Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to Trump:

I say to the delusional and arrogant President of America: we, the nation of Iran, say the same thing to you that our dear Haj Qassem said: We are your adversary.

We are the nation of Imam Hussein. We are waiting.

We are the men of the battlefield for you. Come, so you can see all your capabilities in the region destroyed.

Know that the defenders of Iran will teach you an unforgettable lesson.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the nationwide protests were deliberately turned into violence in order to provide a pretext for military intervention by the US.

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Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel:

There are no talks with the U.S. government, except for technical contacts in the area of migration.

David Sanger: It was the oil, in the end, that made a big difference to you, wasn’t it?

Trump: No, it wasn’t. The oil happened to be there... We didn’t even know about all of the oil being stored there.

Source: NYT

NATO's Rutte:

We know that several allies, including Hungary, the U.S., and some others, are either against or doubtful about full NATO membership for Ukraine.

That is a given; that is a fact.

Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering.

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Trump:

I’m the one who SAVED NATO!!!

Rutte to the Croatian PM:

I was really impressed when I saw that you were buying from Türkiye, in terms of drone technology.

Sudan's Army announced that it is preparing a large-scale offensive to retake Kordofan and Darfur from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

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Israel ran a covert online influence campaign targeting Iran, using fake accounts and AI-generated content to promote Reza Pahlavi and amplify calls to restore the monarchy.

The operation used avatars, deepfake-style videos, and coordinated hashtags, timed with Israeli military actions in 2025, to create the illusion of grassroots support inside Iran.

Source: Haaretz, with Citizen Lab

During the U.S. operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s Russian-made air defenses (S-300, Buk-M2) largely didn’t work—some weren’t connected to radar, others were still in storage, leaving the airspace “surprisingly unprotected.”

Failures were blamed on corruption, poor maintenance, sanctions, and possible Russian neglect.

Despite Maduro boasting “no less than 5,000” Manpads, only one launch was seen before heavy U.S. counterfire.

Analysts said the military was “practically unprepared”, calling it “a chain of errors.”

The operation humiliated Venezuela’s military, hurt Russia’s prestige, and showed Moscow’s limits in confronting the U.S. in the region—“a paper tiger.”

Source: NYT

Even after the cease-fire, Israel has continued demolishing Gaza.

Over 2,500 buildings were destroyed, mostly in areas it controls but also beyond agreed lines.

Entire neighborhoods are being erased in violation of the cease-fire.

Source: NYT

The Gambia has told the ICJ that Myanmar targeted Rohingya Muslims for destruction during its 2017 Rakhine State offensive, which forced 730,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

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NEW: Pakistan and Indonesia are in advanced talks on a defence deal that could see Jakarta buy around 40 JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and armed drones from Pakistan.

Source: Reuters

Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi contacted Steve Witkoff over the weekend as Trump warned of possible military action amid protests in Iran.

The two discussed a possible meeting soon.

Source: Axios

NATO's Rutte on the Arctic:

With sea lanes opening up, there is a risk that the Russians and the Chinese will be more active.

You could also argue that by now China has almost become a sort of Arctic country… by the sheer amount of their activities and interest in the region.

Iranian diplomats have been banned from entering the European Parliament.

Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the move on January 12, denying access to all Iranian officials across Parliament sites in Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg.

Source: POLITICO

UK media regulator OFCOM opens an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over Grok AI deepfake images related to sexually explicit content.

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Pope Leo XIV met Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the Vatican.

BREAKING: Somalia cancels all agreements with the UAE (ports, security, military), accusing Abu Dhabi of violating its sovereignty—especially through ties with Somaliland and unauthorized military activity.

Q: How many soldiers does Russia have in Ukraine?

UK Defense Chief Richard Knighton: Inside Ukraine, it is well over half a million.