Iran says it has dismantled a Mossad-linked espionage network and carried out counterterrorism operations nationwide. | Iran’s security authorities announced the dismantling of a foreign espionage network after an IRGC Intelligence Organization arrested a foreign national accused of operating on behalf of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad. ● According to an official statement issued on Saturday, the suspect entered Iran under a covert identity and was tasked with collecting sensitive intelligence and assessing conditions linked to the activities of Mossad-affiliated operatives. The arrest was carried out while the individual was actively conducting these missions, Iranian authorities said. ● Subsequent searches of the suspect’s residence and personal belongings uncovered documents that the IRGC described as “definitive proof” of espionage, establishing direct links to the Israeli intelligence apparatus.

✅ The Israeli Influence Operation in Iran Pushing to Reinstate the Shah Monarchy (Megiddo & Benjakob) (Ha'aretz)

■ Iran has evidence of US, Israeli involvement in riots — top diplomat (TASS)
✅ The Israeli Influence Operation in Iran Pushing to Reinstate the Shah Monarchy (Megiddo & Benjakob) (Ha'aretz)
✅ Iran Shrugs Off Another Round Of U.S./Israel Sponsored Regime Change Riots (Moon of Alabama)

The US president has urged Havana to strike a deal with Washington “before it is too late” | US President Donald Trump has said Cuba will no longer receive Venezuelan oil and money, warning the island to do a deal with Washington “before it’s too late.” ● Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela and a major beneficiary of its subsidized oil, has seen supplies from the OPEC nation dry up since early January. Shipping data show no crude cargoes have left Venezuelan ports for the island since President Nicolas Maduro was abducted by American forces, as a strict US-led oil blockade brought deliveries to a halt.

■ Rubio could lead Cuba – Trump (RT)

Four babies have died from the cold since November, as power cuts disable incubators and families in flooded tents struggle to keep their children alive. | In the bitter cold of a Gaza winter, two-month-old Mohammed Abu Harbid has become the latest victim of Israel’s genocidal war that has stripped Palestinians of shelter, warmth and survival. ● Zaher al-Wahidi, director of health information at the Ministry of Health, told Al Jazeera the infant died from severe hypothermia at al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital. ● His death brings the number of children who have frozen to death in the enclave since November 2025 to four, and 12 since the start of the genocidal war in October 2023. ● As severe depression brings torrential rain and freezing winds to the coastal enclave, thousands of displaced families are facing a catastrophic humanitarian emergency, with the most vulnerable paying the highest price.

UK Defense Secretary John Healey has said he would kidnap Russian President Vladimir Putin if given a choice out of all world leaders. | The British official was answering a question from the Kiev Independent during a visit to the Ukrainian capital on Friday. ● His comments came a week after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military raid on the oil-rich South American country. Maduro had previously warned that Washington wanted a regime change and to get its hands on Venezuelan resources. ● The US actions drew strong condemnation from BRICS nations, including Russia, India, China, and Brazil, but also prompted a string of calls from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to adopt similar tactics against Moscow.

■ Moscow denounces UK’s ‘salacious fantasies’ of kidnapping Putin (RT) + "The Wet Fantasies of British Perverts"
■ Britain and France want to ‘set Europe on fire’ – Hungary (RT)

Iranians rename a street “President Trump Street.”

When people living under a dictatorship rename a street after a foreign leader, it is not flattery.
It is a political act. pic.twitter.com/fpyc09AcUP

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 7, 2026

A protester in the Iranian capital, Tehran, changed the name of a street in the city after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. | Over the past few hours, social media platforms have circulated a video showing a protester in Tehran placing a sticker bearing the name of US President Donald Trump on a street sign, a symbolic act that has sparked widespread controversy and mixed reactions both inside and outside Iran. ● Several Iranian cities are witnessing a wave of ongoing protests fueled by the economic situation, rising prices, and the devaluation of the local currency. These protests are accompanied by escalating political slogans and sharp criticism of the authorities. Activists consider this a unique form of political protest, carrying implications that extend beyond mere symbolism, especially given the rising tensions between Tehran and Washington. ● The video's circulation coincided with statements by Donald Trump warning Iranian authorities against using violence to suppress protesters, threatening a "very harsh" response if security forces killed demonstrators. The U.S. President added that Washington is closely monitoring developments in Iran, emphasizing that any bloody escalation will be met with a strong response.

Moon of Alabama | Every two years or so the CIA and Mossad are instigating regime change riots in Iran. These attempts inevitably fail. | Currently a few thousand young men are during nighttime burning cars, mosques, shops and police offices in various cities of Iran. Armed agents are firing at and killing policemen. All these cells are coordinated via Internet connections. It usually takes a week or two until Iranian government forces find the connections, trace down the ring leaders and shut them down. That process may take a little longer this time because some of the terror cells have been equipped with Starlink terminals. As the unofficial CIA spokesman David Ignatius at the Washington Post writes (writes):

That pretty much confirms that those terminals are already there. ● Meanwhile Russia has developed equipment that allows to detect Active Starling terminals from the air. Iran has already received copies and will soon produces enough of its own to cover its cities.

■ Iran says US inciting violence in country in letter to UN Security Council (Press TV)
■ Leader: Iran will not back down against vandals seeking to please Washington (Press TV)

US President Donald Trump says the US will do "something" on Greenland, "whether they like it or not." | He made the comments during a meeting with oil executives at the White House Friday. Trump said that he would like to make a deal “the easy way” to acquire Greenland, because if the US doesn’t own it, he claimed Russia or China will take over it. “If we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way,” he said, without explaining what the “hard way” entailed. Trump also added that he is “a fan” of Denmark but questioned the country's claim to Greenland.

■ Trump orders plan to invade Greenland – media (RT)
■ NATO States Consider Arctic Troop Presence as US Eyes Greenland (Sputnik)

Greenland’s party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the US to take control of the island, saying that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people. | Trump said again on Friday that he would like to make a deal to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous region that’s part of the Kingdom of Denmark, “the easy way.” He said that if the US doesn’t own it, then Russia or China will take it over, and the US does not want them as neighbours.

[...] A poll in 2025 by Greenlandic and Danish media found 85% of respondents would rather remain part of Denmark than join the US, with just 6% saying they supported the idea.

Protests have erupted across US, denouncing the immigrations policies of US President Donald Trump and his administrations after Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents wounded two people, and killed another. | Indivisible, a civil organization formed to resist the policies of Trump said on Saturday that more protests will be organized after federal agents enforcing the administration’s immigration policies opened fire in two separate incidents, resulting in the wounding of two people and death of a US citizen. [...] On Friday evening, hundreds of protesters marched to the ICE building in Portland, condemning the shooting. On Wednesday, Jonathan Ross, a veteran ICE agent fatally shot a US citizen in named Renee Good while she was in her car in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ● Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in posts on X that Ross had fired "in self-defense." ● The public was already outraged by this event when the news of the shooting in Portland became public, resulting in mass protests across the US. The Minneapolis shooting happened on the second day of the immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, which DHS said is the largest immigration enforcement operation in the US.

"America has sought for the past 47 years to regain control over Iran through numerous plans and conspiracies" | The Iranian army affirmed that, through synergy and cooperation with the other armed forces, it is monitoring enemy movements in the region and vigorously safeguarding national interests, the country's strategic infrastructure, and public funds. It emphasized that it will firmly confront any conspiracy, following recent events in some Iranian cities. In a statement issued Saturday, as reported by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, the army said,

It affirmed that any conspiracy will be firmly confronted. In the statement, the Iranian army called on Iranian citizens to remain vigilant against foreign conspiracies aimed at destabilizing security and inciting unrest in the country.

✅ The Israeli Influence Operation in Iran Pushing to Reinstate the Shah Monarchy (Megiddo & Benjakob) (Ha'aretz)
■ Iran rocked by wave of protests as US ramps up threats (itvX)
■ Peaceful Protests in Iran Hijacked by Outsiders: Constitutional Council Spokesman (Tasnim)
■ 72 years of Iran ‘regime change’ project: From 1953 coup to post-1979 failed plots (Press TV)
■ Trump will not meet Iran’s "Crown Prince" Pahlavi as protests intensify (Al Jazeera)

[Brief History Recap: On 19 August 1953, Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup d'état orchestrated by the United States (CIA) and the United Kingdom (MI6). A key motive was to protect British oil interests in Iran after Mossadegh nationalized and refused to concede to western oil demands. It was instigated by the United States (under the name TP-AJAX Project or Operation Ajax) and the United Kingdom (under the name Operation Boot). [...] Following the coup, a government under General Fazlollah Zahedi was formed which allowed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran (Persian for 'king'), to rule more firmly as monarch. He relied heavily on United States support to hold on to power. According to the CIA's declassified documents and records, some of the most feared mobsters in Tehran were hired by the CIA to stage pro-shah riots on 19 August. (1953 Iranian coup d'état)

[...] Working with Shah, the CIA and British intelligence began to engineer a plot to overthrow Mossadeq. The Iranian premier, however, got wind of the plan and called his supporters to take to the streets in protest. At this point, the Shah left the country for “medical reasons.” While British intelligence backed away from the debacle, the CIA continued its covert operations in Iran. Working with pro-Shah forces and, most importantly, the Iranian military, the CIA cajoled, threatened, and bribed its way into influence and helped to organize another coup attempt against Mossadeq. On August 19, 1953, the military, backed by street protests organized and financed by the CIA, overthrew Mossadeq. The Shah quickly returned to take power and, as thanks for the American help, signed over 40 percent of Iran’s oil fields to U.S. companies. (CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran)

So, the CIA installed Pahlavi's father. Does that make this guy a legitimate crown prince? We don't think so. – Editor]

Trump welcomed the oil executives to the White House after U.S. forces earlier Friday seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil.. [He] met with more than a dozen major oil company executives at the White House on Friday, just hours after the U.S. announced the seizure of a fifth oil tanker. | Trump, as he opened the meeting with oil industry executives, sought to assure them that they need not be skeptical of quickly investing in and, in some cases, returning to the South American country with a history of state asset seizures as well as ongoing U.S. sanctions and the current political uncertainty. [...] It’s all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

Plans by Kiev’s backers to establish military hubs in the country are equal to an “escalation” of the conflict, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said | Moscow will treat any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine as a “foreign intervention,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned. ● Her remarks came after UK and French leaders said on Tuesday that they had signed a “declaration of intent” with Kiev to deploy forces and establish “military hubs” in Ukraine “in the event of a peace deal” with Moscow, despite Russia’s vocal rejection of any Western troop presence. ● The plan was unveiled following a meeting in Paris of the ‘coalition of the willing,’ a group of Kiev’s Western backers who are pushing for continued military support and effectively stalling peace efforts.

■ Western forces in Ukraine ‘a move toward war’ – Hungarian foreign minister (RT)
■ UK would send ‘fewer than 7,500’ troops to Ukraine (The Times)
✅ Russia won’t accept any European or NATO troops in Ukraine (Dmitry Medvedev)
✅ Zakharova warned the West against deploying troops to Ukraine (Mikhail Sinev)

European countries believe that strengthening NATO's presence in the Arctic region could persuade US President Donald Trump that the United States does not need to own Greenland for security reasons, Politico reported on Friday, citing sources. | On January 3, Trump told The Atlantic magazine that the US "absolutely" needed Greenland, claiming the island was "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships." Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen urged Trump to stop threatening Greenland with annexation. ● At a closed Thursday meeting in Brussels, the alliance ambassadors agreed on the need to bolster NATO’s posture in the Arctic, three NATO diplomats told Politico, adding that Europeans see seeking a compromise with Trump as the first and preferred option. ● In particular, the meeting of NATO ambassadors reportedly discussed options such as using intelligence capabilities to improve territorial monitoring, increasing spending on Arctic defense, deploying more military equipment to the region, and holding more military exercises in the surrounding areas.

✅ The year began turbulently (Dmitry Medvedev)
✅ “A clear violation of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” (Dmitry Medvedev)
✅ Escalation-Mad Trump's Coast Guard Seizes "Russian" Ship 5,500 km From US Coasts (Simplicius)
■ US releases Russian crew members of seized tanker – Moscow (RT)

Iranian security and judicial authorities have announced the dismantling of several armed terror cells and the arrest of foreign-linked operatives amid a wave of foreign-backed riots that have claimed the lives of several law enforcement officers. | The unrest has continued for several days, with rioters exploiting public concerns over rising living costs and currency depreciation to incite violence. ● In the western city of Borujerd, Public Prosecutor Goodarz Amraei confirmed the arrest of several ringleaders for orchestrating riots and attacking religious sites and public property. ● According to judicial reports, the suspects were non-local individuals with extensive criminal records who had entered the city specifically to incite violence. ● The Lorestan Police Information Center announced that security forces had neutralized a four-member armed team in Borujerd. ● The cell was reportedly preparing a false-flag killing operation aimed at blaming the state for civilian deaths to further destabilize the region. Firearms, ammunition, and specialized equipment for manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized from the group’s hideout.

■ US Has Iranians’ Blood on Its Hands: Leader (Tasnim)
■ Leader: Iran will not back down against vandals seeking to please Washington (Press TV)
■ Iran’s top security body: US, Israel orchestrating riots to drag country into insecurity (Press TV)
■ True colors of Iran 'protests': Armed rioters kill, burn citizens (Al Mayadeen)

A drone has reportedly targeted the vessel en route to the port of Novorossiysk | An oil tanker en route to the Russian port of Novorossiysk has been attacked in the Black Sea, according to maritime news website Lloyd’s List. ● The Palau-flagged ‘Elbus’ was sailing east about 30 nautical miles (55.5km) off the Turkish coastline on Wednesday when it “experienced an unmanned marine-vehicle and drone attack,” the outlet wrote on Thursday, citing its own intelligence data. The tanker diverted from its course and made a sharp turn towards the coast around the time of the attack. ● According to Turkish media, the Coast Guard received a distress call from the ship and dispatched teams to the area, which escorted the vessel to the shore. The tanker is said to have been hit in its upper sections. No injuries or pollution have been reported. At the time of publication, no statement had been issued by Turkish or Russian authorities. ● At least five commercial Russia-trading tankers have reportedly been attacked by suspected Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea since November. Two of them, both Gambian-flagged vessels, were struck off Türkiye’s coast while en route to Novorossiysk. The tankers had been previously sanctioned by Western states for transporting oil in violation of restrictions imposed on Russia since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

■ US military breached UN maritime convention – Russia (RT)
■ US’s Seizure of Other Countries' Vessels Seriously Violates International Law – China (Sputnik)
■ UK says it provided ‘support’ to US seizure of Russian tanker (RT)
■ Gerald Celente: WWIII has begun and there will be a false flag attack that makes it official (VIDEO)
🚩 Three Takeaways From The US’ Seizure Of A Russian-Flagged Tanker In The Atlantic (Andrew Korybko)

1/ UK assisted US, earlier Russia's Envoy to the UN said that Russia 'condemns the seizure by US troops of petroleum tankers and the effective imposition of a blockade on Venezuela'

2/ Detained commercial vessel was chartered by a private trader under the flag of Guyana, with a crew of 28 people: 20 Ukrainians, 6 Georgians (including the Captain) & 2 Russian citizens — RT source

3/ On December 24, 2025, the ship ‘Marinera’ received a temporary permit to sail under the state flag of the Russian Federation — RT source

4/ US Coast Guard demanded the ship move to a US port, as US side did not receive confirmation from Guyana that it granted the ship its flag (while it was located near Venezuela) — RT source

5/ The vessel changed course & headed into the Atlantic Ocean. En route, the Captain, accompanied by the US Coast Guard ship, changed the ship's name to Marinera & received temporary registration under the Russian flag from the Captain of the Sochi port — RT source

6/ Though the flight had a purely commercial nature, Russia will handle all matters related to the protection of Russian citizens on board the ship — RT source

Postil Editorial | The Crime of Independent Thought: From Analyst to Heretic | In the shadowed theatre of contemporary European politics, where spectacle often substitutes for substance and moral posturing masks a vacuum of principle, the figure of Colonel Jacques Baud emerges not as a rabble-rouser, but as a profound and unsettling reflection. A former Swiss strategic intelligence officer, NATO planner, and United Nations peacekeeping expert, Baud is the antithesis of the caricatured dissident. His method is not the megaphone but the microscope; his weapon, not rhetoric, but evidence; his arena, not the public square, but the dispassionate realm of analysis. Yet, for committing the most subversive act possible in our era—the insistence on thinking clearly and speaking truthfully about war, power, and the West’s complicities—he has been systematically hounded, professionally ostracized, and publicly vilified. The persecution of Jacques Baud is not an anomaly; it is the diagnostic symptom of a Europe that has tragically confused democracy with docility, freedom with fealty to consensus, and its own enlightened values with a rigid, pusillanimous conformity. In an age that demands heroes of conviction over heroes of conquest, Baud stands as a necessary one, a man persecuted precisely for embodying the intellectual rigour Europe claims to revere.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said that President Donald Trump is seeking a peaceful transfer of the island from Denmark | Secretary of State Marco Rubio told US lawmakers that President Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland from Denmark rather than take the Arctic island by military means, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. ● Rubio reportedly made the remarks during a briefing after top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer asked whether Trump was planning to use the military in places like Greenland and Mexico. ● Trump, who initially voiced his intent to acquire Greenland during his first term in office, has linked ownership of the strategically located island to national security and competition with Russian and Chinese navies. [...] European NATO members released a statement on Tuesday backing Denmark and affirming Greenland as its self-governing territory. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed that no NATO member “should attack or threaten” another member, and that an armed conflict between the US and Denmark would render the alliance pointless.

■ Europe issues statement on Trump’s Greenland claim (RT)
■ Macron, Starmer, Meloni, and Tusk issue a joint statement on Greenland (governo.it)

Moon of Alabama | International law, developed over centuries, has been broken by the U.S. and other imperial forces ever since it was established. | He does not even try to justify his illegal attack on Venezuela with any propaganda. There is no talk of imposing democracy or any other moral justification. It is pure grab of oil – mafia style – with not a damn given about the consequences or how it looks. The indictment of Maduro is just laughable. It is not a legal case any sane jurist would bring. The European wimps have failed to condemn this. That will correctly be interpreted as them being weak which, in consequence, will put them next on the menu. They could send troops to protect Greenland from a U.S. invasion. They won’t. Trump will take it without hesitation. The total lack of moral justification and propaganda to hide blatant breaches of international law has two dangerous consequences.

The United States is demanding that the Venezuelan government renounce cooperation with Russia, China, Iran, and Cuba, the ABC News broadcaster reported, citing sources. | The Trump administration has reportedly told Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez that Caracas must meet White House demands before being allowed to pump more oil, ABC News reported, citing three people familiar with the plan.

■ Trump Declares He Is in Charge of Venezuela's Future (Sputnik)
■ Venezuela to ‘Turn Over’ 30–50 Million Barrels of Oil to US — Trump (Sputnik)
■ Trump dijo que Venezuela entregará entre 30 y 50 millones de barriles de petróleo a EE UU (El Diario)
■ Venezuela Has Vast Oil Reserves in the Orinoco Belt (Lord of War)(Telegram)
■ Beijing strongly condemns Washington's attempts to force Venezuela to sever ties with China and Russia (TASS/Telegram)

Russia welcomes the efforts undertaken by the Venezuelan government to protect state sovereignty and national interests, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. | At the same time, the ministry wished success to interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez in addressing the tasks which the country faces. The ministry also expressed support for de-escalating the crisis in Venezuela and resolving issues by dialogue, and respect for international legal norms, above all, the UN Charter.

🚩 Delcy Rodríguez Sworn in as Venezuela’s Acting President Following US Military Aggression (Orinoco Tribune)
■ Delcy Rodríguez advierte a quienes la "amenacen": "Mi destino no lo decide sino Dios" (El Nacional)
■ EU doesn’t recognize legitimacy of Venezuelan interim president — European Commission (TASS)
💬 Jeffrey D. Sachs: My Briefing to the UN Security Council Regarding US Aggression Against Venezuela (Common Dreams)
💬 US pursues reckless foreign policy - Mearsheimer on Trump's Venezuela grab (Geopolitics Prime)(VIDEO)

Andrew Korybko | Cuban interests would be harmed the most if the US coerces Venezuela to sever economic ties, however, since the sanctions-beleaguered island nation is dependent on its partner’s subsidized oil. | And finally, newly proxy-controlled Venezuela might allow US experts to inspect its estimated $20 billion Soviet/Russian arsenal to discover all of its equipment’s secrets, and some of these arms might even ultimately be sent to Ukraine too. One possibility is the US making this de facto partial demilitarization part of a phased sanctions relief plan for Venezuela. Like with Cuba’s worst-case scenario vis-à-vis Venezuela, it’s also difficult to imagine how Russia could avoid this, so it too might be a fait accompli.

N.S. Lyons | It's Not Hypocrisy, You're Just Powerless (excerpt)

🚩 [I saw] that slick video you posted on how just pointing out “imagine if someone on Team B did this!” is all it takes to blow the lid off this glaring hypocrisy, thus totally destroying Team A with facts and logic. I’ve noticed you posting a lot of things like this, which is nice, since they are very witty and produce a pleasant buzz of smug superiority, even though this feeling never lasts very long. However, I suddenly realized that you may not be in on the joke, so to speak, so I figured I’d write this short PSA to help explain what “hypocrisy” in politics actually is, just in case you didn’t know and had been fooled into seriously trying to benefit Team B with your comparative memes.

🚩 You see, it’s possible you are under the misapprehension that you are not supposed to notice what you described as the “double-standard” in acceptable behavior between Team A and Team B. And that you think if you point out this double-standard, you are foiling the other team’s plot and holding them accountable. This might be because, in your mind, you are still in high school debate club, where if you finger your opponent for having violated the evenly-applied rules a neutral arbiter of acceptable behavior will recognize this unfairness and penalize them with demerits.

🚩 Except in reality you are not holding Team A accountable, and in fact are notably never able to hold them accountable for anything at all. Even though Team A gets to hold you accountable for everything and anything whenever they want. This is because unfortunately there is no neutral arbiter listening to your whining. In fact, currently the only arbiter is Team A, because Team A has consolidated all the power to decide the rules, and to enforce or not enforce those rules as they see fit.

🚩 In fact, there is no “Team A” or “Team B,” only Class A and Class B. And Class A really wants everyone, especially Class B, to understand this, because they think Class B seriously needs to get the message and accept its place in the order of things. Class B is on the bottom, where it belongs. Class A is on top, and a more lenient standard is a privilege reserved for them, by virtue of their natural, moral, educational, economic, aesthetic superiority and consequent rightful dominance. If Class B does not enjoy this discipline, they should strive to clean up their dirty, stupid, wicked ways and someday become part of Class A. [...]