English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  January 13/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Saint John said to the Pharisees: ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 01/19-28/:”This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 12-13/2026
The Imperative of Toppling the Mullahs’ Regime, Dismantling Its Terrorist Arms, and Liberating the Iranian People from the Nightmare of Wilayat al-Faqih/Elias Bejjani/January 08/2026
What a disappointment!/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face Book/January 12/2026
Israeli strikes kill 1 in South as Aoun says arms have become a burden
US ambassador says deadline important for north Litani disarmament
Report: US gives Lebanon several-week 'grace period'
Report: Israel threatens destructive strike if Hezbollah interferes in war on Iran
Hezbollah 'angered' by Aoun's remarks on arms
The ‘Five-Nation Committee’ Confirms Support for Lebanese State
Salam tells Quintet Lebanon determined on north Litani disarmament
Rajji to Qassem: No one in Lebanon is threatened, Hezbollah arms do not protect you
FM Raggi Denounces Hamas, Hezbollah Presence in Lebanon
French and Saudi envoys to visit Lebanon next week

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 12-13/2026
Video-Link Interview with Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD's Iran Program. from FDD Youtub Plate/ Will this protest wave rewrite Iran's future?
Will the US and Israel strike Iran? Video link from the IDSF Youtube Platform: interview with IDSF founder and chairman Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi
At least 648 protestors killed in Iran crackdown: Rights group
Iran’s Traders, Frustrated by Economic Losses, Turn Against Clerics
Trump raises the stakes in Iran, considers military action despite ‘negotiation’ offer
Trump to meet advisers on Tuesday to discuss Iran options, US official says
Iran fighting ‘war against terrorists,’ parliament speaker tells Tehran rally
Trump says Iran wants ‘to negotiate’ after US threats, military studying ‘strong options’
Iran says situation is under total ‘control’ after weekend violence
Iran says communications open with US, Trump weighs response to crackdown on protests
Iran summons French, German, Italian, UK envoys over support for protests
Russia condemns ‘foreign powers’ interfering in Iran
Eric Trump: Greenland is important for entire Western world, not just US
Eric Trump speaks to Al Arabiya English during an interview, Jan. 12, 2026.
Yemen’s al-Alimi orders closure of illegal prisons, release of those unlawfully detained
Syria says two ISIS members arrested over last month’s Homs mosque blast
Trump will meet Venezuela’s Machado on Thursday: White House official
DarGlobal, Trump Organization launch $1bn Trump Plaza Jeddah
Russia attacks two more civilian ships in black sea: Kyiv
School resumes in tents under shadow of Gaza’s ‘yellow line’
Drone Strike Kills 3 in Gaza as Hamas Prepares to Transfer Governance to New Committee
Israeli police issues arrest warrant against former Netanyahu aide

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 12-13/2026
The revolt of the humiliated and the end of murderous dystopias?/Charles Elias Chartouni/January 12/2026
La révolte des humiliés et la fin des dystopies meurtrières?/Charles Elias Chartouni/January 12/2026
How to Ensure the Success of Gaza's 'Board of Peace': This Dog Won't Hunt/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/January 12/2026
Noise that kills the truth/Karam Nama/The Arab Weekly/January 12/2026
Either Deng or Gorbachev/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/January 12/2026
How do Al-Qaeda and Iran converge in Syria?/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/January 12/2026
After Khamanei: What the Fall of Iran’s Regime Would Mean for the Region/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This is Beirut/January 12, 2026

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 12-13/2026
The Imperative of Toppling the Mullahs’ Regime, Dismantling Its Terrorist Arms, and Liberating the Iranian People from the Nightmare of Wilayat al-Faqih
Elias Bejjani/January 08/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/150884/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3kbnJVaYOs
From the very moment Ayatollah Khomeini set foot in Tehran in February 1979—arriving from Paris aboard an Air France flight—the Middle East entered a dark tunnel from which it has yet to emerge. The so-called Iranian “revolution,” driven by an alliance of mullahs and leftist forces against the Shah’s rule, was not merely a domestic popular uprising. Rather, it was the product of strange ideological alliances, international complicity, and covert operations, later exposed in intelligence documents revealing significant U.S. involvement. These dynamics led to the removal of the Shah and the handover of power to an extremist sectarian current bearing a dictatorial, expansionist, imperial, and transnational terrorist project.
The Expansionist Project: An Empire of Militias
From its first day, the mullahs’ regime adopted the doctrine of “exporting the sectarian revolution” under the guise of Wilayat al-Faqih—a concept that recognizes neither national sovereignty nor international borders. This ideology gave rise to armed terrorist proxies fully subordinate to Tehran’s command, transforming Lebanon and several Arab states into arenas of influence and de facto Iranian provinces.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah confiscated the state’s sovereign decision-making, turning the country into a missile platform and a large open-air prison.
In Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, Iranian-backed militias destroyed the social fabric and national institutions, spreading chaos, poverty, devastation, and civil wars.
Contradictory Alliances
The mullahs’ regime did not limit its support to Shiite proxies. It also entered into pragmatic alliances with Sunni political-Islam groups, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots—such as Hamas, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and others—in order to destabilize Arab states and undermine moderate regimes.
A Black Record: Domestic Repression and External Terror
Internally, the mullahs transformed Iran—from a promising nation with a great civilizational heritage—into a vast prison. Since 1979, the regime’s criminal record has been endless:
Mass executions, including the liquidation of thousands of political opponents, most notoriously during the 1988 massacres.
Assassinations, targeting intellectuals and dissidents both inside Iran and abroad.
The Collapse of the State
Today, the Iranian people suffer from water and electricity shortages, collapsing education, the absence of an independent judiciary, and the repression of personal freedoms—while the country’s wealth is squandered on financing foreign wars and missile and nuclear programs.
The Nuclear Threat: A Sword Hanging Over the World
The regime’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities is not peaceful, as it claims, but rather a protective shield for its terrorist project. Granting a regime driven by apocalyptic and destructive messianic ideologies access to nuclear weapons would place the entire world under the threat of nuclear blackmail and constitute a direct danger to global peace.
The Moment of Truth: The Third Revolution and the National Alternative
Today, for the third time, the Iranian people—across all components of society—are rising up, openly rejecting this regime.
Their demands are clear: the return of Iran to the international community and the restoration of its national identity, embodied by Prince Reza Pahlavi as a symbol of historical legitimacy and stability. Accordingly, the international community—Arab and Western alike—must abandon the failed policy of “containment” and move decisively to support the liberation of the Iranian people. A free Iran is a strategic regional and global interest, as it would mean a safer Middle East, the end of political Islam in both its Shiite and Sunni forms, and the cessation of global terrorism financing.
Hezbollah: Iran’s Tool for the Destruction of Lebanon and the Exhaustion of the Region
No assessment of Iranian subversion is complete without confronting the demonic functional role played by Hezbollah in Lebanon. This organization has never been a national project; it is merely a faction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking with a Lebanese accent and operating as mercenaries in every sense of the word. Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon into futile and devastating wars in service of Tehran’s agenda—starting with the 2006 war that destroyed infrastructure and displaced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to improve Iran’s negotiating position, and culminating in the 2023 war against Israel under the pretext of “supporting Gaza,” a war in which the Lebanese people had no stake. Southern Lebanon was turned into scorched earth, sacrificed on the altar of the mullahs’ nuclear ambitions.
Hezbollah’s terrorism has not been confined to Lebanon. It has functioned as a transnational mercenary army in the service of Tehran:
In Syria, it participated in the slaughter of the Syrian people and supported the collapsing Assad regime, contributing to one of the largest demographic-engineering and forced-displacement operations in modern history. In Yemen and the Gulf, it provided military and technical support to the Houthi militia targeting the security of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while operating espionage and sabotage cells and carrying out assassinations, kidnappings, bombings, and acts of chaos in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The Greatest Crime: Against Lebanese Shiites
Hezbollah’s gravest crime has been committed against the Shiite community in Lebanon itself. The party hijacked its free political will, turning it into a hostage of its project through extremist sectarian indoctrination, brainwashing young people and throwing them into endless wars. It isolated Lebanese Shiites from their national and Arab environment and transformed their towns and villages into weapons depots and missile platforms, sacrificing entire generations for the survival of the Wilayat al-Faqih regime in Tehran.
Liberating Lebanese Shiites from this terrorist ideological grip is the essential gateway to restoring the kidnapped Lebanese state.
Conclusion
All free nations must cooperate to topple the mullahs’ regime and dismantle its terrorist arms. A fundamental structural truth must be acknowledged: Lebanon will not regain its sovereignty and independence, nor will Gaza, Damascus, or Baghdad emerge from chaos and collapse, unless the head of the snake in Tehran is severed.
Hezbollah is nothing more than a sectarian functional tool of the Iranian regime. When the root falls, the branches inevitably collapse. Lebanon’s true liberation and independence begin with the fall of the Wilayat al-Faqih regime—so that the Middle East may once again become a region of construction rather than militias and death.
Elias Bejjani is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Email: phoenicia@hotmail.com
Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com

What a disappointment!
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face Book/January 12/2026
Lebanese President Aoun made clear that Lebanon opposes bilateral peace with Israel. He tied peace, instead, to Islamist Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians, placing Beirut's posture against Lebanon's national interests.
Aoun also fell into two major contradictions:
1. He said Lebanon is tired of the politics of "regional alliances" and being part of any of them. Yet he added that, to him, peace with Israel means "no war," and that Lebanon talks to Israel only to reach the 1949 truce situation without signing peace, because Lebanese peace with Israel must await the Arab League's Peace Initiative. Question: How is the Arab League not a "regional alliance"? If Lebanon were tired of taking sides and wanted neutrality, peace with Israel would be as important as peace with Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Withholding peace with Israel means siding with the Saudi-led bloc (not the full Arab League, since Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain have normalized ties with Israel, as has non-League member Turkey).2. Aoun argued he would have supported Hezbollah keeping its arms if they helped defend Lebanon against Israel, but that the region has changed and those arms have become a liability causing Lebanon's suffering rather than an asset. (This contradicts his stated support for disarming Hezbollah per the Taif Constitution.) Yet he then said Sheikh Naim Qassem (Hezbollah chief) guaranteed the security of Israel's "northern settlements." Why are Hezbollah's guarantees needed if the militia is to be disarmed in line with the constitution and national interest? What Hezbollah needs to do is not give guarantees but declare disbanding its chain of command and disarming.

Can Lebanon overcome the lingering threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance?
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/January 12, 2026
Israel-Hezbollah conflict added significant contamination, including cluster munitions, artillery shells, phosphorus, and IEDs
Explosive remnants limit freedom of movement, endanger communities, and delay humanitarian and reconstruction work
BEIRUT: A year after the guns fell largely silent along Lebanon’s southern frontier, the war is still killing — quietly, indiscriminately, and often unseen. When the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, the country woke to a long-awaited calm. But the end of the bombardment did not mean the end of danger. Daily Israeli violations persisted, and across the south, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs, a far more enduring threat lay buried beneath rubble, fields and roads: landmines and unexploded ordnance. The scale of the bombardment Lebanon endured left behind a lethal mix of shell fragments, fuse remnants and unexploded artillery shells. Much of this ammunition has become highly sensitive, capable of detonating with vibration or movement. For communities trying to return to normal life, it has turned routine activities — farming, construction, even clearing weeds — into potentially fatal acts. Explosive remnants limit freedom of movement, endanger communities, and delay reconstruction work. (UNIFIL)
Lebanon had once been close to turning a page. Before the clashes that erupted after October 2023, the country was nearing the disposal of most unexploded ordnance left over from the 2006 war, achieving a clearance rate of about 92 percent.
The latest conflict, however, dragged the country back to square one.
“All areas that were bombed by Israel are likely to contain unexploded ordnance and gallons of highly explosive TNT used to destroy buildings,” officials said.
Following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Hezbollah initiated limited operations against Israel’s north in solidarity with the Palestinian militant groups responsible for the assault.
Israel retaliated against Hezbollah’s attacks with escalating strikes, which included the use of incendiary weapons such as white phosphorus.
Much of the ammunition has become highly sensitive, capable of detonating with vibration or movement, and requires expert disposal. (Lebanese Mine Action Center)
Besides the significant degradation of Hezbollah, the primary consequence of the grinding conflict, which ended with a fragile ceasefire in November 2024, was the mass displacement of communities and the devastation of civilian infrastructure across southern Lebanon. Neither party has yet fulfilled its obligations under the US and French-brokered ceasefire deal, with Hezbollah failing to disarm and fully withdraw its fighters north of the Litani River and Israeli troops continuing to occupy five strategic hilltops on Lebanese territory.
The danger of landmines and explosive remnants lies in their unpredictability: some munitions can lie dormant for decades before suddenly exploding. It is a familiar tragedy in a country shaped by repeated wars.
Despite years of military surveys and clearance operations, unexploded ordnance, particularly old and internationally banned cluster munitions, continues to surface by chance — unearthed during excavation work, uncovered in farmland, or, in the worst cases, picked up by children. A session for schoolchildren as part of an awareness campaign about the dangers of unexploded ordnance. (Supplied)
After the 2006 war, Lebanon recorded more than four million cluster bombs dropped by Israel, including about one million that failed to explode. Two decades on, extremely costly removal operations are still ongoing. In 2023 alone, the Lebanese Mine Action Center announced the destruction of 5,509 landmines and unexploded ordnance. Established in 1998 and operating under the supervision of the Lebanese Army, the center works with international partners that provide technical, financial and field support. But the current challenge is unprecedented.
INNUMBERS
*18 Lebanese soldiers killed during operations to remove UXO since the Nov. 2024 ceasefire. *10-15 percent — estimated proportion of explosive munitions dropped by Israel that did not explode. Today, unexploded ordnance is mixed between Israeli and Hezbollah munitions — all of it posing what officials describe as a silent, long-term threat. A military source told Arab News that since the start of the war, army engineering units “have been working to clear and remove unexploded ordnance found in fields, homes and under rubble.”Yet the true scale of contamination remains unknown. The Lebanese Army does not yet have a complete inventory of the ordnance scattered across the country.
“We need to wait until the survey of all areas affected by the war is completed to know the extent of the threat we are facing,” the source said, noting that access to some border villages is impossible “due to the Israeli occupation of some border points.”Even so, the estimates are sobering. The military source put “the additional contamination after the recent aggression at around two million square meters,” describing areas littered with “aircraft bombs, rockets, artillery shells of various calibers, phosphorus shells, thermal balloons, cluster bombs, improvised explosive devices and traps, among others.”“These are very dangerous to the safety of citizens,” the source said, because the sheer volume of debris “greatly hinders the clean-up operations, which require special equipment.” A Lebanese soldier on patrol with UNIFIL. (Supplied/UNIFIL)
Among the discoveries were “some internationally banned ammunition, including cluster bombs.” The toll has not spared the army itself. Since the ceasefire was signed, 18 Lebanese soldiers have been killed during operations to remove unexploded ordnance.
Depending on the risk, munitions are either destroyed on site or transported to designated pits away from populated areas for controlled demolition.
UN peacekeepers are also grappling with the fallout. From Nov. 27, 2024, to Nov. 27, 2025, UNIFIL says it facilitated the redeployment of Lebanese forces to about 130 permanent locations, removed more than 330 roadblocks, and discovered hundreds of illegal weapons caches and unexploded ordnance, handing them over to the Lebanese Army. On Dec. 8, UNIFIL said “the recent conflict left behind numerous unexploded ordnance in southern Lebanon,” adding that it was working with the army to remove hazards “to protect lives, restore freedom of movement and support Resolution 1701.”The force carried out 34 clearance operations, removing 91 items of unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices, and has since expanded its capacity with additional mine-clearance, disposal and reconnaissance teams. Six demining teams — from China and Cambodia — are now operating alongside new French survey units responding to the heightened threat.
Independent assessments paint an equally bleak picture. SARI Global, a risk intelligence company, said the war “left behind a dense mixture of unexploded ordnance, small cluster munitions and hazardous remnants in civilian and agricultural areas.” The danger of landmines and explosive remnants lies in their unpredictability: some munitions can lie dormant for decades before suddenly exploding. (Lebanese Mine Action Center)
While the immediate destruction was visible, the report said the long-term impact is defined by a “complex contamination footprint” in civilian and semi-urban zones.
The company highlighted the heavy reliance on aerial munitions — more than 55 percent of recorded activity — and documented cluster munition use in residential areas, creating what it called “a dense and volatile hazard landscape.”
Such contamination, it warned, restricts movement, delays rescue efforts, endangers aid workers and undermines recovery.
The human cost is already apparent. In Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley, a man and his son were injured when unexploded ordnance detonated as the father cleared weeds outside his home. In Majdal Zoun in the south, a soldier was wounded by a landmine explosion. Frontline villages are the most affected. Tir Daba has been repeatedly targeted by cluster munitions, while Blida shows a high concentration of unexploded ordnance. Yaroun, according to SARI Global, is “a confirmed white phosphorus saturation zone.”In Ayta Al-Shaab, extensive demolitions and indirect fire have left debris fields where deadly munitions are indistinguishable from ordinary rubble, complicating any future rehabilitation. Even cities far from the front are not immune. Baalbek and its surroundings face what the report calls a “long-term strategic threat” after airstrikes on industrial and logistics infrastructure, including repeated attacks on heavy equipment essential for reconstruction. Despite the efforts of the Lebanese Armed Forces, the Mine Action Center and their international partners, vast contamination, chronic funding shortages and the lack of comprehensive compensation plans continue to stall progress. Clearing unexploded ordnance is painstaking, expensive and slow — but for many Lebanese communities, it is the only path back to safety.A year after the ceasefire, the war’s most persistent legacy is buried underground, waiting.

Israeli strikes kill 1 in South as Aoun says arms have become a burden
Agence France Presse/January 12, 2026
The Israeli army carried out several strikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing one person, according to Lebanese authorities, with the Israeli military saying it targeted a Hezbollah militant and alleged infrastructure. The strikes came days after the Lebanese military said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River, the first phase of a nationwide plan, though Israel has called those efforts insufficient. The Lebanese ministry of health said an "Israeli enemy strike on a car in Bent Jbeil city in south Lebanon resulted in the martyrdom of one citizen".
The Israeli army said the strike was on a member of Hezbollah, which it accused of breaching a truce agreed in late 2024 to end more than a year of hostilities with the group. "A short while ago, in response to Hezbollah's continuous violations of the ceasefire understandings, the IDF (Israeli military) struck a Hezbollah terrorist" in the Bent Jbeil area, the army said in a statement. Elsewhere, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported that "enemy warplanes launched more than 10 raids" on the town of Kfar Hatta, which lies north of the Litani, noting "significant damage" to buildings there. The Israeli military had issued an evacuation warning for Kfar Hatta, subsequently saying it was "striking Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas."It later announced an additional strike that targeted "an underground site used for weapons storage belonging to Hezbollah." Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon despite the November 2024 ceasefire.
A 'burden' on Lebanon -
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army announced other strikes on what it said was Hezbollah infrastructure in the south. The NNA reported "a series of violent Israeli strikes" on the Jezzine district, Mahmoudiyeh and al-Dimashqiyeh, as well as "more than 10 strikes" on Al-Bureij, all in southern Lebanon. Most of the targeted areas are located north of the Litani. Under heavy U.S. pressure and fearing expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the Iran-backed group, which was badly weakened by its war with Israel. Lebanon's army said Thursday that it had completed "the first phase" of its disarmament plan, covering the area south of the Litani -- around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border -- with the intention to extend it to the rest of the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in response that the ceasefire "states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed".Lebanon's efforts, it added, "are an encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient".In an interview with state television, President Joseph Aoun said Sunday that Hezbollah's weapons had "outlived their purpose" as a deterrent, saying they were now "a burden on its community and on Lebanon as a whole".

US ambassador says deadline important for north Litani disarmament
Naharnet/January 12, 2026
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said Monday that a “deadline” is “the most important thing” for the issue of removing weapons north of the Litani River, after the Lebanese government said the army would submit in February a weapons monopolization plan for that region. “Hopefully they will start quickly and finish quickly as well,” Issa told MTV in response to a question. The Lebanese Army announced Thursday that it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah -- in the area south of the Litani River, near Israel’s border. Israel called Lebanon’s efforts an “encouraging beginning” but noted they are “far from sufficient” and has since intensified its strikes north of the Litani River. Under U.S. pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the Iran-backed militant group, which was weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel including two months of all-out war that ended with a November 2024 ceasefire. Despite the truce, Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives, and has maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic, accusing the group of rearming.

Report: US gives Lebanon several-week 'grace period'
Naharnet/January 12, 2026
Lebanon has been given a “grace period” for the near future regarding the removal of Hezbollah’s weapons, informed diplomatic sources said. “The United States has shown a tacit understanding and has granted the Lebanese government a several-week grace period before beginning to hold it accountable regarding the launch of the second phase of the arms monopolization process,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Monday.“The international forces, topped by Washington, are currently preoccupied with the event in Tehran and are studying the next steps there, especially as to the regime’s future,” the sources said. “That’s why it (the U.S.) is pressing Israel to hold back from any expansionist or escalatory military operations in Lebanon or in any other arena, pending a clearer picture of what’s happening in Iran. This has allowed the Lebanese government to delay the launch of the second phase and take more time to resolve the deep obstacles that are hindering it, while Israel is continuing its daily war, which it occasionally escalates as it did yesterday. However, an all-out war is not allowed before settling the Iranian file,” the sources added. Political sources meanwhile told the daily that Israel escalated its attacks north of the Litani River after the Lebanese Army completed the plan’s first phase south of the Litani in a bid to militarily press the Lebanese state and Hezbollah to also remove arms from the North Litani region. The Lebanese Army announced Thursday that it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah -- in the area south of the Litani River, near Israel’s border. Israel called Lebanon’s efforts an “encouraging beginning” but noted they are “far from sufficient” and has since intensified its strikes north of the Litani River. Under U.S. pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the Iran-backed group, which was weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel including two months of all-out war that ended with a November 2024 ceasefire. Despite the truce, Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives, and has maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic, accusing the group of rearming.

Report: Israel threatens destructive strike if Hezbollah interferes in war on Iran
Naharnet/January 12, 2026
Lebanon has recently received “clear Israeli messages” through international envoys who visited Beirut, a senior political source said. The source told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper that the envoys carried “a direct warning that Israel has prepared a very broad destructive military plan should Hezbollah interfere in any potential war between Israel and Iran.”“These messages are not aimed at intimidation through the media but are rather being presented as serious information that should reach decision makers in Lebanon,” the source added.

Hezbollah 'angered' by Aoun's remarks on arms
Naharnet/January 12, 2026
President Joseph Aoun’s overnight remarks on Hezbollah’s weapons caused “anger” among the ranks of the party, sources close to Hezbollah said. “Hezbollah considers that its attempt to keep President Aoun neutral on the issue of arms has failed,” the sources added, in remarks to Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel. In an interview with Tele Liban, Aoun said Sunday that Hezbollah's weapons had "outlived their purpose" as a deterrent, saying they were now "a burden on its community and on Lebanon as a whole," while calling on Hezbollah to show rationality.

The ‘Five-Nation Committee’ Confirms Support for Lebanese State
This is Beirut/January 12, 2026
The five-nation committee of ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States met with Lebanese Prime Minister Salam to discuss the ongoing weapons inventory, among other issues, reaffirming their support for the Lebanese state and urging timely progress on the disarmament file. Egyptian diplomat Alaa Moussa said, “We express our confidence in the government. We fully support the Lebanese state in all its initiatives, and the work of the Lebanese army is proceeding as planned. We are awaiting the army’s plan for the second phase of weapons control at the beginning of next month.”He emphasized that “there are no set deadlines because the state needs to complete this file as soon as possible, and we are awaiting the army’s plan for the second phase of the weapons inventory at the beginning of next month.”Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa spoke about the northern Litani phase, noting, “We hope this phase begins quickly and is completed as soon as possible. Meeting the timeline is essential.” Finally, the issue of UNIFIL’s withdrawal was raised. The ambassadors said, “The question of UNIFIL’s departure is delicate, and what we are working on is organizing the situation to ensure the country remains safe and stable despite UNIFIL’s absence. There is no set deadline; the state must address this file quickly.”

Salam tells Quintet Lebanon determined on north Litani disarmament
Naharnet/January 12, 2026
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Monday with the ambassadors of the five-nation group for Lebanon and told them that the country is determined to implement the arms monopolization plan north of the Litani River.
"I thanked the ambassadors of the Quintet for their visit and their continued support of our government’s reform path, particularly their commendation of the financial regularity and deposit recovery plan submitted by the government to parliament,” Salam said after the meeting. “I also praised their support for the army's completion of the first phase of the plan to restrict weapons south of the Litani River, and I assured them of our firm determination to implement the second phase of the plan and the stages that follow," he added. The Quintet comprises the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. "The objective of this visit was to discuss numerous issues that have surfaced recently, foremost among them the economic reforms adopted by the government, as well as the financial regularity plan (financial gap draft law) submitted by the government to parliament,” Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa told reporters after the talks on behalf of the Quintet. “We expressed our confidence in the Prime Minister and the Lebanese government to His Excellency. Addressing economic obligations is an absolute necessity; the Financial Regularity Law is a step in the right direction toward restoring the confidence of international institutions and economic partners. We hope that when the bill is introduced in parliament, it receives constructive and objective debate to reach a conclusion that meets the Lebanese state’s aspirations and vision," Moussa said. "We also discussed … the conclusion of the first phase of restricting weapons south of the Litani River. The government is determined to launch the second phase at the beginning of February. We reaffirmed that the Quintet members are true friends of Lebanon, standing by the state and its institutions,” the ambassador added. “Regarding the restriction of weapons, we believe the Lebanese state and the Lebanese Army are progressing well," he said. Asked about the timeline for finalizing the arms monopolization plan, Moussa said: "General Aoun and Prime Minister Salam have both emphasized the need to conclude this matter as quickly as possible. We expect a plan for the second phase to be presented early next month. The state’s actions thus far are encouraging, and our assessment of the first phase is positive. There are no specific deadlines, but there is a shared urgency to finalize this file."As for the Egyptian initiative for de-escalation with Israel, Moussa revealed that the Egyptian efforts are still ongoing. “Our sole goal is to create conditions that reduce tensions. Through coordination with our partners, we have succeeded to some extent in preventing a wider escalation,” Moussa said. “However, these efforts can only succeed if they are matched by the Lebanese state’s performance, particularly regarding the restriction of weapons. The synergy between the Lebanese Army’s role and Egyptian diplomatic efforts is yielding results, and we hope this continues," the ambassador added.

Rajji to Qassem: No one in Lebanon is threatened, Hezbollah arms do not protect you
Naharnet/January 12, 2026
Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji noted Monday that the 2024 ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel is not limited to halting hostilities but also “stipulates the removal of arms, topped by Hezbollah’s weapons.”“All political and economic files in Lebanon are on hold due to the failure to implement the monopolization of weapons,” Rajji, who represents the Lebanese Forces in the government, told Sky News Arabia. Adding that the second phase of the army’s weapons monopolization plan “will be implemented soon,” Rajji pointed out that “Iran is arming an armed group, whereas the United State is equipping the Lebanese Army.”Addressing Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem, the minister added: “Shiites are a main component of Lebanon and no one is threatened. Hezbollah’s arms do not protect you and do not protect Lebanon, but have rather become a burden on the Shiite community and on Lebanon.”

FM Raggi Denounces Hamas, Hezbollah Presence in Lebanon
This is Beirut/January 12, 2026
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi delivered a firm message to his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, denouncing the involvement of Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, in an interview with Sky News Arabia on Monday.
According to Raggi, Hamas’s support for the war brought Lebanon “destruction, death, and suffering,” noting that the ceasefire announcement came “in Israel’s favor, as the winning side.” He said the agreement goes beyond a halt to hostilities and requires the withdrawal of Hezbollah’s weapons. The minister also criticized Iran’s role, stating that “Iran arms an armed faction, while the United States supports the Lebanese army.” Addressing Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general Naim Qassem directly, Raggi stressed that “the Shia are a fundamental component of Lebanon and are not threatened by anyone.” He added that “Hezbollah’s weapons protect neither the Shia nor Lebanon,” instead becoming “a burden on the Shia community and on the country as a whole.”

French and Saudi envoys to visit Lebanon next week
Naharnet/January 12, 2026
Lebanon will next week witness a notable flurry of visits by foreign envoys, media reports said.Among the envoys will be French special presidential envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian and Saudi envoy Prince Yazid bin Farhan.
According to the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper, the French and Saudi envoys will discuss with Lebanese officials the security developments, the plan of monopolizing weapons in the hands of the army, and means to protect Lebanon from a new Israeli war.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 12-13/2026
Video-Link Interview with Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD's Iran Program. from FDD Youtub Plate/ Will this protest wave rewrite Iran's future?
January 12/2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ81mEW8omw&t=127s
FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer delivers timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of FDD's Iran Program.

Will the US and Israel strike Iran? Video link from the IDSF Youtube Platform: interview with IDSF founder and chairman Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi
IDSF - Israel's Defense and Security Forum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJorgzAvZGg
In this episode, streamed live on YouTube, IDSF founder and chairman Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi assesses the current likelihood of Israel and the United States taking military action against Iran. He explains how widespread protests in Tehran, combined with the regime’s violent repression, could accelerate a decision to act—at a time when both countries were already considering renewed strikes due to Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities.General Avivi outlines what such an attack could look like, the potential targets, and the broader implications for the Iranian people, while also discussing the currently degraded state of Iran’s air defense systems. He then turns to the situation in Gaza, examining the options facing the IDSF and the Israeli government as they consider renewing the offensive aimed at dismantling Hamas. This is an episode from the IDSF Daily Briefings.

At least 648 protestors killed in Iran crackdown: Rights group
AFP/January 12/2026
At least 648 protesters have been killed in the crackdown by Iranian security forces on a protest movement that has shaken the Islamic republic, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said Monday, warning the actual toll could be far higher.“The international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killing by the Islamic republic,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, commenting on the new tally of deaths that have been verified by the NGO. IHR said that “according to some estimates more than 6,000 may have been killed”, but warned that the almost four-day internet blackout imposed by the Iranian authorities makes it “extremely difficult to independently verify these reports.”

Iran’s Traders, Frustrated by Economic Losses, Turn Against Clerics
Reuters./January/2026
Iran's bazaar merchants, the trader class who were the financial backbone of the 1979 revolution, have turned against the clerics they helped bring to power, fueling unrest over an economy that has morphed into full-blown anti-government protests. Frustration among bazaar merchants, from small-scale shopkeepers to large wholesale traders, has grown as their political and economic clout in Iran has diminished over the decades while the elite Revolutionary Guards have tightened their grip on the economy, building sprawling and tightly held networks of power."We are struggling. We cannot import goods because of US sanctions and because only the Guards or those linked to them control the economy. They only think about their own benefits," said a trader at Tehran’s centuries-old Grand Bazaar, speaking on condition of anonymity. The wave of protests that has engulfed the country, posing one of the toughest challenges ever to the clerical leadership, erupted in late December in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, where hundreds of shopkeepers denounced the sharp fall in the rial currency. The demonstrations quickly swelled and turned political, challenging the Islamic Republic's legitimacy. Protesters burned images of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and chanted "Death ‌to the dictator" - ‌undeterred by security forces armed with tear gas, batons, and, in many cases, live ammunition. Iran’s ‌rulers, ⁠while acknowledging economic difficulties, have ‌blamed their longtime foes the US and Israel for fomenting the unrest. They appear intent on holding onto power at any cost, backed by a security apparatus refined over decades of suppressing ethnic revolts, student movements, and protests over economic hardship and social freedoms. A combination of international sanctions and the Guards' sprawling economic empire has limited the government's ability to ease the dire economic situation. Tehran-based analyst Saeed Laylaz said the government has lost control over the situation. "What is striking is that the unrest began in the bazaar. For merchants, the core issue isn’t inflation - it’s price volatility, which leaves them unable to decide whether to buy or sell," he said. Economic disparities between ordinary Iranians and the clerical and security elite, along with economic mismanagement and state corruption - ⁠reported even by state media - have fanned discontent at a time when inflation is pushing the price of many goods beyond the means of most people. Iran's rial currency has lost nearly ‌half its value against the dollar in 2025, with official inflation reaching 42.5% in December.
CONTROL ‍OF SECTORS FROM OIL TO CONSTRUCTION
Created by the republic's ‍late founder Khomeini, the Guards first secured an economic foothold after the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, when clerical rulers allowed them ‍to invest in leading Iranian industries. Their influence expanded exponentially over decades, benefiting from Khamenei's full backing and from opportunities created by Western sanctions, which effectively excluded Iran from the global financial and trading system. The Guards now control vast sectors of the economy, from oil to transportation, communications, and construction. Another trader said the crisis was not over, as the Guards have long proved adept at defending their economic interests. "The government wants to resolve the problem, but it lacks the means and power in this system. The economy is not controlled by the government," said the trader, a 62-year-old carpet seller in Tehran. All aspects of the country's sanctions-hit oil business have come under the growing influence of the ⁠Guards - from the shadow fleet of tankers that secretly ship sanctioned crude, to logistics and front companies selling the oil, mostly to China. "No one knows how much of the oil money that the Guards get from selling Iran’s oil returns to the country ... they are too powerful to be questioned about it,” said a senior Iranian official, who asked not to be named. During his 2013–2021 presidency, pragmatist Hassan Rouhani repeatedly clashed with the Guards, accusing them publicly of resisting budget cuts, while his attempts to curb their commercial networks and assets were largely frustrated.
THE ESTABLISHMENT RELIES ON THE GUARDS TO END UNREST
Even as it has relinquished economic power, the clerical establishment has relied on its loyal forces - the Guards and its affiliated Basij paramilitary - to violently crush ethnic uprisings, student unrest, and protests over economic hardship, preserving the political order."Given the sensitive circumstances when the country faces foreign threats, Khamenei cannot upset the Guards by curbing their economic influence. The establishment needs them to quell the protests and confront foreign threats," said an insider, close to Rouhani. US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 544 people - 496 protesters and 48 security personnel - with 10,681 people arrested since ‌the protests began on December 28 and spread around the country. Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies. The authorities have not given numbers of casualties, but officials say many members of the security forces have been killed by "terrorists and rioters" linked to foreign foes, including the US States and Israel.

Trump raises the stakes in Iran, considers military action despite ‘negotiation’ offer
The Arab Weekly/January 12/2026
US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested in two weeks of unrest. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was considering potential military action against Iran, amid mounting reports of deadly crackdowns against the country’s mass anti-government protests. “They’re starting to, it looks like,” Trump said, when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if Iran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed. “We’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a determination,” he said. Trump also said that Iran’s leadership had called him seeking “to negotiate” but said the US might intervene militarily before any talks are held. “The leaders of Iran called” yesterday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that “a meeting is being set up … They want to negotiate.”He added, however, that “we may have to act before a meeting”.The US president was to meet senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal had reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources.
Trump said he was in contact with Iranian opposition leaders. In response to Trump’s repeated threats to intervene, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would hit back, calling US military and shipping “legitimate targets” in comments broadcast by state TV.
But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has often touted a muscular approach to foreign policy, said Trump “needs to embolden the protesters and scare the hell out of the regime.”“If I were you, Mr President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people,” Graham said Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” show. “You’ve got to end this.”But some US lawmakers in both major parties on Sunday questioned whether military action against Iran is the best approach for the United States in Iran. “I don’t know that bombing Iran will have the effect that is intended,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said on ABC News “This Week” show. Rather than undermining the regime, a military attack on Iran could rally the people against an outside enemy, said Paul and Democratic Senator Mark Warner. Warner, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” warned that a military strike against Iran could risk uniting Iranians against the United States “in a way that the regime has not been able to.”For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled in spite of a crackdown rights groups warn has become a “massacre”. Initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge of the clerical regime in place since the 1979 revolution. Information has continued to trickle out of Iran despite a days-long internet shutdown, with videos filtering out of capital Tehran and other cities over the past three nights showing large demonstrations.
Reports emerged of a growing protest death toll, and images showed bodies piled outside a morgue. According to its latest figures, from activists inside and outside Iran, US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested in two weeks of unrest. The US-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received “eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown”.
“A massacre is unfolding,” it said.
A video circulating on Sunday showed dozens of bodies accumulating outside a morgue south of Tehran. One widely-shared video showed protesters again gathering in the Pounak district of Tehran shouting slogans in favour of the ousted monarchy. The protests have become one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States. State TV has aired images of burning buildings, including a mosque, as well as funeral processions for security personnel. But after three days of mass actions, state outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic on Sunday. The Iranian government on Sunday declared three days of national mourning for “martyrs” including members of the security forces killed. Authorities accused the US and Israel of fomenting trouble and called for a nationwide rally on Monday to condemn “terrorist actions led by the United States and Israel,” state media reported. The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday. Trump said on Sunday he would talk to Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran through his Starlink satellite service. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Israel and the US were masterminding destabilisation and that Iran’s enemies had brought in “terrorists … who set mosques on fire … attack banks and public properties. “Families, I ask you: do not allow your young children to join rioters and terrorists who behead people and kill others,” he said in a TV interview, adding that the government was ready to listen to the people and to resolve economic problems.

Trump to meet advisers on Tuesday to discuss Iran options, US official says
Reuters/January 12/2026
‍US President Donald Trump is ⁠expected to meet senior ‍advisers on ‍Tuesday ‍to ⁠discuss options for ⁠Iran, ‍a US ⁠official told Reuters ‌on Sunday.Unrest in Iran has killed more than 500 people, a rights group ‍said, as Tehran threatened to target US military bases if President Donald Trump carries out threats to intervene on behalf of protesters. With the Islamic Republic's clerical establishment facing the biggest demonstrations since 2022, Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if force is used on protesters. According to its ‍latest figures - from activists inside and outside Iran - US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested in two weeks of unrest. Iran has not given an official toll and Reuters was unable to independently verify the tolls. The Wall Street Journal had reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington against “a miscalculation.”“Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran's elite ⁠Revolutionary Guards.

Iran fighting ‘war against terrorists,’ parliament speaker tells Tehran rally
AFP/January 12/2026
Iran’s parliament speaker on Monday described the response to a protest wave that has gripped the Islamic Republic as a “war against terrorists,” as he addressed a vast pro-government rally in Tehran. Iran is fighting a “four-front war,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, listing economic war, psychological war, “military war” with the United States and Israel and “today a war against terrorists.”“The great Iranian nation has never allowed the enemy to achieve its goals,” he said, flanked by the slogans “Death to Israel, Death to America” in Persian, and vowing the Iranian military would teach US President Donald Trump “an unforgettable lesson” in case of a new attack.

Trump says Iran wants ‘to negotiate’ after US threats, military studying ‘strong options’
Al Arabiya English/January 12/2026
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s leadership had called him seeking “to negotiate” after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters. Trump also said he was considering potential military action against Iran, amid mounting reports of deadly crackdowns against the country’s mass anti-government protests. “They’re starting to, it looks like,” Trump said, when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if Iran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed. “We’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a determination,” he said. For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled in spite of a crackdown rights groups warn has become a “massacre.”Initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge of the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution. Information has continued to trickle out of Iran despite a days-long internet shutdown, with videos filtering out of capital Tehran and other cities over the past three nights showing large demonstrations. As reports emerge of a growing protest death toll, and images show bodies piled outside a morgue, Trump said Tehran indicated its willingness to talk. “The leaders of Iran called” yesterday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that “a meeting is being set up... They want to negotiate.”He added, however, that “we may have to act before a meeting.”The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received “eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown.”“A massacre is unfolding,” it said.The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters but that the actual toll could be much higher. “Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds, and according to some sources, more than 2,000 people may have been killed,” said IHR. More than 2,600 protesters have been arrested, IHR estimates. A video circulating on Sunday showed dozens of bodies accumulating outside a morgue south of Tehran. The footage, geolocated by AFP to Kahrizak, showed bodies wrapped in black bags, with what appeared to be grieving relatives searching for loved ones.
Near paralysis
In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis. The price of meat has nearly doubled since the start of the protests, and many shops are closed. Those that do open must close at around 4:00 or 5:00 pm, when security forces deploy en masse. There were fewer videos showing protests on social media Sunday, but it was not clear to what extent that was due to the internet shutdown. One widely shared video showed protesters again gathering in the Pounak district of Tehran shouting slogans in favor of the ousted monarchy. The protests have become one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States. State TV has aired images of burning buildings, including a mosque, as well as funeral processions for security personnel.
But after three days of mass actions, state outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic on Sunday. Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted in televised comments that “the number of protests is decreasing.”The Iranian government on Sunday declared three days of national mourning for “martyrs” including members of the security forces killed. President Masoud Pezeshkian also urged Iranians to join a “national resistance march” Monday to denounce the violence. In response to Trump’s repeated threats to intervene, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would hit back, calling US military and shipping “legitimate targets” in comments broadcast by state TV.
‘Stand with the people’
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah, who has emerged as an anti-government figurehead, said he was prepared to return to the country and lead a democratic transition. “I’m already planning on that,” he told Fox News on Sunday. He later urged Iran’s security forces and government workers to join the demonstrators. “Employees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice: stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people,” he said in a social media post. He also urged protesters to replace the flags outside of Iranian embassies. “The time has come for them to be adorned with Iran’s national flag,” he said. The ceremonial, pre-revolution flag has become an emblem of the global rallies that have mushroomed in support of Iran’s demonstrators. In London, protesters managed over the weekend to swap out the Iranian embassy flag, hoisting in its place the tri-colored banner used under the last shah.With AFP

Iran says situation is under total ‘control’ after weekend violence
Bloomberg/January 12/2026
Iran’s Foreign Minister said security forces have “full control” of the country after two weeks of ongoing upheaval, accusing Israel and the US of fomenting the nationwide protests in which hundreds of people have been killed. Abbas Araghchi repeated claims by the Iranian government that “rioters and terrorists” had killed police and civilians and destroyed public property using “[ISIS]-style violence.” The demonstrations have continued into Monday.“We have many pieces of evidence which show interference by the US and Israel in this terrorist war,” Araghchi said in an interview to state TV, adding “Israel is directly responsible, and also Americans through their remarks by promoting violence.”Protests in Iran erupted on Dec. 28 after a sudden collapse in the value of the currency. They broadened into the biggest and most violent challenge to the rule of Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Republic since it was established after the 1979 revolution that ousted a pro-US monarch. More than 540 have been killed in the protests and over 10,000 arrested, according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency, which is tracking demonstrations in 186 cities across Iran’s 31 provinces. Communications remain largely cut off, which has made it difficult to track the full scope of the movement. US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Washington is mulling potential options in response to reports of deadly crackdowns in Iran, but added that Tehran’s leadership has reached out to seek talks. “We’re looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. “We’ll make a determination.”Araghchi said Iran is “ready for negotiations based on mutual respect, national interests, and negotiations which are serious and real.” He didn’t give any further details. An internet blackout in Iran remains in place and there’s still no official government death toll for civilians. Araghchi said access should be restored “very soon.”Semi-official Tasnim reported a breakdown of security force fatalities on Sunday, saying a total of 121 officers have died, including 30 in Isfahan, while the number for Tehran was listed as unknown. Iranian state TV said the government had declared three days of public mourning over the deaths of “a large number of civilians and security personnel at the hands of rioters and terrorist cells,” and displayed a black ribbon on screen. It broadcast footage from city centers on Sunday night, saying calm had been restored nationwide, and added that large, government-organized gatherings promoting “national unity” and condemning the recent “terrorist acts” had been planned in Tehran and other cities later in the day.

Iran says communications open with US, Trump weighs response to crackdown on protests
Reuters/January 12/2026
Iran said on Monday it is keeping communications open with the US as President Donald Trump weighed responses to a violent crackdown on protests that have posed one of the biggest challenges to clerical rule ‍since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Trump said on Sunday the US may meet Iranian officials and that he is in contact with the opposition, while piling pressure on the Islamic Republic’s leaders, including threatening possible military action in response to violence against protesters. Iran has weathered past waves of protests with crackdowns like the current bloody suppression. But this time the leadership is facing nationwide demonstrations that evolved from complaints about dire economic hardships to defiant calls for the fall of the clerical establishment, and with its regional clout much reduced. “The communication channel between our Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the US special envoy (Steve Witkoff) is open and messages are exchanged whenever necessary,” foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday. Contacts also remain open through traditional ⁠intermediary Switzerland, he said. “They (US) touched upon some cases, ideas were brought up and in general (...) the Islamic Republic is a country that never left the negotiating table.” But he added that “contradictory messages” from the US showed a lack of seriousness and were not convincing. Araghchi reiterated in a briefing to foreign ambassadors in Tehran that the Islamic Republic was ready for war but also open to dialogue.
More than 500 killed, rights group says
US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested since the protests began on December 28. Iran has not given an official toll and Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies. The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday. Trump said on Sunday that Iran had called to negotiate on its nuclear program. Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war in June. “Iran wants to negotiate, yes. We might meet with them. A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting, but a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to ‍negotiate,” he told reporters on Air Force One.Trump was to meet with senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and ‍providing online help to anti-government sources. Striking military installations could be highly risky. Some bases of elite ‍military and security forces may be located ⁠in heavily populated areas so any attack ordered by Trump could inflict large civilian casualties. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf warned Washington ‌against “a miscalculation.”“Let us be clear: in the case of an ⁠attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will ‍be our legitimate target,” said Ghalibaf, a former commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, Tehran is still recovering from last year’s war, and its regional clout has been much weakened by blows to allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah since the October 7, ⁠2023 attacks against Israel. Israel also killed top Iranian military commanders in the June war.
Situation ‘under total control,’ Araghchi says
Iranian authorities accused the US and Israel of fomenting trouble and called for a nationwide rally on Monday to condemn “terrorist actions led by the United States and ‌Israel,” state media reported. State TV aired live footage on Monday of large crowds attending a funeral procession for security forces killed in Shahrud and pro-government demonstrations in cities such as Kerman, Zahedan and Birjand, held “in condemnation of recent terrorist events.”Araghchi said the situation in Iran was “under total control” after violence linked to protests spiked over the weekend. He said Trump’s warning against Tehran of action if protests turned bloody had motivated what he called terrorists to target protesters and security forces in order to invite foreign intervention. The protests began in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed for more than 45 years. Iranians have grown increasingly resentful of the powerful IRGC, whose business interests including oil ‍and gas, construction and telecommunications are worth billions of dollars. Footage posted on social media on Saturday from Tehran showed large crowds marching at night, clapping and chanting. The crowd “has no end nor beginning,” a man is heard saying. Trump said on Sunday he would talk to Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran through his Starlink satellite service. Araqchi said internet service will be resumed in coordination with security authorities. Authorities on Sunday declared three days of national mourning “in honor of martyrs killed in resistance against the United States and the Zionist regime,” according to state media. Alan Eyre, a former US diplomat and Iran expert, thought it unlikely the protests would topple the establishment. “I think it more likely that it puts these protests down eventually, but emerges from the process far weaker,” he told Reuters, noting that Iran’s elite still appeared cohesive and there was no ‌organized opposition.

Iran summons French, German, Italian, UK envoys over support for protests
AFP/January 12/2026
Iran on Monday summoned diplomats in Tehran representing France, Germany, Italy and the UK to object to what it described as support by those countries for the protests that have shaken the Islamic republic, its foreign ministry said. The diplomats were shown a video of the damage caused by “rioters” and told their governments should “withdraw official statements supporting the protesters,” the ministry said in a statement quoted by state television. In Paris, the French foreign ministry confirmed that “European ambassadors” had been summoned by Iran. Meanwhile, the European Parliament President Roberta Metsole announced Monday that the body has banned all Iranian diplomats and representatives from the assembly’s premises over a deadly crackdown on protests in Iran. “It cannot be business as usual. As the brave people of Iran continue to stand up for their rights and their liberty, today I have taken the decision to ban all diplomatic staff and any other representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran from all European Parliament premises,” Metsola said on X. “This House will not aid in legitimizing this regime that has sustained itself through torture, repression and murder,” she added.

Russia condemns ‘foreign powers’ interfering in Iran
AFP/January 12/2026
Russia on Monday condemned what it called attempts by “foreign powers” to interfere in Iran, after the United States threatened to intervene in the Islamic republic's deadly crackdown on protesters. In a call with his Iranian counterpart, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu “strongly condemned yet another attempt by foreign powers to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs,” state media reported, in Moscow’s first reaction to the widespread unrest.

Eric Trump: Greenland is important for entire Western world, not just US
Al Arabiya English/January 12/2026
US President Donald Trump’s son told Al Arabiya English on Monday that Greenland was not just important to the United States, but for the entire Western world. The US president has renewed his calls and threats to take over Greenland, which is part of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from occupying the strategically located and minerals-rich territory in the future. “Greenland is strategically important for a lot of reasons, a lot of global reasons, a lot of security reasons, not just to the United States, but pretty much the entire Western world, including exactly where you are from,” Trump’s son, Eric, said in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya English. Without mentioning any specific side or country, Trump said more people were looking to militarize the part of the world in and around Greenland. “We can't be babies; we can't be naive. We can't pretend something that is happening isn't happening,” he said, adding his belief that his father would ultimately do what it takes, “if required, to make sure that kind of the Western way of life, certainly American, but the Western way of life and Europe is safe and protected against forces that don't have our best interest in mind.”

Eric Trump speaks to Al Arabiya English during an interview, Jan. 12, 2026.
Al Arabiya English/January 12/2026
Eric Trump said Monday that he would “love” to see Iran become a place where the Trump Organization could invest in the future, praising what he described as the country’s “amazing people.”Speaking to Al Arabiya English, Trump pointed to regional countries he said were seeking peace, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, while lamenting what he described as Iran’s role as a destabilizing force. “The one threat to all of that is crazy,” Trump said, referring to Iran. Trump added that his father, Donald Trump, wants peace and stability in the region. “He would love nothing more than to see that,” Trump said. “Iran’s got amazing people, absolutely amazing people. And hopefully that situation works itself out in a way that’s beneficial not only to Iran as a country and its society, but clearly the entire Middle East.”Iran has seen widespread protests in recent weeks, with largely peaceful demonstrators criticizing the country’s deteriorating economic conditions and calling for an end to decades of rule by the Iranian regime.

Yemen’s al-Alimi orders closure of illegal prisons, release of those unlawfully detained
Al Arabiya English/January 12/2026
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council chief Rashad al-Alimi ordered on Monday the closure of all “illegal prisons and detention centers in the liberated governorates.”Al-Alimi also ordered the immediate release of detainees that were held in an illegal manner, as part of a broader process to restore state sovereignty and uphold human rights, according to a statement shared by Yemen’s SABA news agency. According to the presidential directive, al-Alimi tasked the security and military authorities, in coordination with the Public Prosecution and the Justice Ministry, with identifying all illegal detention sites in the governorates of Aden, Lahij, and al-Dhalea.The relevant sides have also been tasked with “developing an urgent plan to close them and ensure that detainees are transferred to official, legally supervised facilities, or released if no legal charges are proven against them.”

Syria says two ISIS members arrested over last month’s Homs mosque blast
Al Arabiya English/January 12/2026
Syrian authorities said Monday that they had arrested two members of ISIS, accusing them of being behind last month’s deadly bombing of a mosque in an Alawite area of Homs. The December 26 attack, which killed at least eight people, sparked mass protests by the Alawite community in the city and elsewhere, as fears persist of renewed sectarian violence after hundreds of members of the religious minority were killed in their coastal heartland in March. In a statement, the interior ministry announced the arrest of “Ahmed Attallah al-Diab and Anas al-Zarrad, who belong to the Daesh organization and are responsible for the bombing that targeted the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood.”The ministry added that it had seized “explosive devices, various weapons and different types of ammunition, in addition to documents and digital evidence proving their involvement in terrorist acts.”
Though authorities blamed ISIS for the attack, it was claimed by the extremist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, which experts say serves as a “front” for ISIS. The blast was the second in a place of worship since new authorities took power a year ago after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The first was a deadly suicide bombing at a Damascus church in June. Saraya Ansar al-Sunna had also claimed responsibility for that attack, with authorities once again accusing ISIS. ISIS once controlled swathes of Syria before its territorial defeat in 2019. Its fighters still maintain a presence in the country, particularly in its vast desert. On December 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone ISIS gunman in Syria’s Palmyra. Since then, Washington, which leads an international coalition against ISIS, has announced several strikes against the group in Syria, most recently over the weekend. In recent weeks, Syrian authorities have said they carried out repeated operations against ISIS cells across the country, sometimes in coordination with the coalition. On Friday, the interior ministry announced the arrest of the group’s “military commander of the Levant Province.”With AFP

Trump will meet Venezuela’s Machado on Thursday: White House official
Reuters/January 12/2026
‍US President Donald Trump will ⁠meet with Venezuelan opposition ‍leader ‍Maria ‍Corina Machado on ⁠Thursday, ‌a ⁠White ‍House official ⁠said on ‌Monday.

DarGlobal, Trump Organization launch $1bn Trump Plaza Jeddah
Al Arabiya English/January 12/2026
Real estate developer DarGlobal and the Trump Organization officially launched the Trump Plaza Jeddah -- a mixed-use development valued at more than $1 billion -- the company announced in a statement on Monday. The project is the third strategic collaboration between the London-listed luxury developer and The Trump Organization in Saudi Arabia, following the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah in December 2024. Located within the Amaya development along King Abdulaziz Road, Trump Plaza Jeddah is designed as a fully integrated urban destination combining residential, commercial and lifestyle offerings. Positioned as “Jeddah’s most connected address,” the development will feature Grade-A office space, premium retail, destination dining, a members-only lifestyle club and branded Trump residences. All components are centred around a private park, creating what the developers describe as a cohesive urban ecosystem tailored to global residents. Eric Trump, executive vice president of The Trump Organization, said the project reflects confidence in Jeddah’s growing global relevance. “Expanding our presence in Saudi Arabia with Trump Plaza Jeddah underscores our commitment to world-class quality and iconic design and highlights the strength of our relationship with DarGlobal,” he said. DarGlobal CEO Ziad El Chaar said the launch represents a major milestone for the company’s Saudi portfolio. “This is not a single-use development, but a carefully curated urban district designed for residents who want to live, work and connect within one of Jeddah’s most desirable addresses,” he said.

Russia attacks two more civilian ships in black sea: Kyiv
AFP/January/2026
Russia has attacked two more civilian ships in the Black Sea, both of which were transporting food products, Ukraine’s regional development minister said Monday. The attacks sparked a fire on board one of the ships and wounded a crew member, the minister wrote on Telegram. “This is further proof that Russia is deliberately attacking civilian ships, international trade, and maritime safety,” Oleksiy Kuleba said.

School resumes in tents under shadow of Gaza’s ‘yellow line’
Reuters/January 12, 2026
GAZA/CAIRO: She spends her lessons in the wintry cold on the floor of a crowded tent, her teacher interrupted by regular gunfire and explosions from Israeli-controlled territory less than 1,000 meters away. ​But Toulin Al-Hindi, 7, is grateful to be in school at last after more than two years of war. She is one of some 400 children attending lessons at the makeshift North Educational School, set up in blue plastic tents in the ruins of northern Gaza’s community of Beit Lahiya, within eyesight of the “yellow line” held by Israeli forces. During a recent lesson, more than a dozen girls sat on the floor in two rows in one small ‌tent, keeping warm ‌in sweaters and puffy jackets, their notebooks out ‌in front ​of ‌them on a handful of slatted wooden crates. They cheerfully sang out numbers while their teacher drew shapes on a chalkboard. “Although we do not sit on chairs, thank God we started attending school,” said Toulin. “During the war, there were no schools, and we were bored.”Her mother, Yasmine Al-Ajouri, says she worries from the moment her daughter leaves for school until she comes home. “Take care, take cover next to a wall, be quick on the road,” Yasmine said she tells her daughter. Under ‌the ceasefire in place since October, Israel still occupies ‍more than half of the Gaza ‍Strip and bars civilians from other areas. Nearly all buildings in the ‍Israeli-controlled sector have been leveled and residents driven out. That leaves virtually the entire population of more than 2 million people confined to around a third of Gaza’s territory, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, where life has resumed under the control of an ​administration led by Hamas. Although major fighting has been halted, Israel has routinely opened fire at Palestinians it accuses of approaching the yellow line, saying it aims to eliminate threats to troops.More than 440 Palestinians have been killed since the October deal came into effect.  Palestinians say Israeli forces have been moving some of the yellow concrete markers westward, encroaching into unoccupied territory.
Israel denies this. Staff at Toulin’s school said they hear fire daily. “We taught the children that as soon as we hear fire ... to lie down. This is not safe, and safety depends on God, but this is what we can do,” said Yara Abu Ghalweh, a school supervisor. Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 people, according to the enclave’s ‌Health Ministry. The war was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023

Drone Strike Kills 3 in Gaza as Hamas Prepares to Transfer Governance to New Committee
Asharq Al-Awsat/January 12/2026
An Israeli drone strike on Monday killed three Palestinians who had crossed the ceasefire line near central Gaza’s Morag corridor, hospital officials said. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the strike, which came as Gaza awaits an expected announcement this week of a “Board of Peace” to oversee its governance. Hamas said it will dissolve its existing government once the new committee takes over the territory, as mandated under the US-brokered peace plan. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 440 people have been killed since Israel and Hamas agreed last October to suspend their two-year war. Since then each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, which remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final Israeli hostage in Gaza. Israel’s military controls a buffer zone that covers more than half of Gaza, while the Hamas-run government retains authority over the rest. Throughout the war, Israel has supported anti-Hamas groups, including an armed group in southern Gaza that claimed responsibility on Monday for the killing of a senior Hamas police officer in Khan Younis. Lt. Col. Mahmoud al-Astal was gunned down in the Muwasi area, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said in a statement. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Kassem, in a post on Telegram on Sunday, called for a speeding up of the establishment of the Palestinian technocratic committee set to govern Gaza. Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority have not announced the names of who will sit on the committee and it remains unclear if they will be cleared by Israel and the US. Officials say that Trump will announce his appointments to the Board of Peace in the coming days. Under Trump’s plan, the board would supervise the new Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and reconstruction. The US has reported little progress on any of these fronts so far. According to Turkish officials, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan participated on Monday in a video conference with the US and others meeting to discuss “preparations for the second stage” of the ceasefire agreement. The talks, held as a continuation of the meeting in Miami at the end of December, also included officials from Egypt and Qatar. Dozens of Palestinians, including medical workers, held a protest in Gaza City on Monday to demand the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners still being held in Israeli prisons. The protest was organized by the Palestinian Prisoners Committee outside the building of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City. Meanwhile, groups that advocate for Palestinian prisoners said that Israeli authorities have confirmed the death of a detainee from Gaza. In a statement Sunday, the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said that Hamza Abdullah Abdelhadi Adwan died in prison on Sept. 9, based on information the family received from the Israeli military. Adwan, 67, a father of nine with serious health problems, had been detained at a checkpoint on Nov. 12, 2024. Two of his children were killed in the Gaza war. Since the start of the war, 87 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli prisons — including 51 from Gaza — according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission. They said that more than 100 detainees — some not yet identified — had died of torture, starvation, medical neglect, and abuse.

Israeli police issues arrest warrant against former Netanyahu aide
AFP/January 12, 2026
JERUSALEM: Israeli police issued an arrest warrant for a former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, accusing him of being implicated in two affairs involving the premier’s office. Israel Einhorn, a former campaign adviser to Netanyahu who now lives in Serbia, appeared on a list of people whom the police suspect of involvement in the so-called “Bild affair” and are prevented from communicating with the prime minister’s office. Next to Einhorn’s name a line was added saying there is a “pending arrest warrant against him,” according to a document submitted to the court.
“We can confirm the warrant,” a police spokesman told AFP. In a post on his personal Facebook page, Netanyahu said the arrest warrant showed he was being targeted via his former aides. “They can’t beat me in elections, so they start a lawsuit, the lawsuit falls apart so they bring in my advisers one after the other to try to blackmail them,” he said in a video message in Hebrew. The Bild affair involved the leaking of classified intelligence from the Israeli military to the German tabloid Bild in September 2024. Two other Netanyahu aides were arrested and indicted for the leak. The document aimed to prove that Hamas was not interested in a ceasefire deal, and to support Netanyahu’s claim that the hostages captured by Palestinian militants in their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel could only be released through military pressure rather than negotiations. Einhorn has not returned to Israel since the investigation was opened, but he was questioned by Israeli investigators in Serbia last year. He is also a suspect in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, in which he and other close associates of Netanyahu are suspected of being recruited by Qatar to promote the Gulf country’s image in Israel. Qatar hosts senior Hamas leaders and has played a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement during the war in Gaza. It also sent millions of dollars in cash to Gaza every month between 2018 and October 2023 to pay Hamas’s civil servants and for cash handouts to Gazan families. The news of the warrant came after the police on Sunday detained a current senior aide to Netanyahu suspected of obstructing an investigation, with local media reporting that it was the premier’s chief of staff Tzachi Braverman. Another former Netanyahu aide, Eli Feldstein, recently said during a televised interview that Braverman offered to “shut down” an army investigation into the Bild affair. Feldstein himself is on trial for his alleged involvement in both the Bild leak and Qatargate.In the same interview, Feldstein said Netanyahu was aware of the leak and was in favor of using the document to drum up public support for the war.Israeli media reported on Monday that Braverman, picked to become Israel’s next ambassador to the UK, was barred from leaving the country for 30 days, and from being in contact with the Prime Minister’s office for 15 days. AFP contacted the police and Braverman’s lawyer to confirm the bans but did not immediately receive a response.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 12-13/2026
The revolt of the humiliated and the end of murderous dystopias?
Charles Elias Chartouni/January 12/2026
The coincidence of events in Venezuela and Iran sends us back to multiple records of geostrategy, paradigm shift in international life, civil rebellion, and changes in political cultures, after the second death of the great narratives and the decline of all the myths they have aroused. We face deserted political scenes where disillusion, cynicism, and the coldness of a mythological universe where women and men are weaving bonds of empathy, solidarity, and hope as everything crumbles down around them.
The twilight of the idols is performed at the price of great sacrifices deliberately made by men and women who have lost everything, except for the sense of injustice they suffer and their willingness to end this ubuesque and macabre comedy. A collective consisting of, among others, human rights activist Nergues Mohammadi (Nobel Peace Prize, 2023) and filmmaker Jafar Panahi reaffirms that “the only way to salvation for Iran is a transition outside the Islamic Republic (... ). Iran's future rests on a democratic order, based on the sovereignty of the people, national interest and healthy and friendly relations with the rest of the world. "The Iranians want to end the carcans of a murderous dystopia and renew with the rest of the world on the basis of a new democratic order. The ferociousness of the retaliation shows the indifference of the Islamic dictatorship and its trustees in the face of the ongoing revolutionary upheaval.
For the first time, we are moving from failed attempts to the stage of revolutionary, revolutionary action that is about to break the usual roadblocks established by a totalitarian regime and a terrorist state that has an uncomplicated relationship to violence. The overthrowing of the regime is now a matter of time at a time when all the dams are collapsing one after the other. System malfunction is complete and governance runs empty as problems of all orders proliferate metastatically. A young opponent explains, rightly, the nature of the current crisis: "We are mainly victims of system corruption. That is why our revolt is not only economic, it is also political and ecological. ”
The severity of ecological crises (galloping desertification, destruction of water bodies, pollution, wild urbanism... ), economic and financial (industrial fabric anachronism, economic marginalization, structural unemployment, underground economy, devaluation of toman 1 US 1,400,000 iel), mass pauperization (40-70%/100 of the population lives below the poverty threshold, increase in slums 16,000,000, drug addiction 4,400,000 Addicts... ). Add to that a widespread anomaly that reaches all walks of social life. The confluence of social pathologies has not only increased, but it has destroyed the social link and all forms of primary sociability for the benefit of a state of violence, crime and widespread wilding. It is enough to visit Iranian cinema to realize the state of demoralization that prevails in a society that has lost all landmarks.
Religious institutions that are supposed to act as regulators are actually the primary sources of corrosive dynamics that operate cross-sectional. Islamic jurisprudence has modified the records of normality and lawfulness in order to consolidate the grasp of totalitarian religion. The perversions of the religious institution, though ridiculed and denounced by the Iranians, have never been reformed. They are part of the ideological apparatus used by the totalitarian state to seduce its legitimacy and to overthrow any delegitimization company. The refusal of this totalitarian domination has never ceased along this path that was thought to be endless.
Otherwise, the levers of change in progress are joining the interstices of a geopolitical and geostrategic mutation that is in the process of reconfiguring the patterns of international life and restructuring the relations of strength as well as the security and policy fields. The new totalitarian alliances that have been organized around the Russian-Chinese axis, its areas of influence, and the ideological doxas that serve as a shelf are strongly disputed and fail to sit their legitimacy on outdated narratives and without any training effect.
The Islamic narrative has emerged as the ultimate resort with the crisis of autocratic regimes that have dominated in the Muslim world and in the era of massive migratory waves towards Western democracies and their multiple instrumentations in order to challenge the fundamental values of their political regimes, to carry out separatist policies and question their strategic security.
Trumpism's frontal subversion policy aims to break new locks of the cold war at the intersection of its axis of deployment. Contemporary modulations of the Monroe Doctrine originate from a transcontinental hypothesis and its mutant geographical inscriptions, hence the effects of symmetry between the Venezuelan and Iranian scenarios. Both regimes' tendency to fall into its strategic and contestant dual component is now sanctified by American politics and its strategic relays. It is no coincidence that civilian populations subjected to repressive regimes engage in rebellion dynamics supported by the United States and Israel in the case of Iran, and inspired by their political models regardless of their respective differences.
Alliance systems are moving towards new avenues of cooperation and action. The United States serving in both cases as a strategic shield, a political arbitrator and a privileged economic partner. Transitional scenarios are being negotiated in a step-by-step manner in order to avoid the scourge of brutal collapse, chaotic upheaval and civil wars that are inherent. Iran's scenario seems to be moving on a path of endogenous change led by civil protest movements backed by US and Israeli intelligence. Shifting force relations induced by the destruction of military and nuclear infrastructures, and arbitration work paves the way for a consensual and peaceful alternative.
Apparently the various wings of the Iranian opposition have opted for the monarchic heritage as a national federator and a symbol of a historical legitimacy preceding the Islamic era that corresponds more to the Persian era and its founding myths. The Islamic referendum should have been ended as a legitimate authority. Iranians have long opted for Persian nomastic and the Zoroastrian festive calendar to stand out from the Islamic reference. The revolutionary process and its mutating effects need to be followed closely, in order to understand the strategic restructuring in progress. We are dealing with both political and conceptual breakdowns that interfere in many ways.

La révolte des humiliés et la fin des dystopies meurtrières?
Charles Elias Chartouni/January 12/2026
La concomitance des événements au Venezuela et en Iran nous renvoie à des registres multiples de géostratégie, de changement des paradigmes de la vie internationale, de rébellion civile, et de mutations des cultures politiques, après la seconde mort des grands récits et le déclin de tous les mythes qu’ils ont suscités. Nous faisons face à des scènes politiques désertes où la désillusion, le cynisme et la froideur d’un univers démythologisé où des femmes et des hommes sont en train de tisser des liens d’empathie, de solidarité et d’espérance alors que tout tombe autour d’eux.
Le crépuscule des idoles s’effectue au prix de grands sacrifices délibérément consentis par des hommes et des femmes qui ont tout perdu, sauf le sens de l’injustice qu’ils subissent et leur volonté d’en finir avec cette comédie ubuesque et macabre. Un collectif composé, entre autres, de la militante des droits de l’homme, Nergues Mohammadi (prix Nobel de la paix, 2023) et du cinéaste Jafar Panahi réaffirme que “la seule voie de salut pour l’Iran consiste en une transition en dehors de la République islamique (…). L’avenir de l’Iran repose sur un ordre démocratique, fondé sur la souveraineté du peuple, l’intérêt national et des relations saines et amicales avec le reste du monde.” Les Iraniens veulent en finir avec les carcans d’une dystopie meurtrière et renouer avec le reste du monde sur la base d’un nouvel ordre démocratique. La férocité de la riposte témoigne du désemparement de la dictature islamique et de ses affidés face aux bouleversements révolutionnaires en cours.
Nous passons pour la première fois le cap des tentatives vouées à l’échec au stade d’une action révolutionnaire évolutive qui est en passe de saborder les barrages habituels établis par un régime totalitaire et un État terroriste qui a un rapport décomplexé à la violence. Le renversement du régime est désormais une question de temps à un moment où toutes les digues s’effondrent les unes après les autres. Le dysfonctionnement du système est intégral et la gouvernance tourne à vide alors que les problèmes de tous ordres prolifèrent de manière métastatique. Un jeune opposant explique, à juste titre, la nature de la crise actuelle : “Nous sommes principalement victimes de la corruption du système. C’est pourquoi notre révolte n’est pas seulement économique, elle est aussi politique et écologique.”
La gravité des crises écologiques (désertification galopante, destruction des nappes phréatiques, pollution, urbanisme sauvage…), économiques et financières (anachronisme du tissu industriel, marginalisation économique, chômage structurel, économie souterraine, dévaluation du toman 1 US 1 400 000 ±), la paupérisation de masse (40-70 %/100 de la population vit sous le seuil de pauvreté, accroissement des bidonvilles 16 000 000, de la toxicomanie 4 400 000 d’addicts…). À cela s’ajoute un état d’anomie diffuse qui atteint tous les paliers de la vie sociale. La confluence des pathologies sociales a non seulement augmenté, mais elle a détruit le lien social et toutes formes de sociabilité primaire au bénéfice d’un état de violence, de délinquance et d’ensauvagement généralisé. Il suffit de fréquenter le cinéma iranien pour se rendre compte de l’état de démoralisation qui prévaut dans une société qui a perdu tous les repères.
Les instances religieuses qui doivent hypothétiquement servir de régulateurs sont en réalité les sources premières des dynamiques corrosives qui opèrent de manière transversale. La jurisprudence islamique a modifié les registres de la normalité et de la licéité en vue de consolider l’emprise d’une religiosité totalitaire. Les perversions de l'institution religieuse, quoique tournées en dérision et dénoncées par les Iraniens, n’ont jamais été réformées. Elles font partie de l'appareil idéologique dont se sert l’État totalitaire pour asseoir sa légitimité et déjouer toute entreprise de délégitimation. Le refus de cette domination totalitaire n’a jamais discontinué tout au long de ce parcours qu’on croyait interminable.
Autrement, les leviers du changement en cours s’inscrivent dans les interstices d’une mutation géopolitique et géostratégique qui est en voie de reconfigurer les schémas de la vie internationale et de restructurer les rapports de force ainsi que les champs sécuritaires et politiques. Les nouvelles alliances totalitaires qui se sont organisées autour de l’axe russo-chinois, de ses zones d’influence, et des doxas idéologiques qui leur servent d’étayage sont fortement contestées et n’arrivent pas à asseoir leur légitimité sur des récits caducs et sans aucun effet d’entraînement.
Le récit islamique s’est imposé comme recours ultime avec la crise des régimes autocratiques qui ont prédominé dans le monde musulman et à l’ère des vagues migratoires massives en direction des démocraties occidentales et de leurs multiples instrumentations afin de remettre en cause les valeurs fondamentales de leurs régimes politiques, de mener à bien des politiques séparatistes et de questionner leur sécurité stratégique.
La politique de subversion frontale du trumpisme vise à casser les nouveaux verrouillages de la nouvelle guerre froide au point d’intersection de ses axes de déploiement. Les modulations contemporaines de la doctrine Monroe partent d’une hypothèse transcontinentale et de ses inscriptions géographiques mutantes, d’où les effets de symétrie entre les scénarios vénézuélien et iranien. La chute tendancielle des deux régimes dans sa double composante stratégique et contestataire est désormais sanctuarisée par la politique américaine et ses relais stratégiques. Ce n’est pas un hasard que les populations civiles soumises à des régimes de répression engagent des dynamiques de rébellion soutenues par les États-Unis et Israël dans le cas de l’Iran, et inspirées par leurs modèles politiques quelles qu'en soient les différences respectives.
Les systèmes d’alliance partent sur de nouveaux axes de coopération et d’action. Les États-Unis servant dans les deux cas de bouclier stratégique, d’arbitre politique et de partenaire économique privilégié. Les scénarios de transition sont négociés de manière progressive en vue d’éviter les écueils de l’effondrement brutal, des bouleversements chaotiques et des guerres civiles qui leur sont inhérents. Le scénario iranien semble avancer sur un tracé de changement endogène conduit par les mouvements de contestation civile secondés par les renseignements américain et israélien. Le changement des rapports de force induit par la destruction des infrastructures militaires et nucléaires, et le travail d’arbitrage préparent la voie à une alternance consensuelle et pacifiée.
Apparemment les diverses ailes de l’opposition iranienne ont opté pour l’héritage monarchique comme fédérateur national et symbole d’une légitimité historique antécédente à l’ère islamique qui correspond davantage à l’ère persane et ses mythes fondateurs. Il fallait en finir avec le référent islamique comme instance de légitimation. Cela faisait longtemps que les Iraniens ont opté pour l’onomastique persane et pour le calendrier festif zoroastrien pour se démarquer du référent islamique. Le processus révolutionnaire et ses effets mutants sont à suivre de près, afin de comprendre les restructurations stratégiques en cours. Nous avons affaire à des ruptures tant politiques que conceptuelles qui nous interpellent à maints égards.

How to Ensure the Success of Gaza's 'Board of Peace': This Dog Won't Hunt
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/January 12/2026
Trump's "Board of Peace" will reportedly include countries such as Turkey and Qatar. Both countries, like Hamas, are followers of the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Its motto is: "Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.""Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide, even more than Iran." — Udi Levy, former head of a Mossad unit dealing with economic warfare against terrorist organizations and countries that sponsor terrorism, Ynet, April 18, 2024.
Many Hamas leaders and activists, who safely sat out the war in the luxurious comfort of Turkey and Qatar, have no interest in seeing Hamas removed from power. Qatar and Turkey, in addition, are hardly likely to participate in any attempt to disarm Hamas or destroy its military and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
"Hamas uses Turkey to plan terrorist activities inside Israel, in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip, and to raise and launder money in support of its terrorist operations, including the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre." — Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, February 3, 2025.
Documents seized by the Israel Defense Forces during the war revealed extensive cooperation between the Qatari government and Hamas. In one letter, Haniyeh informed another Hamas leader... that the emir of Qatar had agreed to covertly fund the group's armed "resistance" efforts against Israel. "So far, $11 million has been raised by the emir for the [Hamas] leadership."
With members such as Qatar and Turkey, it is difficult to see how Trump's "Board of Peace" will be able to achieve even an impersonation of peace, security, and stability in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt, apparently another member of the Board, recently tried to claim that Trump's plan does not call for Hamas disarmament, but only for collecting and handing over weapons as part of understandings among various Palestinian factions, including Hamas.
The Trump administration should have conditioned the establishment of the Board and reconstruction on Hamas first laying down its weapons and relinquishing control of Gaza.
Under the current circumstances, we seem headed toward a situation where the Board of Peace and the proposed Palestinian technocratic government will operate in parallel with Hamas, not instead of it. Recall, as well, that no Palestinian would dare to join any governing body without Hamas's approval.
For the Board of Peace to succeed, it must first issue a clear ultimatum to Hamas and all the terror groups in the Gaza Strip to lay down their weapons by a certain date and then disappear from the scene. These groups, like ISIS, have nothing constructive to offer as political, military, or civilian entities: their stated goal is to destroy Israel and bring more death and destruction on the Palestinians. Reminder: Hamas and its allies do not believe in any peace process with Israel. For them, according to their conditioning as well as Article 13 of the 1988 Hamas Covenant, Jihad (holy war) remains the only option on the table: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
From the look of the countries reportedly involved, Trump's Board of Peace seems more like an army of Israel's enemies being giddily planted on its border, and delighted to sign all sorts of accords, both for the immediate benefits and the opportunity, after Trump leaves office, to tear them up and try again to rid the world of the one country, Israel, that they never wanted near them in the first place.
President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" for Gaza will reportedly include countries such as Turkey and Qatar. Both countries, like Hamas, are followers of the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Its motto is: "Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." Pictured: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on April 14, 2016 in Istanbul. (Photo by Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/AFP via Getty Images)
Next week, US President Donald Trump is expected to announce the Board of Peace for the Gaza Strip as part of the second phase of his 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war. "The board, which will be chaired by Trump and include around 15 world leaders, will supervise a still-to-be formed Palestinian technocratic government and oversee the reconstruction process," according to the American media outlet Axios. The Board of Peace representative on the ground will be former United Nations envoy to the Middle East Nikolay Mladenov.
The Board of Peace is an international transitional body mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 in November 2025 to support the administration, reconstruction and economic recovery of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 war, which erupted after the Hamas-led attack on Israel's southern communities. On that day, more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered and more than 3,400 wounded.
The Board is empowered to establish a committee of Palestinian technocrats to manage the day-to-day governance of the Gaza Strip and a temporary multinational peacekeeping force to ensure implementation of Trump's plan. According to the UN resolution, the members of the "Board of Peace" will work to "establish a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza."
"The ISF shall work with Israel and Egypt, without prejudice to their existing agreements, along with the newly trained and vetted Palestinian police force, to help secure border areas; stabilize the security environment by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups."
Trump's "Board of Peace" will reportedly include countries such as Turkey and Qatar. Both countries, like Hamas, are followers of the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Its motto is:
"Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
Both Turkey and Qatar have long been providing financial and diplomatic aid to Hamas.
"Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide, even more than Iran," according to Udi Levy, former head of a Mossad unit dealing with economic warfare against terrorist organizations and countries that sponsor terrorism.
Many Hamas leaders and activists, who safely sat out the war in the luxurious comfort of Turkey and Qatar, have no interest in seeing Hamas removed from power. Qatar and Turkey, in addition, are hardly likely to participate in any attempt to disarm Hamas or destroy its military and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center noted:
"Turkey, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is one of Hamas's most important strategic allies, especially since the violent events of the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2020. Turkey hosts senior Hamas figures, some of whom have received Turkish citizenship, and provides political, diplomatic and propaganda support, as well as economic and humanitarian assistance.
"Hamas has established one of its most important overseas centers in Turkey, primarily operated by prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal of 2011. It uses Turkey to plan terrorist attacks and transfer funds to finance terrorist activities inside Israel, in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and to raise and launder money in support of its terrorist operations, including the October 7, 2023, attack and massacre."
Documents seized by the Israel Defense Forces during the war revealed extensive cooperation between the Qatari government and Hamas, including secret financial support and coordinated efforts to obstruct US-led peace initiatives between Israel and the Arab states. In a 2019 communication, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh described Qatari funds as the group's "main artery," with financial transfers totaling millions of dollars each month. In one letter, Haniyeh informed another Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 massacre, that the emir of Qatar had agreed to covertly fund the group's armed "resistance" efforts against Israel. "So far, $11 million has been raised by the emir for the [Hamas] leadership," the document states.
In addition, during the Gaza war, Qatar's state-owned Al-Jazeera television empire served as Hamas's propaganda platform. According to a study conducted by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:
"Al-Jazeera gave Hamas's political and military leadership a platform for conveying their messages and promoted Hamas's psychological warfare by showing videos of hostages, exclusive broadcasts of 'ceremonies' for the release of hostages and pictures of Hamas terrorists attacking Israeli forces."
The study and comments discovered by the Israeli army also found that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members worked as Al-Jazeera photographers and correspondents.
With members such as Qatar and Turkey, it is difficult to see how Trump's "Board of Peace" will be able to achieve even an impersonation of peace, security, and stability in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt, apparently another member of the Board, recently tried to claim that Trump's plan does not call for Hamas disarmament, but only for collecting and handing over weapons as part of understandings among various Palestinian factions, including Hamas. Egypt, in other words, opposes the use of force to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups operating in the Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders, meanwhile, have repeatedly made it clear that they will not agree to lay down their weapons unless a Palestinian state is established.
The Board of Peace announcement is planned at a time when Hamas is continuing to rearm, regroup, and quietly reassert its control over areas it governs in the Gaza Strip. The Trump administration should have conditioned the establishment of the Board and reconstruction on Hamas first laying down its weapons and relinquishing control of Gaza. Under the current circumstances, we seem headed toward a situation where the Board of Peace and the proposed Palestinian technocratic government will operate in parallel with Hamas, not instead of it. Recall, as well, that no Palestinian would dare to join any governing body without Hamas's approval.
Meanwhile, Hamas has already rejected the idea of any international forces being deployed in the Gaza Strip, warning:
"Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the [Israeli] occupation."
If Hamas wanted to surrender its weapons and cede control of the Gaza Strip, it could have done so long ago. Hamas, clearly, has no plans to go away and views itself as an integral part of any post-war arrangement in the Gaza Strip.
For the Board of Peace to succeed, it must first issue a clear ultimatum to Hamas and all the terror groups in the Gaza Strip to lay down their weapons by a certain date and then disappear from the scene. These groups, like ISIS, have nothing constructive to offer as political, military, or civilian entities: their stated goal is to destroy Israel and bring more death and destruction on the Palestinians. Reminder: Hamas and its allies do not believe in any peace process with Israel. For them, according to their conditioning as well as Article 13 of the 1988 Hamas Covenant, Jihad (holy war) remains the only option on the table:
"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
No Board of Peace or International Stabilization Force will succeed so long as the Palestinian terrorists are still roaming the streets. These terrorists must be defeated, destroyed, and forced to surrender. Unfortunately, that is the only way to transform the Gaza Strip into a terror-free territory and prevent more violence and bloodshed.
From the look of the countries reportedly involved, Trump's Board of Peace seems more like an army of Israel's enemies being giddily planted on its border, and delighted to sign all sorts of accords, both for the immediate benefits and the opportunity, after Trump leaves office, to tear them up and try again to rid the world of the one country, Israel, that they never wanted near them in the first place.
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
**Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22189/gaza-board-of-peace
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Noise that kills the truth
Karam Nama/The Arab Weekly/January 12/2026
Analysis is replaced by noise. Loyalty replaces professionalism. Instinct replaces thought.
The toxic exchanges between Saudi, Emirati and Yemeni journalists, as well as ‘citizen reporters,’ concerning the Yemen crisis, are not merely a heated debate. They are a symptom of a deeper problem: an Arab media landscape that has lost its ability to generate knowledge, instead operating on instinct rather than reason. What unfolded was not political analysis, but rather a collapse disguised in the language of nationalism, turning Yemen into a theatre of shouting rather than a subject to be understood. Amid this chaos, Senior Diplomatic Adviser to the United Arab Emirates president Anwar Gargash posted a striking message on X: “Media professionalism is the first casualty of every crisis in the region. Words carry responsibility … and if your discourse cannot rise to the occasion, then do not let it explode.”
This is more than advice. It is an implicit indictment of a media culture that has chosen verbal detonation over professional elevation. I met Gargash years ago at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Even then, he was more interested in cultural dialogue than in polarisation. Today, when he diagnoses the crisis, he does so from a position of political and intellectual experience, not as a distant observer. However, can a single voice make a difference in a sea of noise, especially when the media has lost the ‘moral distance’ that American media theorist Jay Rosen says is essential?
Rosen, one of the strongest advocates for journalism that serves citizenship and improves public discourse, recently said on his Rebooting the News podcast, “Journalism loses its meaning when it loses the distance that separates it from both power and the public.”This is precisely what happened in the recent Gulf dispute. Rather than acting as instruments of accountability, journalists became extensions of official narratives. The public became fuel for the fight rather than partners in understanding. Platforms turned into arenas of tribal vengeance rather than spaces for deliberation. The ethical distance that gives journalism its meaning has vanished, replaced by a primal alignment that eliminates any possibility of comprehension. As the Canadian philosopher and media theorist Marshall McLuhan famously wrote, “Noise does not conceal the truth; it kills the ability to see it.”
In today’s Arab world, the medium, saturated with shouting and polarisation, has become the message itself. The message tells the audience that truth does not matter, that emotion is more important than understanding and that loyalty outweighs professionalism.
The Arab world is being reshaped by angry broadcasters, agitated audiences and governments that prefer not to be questioned. This is why Gargash warned against “explosive speech.”
Years earlier, Neil Postman, author of “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” warned that modern media transforms culture and public discourse into shallow entertainment, rendering seriousness and in-depth debate almost impossible. He reminded us that George Orwell’s fear of censorship through oppression could be replaced by something more insidious: censorship through pleasure, triviality and, today, rage.
This is exactly what Arab media has become. It replaces analysis with mockery, context with insults and depth with factionalism. It is political entertainment, not journalism. It is lethal entertainment because it stifles critical thinking and reduces existential issues to spectacles of noise.
The ‘citizen journalists’ are not innocent either. They are both the victim and the executioner of public dialogue. In the West, scholars have long debated the impact of digital platforms on journalism. But in the Arab world, it is not merely weakened; it has died. Instead of expanding the circle of knowledge, the citizen journalist has become a transmitter of insults, a manufacturer of rumours and an accomplice in the killing of public discourse.
Thus, the Arab media has been killed twice: once by governments that wanted to neuter the press, and again by audiences that wanted to dumb it down.
Financial Times writers regularly issue warnings about the ‘crisis of trust’ and the ‘erosion of professionalism’ in Western media. Analysts in The New York Times publish essays on the ‘politicisation of truth’ and the ‘collapse of the public sphere.’
However, the difference between their crisis and ours is stark and frightening. They are debating a professional crisis. We are experiencing an existential one. They fear losing their audience. We have already lost our audience, the truth and the ethical function of journalism. Whereas Jürgen Habermas based his theory of the ‘public sphere’ on rational, open debate. What we are seeing in the Arab world today is the exact opposite: a collapsed public sphere that is dominated by emotion and where the distinction between opinion and information, and between analysis and incitement, has disappeared. The digital space has become a battlefield of identities rather than a marketplace of ideas. Every political discussion is reduced to a test of loyalty. Every disagreement is treated as betrayal. Any attempt at understanding is perceived as alignment. Such an environment cannot produce knowledge. It requires a space that encourages questions, not one that punishes them. Consequently, Arab media becomes part of the problem rather than the solution, and the toxic Yemen debate is a prime example of a public sphere in collapse, where truth is drowned out by noise.
The crisis is further deepened by the absence of institutional structures that protect the profession from blind loyalty or reckless anger. Journalism is not just individuals shouting on platforms; it is a system of values, editorial institutions and professional norms that have been built up over decades. Despite polarisation, newsrooms in the West still maintain mechanisms of review, verification and internal accountability. Universities still train journalists to understand that truth is not an opinion and that emotion is not a position. In the Arab world, however, institutions have been hollowed out and journalists have been reduced to employees of political machines or numbers in digital choruses. Analysis is replaced by noise. Loyalty replaces professionalism. Instinct replaces thought. The absence of institutions allows speech to explode and truth to be buried under the rubble. Echoing Gargash’s warning, the question that must now be asked is not: who is right in the Saudi-Emirati dispute over Yemen?
But, who remains capable of telling the truth without becoming part of the noise?
Arab media does not merely need ‘balance’, as Gargash suggests. It must reinvent itself, restoring ethical distance and reclaiming the ability to generate ideas rather than hostility. Truth does not die from noise. But journalism does, when it abandons its courage.

Either Deng or Gorbachev
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/January 12/2026
Ruling a country is already complex. One must consolidate legitimacy and maintain firm trust between governance and the people. One must listen closely to the people, not simply make do with official reports that often do not raise doubts or address difficult questions. The daily concerns of the people cannot be ignored, especially when the levels of poverty rise, the national currency plummets and inflation soars. The flame of hope must be kept alive, otherwise the dam will burst and the mounting anger, bitterness and resentment will take hold.
In maintaining states, the ruler must know the story and the world. Several countries have paid hefty prices for placing decision-making in the hands of a man who is ignorant of international balances and major world powers. Some rulers overestimated their power and the power of their countries. They lost touch between them and the facts and realities on the ground.
One day, Saddam Hussein believed he could invade Kuwait without paying a price. Moammar al-Gadhafi believe he could pester the United States and bomb planes. The Iranian regime believed it could destroy the Marines headquarters in Beirut, killing hundreds of American soldiers without consequence.
Some rulers believed that the economy was a secondary affair that could be handled by loyalists rather than competent people. They believed they could hand out spoils to the loyalists and address the people through the brutality of the security forces. They believed that waiting was the best way forward and that paving the way for change would lead to strife and collapse. Any demand for reform was viewed with suspicion that should be remedied with death or imprisonment.
Stagnation is one of the deadliest diseases faced by individuals and countries. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was an expert in protecting stagnation. His prime minister Alexei Kosygin tried to make proposals about increasing production and stimulating the economy, but the hardliners soon turned against him and consolidated stagnation. When Mikhail Gorbachev came along in the mid-1980s to return the regime back on the track of rebuilding and transparency, the entire system imploded and the Soviet Union collapsed.
The only thing the Arab regimes learned from Gorbachev is that his project was one of failure. On August 19, 1991, Baghdad hosted dialogue between a government and Kurdish delegations. They heard of the coup against Gorbachev in Moscow. The government delegation then changed its tone towards the other, going so far as to insult it, which prompted it to leave the meeting.
Bashar al-Assad looked at Gorbachev from the same angle. He pledged reforms but the generals he inherited from his father were quick to convince him that giving an inch in a country that is ruled by a minority will only lead to a greater storm. He paid no heed to the stagnation and mounting economic failures and the regime met its demise.
China was lucky. In the late 1970s, a man named Deng Xiaoping came along. He realized that Mao Zedong's ideas were no longer applicable, especially when it came to the economy. He maintained the Communist Party as a means to keep stability, while adopting a policy of reform and openness and embracing trade and investment. He saved the regime and the country. His policy helped save hundreds of millions of Chinese people from poverty and today China is the world's second largest economy and a massive hub of advancement and technology.
Deng was preoccupying himself with protecting stability when the Iranian revolution erupted. Today's events prove that it has derived no lessons from Gorbachev and Deng's experiences.
Yes, the Khomeini revolution was not born from either of those two camps, but that does not mean that it has not aged. The Iranian leadership acted as though its main goals were on the foreign front, not the internal one. It believed that it could change the features of the region. One cannot deny that its regional offensive achieved successes that led several of its generals to boast about controlling four Arab capitals. The Iranian revolution left its mark in Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad and Sanaa.
The Iranian leadership overestimated its strength and underestimated the West. It did not expect an American president to order the killing of Qasem Soleimani. It did not expect the same president to be reelected and to order its jets to punish Iran for enriching uranium and stoking regional tensions. It certainly did not expect Benjamin Netanyahu's government to send its planes to occupy Tehran's airspace and kill Iran's generals and scientists. The Iranian leadership did not realize that times have changed.
It was again taken by surprise from another place. Yehya al-Sinwar launched his Al-Aqsa Flood Operation and cost Israel thousands of lives. The operation, however, soon backfired and struck Hezbollah at its core and uprooted the Assad regime with the winds of change reaching Iran itself.
This is not the first time that the Iranian authorities have to contend with widespread protests. But it is the first time they have taken place since the destruction of the "Axis of Resistance" and with Sharaa's Syria striking partnership with the US and ending the military aspect of the conflict with Israel. It also has to contend with demands for Hamas to lay down its arms in Gaza and Hezbollah to lay down its arms in Lebanon.
What applied to the Russian and Chinese revolutions applies to the Iranian revolution. It must come back to reality and face the facts and numbers. It must change the way it approaches the internal scene and it must open a door to the outside world. The rule is clear: the revolution can either follow Deng's model and save itself and reconcile with its people and the world, or it can await the arrival of a Gorbachev and the ensuing collapse. Deng respected Mao, but he did not allow him to rule China from the grave.

How do Al-Qaeda and Iran converge in Syria?
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/January 12/2026
The renewed activity of Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Syria brings us back to reexamining the events that first brought Al-Qaeda into Syria. Yes, it is Al-Qaeda itself. As an organization that was born and took root in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda was destroyed by the Americans in response to the September 2001 attacks. Most of its leadership fled and lived covertly in Iran. Its ranks dispersed and the organization fragmented into cells that operated with whoever could provide land and support and shared objectives with them. The notion that Iran and the now-defeated Bashar Assad regime behind it could be involved may seem hard to imagine, given that Al-Qaeda and Daesh are highly ideological groups fiercely hostile to them. Yet numerous facts have proven their functional cooperation with regimes such as Assad’s and Iran’s Quds Force. After the US invasion of Iraq, Al-Qaeda became active under new banners, the most famous of which was Daesh. For four years — until 2007 — this coincided with Iran and Syria’s engagement in Iraq. Syria’s role was to serve as a transit platform for the “resistance” and to manage logistical networks with support from the Revolutionary Guards. Thousands of young Arabs were received and trained, then directed to fight Americans and Shiites. Tehran was not pursuing a contradictory strategy but moving along winding paths toward clear and specific goals
It may be difficult to digest this contradiction: Tehran supporting Sunni groups that targeted Americans and Shiites in Iraq. At the time, Iran was, with one hand, providing support to Washington to do what it could not — topple Saddam Hussein’s regime — benefiting from the reluctance of most Arab states to cooperate with the new Iraq. With the other hand, it was financing Iraqi resistance operations and Al-Qaeda. In reality, Tehran was not pursuing a contradictory strategy but moving along winding paths toward clear and specific goals that ultimately served its supreme interest: first, helping to bring down Saddam; second, forcing the Americans out; third, drawing the Shiites into its embrace; and, finally, dominating Iraq. The second and third objectives were carried out by thousands of Iraqi and Arab volunteers who had been deceived by propaganda. They were unaware they were working for Syrian-Iranian objectives. Nearly all Iraqi “resistance” and external “jihadist” groups gathered, trained and infiltrated from Syrian territory into the “land of jihad” via Iraqi provinces such as Anbar and Salah Al-Din. Tracing the Syrian path was not difficult. Syria at the time was an iron-gated state; it was said metaphorically that not even a fly could pass through its airspace without the regime knowing. So how could tens of thousands slip in from across the region? These waves bore arms and were trained in organized activities toward clearly mapped targets in Iraq. It was not easy for us to conclude that Syria stood behind these groups, operating in conjunction with Tehran. Unraveling the complex puzzle took the Americans about four years: an extremist Shiite Iranian regime cooperating with extremist Sunni groups — this was just beyond their imagination. The Iranians succeeded in promoting misleading narratives about who was behind the “jihadist” groups, using partially accurate information. They cited the political stances of regional Sunni states, which were opposed to Washington’s presence in Iraq, as evidence of intent. And they built accusations on identity: large numbers came from Yemen, the Gulf and Tunisia, which made it easier to shift blame to those countries. These accusations were echoed by the US secretary of defense at the time, Donald Rumsfeld.
Assad was convinced he would be next after Saddam’s fall, though there was no evidence to support this
The targeting of Shiite shrines by militants ignited sectarian strife, making it easier for Iran to push Shiites toward its own religious leaders and against those perceived as pro-American. The guns of “jihadist” groups and the Iraqi resistance ultimately served Iranian objectives. Iraq ended up under an American military umbrella, sheltered in concrete camps while governance in Baghdad was handed to Iran-aligned groups, including Sunni politicians. The opposition’s rhetoric discouraged Sunni and other components from participating in elections and local administration, targeting anyone who dissented. Within five bloody years, this delivered to Iran everything it wanted. Assad was convinced he would be next after Saddam’s fall, though there was no evidence to support this. The opposite was true: Washington viewed Syria as within Israel’s security sphere and Israel opposed any activity that might destabilize the Assad regime. A US official told me at the time that the “Israeli consideration” was one reason the Americans delayed conducting operations inside Syria until 2008. The picture became clearer in Washington after the discovery of the Sinjar documents — detailed records of fighters and information about the Quds Force’s role in managing the Iraqi resistance and “jihadists.”In media circles, Islamist groups deceived Arab public opinion for many years. Now Iran is back to blowing up the situation in Syria to weaken Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s government.
**Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a Saudi journalist and intellectual. He is the former general manager of Al-Arabiya news channel and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, where this article was originally published. X: @aalrashed

After Khamanei: What the Fall of Iran’s Regime Would Mean for the Region
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This is Beirut/January 12, 2026
The fall of Iran's Islamist regime would mark one of the most seismic shifts in Middle Eastern geopolitics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought it to power. As massive protests grip the country, sparked by economic collapse and hyperinflation, the prospect of regime change grows more tangible.
Unlike the 1979 revolution, which ushered in theocratic rule, today's demonstrators largely reject ideological extremism, with no widespread displays of keffiyehs or Palestinian flags. This signals a potential realignment: a post-regime Iran could pivot from being Israel's staunchest adversary to a potential partner, reviving historical ties that existed during the Pahlavi era.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly stated that once the regime falls, Jerusalem and Tehran could become partners again, working together for prosperity and peace. Such a transformation would dismantle the so-called Axis of Resistance, the network of proxies that has defined Iran's regional strategy for decades. Hezbollah in Lebanon, heavily reliant on Iranian funding, arms, and guidance, would lose its core purpose. The group has already been severely weakened by Israel’s military campaign, with its leadership decimated and capabilities degraded. Without Tehran, Hezbollah might fracture or relent under international pressure and accept disarmament. In Iraq, Iranian-backed Shia militias within the Popular Mobilization Forces, such as Kataib Hezbollah, would become leaderless. These groups have wielded significant influence, often operating independently of Baghdad, but their Iranian lifeline has been strained by recent setbacks. They could become even more fragmented and ineffective, potentially opening space for Iraq to assert greater sovereignty.
The Houthis in Yemen stand out as more resilient due to their geographic isolation and local roots. They might persist with a reduced footprint, focusing on maintaining their grip on power rather than regional disruption, especially as Iran's ability to supply them diminishes. A secular or moderate post-regime Iran aligning with Israel would profoundly alter the regional balance. The Muslim Brotherhood's “Shia wing” would vanish, leaving the Sunni-dominated Brotherhood—influential in Turkey, Qatar, and increasingly Saudi Arabia—facing a strengthened Israel and U.S.
The Abraham Accords, which normalized ties between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, could expand further, empowering moderates while marginalizing antisemitic Islamists across the region.
For the United States, a transformed Iran would present a major strategic gain: a large, educated, resource-rich ally in a volatile neighborhood. This could pressure Saudi Arabia and Turkey—long seen as Washington's key partners—to curb Islamism and antisemitism within their societies or risk losing influence.
Both countries have shown unease at the prospect of a revived, pro-Western Iran. State media in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have often sided with the Khamenei regime against protesters, seemingly calculating that a weakened Iran better serves their interests than a strong, secular one aligned with the U.S. and Israel. Sunni states have already moved in anticipation of the potential downfall of the Iranian regime. Turkey has sought dominance in Syria, attempting to seize strategic assets like the T4 airbase, only to be checked by Israel. In Gaza, Turkey has pushed for troop deployment under the International Stabilization Force, but Israel has blocked the move. Saudi Arabia eyes influence in a post-Hezbollah Lebanon and in Yemen against the Houthis. Meanwhile, Turkey, and Pakistan have pursued closer defense ties. A September 2025 mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has drawn Turkey into advanced talks for inclusion. This would create a trilateral based on Saudi Arabia’s financial clout, Pakistan’s nuclear power and manpower, and Turkey’s advanced industry. This emerging "Sunni alliance" appears aimed at countering a pro-U.S. Israel-Iran bloc. From a U.S. and Israeli viewpoint, replacing Iran’s Shia jihadism across the region with a Sunni jihadism sponsored by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar would offer little improvement. Given Sunni jihadism’s long history of exporting extremism, swapping one form of terrorism for another risks repeating cycles of instability, including potential attacks on U.S. interests around the world. Ultimately, the end of Iran’s Islamist regime could usher in a more peaceful Middle East, with fewer proxy wars, a widened Abraham Accords, and deeper economic cooperation. But ensuring this outcome will require proactive diplomacy.
As Iran’s Islamist leadership falters, the U.S. must act decisively to help protesters bring it down and be ready to shape what comes next. The stakes are immense, as cataclysmic change could bring either unprecedented opportunity or dangerous uncertainty.

Selected Face Book & X tweets/ January 12/2026
Michel Hajji Georgiou
The now-iconic image of this young woman burning the portrait of Ayatollah Khamenei to light her cigarette says, symbolically, a lot: Iranian theocracy is dead and buried. It's just a matter of time (... )
If you'd like to read it, my view on the events in Iran, it's here:
https://levanttime.com/.../ff1ff16c-e13e-4298-a898...

Ronnie Chatah
We are lucky to be living through a time where Hassan Nasrallah is out of the picture, Bashar al Assad is in cowardly exile & Ali Khamenei is hiding from his own people.
From Beirut to Damascus & Tehran. May the regime that terrorized us & stole our region’s future finally fall.