — and who exactly benefits from the deal?
​
#Gaza #Ceasefire #Netanyahu #Trump #GazaWar #USMediation #Rafah

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Trump Must Have Twigged: the Immigration War Has Just Began

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Pressure mounted on Trump’s administration on Sunday to fully investigate the previous day’s killing by federal immigration officers of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Calls for an investigation have come from all sides of the political divide after video analysis showed officers had removed from Pretti a handgun he was reportedly permitted to carry – and which he was not handling – before fatally shooting him.

Former president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, called the killing “a heartbreaking tragedy” and “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault”.

“For weeks now people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” they said.

The former president and former first lady said these tactics had now resulted in the fatal shootings of two US citizens – Pretti and Renee Good, both in Minneapolis.

Yet, they said, Trump and other administration officials appeared eager to escalate the rhetoric before an investigation had been undertaken – and despite the fact that they “appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence”.

Clinton followed with a statement that also condemned the killings of Good and Pretti amid the “horrible scenes” of the immigration crackdown.

“All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided,” Clinton said. “To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes”.

Republican US senator Bill Cassidy said the “credibility” of ICE and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were “at stake”.

On Sunday morning, US senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Adam Schiff of California, both Democrats, said they would vote against the impending department of homeland security funding.

Connecticut US senator Chris Murphy, also a Democrat, told CNN’s State of the Union that Democrats “can’t vote to fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security (…) that is murdering American citizens, that is traumatizing little boys and girls all across the country, in violation of the law.”

#trump #administration #killing #immigration #pretti #minneapolis

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Border patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino was asked why federal agents shot and killed Pretti.

“You don’t know he was unarmed,” Bovino told CNN’s Dana Bash. “I don’t know he was unarmed. That’s freeze-frame adjudication of a crime scene via a photo. That’s why we have investigators.

“The facts are going to come to light as to what exactly happened with an investigation.”

When asked by Bash whether he was blaming the victim, he said, “The victims are the border [atrol agents.”

During a Sunday afternoon press conference, Bovino was asked about the videos that show Pretti was unarmed before being shot and killed. He said there are, “Many videos out there, many different accounts that you may see that I may see.”

“Folks, this is why we have something called an investigation, to take what you’re talking about, to take those videos, to take witness statements, to take, officer statements, all those minute details that will paint a true picture, not a freeze frame concept, and paint a larger picture of what really happened.

Republican US senator Lindsey Graham also took the line that “an armed man trying to impede a lawful arrest is a recipe for disaster”.

The South Carolina Republican said he expects law enforcement officers to use good judgement “but not to foolishly risk their lives or the lives of others”.

The Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, said the suit demanded “a full, impartial, and transparent investigation into [Pretti’s] fatal shooting at the hands of DHS agents [that] is non-negotiable”.

Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara, meanwhile, said information about what led up to the shooting was limited. As protests erupted in Minneapolis on Saturday, federal officers impeded state investigators from accessing the scene of Pretti’s killing.

Trump responded to Pretti’s shooting with his typical combativeness. The Republican president accused Walz and Frey of “inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric”.

Vance for his part claimed events in Minneapolis were “engineered chaos” resulting from “far-left agitators, working with local authorities”.

#trump #administration #killing #immigration #pretti #minneapolis

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Ukraine War: Peace Talks Stumble, but Hopes Rise for US Security Pact

Ukraine, the US, and Russia held their first trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announcing that a US security guarantee agreement is ready for signing—though no peace deal has yet been reached, and fighting rages on. The next round of negotiations is set for early February, but major disagreements remain, especially over territory.

Zelenskyy insists Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected, while Russia continues to demand Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas, calling it a “vital condition” for any deal.

“These two fundamentally different positions—Ukraine’s and Russia’s. The Americans are trying to find a compromise,”

Zelenskyy said, stressing that

“all sides must be ready for compromise”.

​
Despite diplomatic efforts, Russia has intensified its attacks, launching thousands of drones and missiles this week alone. Zelenskyy has called for more air defense support from Western partners, warning that winter conditions have made infrastructure repairs even more difficult. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has dismissed talks with EU officials, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the bloc “incompetent” and refusing to engage with EU leadership.

“The war must end,”

Trump said after meeting Zelenskyy in Davos.

A preliminary agreement on US security guarantees is ready, intended to deter Russia from launching new offensives after a potential cease-fire. However, the territorial issue was not yet resolved.
​
So is peace near, or are both sides just playing for time? As missiles rain down and diplomats shuffle between capitals, the only certainty is that the endgame remains uncertain.

#UkraineWar #PeaceTalks #Zelenskyy #Russia #US #AbuDhabi #securityPact

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‘Our Children’s Brains Are Not for Sale’: Macron Fast-Tracks Social Media Ban for Under-15s

French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing to ban social media for children under 15 before the next school year, declaring,

“The brains of our children and adolescents are not for sale. Their emotions are not for sale or to be manipulated, whether by American platforms or Chinese algorithms.”

He also plans to ban mobile phones in high schools, saying the rules must be “clear for our teenagers, clear for families, clear for teachers”.

Macron’s move comes amid a wave of similar efforts across the West. Australia’s ban on social media for under-16s has already led to the deactivation of millions of underage accounts, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese telling teens,

“Start a new sport, learn a new instrument, or read that book sitting on your shelf for some time.”

Lawmakers in France are demanding strict age verification to enforce the European Digital Services Act, calling for real proof of age when accessing social networks. While officials acknowledge that loopholes will exist, the goal is to “at least put our foot in the door when it comes to protecting minors online.”

Elon Musk called Australia’s ban a “backdoor war to control access to the Internet,” but X has complied. The push for restrictions was partly inspired by Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation,” which argues that children have been overprotected in the real world and underprotected online. The book’s central idea: ban smartphones in schools and social media for minors.

So who’s really protecting kids—governments, parents, or tech companies? Or is this just another front in the war for control over young minds?

#socialmedia #France #Macron #mentalhealth #GenZ #digitalregulation

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How the Trump Administration Rushed to Judgment in Minneapolis

Hours after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and American citizen, the Trump administration was already spinning the story: Pretti, they claimed, was a “domestic terrorist” out to “massacre law enforcement.” But video evidence tells a different tale—Pretti was seen stepping between a woman and an agent, pepper-sprayed, then pinned down before agents opened fire, killing him in a barrage of at least ten shots.

The rush to blame Pretti and exonerate the agents wasn’t just premature—it flew in the face of standard law enforcement protocol. Officials at DHS and the White House coordinated their response, crafting statements before all facts were in, and some details were even removed from the official narrative as they struggled to reconcile it with what the videos showed.

“The facts are going to come to light as to what exactly happened,”

insisted Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, when pressed for evidence.

The administration’s narrative—that Pretti “approached” officers with a handgun and “violently resisted”—was directly contradicted by bystander footage. Pretti’s gun was recovered only after he was already subdued, and he never drew it. Yet, DHS and Trump allies, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, labeled him a “domestic terrorist” and claimed to know his motive: “to inflict maximum damage.”

Democrats, Republicans, and even gun rights groups expressed outrage. Senator Bill Cassidy called for a

“full joint federal and state investigation,”

warning,

“The credibility of ICE and DHS is at stake.”

Polls show most voters believe ICE has “gone too far,” and even some administration officials began to backtrack, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche admitting,

“I do not know, and nobody else knows, either. That’s why we’re doing an investigation.”

So who’s really on trial here—the victim, the agents, or the narrative itself?

#Minneapolis #Trump #ICE #shootings #narrative #investigation

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India to Slash Car Tariffs to 40% in Landmark EU Trade Deal

India is set to slash tariffs on cars imported from the European Union to 40%, down from as high as 110%, as part of a sweeping free trade pact expected to be announced Tuesday. The deal, dubbed the “mother of all deals,” will immediately lower duties for about 200,000 combustion-engine cars priced above 15,000 euros, with rates eventually dropping to 10% over time.

This agreement is seen as a strategic pivot by the EU toward the East, signaling a shift away from the Trump-era protectionism that dominated transatlantic trade. While Trump championed tariffs and isolation, the EU is betting on deeper ties with India to counterbalance U.S. unpredictability and secure new markets.

The move is a major boost for European automakers like Volkswagen, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, which have struggled to gain traction in India’s fiercely protected market. Battery electric vehicles (EVs) will be excluded from tariff cuts for the first five years to shield domestic investments by companies like Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors.

India’s car market is the world’s third-largest, but until now, high tariffs have kept European brands out. The new deal could see luxury and mainstream European cars flooding in, testing the appetite of Indian buyers before more local manufacturing kicks in.

But the pact isn’t just about cars. It’s expected to lift Indian exports of textiles and jewellery, sectors hit hard by U.S. tariffs. With India’s car market projected to hit 6 million units by 2030, European firms are already lining up new investments.

So who wins? European carmakers, Indian consumers, or the politicians cutting the deals?

#trade #India #EU #cars #tariffs #Volkswagen #Renault #Mercedes #BMW #antitrump #EUpivot

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Northern Command Chief: IDF Ready for US-Iran Escalation

IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo warned Sunday that Israel is on high alert, preparing for possible Iranian retaliation if the US launches a strike on Iran.

“We don’t know how this will unfold,”

Milo said, as US warships move into the region.

“We are prepared and ready so that if the US decides to strike Iran, we understand it could affect Israel, with Iran potentially retaliating against us”.

Milo emphasized that Israel is watching closely for any involvement from Hezbollah, stating,

“We are very alert, very prepared, and ready both defensively and offensively”.

The US has repeatedly threatened Iran, with President Trump warning of red lines over the killing of demonstrators and mass executions.

Meanwhile, regional tensions have prompted airlines to cancel flights, and Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority head Shmuel Zakai warned foreign airlines of a “more sensitive period,” stressing that Israeli airspace could close again if needed. Airlines like KLM and Air France have suspended flights to and from several Middle Eastern cities, while El Al and other Israeli carriers are easing cancellation policies amid passenger fears.

So who’s really in control—Washington, Tehran, or Tel Aviv? As fleets gather and runways empty, one thing is clear: everyone is waiting for the next move.

#Israel #Iran #US #IDF #Hezbollah #airlines #escalation

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Xi Ratted on Gen. Zhang Youxia. Purges in China Began


China’s military leadership is in turmoil after its most senior general – a close ally of Xi Jinping – was placed under investigation for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”.

Zhang Youxia is the joint vice-chairperson of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ruling body of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Second only to Xi in the military command structure, Zhang has long been seen as the Chinese president’s closest military ally.

The defence ministry announced on Saturday that Zhang and Liu Zhenli, chief of staff of the CMC’s joint staff department, were under investigation.

An editorial published in the army newspaper Liberation Army Daily on Sunday said that Zhang and Liu “seriously betrayed the trust and expectations” of the Communist party and the CMC, and “fostered political and corruption problems that undermined the party’s absolute leadership over the military and threatened the party’s ruling foundation”.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Zhang was accused of leaking information about the country’s nuclear weapons programme to the US and accepting bribes for official acts, including the promotion of an officer to defence minister, citing people familiar with a high-level briefing on the allegations.

Zhang is also a member of the elite politburo of the ruling Communist party and is one of just a few leading officers with combat experience. Aged 75, Zhang was retained in the military leadership by Xi past the normal age of retirement, indicating a high level of trust in the general that he has now purged.

The military was one of the main targets of a broad corruption crackdown ordered by Xi in 2012. That drive reached the upper echelons of the PLA in 2023 when the elite Rocket Force was targeted.

Zhang has not been seen in public since 20 November, when he held talks with Russia’s defence minister in Moscow.

The scalping of a figure as senior as Zhang in Xi’s anti-graft campaign raises questions about the stability of China’s military leadership at a moment when it is under scrutiny from western observers about its readiness and willingness to launch an assault on Taiwan, which could bring it into conflict with the US in the Indo-Pacific.

The Singapore-based China security scholar James Char said the military’s daily operations could carry on as normal despite the purges.

“China’s military modernisers will continue to push for the two goals Xi has set for the PLA – namely, 2035 to basically complete its modernisation and 2049 to become a world-class armed forces,” said Char, a scholar at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Eight top generals were expelled from the Communist party on graft charges in October 2025, including He Weidong. Two former defence ministers were also purged from the ruling party in recent years for corruption.

The crackdown is slowing procurement of advanced weaponry and hitting the revenues of some of China’s biggest defence firms.

Some China scholars have noted that Zhang emerged from the conflict an avowed moderniser in terms of military tactics, weapons and the need for a better trained force.

#xi #jing #zhang #chine #communiste #purges

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Iran Is Dazed by the President’s Son Latest Flip-Flopping


The son of Iran’s president has called for the internet restrictions in the country to be lifted, saying nothing will be solved by trying to postpone the moment when pictures and video circulate of the protests that were violently crushed by the regime.

With a battle under way at the top of the regime about the political risks of continuing to block Iran from the internet, Yousef Pezeshkian, whose father, Masoud, was elected in the summer of 2024.

He said keeping the digital shutdown would create dissatisfaction and widen the gap between the people and the government.

“This means those who were not and are not dissatisfied will be added to the list of the dissatisfied,” he wrote in a Telegram post.

The release of videos showing the violence of the protests was “something we will have to face sooner or later”, Yousef Pezeshkian added.

“Shutting down the internet will not solve anything, we will just postpone the issue.”
The sporadic lifting of restrictions is leading to a slow and painful inquest into how many protesters, including children, have died.

Authorities launched a violent crackdown under cover of the internet blackout, with rights groups documenting several thousand dead.

The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights says the final figure could be as high as 25,000. Thousands more people are still being detained.

Yousef Pezeshkian, a government adviser, said the risk of keeping Iran cut off from the internet was greater than that of a return to protests if connectivity were restored.

He said security institutions must ensure security with the existence of the internet, which he called a necessity in life.

Pezeshkian, echoing comments of his father, said the protests had turned violent only because of professionally trained groups affiliated with foreigners, but added:

“In the meantime the security and law enforcement forces may have made mistakes and no one is going to defend wrongdoing and that has to be addressed.”

Tehran’s stock market on Sunday was in the red for the fourth day in a row, and the Iranian currency, the rial, continued to fall against the dollar, one of the causes of the protests.

The Central Bank of Iran said a debt issuance had only been 15% subscribed, a development that will require further government spending cuts or result in a rise in inflation, the official rate of which was more than 42% last month.

Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a reformist former mayor of Tehran, said: “People are in shock and amazed (…) If the agents of Mossad and foreign countries are at work, how did they suddenly carry out these disasters throughout the country? Where did they come from?”

He condemned the failure of the Pezeshkian administration to improve the economy. “The government in Iran is losing its original meaning. In no area can it be said the government is active, present and solving problems.

All the other forces in the country are active and doing what they want except for the government. This government does not show any power in any area,” Karbaschi said.

Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a reformist former mayor of Tehran, said: “People are in shock and amazed (…) If the agents of Mossad and foreign countries are at work, how did they suddenly carry out these disasters throughout the country? Where did they come from?”

He condemned the failure of the Pezeshkian administration to improve the economy. “The government in Iran is losing its original meaning.

In no area can it be said the government is active, present and solving problems. All the other forces in the country are active and doing what they want except for the government. This government does not show any power in any area,” Karbaschi.

#karbaschi #fils #président #iranien #pezeshkian

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Border Control Police Shelled People and Left the Town


Gregory Bovino, aka Mr. “Gestapo,” the Border Patrol commander who has become the public face of the Trump administration’s on-the-ground immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, is expected to leave the city on Tuesday.

The Trump administration reshuffles leadership of its immigration enforcement operation and scales back the federal presence after a second fatal shooting by officers.

A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that the 55-year-old, who has been a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats and civil liberties activists, would be leaving Minnesota along with some of the agents deployed with him.

Trump announced on Monday that he was sending Tom Homan, his “border czar”, to Minnesota to oversee operations on the ground there – dubbed Operation Metro Surge – reporting directly to the president.

Bovino’s departure comes amid a sharp shift in strategy from the White House after the fatal killing of the 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said he had held conciliatory calls with the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey – Democrats he had previously blamed for the turmoil that escalated into two fatal killings of US citizens by federal agents.

The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on the demotion reports in response to a tweet from the conservative influencer Nick Sortor claiming Bovino’s official role – commander at large – had been “eliminated”.

“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” the DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin replied, pointing to earlier comments from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, praising Bovino as a “key part of the president’s team and a great American”.

News of Bovino’s departure didn’t stop dozens of protesters from gathering outside a hotel where they believed Bovino was staying.

They blew whistles, banged pots and one person blasted a trombone. Police watched and kept them away from the hotel entrance.

Bovino has been one of the most aggressive promoters of Trump’s deportation campaign, trumpeting the operations in highly produced videos meant to resemble action films.

Often Bovino, a swaggering presence recognisable by his closely cropped hair, was the only unmasked face, surrounded by a team of agents wearing black neck gaiters and facial coverings.

He recently appeared in the Minneapolis snow wearing an army green greatcoat, which invited comparisons to the Gestapo.

#gregory #bovino #gestapo #border #control

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On Khamenei’s Orders, the Police Shot Dead 30,000 People

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Оn Thursday 8 January, in a midsize Iranian town, Dr Darish Ahmadi’s phone began to buzz. His colleagues in local emergency wards were getting worried.

All week, people had taken to the streets and had been met by police with batons and pellet guns. With treatment, their injuries should not have been too serious.

But emergency room staff believed many wounded young people were avoiding hospitals, terrified that registering as trauma patients would lead to their identification and arrest.

Quietly, Ahmadi and his wife began treating patients at a location outside Iran’s government hospital system. Alerted by a local whisper network, wounded young people flocked to them. Mostly, they brought superficial injuries – laceration wounds needing stitches and antibiotics.

As Thursday evening wore on, more and more arrived to be patched up.
The next day, everything abruptly changed.

Protesters kept coming, but their injuries were close-range gunshots and severe stab wounds, typically to the chest, eyes and genitals. Many proved fatal.

Ahmadi was shocked by the number being killed – more than 40 in his small town alone – but with the internet blacked out, no one knew what the national picture was.

To piece it together, Ahmadi assembled a network of more than 80 medical professionals across 12 of Iran’s 31 provinces to share observations and data, and to build a clearer picture of the violence.

Their observations begin to reveal the vast scale of violence inflicted on Iranians during the state’s crackdown.

Ahmadi and his colleagues are hesitant to provide a figure for the toll but agree “all publicly cited death tolls represent a severe underestimation”.

Comparing the number of dead they witnessed with hospital baselines, they estimate it could exceed 30,000, far surpassing official figures. This is based on the conclusion that “officially registered deaths related to the crackdown likely represent less than 10% of the real number of fatalities”.

Estimates of the number killed vary substantially, hampered by the ongoing internet shutdown.

#khamenei #police #shot #people

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The Iranian government has acknowledged more than 3,000 dead, and the US-based organisation HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency), whose figures have been reliable during previous crackdowns, says it has verified more than 6,000 dead and has more than 17,000 more recorded deaths under investigation, giving a possible total of about 22,000.

Other estimates from doctors based outside Iran range up to 33,000 or more.

Testimony from morgues, graveyards and hospitals around the country reveal concerted efforts by authorities to conceal the true size of the toll: bodies being transported in ice-cream vans and meat trucks; piles of the dead being hastily buried; and hundreds of bodies apparently disappearing from Iran’s network of forensic facilities.

At one morgue, staff say they were confronted with several trucks loaded with bodies, far exceeding the facility’s refrigeration and storage capacity.

When staff protested that they could not process the volume of corpses, two trucks loaded with the dead were moved elsewhere – but when the morgue workers tried to track down where the bodies had been taken, they found none of the large forensic facilities in the region had received them.

The doctors “expressed suspicion that this was linked to dafn-e dast-e jam’i [mass burial]”.

His description is echoed by Ahmadi and his network, who say they observed a pattern across multiple towns of “refrigerated trucks normally used for ice-cream or meat” that were “moving in convoys to forensic medicine facilities and hospital back entrances”.

One witness at Behesht-e Sakineh, who was granted access to the site to look for the body of a friend, says he personally searched through hundreds of “stacked” bodies and was told by graveyard staff that they had “received thousands of bodies just in the past two days”.

The accounts from Behesht-e Sakineh form just one example of what appears to be a national pattern, with forensic medical staff around the country reporting similar scenes.

Doctors and morgue staff emphasise that the types of injuries seen on patients and corpses indicate deliberate, systematic killing and maiming of protesters as opposed to random, chaotic shooting.

In some cases, the killings bore the hallmarks of executions. Medical workers at forensic facilities in two different Iranian towns described receiving bodies with close-range gunshot wounds to the head that had been transferred from hospital morgues while still attached to catheters, nasogastric tubes or endotracheal tubes.

Even as medical staff attempt to share their testimony and data, many fear that the true number of dead may never be known, concealed by an orchestrated national effort by authorities to obscure the death toll.

#khamenei #police #shot #people

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Trump Does Not Shy Away From His Plan to Topple Down Khamenei


The US is weighing precision strikes on "high-value" Iranian officials and commanders who it deems responsible for the deaths of protesters, a Gulf official familiar with the discussions told Middle East Eye.

The strikes could come as early as this week, but that timeline could shift, MEE was told on Monday.

Discussions within the administration have been described as “chaotic”, with a debate over what the repercussions will be in terms of Iranian retaliation.

The Trump administration has toyed with attacking Iran for nearly a month on the pretext of the brutal crackdown on demonstrators that has seen thousands killed by government security forces.

After calling on demonstrators to "take over" state institutions, President Donald Trump backed down and said the “killing has stopped”.

Trump’s decision to de-escalate came as Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, lobbied against strikes.

While some reports framed Trump's remarks as drawing a curtain on US intervention, former US officials and analysts told MEE they appeared to signal a pause.

Trump moved up and down the escalation ladder in a similar fashion with Venezuela, before finally ordering an attack on the Latin American country that resulted in Maduro's abduction and detention in the US.

A former US intelligence official told MEE that their understanding of conversations within the administration is that Trump has not given up on pushing for “regime change” in Tehran.

A former US official told MEE that the US has been working to replenish supplies of missile interceptors exhausted during the 12-day war with Iran in June and that “total supplies” had moved up. The US is still constrained, as it provides supplies to Ukraine.

US Central Command said on Monday that the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was in the Middle East after sailing from the South China Sea.

“We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” Trump said on Thursday evening on his return to Washington from Davos, Switzerland.

The Abraham Lincoln carries F-35 warplanes and F/A-18 jet fighters, in addition to EA-18G Growler electronic-warfare planes. It is also accompanied by guided-missile destroyers.

Open-source flight trackers have also reported that the US has built up a squadron of F-15 warplanes at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

The build-up of warplanes in Jordan would give the US options, as Gulf states have imposed a ban on the US using their airspace or facilities to launch strikes on Iran, current and former US and Arab officials told MEE.

That ban has been in place since April 2025, MEE first reported.

#trump #kill #khamenei #iran #US

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1945, the liberated Jews get out of a train that was heading for a concentration camp.

Today is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust.

#liberated #jews #victims #holocaust

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Donroe Doctrine: Pentagon’s New America-First Military Blueprint

The Pentagon’s new National Defense Strategy (NDS) is a dramatic pivot: America’s military is no longer obsessed with China, but with the Western Hemisphere. The document, released under President Trump, declares that defending the U.S. homeland and asserting dominance in the Americas is now the top priority, not the Indo-Pacific.

The New Doctrine: Donroe, Not Monroe
Forget the old Monroe Doctrine—this is the “Donroe Doctrine,” a slogan that captures the Trump administration’s vision: America first, America strong, America unchallenged in its own backyard. The Pentagon wants allies to shoulder more of the burden, especially in the Western Hemisphere, and is preparing to enforce its interests with military force if needed. Greenland, the Panama Canal, and the Gulf of Mexico are highlighted as strategic chokepoints.

China: Downgraded, Not Ignored
China is still on the list, but as a secondary concern. The Pentagon says it will deter Beijing “through strength, not confrontation,” and is pushing for more military-to-military talks, de-escalation, and “deconfliction”. The strategy notably omits Taiwan, a departure from previous versions, and avoids framing China as an existential threat. Instead, the goal is to “prevent anyone from dominating us or our allies”—a diplomatic way of saying, “We’re not scared, but we’re not starting a fight either”.

Allies: Step Up or Get Left Behind
The new NDS is blunt: U.S. allies must do more. South Korea is expected to take the lead in deterring North Korea, with only “critical but limited” U.S. support. NATO allies in Europe are told to “manage” the Russian threat themselves, while Israel is hailed as a “model ally” but warned that U.S. support will be “critical but limited” in the future.

Strength, Not Humiliation
The Pentagon insists it doesn’t want to “strangle or humiliate” China. But the message to everyone else is clear: America is back, and it’s not playing by the old rules. The document is full of business metaphors: “burden sharing,” “cost-effective defenses,” and “supercharging the defense industrial base.” It’s less about saving the world, more about making America’s military sustainable—and profitable.

Is this a bold new era of American self-reliance, or just another round of strategic shell games, where allies are left holding the bag while the Pentagon rebrands its retreat as a “Donroe Doctrine”?

#DonroeDoctrine #WesternHemisphere #AmericaFirst #Pentagon #ChinaDowngraded #AlliesOnNotice

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Russia’s First Domestically Built Ice-Class Tanker: Arctic Breakthrough or Sanctioned Mirage?

The Alexey Kosygin, Russia’s first domestically built ice-class LNG tanker, has arrived at the US-sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant, completing its maiden voyage along the Northern Sea Route. This is a technological milestone—no vessel of such complexity has ever been constructed in Russia before, and its arrival marks a rare triumph for Moscow’s Arctic ambitions amid Western sanctions.

A Unique Achievement
The Alexey Kosygin is the first Russian-built Arc-7 LNG carrier, capable of operating independently in Arctic conditions and breaking through ice thicker than two meters. Its delivery to the Arctic LNG 2 project is not just a logistical upgrade—it’s a statement of technological self-reliance and national pride. The vessel’s reinforced hull, advanced propulsion, and ability to sail year-round along the Northern Sea Route represent a leap forward for Russia’s shipbuilding industry.

Beyond Politics: A Genuine Breakthrough
Regardless of how one interprets the broader geopolitical stakes, the Alexey Kosygin’s arrival is a breakthrough. For years, Russia’s Arctic LNG ambitions were held back by a lack of specialized vessels and Western restrictions. Now, with this new tanker, the Arctic LNG 2 plant can resume winter operations, doubling its export capacity during the coldest months. This is not just a political stunt—it’s a real engineering and industrial achievement.

Is this a turning point for Russia’s energy independence, or just another chapter in a long saga of sanctions and scarcity? Either way, the Alexey Kosygin is proof that, when the chips are down, Russia can build something truly unique—even under pressure.

#ArcticBreakthrough #AlexeyKosygin #ArcticLNG2 #Sanctions #IceClass #EnergyIndependence

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