IDF strikes Gaza, Palestinian reports say at least 30 people dead

IDF strikes Gaza, Palestinian reports say at least 30 people dead

TOBIAS HOLCMAN

The IDF struck military infrastructure in Gaza on Saturday, in response to ceasefire violations by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the military said.

"In response to the violation of the ceasefire agreement yesterday (Friday), in which eight terrorists were identified exiting the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah, the IDF and ISA have, thus far, struck four commanders and additional terrorists from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations across the Gaza Strip," the IDF said in a statement.

According to the IDF, the targets of the operation were a weapons storage facility, a weapons manufacturing site, and two launch sites belonging to Hamas in the central Gaza Strip.

"The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip systematically violate international law, brutally exploiting civilian infrastructure and the Gazan population as human shields for terrorist activities," the military added.

The recent airstrikes targeted a Hamas-run police station in Gaza and killed 32 people, according to Hamas-run health authorities cited by Reuters.

Later on Saturday, the IDF announced that struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the Markaba area in southern Lebanon in response to a ceasefire violation.

IDF captures one of Hamas' key commanders remaining in Gaza

The Friday ceasefire violation mentioned by the IDF led to the capture of a key Hamas commander in Gaza, who was trying to flee a tunnel near Rafah.

After striking the area where the eight terrorists were spotted, the IDF performed searches and apprehended one of the fleeing terrorists. He was later identified as a key commander in Hamas’ Eastern Rafah Battalion.

"IDF troops, together with the ISA, continue searches and additional activities in the area in order to locate and eliminate the additional terrorists," the military said.

UN at risk of ‘imminent financial collapse’ – secretary general

UN at risk of ‘imminent financial collapse’ – secretary general

RT

The United Nations is at risk of running out of cash as unpaid dues and funding shortfalls by member states threaten to disrupt key operations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned.

Guterres issued the warning in a letter to all 193 member states this week, as cited by multiple media outlets. He urged either honoring the mandatory payments or overhauling the organization’s financial rules to avoid an “imminent financial collapse.”The secretary-general said the UN faced a financial crisis that was “deepening, threatening program delivery,” with cash potentially running out by July.

The letter described a “double blow” created by a rule that forces the UN to return unspent funds on particular programs to member states, even when contributions were never paid, trapping the organization in what Guterres called a “Kafkaesque cycle.”

Outstanding dues reached a record $1.568 billion at the end of 2025, with collections covering only 76.7% of assessed contributions, leaving the organization dangerously exposed. Unless collections “drastically improve,” the UN will not be able to fully implement its 2026 budget, Guterres said.

The warnings come as US, the world body’s largest contributor, cut voluntary funding to multiple UN programs and slashed aid spending in 2025. President Donald Trump said the move was intended to “end American taxpayer funding and involvement in entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities.” Last week, the US officially withdrew from the UN's World Health Organization

In late December, the US pledged $2 billion for UN humanitarian programs, warning the international organization must “adapt or die.” UN statistics show that total US humanitarian contributions fell to $3.38 billion last year, about 14.8% of the global sum, down sharply from $14.1 billion in 2024 and a peak of $17.2 billion in 2022. Other leading Western donors, including Germany and the UK, also reduced assistance as they shifted resources to military spending, creating a severe funding crunch.

Putin Envoy Dmitriev Back In Miami For Talks, Which Seem To Be Going Nowhere

Putin Envoy Dmitriev Back In Miami For Talks, Which Seem To Be Going Nowhere

 TYLER DURDEN

President Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev has arrived in Miami this weekend where he held another round of talks with an American delegation. The discussions started early Saturday morning, after Dmitriev confirmed his arrival, writing on social media simply, "Back in Miami".

The talks follow a round of meetings held on January 23-24 in Abu Dhabi involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia. Media reports said those discussions produced "progress" on military-related issues, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky describing them as constructive. But were they really?

Apart from such expressions of limited optimism, there's been no serious advancement of peace in any tangible or measurable way, and on issues which matter as 'red lines' to either side.

For example, territorial concessions are still a sticking point for Moscow, but Ukraine and its Western backers have not budged their position on this.

Axios has meanwhile reported that the trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates are expected to continue on Sunday, adding that meetings in Abu Dhabi also included a bilateral Ukraine-Russia format conducted without US participation.

The fact that the warring sides actually have representatives sitting across the table from one another can itself be seen as progress in some sense.

Meanwhile, according to some recent analysis in The Washington Post which furthers the theme that Trump has actually seeking to wash his hands of the Ukraine conflict and its mediation:

President Donald Trump “sometimes talks as if he agrees with Vladimir Putin that Russian victory in this bloodbath [in Ukraine] is inevitable,” according to David Ignatius’s column in The Washington Post. However, Ignatius’ conversations in Kyiv with Ukraine’s senior officials convinced him that “this bleak picture is misleading.”

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Russian Warriors Smash Ukrainian Reserves Heading Towards Liberated Petrovka in Zaporozhye

Ukraine hit by nationwide blackouts (VIDEOS)

The Infernal Machine Of A Sponsored Revolution

The Infernal Machine Of A Sponsored Revolution

James Howard Kunstler

It has come into focus now and you no longer need to be perplexed, mystified, bewildered, or bamboozled by events unspooling in Minneapolis and other hotspots of Woke-Marxist-Jacobin delirium. You are seeing the infernal machine of a sponsored revolution. Its parts are visible. They can be named and clearly understood. I will tell you how this works.

You realize, of course, that there has been an ongoing effort by players outside the USA to destroy Western Civ. This is too obvious to be denied. It is coming from several different places. First, China, because China has sprung from a sink of immiseration to become an industrial behemoth in a mere forty years and sees itself as the next global hegemon. Neville Roy Singham, the wealthy American ex-pat living in Shanghai, exposed all over the Internet this past week, is fronting for the CCP with his web of NGOs that just now underwrite the Lefty-left rage-riots around our country, surely subsidized with extra money from his China handlers.

China sent countless thousands of its soldiers surreptitiously across the border during the “Joe Biden” years along with the UN’s millions-footed riffraff. They have yet to be activated, shall we say, in whatever mischief China has planned. That’s on top of all the college students China has seeded all over the US, and the babies hatched here, given US passports, and withdrawn back to China. It’s simple: they want North America and they have a long game-plan to get it. Resources. Food.

Then there’s the Globalist cabal made up of the WEF megalomaniacs, the buffoonish but sinister EU bureaucracy, and — surprise — the sticky residue of the British Empire’s managerial class, believe it or not. This cabal is George & Alex Soros’s platform for their Open Society and Atlantic Council shenanigans and all the NGOs they spawn. Altogether, the WEF-Globalist’s mojo is fading fast since Mr. Trump went to Davos this month and tossed a few grenades into the audience. Plus, of course, Germany, France, and the UK are going dark, both energy-wise and demographically. Doesn’t help.

Then there is less-well-known São Paulo Forum, founded in 1990 by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president today, back then a mere activist, and the late Fidel Castro. This outfit lurked in the deep background until recently when Mr. Trump plucked one of its components off the game-board: Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The São Paulo Forum created the permission structure for the Western Hemisphere’s drug and trafficking cartels to thrive in. Both enterprises do immense harm to the USA, first with fentanyl deaths and then with all the second-order effects of illegal immigration — especially of criminals and the insane. It’s all too obvious to belabor.

Who is not in the Destroy Western Civ mix? Another surprise: Russia — apart from the usual boilerplate security apparatus that any major nation must maintain. In case you missed it, Russia is no longer communist. Didn’t work out for them. No, this will probably shock you, but Russia is actually doing what it can to preserve Western Civ, including Christianity, literature, music, philosophy, and domestic civility. They’re in Ukraine because of “Joe Biden.” Here is not the place to adumbrate that topic, so I will leave it for now.

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Iranian opposition channels have confirmed up to 9 explosions in 6-7 different cities and districts. Unofficial reports claim upwards of 14 separate explosions within the space of 90 minutes.

Iranian opposition channels have confirmed up to 9 explosions in 6-7 different cities and districts. Unofficial reports claim upwards of 14 separate explosions within the space of 90 minutes

Explosion in the Beating Heart of Surveillance: Fall of the "Sea Eye" in Bandar Abbas In a shocking and dramatic scenario, reports indicate a massive explosion in one of the most vital and secretive monitoring centers of the armed forces in the strategic region of Bandar Abbas; a center that was known as the "Vigilant Eye" for controlling maritime traffic and monitoring the sensitive islands of the region. And in the end: Islands on the Edge of the Abyss Without the Bandar Abbas monitoring center, the Persian Gulf islands are like soldiers abandoned in pitch darkness. This situation has shattered the "mosaic defense," leaving each island alone against advanced threats; a condition that in military terms is called "absolute defenselessness against coordinated invasion." -

@Rfrenss

Saudi warning on Iran: If Trump does not strike, the regime will grow stronger

Saudi warning on Iran: If Trump does not strike, the regime will grow stronger

Lior Ben Ari

In a closed-door meeting held last night in Washington, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman warned that at this stage, if U.S. President Donald Trump does not follow through on his threats and strike Iran, “the ayatollah regime will only grow stronger.” The remarks were reported by Axios on Friday morning, citing four sources who attended the meeting.

According to the sources, bin Salman stressed that after Trump’s repeated threats, he would ultimately be forced to take military action, while also seeking to reduce the risk of regional escalation.

The meeting, which lasted about an hour, included some 15 Middle East experts from research institutes and representatives of five Jewish organizations. Two sources said the Saudi defense minister conveyed a similar message in his meetings at the White House a day earlier. At the same time, he said during the gathering that he does not know what the Trump administration’s current strategy or intentions toward Iran are.

During those White House meetings, bin Salman met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. A source familiar with the details said the main focus of the discussions was the possibility of a US strike on Iran.

Earlier on Friday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called to “listen to peaceful protesters,” but accused “those who want to ride the wave of protests to divide the country and incite unrest.” He said, “We are committed to walking the path of justice and standing like a wall against those lying in wait for the Iranian people, from within the country and from outside.”

Trump, for his part, said Friday night that the Islamic Republic wants a deal. “I can say this, they do want to make a deal. I hope it happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House, while warning, “If there is no deal, we’ll see what happens.” When asked whether Tehran has a deadline to reach an agreement, he replied, “Only they know for sure. I’ve delivered the message to them.”

Meanwhile, the opposition-linked news outlet Iran International reported Friday morning, citing a Western source who attended meetings between American and Israeli officials, that the emerging assessment is that a US strike against Iran is expected to take place soon.

According to the source, the question is not whether a strike will occur, but when. “The decision has been made, and now they are waiting for a suitable operational opportunity, which could arise within days, or possibly weeks,” the source said.

The source added that unlike in the past, the goal of the strike this time is not to reach a new agreement with Iran, but to severely weaken the regime to the point of collapse. To that end, he said, a fundamentally different type of attack is being planned, in scope and intensity that Iran has never experienced before. “This time, it will be an unprecedented attack,” he said.

He added that during the exchanges of fire in the “12-day war,” Israel and the United States avoided taking significant risks, but “now the picture has changed.” In his assessment, Washington and Jerusalem see the current situation as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and there is therefore a willingness to take far greater risks.

If Israel joins the move, the source said, and there are existing plans for such involvement, the scale and intensity of the attack would be far broader.

Live updates: Arrests made as protesters clash with officers in DTLA after 'ICE Out' protest

Live updates: Arrests made as protesters clash with officers in DTLA after 'ICE Out' protest

Thousands of people converged in downtown Los Angeles on Friday afternoon as part of a national day of action protesting ongoing federal immigration operations.

After a day of peaceful protesting, at nightfall, demonstrators clashed with Los Angeles police once officers declared the assembly unlawful.

AIR7 was overhead as a group of protesters began targeting federal agents guarding the loading dock of the federal detention center. The crowd threw trash and debris toward the shielded agent, video shows. The agents fired back with pepper balls and irritant sprays.

Police officers in tactical gear formed a line, pushing protesters away from the federal building, which holds ICE detainees.

The day of action wasn't just in Southern California -- protesters marched nationwide on Friday, demanding an end to ICE operations in their communities. Many demonstrators' signs showed the names of people killed by federal officers.

The protests were part of the national "ICE Out" rally. Organizers of the movement are demanding that federal immigration agents leave their neighborhoods. The day of action also called for a "national strike," asking people to keep their children home from school, stay home from work and not buy anything.

Mayor Karen Bass urged people to peacefully protest and not vandalize property.

"That just hurts the city. That does not impact the administration in any kind of way that is going to bring about any type of change," Bass said.

Bass said up to five people had been taken into custody. According to LAFD, one person was specifically arrested for allegedly using a slingshot to shoot hard metal objects at officers.

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'Europe is fanning the flames, made a major strategic mistake,' Iran threatens after EU sanctions

'Europe is fanning the flames, made a major strategic mistake,' Iran threatens after EU sanctions against IRGC

Itamar Vishenko / KAN 11

European Union ministers agreed on Thursday to add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the bloc’s list of terrorist organizations, two diplomatic sources told Reuters. 

The decisive measure follows the widespread killing of civilians during a wave of protests in Iran. 

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Vice President Kaja Kallas said in an official statement: “Repression cannot go unanswered. EU Foreign Ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation. Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise.”

At a press conference on the subject, Kallas said, “The EU already has sweeping sanctions in place, and today, ministers agreed to designate Iran Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. 

This will put them on the same footing with ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda. (...) Ministers also imposed sanctions on those responsible for the brutal crackdown on protests, including the Minister of Interior. (...) Beyond this, ministers adopted new sanctions on those involved in Iran's support to Russia in the war.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the sanctions: “Several countries are presently attempting to avert the eruption of all-out war in our region. None of them are European. Europe is instead busy fanning the flames. After pursuing 'snapback' at the behest of the U.S., it is now making another major strategic mistake by designating our National Military as a supposed ‘terrorist organization.’” 

Araghchi accused Europe of “taking zero action in response to Israel's genocide in Gaza,” while rushing to defend human rights in Iran. According to him, Europe would be massively impacted by war in the region, including by surging energy prices.

In response to the decision, the IRCG stated, “The irrational, irresponsible and hateful action of the European Union has undoubtedly been taken in unquestioning obedience to the hegemonic and inhumane policies of the United States and the Zionist regime. It reflects the depth of hostility and resentment of the leaders of this group towards the noble nation of Iran, the armed forces, and the security and independence of the powerful country of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The IRGC also said the decision was made under pressure from the “delusional” U.S. President Donald Trump and the “terrorist and child-killing” Zionist regime, calling it a blatant violation of international laws and regulations, the Charter of the United Nations, and the fundamental principles of respect for national sovereignty of states.

The New York Times reported this week that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered the Supreme National Security Council on Jan. 9 to suppress the Iranian protests “by any means necessary.” Senior Iranian officials said security forces were ordered “to shoot to kill” and to show no mercy.

Putin receives Iran’s top security official Larijani at Kremlin

Putin receives Iran’s top security official Larijani at Kremlin

MEM

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday received Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, at the Kremlin, the presidential spokesman said, Anadolu reports.

Dmitry Peskov said the meeting took place during Larijani’s visit to Russia, without providing further details.

US President Donald Trump has urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear program. On Friday, he again spoke about US warships heading towards Iran, claiming they form a much larger “armada” than the fleet sent before the attack on Venezuela earlier this month that captured President Nicolas Maduro.

Israel could strike Iran before US, says retired IDF general

Israel could strike Iran before US, says retired IDF general

World Israel News Staff

Israel may strike Iran before the United States, a retired senior Israeli military officer said this week, warning that Iranian proxy forces will likely be used to attack Israel from multiple fronts if and when a war does break out between Israel and Iran.

On Wednesday, Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi, the head of the Habithonistim security advocacy group, took part in a conference hosted by the Israel Hayom newspaper on the future of northern Israel.

During the conference, Avivi said that while media attention has focused on the possibility of a war sparked by an American attack on Iran, Israel could also deliver the first blow.

“There could be a preemptive Iranian strike. We see the government and the security brass warning Iran,” Avivi said. “It is possible that we will launch an attack before the Americans do.”

Israel, he continued, is concerned by Iranian efforts to rebuild its proxy forces, including Hezbollah,  and may strike if it feels that time is on Iran’s side.

In the event that war breaks out in the region, either as a result of strikes by Israel, the United States, or as due to an Iranian attack, Israel will likely face another multi-front conflict,” Avivi added.

“Iran is moving its proxies to ensure they do not face us alone. We hear in the discourse that they are weighing this option. Therefore, the probability of a major attack in Iran coinciding with fire from additional sectors is very high. The IDF is not attacking in Lebanon constantly for no reason.”

However, should war break out and Hezbollah join in against Israel, the IDF will respond with overwhelming force “until they collapse,” Avivi claimed.

It's Started: Oxford Imposing '15-Minute City' Driving Limits

It's Started: Oxford Imposing '15-Minute City' Driving Limits With Fines For Going Outside Your Zone

David Strom

Remember when we were warning you that "15-Minute Cities" were not just about ensuring that you CAN live in a nice, walkable, and convenient city, but rather that they were about restricting mobility and controlling where you are able to go?

Naah, we were told, that is conspiracy theory thinking. Next you will tell us that the elite wants us to "own nothing and be happy," just like the communists promised. 

Well, sorry to tell you this, but we were right. Again. 

The idea will see a person being able to access amenities within a quarter of an hour, but could result in traffic restrictions for drivers 

Remember, as bad as this is, it is just the beginning. I've been watching the creeping destruction of mobility here in the US, where first there were bike lanes taking away parking, then taking entire lanes of traffic, then proposals to close throughways and make them two-lane "walkable" streets, and we even had a proposal to close down the Interstate connection between Minneapolis and St Paul (so far, that has yet to move forward after people screamed bloody murder)

Oxford, that happy little berg hosting the eponymous university, is rolling out its 15-minute city plan, and it sure is a nice start to the movement. 

Labour has approved a rollout of “Stalinist” 15-minute cities across the UK, The Telegraph can reveal.

Ministers have said that they will allow councils to use driver licence databases to impose fines on drivers who fall foul of “traffic filters”, which restrict driving in certain areas.

The controls on motorists, which are to be implemented for the first time in Oxford city centre later this year, have been described as “perverse” by motor groups.

The 15-minute city is based on the idea that a person can access amenities within a quarter of an hour by walking or cycling. In some cases, this could result in traffic restrictions being brought in for drivers.

What sort of restrictions? After all, I thought this was about making it easier for people to get access to the goods and services they need without long drives. 

Under the scheme, drivers would need a residents’ permit that allows 100 days of free travel per year through six traffic filters during operating hours.

Greg Smith, shadow transport minister, said: “This is the blueprint for a national rollout. Labour has given the green light for draconian councils like Oxfordshire to police how people live, move and drive, using cameras and fines backed by DVLA data.

“Oxford is the test case, but this is Labour’s blueprint for the country.”

Yes, you read that one right. One permit you must apply for is for "100 days free travel," and another for 25 days through another set of roads. 

Break the rules to drive more, and you get punished. 

"Stalinist" is a bit hyperbolic, for the moment, since the punishments are fines (although presumably failure to pay could land you in jail, I suppose), but this is just the opening bid. How long until the access will be gated? How long until complaining online will get you a visit from the police, as happens all day, every day for similar offenses?

Oxford just capped how often residents are allowed to drive. You now get 100 free days per year passing through camera-controlled zones. Go over → automatic fines from the county council.

Expanded areas? As few as 25 days a year. This isn’t a one-off. It’s a preview. Under C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group planning targets: • Meat: ~16 kg per person per year, with the long-term goal trending to zero • Flights by 2030: 0–1 short-haul flights per person per year • Cars: sharply reduced private vehicle use inside cities Officials call it sustainability. Critics call it managed movement and consumption becoming policy. At the same time: • Multiple U.S. cities are studying similar traffic-restriction models • A Gates-backed smart city is already building core infrastructure in Arizona (full build still years out) Climate progress… or hunger games?

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In The ‘Death Throes’ Phase of a Wildly Mismanaged Debt-Based Fiat Money Regime

We’re in the ‘Death Throes’ Phase of a Wildly Mismanaged Debt-Based Fiat Money Regime

Chris Martenson

Silver and gold received big paper smashes yesterday and last night. Over the decades the LBMA and COMEX have proven that they are incapable of running a free and fair market. The past 24 hours are merely a continuation of those ‘practices.’

So, I think it’s a shame when financial markets ruin themselves, because they are vital to living in a prosperous country and times.

But it’s worse than shenanigans with the PMs. The same games have led to copper being badly underpriced and we’re due for a mega shortage there too.

Stocks? Also heavily manipulated, by which I mean their prices are set rather than discovered. Oh, and we really have no idea how much naked shorting goes on there either, thanks to gross regulatory failures.

But are they? What if the plan all along has been to wreck the smaller PM dealers by throwing unsurvivable volatility at them? What if the plan is to set the larger financial markets up for the sort of failure that triggers The Great Taking?

What if the plan, all along, was the concentration of everything into the hands of the few?

“You’ll own nothing (and be happy).”

Did you ever wonder exactly how that was going to come about? Well, wonder no more, you are witnessing it unfold in real time in these entirely fake, contrived, rigged and fraudulent “”markets.””

Well, guess what? Reality is coming at us fast, and real things now have options. China has become the place where true silver physical price discovery is being set, and that means the entirely fraudulent US/London paper markets are becoming irrelevant, quickly.

The massive gap between the paper price (NY) and the physical price (China) tells all. Such a thing cannot persist in a real, not fake, market.

Hang on. We’re in the ‘death throes’ phase of a wildly mismanaged debt-based fiat money regime.

U.S. Military Tells Key Middle East Ally to Prepare for Attack on Iran

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Military Tells Key Middle East Ally to Prepare for Attack on Iran

Drop Site News

Senior U.S. military officials have informed the leadership of a key U.S. ally in the Middle East that President Donald Trump could authorize a U.S. attack on Iran this weekend, multiple sources have confirmed to Drop Site News. Strikes could commence as early as Sunday, the ally was informed, if the U.S. decides to move forward.

“This isn’t about the nukes or the missile program. This is about regime change,” said a former senior U.S. intelligence official who consults for Arab governments and is an informal advisor to the Trump administration on Middle East policy. He told Drop Site that U.S. war planners envision attacks that target nuclear, ballistic, and other military sites around Iran, but will also aim to decapitate the Iranian government, and in particular the leadership and capabilities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian armed forces created after the country’s 1979 revolution whose leadership now plays a major role in the country’s politics and economy.

The thinking in the Trump administration, according to the source, is that a successful strike on Iranian leadership would be followed by Iranians returning to the streets to protest, leading to the overthrow of the government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is hoping for an attack,” the former senior intelligence official said, “and assuring Trump that Israel can help put in place a new government that is friendly with the West.”

Two senior Arab intelligence officials told Drop Site that they received word a U.S. attack could come “imminently.”

The U.S. briefing of the key Arab ally comes as regional countries are feverishly engaged in last-minute efforts to mediate talks between the U.S. and Iran to avert war. On Friday, Iran’s foreign minister met with Turkish leaders to push forward a possible diplomatic resolution. Regional countries have been engaged in attempts to establish a format for backchannel talks, including a trilateral meeting involving Iranian, American, and Turkish leaders, aimed at forestalling an expected attack.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ruled out the use of its airspace for a potential U.S. attack on Iran in a phone call between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the Saudi state news agency SPA. The United Arab Emirates also said on Monday it would not allow its airspace or territorial waters to be used in any military action against Iran.

U.S. Central Command declined to comment for this report. The White House referred Drop Site to Trump’s comments on Friday in the Oval Office, where he said that the U.S. has a “large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading towards Iran right now,” while declining to confirm whether Iran had received a deadline to conclude an agreement to avoid a war.

“If such a miscalculation is made by the Americans, it will certainly not unfold the way [U.S. President Donald] Trump imagines—carrying out a quick operation and then, two hours later, tweeting that the operation is over,” said Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, Iran’s military spokesperson, in an interview on Iranian TV on Thursday. “The scope of war will certainly extend across the entire region,” he added. “From the Zionist regime to countries that host American military bases, all will be within range of our missiles and drones.”

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Trump says US would 'prefer not to' attack Iran as new destroyer anchors in Eilat

Trump says US would 'prefer not to' attack Iran as new destroyer anchors in Eilat

JAMES GENN, REUTERS

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he planned to speak with Iran, even as the US dispatched another warship to the Middle East and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the military would be ready to carry out whatever the president decided.

Speaking to reporters, Trump did not elaborate on the nature or timing of any dialogue or say who from Washington would lead the negotiations.

"I am planning on it, yeah," Trump said when asked about possible discussions with Tehran. "We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them," Trump told reporters Thursday at the Kennedy Center.

Trump was attending the premiere of the "Melania" movie when he made the comments.

His statement follows a new US naval destroyer entering the Middle East, according to what a US official told Reuters on Thursday, as Iranian officials prepare for military confrontation with the US.

The USS Delbert D. Black entered the region sometime in the past 48 hours, bringing the number of destroyers in the Middle East to six, along with an aircraft carrier and three other littoral combat ships.

The destroyer anchored on Friday at the Port of Eilat. The IDF claimed that the ship's arrival was due to routine operations which had been planned beforehand, as part of the cooperation between the US military and the IDF.

The IRGC received a batch of 1,000 new drones while Iran prepares for a military confrontation, as Tehran believes that coming to an agreement that meets demands put forth by the US would be more costly than war, informed sources in Tehran told the Hezbollah-aligned Al-Akhbar on Thursday.

Trump stated that he had held talks with Iran in "recent days," Israel's public broadcaster KAN News reported on Friday morning.

"I have had talks with them, and I intend to hold talks," Trump was cited as saying.

"I told the Iranians two things - no nukes, and stop killing the protesters. They will have to do something," he affirmed.

The New York Times reported that Trump was weighing multiple options for military action against Iran, though his preference is to strike the Iranian leaders who threatened him personally. These included sending commando units to Iranian nuclear sites which had not already been destroyed, or launching attacks against Iran's military and leadership in order to cause upheaval, leaving a path for a new regime to take over.

The report also stated that Israel is pushing the US to join it in a widespread attack on Iranian ballistic missile capabilities.

The US's Middle East partners, including Turkey, Oman, and Qatar, are urging the Trump administration to divert from military options for strikes on Iran towards the possibility of brokering diplomatic talks, several regional officials told CBS News on Thursday.

The opportunity for direct diplomacy to discuss Tehran's nuclear program and ballistic missile capacity "has not gained traction," according to three regional officials who spoke to the outlet anonymously in order to talk freely.

Citi expects the US and Israel to take limited actions against Iran in the near term that avoid an escalatory response to push the country into a deal over its nuclear program, the bank said in a note on Thursday.

The smaller steps likely include limited US military actions and oil tanker seizures that are expected to keep the risk premium in oil markets elevated, especially over concerns Iran would shut the key Strait of Hormuz transit point, the bank said.

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160 Christians kidnapped while in churches in Nigeria

160 Christians kidnapped while in churches in Nigeria

Sam Jones

Armed terrorists stormed three churches in Kaduna State, Nigeria, on Sunday morning, Jan. 18, and abducted at least 160 Christian worshipers in the middle of their services.

They were taken during worship services, marched into nearby forests, and forced toward known terrorist enclaves.  And none of this should have surprised anyone.

One week earlier, TruthNigeria issued a terror alert warning that the Kurmin Wali corridor was facing imminent danger. The area lies within miles of established hostage camps long operated by Fulani Ethnic Militia and allied terrorist groups — camps that have held hundreds of captives for years, documented through survivor testimony, video interviews, and geolocation data.

The threat was known. The terrain was mapped. The pattern was established.

And yet, when armed Fulani Ethnic Militia walked into three churches and carried out one of the largest mass church abductions in Kaduna’s history, the government did not respond with urgency.  It responded with denial.

For two days, local authorities denied that any mass kidnapping had occurred at all. While families searched for loved ones, officials rejected the reports outright. Only after TruthNigeria published detailed documentation of the attack did the government abandon its denial and acknowledge that the abductions had taken place.

That sequence matters because this was not an unforeseeable tragedy.  There was warning of the attacks in a documented terror corridor near permanent hostage camps. And when it happened, the first instinct of the state was not protection — it was suppression.

This is not merely failure; It is a pattern.

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No Deal With Iran - An Apocalyptic “Regime Change War” Appears To Be Imminent

No Deal With Iran - An Apocalyptic “Regime Change War” Appears To Be Imminent

Michael Snyder

Over the past week, several nations in the region have tried to act as mediators between the U.S. and Iran…

A number of countries have been attempting in recent days to mediate between the United States and Iran, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The Jerusalem Post.

Among the countries conveying messages are Turkey, Oman, and Qatar. The message these countries have delivered to Iran, according to one of the sources, is: “Act rationally. Give President Trump something so that war can be avoided.”

Unfortunately, all of those efforts have failed.

At this point, the Iranians would rather fight a war than agree to the deal that is being proposed by President Trump…

The foreign ministry official added that the US wants Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, limit its defense capabilities, and recognize Israel.

“This has nothing to do with a balanced agreement; it would mean Iran’s surrender,” the source told the Lebanese outlet.

The official went on to say that Iran remained open to a “balanced” agreement, but would choose armed conflict if one was not given one.

“If forced to choose between the agreement proposed by Trump and war, Iran will choose the latter, considering it less costly, because it will not surrender itself in advance.”

I don’t think that there ever was a chance for any sort of a deal.

So now war is coming, and it is being reported that President Trump wants to see “regime change” in Iran…

Two US sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters that Trump wanted to create conditions for “regime change” after a crackdown crushed a nationwide protest movement earlier this month, killing thousands of people.

To do so, he was looking at options to hit commanders and institutions that Washington holds responsible for the violence, to give protesters the confidence that they could overrun government and security buildings, they said.

One of the US sources said the options being discussed by Trump’s aides also included a much larger strike intended to have a lasting impact, possibly against the nuclear or ballistic missile programs.

There has been a lot of discussion about what type of military strikes President Trump will choose.

But in the end, it really doesn’t matter.

A former member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council named Ali Shamkhani is warning that even a very limited attack on Iran “will be considered the start of a war”…

“A limited [U.S.] strike is an illusion. Any military action by America, of any kind and at any level, will be considered the start of a war, and the response will be immediate, comprehensive, and unprecedented, directed at the aggressor, at the heart of Tel Aviv, and at all who support the aggressor.”

The moment that Iran realizes that it is under attack, it will start responding.

A spokesperson for the Iranian army says that the response “will be delivered instantly”, and he insists that U.S. aircraft carriers have “serious vulnerabilities”…

Iran will deliver an immediate response in case of an attack by the United States, the army spokesman says, warning that US military bases in the region or an aircraft carrier could be targets.

“A decisive response will be delivered instantly,” army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia tells state television after the USS Abraham Lincoln deployed in the region, saying that US aircraft carriers have “serious vulnerabilities” and that numerous American bases are “within the range of our medium-range missiles.”

Another Iranian official is telling us that once Iran starts attacking an aircraft carrier, they won’t stop “until it is finished”…

The Iranians have already deployed several Shahed-149 long-range drones to monitor the USS Abraham Lincoln and the destroyers that are escorting it…

Iran has deployed multiple long-range armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor the U.S. Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group operating in the Gulf of Oman, according to defense and regional intelligence assessments cited by multiple security officials.

The drones identified are Shahed-149 “Gaza” unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Tracking data indicates the aircraft are operating over international waters near Oman, at a distance of more than 700 kilometers from Iran’s southern coastline, placing them well outside Iran’s traditional coastal defense zone.

Once the shooting starts, the Iranians could easily send hundreds of armed drones at the Abraham Lincoln.

The Abraham Lincoln is equipped with sophisticated defenses, but it is simply not able to handle that many targets simultaneously.

In addition, there are unconfirmed reports which indicate that China has given extremely advanced DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles to Iran…

Unconfirmed intelligence reporting circulating among regional security officials and defense analysts indicates that China may have covertly transferred DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles to Iran, a development that, if substantiated, would represent a significant shift in the military balance of the Middle East and the northern Indian Ocean.

Neither Beijing nor Tehran has acknowledged the reports, and U.S. officials have so far declined public comment. However, multiple analysts say the possibility is being treated seriously within Western and regional defense circles due to the strategic implications of the DF-21D system and Iran’s longstanding effort to expand its anti-access capabilities.

Of course the Iranians already have Sunburn anti-ship missiles, and those are quite formidable.

But DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles are capable of traveling at speeds that are absolutely incredible…

In addition to having the USS Abraham Lincoln positioned south of Iran, the USS Theodore Roosevelt is currently in the Red Sea, and the USS George H.W. Bush is now traveling toward the Middle East…

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