English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For January 20/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from
now on you will be catching people.’When they had brought their boats to shore,
they left everything and followed him
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
05/01-11/:”Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the
crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at
the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their
nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to
put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from
the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the
deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’Simon answered, ‘Master, we have
worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let
down the nets.’When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets
were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat
to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began
to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go
away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’For he and all who were with him were
amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and
John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon,
‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’When they had
brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on January
19-20/2026
On Naim Qassem’s Speech: Insolence, Delusion, and Street-Level Vulgarity
in Open Rebellion Against Lebanon and the World/Elias Bejjani/January 19/ 2026
Spiritual & Historical Reflections on the Annual Feast of Saint Mar Matanios –
The Hermit Mor Mattai/Elias Bejjani/January 17/2026
Ivonne Abdel Baki: A Global Diplomat with Lebanese Roots/Elias Bejjani/January
19/2026
Ivonne A-Baki/the Dialogue.
Israel army says struck Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon
Israel targets south Lebanon with series of strikes
Report: Hezbollah tried to prevent army from reaching bombed N. Litani sites
Report: US and Israel ask Lebanon to up level of negotiations
Pro-Aoun minister says arms monopolization on track despite Qassem’s remarks
Lebanese Army chief to visit Washington from February 3 to 5
Gracia Azzi’s appointment triggers protests, anger among families of Beirut
blast victims
Port blast victims families protest Azzi’s appointment as Customs head
Lebanon present at Davos forum: High-level IMF talks top reform agenda
Lebanon's central bank denies reports of talks to sell MEA
Nabatieh finance officials arrested over bribery, extortion
Justice Minister says Beirut Port probe ongoing, objects appointment of Gracia
Azzi as director general of customs
Can Israel be restrained in Lebanon?/Chris Doyle/Arab News/January 19, 2026
Why Lebanon’s Shia Opposition Sees Opportunity in the 2026 Elections/Claudia
Groeling & Kaline Antoun/This is Beirut/January 19/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on January
19-20/2026
At least 5,000 killed in Iran’s protests,
judiciary hints at resuming executions
Iran to consider lifting Internet ban; state TV hacked
Iran police chief issues surrender ultimatum over ‘riots’
Israel boosts air force readiness as it weighs options against Iran
Turkey’s Erdogan hopes Iran unrest will be resolved through diplomacy
France to decline Trump ‘peace board’ invite, source close to Macron says
Israel’s Netanyahu says no place for Turkish, Qatari soldiers in Gaza force
Over 9,350 Palestinians held in Israeli detention as of January
UK’s Blair distances himself from Trump’s $1 billion peace board fee
World leaders wary of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ mandate amid fears for UN
Prince Faisal discusses latest regional developments with US counterpart
Syria says 120 Daesh detainees escaped prison; Kurdish website said 1,500
escaped
Al-Sharaa, Trump expressed shared desire for ‘unified’ Syria in call, Damascus
says
Syria tightens grip after Kurdish pullback, says ISIS prisoners escape
Shell seeks to exit Syria’s al-Omar oilfield, official says
RSF used mass graves to conceal war crimes in Sudan, ICC deputy prosecutor says
Jabal Hadid camp in Yemen’s Aden handed over under plan to relocate military
bases
Global leaders gather in Davos as Middle East tensions take center stage
Canada deepens investment ties with Qatar, expands economic engagement with
Egypt
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on January
19-20/2026
Les transitions en suspens/Charles Elias
Chartouni/i/This is Beirut/January 19/2026
Transitions pending/Dr.Charles Elias Chartouni/This is Beirut/January 19/2026
AT THE BUFFET OF HIS BANQUET, THE BANQUISE TO EAT/Lara Khoury Hafez/Face
Book/January 19/2029
If Iran's Regime Stays in Place, Trump's Gaza 'Peace' Plan Will Not See Success/Khaled
Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/January 19/2026
After America leaves/Yassin K. Fawaz/The Arab Weekly/19 January/2026
Don’t ask AI for what you don’t deserve/Karam Nama/The Arab Weekly/19
January/2026
US has a long history of strategic land purchases/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab
News/January 19, 2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets/ January 19/2026
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on January
19-20/2026
On Naim
Qassem’s Speech: Insolence, Delusion, and Street-Level Vulgarity in Open
Rebellion Against Lebanon and the World
Elias Bejjani/January 19/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151257/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRlRrHRUmUg
Sheikh Naïm Qassem’s latest speech was not a mere slip of the tongue or a
momentary emotional outburst. It was a blatant declaration of total estrangement
from Lebanon as a state, and a brazen rebellion against the Lebanese
people—their institutions, their decisions, and their national dignity. It was a
speech drawn from the gutter language of the street, not from the position of a
political leader, deliberately confrontational, crude, and saturated with
arrogance and coercion.
When Qassem declares that Hezbollah’s weapons will remain “by force, over the
necks of the Lebanese,” he is not expressing a political stance; he is
effectively signing a document of internal occupation. That statement alone is
sufficient to strip away all the masks of “resistance,” “protection,” and
“defense of the homeland,” revealing the naked truth: we are facing an armed
organization that views the Lebanese as subjects, not citizens, and sees the
state as an obstacle to be smashed, not an authority to which it is accountable.
From Political Speech to Verbal Thuggery
What was labeled a “speech” was nothing more than a bundle of obscene,
street-level insults and a reckless flight forward. Qassem did not debate, did
not argue, did not reason. He insulted, threatened, and waved the specter of
civil war, as if Lebanon were a private estate and Lebanese blood merely a
bargaining chip.
He targeted the President of the Republic, attacked the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, and appointed himself guardian over the government, ordering it either
to submit, to silence itself, or to change course. This is not the language of
leadership; it is the language of a militia in distress. It is not a sign of
strength, but of weakness and fear. The tighter the noose grows around the
party’s regional patron in Tehran, the louder the shouting becomes in Beirut’s
southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s stronghold. And the closer Lebanon comes to a
serious reckoning over placing weapons exclusively under state authority, the
more Qassem emerges threatening that “not one stone will be left upon another.”
Weapons: From “Resistance” to Burden and Threat
The most dangerous aspect of Qassem’s speech is not merely its vulgarity or its
detachment from reality and actual capabilities, but its open contempt for
everything Lebanese—national sovereignty, civil peace, and its servile
submission to Iranian dictates.
He trivialized and leapt over international resolutions, trampled the Armistice
Agreement that binds Lebanon and prohibits any armed organization outside state
legitimacy, mocked Arab and international consensus, ignored Israel’s military
power, and insulted and derided the will of the vast majority of Lebanese who
want a normal state—without rogue weapons and without militias that know nothing
but stupidity, hatred, and the glorification and sanctification of suicidal
death.
When Qassem challenges the state and declares his weapons beyond any discussion,
he implicitly admits that these weapons no longer serve any national purpose.
They serve only one function: protecting the party’s apparatus and its
mini-state, even if that comes at the ruins of Lebanon itself.
Branding Sovereignty as Treason… to Cover Defeat
Qassem reverted to the easiest weapon of all: accusations of treason. Anyone who
demands state sovereignty is a “traitor.” Anyone who works through diplomacy is
a “tool.” Anyone who rejects his weapons is “inciting civil war.” But the truth
is far too clear to be concealed by insults: the party’s project has reached a
dead end. The illusions of “victory” can no longer feed a hungry people, rebuild
a destroyed city, or rescue a collapsed economy.
What Comes After This Defiance?
After this speech, silence is no longer an option, and evasiveness is no longer
acceptable. What Naïm Qassem said imposes firm and unequivocal steps on the
Lebanese government—not vague, grey statements:
The immediate expulsion of Hezbollah and Amal Movement ministers from the
government, because anyone who threatens the state cannot be a partner in
governing it.
A clear and official declaration of the end of the state of war with Israel, and
an end to its use as a pretext for retaining weapons.
The designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization at the national level,
consistent with its threatening and insurrectionary behavior.
The arrest of Hezbollah leaders involved in threatening civil peace and their
referral to the judiciary, rather than rewarding them with positions of power.
Conclusion
Naïm Qassem’s speech was not a defense of “resistance,” but a declaration of
open hostility toward Lebanon. It was not a show of strength, but a fit of
political panic. It was not directed at Israel or the outside world, but at the
Lebanese themselves—as if to tell them: “The state is finished, and we are the
alternative.”
Here lies the crux of the matter: Either a state, or Naïm Qassem. Either the
rule of law, or the logic of “by force, over your necks.”History does not
forgive the hesitant.
Spiritual & Historical
Reflections on the Annual Feast of Saint Mar Matanios – The Hermit Mor Mattai
Elias Bejjani/January 17/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151190/
Who Is Saint Mar Matanios?
Saint Mar Matanios, known in the Syriac tradition as Mar Matthew the Hermit (Mor
Mattai), is one of the pillars of Eastern monasticism in the fourth Christian
century and the founder of the renowned Monastery of Mar Mattai near Nineveh. He
is regarded as one of the great ascetics who contributed to strengthening the
faith and spreading monastic life in the Church of the East. The Syriac and
Maronite Churches commemorate his annual feast on January 17.
Historical Timeline and Biography
Year of birth: approximately the first quarter of the fourth century (c. 300–305
AD)
Place of birth: the city of Amida (Diyarbakir) in Mesopotamia
Social background: from a family of status and influence, in a non-Christian
environment
Conversion to Christianity: in his youth, following a profound spiritual
experience that led him to faith in Christ
Entrance into monastic life: around 330–335 AD
First place of ascetic life: the mountains and wilderness near Nineveh
(present-day Iraq)
Foundation of the monastery: the nucleus of the Monastery of Mar Mattai around
363 AD, which later became a major monastic and spiritual center
Year of death: approximately 410–420 AD
Place of death: in his monastery near Nineveh
Recognition of sainthood (canonization): not by a conciliar decree as in the
Latin concept, but by the consensus of the Church and living tradition since the
fifth century; his name was included in the Syriac and Maronite Synaxaria
His Ascetic and Monastic Life
Mar Matanios chose the path of total renunciation, living a strict ascetic life
of fasting and vigil, constant prayer, inner silence, obedience, and humility,
rejecting all worldly glory. Many disciples gathered around him, and his ascetic
experience developed into an organized monastic movement that became one of the
foundations of Eastern Syriac monasticism.
His Miracles According to Church Tradition
The Synaxaria and spiritual biographies affirm that God glorified His saint
through many miracles, most notably the healing of the sick from incurable
physical illnesses, the casting out of evil spirits through prayer and the sign
of the Cross, the protection of believers and monks during times of persecution
and turmoil, and numerous miracles through his intercession after his death,
especially for the sick and the weak. These miracles are understood as signs of
the saint’s union with God, not as ends in themselves.
His Impact on Church and Monastic Life
Monastic impact:
The establishment of the model of communal monasticism in the East
The formation of generations of monks and bishops
The transformation of the Monastery of Mar Mattai into a spiritual and
theological school
Ecclesial impact:
The strengthening of Christian faith in religiously diverse regions
The consolidation of Syriac spiritual and liturgical identity
The offering of a living witness of holiness that drew believers to the Church
What the Maronite Synaxarion Says About the Saint
The Maronite Synaxarion presents Saint Mar Matanios as a holy ascetic monk who
abandoned wealth and worldly glory, dwelt in the wilderness out of love for
Christ, founded a monastery that became a beacon of holiness, and became
renowned for his powerful prayer and miracles. The Church celebrates his feast
annually on January 17, highlighting his ascetic virtues and effective
intercession.
The Relationship of Saint Mar Matanios with Lebanon
Although the saint’s life unfolded in Mesopotamia, his veneration reached
Lebanon through the Syriac–Maronite tradition. This is manifested in churches
bearing his name according to local tradition, ancient churches and monasteries
dedicated to him in Mount Lebanon and the North, especially in areas influenced
by Syriac heritage, as well as altars or side altars dedicated to him in some
Maronite churches.
Monasteries:There is a spiritual bond between Maronite monasteries in Lebanon
and Syriac monasticism that originated from the School of Mar Mattai. His name
is mentioned in liturgical books and monastic biographies circulated in
monasteries. It is worth noting that the spread of his name in Lebanon is
primarily spiritual and liturgical rather than directly historical.
Asceticism, and love are the true path to the salvation of humanity and of
nations
While, Saint Mar Matanios remains a witness that holiness shapes history, and
that the ascetic monk can be a father to generations and nations. On his
glorious feast, the Church renews her faith that prayer, asceticism, and love
are the true path to the salvation of humanity and of nations.
A Prayer to Saint Mar Matanios for Lebanon
O Saint of God, Mar Matanios, you who knew the path of peace in the heart of the
desert, and who made prayer a wall and a protection, we ask you today for
wounded Lebanon: protect its people from wars and destruction, ward off every
occupation, domination, and terrorism, bring an end to violence, killing, and
corruption, and deliver it from all the forces of evil that have disfigured its
face and suffocated its freedom.
Intercede, O Saint of God, that peace may return to the Land of the Cedars, that
the state may rise in truth and justice, and that the Lebanese may live in
dignity and security. Amen.
Clarifying Note: This text refers to Saint Mar Matanios (Mar Matthew the
Hermit), founder of the Monastery of Mar Mattai near Nineveh in Mesopotamia, and
should not be confused with Saint Matanios the Desert Dweller who lived in the
Egyptian wilderness, as they are two distinct saints belonging to different
ecclesial traditions.
NB: The information in this study is cited from various documented
ecclesiastical, theological, research, and media references.
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
Ivonne Abdel Baki: A Global Diplomat with Lebanese Roots
Elias Bejjani/January 19/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151289/
Ivonne A-Baki is considered one of the most prominent diplomatic figures of
Lebanese descent in Latin America. She is currently a
frequently mentioned name as a potential candidate to succeed António Guterres
for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations (whose term
concludes in 2026).
Below is an expanded profile of her life, career, and heritage:
1. Origins and Early Life (Lebanese Roots)
Birth: Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador (February 23, 1951) to Lebanese parents who
emigrated from the village of Btater in the Aley District.
Affiliation: She belongs to the Druze community and takes great pride in her
Lebanese roots, which she credits for shaping her “global” identity.
Life in Lebanon: She moved to Lebanon at the age of 17 after marrying Lebanese
businessman Sami Abdel Baki. She lived there for many years, including during
the civil war, which ignited her lifelong passion for peace-building.
2. Education and Languages
Ivonne is a polymath and a multilingual intellectual:
Languages: She is fluent in five languages (Arabic, Spanish, English, French,
and German) and writes poetry in several of them.
Education: She studied art at the Sorbonne in France and later earned a Master’s
degree in Public Administration and Public Policy from Harvard University
(Kennedy School of Government).
3. Diplomatic and Political Career
She has held high-ranking positions that have made her the “Dean of Ecuadorian
Diplomacy”:
Veteran Ambassador: She represented Ecuador as Ambassador to Washington D.C.
(for multiple terms) and was the first woman to hold that post. She also served
as Ambassador to France and Qatar, and as a non-resident Ambassador to several
Arab countries (Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Syria, and Iraq).
Minister of Trade: She served as the Minister of Foreign Trade, Industry, and
Fisheries of Ecuador (2003–2005).
Andean Parliament: Elected as a member in 2006, she became the President of the
Andean Parliament by unanimous vote in 2007.
Presidential Candidate: She ran for the Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador in
2002.
4. Achievements in Peace and Environment
Peacemaker: She played a pivotal role in the 1998 peace negotiations between
Ecuador and Peru, which ended a border conflict that had lasted for decades.
UNESCO Ambassador: She served as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and was a strong
candidate for the Director-General position of the organization in 2009.
Yasuní Initiative: She led global negotiations to protect the Amazon rainforest
from oil drilling.
5. Candidacy for UN Secretary-General
She is viewed as a formidable candidate for the UN’s top job for several
reasons:
International Support: She maintains deep ties with global power centers,
particularly in Washington (having built strong diplomatic relations during her
tenure there).
Gender Representation: There is a growing international movement to appoint the
first woman in history to the position of UN Secretary-General.
Cultural Bridge: Her unique ability to act as a bridge between the Arab world,
Latin America, and the West.
Ivonne A-Baki
https://thedialogue.org/expert/ivonne-a-baki
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151289/
Ambassador of Ecuador to the Republic of France & Former Ambassador the Republic
of Ecuador to the United States, Ecuador
In March 2024, Mrs Ivonne A-Baki was appointed ambassador of Ecuador to France,
continuing her legacy of fostering international cooperation and cultural
integration. She is an artist, painter, diplomat, peace negotiator, humanist,
and politician. A multifaceted woman who is driven by her ideals.
Ambassador A-Baki was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador of Arab Lebanese parents. She
got involved from a very young age in the world of arts through dance and
classical music that have inspired her the magic and power of art to unite
ideals, cultures, people and nations.
She was an artist in residence at Harvard University and she created the Harvard
Arts for Peace Foundation by organizing many joint exhibitions and art shows
between countries in war as a way of achieving her goals in building bridges and
finding solutions. In parallel, she established the Beyond Boundaries Foundation
to improve the health of the poor people of the Republic of Ecuador. Currently,
the Foundation is focusing its efforts to educate people about the diagnosis and
early treatment of tuberculosis and diabetes.
Ambassador A-Baki has had a very distinguished career as diplomat, politician
and academic as Honorary Consul of Ecuador in Beirut, Honorary Consul of Ecuador
in Boston, ambassador to the United States of America, ambassador to Qatar and
ambassador Non-Resident of Ecuador to Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and
Syria.
She was member of the Board of Directors of the “Conflict Management Group”, led
by Prof. Roger Fisher, in Harvard University. She had an active participation on
the achievement of the Peace Agreements between Ecuador and Peru, signed in
October 26th, 1998.
Between 2003 and 2005, A-Baki became the first woman to be posted as Ecuador’s
Minister of Foreign Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, Fisheries, and
Competitiveness. She represented Ecuador at the Andean Parliament and was
President of the Commission for Economic Affairs of the European Latin –
American Parliament (EUROLAT).
Very committed to conservation, Mrs. A-Baki created the Galapagos Conservancy
Foundation which has achieved important goals to create consciousness for
protecting the environment in many countries and protecting fragile species. She
played as well an important role in the creation in January 2022 of the New
“Hermandad” (Brotherhood) Marine Reserve that includes 60 thousand additional
kilometers to the current protected area of the Galapagos Islands. This fact
ensured that Ecuador’s actions in favor of the environment were disseminated and
recognized globally.
Ambassador A-Baki was awarded the Global Citizen Prize by the Patel Foundation
for Global Understanding, shared with Mr. Muhammad Yunus. She has been a
Goodwill ambassador for the UNESCO Dialogue of Civilizations, in recognition of
her contribution to the Organization’s work in the field of dialogue among
cultures.
A-Baki was an event speaker at the Dialogue.
Israel army says struck Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon
AFP/19 January/2026
Israel’s army said it carried out several strikes against Hezbollah
infrastructure in southern Lebanon on Monday, despite Lebanon this month
announcing progress in disarming the militia. Israel
has continued to launch regular strikes in the area even after a ceasefire was
agreed with Hezbollah in November 2024 to end more than a year of hostilities.
“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck terror infrastructure in
several areas of southern Lebanon... used by Hezbollah to conduct drills and
training for terrorists” to attack Israeli forces and civilians, the military
said in a statement. It did not specify the exact locations, but Lebanon’s
state-run National News Agency reported “a series of Israeli strikes” on at
least five villages -- Ansar, Zarariyeh, Kfar Melki, Nahr al-Shita and Bouslaya.
Last week, the Lebanese army said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of
the Litani River in the first phase of a nationwide plan, though Israel
described those efforts as insufficient. The five villages mentioned by NNA lie
north of the Litani, an area not included in the first phase of disarmament. On
Friday, another Israeli strike killed one person in Lebanon’s south, according
to the country’s health ministry.
Israel targets south Lebanon with series of strikes
Naharnet/19 January/2026
Israeli airstrikes targeted Monday Wadi Burghoz, Ansar's outskirts,
al-Mahmoudiyeh, and al-Mourouj, with the Israeli army claiming it struck
Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon. "A short while
ago, the (Israeli military) struck terror infrastructure in several areas of
southern Lebanon... used by Hezbollah to conduct drills and training for
terrorists" to attack Israeli forces and civilians, the military said in a
statement. The National News Agency reported "a series of Israeli strikes" on at
least five villages -- Ansar, Zarariyeh, Kfar Melki, Nahr al-Shita and Buslaya,
all north of the Litani river. Last week, the Lebanese army said it had
completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River in the first phase of a
nationwide plan, though Israel described those efforts as insufficient. Israel
has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire and is
still occupying five hills it deems "strategic" in south Lebanon.
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Saturday that Lebanon has
implemented all its obligations regarding the ceasefire while Israel "has
committed to nothing" and that the decision to disarm the group is an
"Israeli-American demand". "It is a far-fetched dream" that Hezbollah would hand
over its weapons, he said.
Report: Hezbollah tried to prevent army from reaching bombed N. Litani sites
Naharnet/19 January/2026
Hezbollah has changed the way it deals on the ground with the Lebanese Army and
it tried to prevent army troops from reaching sites bombed by Israel north of
the Litani River, sources told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel. The sources added
that a fistfight erupted between members of Hezbollah and the allied Amal
Movement after Israel bombed buildings in the southern town of Kfar Hatta, with
Amal accusing Hezbollah of “storing weapons in residential areas.”Israel has
continued to launch regular strikes in south Lebanon even after a ceasefire was
agreed with Hezbollah in November 2024 to end more than a year of hostilities.
Last week, the Lebanese Army said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of
the Litani River in the first phase of a nationwide plan, though Israel
described those efforts as insufficient. The Lebanese
government is supposed to discuss in February a plan for disarming Hezbollah
north of the Litani River.
Report: US and Israel ask Lebanon to up level of
negotiations
Naharnet/19 January/2026
The contacts of the past two days, especially those that followed the meetings
of Arab and Western officials with Lebanese leaders, highlighted "the intention
of Washington and Tel Aviv to beging working on ending the work of the Mechanism
committee in its current form,” a media report said. Lebanese leaders received
“a U.S.-Israeli request for raising the level of negotiations” between Lebanon
and Israel, with Washington suggesting that Lebanon “agree to the formation of a
political-military committee with Israel that would hold its meetings outside
the region and exclusively under U.S. sponsorship,” al-Akhbar newspaper said.
The new committee would “manage the file of negotiations in order to end
the state of animosity between Lebanon and Israel, which would open the door to
amending the (1949) Armistice Agreement, with Israel stressing that ending the
state of animosity definitely requires getting rid of all forms of armed
resistance action, which would make the demand of disarming the Resistance
(Hezbollah) part of the new security agreement,” the daily added.
Pro-Aoun minister says arms monopolization on track despite Qassem’s remarks
Naharnet/19 January/2026
The decisions taken by Lebanese authorities regarding arms monopolization “were
taken to be implemented and nothing will change the president’s stances,”
ministerial sources close to President Joseph Aoun said, in response to
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem’s latest remarks. “Qassem wanted to object
and escalate in front of his environment, and this all remains rhetorical,” the
sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, noting that it is unlikely that
Hezbollah would take any steps on the ground. “The course of weapons
monopolization is on the right track,” the sources added. The Nidaa al-Watan
newspaper meanwhile reported that “a number of mediators sought over the past
hours to re-launch indirect dialogue between Aoun and Hezbollah in a bid to
alleviate tensions.” Quoting “prominent political sources,” the daily said
Qassem escalated the rhetoric in his latest speech “at the request of
Iran.”“Iran does not want to lose its last and most important card without
anything in return ahead of the negotiations with the United States, which will
take place in a matter of a few weeks,” the sources added.
Lebanese Army chief to visit Washington from February 3 to 5
Naharnet/19 January/2026
Army chief Rodolphe Haykal will visit Washington from February 3 to 5, media
reports said. Haykal will present to Washington
detailed military maps, and a list of Hezbollah sites and tunnels, local TV
network MTV said. According to the channel, Haykal will also give deadlines for
the implementation of the disarmament plan. In November, a visit by Haykal was
cancelled just hours before he was set to depart for Washington, after U.S.
officials and senators criticized the Lebanese Army and its chief, accusing them
of not doing enough to disarm Hezbollah.
The cancellation included all high-level meetings at the Pentagon and Congress,
as well as an official reception at the Lebanese Embassy.
Gracia Azzi’s appointment triggers protests, anger among
families of Beirut blast victims
LBCI/19 January/2026
The newly appointed Director General of Customs, Gracia Azzi, has become a focal
point of anger for the families of victims of the Beirut Port explosion.
Negative reactions to her appointment spilled into the streets, as families
gathered outside the Customs Administration building at the port entrance, just
meters from her office. Burning tires sent smoke into the air, while trust
between the families and the president eroded. The families said their aim was
to remove Azzi from her office and prevent her from carrying out her duties.
They conveyed their position directly to customs officers and personnel. Later,
three family members entered the building but did not find Azzi. Elsewhere,
Justice Minister Adel Nassar spoke from Bkerke, reiterating his reserved
position on Azzi’s appointment, which he had previously expressed during a
Cabinet session. Azzi is a defendant in the Beirut Port explosion case, charged
by investigative judge Tarek Bitar with negligence and dereliction of duty
during her tenure as a member of the Higher Council of Customs. Her appointment
came while the indictment in the case has yet to be issued, due to major
obstacles that have delayed both its release and the start of trial proceedings.
At a later stage, the Judicial Council is expected to issue rulings against her
and others included in the case. In a separate case involving allegations of
abuse of power, money laundering, and illicit enrichment, the prosecution file
against Azzi was referred by Judge Ghada Aoun to the first investigative judge
in Mount Lebanon in April 2019. Since then, for more than six years, the case
has not been closed judicially, nor has an indictment been issued. The shelving
of this file, along with others, within an indictment panel or any other
judicial body remains an issue in itself.
Port blast victims families protest Azzi’s appointment as
Customs head
Naharnet/19 January/2026
Families of the Beirut port blast victims protested Monday the appointment of
Gracia Azzi as the Director General of Customs in front of her office at the
Beirut port. Azzi was summoned for questioning by Judge Tarek Bitar in relation
to the 2020 Beirut Port explosion. Some members of Parliament including change
MP Ibrahim Mneimneh joined the families of the victims who seemed outraged by
the promotion of Azzi. The protestors burned tires and said they won't allow
Azzi to enter her office today.
Lebanon present at Davos forum: High-level IMF talks top reform agenda
LBCI/19 January/2026
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is set to hold his most prominent meeting at
the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday with International Monetary Fund
(IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, as Beirut seeks to underscore
progress on long-stalled financial reforms. The talks with Georgieva will
include Finance Minister Yassine Jaber and Economy Minister Amer Bisat, who,
alongside Salam, were key architects of the draft financial gap law recently
approved by the Cabinet and now before Parliament. Notably absent from the Davos
meetings will be Banque du Liban (BDL) governor Karim Souaid, who had appeared
alongside government officials at the Grand Serail when the bill was formally
endorsed. Lebanon's delegation is expected to emphasize to Georgieva and other
international officials the broad steps launched domestically to address the
financial crisis and align with international standards. Officials argue that
Lebanon has already delivered on several core requirements, including amendments
lifting banking secrecy, the adoption of a bank restructuring law, and progress
toward passing the financial gap law, all of which are ahead of the IMF and
World Bank Spring Meetings scheduled for April. Participation in the Davos forum
also offers the Lebanese delegation an opportunity to present the government's
economic and political priorities to a wide audience of global officials,
investors, and major corporations. This will take place through bilateral
meetings, panel discussions, and public sessions, including two open encounters
with U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well
as a series of international media appearances. Officials acknowledge that the
government is fully aware of international and regional expectations. While
Salam is likely to hear the same messages in Davos as in Beirut and elsewhere,
the decisive test will remain implementation rather than pledges.
Lebanon's central bank denies reports of talks to sell MEA
LBCI/19 January/2026
Lebanon’s central bank has categorically denied reports circulating in some
media and non-media circles claiming that negotiations, discussions, or contacts
are underway regarding the full or partial sale of Middle East Airlines (MEA).
In a statement, the central bank said there have been no such talks or
communications, whether direct or indirect, formal or informal, with any party,
individual or entity, local or foreign, either at present or in the foreseeable
future.
It urged media outlets and users of various platforms to exercise accuracy and
responsibility, stressing that it reserves the right to take appropriate legal
action against anyone who promotes or repeats false information that harms the
public interest or national institutions.
Nabatieh finance officials arrested over bribery, extortion
LBCI/19 January/2026
Lebanon’s State Security arrested three senior officials at the Nabatieh
Regional Finance Department for allegedly taking bribes and extorting citizens.
The investigation found that the department head, a division chief, and a senior
inspector ran an organized system to solicit payments in exchange for processing
administrative transactions. The arrests were carried out following instructions
from the Public Prosecutor, and the officials have been referred to the
competent judicial authority.
Justice Minister says Beirut Port probe ongoing, objects
appointment of Gracia Azzi as director general of customs
LBCI/19 January/2026
Lebanon's Justice Minister Adel Nassar said efforts are continuing to advance
the investigation into the Beirut port explosion, led by Judge Tarek Bitar,
stressing that authorities are providing full support to facilitate the probe.
Speaking after meeting Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi
at the patriarchal headquarters in Bkerke, Nassar said, "Work on the port
explosion case is ongoing thanks to the efforts of Judge Tarek Bitar, and we are
giving all possible backing to ease his mission." Commenting on the appointment
of Gracia Azzi as director general of customs, Nassar said he had objected to
the move despite his firm belief in the presumption of innocence. "It is not
appropriate for a promotion to take place," he said, adding that the issue was
one of suitability rather than a judgment on guilt. Nassar emphasized that the
judicial process remains independent, noting that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had
been clear that the government's position does not constitute interference. "The
judicial path must reach its conclusions," he said, adding that anyone found
guilty would face all legal measures. "The decision not to proceed with the
promotion was based on considerations of appropriateness." Asked about
cooperation with foreign authorities, Nassar said coordination with
international judicial bodies was "very good," particularly between the Lebanese
judiciary and its foreign counterparts. He praised Judge Jamal Hajjar, saying he
was carrying out his duties effectively and that, while preparing for
retirement, he was not stepping down at this stage. Nassar also reaffirmed his
commitment to keeping politics out of judicial appointments. "I promised myself
to distance politics from judicial nominations," he said, stressing that members
of the judiciary have no political affiliations. He credited the head of the
Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Souheil Abboud, with safeguarding judicial
independence under the most challenging circumstances.
Can Israel be restrained in Lebanon?
Chris Doyle/Arab News/January 19, 2026
Amid the overwhelming tsunami of confusing global and regional events that 2026
has already bestowed upon us, many will have missed the latest developments —
good and bad — on the Israeli-Lebanese border. It is now 14 months since a
ceasefire agreement formally brought the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, which had
continued at varying degrees of intensity since October 2023, to a halt. But the
violations are almost daily. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon has documented more
than 10,000 Israeli ceasefire violations, with over 300 killed.
Yet, as with Gaza, this is a ceasefire in name only. Also like Gaza, one party —
Israel — is actively engaged in military operations with little to no restraint.
As with Gaza, Israel has refused to honor its obligation to withdraw from
territory it is occupying. In the case of Lebanon, it is five hilltops in the
south. As with Gaza, Israel is in violation of multiple UN Security Council
resolutions, notably 1701 and 2790. As with Gaza, the Israeli military regularly
attacks UN agencies, notably UNIFIL, as it did most recently on Dec. 10, Dec. 26
and Jan. 2. As with Gaza, all the pressure is on the Lebanese authorities and
absolutely none on Israel. Lebanon has, in contrast,
been fulfilling its obligations. On Jan. 8, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed
that the Lebanese army had completed the first phase of the five-phase
disarmament plan and had a monopoly on the use of force in the area south of the
Litani River. One exception to this is of course UNIFIL, but more importantly
there are also areas still under Israeli military control. Hezbollah is
therefore no longer militarily active in this area.
As with Gaza, all the pressure is on the Lebanese authorities and absolutely
none on Israel
Cynics would be right to at least question this claim. UNIFIL has confirmed the
removal of many weapons and the destruction of tunnels. But Hezbollah is also no
longer the power it once was. It was massively degraded during Israel’s
onslaught against it in 2024, with the decapitation of its leadership and
destruction of much of its military arsenal. Israel
accuses Hezbollah of rearming. But is it? The Lebanese government is meant,
under the ceasefire agreement, to prevent this, including through better control
of its borders, both maritime and with Syria. Yet this should be questioned too.
The Assad regime, which was allied to Hezbollah and all too willing to
facilitate the transfer of Iranian weapons into Lebanon, is no longer in charge
in Syria. The new Syrian authorities view Hezbollah as a hostile force. Iran
itself is weakened, less able to arm and fund its allies across the region,
including Hezbollah. Israel has hardly furnished any evidence of its claims. Any
rearmament that is taking place is likely to be small in comparison to the past,
though it should still be thwarted.
The failure to achieve a genuine ceasefire has huge implications on the ground
in southern Lebanon. Many Lebanese are waiting to return to their homes. A major
reconstruction effort is required but is being held back due to the lack of
security.
What underpins all this is the opposing ambitions of all sides. The Lebanese
government has outlined very clear priorities. It has shown genuine
determination to make the Lebanese army the only armed actor in Lebanon. It
demands an end to Israeli attacks and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from
Lebanon. The Lebanese are also seeking the release of about 15 Lebanese
prisoners Israel holds. The failure to achieve a genuine ceasefire has huge
implications on the ground in southern Lebanon
For Hezbollah, survival is key. Retreating from the south of the Litani is one
thing but disarming — including in its south Beirut stronghold — is quite
another matter. It needs political cover to do this, with a full Israeli
withdrawal from Lebanon a minimum.
The Israeli agenda is not so clear. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has his
views but others in his leadership circle do not share them. Do Israeli leaders
envisage a strong Lebanese government able to control its sovereign territory or
a fractured, weak Lebanon that Israel can exploit? Whereas the Lebanese side may
be willing, once the border is demarcated, to entertain a security agreement
with Tel Aviv, it is far from ready to deliver what many Israelis and US
President Donald Trump dreams of: full normalization. The Lebanese position is
that the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 must be implemented first, which would
mean Israel having to end all its occupations. The fear is that Netanyahu, in an
Israeli election year, may consider that returning Lebanon to hell suits his
interests, meaning he would pursue a military option to smash the last vestiges
of Hezbollah. Or maybe he considers he has already beaten Hezbollah. Typically,
he views Lebanon in terms of what is happening in Iran.
The hope is that international actors, not least the US, will convince Israel to
play ball and achieve lasting peace, including a full Israeli withdrawal, a
Hezbollah that is disarmed and demilitarized, and a Lebanese government that is
properly sovereign over its own territory.
**Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in
London. X: @Doylech
Why Lebanon’s Shia Opposition Sees Opportunity in the 2026
Elections
Claudia Groeling & Kaline Antoun/This is Beirut/January 19/2026
Lebanon’s upcoming parliamentary elections are shaping up as a test of
Hezbollah’s political standing at a moment of vulnerability, after the group
suffered a major military blow in the 2024 war with Israel and faces mounting
pressure from the Lebanese government’s pledge to disarm it nationwide.
Since the 1992 parliamentary elections, the Amal Movement and Hezbollah have
largely commanded the 27 seats in the parliament reserved for Shia Muslims. The
duopoly has left little room for alternative voices to be heard in the
community, let alone elected, establishing an iron grip that Shia opposition
activists hope to break in the upcoming elections.
A breakthrough by Shia opposition candidates could also threaten Speaker Nabih
Berri’s decades-long hold on the presidency of parliament, a post traditionally
reserved for Shia lawmakers. If a non-duopoly MP wins a seat, there is a chance
they could be elected speaker.
As the vote approaches—tentatively scheduled for May amid talk of a
postponement—This is Beirut spoke with Shia opposition figures about their
plans, campaigns, aspirations, and challenges.
Intimidation and Pressure
Despite the material losses and reputational damage Hezbollah suffered from its
war with Israel, Shia opposition activists continue to face major political and
structural obstacles to mounting a serious challenge to the party.
Opposition candidates speaking to This is Beirut cited voter intimidation by
Hezbollah at polling stations as a key challenge and a major factor in
depressing Shia turnout, with only about half of the community’s eligible voters
casting ballots in the 2022 parliamentary elections.
Ali al-Amin, the founder of the opposition Janoubia outlet, said that the state
must properly administer polling centers with relevant security forces. “If I
want to enter a polling center, I don’t want to feel that Hezbollah runs and
controls it,” the political analyst said.
Amin said he had personally faced voter intimidation, stressing that those who
attempt to vote against Hezbollah and Amal can face “real harm, harm that should
not be underestimated.”
Pressure on opposition activists does not stop at the ballot box. Ali Mourad,
who is preparing to run in the South III district encompassing Bint Jbeil and
Nabatieh, said that activists in southern Lebanon—a bulwark of Hezbollah’s
support—face unjust accusations of treason for opposing the party.
“If you run a small shop, nobody will buy from you,” he said, pointing to
social pressure as one example of how dissent can be quietly punished. Mourad
said these pressures have hampered his campaign, leaving him unable to rent
office space and forcing his party, Tayyar al-Taghyeer Fi al-Janoub, to operate
out of his home.
“There is no neutrality of the state, and this creates intimidation,” Mourad
said, explaining that municipal buildings, schools and other public buildings in
southern Lebanon are plastered with Hezbollah and Amal propaganda.
Mourad said he requests state security protection when meeting Lebanese
officials during elections. He emphasized that physical intimidation is a
challenge he and other Shia opposition candidates have long had to endure.
Taharror Movement president Ali Khalife, another Shia opposition figure
preparing to run for parliament, told This is Beirut that voters considering
casting ballots against Hezbollah risk losing social support systems they rely
on. The Shia community depends on Hezbollah’s institutions, schools, and health
care centers, at the expense of the community’s social and economic rights,
according to Khalife.
Hezbollah’s Weakening Grip
The 2024 Hezbollah-Israel War has shattered the organization’s aura of
invincibility as it faces tightening restrictions and political isolation. “The
idea that [Hezbollah and Amal’s control] is solid and irreversible has
collapsed, and restoring it seems impossible,” Amin told This is Beirut.
Jad al-Akhawi, who is considering a parliamentary run in the Baabda district,
described the group as critically weak. “They're not in a situation where they
can intimidate anyone. The people who used to kill are dead,” he said.
He heads the Lebanese Democrat Coalition, a party founded by Lokman Slim, the
prominent critic of Hezbollah assassinated in mysterious circumstances in
southern Lebanon. Prior to his murder, Slim stated in writing that Hezbollah and
Amal would bear responsibility if he were killed.
“We have reached a point where we are living in zero fear,” Akhawi added. He
explained that he has never requested state security protection ahead of the
elections. Despite warnings from people concerned for his safety not to travel
to southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, Akhawi stressed that he continues to
organize and meet people in these areas. Even in the face of such risks, he
said, “I am convinced of continuing.”
Amin, for his part, cautioned that a change in the Shia community’s beliefs will
only take the Shia opposition movement so far; these beliefs must translate into
votes at the ballot box. “At the core of this issue is whether voters feel that
the state has returned,” the analyst said.
“If Shia voters do not feel this, I believe there will be no change in the
elections,” he added.
Emerging Opportunities
Despite systemic and structural obstacles, opposition activists believe an
increasing segment of the Shia community has become receptive to messaging
critical of Hezbollah.
Khalife explained that his campaign is targeting the Shia community’s youth, a
group that, he argued, is more open to his ideas. “Young Shia are less
ideologically attached. They are not convinced by Wilayat al-Faqih or Iranian
hegemony. They want to live like other Lebanese youth—Sunni, Christian, Druze,”
he said.
“This youth is also more open to peace agreements with Israel because they
understand that stability brings economic and social benefits,” the activist
added.
Meanwhile, Akhawi argued that the Shia community is increasingly recognizing
that Hezbollah’s insistence on retaining its arsenal does not serve its
constituents’ interests.
Khalife said Hezbollah’s military failures have created a growing conflict
between the organization and the Shia community. “People have endured war,
economic collapse, and insecurity. That opens the door for a new political
alternative,” he said.
Akhawi added that if the Lebanese state accelerates Hezbollah’s disarmament
north of the Litani River before the parliamentary elections, more Shia voters
would be willing to support opposition candidates due to reduced intimidation at
electoral sites. However, he cautioned that disarmament alone would not be
enough.
“We have to remember that Hezbollah is not only about its arms, but also about
the institutions,” he said. Akhawi explained that Hezbollah’s continued control
over essential state services and southern Lebanon’s social fabric would still
drive voters toward the group even if it were disarmed.
Hezbollah’s opponents have greater opportunities in districts with
greater sectarian diversity, where political power is shared among parties, than
in mostly Shia districts long controlled by Hezbollah and Amal, Amin said.
He added that the Shia community in the districts with a mix of Christian, Druze
and Sunni parliamentary seats will be more receptive to opposition messaging and
less affected by voter intimidation than voters in southern Lebanon.
In mixed districts such as Baabda, Zahle, Jbeil–Keserwan, Beirut II—the western
half of the capital—and the Western Bekaa, “change could realistically lead to
the election of between four or five Shia opposition MPs, at a minimum, under
current conditions,” Amin said.
He said that if conditions improve slightly by election time, this number could
increase.
Timing Could Tip the Scale
The mechanism of diaspora voting in the elections could prove a decisive factor
in the vote and whether it is held on time. Parliament Speaker Berri, who heads
the Amal Movement, has blocked in the legislature a proposed amendment to the
electoral law to allow Lebanese expatriates to vote abroad in their districts of
origin.
Instead, Berri and Hezbollah have pushed for the diaspora vote to be limited to
six seats specifically created for expatriates voting abroad, as called for by
the 2017 electoral law, but never implemented. In the 2018 and 2022 elections,
Lebanese residing in foreign countries could cast ballots for their home
districts. The parliamentary deadlock on diaspora voting could lead legislators
to push back the date of the parliamentary elections, as they did in 2013, with
the voting delayed by four years.
Amal and Hezbollah believe that allowing Lebanese votes from abroad in all 128
parliamentary seats could disadvantage their electoral chances. Shia opposition
figures look to such a diaspora voting mechanism as a pathway to success.
Akhawi told This is Beirut that he would only run if the diaspora voting
amendment is passed in parliament. Without such action, he said that it would be
“nearly impossible” to compete against Hezbollah and Amal.
He added that Hezbollah opposes delaying the elections, arguing that the group
is already weakened and risks losing further ground. “If the elections don’t
happen on time, they know they will lose a lot,” the activist said.
Khalife told This is Beirut that a postponement of the elections could help Shia
opposition groups. “More time could allow the opposition to prepare better. If
postponement increases our chances to make change happen, we will use that
time,” he said.
Unified or Split: The Opposition Dilemma
A key question ahead of the parliamentary elections is whether Shia opposition
candidates will form a unified front or run separately in their respective
districts, potentially splitting the vote.
Akhawi said he would not run on a joint slate with other opposition candidates
in the Baabda district for one of its two Shia seats. While this could split the
vote, he argued that candidates should preserve their distinct political
identities and align only with those who share their values, warning that a
unified list could turn the Shia opposition into a monolithic movement.
Meanwhile, Mourad—who is preparing to run for one of the three Shia seats in the
South III district—urged flexibility and unity within the opposition to
Hezbollah. Still, he warned that alliances should only be formed with groups
that support Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Khalife, who is contesting the lone Shia seat in the Jbeil–Keserwan district,
said that he is open to cross-sectarian alliances with parties running for other
seats, but only if they are built on shared values and not for electoral
calculation.
“If we cannot form a principled coalition, we prefer to continue building our
political project, even if electoral success has to wait,” he said.
Akhawi urged Christian, Sunni, and Druze parties opposed to Hezbollah to back
the Shia opposition rather than align with Amal or Hezbollah for tactical
electoral calculations. “You can’t keep asking where the liberal Shia are. We
are here,” he said. He added that Lebanese Forces (LF) candidates will likely
support Shia opposition figures in several districts, including Baabda and
Jbeil. “They are going to be obliged to help us,” he said. Such support,
however, would be conditional, limited to candidates who strongly back
Hezbollah’s disarmament and have no alignment with it or Amal.
Mourad also said he believes the LF will support the election of Shia opposition
candidates, provided it does not come at the expense of a Christian seat. He
also urged Druze parties and the Kataeb Party to back Shia opposition
candidates, stressing that their support is essential.
Amin echoed that view, insisting that the status quo cannot be treated as a
strictly Shia issue. “No one can say, ‘This is a Shia problem; let the Shia deal
with it,’” he said, arguing that change in the Shia political landscape depends
on shifts at the national level.
Breaking the Duopoly
If the Shia opposition manages to break through and win parliamentary seats, it
could challenge Berri’s grip on the presidency of the parliament, a post
reserved for Shia MPs that the Amal Movement leader has held since 1992.
“I am sure we will see a new speaker [of the parliament], whether he comes from
the opposition or from another camp,” Amin said, adding that even a foothold for
the opposition in parliament would be enough to alter the political equation.
For the Shia opposition, success is not just limited to winning seats, but to
breaking the logic of monopoly that has allowed a single camp to claim exclusive
ownership of Shia votes for decades.
“The parliamentary elections in themselves are not the objective. It is only one
step within a permanent political project,” Khalife said.
“We are not here for a temporary electoral moment. We are here to build
something that lasts,” he concluded.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on January
19-20/2026
At least 5,000 killed in Iran’s
protests, judiciary hints at resuming executions
The Arab Weekly/19 January/2026
Iran’s president warned on Sunday that any US strike would trigger a “harsh
response” from Tehran after an Iranian official in the region said at least
5,000 people including about 500 security personnel had been killed in
nationwide protests. Iran’s protests, sparked last month in Tehran’s Grand
Bazaar over economic grievances, swiftly turned political and spread nationwide,
drawing participants from across generations and income groups, shopkeepers,
students, men and women, the poor and the well-off, calling for the end of
clerical rule. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene
if protesters continued to be killed on the streets or were executed. He said in
an interview with Politico on Saturday: “it’s time to look for new leadership in
Iran”. Iran indicated on Sunday it might go ahead with execution of people
detained during the unrest, and with its clerical rulers facing mounting
international pressure over the bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic
revolution, is seeking to deter Trump from stepping in. Iran’s President Masoud
Pezeshkian on X warned that Tehran’s response “to any unjust aggression will be
harsh and regrettable”, adding that any attack on the country’s supreme leader
is “tantamount to an all-out war against the nation”.Protests dwindled last week
following a violent crackdown. US-based rights group HRANA said on Saturday the
death toll had reached 3,308, with another 4,382 cases under review. It said it
had confirmed more than 24,000 arrests.
On Friday, Trump thanked Tehran’s leaders in a social media post, saying they
had called off scheduled executions of 800 people. He has moved US military
assets into the region but has not specified what he might do. A day later,
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei branded Trump a “criminal”, acknowledging
“several thousand deaths” that he blamed on “terrorists and rioters” linked to
the US and Israel. Iran’s judiciary indicated that executions may go ahead. “A
series of actions have been identified as Mohareb, which is among the most
severe Islamic punishments,” Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told a
press conference on Sunday. According to the clerical regime’s legal lexicon,
“Mohareb” means to wage war against God and is punishable by death. The Iranian
official told Reuters that the verified death toll was unlikely to “increase
sharply”, adding “Israel and armed groups abroad” had supported and equipped
those taking to the streets. The theocratic establishment regularly blames
unrest on foreign enemies, including the US and Israel, an arch foe of the
Islamic Republic which launched military strikes in June. Internet blackouts
were partly lifted for a few hours on Saturday but internet monitoring group
NetBlocks said they later resumed. One resident in Tehran said that last week he
had witnessed riot police directly shooting at a group of protesters, who were
mostly young men and women. Videos circulating on social media have shown
security forces crushing demonstrations across the country. The Iranian
official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, also
said some of the heaviest clashes and highest number of deaths were in the
Iranian Kurdish areas in the country’s northwest. Kurdish separatists have been
active there and flare-ups have been among the most violent in past periods of
unrest. Sources told Reuters on January 14 that armed Kurdish separatist groups
sought to cross the border into Iran from Iraq in a sign of foreign entities
potentially seeking to take advantage of instability. Faizan Ali, a 40-year-old
medical doctor from Lahore, said he had to cut short his trip to Iran to visit
his Iranian wife in the central city of Isfahan as “there was no internet or
communication with my family in Pakistan”.“I saw a violent mob burning
buildings, banks and cars. I also witnessed an individual stab a passer-by,” he
told Reuters upon his arrival back in Lahore.
Iran to
consider lifting Internet ban; state TV hacked
Reuters/January 19, 2026
DUBAI: Iran may lift its Internet blackout in a few days, a senior parliament
member said on Monday, after authorities shut communications while they used
massive force to crush protests in the worst domestic unrest since the 1979
Islamic Revolution. In the latest sign of weakness in the authorities’ control,
state television appeared to be hacked late on Sunday, briefly showing speeches
by US President Donald Trump and the exiled son of Iran’s last shah calling on
the public to revolt. Iran’s streets have largely been quiet for a week,
authorities and social media posts indicated, since anti-government protests
that began in late December were put down in three days of mass violence. An
Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the confirmed death
toll was more than 5,000, including 500 members of the security forces, with
some of the worst unrest taking place in ethnic Kurdish areas in the
northwest. Western-based Iranian rights groups also say thousands were killed.
ARRESTS REPORTED TO BE CONTINUING
US-based Iranian Kurdish rights group HRANA reported on Monday that a
significant number of injuries to protesters came from pellet fire to the face
and chest that led to blindings, internal bleeding and organ injuries. State
television reported arrests continuing across Iran on Sunday, including Tehran,
Kerman in the south, and Semnan just east of the capital. It said those detained
included agents of what it called Israeli terrorist groups. Opponents accuse the
authorities of opening fire on peaceful demonstrators to crush dissent. Iran’s
clerical rulers say armed crowds encouraged by foreign enemies attacked
hospitals and mosques.The death tolls dwarf those of previous bouts of
anti-government unrest put down by the authorities in 2022 and 2009. The
violence drew repeated threats from Trump to intervene militarily, although he
has backed off since the large-scale killing stopped. Trump’s warnings raised
fears among Gulf Arab states of a wider escalation and they conducted intense
diplomacy with Washington and Tehran. Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza
Enayati said on Monday that “igniting any conflict will have consequences for
the entire region.”
INTERNET TO RETURN WHEN ‘CONDITIONS ARE APPROPRIATE’
Iranian communications including Internet and international phone lines were
largely stopped in the days leading up to the worst unrest. The blackout has
since partially eased, allowing accounts of widespread attacks on protesters to
emerge. The Internet monitoring group Netblocks said on Monday that metrics
showed national connectivity remained minimal, but that a “filternet” with
managed restrictions was allowing some messages through, suggesting authorities
were testing a more heavily filtered Internet. Ebrahim Azizi, the head of
parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said top security
bodies would decide on restoring Internet in the coming days, with service
resuming “as soon as security conditions are appropriate.”Another parliament
member, hard-liner Hamid Rasaei, said authorities should have listened to
earlier complaints by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about “lax cyberspace.”
During Sunday’s apparent hack into state television, screens broadcast a segment
lasting several minutes with the on-screen headline “the real news of the
Iranian national revolution.”It included messages from Reza Pahlavi, the
US-based son of Iran’s last shah, calling for a revolt to overthrow rule by the
Shiite Muslim clerics who have run the country since the 1979 revolution that
toppled his father.Pahlavi has emerged as a prominent opposition voice and has
said he plans to return to Iran, although it is difficult to assess
independently how strong support for him is inside Iran.
Iran police chief issues surrender ultimatum over ‘riots’
AFP/19 January/2026
Iran’s national police chief said on Monday that people who were “deceived” into
joining demonstrations the authorities have deemed “riots” would receive lighter
punishment if they turned themselves in within three days. “Young people who
became unwittingly involved in the riots are considered to be deceived
individuals, not enemy soldiers,” and “will be treated with leniency by the
Islamic Republic system,” Ahmad-Reza Radan told state television, adding they
had “a maximum of three days” to surrender. Demonstrations sparked in late
December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as
the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years. The protests subsided
after a violent crackdown rights groups said left thousands dead. Iranian
officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before turning into “riots”
fueled by Iran’s arch-foes the United States and Israel and aimed at
destabilizing the Islamic Republic. Security officials cited by the Tasnim news
agency said late last week around 3,000 people have been arrested in connection
to the demonstrations, as rights groups say the number is up to 20,000.Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday authorities “must break the back of the
seditionists” and said domestic and foreign “criminals” would not be spared
punishment.
Israel
boosts air force readiness as it weighs options against Iran
LBCI/19 January/2026
Israel's army chief Eyal Zamir has instructed the air force to intensify its
readiness and preparations for various scenarios involving a potential Iranian
response in the event of a strike or a new war. Alert levels have been raised
across air force bases for an open-ended period. As part of these measures,
Nevatim Air Base, for example, was reinforced with three F-35 fighter jets. As
Tel Aviv monitors developments in Iran, it has emerged that Israel has opted not
to carry out a strike at this stage, preferring to wait until it can ensure the
collapse of the regime and secure an alternative. While security officials
consider a strike necessary and view ongoing demonstrations and protests inside
Iran as a significant opportunity, it was revealed that the most recent
conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the view that toppling the regime would require
readiness for a prolonged conflict. At a time when a military report said the
Israeli air force is capable of launching a heavy and powerful attack on Iran
that could even contribute to the regime's collapse, military figures warned
that such assumptions and decisions would be reckless. Retired Gen. Itzhak Brik
described them as destructive Israeli arrogance.
Turkey’s Erdogan hopes Iran unrest will be resolved through
diplomacy
AFP/19 January/2026
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday described the unrest in Iran as
a “new test” for Tehran, pledging Turkey would “stand against any initiative”
that would drag the region into chaos. “We believe that, with a ... policy
prioritizing dialogue and diplomacy, our Iranian brothers will, God willing, get
through this trap-filled period,” Erdogan said in a televised speech after the
weekly cabinet meeting. That was the first time Erdogan spoke about the protests
gripping the Islamic Republic, during which thousands of people have been
killed. Before the latest bout of unrest, the Iranian government was already
battling an economic crisis after years of sanctions, as well as recovering from
the June war against Israel. WEF says Iran’s FM will not attend Davos, ‘not
right’ after deadly protests “Our neighbor Iran, following the Israeli attacks,
is now facing a new test that targets its social peace and stability,” Erdogan
said. “We are all watching the scenarios that are being attempted to be written
through the streets,” he added. “With our foreign policy centered on peace and
stability, we will continue to stand against any initiative that risks dragging
our region into uncertainty.” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday
said Ankara opposed a military operation against Iran, a strategy US President
Donald Trump has repeatedly discussed as a way of aiding the Iranian people over
the crackdown on protests.
France to decline Trump ‘peace board’ invite, source close to Macron says
AFP/19 January/2026
France “does not intend to answer favorably” to an invitation to join US
President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” a source close to President Emmanuel
Macron told AFP on Monday. The board was originally conceived to oversee the
rebuilding of war-torn Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role
to the occupied Palestinian territory. Its charter “goes beyond the sole
framework of Gaza,” the source close to the French president said. “It raises
major questions, particularly regarding respect for the principles and structure
of the United Nations, which under no circumstances can be called into
question,” they added. France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Earlier Monday, its foreign ministry issued a statement reiterating France’s
commitment to the UN. “This remains the keystone of effective multilateralism,
where international law, the sovereign equality of states, and the peaceful
settlement of disputes prevail over arbitrariness, power politics and war,” it
said. The ministry added it was reviewing the proposed legal framework of the
board with its partners, raising concern that the “project extends beyond the
situation in Gaza.”The source close to the French president however noted that
France “remains fully committed to a ceasefire in Gaza and to a credible
political horizon for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Israel’s Netanyahu says no place for Turkish, Qatari
soldiers in Gaza force
AFP/20 January/2026
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday there would be no place for
Turkish or Qatari soldiers in post-war Gaza and reiterated Israel’s objection to
the composition of a US-backed advisory panel for the Palestinian territory. As
part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, the
White House announced last week a “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump himself, a
Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to govern the war-wracked territory,
and a second “Gaza executive board” that appears designed to have a more
advisory role. Netanyahu has previously expressed objections to the make-up of
the “Gaza executive board.”“In the Gaza Strip, we are on the eve of phase two of
the Trump plan. Phase two means one simple thing: Hamas will be disarmed and
Gaza will be demilitarized,” Netanyahu said in parliament. “There will be no
Turkish or Qatari soldiers in the Gaza Strip,” he added, in an apparent
reference to the International Stabilization Force (ISF) for the territory set
out under the Trump plan. It is yet to be determined which contingents will make
up the force, which will be tasked with providing security in Gaza and training
a new police force to succeed Hamas. Trump on Friday named US Major General
Jasper Jeffers to head the ISF in Gaza.On Monday, Netanyahu went on to say: “We
have a certain disagreement with our friends in the United States regarding the
composition of the advisory council that will accompany the processes in
Gaza.”Netanyahu’s office objected on Saturday to the composition of the “Gaza
executive board,” which includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari
diplomat Ali al-Thawadi, alongside other regional and international officials.
“The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the
US Secretary of State on this matter,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said
on Saturday. It did not explain the reason for its objection, but Israel has
previously objected strongly to any Turkish role in post-war Gaza, with
relations between the two countries deteriorating sharply since the war began in
October 2023. The “Board of Peace” was originally conceived to oversee the
rebuilding of Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to the
occupied Palestinian territory. The Palestinian technocratic committee,
meanwhile, held its initial meetings last week in Cairo.
Over
9,350 Palestinians held in Israeli detention as of January
Arab News/January 19, 2026
LONDON: The number of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and
detention centers has surpassed 9,350 as of early January 2026, according to
reports from Palestinian prisoners’ organizations. According to the
institutions, based on data released by the Israeli Prison Service, the
detainees include 53 women and girls, two of whom are minors, and around 350
children held in Megiddo and Ofer prisons. The total number of administrative
detainees is 3,385, while those classified by Israel as “unlawful combatants”
amount to 1,237. This figure does not account for all detainees from Gaza held
in Israeli military camps under this classification, which also includes a few
Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.Prisoners’ institutions reported that
approximately 50 percent of detainees are held without charges, either under
administrative detention or classified as “unlawful combatants” by Israel.
Administrative detainees account for over 36 percent of all Palestinians in
Israeli prisons. The classifications of administrative detention and “unlawful
combatants” permit the indefinite detention of individuals without charge in
military detention centers.
UK’s
Blair distances himself from Trump’s $1 billion peace board fee
Bloomberg/19 January/2026
Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister who’s been appointed to the executive
panel of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, distanced himself from the president’s
demand that countries pay $1 billion for permanent membership.Blair declined to
endorse the request for the funds, which is part of a draft charter for the
nascent organization, in a further sign that the details of the peace board are
provoking opposition from US allies and partners over Trump’s project. A
spokesperson for Tony Blair said Sunday he isn’t involved in determining the
board’s membership, indicating he would not publicly support the proposal. The
spokesperson added that questions about the $1 billion fee should be directed to
the Trump administration. Some countries would likely refuse to join the Board
as a result of Trump’s terms, people familiar with the matter said. Others may
agree in principle to joining the Board of Peace but decline to pay the fee for
permanent membership, they added. They would then either seek to negotiate it
away or quit the board if Trump insisted on the idea, the people said. Canadian
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday he had agreed in principle to joining
the board but not to the payments. “With respect to the specifics of the Board
of Peace, we haven’t gone through all the details of the structure, how it’s
going to work, what financing is for, et cetera. And so we will work through
those in the coming days,” he said. A Canadian official said that the government
indeed won’t pay for a seat and that the draft charter is still under
discussion. Canada indicated Carney would accept the invitation to join the
board in part so that it could try to shape the process from within, the
official added.
World leaders wary of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ mandate amid fears for UN
The Arab Weekly/19 January/2026
Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to US President Donald Trump’s
invitation to join his “Board of Peace” initiative aimed at resolving conflicts
globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations.
Only Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance
in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and
began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats. Other
governments appeared reluctant to make public statements, leaving officials to
express concerns anonymously about the impact on the work of the UN. The board
would be chaired for life by Trump and would start by addressing the Gaza
conflict and then be expanded to deal with other conflicts, according to a copy
of the letter and draft charter. Member states would be limited to three-year
terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and earn
permanent membership, the letter states. “This simply offers permanent
membership to partner countries who demonstrate deep commitment to peace,
security and prosperity,” the White House said in a post on X. Italian Prime
Minister Giorgia Meloni, visiting South Korea, told reporters her country was
“ready to do our part”, although it was not clear whether she was specifically
referring to Gaza or the broader peace. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said
on Sunday he had agreed to Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza in principle although
details were still being worked out.
A mandate for a Board of Peace was authorised by the United Nations Security
Council in November, but only until 2027 and solely focused on the Gaza
conflict. Russia and China, two veto wielding powers, abstained, complaining
that the resolution did not give the UN a clear role in the future of Gaza. The
inclusion of a ‘charter’ in the invitation letter stoked concerns among some
European governments that it could undermine the work of the United Nations,
which Trump has accused of not supporting his efforts to end conflicts around
the world. “It’s a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the
UN charter,” said one diplomat. Three other Western diplomats said it looked as
if it would undermine the United Nations if it went ahead. A further three
diplomats and an Israeli source said that Trump wanted the Board of Peace to
eventually have a broader role beyond Gaza that would oversee the other
conflicts that Trump has said he has resolved. The leaders of France, Germany,
Italy, Hungary, Australia, Canada, the European Commission and key Middle East
powers were among those invited, according to officials. “We have, of course,
accepted this honourable invitation,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a
close ally of Trump, wrote on X. The document said “durable peace requires
pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions, and the courage to depart from
approaches and institutions that have too often failed”. There was a “need for a
more nimble and effective international peace-building body”, it added. A
spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Guterres “believes
Member States are free to associate in different groups” in response to a
question about the draft US charter for a Board of Peace. “The United Nations
will continue with its mandated work,” deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Trump, who covets the Nobel Peace Prize, said in the letter that the board would
convene in the near future, adding: “This board will be one of a kind, there has
never been anything like it!”
Another senior UN official did not address the plan directly, but said the
United Nations was the only institution with the moral and legal ability to
bring together every nation, big or small. “And if we question that … we fall
back and very, very, dark, times,” Annalena Baerbock, president of the United
Nations General Assembly, told Sky News, adding that it was up to individual
states to decide what to do. Trump has long been wary of multilateral
institutions, particularly the United Nations. He has repeatedly questioned the
effectiveness, cost and accountability of international bodies, arguing they
often fail to serve US interests. The US, which is required to pay 22 percent of
the UN’s regular budget, currently owes $1.5 billion, according to UN officials.
The White House on Friday named some individuals who will sit on the board,
which would outlive its role supervising the temporary governance of Gaza, under
a fragile ceasefire since October. They included US Secretary of State Marco
Rubio, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British
prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Israel and the
Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off on Trump’s plan, which says a
Palestinian technocratic administration will be overseen by an international
board, which will supervise Gaza’s governance for a transitional period. “It’s
going to, in my opinion, start with Gaza and then do conflicts as they arise,”
President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.
Many rights experts and advocates have said that Trump overseeing a board to
supervise a foreign territory’s governance resembles a colonial structure, while
Blair’s involvement was criticised last year due to his role in the Iraq war and
the history of British imperialism in the Middle East. The White House did not
detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not
include any Palestinians. The White House said more members will be announced
over the coming weeks.It also named a separate, 11-member “Gaza Executive Board”
to support the technocratic body including officials from Turkey and Qatar.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office said the composition of this
board had not been coordinated with Israel and contradicted its policy.
Prince Faisal discusses latest regional developments with US counterpart
Al Arabiya English/19 January/2026
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke by phone on
Monday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the latest regional
developments, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. SPA said Prince Faisal
also held separate phone calls on Monday with the foreign ministers of Turkey,
Jordan, Pakistan and Oman, during which regional issues were discussed. On the
same day, Prince Faisal also received a written message from Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov “concerning bilateral relations between the two countries
and ways to support and strengthen them in all fields,” SPA reported. The
message was delivered to Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Khuraiji during
a meeting in Riyadh with Russia’s ambassador to the Kingdom, Sergei Kozlov, SPA
added.
Syria
says 120 Daesh detainees escaped prison; Kurdish website said 1,500 escaped
Reuters/January 20, 2026
CAIRO: Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that about 120 Daesh detainees
escaped from Shaddadi prison, after the Kurdish website Rudaw reported that a
spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Farhad Shami, said
around 1,500 Daesh members had escaped. The Syrian ministry said Syrian army
units and ministry special forces entered Shaddadi following the breakout. It
said security forces had recaptured 81 of the escapees after search and sweep
operations in the town and surrounding areas, with efforts continuing to
arrest the remaining fugitives. Earlier, the Syrian army said “a number of”
Daesh militants had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control in the
eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them. After days of
fighting with government forces, the SDF agreed on Sunday to withdraw from both
Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, two Arab-majority provinces they had controlled for years
and the location of Syria’s main oil fields.
Al-Sharaa, Trump expressed shared desire for ‘unified’
Syria in call, Damascus says
Al Arabiya English/20 January/2026
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke by phone on Monday with US President
Donald Trump, with both leaders expressing a shared desire for a “strong and
unified” Syria, the Syrian presidency said. Al-Sharaa and Trump “expressed their
shared aspiration to see a strong and unified Syria, capable of confronting
regional and international challenges,” the Syrian presidency said. The two
urged preserving the rights of Kurdish people within the Syrian state and
agreed to continue cooperation to combat the ISIS, the presidency added.
The call came a day after Syria’s government signed a sweeping integration
agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), although tensions
persisted the following day. Al-Sharaa and Trump “emphasized the importance of
preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and independence, and supporting all
efforts aimed at achieving stability,” the Syrian presidency said. The Syrian
presidency said the discussion stressed the importance of “giving Syria a new
opportunity to move toward a better future.”
Syria tightens grip after Kurdish pullback, says ISIS
prisoners escape
Al Arabiya English/19 January/2026
Syrian government troops tightened their grip on Monday across a swathe of
northern and eastern territory after it was abruptly abandoned by Kurdish forces
in a dramatic shift that has consolidated President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rule. A
day after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), once the main US ally
in Syria, agreed to quit large areas under a ceasefire, the Syrian army said “a
number of” ISIS militants had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control
in the eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them. The SDF
said it had lost control of the prison following an attack by government
fighters. The Syrian army denied attacking the jail and said its forces would
work to secure the prison and re-arrest the escapees. The SDF said Shaddadi
prison had held thousands of militants. The army did not say how many ISIS
detainees had fled. The SDF withdrawals mark the biggest change in Syria’s
control map since fighters led by al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024,
tilting the power balance al-Sharaa’s way after months of deadlock in talks
with the SDF over government demands its forces merge fully with Damascus. After
days of fighting with government forces, the SDF agreed on Sunday to withdraw
from both Raqqa and Deir al-Zor – two Arab-majority provinces they had
controlled for years and the location of Syria’s main oil fields. Turkey, which
has repeatedly sent forces into northern Syria to curb Kurdish power since 2016,
welcomed the deal signed by its ally al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the swift implementation of the
agreement that requires the full integration of Kurdish fighters into Syria’s
armed forces. The SDF, spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, had established
control of a quarter or more of Syria during the 2011-2024 civil war, whilst
fighting with the support of US troops against ISIS. The United States, which
has since established close ties with al-Sharaa under President Donald Trump,
has been closely involved in mediation between the sides.
The SDF media office said in a statement that the prison at Shaddadi – one of
three under its control in the Hasakah region – had come under repeated attack
by “Damascus factions,” and that dozens of SDF fighters were killed or wounded
defending it.
The statement added that the US-led coalition against ISIS had not intervened
despite repeated appeals to a nearby coalition base. The US military’s Central
Command did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. In its
denial of the SDF account, the Syrian defense ministry said army forces had
bypassed Shaddadi, in line with deployment plans, and offered aid to SDF forces
inside. The Syrian army announced it had established control over the city of
Shaddadi and the prison. The Syrian defense ministry also denied an SDF account
of clashes between government and SDF forces near a jail in Raqqa, which the SDF
said was holding ISIS inmates. It said the army had arrived “at the vicinity of
al-Aqtan prison ... and began securing it and its surroundings despite the
presence of SDF forces inside.”The SDF said nine of its fighters were killed and
20 wounded in clashes around al-Aqtan.
Hasakah province, which largely remains under SDF control, is home to the
Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli, the main prisons holding ISIS detainees, and
a camp holding thousands of ISIS-linked prisoners. Reuters journalists saw
government forces deployed in the city of Raqqa that the SDF had captured from
ISIS in 2017, and at oil and gas facilities in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor
– both areas the Kurdish forces had held for years. It follows the withdrawal of
Kurdish forces from districts of Aleppo city they had controlled for years after
fighting there earlier this month.The 14-point deal published by Syria’s
presidency showed Abdi’s signature alongside al-Sharaa’s. It stipulates that the
prisons, along with all border crossings and oil and gas fields, would be handed
to government control – steps the SDF had long resisted.The timing of the
handover of the prisons and camps was not announced.
Abdi, the SDF commander, confirmed on Sunday that the SDF had agreed to withdraw
from Deir al-Zor and Raqqa provinces. Abdi said he is set to meet al-Sharaa in
Damascus on Monday and would share the details of the agreement with the public
after his return to SDF-held territory, Kurdish media reported. The deal says
that all SDF forces will be merged into the defense and interior ministries as
“individuals” and not as units, as the SDF had sought. It commits the SDF to
expel all non-Syrian figures affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a
Kurdish militant group which fought a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. Senior
figures from Erdogan’s ruling AK Party said this removed a major obstacle to
Turkey’s peace process with PKK militants.With Reuters
Shell seeks to exit Syria’s al-Omar oilfield, official says
Reuters/19 January/2026
The head of the Syrian Petroleum Company, Youssef Qeblawi, said on Monday that
oil major Shell had requested to withdraw from the al-Omar oilfield and
transfer its share to Syria’s state-owned operators. The oilfield came under
Syrian government control at the weekend, following a lightning offensive
against Kurdish forces. Qeblawi, speaking from al-Omar, said that Syria was
still negotiating the terms of a financial settlement with Shell to gain
full ownership of the field. He also said ConocoPhillips would return to
invest in Syrian gas fields and that other American companies, including
Chevron, are planning to enter the market for the first time.
RSF used mass graves to conceal war crimes in Sudan, ICC deputy prosecutor says
AFP/20 January/2026
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces carried out mass killings in Darfur
and attempted to conceal them with mass graves, the International Criminal
Court’s deputy prosecutor said on Monday. In a briefing to the UN Security
Council, Nazhat Shameem Khan said it was the “assessment of the office of the
prosecutor that war crimes and crimes against humanity” had been committed in
the RSF’s takeover of the city of al-Fashir in October. “Our work has been
indicative of mass killing events and attempts to conceal crimes through the
establishment of mass graves,” Khan said in a video address, citing audio and
video evidence as well as satellite imagery. Since April 2023, a civil war
between the Sudanese army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11
million and created the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. Reports
of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and looting emerged in the wake of
the RSF’s sweep of al-Fashir, which was the army’s last holdout position in the
Darfur region. Both warring sides have been accused of atrocities throughout the
war. Footage reviewed by the ICC, Khan said, showed RSF fighters detaining,
abusing and executing civilians in al-Fashir, then celebrating the killings and
“desecrating corpses.” According to Khan, the material matched testimony
gathered from affected communities, while submissions from civil society groups
and other partners had further corroborated the evidence. The atrocities in al-Fashir,
she added, mirror those documented in the West Darfur capital of al-Geneina in
2023, where UN experts determined the RSF killed between 10,000 and 15,000
people, mostly from the Massalit tribe. She said a picture was emerging of
“appalling organized, widespread mass criminality.”“It will continue until this
conflict and the sense of impunity that fuels it are stopped,” she added. Khan
also issued a renewed call for Sudanese authorities to “work with us seriously”
to ensure the surrender of all individuals subject to outstanding warrants,
including former longtime president Omar al-Bashir, former ruling party chairman
Ahmed Haroun and ex-defense minister Abdul Raheem Mohammed Hussein. She said
Haroun’s arrest in particular should be “given priority.”Haroun faces 20 counts
of crimes against humanity and 22 war-crimes charges for his role in recruiting
the Janjaweed militia, which carried out ethnic massacres in Darfur in the 2000s
and later became the RSF. He escaped prison in 2023 and has since reappeared
rallying support for the Sudanese army. Khan spoke to the UN Security Council
via video link after being denied a visa to attend in New York due to sanctions
in place against her by the United States.
Jabal Hadid camp in Yemen’s Aden handed over under plan to
relocate military bases
Al Arabiya English/19 January/2026
Two military sources said on Monday that the Giants Brigades handed over Jabal
Hadid camp in Yemen’s temporary capital, Aden, to Facilities Protection Forces,
marking the first practical step in a plan to reposition military units outside
urban areas. The move was carried out in line with directives from Presidential
Leadership Council member Abdulrahman al-Muharrami and Minister of State and
Aden Governor Abdulrahman Sheikh, and in coordination with the Arab Coalition,
the Ministry of Defense, and the General Staff, according to a statement issued
by the Giants Brigades’ media center. The statement said the handover marks the
start of the field implementation of a plan to remove military camps from within
the city, aiming to reduce the military presence in residential neighborhoods
and reinforce Aden’s civilian and security character as the temporary capital.
It added that the plan calls for keeping only regular security services inside
the city, including police, road security (Najda), emergency forces, facilities
protection units, and specialized forces tasked with safeguarding vital
infrastructure. For its part, Yemen’s official news agency reported that the
evacuation of Jabal Hadid camp of troops, weapons, and ammunition represents the
first phase of an approved plan to end armed manifestations in Aden, under the
supervision of the Joint Forces supporting the internationally recognized
government. The agency quoted Brigadier General Abu Khaled al-Turki, chief of
staff of the Third Giants Brigade Division, as saying the redeployment aims to
enable security agencies to carry out their duties in maintaining security and
stability. Colonel Kamal al-Kaladi, head of operations for Facilities
Protection, said the force that took over the camp will operate under the
supervision of local authorities to strengthen security in the city, which has
been declared the temporary capital of the internationally recognized
government. Earlier on Monday, the minister of state and Aden governor ordered
the start of implementing the plan to reposition military units outside the
city, as part of efforts to reduce the military presence in residential areas
and reinforce the city’s civilian and security identity. A statement from the
governor’s office said the decision was discussed during a meeting attended by
Deputy Chief of the General Staff Major General Ahmed al-Basr Salem, Military
Police Commander Major General Mohammed Saleh al-Shaari, and Assistant Defense
Minister Major General Mohammed Batis, during which mechanisms for implementing
the plan and coordination with the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff
were reviewed.According to the statement, the plan calls for the withdrawal of
military formations from within the city while retaining security forces
responsible for maintaining order, including police, road security units,
emergency forces, facilities guards, and security belts. It added that
implementation will begin immediately according to a defined timetable, taking
security and organizational requirements into account, with the aim of enhancing
stability and reducing armed presence in residential neighborhoods.
Global leaders
gather in Davos as Middle East tensions take center stage
Arab News/January 19, 2026
DAVOS: World leaders, top CEOs, technology innovators and heads of humanitarian
organizations are arriving in the snow-laden Swiss town of Davos for the 2026
World Economic Forum, which organizers have called “one of the highest-level
gatherings in the event’s history.”Running from Jan. 19-23, this year’s meeting
will address a range of urgent geopolitical challenges from the war in Ukraine
to mounting tensions in the Middle East, where multiple flashpoints in Gaza,
Lebanon and the Red Sea have stoked fears of a wider regional escalation. Held
under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue,” the forum comes at a time of
unprecedented global fragmentation, rising economic inequality and disruptive
technological change, offering a platform to foster global cooperation to
confront major uncertainties. This year’s forum is expected to draw record
levels of governmental participation, with 400 top political leaders, six G7
leaders, almost 850 of the world’s top CEOs and chairs, and almost 100 leading
unicorn and technology pioneers expected to attend. The Saudi delegation, led by
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, will include Princess Reema Bandar
Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US; Khalid Al-Falih, minister of
investment; Bandar Alkhorayef, minister of industry and mineral resources; Ahmed
Al-Khateeb, minister of tourism; Faisal Alibrahim, minister of economy and
planning; Abdullah Al-Swaha, minister of communications and information
technology; and Mohammed Al-Jadaan, minister of finance. The ministers will
engage in dialogue with global leaders, while sharing the Kingdom’s successful
experiences under the Saudi Vision 2030, according to a statement by the
ministry of economy and planning. On the sidelines of the WEF, the ministry will
host the Saudi House pavilion for the second consecutive year, convening global
thought leaders for more than 20 sessions focused on key trends and challenges
shaping the world economy. Borge Brende, president and CEO of the WEF, said this
year’s meeting will be “one of our most consequential,” stressing that “dialogue
is not a luxury in times of uncertainty; it is an urgent necessity.”The global
forum “will provide a space for an unparalleled mix of global leaders and
innovators to work through and look beyond divisions, gain insight into a
fast-shifting global landscape, and advance solutions to today’s and tomorrow’s
biggest and most pressing challenges,” he added.
FASTFACTS
* Annual meeting of World Economic Forum is being held in Davos from Jan. 19-23
under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue.”
* Among those attending are six G7 leaders, almost 850 CEOs and chairs, and
about 100 unicorn founders and technology pioneers.
In its 56th edition, the meeting is expected to attract about 3,000 participants
from more than 130 countries to navigate the major economic, geopolitical and
technological forces reshaping the global landscape.
Organizers said the meeting is centered around five pressing global challenges:
Ways to foster cooperation in a contested world, unlock new sources of growth,
better invest in people, responsibly deploy transformative technologies like
generative AI and build prosperity within planetary boundaries, advancing secure
energy, nature and water systems.
A major focus will be on the unprecedented speed of innovation and technological
advancement. The gathering will explore opportunities around artificial
intelligence, biotechnology and clean energy.“Leaders will share views from
across sectors to help build the understanding needed to balance short-term
priorities and immediate challenges with long-term value creation,” said Mirek
Dusek, WEF’s managing director. “In an era where exponential technological
innovation and geopolitical disruption are deeply intertwined, the need for
constructive dialogue between policymakers and industry is clear.”A report
released by WEF on Wednesday identified geoeconomic confrontation as the top
global risk this year, followed by interstate conflict, extreme weather,
societal polarization and misinformation and disinformation.
The Global Risks Report warned that “the new age of competition” has intensified
geopolitical, economic and geoeconomic risks, with uncertainty dominating the
outlook.
The forum will hold in-depth discussions and discuss insights of this year’s
Global Risks Report, Global Cooperation Barometer, the Global Cybersecurity
Outlook 2026 and the latest edition of the Chief Economists Outlook.Saadia
Zahidi, the WEF’s managing director, said the key is “to unlock growth, jobs and
economic transformation that translate into progress for communities everywhere.
“In a global economy shaped by technology, geoeconomics and demographics, the
defining challenge will be whether opportunity is broadly shared or if growth
remains sluggish and uneven,” she added.
Canada
deepens investment ties with Qatar, expands economic engagement with Egypt
ARAB NEWS /January 19, 2026
RIYADH: Canada and Qatar moved to formalize a more in-depth and
investment-focused partnership during an official visit by the country’s Prime
Minister Mark Carney to Doha. The visit was the first by a sitting Canadian
leader, with both governments agreeing to elevate bilateral ties through new
economic, security, and financial frameworks. At the center of the meeting
was an agreement to launch a foreign ministers–level strategic dialogue and
advance a pipeline of trade, investment, and defense cooperation initiatives
aligned with Canada’s diversification priorities and Qatar National Vision 2030.
Several memorandums of understanding were signed, including accords on joint
economic cooperation, information technology, and security collaboration for the
2026 FIFA World Cup, which Canada will co-host. The visit underscored the rapid
expansion of Qatar–Canada relations, which have gained momentum following
high-level exchanges in recent years, including a 2024 visit by Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al-Thani to Ottawa. Both sides emphasized trade and investment as a
central pillar of the relationship, with Qatar committing to significant
strategic investments in Canadian nation-building projects and the North
American nation pledging to send a delegation of investors, including major
pension funds, to explore opportunities in Qatar. “Qatar is an effective,
expansive, and increasing diplomatic force in the world today. They are a
critical partner to Canada in many shared pursuits of peace and stability, from
Ukraine to the Middle East,” Carney said. “It is a relationship forged over many
years by profound acts of friendship, including the Qataris’ effort to evacuate
more than 200 Canadians from Afghanistan in 2021. Now we’re elevating our
relationship — with an ambitious, new strategic partnership across trade,
commerce, investment, AI, and defense — to deliver greater stability, security,
and prosperity for our peoples,” he added. As part of the economic agenda, the
two governments agreed to conclude negotiations on a Foreign Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreement by summer 2026 and to begin talks on a Double
Taxation Agreement. They also committed to expanding bilateral air services and
establishing a Joint Economic Commission to support cooperation across sectors,
including mining, agriculture, telecommunications, transportation, and science.
Financial cooperation featured prominently alongside the diplomatic talks.Sheikh
Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani, governor of the Qatar Central Bank and
chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority, met with Canada’s Finance Minister
Francois-Philippe Champagne to discuss cooperation in banking and finance and
ways to deepen institutional collaboration. Separately, Canada’s economic
engagement in the region extended to Egypt, where Cairo’s Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Immigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, met with
a delegation of business leaders from the North American country.
The talks focused on strengthening trade and investment ties, with Egyptian
officials encouraging Canadian companies to expand investments in energy,
agriculture, and water resources. According to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry,
Abdelatty highlighted recent economic and financial reforms aimed at improving
the investment climate and reaffirmed government support for the
Egyptian-Canadian Business Council in attracting Canadian capital and boosting
Egyptian exports. The discussions were built on outcomes from political
consultations held in April, which included an Egyptian business delegation’s
visit to Ottawa.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on January
19-20/2026
Les transitions en suspens
Charles Elias Chartouni/i/This is Beirut/January 19/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151281/
Les scénarios politiques et stratégiques au Venezuela comme en Iran
restent ouverts au débat puisque les dynamiques révolutionnaires se sont
enlisées et sont devenues des questions hypothétiques. Observateurs extérieurs
et acteurs internes s’interrogent sur les chances de transformations politiques
imminentes. Aucun d’eux n’ose avancer des projections politiques qui pourraient
mal tourner et entraîner des conséquences humanitaires et politiques tragiques.
Les réserves politiques et stratégiques doivent être atténuées à plusieurs
niveaux, car de fortes fluctuations sont toujours en cours et les dictatures
sanglantes en place sont profondément défaillantes, déstabilisées et incertaines
quant à leur capacité à reprendre le contrôle des contestations massives qui
remettent en cause leur existence et leur légitimité.
Leur capacité à contenir les dynamiques souterraines du changement est désormais
dépassée et ne saurait être négligée si l’on veut établir un bilan politique
réaliste. Le changement n’est qu’une question de temps, et le point de bascule
se rapproche progressivement. Aucun des éclairages stratégiques ne peut ignorer
les dynamiques structurelles du changement ni la détermination des acteurs
sociaux à piloter une transformation politique imminente, malgré l’ampleur des
obstacles. Les dictatures sont questionnées dans leur raison d’être, sans parler
de leur capacité à assurer une gouvernance effective.
Les supercheries idéologiques du Venezuela se sont dissipées avec le temps, et
il ne reste que la pesanteur d’une dictature criminelle et la terreur d’État à
un moment où les conditions de vie se détériorent chaque jour. La notion et la
réalité de l’État, et encore moins de l’État de droit, ont été supplantées par
les faits brutaux d’un État mafieux, le terrorisme d’État, la paupérisation
massive, l’industrie pétrolière en ruine, les structures économiques
anachroniques, la prise en main de l’économie souterraine et la restructuration
des rapports sociaux et économiques conséquents. L’aliénation politique et
mentale s’est étalée sur une longue période, et le système politique a,d’ores et
déjà, perdu sa légitimité.
La survie du régime tient à la brutalité de la répression et à l’immobilisme des
équations stratégiques dans l’hémisphère occidental. La fin de la guerre froide
n’a pas donné lieu aux réformes politiques et à la libéralisation attendues:
l’héritage durable du caudillisme, les retranchements oligarchiques et les mèmes
recyclés du communisme tropical ont perpétué et aggravé les effets conjugués
d’un autoritarisme destructeur, de la criminalité politique et d’une aliénation
politique profonde. L’aliénation a atteint son paroxysme, et les leviers du
changement politique sont liés aux anciens et aux nouveaux mouvements de
contestation. La migration forcée de huit millions de Vénézuéliens au cours de
la dernière décennie, l’institutionnalisation du terrorisme d’État,
l’appauvrissement à grande échelle, la déchéance civique et politique et
l’effondrement économique et financier ont été largement suffisants pour créer
un terrain propice à une entreprise révolutionnaire.
La politique américaine a suscité un retournement stratégique et politique
associé à des calculs de prudence, d’évaluation politique méticuleuse et de
gérance assidue du processus de transition, quitte à minimiser les risques d’un
changement brutal et ses incertitudes. Conduire un changement politique dans des
sociétés fortement polarisées et extrêmement fragiles comporte de hauts risques
et peut entraîner un chaos généralisé. Néanmoins, la négociation du changement
avec la mafia étatique en place est intrinsèquement vouée à l’échec puisque les
oligarques ne sont concernés que par leur survie, en attendant des circonstances
politiques plus favorables qui leur permettent d’échapper à la pression
américaine et de marginaliser l’opposition politique.
Une diplomatie purement transactionnelle, dépourvue d’encadrement politique et
intellectuel, peut rapidement déraper et semer les germes de complications
politiques destructrices. Un accord expéditif autour de l’industrie pétrolière
est un non‑départ, car cette question cruciale fait partie d’un schéma
stratégique et sécuritaire plus vaste de réformes structurelles, économiques et
technologiques. On peut s’interroger sur la capacité d’une vision étriquée de la
transition politique et ses incidences sur les dynamiques de changement
déchaînées et leurs répercussions sur l’ensemble de l’hémisphère.
La situation en Iran paraît plus difficile, l’état de panique du régime
islamique s’étant déployé avec férocité et ne semblant ni reculer ni modérer sa
sauvagerie. La létalité de la répression augmente, et le régime ne paraît pas
disposé à amender sa trajectoire ou à s’engager diplomatiquement avec la
communauté internationale et l’opposition politique. En revanche, les
oppositions politiques manifestent leur exaspération et leur refus de céder
cette fois à la brutalité d’un État terroriste dépourvu de scrupules et se
livrant au carnage. Néanmoins, l’institution religieuse a sapé ses crédos
idéologiques, remis en cause son récit islamique et ouvert la voie à une
déconstruction radicale.
Ce qui est conspué à ce stade, c’est l’islam et non l’islamisme en tant que
version politique contemporaine. La sauvagerie affichée lors des dernières
confrontations a réduit au minimum les chances d’un compromis. La secte
meurtrière au pouvoir a dévoilé son hideur et sa résolution à anéantir tout ce
qui remet en cause sa domination totalitaire. On peut se demander s’il existe
une solution à ce dilemme autre que l’effondrement de ce régime. Son inaptitude
gouvernementale apparaît clairement lorsqu’on examine son bilan désastreux aux
niveaux écologique, socio‑économique, politique et humanitaire, ainsi que les
conséquences dévastatrices de sa guerre avec Israël et les États‑Unis.
L’équation stratégique a irrémédiablement changé avec la destruction de ses
proxies et de ses plateformes opérationnelles adjacentes, l’absence de soutien
de ses hypothétiques alliés, l’isolement international hermétique et la
dégradation de ses infrastructures économiques.
Les acrobaties politiques et diplomatiques sont inutiles, et le régime islamiste
s’obstine à naviguer les eaux troubles de l’extrémisme religieux et de la
cruauté. Les risques d’une implosion brutale doivent être atténués par une
stratégie soigneusement conçue et séquencée afin de limiter les dégâts, diminuer
le coût humanitaire, éviter les écueils d’un État en proie au chaos et à ses
effets de débordement, et garantir une transition consensuelle coordonnée et
supervisée par les États‑Unis d’Amérique. Le régime tient apparemment en raison
de sa barbarie absolue, qui compromet en même temps sa survie. La survie du
régime est finalement contestée de l’intérieur comme de l’extérieur, et sa chute
n’est qu’une question de temps.
Les deux régimes sont dans leurs derniers jours, quelles que soient les
temporisations imposées par la violence débridée et leurs antidotes
stratégiques. Les crises concomitantes de légitimité et d’inaptitude
gouvernementale et la confluence de problèmes socio‑économiques et
environnementaux sont fatales, et les tensions s’accumulent. L’état de violence
prolongée crée la plateforme d’un soulèvement révolutionnaire.
Transitions pending
Dr.Charles Elias Chartouni/i/This
is Beirut/January 19/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151281/
Political and strategic scenarios in Venezuela and Iran remain open for
debate as revolutionary dynamics have become hypothetical questions. External
observers and internal actors question the chances of impending political
transformations. None of them dares to advance political projections that could
go wrong and lead to tragic humanitarian and political consequences. Political
and strategic reserves must be mitigated on several levels as strong
fluctuations are still ongoing and the bloody dictatorships in place are deeply
failing, unstable and uncertain of their ability to regain control of massive
objections that challenge their existence and their existence. legitimacy.
Their ability to contain the underground dynamics of change is now outdated and
cannot be neglected if realistic political balance is to be established. Change
is only a matter of time, and the tipping point is gradually approaching. None
of the strategic illumination can ignore the structural dynamics of change nor
the determination of social actors to pilot an imminent political
transformation, despite the magnitude of obstacles. Dictatorships are questioned
for their reason of existence, not to mention their ability to ensure effective
governance.
Venezuela’s ideological superstitions have diminished with time, and there
remains only the gravity of a criminal dictatorship and state terror at a time
when living conditions are deteriorating every day. The notion and reality of
the state, and even less of the rule of law, have been suppressed by the brutal
acts of a mafia state, state terrorism, mass poverty, the crumbling oil
industry, anachronistic economic structures, the taking over of the underground
economy and the restructuring of reports social and economic consequence.
Political and mental alienation has spread over a long time, and the political
system has already lost its legitimacy.
The survival of the regime depends on the brutality of repression and the
immobilism of strategic equations in the Western Hemisphere. The end of the Cold
War has not resulted in the political reforms and liberalization expected: the
lasting legacy of caudillism, oligarchic retrenchments and recycled memes of
tropical communism have perpetuated and aggravated the combined effects of
destructive authoritarianism, political criminality and political alienation
deep. Alienation has reached its paroxysm, and the levers of political change
are linked to old and new movements of protest. The forced migration of eight
million Venezuelans over the past decade, institutionalization of state
terrorism, large-scale impoverishment, civil and political collapse, and
economic and financial collapse have been largely enough to create a conducive
ground for a revolutionary enterprise.
American policy has led to a strategic and political turnaround associated with
prudent calculations, meticulous political evaluation and keen management of the
transition process, from minimizing the risks of a drastic change and its
uncertainties. Driving a political change in highly polarized and extremely
fragile societies involves high risks and can lead to widespread chaos.
Nevertheless, the negotiation of change with the state mafia in place is
inherently doomed since the oligarchs are only concerned about their survival,
awaiting more favorable political circumstances that allow them to escape
American pressure and marginalize the political opposition.
A purely transactional diplomacy, devoid of political and intellectual
framework, can quickly derail and sow germs of destructive political
complications. An expedition agreement around the oil industry is a no-start,
because this critical issue is part of a broader strategic and security scheme
of structural, economic and technological reforms. One may wonder about the
capacity of a narrow view of political transition and its implications on the
dynamics of change and their impact on the hemisphere as a whole.
The situation in Iran seems more difficult, the Islamic regime's panic state has
unfolded ferociously and does not seem to retreat nor moderate its savagery. The
lethality of repression is increasing, and the regime seems unwilling to change
its course or engage in diplomacy with the international community and political
opposition. On the other hand, the political oppositions express their
frustration and their refusal to give in to the brutality of a terrorist state
devoid of scruples and indulging in carnage. Nevertheless, the religious
institution has undermined its ideological beliefs, questioned its Islamic
narrative and opened the way for radical deconstruction.
What is conspired at this point is Islam and not Islamism as a contemporary
political version. The savagery displayed in recent confrontations has minimized
the chances of a compromise. The murderous sect in power has revealed its hide
and seek to annihilate everything that questions its totalitarian domination.
One may wonder if there is a solution to this dilemma other than the collapse of
this regime. His government incompetence is clearly apparent when examining his
disastrous balance at ecological, socio-economic, political, and humanitarian
levels, and the devastating consequences of his war with Israel and the United
States. The strategic equation has changed irreparably with the destruction of
its proxies and adjacent operational platforms, the lack of support of its
hypothetical allies, the international hermetic isolation and the degradation of
its economic infrastructure.
Political and diplomatic acrobatics are useless, and the Islamic regime refuses
to navigate the troubled waters of religious extremism and cruelty. The risks of
a brutal implosion must be mitigated by a carefully designed and sequenced
strategy to limit damage, reduce humanitarian cost, avoid the squirrels of a
state prone to chaos and overflow, and ensure a coordinated and supervised
consensus transition by the United States from America. The regime is apparently
holding on because of its absolute barbarity, which at the same time compromises
its survival. The regime’s survival is ultimately disputed internally and
externally, and its fall is only a matter of time.
Both regimes are in their final days, whatever the timing imposed by unbridled
violence and their strategic antidotes. The concurrent crises of legitimacy and
government incompetence and the confluence of socio-economic and environmental
issues are fatal, and tensions are mounting. Prolonged state of violence creates
the platform for revolutionary uprising.
AT THE BUFFET OF HIS BANQUET, THE BANQUISE TO EAT...
Lara Khoury Hafez/Face Book/January 19/2029
After Venezuela and the capture of Maduro, here's Trump dreaming of "buying" or
annexing Greenland, and threatening Europe with customs tariffs if he doesn't
get what he wants!!I am neither anti Trump nor pro Trump. I am a free mind who
analyzes according to the record. I never blindly support, nor systematically
condemn, I judge on a case by case. But honestly, with
Greenland, it's too much! It's no longer diplomacy,
it's a voracious appetite that confuses the planet with a Monopoly tray.
This probably won't make America "greater", but more decreditable.
Greenland is not a vacant land on the edge of the bank: it is a people, a
history, a status, an autonomy in the Denmark, and residents who take to the
street to say clearly: "Greenland is not for sale".
Wanting to impose yourself by all means, even in the form of economic blackmail,
is to undermine international law, humiliate an ally that is Europe and awaken
all the old colonial reflections that we claim to have left far behind.
The consequences of a move to the act would be severe:
Deep fracture in NATO, already fragile by Trump's threats;
A geopolitical gift offered to Putin, who would see his own adventures in
Ukraine rather normal.
And a signal sent to the international community that it is the law of the
jungle that prevails now and that every great power can annex what they are
interested in in in their area of influence.
Believing in restoring America to greatness, Trump will reduce the international
order into a mop: a system of rules empty of its substance, where everything is
bought, threatened, and taken.
The world is not a buffet of territories at will.
Real power, in the 21st century, is not getting your hands on more ice, oil or
rare earth...
To be a great power is to lead by example. This is to
show that we are able to contain ourselves despite all the strength we hold, by
respecting our allies and protecting the people and the Arctic climate instead
of consuming them..... worse to eat them!
If Iran's Regime Stays in Place, Trump's Gaza 'Peace'
Plan Will Not See Success
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/January 19/2026
US President Donald J. Trump's plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war should have
included a provision to stipulate the need for a different regime in Iran. That
is the fastest, best and, unfortunately, the only way to eradicate Hamas and
destroy "[a]ll military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels
and weapon production facilities" not only in the Gaza Strip, as stated in
Trump's 20-point plan, but also the Middle East.
Without Iran's support, there also would be no proxies – such as the Houthis,
Hezbollah and Venezuela -- nor their alliances with Russia and China.
Qatar and Turkey, longtime supporters of Hamas, have also been reinforcing the
terror group with money and diplomatic backing. Both Qatar and Turkey --
followers, like Hamas, of the Muslim Brotherhood -- continue to host senior
Hamas officials and operatives. That is why it does not seem a prudent decision
on the part of Trump to have included Qatar and Turkey on his "Board of Peace"
to oversee the postwar management of the Gaza Strip. In addition to Qatar and
Turkey, Egypt, and Britain – which, sadly, has not been a dependable friend to
Israel -- were appointed as members of the newly established Executive Committee
of the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump himself.
Providentially, the United Arab Emirates, which, despite extensive turbulence,
has been an unwavering supporter of Trump, the US and the West, also serves on
the Executive Committee.
Like Iran, Qatar and Turkey have an interest in preserving Hamas's presence both
as a political and military entity.... they are totally unlikely to participate
in any effort to disarm Hamas or demilitarize the territory. The danger is that
after Trump leaves office, these countries -- no friends of Israel --will be
irresistibly positioned to attack it. Notably, no Arab or Islamic country has so
far expressed the slightest readiness to play any role in forcing Hamas and
other Palestinian terror groups to surrender their weapons.... After all, so
long as terror attacks are directed only against Israel, Hamas and other terror
groups in Gaza do not pose a direct threat to their regimes.
With the mullahs still in place, there is every reason to believe that the
strategic alliance within the "axis of resistance" -- Iran, Russia, China --
will also stay in place.
Hamas still uses Iran for its weapons, military training and technology.
Although Iran is reportedly bankrupt, the mullahs will continue to pour millions
of dollars on Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran cannot afford to lose its two main
proxies in the Middle East.
It is crucial at this juncture to free the Palestinians from the boot of Hamas
and the Iranians from the boot of the mullahs. The disappearance of both would
do Trumpian wonders for the entire planet.
US President Donald J. Trump's plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war exposes the
elephant in the room: the Iranian regime. Without Iran's support, Hamas would
not have been able to transform the Gaza Strip into a large base for Jihad (holy
war) against Israel.
US President Donald J. Trump's plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war should have
included a provision to stipulate the need for a different regime in Iran. That
is the fastest, best and, unfortunately, the only way to eradicate Hamas and
destroy "[a]ll military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels
and weapon production facilities" not only in the Gaza Strip, as stated in
Trump's 20-point plan, but also the Middle East.
Trump's plan exposes the elephant in the room: the Iranian regime. Without
Iran's support, Hamas would not have been able to transform the Gaza Strip into
a large base for Jihad (holy war) against Israel. Without Iran's support, the
terror group would not have been able to overthrow the Palestinian Authority in
2007 and seize full control of the entire Gaza Strip. Without Iran's political,
financial, and military aid, Hamas would not have been able to carry out its
October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, murder more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign
nationals and wound thousands more. Without Iran's support, Hamas also would not
still be in control of much of the Gaza Strip more than two years after
launching its war on Israel.
Without Iran's support, there also would be no proxies – such as the Houthis,
Hezbollah and Venezuela -- nor their alliances with Russia and China.
The Iranian regime is not, of course, the only party that has been propping up
Hamas for the past three decades. Qatar and Turkey, longtime supporters of
Hamas, have also been reinforcing the terror group with money and diplomatic
backing. Both Qatar and Turkey -- followers, like Hamas, of the Muslim
Brotherhood -- continue to host senior Hamas officials and operatives. That is
why it does not seem a prudent decision on the part of Trump to have included
Qatar and Turkey on his "Board of Peace" to oversee the postwar management of
the Gaza Strip. In addition to Qatar and Turkey, Egypt, and Britain – which,
sadly, has not been a dependable friend to Israel -- were appointed as members
of the newly established Executive Committee of the Board of Peace, chaired by
Trump himself.
Pakistan, a virtual hub of terrorism, has been invited to serve on the Board of
Peace but, as of this writing, has not yet replied.
Providentially, the United Arab Emirates, which, despite extensive turbulence,
has been an unwavering supporter of Trump, the US and the West, also serves on
the Executive Committee.
Like Iran, Qatar and Turkey have an interest in preserving Hamas's presence both
as a political and military entity. The Qataris and Turks may play a role in the
reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, but they are totally unlikely to participate
in any effort to disarm Hamas or demilitarize the territory. The danger is that
after Trump leaves office, these countries -- no friends of Israel --will be
irresistibly positioned to attack it.
According to Israeli officials, Qatar and Turkey are now "working to extract
Hamas from the requirement to disarm." They are reportedly offering
alternatives, such as Hamas giving up its weapons to the Palestinian Authority,
or having the weapons transferred to some kind of "secure storage" under
supposed "oversight."
"Behind both proposals," the officials said, "lies the aim of preserving Hamas's
influence in Gaza."
Notably, no Arab or Islamic country has so far expressed the slightest readiness
to play any role in forcing Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups to
surrender their weapons. Arab and Muslim leaders are likely afraid of facing a
backlash from their own people, many of whom sympathize with Hamas and the
Palestinian "resistance" -- meaning terrorism -- against Israel. After all, so
long as terror attacks are directed only against Israel, Hamas and other terror
groups in Gaza do not pose a direct threat to their regimes.
Since the early 1990s, the mullahs' regime in Tehran has been sponsoring Hamas
with military aid, as well as training and financial aid. Iran has remained a
key patron of Hamas, and provided the terror group with funds, weapons, and
training.
In addition, since 2006, the Iranian regime has been supporting Hamas with $350
million annually as part of the mullahs' plan to strengthen their "axis of
resistance," which includes other Iran-backed terror proxies such as Lebanon's
Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi militias. With the mullahs still in place, there is
every reason to believe that the strategic alliance within the "axis of
resistance" -- Iran, Russia, China -- will also stay in place.
"Iran," according to slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the
October 7 massacre, and known for his close ties to the Iranian regime, "is the
"biggest supporter of the movement, financially and militarily."
Another slain Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was quoted as saying:
"I extend my thanks to those who provided money and weapons to the valiant
resistance. Iran has not been stingy in supplying the resistance with money,
weapons, and technology."
"Iranian officials have since boasted about their role in developing Hamas's
military capabilities," the Saudi Center for Media Studies noted.
"The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Air Force, Amir Ali
Hajizadeh, stated that "all the missiles in Gaza and Lebanon were made with
Iran's support. Iranian-backed militias across the region also expressed strong
support and offered military assistance to Hamas."
If Trump wants his Gaza peace plan – and his "Donroe Doctrine" revitalization of
the Western Hemisphere -- to succeed, he should make every effort to help the
Iranian people regain their freedom from this regime as soon as possible.
If the mullahs' regime stays in power, the chances of removing Hamas and
demilitarizing the Gaza Strip for any length of time will be zero.
For decades, Tehran's mullahs have posed a direct threat not only to Israel and
the US, but also to the security and stability of Arab countries, including
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt and Iraq.
The current anti-regime protests in Iran should be fully supported not only by
the Trump administration, but all Western countries, as well as Arabs and
Muslims.
If Hamas remains standing, Hezbollah, the Houthis and other Iran-backed Islamist
terror groups will also continue to rearm, regroup and plan for more terrorism
and bloodshed in the region. Trump, to succeed, needs to expand the mandate of
his Board of Peace to include seeing to it that the Iranian regime departs as
expeditiously as possible.
Iran's proxies may not disappear immediately, but, if and when the Iranian
regime is gone, they will be significantly weakened. The removal of the mullahs
would mean their eventual removal as well.
Hamas still uses Iran for its weapons, military training and technology.
Although Iran is reportedly bankrupt, the mullahs will continue to pour millions
of dollars on Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran cannot afford to lose its two main
proxies in the Middle East.
It is crucial at this juncture to free the Palestinians from the boot of Hamas
and the Iranians from the boot of the mullahs. The disappearance of both would
do Trumpian wonders for the entire planet.
**Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22207/iran-regime-gaza-peace
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After America leaves
Yassin K. Fawaz/The Arab Weekly/19 January/2026
American wars tend to end quietly, not with defeat but with disengagement, as
attention shifts, priorities change and enforcement gives way to process. The
moment rarely announces itself. It arrives through diplomacy, transition plans
and assurances that sound reasonable until they are overtaken by events. What
follows is often described as stabilisation or consolidation, but for local
allies who did the fighting, it is the point at which leverage drains away and
reality reasserts itself. There is a persistent myth in modern Middle Eastern
wars that courage, once demonstrated at sufficient scale, eventually converts
into protection, legitimacy or permanence. The Kurdish experience over the past
decade exposes how hollow that belief really is. From the moment ISIS overran
Mosul in June 2014, following the collapse of regular Iraqi Army units stationed
across Nineveh province, Kurdish forces absorbed the shock that shattered Iraq’s
northern front lines and prevented the advance from reaching Erbil. Peshmerga
units rushed forward to hold territory that had been abandoned almost overnight,
extending their lines far beyond what had been planned or resourced, while the
Iraqi state regrouped. That pattern soon repeated itself across the Syrian
border as the war metastasised. Kurdish fighters became the firewall against a
regional implosion, buying time not only for Baghdad and Damascus, but for an
international coalition unwilling to fight on the ground.
Between 2014 and 2019, Kurdish forces in both Iraq and Syria carried the
heaviest share of sustained ground combat against the Islamic State. Casualty
figures ran into the tens of thousands when killed and wounded are combined,
with entire cohorts of young men and women rotated through front lines in
Kobane, Sinjar, Hasakah, Raqa and finally Baghouz, where the territorial
caliphate collapsed in March 2019. While international air power was decisive
from above, it was Kurdish units that cleared streets, held neighbourhoods and
absorbed suicide attacks. When the fighting ended, they were left guarding the
remnants of the war: thousands of ISIS detainees held in makeshift prisons, and
camps such as al-Hol that swelled to tens of thousands of women and children
from dozens of countries, effectively turning Kurdish-administered territory
into a long-term containment zone for a problem the international coalition
neither resolved nor reclaimed.
What distinguishes the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces from many other
local partners is not just what they fought, but how closely they aligned with
American objectives. Over years of cooperation, US forces invested heavily in
training, equipping, advising and professionalising SDF units, embedding
standards of command discipline, operational coordination and battlefield
restraint that mirrored coalition expectations. The SDF proved reliable
custodians of territory cleared from ISIS, maintained custody over thousands of
detainees at Washington’s request, coordinated consistently with US air power
and intelligence and absorbed political constraints imposed from outside,
including limits on expansion and escalation. In short, they did not freelance.
They fought where asked, stopped where told, and subordinated their own
strategic ambitions to coalition priorities. If loyalty, discipline and
compliance were the criteria for durability, the SDF met them in full.
What sharpened the imbalance was not simply the scale of Kurdish sacrifice, but
the strategic environment in which it occurred. Throughout the Syrian war years,
Western intelligence reporting and US Treasury designations documented how
money, arms and logistical support flowed through private donors, charities and
informal networks tied to regional actors into Islamist factions operating under
shifting labels. Some were framed as counterweights to ISIS, others overlapped
with it, but the underlying logic was consistent: preserve influence, maintain
leverage and avoid irreversible commitments. While Kurdish forces fought ISIS
directly and visibly, others financed militias indirectly and quietly, retaining
plausible deniability and diplomatic flexibility. That asymmetry proved decisive
once the war’s urgency faded. Yet that reliability
coexisted with an unresolved tension. Kurdish aspirations for statehood were
long understood but never endorsed. Washington made its limits clear:
cooperation was welcome, stability was valued, but independence was not an
outcome the United States was prepared to support. Kurdish leaders calibrated
their strategy accordingly, deferring maximalist demands in favour of restraint,
governability, and trust-building over time. By 2017,
that equilibrium had begun to fray. Years of battlefield loyalty had not
translated into political clarity or durable guarantees, and Kurdish aspirations
remained acknowledged but explicitly unsupported. The independence referendum
emerged from that impasse. It was not a sudden act of defiance, but a calculated
attempt to force resolution after a long period of strategic patience. Kurdish
leaders proceeded despite clear warnings from Washington that the United States
would neither recognize the vote nor shield its consequences.
The vote was held on September 25, 2017, setting in motion a rapid and
unforgiving response.
The first curtain fell in October 2017, after the Kurdistan independence
referendum stripped away any remaining ambiguity about the limits of Kurdish
autonomy. When Baghdad moved on Kirkuk, federal forces backed by Popular
Mobilisation units retook the city, its airport, and its oil fields within days,
and Washington stepped aside, framing the operation as a restoration of
constitutional order rather than a reversal of realities created by Kurdish
sacrifice after 2014. Control of oil revenue shifted immediately, political
symbols were removed, and Kurdish leverage evaporated with remarkable speed.
Kirkuk was not simply a territorial loss; it was a demonstration that
battlefield performance without enforceable international guarantees collapses
the moment a central government decides to act.
The Syrian parallel is more troubling still, because unlike Baghdad in 2017,
which at least acted through an elected government and formal institutions,
authority in Damascus today rests with Ahmed al-Sharaa, a figure who has not
been elected, has not been subjected to any democratic process, and presides
over a transition defined by force rather than consent, propped up by armed
networks that include rehabilitated remnants of the jihadist ecosystem the
coalition spent years fighting, in a theatre where US personnel have continued
to be killed long after victory was declared. That risk is not abstract. In
December 2025, two US Army soldiers and a US civilian interpreter were killed in
an ambush near Palmyra carried out not by an external infiltrator but by a
member of the Syrian security forces themselves, later reported to have
suspected links to ISIS-associated extremist networks and already under internal
review. Three additional US service members were wounded in the attack, marking
the first American combat fatalities in Syria since 2019 and underscoring the
continuity between the jihadist battlefield of the war years and the forces now
folded into the post-Assad security architecture. Rebranding militias and
absorbing former jihadist fighters into uniformed roles does not neutralise the
ideological or operational legacies embedded within them; it relocates those
risks inside the state itself.
These concerns are amplified by the character of the forces now operating under
the banner of the Syrian state. While rebranded as national units, many draw
from hard-line Islamist and jihadist factions that shaped the war years and have
never undergone a credible process of accountability nor ideological
rupture.What the transition meant on the ground became visible through footage
that spread rapidly across digital platforms and triggered widespread backlash.
One widely circulated video appears to show a gunman affiliated with the Syrian
Arab Army detaining two Kurdish female fighters, known as sharvan. In the clip,
the women are seated in the back of a vehicle, visibly distressed, while armed
men film them at close range. A voice off camera is heard addressing another
individual about the captives, saying, “Abu Mujahid, let them be a gift for
you,” according to the video’s audio. In the same recording, the women are
instructed to send a greeting to the person being addressed. The women are not
shown being physically harmed, but the language and staging carry unmistakable
menace; the sequence ends before their fate is known. This is not merely an
abstract worry. The clip joined a broader stream of videos and testimonies
circulating across social media and human-rights networks, showing Kurdish
civilians, including women, subjected to intimidation, abuse, and retaliatory
violence as control shifts. The persistence of such conduct reinforces a central
fear among Kurdish communities: that the transition being imposed is not one of
integration or protection, but of subjugation by forces whose world view and
methods remain fundamentally hostile to them.
None of this is unique to Syria. It reflects a familiar pattern in American
wars, where local partners discover that the decisive moment comes not during
the fighting, but after it ends.
The closest modern parallel is Afghanistan, because there the curtain did not
merely fall, it was pulled down deliberately. For twenty years after 2001, the
United States built, trained, funded and fought alongside Afghan forces under
the premise that battlefield performance would translate into political
survival. Yet the decisive moment did not come on the battlefield but at the
negotiating table, first with the Doha agreement in 2020 and then with the final
US withdrawal in August 2021. Kabul fell not because the Taliban suddenly
achieved overwhelming military superiority, but because guarantees evaporated.
Afghanistan was not lost in combat; it was handed back by decision.
That lesson is now resurfacing in Syria under different names and slower
choreography. Since the consolidation of authority in Damascus, Syrian
government forces and allied units have moved deliberately to reassert control
over the last large autonomous zone in the country, the Kurdish-led northeast.
In mid-January 2026, territory, crossings and key oil and gas infrastructure
passed out of Kurdish control.
That shift was already evident on January 17, when US envoy Tom Barrack convened
a high-level meeting in Erbil with Syrian Democratic Forces commander General
Mazloum Abdi, Kurdish political leaders and senior American diplomatic and
military officials. Political authority, military command and diplomatic
representation were all present, yet the message that emerged was managerial
rather than decisive: de-escalation, dialogue with Damascus and avoidance of
wider conflict.
Crucially, the advance did not pause even for a day. Within twenty-four hours of
the Erbil meeting, Syrian government forces continued consolidating control
around Tabqa, along the Aleppo–Raqa axis, and across energy installations in
Deir al-Zor. Towns changed hands after withdrawals rather than battles,
detention facilities were emptied or partially cleared, and prisoners, including
individuals previously held on suspicion of Islamic State affiliation, were
released. Diplomacy neither froze the map nor slowed the consolidation of power
on the ground.
The Kurdish experience fits a broader and well-documented pattern in American
warfare. The dates below mark the point of American withdrawal or disengagement,
not the start of US involvement.
In Vietnam (1973–1975), local forces fought for years under the assumption that
US backing implied endurance, only to collapse once American enforcement ended.
In Iraq in 1991, Kurdish and Shia uprisings were encouraged but left exposed
after the ceasefire. In Lebanon (1983–1984), the withdrawal of US forces
following the Marine barracks bombing accelerated militia consolidation and
state fragmentation. In Somalia (1993–1994), cooperation with US and UN forces
gave way to a rapid exit after Mogadishu, leaving local partners exposed. In
Libya (2011–2012), intervention removed a regime but abandoned the aftermath. In
Afghanistan (2020–2021), two decades of investment gave way to a negotiated exit
that preceded systemic collapse.
I could list many more cases, but the point is not the catalogue; it is the
pattern. When American enforcement ends, local allies bear the cost, regardless
of their loyalty or performance.
Wars do not usually end where they are fought. They end where enforcement stops.
In each case, from Kirkuk to Kabul to northeast Syria, the decisive variable was
not courage, competence or sacrifice, but the moment the external guarantor
recalibrated its priorities. When America leaves, outcomes adjust accordingly,
and those who fought on its behalf are left to live with the result.
**Yassin K Fawaz is an American business executive, publisher and security and
terrorism expert.
Don’t ask AI for what you don’t deserve
Karam Nama/The Arab Weekly/19 January/2026
When Austrian novelist Clemens J. Setz wrote in The Guardian about the German
fairy tale of the golden fish, he offered a warning that feels uncannily
relevant to our digital age. His message was simple: do not ask AIfor what you
do not deserve. Like the fisherman’s wife who demanded ever greater gifts until
the world collapsed around her, our unchecked desires risk turning abundance
into emptiness. The tale is familiar. A fisherman
catches a golden fish that grants every wish. His wife, consumed by desire, asks
first for wealth, then for power, then for the papacy itself. Finally, she
demands to become a goddess. At that moment, the world unravels. The lesson is
clear: excessive desire destroys meaning. Setz’s parable is not mere folklore;
it is a mirror for our age of algorithms.
AI is not simply a tool. It is a new mythical force, reshaping collective
imagination in ways that echo the power of ancient stories. If desire loses its
resistance, if every wish is granted instantly, then meaning itself evaporates.
Position, status, even dreams become hollow when stripped of struggle. What
makes desire compelling is the obstacle it must overcome. Remove the obstacle,
and desire collapses into consumption.
Setz warns that if anyone could easily become a pope, the appeal of the position
would fade. Things only become desirable when they require resistance, hardship,
or sacrifice. The post-digital generation, raised on instant gratification,
risks forgetting this truth. AIaccelerates this trend, transforming desire into
instant reward and stripping it of meaning.
By satisfying every desire, AI leaves us with a greater void. Myth has always
taught us that treasure lies beyond obstacles, that stories gain value through
hardship. Scheherazade’s tales in One Thousand and One Nights mattered because
they resisted death each night. Sinbad’s adventures inspired because they
confronted monsters and storms. Without resistance, there is no story, only
consumption. Even symbolic and spiritual sites lose their prestige if AI turns
them into wishes granted on demand, as the golden fish did for the fisherman’s
wife.
The danger is not technical but existential. AI shortens the path, cuts the
magical thread and offers us an end without a beginning. It promises power
without effort, sanctity without sacrifice, dreams without struggle. But history
reminds us: meaning is born only from resistance. Treasure left on the roadside
is no longer treasure. Status available without effort is no longer status.
Absolute abundance is not salvation but a kind of nothingness.
This is why the connection between myth and AI is not futile. Myth has always
been humanity’s attempt to understand what transcends the limits of the mind.
Today, AI plays the same role: opening new spaces while raising existential
concerns. We are living through a moment of re-mythologising the world, but with
digital tools. Whoever controls imagination controls meaning. That is the true
danger, and the true responsibility, of our digital age.
Setz’s article goes beyond the technical debate about AI. He uses the German
fairy tale as a mirror to understand the coming transformations in the
relationship between humans and technology. His basic idea is that AI is not
just a tool, but a factor that reshapes human consciousness and changes the way
we perceive ourselves and others. As Noam Chomsky and colleagues argued in their
critique The False Promise, the idea that AI understands language as humans do
is flawed. What matters is not machine cognition but the way machines change the
language of storytelling itself.
Here lies the cultural challenge. The Arab imagination was shaped by One
Thousand and One Nights just as the Western imagination was shaped by Germanic
tales. These stories were never escapist fantasies. They were attempts to
capture what transcends the mind. Shahryar would not have listened to
Scheherazade if her stories had not resisted death every night. Sinbad would not
have become a symbol of travel and adventure if he had not encountered monsters,
seas, and horrors. The essence of the story was not in reaching the treasure,
but in the hardship that made the treasure valuable.
AI threatens to erase this essence. When it fulfils all desires without
resistance, it erases the appeal of desire itself. Position, status, dreams, all
lose their meaning when they become instant results without hardship. We have
entered an era without scarcity, an era without appeal. The irony is that
absolute abundance is not salvation, but a kind of nothingness. Machines promise
us power without effort, sanctity without sacrifice, dreams without suffering.
But they make us forget that meaning has always come from resistance, obstacles,
and scarcity.
Perhaps this is the new myth we have not yet learned to tell: that AI offers us
an end without a beginning, a result without a struggle. It cuts the magical
thread that has bound myth to our consciousness for centuries. The question is
whether we still have the ability to dream when all dreams become achievable. If
desire loses its resistance, imagination loses its meaning. And without
imagination, humanity loses its story.
US has a long history of strategic land purchases
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/January 19, 2026
One sovereign nation purchasing land from another. This method of gaining
territory had long been forgotten. But US President Donald Trump has revived it
with Greenland. While everyone in Europe and elsewhere, perhaps by habit, has
rejected the idea, I tend to ask myself: if they were capable, wouldn’t they
want to do it too? Yet the shift in global power is now holding them back.
History shows that the powerful have always traded lands. Now, amid a shifting
global order, the concept is worth evaluating again. After all, which is better:
acquiring land by war or by trade? It is useful to highlight that this is not
the first time Denmark and the US have faced a potential land deal. The US
purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million. At the time,
President Woodrow Wilson pushed for the deal mainly out of concern that Germany
might seize control of these islands. In the case of Greenland, it is Chinese
and Russian influence that is considered to pose a great threat to American
national security. If we take Greenland and the opening of sea routes during
certain seasons, it exposes the US in a similar way. Exchanging or buying land
was mostly a tool of the European colonial powers. One of the most remarkable
deals happened between Spain and Portugal and is known as the Treaty of
Tordesillas. The two countries controlled much of the land and seas in the 1400s
and 1500s. In 1494, to settle territorial issues and avoid wars, they decided to
split the world between them. Portugal kept Brazil, while Spain benefited from
the split and went on to rule most of South America. The interesting and evident
point is that, as both empires weakened, the treaty lost significance.
During all these times, the people living on the lands that were bought,
exchanged or bartered had no say in their fate
Much later and for pretty much the same reasons, as France and Britain’s global
power grew, they too exchanged and bought territories. The 18th-century Treaty
of Paris saw France cede Canada to Britain in exchange for retaining its islands
in the Caribbean, which were judged more economically valuable at the time.
Through wars, it lost control for a time, but France later regained territories
such as Guadeloupe and Martinique, which today remain overseas departments of
France, while Britain consolidated its dominance in North America and India. The
same can be said about the Netherlands, Belgium and all colonizing powers.
Power and hard power mean everything when it comes to territories. Hence,
at the end of the First World War, under the Treaty of Versailles, all of
Germany’s colonial holdings in Africa and the Pacific were redistributed between
the victors, namely Britain, France, Japan, Australia and South Africa, as
mandates under the League of Nations, the predecessor to the UN. Following the
Second World War, as all these European powers declined, the colonies gained
independence.
The US has acquired several significant territories through purchase rather than
war or annexation. In 1803, it bought Louisiana from France, which instantly
doubled the size of the country by adding about 2.1 million sq. km of land, for
$15 million. Then, in 1867, it acquired Alaska from the Russian Empire, adding
another 1.5 million sq. km, for $7.2 million. This is also a resource-rich
territory. Less consequentially, the US added about
76,800 sq. km in southern Arizona and New Mexico with the $10 million Gadsden
Purchase from Mexico in 1854. This purchase was intended to facilitate a
southern transcontinental railroad. Finally, as previously mentioned, the Danish
West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands) were purchased from Denmark in 1917.
So, for the US establishment, land purchases have been quite significant and
strategic. The goal is either to secure strategic naval or military positions or
to ensure national security. To the US’ advantage,
Greenland is already a semi-autonomous territory with a growing political will
for independence
Meanwhile, throughout history, land concessions have been a tool to permit
powerful nations to control or utilize territory within another sovereign state
without outright annexation. The most famous is probably the 99-year British
lease of Hong Kong, which ended in 1997. When China regained its rightful
sovereignty over the island, the world was very different to when the treaty was
signed — and it was China that was the greater power. One can only wonder that,
if this were not the case, would this concession have been extended? We cannot
rewrite history, but I am pretty sure it would have.
Even today, particularly in Africa, this situation can apply to a major asset
such as a port or a natural resource, effectively making the concession holder
the true power in the country. This also raises the question of genuine
sovereignty.
It is very clear that, during all these times, the people living on the lands
that were bought, exchanged or bartered had no say in their fate. This is also
the case in terms of military clashes due to land disputes.
And so, when looking at the Greenland issue, it poses a clear question: How can
the US get the Greenlanders on its side? This is a very, very small population,
estimated to be no more than about 57,000 people. It is difficult to see the US
gaining control of Greenland without a deal or agreement. To the US’ advantage,
Greenland is already a semi-autonomous territory with a strong and growing
political will for independence. This offers a potential way for a greater
anchoring with the US over Denmark or Europe, or even becoming a full US state.
Trump has brought back a potential for growth of the US that stopped many years
ago. It is, in a way, no longer a sovereign play like two centuries ago, but
more like a corporate acquisition. For Greenland and other territories, the US
is clearly looking to protect and place the extended Americas — North and South
— in a stronger defensive posture, as well as guaranteeing access to resources
and the safety of logistics routes. Is it a sign of
not being able to continue holding the global “Pax Americana” and wanting to
avoid the fate of the declining Europeans? I would not bet against the US, but
beyond this, if negotiations and common economic interests can be brought
forward to solve territorial disputes, this is not a bad thing, especially amid
a change in the balance of power worldwide.
**Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused
investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
Selected Face Book & X tweets/
January 19/2026
John Bolton
Trump should help the Iranian opposition, and he can do so without putting
American boots on the ground. The kinds of targets he should look at are IRGC
headquarters and bases, and the operating bases of the Basij militia.
Open Source Intel
Lindesy Graham in a message to Jolani: “If Syrian government forces continue to
advance in the north toward Raqqa, I will push for reimposing Caesar Act
sanctions on steroids.
Apparently no one in Syria is listening to me or other U.S. government
officials. If this continues, not only will there be bone-crushing sanctions, it
will permanently damage relationships between the U.S. and the new Syrian
government. If you think we’re BSing - keep it up.
I’ve tried to be fair to the new government, but apparently it’s falling on deaf
ears. If you want a conflict with the U.S. Senate and to do permanent damage to
the U.S.-Syria relationship - keep going. If you want to salvage the
relationship, stop and turnaround.”
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Turkey wants the Syrian Kurdish militia disbanded and seeks to eliminate any
semblance of Kurdish autonomy anywhere on the planet. Kurds everywhere must live
under Turkish rule forever. Islamist Sharaa forces will go all the way to wiping
out Kurdish forces.