English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For January 16/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
God Of mercies and all consolation, consoles us in
all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any
affliction
Second Letter to the Corinthians 01/03-07/:”Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who
consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who
are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled
by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our
consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for
your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your
consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings
that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as
you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on January
15-16/2026
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
Video-Link to an Interview with Writer and Director Youssef Y. Al-Khoury from
the Transparency Youtube Platform
Video-Link Interview from Voice Of Lebanon with Retired Commando Brigadier
General Fadi Daoud/Contradictory American Statements… Gulf Mediation or Iranian
Pressure?
In implicit threat, Hezbollah says disarmament push could prompt ‘civil war’
Israel says it is striking Hezbollah targets in several areas in Lebanon
Lebanon charges four accused of kidnapping for Israel’s Mossad
Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah: January 5–11, 2026 /David Daoud/FDD's
Long War Journal/January 15/2026
Lebanon searches for Hezbollah’s elusive power of reason/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab
News/January 15/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on January
15-16/2026
US
imposes sanctions on Iran over crackdown on protesters
Iran’s judiciary says protester Erfan Soltani will not be given death sentence
US sanctions Larijani and other Iranian officials over protest crackdown
Iran’s FM says ‘no plan to hang’ protesters, urges Trump not to repeat June war
‘mistake’
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman convinced Trump to ‘give Iran a chance:’ Senior Saudi
official
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal discusses developments with Iranian counterpart
Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza, say local health authorities
Hamas says technocratic committee key to consolidating Gaza truce
JPMorgan’s Gori sees 2026 deal rebound, backs Middle East’s structural growth
Senior Hamas figure killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza
Hamas says technocratic committee key to consolidating Gaza truce
Putin says the world is getting more dangerous
Syrians flee Kurdish-controlled area near Aleppo amid army deadline
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on January
15-16/2026
Venezuela’s Intelligence Chief Remains a Danger Despite Maduro Ouster/Samuel
Ben-Ur/FDD-Policy Brief/January 15/2026
Maduro’s last exit is to Brooklyn But his henchmen remain in power in Caracas/
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/January 15/2026
Why Gaza Should Be Placed Under US and Israeli Control/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/January 15/2026
UN to Censor All Criticism of the Climate Agenda as Whistleblower Exposes it as
a Total Scam/Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/January 15/2026
The scenarios of an inevitable downfall/Charles Elias Chartouni/January 15/2026
Les scénarios d’une chute inévitable/Charles Elias Chartouni/January 15/2026
Is Iran truly ready to change?/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya English/January
15/2026
For Trump, a Path Forward on Iran That Goes Beyond Bombs/Ali Vaez/Time/January
15/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets/ January 15/2026
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on January
15-16/2026
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
Video-Link to an Interview
with Writer and Director Youssef Y. Al-Khoury from the Transparency Youtube
Platform
January 15, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151143/
In a controversial episode that pushes the boundaries of traditional political
discourse, Youssef Al-Khoury provides a legal and historical dissection of the
Lebanese situation. His main argument centers on the idea that "Israel is not an
enemy, and today's enemy could become tomorrow's friend."
Interview Key Discussion Points
1. Legal Dissection of Enmity: Al-Khoury argues that no constitution in the
world permanently defines a specific state as an "enemy." He claims that
Lebanese laws regarding Israel are primarily commercial (boycott laws) rather
than constitutional mandates of eternal enmity.
2. Strategic Sovereignty: He views Israel as a "strategic outlet" for Lebanon.
By closing the southern borders, he argues, Lebanon has become a "hostage" to
its eastern neighbor (Syria), losing its geopolitical balance.
3. Counter-Narrative of the Israeli Invasion: Al-Khoury challenges the official
history, asserting that internal Lebanese factions (The National Movement,
Yasser Arafat, and Walid Jumblatt) were the ones who provoked and effectively
"invited" the Israeli intervention through their actions at the time.
4. The "Iranian Occupation" and Hezbollah’s Weaponry: He characterizes the
current state of Lebanon as being under "Iranian Occupation," following previous
Palestinian and Syrian eras. He describes Hezbollah’s weapons as "internal
tools" used to control the Lebanese state rather than defend it.
5. Sharp Criticism of the "Change MPs": He launched a fierce attack on the
"Change Parliamentarians," labeling them as "fools" and "failures" who
fragmented the opposition and failed to challenge the ruling establishment
effectively.
6. Message to the Presidency and Army Command: Al-Khoury concludes with a "fiery
message" to the President and the Army, demanding they move from "guarding the
status quo" to "leading the nation." He calls for the strict implementation of
international resolutions (like 1701) and the reclaiming of the state's monopoly
on arms.
Interview Chapters & Timestamps
00:00 The Confrontation: Is Israel truly an enemy?
02:40 Al-Khoury: "I expected security forces to pursue me after my last
statement."
05:15 The truth about the Lebanese Constitution and defining the "Enemy."
07:20 Why Al-Khoury considers Israel a "strategic outlet" for Lebanon.
10:30 The Bombshell: Accusing Walid Jumblatt and the Amal Movement of bringing
Israel to Beirut.
12:50 The scandal of the Southern Communist MP who "betrayed his comrades."
18:00 Lebanon under Iranian Occupation: From the Syrians to Hezbollah.
21:40 Why Al-Khoury boycotts the parliamentary elections.
26:00 A violent attack on the "Change MPs": "Shame on you!"
35:40 A fiery message to the President and the Army Leadership regarding illegal
weapons.
Video-Link Interview from
Voice Of Lebanon with Retired Commando Brigadier General Fadi Daoud/Contradictory
American Statements… Gulf Mediation or Iranian Pressure?
Voice of Lebanon/January 15/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151154/
During an interview on the “Manchet Al-Masa” program via Voice of Lebanon and
VDL24, Retired Commando Brigadier General Fadi Daoud stated that conventional
wars no longer exist in the presence of technological advancement and Artificial
Intelligence (AI). He noted that human intelligence no longer has a place in the
face of this technological revolution.
He considered that the war should have been settled by Israel; however, it was
prolonged to achieve specific goals. He pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu recognized “Somaliland” in exchange for a promise to receive
the residents of Gaza, though it remains unclear if Arab countries will accept
this, despite everyone now calling for a solution. Daoud stated: “What we are
witnessing today is the establishment of a New World Order, and we do not know
whether it will succeed or fail. The Americans have strategies they set and work
to achieve. The work President Donald Trump did in Venezuela and the resulting
outcome brought him massive profits; even Iran, which is far from it, was
affected and began defending itself regionally.”Regarding the events in Iran and
Trump’s statement yesterday that executions have decreased, Daoud noted that
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham declared the United States would employ
psychological, cyber, and military operations against Iran. This suggests that
what preceded Trump’s comments yesterday was a form of “psychological
warfare.”He added: “The contradictory American statements are part of
psychological warfare. If we believe that U.S. President Donald Trump has backed
down from striking Iran, it means he got what he wanted—either Gulf mediation
played its role, or the Iranians forced him to retreat.”In response to a
question, he replied: “What I fear is that the American mind reads by analogy.
They adopted a strategy in Gaza, moved it to Syria, and I fear they will
transfer it to Lebanon, or perhaps use the same strategy they employed in
Venezuela.”He pointed out that the decision to support the Lebanese Army has
become conditional on the progress of the plan to confine weapons on the ground.
This plan is linked to what is happening in Iran, as the core of the problem in
Lebanon is Hezbollah’s weaponry. Without Iranian support and mandate, the party
would not retain its arms. He emphasized that once the situation in Iran is
resolved, it will reflect positively on the weapons file in Lebanon. He added:
“The Army will adhere to the plan it committed to, and the political cover for
it does not allow for any change in its content.”Responding to another question,
he stressed that the painful blows received by Hezbollah had a significant
impact on Iran, emphasizing that surviving and continuing life on the ground is
more important than a military victory.
He viewed General Joseph Aoun’s remarks in his interview on “Télé Liban” as a
confirmation and reinforcement of what was stated in the presidential inaugural
speech. He concluded by asserting that Hezbollah’s weapons did not protect
Lebanon, and it has become clear that all the “equations” the party advocated
for were “illusory.” He noted that fighting is not just about martyrdom; there
are principles, and the only constant in history is change. The most important
thing is for people to continue their lives.
In implicit threat, Hezbollah
says disarmament push could prompt ‘civil war’
The Arab Weekly/January 15/2026
A senior Hezbollah official has warned Lebanon’s government that pressing on
with efforts to disarm the group throughout the country would trigger chaos and
possibly civil war, according to comments circulated by the Iran-backed militant
group on Wednesday. Lebanon has pledged to bring all arms in the country under
state control, in line with a 2024 agreement that ended a devastating war
between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah insists that deal only applies to the
southernmost region of Lebanon that borders Israel and has refused to relinquish
its arsenal elsewhere. In an interview with Russian state media outlet RT,
senior Hezbollah political official Mahmoud Qmati said pursuing a state monopoly
on arms further north would be “the biggest crime committed by the state. “The
path taken by the Lebanese government and state institutions will lead Lebanon
to instability, chaos and perhaps even civil war,” Qmati said, though he added
that Hezbollah would not be dragged into a confrontation with Lebanon’s army.
The Lebanese army said last week that it had taken operational control in the
area between the Litani River and Israel’s border. The Lebanese cabinet has
asked the army to brief it in early February on how it would pursue disarmament
in other parts of the country. Hezbollah has said that Israeli troops must
withdraw from five hilltop positions they occupy in southern Lebanon, halt
near-daily air strikes on Lebanon and release detained Lebanese before any
further disarmament is discussed. “There will be no talk or dialogue about any
situation north of the Litani River before Israel withdraws from all Lebanese
territory, liberates the South and the prisoners, and stops its violations
against Lebanon,” said Qmati. Israel says that efforts to disarm Hezbollah
fighters have been insufficient, raising pressure on Lebanese leaders who fear
Israel could escalate strikes. The war in Gaza that erupted in October 2023
triggered months of cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, with
near-daily exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel frontier.
Israel says it is striking Hezbollah targets in several areas in Lebanon
Reuters/15 January/2026
The Israeli military said it was striking Hezbollah targets in several areas
in Lebanon on Thursday, adding that the strikes were in response to Hezbollah’s
“repeated violations of the ceasefire.”An Israeli military spokesperson had
earlier issued a warning to residents of certain buildings in the Lebanese
village of Sohmor.Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024,
ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that had
culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant
group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations over violations. Lebanon
has faced growing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah, and its
leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the
battered country to push Lebanon’s leaders to confiscate Hezbollah’s arsenal
more quickly.
Lebanon charges four accused of kidnapping for Israel’s Mossad
AFP, Beirut/15 January/2026
Four people accused of a kidnapping in Lebanon for Israel’s Mossad spy agency
last month have been charged, a judicial official said on Thursday, after a
retired security officer whose brother was linked to an Israeli airman’s
disappearance went missing. Israel has apprehended suspects in Lebanon before
and Mossad is accused of regularly attempting to contact Lebanese people to
facilitate its operations, while Lebanon has arrested dozens of people on
suspicion of collaborating with Israel over the years. Lebanese authorities
believe the agency known for espionage operations outside of Israel’s borders
was behind the disappearance of retired security officer Ahmad Shukr last month.
Shukr, whose brother Hassan is suspected of involvement in the 1986 capture of
Israeli air force navigator Ron Arad, disappeared in the Bekaa region of eastern
Lebanon. Authorities have arrested and charged one Lebanese man and charged
three more who remain at large. The four were charged with “communicating with
and working for Mossad within Lebanon in exchange for money, and carrying out
the kidnapping of Ahmad Shukr,” a judicial official told AFP on condition of
anonymity. The three are “a Lebanese woman, a Lebanese-French man, and a
Syrian-Swedish man,” the official said. The Israeli airman Ron Arad, whose plane
went down in southern Lebanon during the country’s civil war between 1975 and
1990, is now presumed dead and his remains were never returned. Hassan Shukr was
killed in 1988 in a battle between Israeli forces and local fighters, including
from the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, a source close to the family told
AFP last month, requesting anonymity.
Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah: January
5–11, 2026
David Daoud/FDD's Long War Journal/January 15/2026
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2026/01/israeli-operations-in-lebanon-against-hezbollah-january-5-11-2026.php
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted numerous operations throughout Lebanon
against Hezbollah between January 5 and January 11, 2026. Israeli activities
last week were noticeably more intense and numerous than usual, constituting
perhaps one of the most significant escalations since the onset of the ceasefire
with Lebanon on November 27, 2024.
Israeli operations reached as far north as Brital but were largely concentrated
on targeted Hezbollah assets and personnel in south Lebanon, both north and
south of the Litani River. Notably, Israeli operations included targeted
killings of Hezbollah operatives allegedly involved in the group’s local
regeneration efforts south of the river—even after the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)
declared taking “operational control” over the area on January 8, 2026.
The IDF conducted operations in 37 Lebanese locales, some of them more than
once. These activities included:
Airstrikes: 37+
Artillery missions: Seven
Detonations: Four
Drone strikes: Nine
Flares: One
Ground activities: Three
Leaflets: One
Mortar strikes: One
Quadcopter activities: Eight
Map instructions: Click the top-left icon or an icon on the map to open the Map
Key and adjust the map’s zoom as desired. Click the top-right icon to open a
larger version of the map.
Baalbek-Hermel Governorate
Baalbek District: Brital
Beqaa Governorate
West Beqaa District: Ain al Tineh and Manara
Nabatieh Governorate
Bint Jbeil District: Ayta Ash Shaab, Bint Jbeil-Yaroun, Kfar Dounin, Khirbet
Selm, Maroun al Ras, and Yaroun
Marjayoun District: Aziyeh-Deir Mimas-Kfar Kela, Houla, Kfar Kela,Khiam,Meiss al
Jabal, Taybeh, and Tel Hamames
Nabatieh District: Ain Qana-Kfar Fila, Deir Zahrani-Houmine Al Fawqa, and Jbaa
South Lebanon Governorate
Jezzine District: Anan, Buslaya-Sinya, Dimashqiyeh, Jabbour, Mahmoudiyeh, Mount
Rihan-Sujod, Rihan, and Qatrani
Sidon District: Aaddoussiyeh-Maamariyet al Kharab, Bnaafoul-Zayta, Kfar Hatta,
Ghaziyeh-Sayniq, Saksakiyeh-Sarafand, and Tebna
Tyre District: Alma Al Shaab, Dhayra, Jwaya, and Naqoura
Casualties
Between January 5 and January 11, Israeli operations in Lebanon killed five
people, all Hezbollah operatives, and wounded four individuals, one of whom was
identified as an alleged Lebanese civilian.
January 5, 2026: Two unidentified individuals were wounded.
January 6, 2026: Two Hezbollah operatives were killed, and one reported Lebanese
civilian was wounded.
January 7, 2026: One Hezbollah operative was killed, and one unidentified
individual was wounded.
January 8, 2026: One Hezbollah operative was killed.
January 9, 2026: No casualties were reported.
January 10, 2026: No casualties were reported.
January 11, 2026: One Hezbollah operative was killed.
Chronology of Israeli operations against Hezbollah, January 5–11, 2026
January 5
At 12:39 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle on
the main road of Braiqa in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District. The
strike wounded two people.
At 4:25 pm, IDF Arabic Language Spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee issued a
warning to the residents of Manara in the Beqaa Governorate’s West Beqaa
District and Anan in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine District to
distance themselves 300 meters from buildings he alleged were being used by
Hamas operatives. NNA Lebanon reported that the home in Manara belonged to Hamas
commander Sharhabil al Sayyed, whom Israel killed on May 17, 2024.
Avichay Adraee’s warning to residents of Manara (Left) and Anan (Right).
At 4:47 pm, Adraee issued a warning to the residents of Kfar Hatta in the South
Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District and Ain al Tineh in the Baalbek
Governorate’s West Beqaa District to distance themselves at least 300 meters
from buildings he alleged were being used by Hezbollah.
At 5:24 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery fired several shells
toward the wadi of Alma al Shaab in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Tyre
District.
At 6:04 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the
designated home in Ain al Tineh.
At 6:08 pm, the IDF released a statement saying it was targeting Hezbollah and
Hamas positions inside Lebanon. The IDF released another statement the next day,
saying it had targeted military installations belonging to the two groups
throughout Lebanon, including “several weapons storage facilities, above and
underground military installations being used by Hezbollah to advance terror
initiatives against IDF soldiers, the State of Israel, and for regeneration.”
The statement also alleged that the Hamas targets hit were “weapons production
facilities.” The statement was accompanied by aerial guncam footage of the
strikes on Ain al Tineh, Manara, and Kfar Hatta, with secondary explosions
clearly visible in the Ain Al Tineh strike.
At 6:11 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the
designated structure in Manara. It reportedly destroyed the building completely
and caused significant damage to surrounding structures.
At 6:21 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the
designated structure in Anan with two missiles.
At 6:38 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the
designated structure in Kfar Hatta.
At 7:10 pm, NNA Lebanonreported that Israeli forces conducted a detonation near
the IDF’s Tel Hamames post in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.
At 7:20 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces conducted a second
detonation near the IDF’s Tel Hamames post.
At 8:14 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces fired flares over Naqoura
in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Tyre District.
At 8:50 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the
outskirts of Saksakiyeh-Sarafand in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon
District.
At 10:05 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Tebna in the
South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District.
At 11:20 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces conducted a detonation
near the IDF’s Tel Hamames post.
January 6
NNA Lebanon reported that, at dawn, an Israeli airstrike targeted a three-story
building in the industrial zone in Ghaziyeh-Sayniq in the South Lebanon
Governorate’s Sidon District. The strike wounded an individual identified as
Mohammad Ayin, born in 1964, who was transferred to Al Rahi Hospital. The strike
caused considerable damage to surrounding buildings.
At 4:14 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted an open space
near a house in Kfar Dounin in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
The strike killed two people. The IDF released a statement saying that it had
targeted two Hezbollah operatives near Khirbet Selm who were “involved in
efforts to restore Hezbollah’s military infrastructure […] in violation of the
understandings between Israel and Lebanon.” Hezbollah-affiliated social media
later announced the deaths of Hezbollah operative Abbas Hussain Mahmoud, whose
nom de guerre was Jawad, from Deir Kifa, and Hezbollah operative and engineer
Mohammad Wassim Faqih, whose nom de guerre was Mahdi, from Kfar Dounin.
At 4:17 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun
explosive near alleged civilians inspecting their demolished homes in the
western neighborhood of Ayta Ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil
District.
At 11:34 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped an
explosive on an excavator in Meiss al Jabal in the Nabatieh Governorate’s
Marjayoun District.
Death announcements for Abbas Hussain Mahmoud (Left) and Mohammad Wassim Faqih
(Right). (Balagh Media Telegram)
January 7
NNA Lebanon reported that, at dawn, an Israeli drone targeted a bulldozer near
the Abu al Laban neighborhood in Ayta Ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorate’s
Bint Jbeil District.
At 8:14 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli patrol detonated a three-story
building in Bab al Thaniah, west of Khiam, in the Nabatieh Governorate’s
Marjayoun District.
At 2:58 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in
Jwaya in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Tyre District. The strike killed one
person and wounded another. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted
and killed a Hezbollah operative near Jwaya who belonged to the organization’s
127th Aerial Unit, and who was “involved in efforts to restore Hezbollah’s
military capabilities in the area […] in violation of the understandings between
Israel and Lebanon.” The statement noted that he was the second Hezbollah
operative from Unit 127 to be killed in recent days. Hezbollah-affiliated social
media later announced the death of lawyer and Hezbollah operative Hussain
Abdelredha Hamza, whose nom de guerre was Kamil, from Jmayjmeh.
Funeral announcement for Hussain Abdelredha Hamza. (Balagh Media Telegram)
At 4:18 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces fired three mortar rounds
at the outskirts of Aitaroun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
At 4:52 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery fired two shells between
Deir Mimas and Kfar Kela in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District, and
two at Kfar Kela.
At 6:05 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery renewed intermittent
shelling of the area between Al Aziyeh and Kfar Kela.
At 6:15 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery continued to target the
environs of Kfar Kela.
At 7:42 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery targeted the area of
Aqbat al Madawara on the southern outskirts of Aitaroun and the area between
Bint Jbeil and Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
January 8
NNA Lebanon reported that at 1:45 am, Israeli forces conducted a massive
detonation in Houla in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District, destroying
a three-story residential building and causing significant destruction in the
area.
At 8:27 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a construction
site in the Hassan Bek plaza of Taybeh in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun
District.
At 3:46 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle
between Zayta and Bnaafoul in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District.
The strike killed one person. The IDF released a statement saying it had
targeted and killedHezbollah operative Alaa Hourani near Zayta, describing him
as a drone operator who, after the November 24 ceasefire, “was involved in
restoring Hezbollah’s military capabilities in the area […] in violation of the
understandings between Israel and Lebanon.” Hezbollah-affiliated social media
later announced the death of Hezbollah operative Alaa Hussain Hourani, whose nom
de guerre was Jawad Ali, from Tayri.
At 8:21 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery intermittently targeted
Maroun al Ras in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
Death announcement for Alaa Hussain Hourani. (Balagh Media Telegram)
January 9
NNA Lebanon reported that, at dawn, an Israeli patrol entered the Bayader
neighborhood of Yaroun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District and
detonated a building.
NNA Lebanon reported that, in the morning, Israeli forces fired an incendiary
explosive near the park in Maroun al Ras in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint
Jbeil District, igniting fires in the area.
NNA Lebanon reported that, at 12:20 pm, several Israeli airstrikes targeted the
area between Kfar Fila and Ain Qana in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh
District. The IDF released a statement saying it was “targeting Hezbollah
positions in several areas throughout Lebanon.”
At 12:32 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the area
between Mount Rihan and Sujod in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine
District.
At 12:40 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted the wadi
between Houmine al Fawqa and Deir Zahrani in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh
District.
At 12:57 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted the
Nabi Ismail area in the heights of the barrens of Brital in the Baalbek-Hermel
Governorate’s Baalbek District.
At 1 pm, the IDF released a statement saying it had targeted Hezbollah military
facilities throughout Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and a
weapons production facility being used to restore the group’s military
capabilities. The IDF also said it had struck several launch sites and launchers
positioned near Hezbollah military facilities. The IDF concluded by noting that
“the targets struck and Hezbollah’s regeneration efforts constitute a violation
of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a threat to the State of
Israel.”
At 1:15 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted Wadi
Jahannam in Kfar Hatta, Tebna, and the area between Aaddoussiyeh and Maamariyet
Al Kharab in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District.
January 10
At 8:29 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted an excavator in
the Al Trash neighborhood in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.
At 11:18 am, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun
explosive near an alleged civilian in Kfar Kela in the Nabatieh Governorate’s
Marjayoun District.
At 12:02 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces positioned inside Israel
directed machine-gun fire toward the outskirts of Dhayra in the South Lebanon
Governorate’s Tyre District.
At 3:02 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun
explosive near a vehicle in Maroun al Ras in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint
Jbeil District.
At 3:35 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces dropped leaflets containing
warnings of Hezbollah activity in Ayta Ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorate’s
Bint Jbeil District. The leaflets read, “Hezbollah is acting to restore its
positions near you. Prevent them from endangering you,” with three red X’s
designating alleged Hezbollah positions in the village.
At 4:44 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a
fragmentation explosive on an excavator in Maroun al Ras, burning and destroying
it.
At 7:40 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli forces directed machine-gun fire
toward the outskirts of Aitaroun in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil
District.
Israeli leaflets dropped in Ayta Ash Shaab. (NNA Lebanon)
January 11
At 12:07 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun
explosive on Kfar Kela in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Marjayoun District.
At 2:31 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that several Israeli airstrikes targeted
Mahmoudiyeh and Dimashqiyeh in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District.
At 2:45 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Breij on the
outskirts of Jbaa in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Nabatieh District.
At 2:53 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Mount Rihan’s
heights in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine District.
At 2:59 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Jabbour,
Qatrani, and Mahmoudiyeh in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine District.
At 3:08 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that a second wave of airstrikes targeted Breij
on Jbaa’s outskirts, and an additional airstrike targeted Rihan.
At 3:14 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that a third wave of Israeli airstrikes
targeted Breij, bringing the total strikes on the area to 10.
At 3:20 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted Tebna in the
South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District, but the missile failed to explode.
At 3:27 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted the area
between Buslaya and Sinya in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Jezzine District.
At 3:30 pm, the IDF released a statement saying it had targeted Hezbollah
weapons storage shafts in several areas in south Lebanon, noting “Hezbollah
activity had been detected at those sites in recent months” and “the activities
at the sites struck violated the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
At 4:16 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun
explosive in Ayta Ash Shaab in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District.
At 4:19 pm, IDF Arabic Spokesman Adraee issued a warning to the residents of
Kfar Hatta in the South Lebanon Governorate’s Sidon District to distance
themselves 300 meters from the same designated area from January 5, alleging it
was being used by Hezbollah. NNA Lebanon reported the residents of Kfar Hatta
called on the LAF command and Lebanese security forces to inspect the designated
area, which NNA claimed was a “residential complex comprised of at least ten
buildings.”
At 4:46 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an LAF and UNIFIL patrol headed to the
area designated by the IDF in Kfar Hatta.
At 5:36 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli drones conducted a warning
airstrike near the designated area in Kfar Hatta.
At 5:43 pm, the IDF announced the onset of strikes on the Hezbollah site in Kfar
Hatta. At 5:48 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that over 10 Israeli airstrikes targeted
the designated area, causing significant damage to buildings. At 8:42 pm, the
IDF released a statement saying the target in Kfar Hatta was an underground
Hezbollah weapons storage facility that had been targeted earlier in the week.
The IDF statement said that LAF personnel inspected the site but didn’t
completely dismantle it, so the IDF struck it again. The IDF concluded that
“Hezbollah’s activities at these sites constitute a violation of the
understandings between Israel and Lebanon.” The IDF statement was accompanied by
aerial guncam footage of the strike showing secondary explosions at the site.
At 8:35 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in
Bint Jbeil in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District. The strike killed
one person. The IDF released a statement saying it had targeted and killed a
Hezbollah operative in Bint Jbeil who was allegedly “involved in restoring
Hezbollah’s military capabilities […] in violation of the understandings between
Israel and Lebanon.” Hezbollah-affiliated social media later announced the death
of Hezbollah operative Mohammad Adel al Saghir, whose nom de guerre was Osama,
from Bint Jbeil.
At 10:00 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli drone strike targeted a
motorbike in Yater in the Nabatieh Governorate’s Bint Jbeil District, and an
Israeli quadcopter dropped a stun explosive that landed on a roof in Yater.
Lebanon searches for
Hezbollah’s elusive power of reason
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/January 15/2026
Slowly but surely, more than a year since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and
Israel came into effect, Lebanon is taking baby steps toward normality. That is
despite the war having not completely ended yet. Slowly, the new president,
Joseph Aoun, and the government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam are trying to claw
back control of the state. For the past 30 or more years, Lebanon has been
kidnapped by a state within the state, whereby every political, economic or
social decision had to be calibrated with the many interests of the dominant
Hezbollah militia, supported by Syria until the fall of Assad regime and Iran.
Slowly too, the Lebanese are permitting themselves to hope. This is reflected in
a greater positivity about the future among the battered Lebanese, who are still
hoping to claim back some peace, stability and semblance of a functioning state,
so that reforms, a consistent power supply and basic services return to the
broken country.“Slowly” is the safest word with which to describe the
achievements of President Aoun after a year in office, as he took the reins on
Jan. 9, 2025, just as the Israeli drones and fighter jets were completing a
two-month operation targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Aoun, in an
interview to mark his first year in power, accentuated the need for Lebanon to
remove all weapons from the hands of groups that operate outside the legal
parameters of the state. He insisted that the use of force should be, like in
any normal setting, monopolized by the organs of the national armed forces and
state security.The Lebanese are still hoping to claim back some peace, stability
and semblance of a functioning state. He explained that the existence of weapons
in the hands of Hezbollah, without referring to the group by name, had become a
burden for the country’s stability and security as a whole. Aoun added that it
was also a burden on the communities supporting the militia, particularly in the
south and east of Lebanon, claiming that the weapons no longer had a deterrent
role and saying that the time had now come to let the power of reason prevail
over the logic of force.
Aoun’s message, one would hope, will be digested slowly by the Iran-aligned
Hezbollah militia and ultimately mean the end of the road for whatever struggles
it has decided to unilaterally adopt as its casus belli. It must also stop using
domestic and foreign posturing as a means to extract dividends for the Iranian
regime, which is itself under pressure to abandon the perpetual revolution that
has impoverished Iran and destabilized many countries in the region.
The Lebanese president reminded everyone in his interview that there is an
alternative path toward a stable and prosperous Lebanon, since the geopolitical
dynamics in the Middle East and the wider world are changing. This could be
achieved if Beirut were to reembrace neutrality and refuse to allow its
territory to be used as a platform to threaten the stability of other countries
— as it has been for the past 50 years. If there is anything that everyone — or
let us say at least 80 percent of Lebanese people — agree on, it is the
disarming of militias and disengagement from conflict, as they do not want war.
Aoun, in his interview, alluded to the government’s efforts to avert war at all
costs and give diplomacy a chance, since war has been tried and has yielded no
positive results. If anything, what this president has to show for his first
year in office is the fact that the specter of total war with Israel has receded
— for now.
This is not to say that the deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani
River following the two-month war between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended with
a ceasefire agreement in November 2024, has achieved all its targets. Yes, the
first phase of weapons collection has been accomplished, according to the army,
and Israel admits that those efforts have been encouraging, if “far from
sufficient.”
What Aoun has to show for his first year in office is the fact that the specter
of total war with Israel has receded — for now
With limited means and a complex mission, the Lebanese army has reinforced its
positions both south and north of the Litani and is slowly carrying out missions
to confiscate weapons, interrupting the smuggling operations that Israel claims
are ongoing. Hezbollah has made no secret of its efforts to rearm.
Against such a backdrop, one ought to mark as positive the efforts of Aoun and
his country, as they are caught in the middle of the wrath of an unhinged Israel
and an unyielding Hezbollah. The former appears ready, since the Oct. 7, 2023,
Hamas attacks, to unleash a level of force unsanctioned by any international
humanitarian law or superpower. The latter has been battered and weakened but
remains unwilling to surrender, even though its leadership has been decapitated,
its forces disseminated and, above all, its direct lines of support from Iran
through Iraq and Syria lost since the demise of the Assad regime, also more than
a year ago.
One year is too little to judge the achievements of Aoun and the government, as
the list of priorities is extremely long and the limitations are equally
daunting. Ring-fencing the cessation of war is one thing but resuscitating the
inept and fragmented institutions of the state, many of which have been victims
of division, corruption and foreign control, is another adversity that will need
time. The country’s leadership has not yet even scraped the surface of the work
needed to carry out the political, economic and social reforms that could
deliver even the minimum results for the people. In a precarious and volatile
Lebanon, its leaders are always handicapped by the fragmented identities and
loyalties of its various religious sects and ethnic groups, which are always
competing for a larger slice of a very limited cake. It is hoped that Hezbollah
and, in fact, everyone in Lebanon will heed Aoun’s call to allow the power of
reason to prevail over the logic of force by removing the obstructions along the
path toward peace and change. Only then can the quest for a stable Lebanon be
successful. The early indicators look promising. In his interview, the president
explained that corruption has been reduced, though not eradicated. Growth
figures, even preliminary ones, are hovering at about 5 percent for 2025,
treasury revenues are about 25 percent higher than expected and foreign currency
reserves are on the rise too, with $2 billion added in the past year.
**Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’
experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on January
15-16/2026
US
lowers security alert at Qatar air base, sources say
Reuters/15 January/2026
The security warning level at the US Al Udeid air base in Qatar has been
lowered after a heightened alert triggered on Wednesday, three sources briefed
on the situation told Reuters on Thursday. US aircraft that were moved out of Al
Udeid on Wednesday are gradually returning to the base, one of the sources
added. The other two sources, both diplomats who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said that some personnel who were advised to leave the base on
Wednesday have also been permitted to return. The US embassy in Qatar did not
comment when contacted by Reuters.
US imposes sanctions on Iran over crackdown on protesters
Reuters/15 January/2026
The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Iranian officials it accused of
being behind the crackdown on protests and warned it was tracking Iranian
leaders’ funds being wired to banks around the world, as US President Donald
Trump’s administration increases pressure on Tehran. The US Treasury Department
in a statement said it imposed sanctions on the Secretary of the Supreme Council
for National Security as well as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and law
enforcement forces commanders, accusing them of being architects of the
crackdown. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a video on Thursday said
Washington’s message to Iran’s leaders was clear: “US Treasury knows, that like
rats on a sinking ship, you are frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian
families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we
will track them and you.”“But there’s still time, if you choose to join us. As
President Trump has said, stop the violence and stand with the people of
Iran.”The unrest in Iran started with protests over soaring prices before
turning into one of the biggest challenges to the clerical establishment
since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The US-based HRANA rights group says it has
so far verified the deaths of 2,435 protesters and 153 government-affiliated
individuals. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene on behalf of
protesters in Iran, where the clerical establishment has cracked down hard on
nationwide unrest since December 28. “The United States stands firmly behind
the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,” Bessent said in the
statement. “Treasury will use every tool to target those behind the regime’s
tyrannical oppression of human rights.”The Treasury also imposed sanctions on 18
people it accused of involvement in laundering the proceeds of Iranian
petroleum and petrochemical sales to foreign markets as part of “shadow banking”
networks of sanctioned Iranian financial institutions. Thursday’s action is the
latest move targeting Tehran since Trump restored his “maximum pressure”
campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports to zero and
help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s judiciary says protester Erfan Soltani will not be given death sentence
Reuters/15 January/2026
Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old Iranian man arrested on January 10 during
protests, has not been sentenced to death, the country’s judiciary was quoted
as saying on Thursday by state media. The judiciary said Soltani, currently
held in the central penitentiary of Karaj, is being charged with
“colluding against the country’s internal security and propaganda activities
against the regime” but that the death penalty does not apply to such charges
if they are confirmed by a court.
US sanctions Larijani and
other Iranian officials over protest crackdown
AFP/January 15, 2026
WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on Iranian security
officials and financial networks, accusing them of orchestrating a violent
crackdown on peaceful protests and laundering billions in oil revenues. Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent announced the measures in the wake of the biggest
anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the
demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of
repression and an almost week-long Internet blackout.“The United States stands
firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that the action was
taken at President Donald Trump’s direction. Among those sanctioned is Ali
Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, whom
Washington accused of coordinating the crackdown and calling for force against
protesters. Four regional commanders of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and
Revolutionary Guard were also sanctioned for their roles in the crackdown in
Lorestan and Fars provinces. Security forces in Fars “have killed countless
peaceful demonstrators” with hospitals “so inundated with gunshot wound patients
that no other types of patients can be admitted,” the Treasury said. The
Treasury additionally designated 18 individuals and entities accused of
operating “shadow banking” networks that launder proceeds from Iranian oil sales
through front companies in the UAE, Singapore and Britain. These networks funnel
billions of dollars annually using cover companies and exchange houses, as
Iranian citizens face economic hardship, according to the Treasury. The
sanctions freeze any US assets of those designated and prohibit Americans from
doing business with them. Foreign financial institutions risk secondary
sanctions for transactions with the designated entities. The action builds on
the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. In 2025,
the Treasury sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels and aircraft as part of
this effort, it said.
Iran’s FM says ‘no plan to hang’ protesters, urges Trump not to repeat June war
‘mistake’
Al Arabiya English/15 January/2026
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday “there is no plan” by
Iran to hang people, when asked about the anti-government protests in the Middle
Eastern nation.“There is no plan for hanging at all,” the foreign minister told
Fox News in an interview on the “Special Report with Bret Baier” show. “Hanging
is out of the question,” he said. According to the Norway-based Iran Human
Rights Society, hangings are common in Iranian prisons. In an interview with CBS
News on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he would take “very strong
action” if Iran started hanging protesters, but did not elaborate on his
comments. “If they hang them, you’re going to see some things,” Trump said.
Trump said on Wednesday that he was told that killings in the Iranian
government’s crackdown on the protests were subsiding and that he believed
there was currently no plan for large-scale executions. Trump has been
weighing a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest
anti-government protests in years. Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump,
Araghchi said: “Do not repeat the same mistake that you did in June.”“My message
is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have
any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much
better than war.”Iran had a 12-day war with US ally Israel last year and its
nuclear facilities were bombed by the US military in June. Trump has been
piling pressure on Iran’s leaders, including threatening military action. The
protests posed one of the gravest tests of clerical rule in the country since
the Islamic Revolution in 1979 as they evolved from complaints about dire
economic hardships to defiant calls for the fall of the deeply entrenched
clerical establishment. The US-based HRANA rights group said it had so far
verified the deaths of 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated
individuals. HRANA reported 18,137 arrests so far. Iran’s government blames
foreign sanctions for economic difficulties and alleges that its foreign
enemies are interfering in domestic affairs.With agencies
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman convinced Trump to ‘give Iran a
chance:’ Senior Saudi official
AFP/15 January/2026
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk US President Donald Trump out
of an attack on Iran, fearing “grave blowbacks in the region,” a senior Saudi
official told AFP on Thursday. The Gulf trio “led a long, frantic, diplomatic
last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show
good intention,” the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that
dialogue was continuing. Some personnel were moved out of a major US military
base in Qatar on Wednesday, and staff at US missions in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
were warned to exercise caution as fears mounted of a US attack over Iran’s
crackdown on protesters. The United States has repeatedly warned it could
intervene against a deadly Iranian government crackdown on protests, while
Tehran has said it would retaliate with strikes on US military and shipping
targets. Many US bases and assets are located in the Gulf. But after several
threats Trump changed course, saying he had received assurances from “very
important sources on the other side” that Iran would not execute demonstrators.
The Gulf efforts aimed to “avoid an uncontrollable situation in the region,” the
Saudi official said. “We told Washington that an attack on Iran would open the
way for a series of grave blowbacks in the region,” the official added. “It was
a sleepless night to defuse more bombs in the region... the communication is
still underway to consolidate the gained trust and the current good spirit.”
Another Gulf official said “the message conveyed to Iran has been that an attack
on US facilities in the Gulf would have consequences on relations with countries
in the region.”
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal discusses developments with Iranian counterpart
Al Arabiya English/January 15/2026
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed regional
developments with his counterparts from neighboring countries in separate calls,
according to foreign ministry statements amid heightened tension as the US
weights its options on Iran. Prince Faisal held a call with his Iranian
counterpart Abbas Araghchi during which they “discussed the developments in the
region and means of maintaining support to [the region’s] security and
stability,” the Saudi foreign ministry statement said. Prince Faisal also held
separate calls with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi and Qatar’s top
diplomat Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani where they
discussed “regional developments and efforts to achieve security and stability.”
The flurry of diplomatic activity came after reports signaled an imminent US
attack targeting Iran amid anti-government protests in the country and reported
crackdown on protesters. Concerns of an attack also increased as US officials
said Wednesday that the US military had begun withdrawing some personnel from
Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which the Middle East’s largest US base, housing
around 10,000 troops. Source close to Saudi Arabian government told AFP on
Wednesday that the Kingdom informed Iran it will not allow its airspace or
territory to be used to attack it.
Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza, say local health authorities
Reuters/15 January/2026
Two Israeli airstrikes killed five people, including a 16-year-old, in Deir
al-Balah on Thursday, said local health authorities. The Israeli military did
not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the incident.It was
not immediately clear what triggered the attacks, which were in areas outside
the control of Israeli forces in the strip. More than 400 Palestinians and
three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since a fragile ceasefire took
effect in October. Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more
than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of the territory’s more
than 2 million people now live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a
sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has
reasserted control. The United Nations children agency said on Tuesday that
over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, including
victims of drone and quadcopter attacks. Israel and Hamas have traded blame for
violations of the ceasefire and remain far apart from each other on key issues,
despite the United States announcing the second phase of the ceasefire on
Wednesday. Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by
Hamas-led fighters on October, 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to
Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health
authorities in the trip, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
Hamas says technocratic committee key to consolidating Gaza truce
AFP/15 January/2026
A senior Hamas official on Thursday welcomed the formation of a technocratic
committee to govern post-war Gaza, saying it would help consolidate the
ceasefire and prevent a return to fighting. Egypt, a mediator in indirect
ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, announced the formation of a 15-member
Palestinian technocratic committee that would operate under the overall
supervision of a so-called “Board of Peace,” to be chaired by US President
Donald Trump. “The formation of the committee is a step in the right direction,”
said Bassem Naim, a senior leader in the Palestinian movement. “This is crucial
for consolidating the ceasefire, preventing a return to war, addressing the
catastrophic humanitarian crisis and preparing for comprehensive
reconstruction,” he said. Hamas has exercised total control over public life in
Gaza since 2007, and it was its October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the
Gaza war. It has repeatedly said it does not seek a role in any future governing
authority in Gaza and would limit its involvement to monitoring governance. Naim
said Hamas was ready to hand over administration of the Gaza Strip to the
national transitional committee and to facilitate its work.
“The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the
international community to empower the committee,” he said. He urged them to
counter what he described as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
attempts to “stall or obstruct” the next stages of the ceasefire.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Gaza has been split by a
so-called “Yellow Line,” marking the boundary between territory controlled by
Hamas and areas under Israeli military authority. Washington’s top envoy, Steve
Witkoff, said on Wednesday the ceasefire had moved into its second stage. Key
elements of the second stage include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces
from Gaza, the demilitarization of the territory including the disarmament of
Hamas, and steps to address the humanitarian crisis through accelerated aid
deliveries and reconstruction.
The US-proposed Board of Peace is expected to be led on the ground by Bulgarian
diplomat and politician Nickolay Mladenov, who has recently held talks with
Israeli and Palestinian officials. Mladenov previously served as the United
Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process from early 2015 until the end of
2020. Media reports say Trump is expected to announce the members of the Board
of Peace in the coming days, with the body set to include around 15 world
leaders.
JPMorgan’s Gori sees 2026 deal rebound, backs Middle East’s
structural growth
Al Arabiya English/15 January/2026
Filippo Gori, Head of Global Banking at JPMorgan, said 2026 is expected to build
on the momentum seen in the final quarter of 2025, with a strong return of major
global deals, particularly in mergers and acquisitions and initial public
offerings. Speaking to Al Arabiya Business, Gori said he expects this year to
“largely play out” like the last four to five months of 2025, when “things
picked up very strongly” and “deals will be at the forefront.”Gori pointed to a
backlog of transactions that have been delayed for an extended period, saying
there is “a large backlog of transactions that we have been working on now for
months, if not years” that could come to market in 2026. He also said potential
regulatory shifts in the United States could support more activity, noting that
regulation may “facilitate transactions that otherwise might not have been
possible.”He also addressed the impact of geopolitical developments on financial
markets, warning that markets are not adequately pricing in current geopolitical
risks, saying, “I think the markets are not properly pricing the geopolitical
risks globally,” and cautioning that equity markets are “pricing things to
perfection,” leaving them more exposed to shocks.
Turning to energy markets, Gori said developments in Venezuela are unlikely to
have an immediate or significant impact on oil prices. “It is too early to say,”
he said, adding that an initial assessment was that “the impact was going to be
limited,” while stressing the need to monitor how the situation evolves “in the
next few weeks and months.”On the US economy, Gori pointed to continued
resilience and stable labor markets, saying the US economy is “still very well,”
while interest rates are expected to remain steady in the near term. “Rates
probably will remain stable in the US,” he said, adding, “we think the rates
would remain stable in Europe too,” he told Al Arabiya Business. However, he
cautioned that inflation remains above the US Federal Reserve’s target.
“Inflation has not yet gone back down to the 2 percent… target,” he said, adding
that inflation is “still lingering around 3 percent,” and warning that risks may
not emerge immediately: “Probably doesn’t play out this year, but we could see
more in 2027.” Gori also discussed shifts in global financing trends, including
the continued growth of private credit, as well as the expanding role of
artificial intelligence in boosting productivity within the banking sector. On
AI, he said JPMorgan currently has “around 400 use cases” where the technology
is used daily, aimed at “achieving efficiency” and improving service delivery by
processing large quantities of data and reaching conclusions faster. Regionally,
he said the economic transformation underway in Saudi Arabia and across the
Middle East represents a long term structural shift rather than a cyclical
trend. He added that the Middle East “could be the winner for a variety of
different reasons,” including foreign direct investment appeal, location, and
natural resources, noting that JPMorgan is “preparing” and “investing in the
Middle East” accordingly.
Senior Hamas figure killed in
Israeli air strike in Gaza
Reuters/January 15/2026
A senior figure in the armed wing of Hamas was among seven people killed on
Thursday in a pair of Israeli airstrikes in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza
Strip, a Hamas source said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to
requests for comment on the incident. The Hamas source said one of the dead was
Mohammed Al-Holy, a local commander in the group's armed wing in Deir al-Balah.
Hamas condemned the strikes on the Al-Holy family, in a statement that did not
mention Mohammed or his role in the group. It accused Israel of violating the
ceasefire deal in place since October, and attempting to reignite the
conflict.Health officials said the six other dead in the incident included a
16-year-old. Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire
and remain far apart from each other on key issues, despite the United States
announcing the start of the agreement's second phase on Wednesday. More than
400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the
ceasefire took effect in October. Israel has razed buildings and ordered
residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of
the territory's more than 2 million people now live in makeshift homes or
damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn
and Hamas has reasserted control. The United Nations children's agency said on
Tuesday that over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire,
including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks. Israel launched its
operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October
2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's assault
has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the strip, and
left much of Gaza in ruins.
Hamas says technocratic
committee key to consolidating Gaza truce
AFP/January 15, 2026
GAZA: A senior Hamas official on Thursday welcomed the formation of a
technocratic committee to govern post-war Gaza, saying it would help consolidate
the ceasefire and prevent a return to fighting. Egypt, a mediator in indirect
ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, announced the formation of a 15-member
Palestinian technocratic committee that would operate under the overall
supervision of a so-called “Board of Peace,” to be chaired by US President
Donald Trump. “The formation of the committee is a step in the right direction,”
said Bassem Naim, a senior leader in the Palestinian Islamist movement. “This is
crucial for consolidating the ceasefire, preventing a return to war, addressing
the catastrophic humanitarian crisis and preparing for comprehensive
reconstruction,” he said. Hamas has exercised total control over public life in
Gaza since 2007. It has repeatedly said it does not seek a role in any future
governing authority in Gaza and would limit its involvement to monitoring
governance. Naim said Hamas was ready to hand over administration of the Gaza
Strip to the national transitional committee and to facilitate its work. “The
ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the
international community to empower the committee,” he said. He urged them to
counter what he described as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
attempts to “stall or obstruct” the next stages of the ceasefire. Since the
ceasefire took effect on October 10, Gaza has been split by a so-called “Yellow
Line,” marking the boundary between territory controlled by Hamas and areas
under Israeli military authority. Washington’s top envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on
Wednesday the ceasefire had moved into its second stage. Key elements of the
second stage include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the
demilitarization of the territory including the disarmament of Hamas, and steps
to address the humanitarian crisis through accelerated aid deliveries and
reconstruction.The US-proposed Board of Peace is expected to be led on the
ground by Bulgarian diplomat and politician Nickolay Mladenov, who has recently
held talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials. Mladenov previously served as
the United Nations envoy for the Middle East peace process from early 2015 until
the end of 2020.Media reports say Trump is expected to announce the members of
the Board of Peace in the coming days, with the body set to include around 15
world leaders.
Putin says the world is
getting more dangerous
Reuters/15 January/2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the international
situation had deteriorated and that the world was getting more dangerous but he
was silent on the situation in Venezuela and Iran. Putin has yet to comment in
public on the toppling of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro by the United States, the
protests in Iran or US President Donald Trump’s threats against Greenland. “The
situation on the international stage is increasingly deteriorating - I don’t
think anyone would argue with that - long-standing conflicts are intensifying,
and new serious flashpoints are emerging,” Putin said with a smile. In a speech
to new ambassadors who had presented their credentials in the Kremlin, his
first public remarks on foreign policy issues this year, Putin did not
mention the United States or Trump explicitly. “We hear a monologue from
those who, by the right of might, consider it permissible to dictate their
will, lecture others, and issue orders,” Putin said. “Russia is sincerely
committed to the ideals of a multipolar world.”Putin urged a discussion of
Russia’s proposals for a new security architecture in Europe. “We hope that
recognition of this need will come sooner or later. Until then, Russia will
continue to consistently pursue its goals.”The war in Ukraine, Europe’s
deadliest since World War Two, has sparked the biggest confrontation between
Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Syrians flee
Kurdish-controlled area near Aleppo amid army deadline
AFP/January 15, 2026
ALEPPO: Syrians began fleeing an area east of Aleppo city on Thursday after the
army gave civilians a deadline to leave amid fears of an escalation in clashes
with Kurdish forces. The government is seeking to extend its authority across
the country following the ouster of longtime leader Bashar Assad a year ago. On
Sunday, government troops took full control of Aleppo city over the weekend
after capturing two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods. It reached a deal in March
to fold a Kurdish de facto autonomous administration in the north into the
state, but progress on its implementation has stalled. An AFP correspondent near
Deir Hafer, one of the Kurdish-controlled towns being eyed by Damascus, saw many
cars, trucks and civilians on foot leaving through a corridor set up by the army
on Thursday, but the road was due to close at 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT). Mahmud Al-Mussa,
30, said “thousands of people have not left,” accusing the US-backed,
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces of not letting them leave. “They want to
use civilians as human shields,” he said. The area targeted extends from near
Deir Hafer, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Aleppo, to the Euphrates River
about 30 kilometers further east, as well as toward the south.Damascus, which
has deployed forces to the region, also accused Kurdish forces of barring the
civilians from leaving. Farhad Shami, spokesperson for the SDF, told AFP the
accusations were “unfounded.”Nadima Al-Wayss, 54, said she, her brother and her
niece had to cross a damaged bridge to leave Deir Hafer through a different
road.“Good people helped me cross the bridge... I was afraid I would fall.”
‘Join hands’ -
The SDF controls swathes of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast, much of which
it captured during the country’s civil war and the fight against the Daesh group
over the past decade. In a statement on Thursday, the Kurdish-led autonomous
administration said they remained open to dialogue with Damascus and called on
the international community to prevent a new civil war in Syria. The SDF warned
that the escalation “could lead to general instability, posing a real threat to
the security of prisons holding Daesh members,” referring to the Islamic State
(IS) group. Camps and prisons in Syria’s Kurdish-administered northeast hold
tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to IS, more
than six years after the group’s territorial defeat in the country. Syrian
President Ahmed Al-Sharaa said “the ball is in (the SDF’s) court,” calling on
the group to “join hands with us... and begin the reconstruction process in
Syria.”He made his remarks in an interview with Iraqi Kurdish channel Al Shams,
which then decided not to air it. Syrian state television and other regional
channels have since aired excerpts. “The agreement signed by Mazlum Abdi does
not include federalism, self-administration... it includes a unified Syria,”
Sharaa said, referring to the SDF leader.The Kurds have called for a
decentralized federal system as part of their integration process into the
Syrian state, but Sharaa has rejected their demands. Syria’s Kurds faced decades
of oppression under former president Assad and his father, Hafez, who preached a
Baathist brand of Arab nationalism. They fear Syria’s new Islamist rulers may
take away from them the autonomy they carved out during the civil war that
erupted with Assad’s 2011 crackdown on nationwide democracy protests.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on January
15-16/2026
Venezuela’s Intelligence Chief Remains a Danger Despite Maduro Ouster
Samuel Ben-Ur/FDD-Policy
Brief/January 15/2026
If he doesn’t want an all-expenses-paid trip to the United States in the middle
of the night, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello needs to better hew
to the U.S. line, the Trump administration said in a public warning.
Cabello is one of the three most powerful people in Venezuela since the U.S.
removal of Nicolas Maduro, alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and
interim President Delcy Rodriguez. Given Cabello and Lopez’s longstanding
rivalry and his strong ideological convictions that run counter to Rodriguez’s
more conciliatory tone, the United States appears worried Cabello could
challenge Venezuela’s fragile status quo. At the same time, taking direct action
against Cabello could lead to violence. Local armed gangs called “colectivos”
are influenced by him, but decentralized enough to operate independently without
his restraint.
Cabello Is a Chavista Purist
Cabello is a founding figure of Chavismo — a socialist, explicitly anti-U.S.
ideology pioneered by deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — and one of the
regime’s most ideologically rigid power brokers. Over three decades, he has
rotated through senior posts, including state governor, National Assembly
president, vice president, and internal security chief, while serving as the
regime’s chief enforcer. He goes on his weekly television program, Con el Mazo
Dando, or “Bringing Down the Hammer,” to publicly threaten political opponents
and promote ideological loyalty.
Cabello’s armed colectivos act as paramilitary enforcers, dominate poor
neighborhoods, distribute state goods, and violently suppress dissent with
near-total impunity. The colectivo model draws heavily from Cuba’s Committees
for the Defense of the Revolution, where grassroot militias serve as the “eyes
and ears of the Castro government.”
Since April 2024, he has led the Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace,
overseeing intelligence services, police, and internal security forces accused
of extrajudicial killings and torture. U.S. authorities have accused him of
leading the Cartel de los Soles cocaine network, he is designated under the
Kingpin Act, and indicted for narco-terrorism. Cabello has also served as a
visible political liaison to Havana. As United Socialist Party of Venezuela’s (PSUV)
vice president, he traveled to Cuba and met Cuban Communist Party leader Raúl
Castro in 2019.
Trump Prioritizes Stability Over Democracy (For Now)
Since Maduro’s removal, Washington has prioritized short-term stability over
immediate democratization. The United States has allowed Rodríguez to assume the
interim presidency, while leaving senior regime figures such as Cabello and
López in place to keep the state functioning. Reuters reported that CIA
assessments concluded the Venezuelan opposition lacked the capacity to maintain
order after Maduro’s capture, and that a rapid purge risked chaos or even a
counter-coup.
Washington views Padrino as essential for holding the armed forces together,
while Cabello is being managed rather than immediately removed to prevent a
violent backlash from his armed loyalists. The Trump administration is using
this interim arrangement to press for curbing narcotics trafficking and reviving
Venezuela’s oil industry with U.S. participation, while, at the same time,
severing Cuban, Iranian, Chinese, and Russian ties.
Cabello Is Not a True Potential U.S. Partner
In the short term, the United States should continue a narrow, conditional
tolerance of Cabello to preserve stability, while systematically stripping him
of real power. This should be done slowly. If the colectivos collaborated with
the intelligence services — and Cabello controls both — they could execute a
coup against Rodriguez or pressure her to work against American priorities.
American intelligence and law enforcement should intensify efforts to map,
penetrate, and fracture the colectivos, reducing Cabello’s capacity to spark
violence.
Simultaneously, Washington should maintain maximum legal and financial pressure.
Cabello’s U.S. indictments, Treasury sanctions, and narcotics designation should
remain firmly in place. Once Venezuela has stabilized sufficiently, the United
States should move decisively to force his removal — through exile, arrest, or
extradition under existing indictments.
**Samuel Ben-Ur is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Sam and FDD, please subscribe HERE.
Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research
institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.
Maduro’s last exit is to Brooklyn But his henchmen remain
in power in Caracas
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/January 15/2026
Nicolas Maduro was led to believe that Russian air defense systems would keep
American helicopters from landing near his fortified compound in Caracas. He was
misinformed.
The Venezuelan dictator also thought that any hostiles who managed to enter his
residence would be taken down by his Cuban bodyguards. But Caribbean muscle
proved no match for Delta Force special operators relying on actionable
intelligence provided by a clandestine CIA team. More than 30 Cubans were
reportedly KIA. President Trump deserves enormous credit for authorizing this
intervention, fully aware of the risks entailed but also anticipating
significant rewards – for the U.S., Venezuela, and Latin America.
Mr. Maduro is now in a federal jail cell in Brooklyn, New York. Do you think
being incarcerated in a city that has a socialist mayor is any consolation for
him? Is he feeling the collectivist warmth?
But I digress. The extraction of Mr. Maduro – indicted by the U.S. Department of
Justice in 2020 for “narco-terrorism” and other crimes – should not be confused
with “regime change.” For now, at least, Mr. Maduro’s henchmen – the pillars of
his regime – remain in power. Let me acquaint you with three of them. Delcy
Rodriguez, formerly Mr. Maduro’s vice president, minister of finance, and
minister of petroleum, is now interim president.
Her father, Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, was a Venezuelan Marxist guerrilla and
political leader who died in 1976 after being arrested in connection with the
kidnapping of an American businessman in Caracas.
Ms. Rodriguez studied labor law at the Sorbonne in Paris and was later assigned
to a diplomatic post in London. She’s also been – and perhaps still is, I’ve
read conflicting reports – the head of SEBIN, Venezuela’s secret police,
infamous for torturing dissidents and journalists.
Behind her – I use the term advisedly – is Diosdado Cabello, whose formal title
is “Minister of the Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace.” A socialist
ideologue, he is under indictment in the United States on charges related to
international drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
Mr. Cabello controls the national police, the national intelligence services,
and the “colectivos,” paramilitary armed thugs akin to Nazi Brownshirts.
He also is believed to closely cooperate with Tren de Aragua, a transnational
gang involved in violent crimes, drug and human trafficking, extortion, and
racketeering. More than a thousand Tren de Aragua members are estimated to have
illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration’s open-borders policy.
They now operate in at least 19 states.
And then there’s Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Venezuela’s longtime defense minister,
and a stalwart Maduro loyalist. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting
Project (OCCRP) and Transparency International detail a web of family-linked
companies and U.S. real estate worth millions.
I presume that any one of them would be thrilled to slit Mr. Trump’s throat with
a butter knife. But at this moment, they appear to view appeasement as the
better part of valor. They’re “giving us everything that we feel is necessary,”
President Trump said last week.
President Trump’s necessities include ending the flow of drugs from Venezuela
and beginning the flow of crude oil to refineries on the American Gulf coast.
President Trump has vowed that no more subsidized Venezuelan oil will go to
Cuba. If the Castroite Communist regime – its economy already enfeebled – were
to collapse as a consequence, wouldn’t that be one for the history books?
Most geo-strategically significant is that Venezuela stop serving as an
operating base in the Western Hemisphere for Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran – three
members of an implacably anti-American axis of aggressors whose imperialism is
precisely what the Monroe Doctrine and the Trump Corollary prohibit.
Related: President Trump should not tolerate the Venezuelan government
continuing to issue passports to members of Hezbollah, Tehran’s terrorist
vassal.
According to Venezuela’s Penitentiary Services Ministry, 116 of roughly 800
political prisoners have been released. Foro Penal, an independent human-rights
monitoring group, has verified less than half that number. President Trump
should insist that all the anti-socialists be freed immediately and that those
who celebrate their liberation may do so without fear.
Eventually, Venezuela will need a new government, one that respects the basic
rights of Venezuelans, including the more than 8 million – roughly a quarter of
the population – who have fled socialist oppression and poverty. Many have the
brains and skills necessary to reinvigorate the dilapidated economy.
Venezuela possesses the world’s largest crude oil reserves, but its energy
infrastructure is derelict. To bring production from where it is now, 870,000
barrels a day, to where it was in the late 1990s before the socialists took
over, 3.4 million barrels a day, will cost as much as $100 billion. I doubt
American oil companies will make that investment until and unless Venezuela is
again a rule-of-law nation. Venezuela is fortunate to have a united opposition
led by Maria Corina Machado, the recent Nobel Prize winner, and Edmundo
Gonzalez, the overwhelming winner of the 2024 election which Mr. Maduro stole
from Venezuela’s voters. That opposition lacks one essential: guns. Mr. Maduro’s
remnant regime still has a monopoly on violence, though their eagerness to
slaughter dissidents may now be tempered by Mr. Trump’s attention.
I’d like to think that someone in Washington or northern Virginia is in touch
with patriotic Venezuelan military officers willing to take risks to make their
country free and prosperous – as it was before the socialist thugs took over.
On these and related matters, in my humble opinion, President Trump could have
no better counselor than the one he was smart enough to choose: Marco Rubio.
It’s apparent that Mr. Trump’s Secretary of State/National Security Advisor
understands that having more allies in the Americas is one of the ways to make
America great again.
*Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD), a columnist for the Washington Times, and host of the
“Foreign Podicy” podcast.
Why Gaza Should Be Placed Under US and Israeli Control
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/January 15/2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22201/gaza-us-israeli-control
Placing the Gaza Strip under the jurisdiction of an international body that
includes longtime supporters of Hamas and other terrorists will unfortunately be
even more disastrous than the 1993 Oslo Accord, signed between Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The last thing Israel and the US need in the Gaza Strip is another Oslo
Accord-style counterfeit agreement.In reality, there are only two countries
capable of carrying out this task: the US and Israel. Other countries -- not
only Arab and Muslim, as Jordan's King Abdullah II warned, but also European,
including, Germany, Italy, Britain and Canada -- clearly have less than no
interest in actively combating terrorism in the Gaza Strip. [A]s Trump said
about Venezuela, "We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a
safe, proper and secure transition... We can't take a chance that somebody else
takes over... that doesn't have the good of the... people in mind."If the US can
run Venezuela or Greenland, or set up "security" for Ukraine consisting of US
businesses, why not in the Gaza Strip -- smaller but geopolitically just as
critical for the US -- as well?
US and Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would, ironically, provide the least
risk to all the parties involved -- most of all to the Palestinians of Gaza.
Such an arrangement seems the only realistic solution that could lead to reduced
violence and long-term regional stability.
A joint US and Israeli security and business presence there could result at last
in the emergence of moderate, pragmatic Palestinians. Such an outcome will
certainly never take place if Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan or the Palestinian
Authority are allowed inside the Gaza Strip. There is a far higher probability
of accords being torn up and a new war launched after Trump leaves office.
American or Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would not only prevent Palestinian
terrorists from gaining more power and launching attacks again but also send a
reassuring message to neighboring Arab and Islamic states that they would be
able to rely on the US when it comes to combating Islamist terrorism against
their own regimes as well. A strong US and foreign business presence, with the
knowledge that these investments are safely protected, would not only create job
opportunities and improve living conditions for local residents but could also
make Gaza the spectacular "Gaza Riviera" it is waiting to become.
At the moment, many countries are hardly rushing to invest in Gaza. If countries
aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood were in charge, there would be no way of
protecting their investment, or even enforcing law and order.
If the US Administration thinks that an Arab and Muslim "Peace Board" will
actually take any significant action to ensure that Hamas disarms and disbands,
they are in for a nasty shock. The minute the first shot is fired, the last
thing on the minds of the "Board of Peace" will be enforcing "Peace."
After two years of death and destruction, many Palestinians would prefer to live
under American or even -- without admitting it of course --- Israeli control,
than under a terror group that has brought them nothing but death, destruction
and a new nakba (catastrophe).
Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Islamic countries would most likely be happy to
be on the side of the "strong horse."
Strange as it may seem, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are
popular among many Arabs and Muslims: they are viewed as reliable, sturdy and
uncompromising leaders who can be counted on to keep their word.
If Arab and Muslim states disagree, they are welcome to stay behind and watch
the train leave the station. If not, the Gaza Strip and the "Board of Peace"
will be just another failed experiment.
Placing the Gaza Strip under the jurisdiction of an international body that
includes longtime supporters of Hamas and other terrorists will unfortunately be
even more disastrous than the 1993 Oslo Accord, signed between Israel and Yasser
Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The last thing Israel and the
US need in the Gaza Strip is another Oslo Accord-style counterfeit agreement.
Pictured: Arafat stands next to a machine gun emplacement in 1983 in Lebanon.
(Photo by Palestinian Press Office/Getty Images)
US President Donald J. Trump is expected to announce the formation of a "Board
of Peace" to oversee temporarily the running of the Gaza Strip and manage its
reconstruction. According to multiple reports, Qatar and Turkey are among
several countries that have been invited to join the board.
Both countries are widely known as major international supporters of political
Islam, specifically through their historical and ongoing backing of terrorist
and Muslim Brotherhood groups – including Hamas, which is currently ruling the
Gaza Strip and has shown no signs of letting up. With countries such as these,
it is, frankly, hard to see how the new board would be able to bring peace,
security and stability to the Middle East. The assumption that Qatar or Turkey
would participate in any effort to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terror
groups in the Gaza Strip is perhaps well-intentioned but excruciatingly
misguided. Both Qatar and Turkey have always served as defenders of Hamas, and
both countries have warmly welcomed its leaders and top activists as residents
of Doha and Ankara.
Placing the Gaza Strip under the jurisdiction of an international body that
includes longtime supporters of Hamas and other terrorists will unfortunately be
even more disastrous than the 1993 Oslo Accord, signed between Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Oslo Accords were based on, again, the well-intentioned but false assumption
that the PLO and its leader, Yasser Arafat, would serve as real peace partners
and combat terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. On September 9, 1993,
Arafat wrote to Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin:
"The signing of the Declaration of Principles marks a new era in the history of
the Middle East. In firm conviction thereof, I would like to confirm the
following PLO commitments: "The PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel
to exist in peace and security. "The PLO accepts United Nations Security Council
Resolutions 242 and 338. "The PLO commits itself to the Middle East peace
process, and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and
declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be
resolved through negotiations.
"The PLO considers that the signing of the Declaration of Principles constitutes
a historic event, inaugurating a new epoch of peaceful coexistence, free from
violence and all other acts which endanger peace and stability. Accordingly, the
PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume
responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their
compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators..."
Shortly before signing the Oslo Accord, however, Arafat compared them to the
Treaty of Hudaibiyya, in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad had pledged not to
attack the Quraysh tribe in Mecca for ten years. Nonetheless, within two years,
Muhammad assembled an army of 10,000, marched into Mecca, and conquered it.
Shortly after signing the Oslo Accord, Arafat was caught trying to smuggle four
arch terrorists into Israel in his official convoy: "Three terrorists were in
the trunks of each Mercedes, and the fourth, Jihad al-Amarin, was lying on the
back seat and Arafat was sitting on top of him," Avi Dichter, former head of
Israel's security, Shin Bet, reported at the time.
More than 30 years later, it is clear that the Oslo experiment has failed
utterly. Under Arafat's newly created Palestinian Authority, a governing body
dominated by his loyalists in the PLO's ruling Fatah faction, Palestinian terror
groups, including Hamas, actually flourished. They were aided by lavish
unconditional donations from Europe -- "almost 30 billion euros since 1994" --
which spared Palestinian leaders the effort of actually having to develop an
economy. As a result, these funds were free to be used for terrorism and
corruption. Arab countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, also
generously pitched in. Consequently, ever since the PLO was imported by Israel
into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, thousands of Israelis have been killed in
continuous terror attacks. The last thing Israel and the US need in the Gaza
Strip is another Oslo Accord-style counterfeit agreement. Gaza already has too
many Islamist terror groups roaming its streets. Like the US Department of
Defense -- now the Department of War, to achieve real peace, Gaza too needs a
"Board of War" that will combat terrorism and destroy the terrorists' military
and political infrastructure for good. In reality, there are only two countries
capable of carrying out this task: the US and Israel. Other countries -- not
only Arab and Muslim, as Jordan's King Abdullah II warned, but also European,
including, Germany, Italy, Britain and Canada -- clearly have less than no
interest in actively combating terrorism in the Gaza Strip.
That is why the Trump administration needs to seriously consider placing the
Gaza Strip under the exclusive control of the US and Israel – at least, as Trump
said about Venezuela: "We're going to run the country until such time as we can
do a safe, proper and secure transition... We can't take a chance that somebody
else takes over... that doesn't have the good of the... people in mind."If the
US can run Venezuela or Greenland, or set up "security" for Ukraine consisting
of US businesses, why not in the Gaza Strip -- smaller but geopolitically just
as critical for the US -- as well? US and Israeli control of the Gaza Strip
would, ironically, provide the least risk to all the parties involved -- most of
all to the Palestinians of Gaza. Such an arrangement seems the only realistic
solution that could lead to reduced violence and long-term regional stability.
For the past decades, the US and Israel have been the only two countries leading
the fight against Islamist terror groups and individuals -- including Al-Qaeda,
Islamic State (ISIS), Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
US and Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would also enable the peaceful Gazans
to gain ground against Gaza's radical elements. Most Palestinians living in the
Gaza Strip have always been afraid to speak out against Hamas. Those who dared
to criticize the terror group or disagree with its policies or actions were
killed, tortured, arrested or forced to flee.
A joint US and Israeli security and business presence there could result at last
in the emergence of moderate, pragmatic Palestinians. Such an outcome will
certainly never take place if Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan or the Palestinian
Authority are allowed inside the Gaza Strip. There is a far higher probability
of accords being torn up and a new war launched after Trump leaves office.
American or Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would not only prevent Palestinian
terrorists from gaining more power and launching attacks again but also send a
reassuring message to neighboring Arab and Islamic states that they would be
able to rely on the US when it comes to combating Islamist terrorism against
their own regimes as well. Notably, Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, for years have not only felt
threatened but have often been attacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas,
Hezbollah and Yemen. US and Israeli control would lead to foreign investment and
economic development in the Gaza Strip. A strong US and foreign business
presence, with the knowledge that these investments are safely protected, would
not only create job opportunities and improve living conditions for local
residents but could also make Gaza the spectacular "Gaza Riviera" it is waiting
to become.
At the moment, many countries are hardly rushing to invest in Gaza. If countries
aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood were in charge, there would be no way of
protecting their investment, or even enforcing law and order.
Worse, these potential donors see that Hamas and other terror groups are still
controlling large parts of the Gaza Strip with no intention of disarming or
stepping down. If the US Administration thinks that an Arab and Muslim "Peace
Board" will actually take any significant action to ensure that Hamas disarms
and disbands, they are in for a nasty shock. The minute the first shot is fired,
the last thing on the minds of the "Board of Peace" will be enforcing "Peace."
After two years of death and destruction, many Palestinians would prefer to live
under American or even -- without admitting it of course --- Israeli control,
than under a terror group that has brought them nothing but death, destruction
and a new nakba (catastrophe).
This does not mean that these peaceful Palestinians are going to convert to
Christianity or Judaism, but many would be secretly happy to live under the rule
of democracies that respect human rights, protect their freedom of speech,
improve their living conditions, and finally bring them real "peace and
prosperity."
The strategic partnership that joint US-Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would
promote could only influence the broader Middle East in a positive way and
facilitate more rapidly the dream of achieving normalization between Israel and
its Arab neighbors. Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Islamic countries would most
likely be happy to be on the side of the "strong horse."
Strange as it may seem, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are
popular among many Arabs and Muslims: they are viewed as reliable, sturdy and
uncompromising leaders, who can be counted on to keep their word.
Finally, US and Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would make it easier
immediately to implement humanitarian aid programs. The US and Israel could, as
they have been doing, ensure that the food and medicine end up in the hands of
those who really need them, and prevent Hamas and other terror groups from
stealing the humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip. The United Nations, the
Palestinian Authority and other international organizations have failed to
deliver humanitarian aid – or to prevent it from being stolen and sold by Hamas
to fund its terror activities. The only countries that apparently have the will
and the capability to see to it that the infrastructure and living conditions of
the Gazans could improve quickly and significantly are Israel and the US.
It is not too late for the Trump administration to consider this option. It is
truly the best way to bring security, stability, and prosperity to Gaza and to
the region. If Arab and Muslim states disagree, they are welcome to stay behind
and watch the train leave the station. If not, the Gaza Strip and the "Board of
Peace" will be just another failed experiment.
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. His work is made
possible through the generous donation of a couple who wish to remain anonymous.
Gatestone is most grateful.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
UN to Censor All Criticism of the Climate Agenda as
Whistleblower Exposes it as a Total Scam
Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/January 15/2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22155/un-censor-climate-agenda-criticism
"In the era of disinformation, obscurantists reject not only scientific evidence
but also the progress of multilateralism.... They attack institutions, science,
and universities. It is time to once again defeat the denialists." — Brazil's
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, November 10, 2025.
Get it? Those who disagree with the UN and WEF agendas on climate change,
regardless of their scientific credentials, are "denialists" who must be
"defeated.""The United Nations is trying to control what people can hear, read
and think about climate change just when social media companies like Meta are
reversing their years-long policy of 'fact-checking,' climate change policy
debate—which Meta admits resulted in censorship... The proposal that taxpayers
spend hundreds of trillions of dollars on poor climate policies is surely worth
debate. The UN has no place suppressing that discussion." — Bjorn Lomborg,
president of the Copenhagen Consensus, New York Post, March 6, 2025. "Most
people there, overwhelming majority, they've never read anything. They get their
speaking notes. There are speaking notes and this is the party line... Implement
it and they know their job, you know, rests upon it. So, they're not going to
read climate research. They're not going to go on an expedition to Antarctica or
to the Arctic. They're not going to even look at real world effects...." —
Desiree Fixler, whistleblower, former member of the WEF's Global Future Council
on Responsible Investing, December 2025.
Left out of these discussions, it seems, was any talk of nuclear fusion energy,
"the holy grail of clean energy [that] promises abundant power without carbon
emissions, long-term radioactive waste, or meltdown risk." Fusion energy, needed
for the unimaginable amounts of electricity that will be needed to power AI and
quantum computing -- is already under rapid development in China. If we do not
urgently master nuclear fusion energy fast, the 21st century will belong to
China.
The UN is shutting down criticism of the ongoing climate scam: At the UN Climate
Change Conference (COP30), held in Brazil in November, several states endorsed
the UN's "Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change," professedly a
pledge to "fight false information about climate change." Brazil's President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in his speech, said: "It is time to once again defeat
the denialists." The UN is shutting down criticism of the ongoing climate scam:
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), held in Brazil in
November 2025, several states endorsed the UN's "Declaration on Information
Integrity on Climate Change, an initiative recognizing and trying to combat the
rise in climate disinformation in media and politics."The UN declaration is
professedly a pledge to "fight false information" about climate change. "In the
era of disinformation, obscurantists reject not only scientific evidence but
also the progress of multilateralism," said Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva in his opening address at the conference. "They control algorithms, sow
hatred, and spread fear. They attack institutions, science, and universities. It
is time to once again defeat the denialists."Get it? Those who disagree with the
UN and WEF agendas on climate change, regardless of their scientific
credentials, are "denialists" who must be "defeated."The declaration has already
been endorsed by 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, and the Netherlands. Bjorn
Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus and visiting fellow at Stanford
University's Hoover Institution, wrote in March 2025 about the initiative
presented at COP30: "The United Nations is trying to control what people can
hear, read and think about climate change just when social media companies like
Meta are reversing their years-long policy of 'fact-checking,' climate change
policy debate—which Meta admits resulted in censorship. "The proposal that
taxpayers spend hundreds of trillions of dollars on poor climate policies is
surely worth debate.
"The UN has no place suppressing that discussion.
"If it is to survive, the UN and other multilateral organizations need to return
to their roots of helping humanity to navigate the world for peace and
prosperity.
"And they must learn that free and informed debate poses no threat to that
cause."
The reason the UN and its member states – in cooperation with the World Economic
Forum (WEF), as the two work in partnership "to accelerate the implementation of
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" – are shutting down criticism is
because the climate change narrative is a hoax.
This was confirmed most recently, by Desiree Fixler, an expert in sustainable
finance and investment banking and a former member of the WEF's Global Future
Council on Responsible Investing. Fixler, a whistleblower, used to work as a
sustainability officer for Deutsche Bank, until she exposed their "greenwashing"
and was fired for it. Since then, she has been exposing (here and here) the
climate change narrative and the "net zero" agenda as a scam. In a recent
podcast, she explained how the UN and WEF agendas of net zero emissions and
"stakeholder capitalism" -- a WEF concept -- are means to gain control and
implement socialism. "They're lying to the public," Fixler recently said on the
Winston Marshall podcast. "They've manufactured a climate crisis. There is
climate change, but there is no climate crisis... asset managers, consultants,
and governments... they're all in on it because they all profit from it."
While the political and corporate elites claim that they are all about working
for the people, ordinary citizens are in fact not part of their concerns,
according to Fixler, who sat in on these meetings and questioned the agendas.
"The people are never spoken about," Fixler continued. "It's the untruths that
are told to the public... They would put out this propaganda, you know, net zero
is profitable, renewable energy is profitable, it is going to lower electricity
prices for everybody."
Fixler said that at these WEF meetings, she would push back against those
untruths:
"If we look at the net zero countries, right, Germany and the UK unfortunately
have some of the highest energy prices and you can see the economy is starting
to flatline, particularly in Germany. Germany is going on its third year of
actual shrinkage... I'd be in the room... here in the UK where some government
person would say, 'you know, net zero is adding jobs to our economy' and I'd
say, 'No, it's not... Joblessness is going up... the Office of National
Statistics, has just told you in the last quarter, this country has lost over
100,000 jobs.' That's the real world. That's what it's like to be in these
meetings. And I argue this all the time, right? There is no climate catastrophe.
There is however... a cost-of-living crisis. We have a low birth rate crisis...
And to address the cost of living, just repeal net zero... because that
unleashes economic growth... Everything today is based on affordable, abundant,
reliable... energy."
Apparently, no one at the WEF cared to listen. "There's no debate," she told
Winston Marshall.
"I'll raise my issues. I'll put out my economic charts. Totally disregarded and
personal attacks start coming... I'm called a flat-earther... a climate change
denier. Most people there, overwhelming majority, they've never read anything.
They get their speaking notes. There are speaking notes and this is the party
line... Implement it and they know their job, you know, rests upon it. So,
they're not going to read climate research. They're not going to go on an
expedition to Antarctica or to the Arctic. They're not going to even look at
real world effects... These people are so wealthy... they don't even care. I
remember at one of the events where I was banging on about high electricity
costs and... one of the guys in the room is like... 'Desiree, like this just
gets really tiring from you. Like why is this such a big deal? It's not as if
you struggle to pay.'"
Fixler warns that the UN and WEF agendas need to be stopped:
"It's not just that these are greedy control freaks. This is really harming
society. And every single day I see it getting closer... to Klaus Schwab's
ideals... Whether that is with energy prices and grid instability, digital IDs
and central bank digital currency... The biggest thing is that... this agenda is
coming down and... we the voters don't have a say on it... mainstream media
doesn't objectively cover this ... People aren't taught [that] there's
capitalism [and] socialism -- that stakeholder capitalism is not capitalism,
it's socialism. It's about top-down mandate. It's about state control."
Still, the elites double down on the lies. "The science compels climate action,"
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a speech in September 2025. "So
does the economics. Clean energy is powering jobs, growth and sustainable
development. Generating the fastest and cheapest electricity.... Now, we need
new plans for 2035 that go much further, and much faster: Delivering dramatic
emissions cuts... covering all emissions and sectors; and accelerating a just
energy transition globally...."Left out of these discussions, it seems, was any
talk of nuclear fusion energy, "the holy grail of clean energy [that] promises
abundant power without carbon emissions, long-term radioactive waste, or
meltdown risk." Fusion energy, needed for the unimaginable amounts of
electricity that will be needed to power AI and quantum computing -- is already
under rapid development in China. If we do not urgently master nuclear fusion
energy fast, the 21st century will belong to China.
**Robert Williams is based in the United States.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The scenarios of an inevitable downfall
Charles Elias Chartouni/January 15/2026
The fall of the Iranian regime is now on a multi-entry trajectory. Contrary to
the assumptions that such a scenario is impossible, the viability of the regime
is in question for several reasons. The end of the narrative has since been
belle lurette in the repertoire of multiple oppositions that have happened over
four decades. The erosion continued to progress as the regime's repressive
capacity weighed heavily on any age of dissent. Resistance to the policy of
implementation that targets all spheres of political, economic, social and
cultural life in order to impose total power (Gleichschaltung) reproduces entire
breads of the totalitarian domination policy of communist regimes and nazi and
repercusses the patterns Identical of open or insidious dissidence. The
pseudo-Messianic aura of the Khomeynist Revolution celebrated by Jean-Paul
Sartre and Michel Foucault and the plural left quickly faded in favor of an
obscurant dictatorship that was little embarrassed to eliminate the plural
oppositions that had brought it to power.
The true face of this murderous dictatorship has been revealed through a policy
of indiscriminate and merciless repression in Iran, as well as a policy of
imperial conquest at the regional and international levels. It took almost five
decades to come to an end to the myth and the imperial politics associated with
it. The multiple and cross-sected failures of governance have unfolded with
systemic economic, financial, ecological and social crises, the total discredit
of Islamic utopia that has turned into a murderous dystopia, and the repeated
derailment of attempts of imperial expansion and projected elucubrations of an
international contraption led by the Islamic government. concert with thug
states and neototalitarian axes. The ongoing rebellion in Iran heralds the end
of an era regardless of the gravity of the political or strategic weighing
factors. Break is consumed while the end of the regime is a matter of time. The
planned fall of the Islamic regime began with the meteoric dismantling of the
integrated operational platforms policy outlined in the Middle East, the defeat
of the alter-world strategy attempted with the Chavez regime, the regime of
economic sanctions that followed the repeal of the Vienna Accords in 2015, and
the uncertainty of the neototalitarian axis
The Israeli counteroffensive engaged in the wake of the October 7 attacks marks
the beginning of the process of gradual disintegration of a power policy that
was believed to be victorious in the long term. The alternate defeat of the
proxies, the destruction of ballistic and nuclear infrastructures carried out
jointly with the United States has ended the delusions of all-power, nullified
the illusions of sanctuaryization, and opened the way for civil rebellion. The
infiltration of Mossad and the CIA has exposed the structural fragility of a
regime that is undermined by corruption, internal dissensions and fully
delegitimized.
The Iranian regime has no other option than the blind use of violence to counter
cyclical civil rebellions. This is the first time that the chances of a joint
dynamic where factors of external subversion and civil appeal cross over. For
the first time, the regime is welcomed with diplomatic concessions of last
resort. The offer to negotiate by the Iranian Foreign Minister is an attempt to
derail the policy of encircling, to prevent an Israeli or Israeli-American
attack, to seek failing support from the side of the Russian-Chinese
neototalitarian axis, and to carry out a policy of closed-door repression by
mass slaughtering.
None of the proposed policies are capable of containing the effects of a
long-term entropy or deter the Israeli-American counteroffensive operating on
various levels. The only asset the regime has is that of taking Iranian
civilians hostage and doubling in intensity of the repression policy. Otherwise,
he is trying to mobilize his mandates through scenarios of civil war and
institutionalized chaos. The plausibility of a return to the status quo ante is
incredible, especially since its institutional coherence and strategic consensus
are more controversial than ever. Proposing the search for a negotiated solution
with the United States reveals its cumulative failures while knowing that the
object of the negotiation is indefinite and leads to unfavorable force reports.
The regime is trying to reposition itself as a partner in a game where the
stakes and relations of force have changed, all that remains is violence,
nihilism and barbarism of an apocalyptic sect. The assumption of a peaceful
transition entails a duly negotiated coalition between the disparate centers of
totalitarian power and mafia and civil society actors in rebellion and direct
arbitration of the United States.
Les scénarios d’une chute inévitable
Charles Elias Chartouni/January 15/2026
La chute du régime iranien est désormais inscrite dans une trajectoire aux
entrées multiples. Contrairement aux supputations qui présument l’impossibilité
d’un tel scénario, la viabilité du régime est remise en cause pour de multiples
raisons. La fin du narratif appartient depuis belle lurette au répertoire des
multiples oppositions qui se sont succédé tout au long de quatre décennies.
L’érosion n’a cessé de progresser alors que la capacité répressive du régime
s’abattait lourdement sur toute velléité de dissidence.
La résistance à la politique de la mise au pas qui vise toutes les sphères de la
vie politique, économique, sociale et culturelle en vue d’imposer le pouvoir
total (Gleichschaltung) reproduit des pans entiers de la politique de domination
totalitaire des régimes communiste et nazi, et répercute les schémas identiques
de dissidence ouverte ou insidieuse. L’aura pseudo-messianique de la révolution
khomeyniste célébrée par Jean-Paul Sartre et Michel Foucault et la gauche
plurielle s’est estompée rapidement au bénéfice d’une dictature obscurantiste
qui s’est peu embarrassée de liquider les oppositions plurielles qui l’avaient
portée au pouvoir. Le véritable visage de cette dictature meurtrière s’est
dévoilé par une politique de répression indiscriminée et sans merci au sein de
l’Iran, ainsi que par une politique de conquête impériale au niveau régional et
international. Il a fallu presque cinq décennies pour venir à bout du mythe et
de la politique impériale qui lui était associée. Les échecs multiples et
croisés de gouvernance se sont déployés avec les crises systémiques en matière
économique, financière, écologique et sociale, le discrédit total de l’utopie
islamique qui a tourné en dystopie meurtrière, et la déroute répétée des
tentatives d’expansion impériale et des élucubrations projetées d’un
contre-ordre international menées de concert avec les États voyous et les axes
néototalitaires.
La rébellion en cours en Iran annonce la fin d’une ère quelle que soit la
pesanteur des facteurs de pondération politique ou stratégique. La rupture est
consommée alors que la fin du régime est une question de temps. La chute
programmée du régime islamique a été amorcée avec le démantèlement météorique de
la politique des plateformes opérationnelles intégrées esquissée au Moyen-Orient,
la défaite de la stratégie altermondialiste tentée avec le régime Chavez, le
régime des sanctions économiques qui a succédé à l’abrogation des accords de
Vienne en 2015, et l’incurie de l’axe néototalitaire.
La contreoffensive israélienne engagée au lendemain des attaques du 7 octobre
marque le début du processus de désintégration graduelle d’une politique de
puissance qui se croyait victorieuse à terme. La défaite alternée des proxies,
la destruction des infrastructures balistiques et nucléaires menée conjointement
avec les États-Unis ont mis fin aux délires de la toute-puissance, réduit à
néant les illusions de la sanctuarisation et ouvert la voie à la rébellion
civile. L’infiltration du Mossad et de la CIA ont mis à nu les fragilités
structurelles d’un régime miné par la corruption, les dissensions internes et
entièrement délégitimé.
Le régime iranien n’a plus d’autre recours que l’usage aveugle de la violence
pour mater des rébellions civiles qui se répétaient de manière cyclique. C’est
la première fois où les chances d’une dynamique conjointe où les facteurs de
subversion externe et de contestation civile se recoupent. Le régime se voit
acculé pour la première fois à des concessions diplomatiques d’ultime recours.
L’offre de négociation du ministre iranien des Affaires étrangères est une
tentative de déjouer la politique d’encerclement, de prévenir une attaque
israélienne ou israélo-américaine, de solliciter des appuis défaillants du côté
de l’axe néototalitaire russo-chinois, et de mener à terme une politique de
répression à huis clos qui se solde par des massacres de masse.
Aucune des politiques suggérées n’est à même de contenir les effets d’une
entropie de longue durée ou de dissuader la contreoffensive israélo-américaine
qui opère à des niveaux divers. Le seul atout dont dispose le régime est celui
de la prise en otage de la population civile iranienne et du redoublement en
intensité de la politique de répression. Autrement, il essaye de remobiliser ses
mandataires via des scénarios de guerre civile et de chaos institutionnalisé.
La plausibilité d’un retour au statu quo ante est invraisemblable, surtout que
sa cohérence institutionnelle et ses consensus stratégiques sont plus que jamais
controversés. Le fait de proposer la recherche d’une solution négociée avec les
États-Unis révèle ses défaillances cumulées tout en sachant que l’objet de la
négociation est indéterminé et renvoie à des rapports de force défavorables. Le
régime essaye de se repositionner comme partenaire dans un jeu où les enjeux et
les rapports de force ont changé, il ne reste plus que la violence, le nihilisme
et la sauvagerie d'une secte apocalyptique. L'hypothèse d'une transition
pacifique suppose une coalition dûment négociée entre les centres disparates
d'un pouvoir totalitaire et mafieux et les acteurs de la société civile en
rébellion et l'arbitrage direct des États-Unis.
Is Iran truly ready to change?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya English/January 15/2026
Ending the nuclear program and stopping external activity could spare Iran
foreign intervention that enables internal change by exploiting widespread
domestic unrest. The Iranian regime is facing an existential crisis for the
first time since the founder of the Islamic Republic returned to Tehran. There
is only one actor capable of preventing its descent, and possibly its collapse,
and it is neither Washington, nor Israel, nor the Gulf states. The only party
capable of saving the Iranian regime from its fate is the regime itself. This
time, the threats against it have converged, and together they are capable of
bringing it down. Danger surrounds it both internally and externally. The regime
stubbornly adopted the nuclear project despite the clear impossibility of being
allowed to possess it. Today, it is paying the price and finds itself standing
at the finish line, stripped naked, without nuclear deterrence.
The regime also persistently adopted projects of external change and the export
of chaos, declaring them official state policy from its very first day in power.
These projects led to confrontations that harmed Iran and the region alike. We
are now witnessing the collapse of most of the external revolutionary project.
Very little time remains for the regime to take courageous decisions and execute
a complete reversal. This may be the final hour, and it still has the option of
withdrawing from its nuclear project, which everyone knows is a military project
rather than one aimed at electricity generation.
It can spare itself destruction by retreating from its hostile policies toward
countries in the region, dismantling the military institutions that were built
to create chaos and threaten neighbors, and refraining from imposing its will on
the peoples of the region regarding their choices between peace and
confrontation.
Such decisions, ending the nuclear program and external activity, are capable of
sparing Iran foreign intervention that would enable internal change by
exploiting the widespread unrest inside the country.
What we are seeing now is Iran, tactically seeking to halt an American attack,
bargaining over freezing the nuclear project while promising to abandon its
military dimension. This may satisfy the core requirement of the United States
and Israel, but it raises concern for countries in our region. A wounded lion
remains dangerous to most regional states once it recovers, as long as it
retains its conventional weapons and military institutions directed toward
external military activity. The narrative that we face two bitter options, that
the regime’s survival is preferable to chaos, is valid only in a peaceful
environment and under a rational, non-extremist ideological system. The regime
is capable of buying more time and reaching understandings that prevent it from
being targeted by the United States and Israel. This does not necessarily halt
the collapse process but merely delays it, unless the regime adopts a series of
internal and regional retreats. If it were to do so, this would mean we are
facing a system unlike the one we have known for nearly half a century.
Predictions of the fall of Tehran’s regime are old and have been repeatedly
made, yet the system has endured. Zbigniew Brzezinski, the right hand of
President Jimmy Carter and the official responsible for the file at the time,
said after Khomeini came to power, “This is a temporary mobilization regime.”
Years later, Henry Kissinger agreed with him, saying, “The regime is internally
contradictory, a modern state and a revolutionary doctrine, and cannot last
long.” Yet it endured for four decades and became a dominant regional power.
Those predictions were premature. Today, however, the trajectory of the Islamic
Republic of Iran appears to be toward change. The question is how. A total
collapse or a partial transformation? The region must prepare for such potential
changes, both negative and positive. And while extending support to Tehran, we
must remember that our issue with the regime lies solely in its external
interventions, which it continues to pursue in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, even as
it is on its deathbed. So, is Tehran truly ready to change?
For Trump, a Path Forward on Iran That Goes Beyond Bombs
Ali Vaez/Time/January 15/2026
Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran on
January 9, 2026. The nationwide protests started in Tehran's Grand Bazaar
against the failing economic policies in late December, which spread to
universities and other cities, and included economic slogans, to political and
anti-government ones. Iran has witnessed cycles of protests in the recent past,
but the popular uprising that ignited on Dec. 28 is something altogether
different—broader in scale, more desperate in tenor, and far more threatening to
the survival of the Islamic Republic.
The spark for the uprising was the market. When the Iranian currency, the rial,
plunged yet again, bazaar merchants in Tehran—the traditional backbone of the
Islamic Republic—walked out of their shops and into the streets. The protest
quickly metastasized into an anti-regime storm. Within days, unrest radiated out
from provincial towns to the capital, university campuses, industrial centers
and neglected borderlands. The brave people of Iran knew the risks. Iranian
security forces have—yet again—met dissent with batons, bullets and mass
detentions: thousands of protesters have been killed and tens of thousands
arrested. The real numbers are likely to be far higher than published figures
given an almost total internet blackout. A nation of 90 million people, Iran is
the most combustible place in the Middle East right now, caught between the iron
fist of its regime’s oppression and the looming specter of U.S. military
intervention. The stakes could hardly be higher: mismanaging the crisis in Iran
won’t affect Iran alone; it could undermine regional economic and political
stability.
Shadow of the 12-day war
The uprising in Iran unfolding in the aftermath of the 12-day war between Iran
and Israel and American military strikes on Iran in June 2025—a conflict that
shredded key parts of Iran’s nuclear program, decimated segments of its military
leadership, and exposed the sheer vulnerability of the Islamic Republic. Iranian
leaders spun mere survival as victory. The Islamic Republic, they claimed, had
endured the worst blows its enemies could deliver—a resilience owed to domestic
cohesion and revolutionary resolve.
But the war highlighted the Islamic Republic’s decay. It further eroded its
legitimacy. For years, the Iranian regime had justified its domestic repression
as the price of stability in a turbulent region. But when it failed at the basic
task of protecting the homeland, that social contract—authoritarianism in
exchange for security—began to look less like a bargain and more like a
fraud.The popular frustration with Iran’s leadership encompasses a catalogue of
failures that have eroded the regime’s external ambitions and its domestic
legitimacy. After two years of low-intensity conflict with Israel—sparked by
Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack—much of the “axis of resistance,” a coalition of
regional forces that Tehran built over decades at a cost of billions, billions
building, lies in ruins. At home, the much-touted “resistance economy,” designed
to blunt U.S. sanctions through self-reliance and non-oil trade, has devolved
into a byword for scarcity, mismanagement and corruption. Inflation has ravaged
household budgets. Basic infrastructure is crumbling. Environmental degradation
has turned water and electricity into rationed privileges in a resource-rich
state. Voter turnout has plummeted to humiliating lows, and the regime’s
pretense to popular mandate has withered.The core failure is political. The
Islamic Republic led by Ali Khamenei, the 86-year-old Supreme Leader, has
confronted and survived wave after wave of dissent with the same blunt calculus:
crush the protests, reject demands for reform, and carry on as before. The
strategy has bought time, but at a mounting cost. By declining to expand social
and political freedoms, by refusing to fundamentally overhaul the economy, the
leadership has steadily narrowed its own options—moving from the merely
ineffective to the actively self-destructive.
Today’s revolt is the predictable result of permanent refusal to adapt and
change.
To strike, or not to strike
Overlaying this domestic storm in Iran is a dangerous external dimension: the
regime’s enmity with the United States and Israel. President Donald Trump has
eschewed the circumspect rhetoric of previous administrations, which feared that
American endorsement might delegitimize protesters by association. He has
vociferously threatened the regime with military intervention and the imposition
of tariffs on nations that trade with Iran.
Trump may well make good on those threats in the hours or days ahead. Even as
the U.S. military pursues a show of force in the Caribbean, directed at
Venezuela, the White House is openly weighing punitive options against Iran:
cyber operations to undermine Iran’s repressive apparatus, or targeted strikes
on its leadership and military facilities. Each path the Trump Administration
chooses carries risks that extend beyond Tehran’s ruling elite. Iran is not Iraq
in 2003 or Libya in 2011—interventions where the U.S. military initially had
wide freedom of action, though both wound up being costly mistakes. Iran is a
larger country, more cohesive in certain respects, and, crucially, it sits atop
near-weapons-grade uranium, the whereabouts of which remain partly unknown in
the aftermath of the 2025 war.
A sudden collapse of central authority could unleash not only sectarian and
ethnic violence but also a scramble for nuclear material among rival factions,
including competing elements within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
External intervention designed to weaken the regime’s repressive machinery might
simply prompt a scorched-earth backlash against the Iranian people, while
neighboring states, anxious about instability, radicalization, and an influx of
refugees, look on with mounting alarm. These concerns, compounded by anxieties
over an increasingly ascendant Israel, have prompted countries such as Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, and Oman to actively discourage the Trump Administration from
resorting to military force. Although U.S. military intervention in Iran might
appear reckless, doing nothing is equally untenable. The status quo—an ossified
theocracy presiding over a bankrupt economy and an aggrieved populace—has
already proven unsustainable. The challenge for Washington lies in avoiding the
false choice between regime change by force, with unforeseen consequences, and
spectacular but cynically symbolic action.
A more promising course, if still fraught, involves deploying Washington's
available incentives to encourage political renewal. The substance of such
metamorphosis must be defined by Iranians themselves, not dictated by Americans.
Ideas already in circulation within Iran include an internationally monitored
vote for a constituent assembly to design a new order. Yet the U.S. can offer
Iranian dissidents crucial support by clarifying to the regime that sanctions
relief will require more than nuclear safeguards and commitments not to attack
neighbors—it would need concrete steps by Iran toward a government commanding
greater popular legitimacy. This approach remains a long shot but the
alternatives range from unpalatable to unattractive. The hope is that it might
splinter the Iranian leadership, which closed ranks during the recent brutal
crackdown on the protests, in part because it perceives no viable path for a
soft-landing.
Such a strategy would also align U.S. policy with the aspirations of ordinary
Iranians rather than with the impulses of those in Washington who view every
problem as a nail requiring the hammer of military action. And it offers one of
the few instruments available that might gradually loosen the dead grip of a
moribund system without plunging a pivotal country—and, potentially, the region
alongside it—into chaos. Just as airstrikes offer no shortcut to democracy,
there is no safe path back to business as usual. There is only the slow,
uncertain task of granting Iranians leverage over their own future and the moral
imperative not to squander their courage in yet another Middle Eastern
misadventure.
Contact us at letters@time.com.
Selected Face Book & X tweets/
January 15/2026
Roger Bejjani
To those whose rationale is that HZB weapons should be traded against (1)
Israeli withdrawal, (2) the release of prisoners and (3) the total respect and
non infringement of our sovereign air space and waters, I humbly remind them,
that those three issues were caused by ……… the existence of HZB and its weapons.
Mathematically, those three legitimate demands cannot be implemented as long as
the cause has not vanished.