JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
IRANS ON FIRE, CITIZENS DYING AND TRUMP AND ISRAEL READY TO GO AGAINST IRAN.AND GET READY FOR AN IRAN STRIKE ON THEM ALSO.
JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)
38 I will set My throne in Elam,And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lord.
39 ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days:I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”
Ezekiel 32:24
24 There [is] Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
Trump said briefed on military, cyber, psychological options-IDF says it’s on alert for ‘surprise scenarios,’ as US mulls military strikes on Iran-Israel said to believe Trump will make good on threat to attack in support of anti-regime protesters; US president puts 25% tariff on countries doing business with Tehran By Stav Levaton,Jacob Magid and Agencies 13 January 2026, 4:50 am
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it remained on alert for possible “surprise scenarios” as anti-government unrest in Iran has prompted the United States to threaten intervention over the killing of protesters.Tehran has threatened to retaliate against Israel and US military bases if it comes under American attack.Human rights groups allege the death toll in the country has risen to 648, though it may be much higher amid an internet blackout enforced by the regime since Thursday, making it difficult to assess the reported bloodletting. Some Iranians still have access to the internet via Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, three people inside the country said.IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin urged the public not to “lend a hand to rumors” about the ongoing situation in Iran.“The protests in Iran are an internal matter,” he said in a post on X.He said the IDF is “prepared defensively” and continues to hold regular situational assessments, and that it will provide updates if there are any changes.In June, Israel waged a 12-day war with Iran that began with a sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program. It said the attack was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to build nuclear weapons and destroy the Jewish state.According to the Kan public broadcaster, Israel believes US President Donald Trump will make good on his threat to attack, and that this will lead to another war between Israel and Iran.Former strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer was summoned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join a meeting on Sunday with senior ministers and security officials as the US weighed action, according to Channel 12 news.The network reported that Dermer was consulted due to the potentially fateful decisions that the Trump administration may take vis-à-vis Iran. Dermer, a longtime Netanyahu confidant who resigned from his post in November, had been in charge of overseeing ties with the Trump administration.The network also quoted an unnamed Israeli source warning that Iran’s offer a few days ago to hold talks with the US is “a trap” meant to delay potential American strikes on the Islamic Republic.In his latest attempt to pressure Tehran, Trump announced on Monday that “effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25 percent on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”“This order is final and conclusive,” he wrote on Truth Social.Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates are among economies that do business with Tehran.The White House declined to offer further comment about the president’s tariff announcement.Iran had no direct reaction to Trump’s comments, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.While Trump has avoided explicit talk of regime change, he has threatened military action against Iran if it kills protesters.Trump said Sunday that Iran’s leadership reached out to the US over the weekend, expressing interest in holding nuclear negotiations. The president said he may take up the offer but indicated he may strike Iran first.Trump is slated to hold a security consultation on Tuesday, during which he will be briefed on potential actions to take against Iran. He is said to lean in favor of a military strike, while also remaining open to a diplomatic solution.The president has expressed support for the protesters and has pledged that “help” is on the way, without elaborating.The Pentagon has briefed Trump on possible military strikes, cyberattacks, and psychological measures that can be taken to support the protesters, CBS News reported, citing two American officials, who said that a final decision has not yet been made.The US Department of State Consular Affairs has highlighted the escalating protests and said US citizens in Iran should consider leaving by land to Armenia or Turkey.“US nationals are at significant risk of questioning, arrest, and detention in Iran,” the department said on its TravelGov account on X.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran earlier on Monday, insisted “the situation has come under total control,” in remarks that blamed Israel and the US for the violence, without offering evidence.“That’s why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene,” Araghchi said, in comments carried by Al Jazeera. The Qatar-funded network has been allowed to report live from inside Iran, despite the internet being shut off.Araghchi said Iran was “open to diplomacy,” and Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that a channel to the US remained open, but talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”The demonstrations began on December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at more than 1.4 million to $1, as Iran’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions, in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls calling for the overthrow of Iran’s theocracy.
In first calls to outside world, Iranians describe heavy security and damage-Cellphone users say government offices and some banks were burned; security forces patrolling Tehran streets, many fear possible US attacksBy Agencies 13 January 2026, 2:25 pm
Iranians could call abroad on cellphones Tuesday for the first time since communications were halted during a crackdown on nationwide protests in which government sources said at least 2,000 people have been killed.Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. The witnesses said SMS text messaging still was down and that internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad.The witnesses gave a brief glimpse into life on the streets of the Iranian capital over the four and a half days of being cut off from the world. They described a heavy security presence in central Tehran.Anti-riot police officers wearing helmets and body armor and carrying batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, the witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, who similarly carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces as well.Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, they said. ATMs had been smashed and banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, the witnesses added.Shops were open, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began December 28, was to open Tuesday. A witness described speaking to multiple shopkeepers who said the security forces ordered them to reopen no matter what. Iranian state media had not acknowledged that order.The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.Many remain concerned about a possible military strike by the US, even as President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington.“My customers talk about Trump’s reaction while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,” said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave just his first name out of concerns for his safety. “I don’t expect Trump or any other foreign country cares about the interests of Iranians.”Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests also remain front of mind for many.“People — particularly young ones — are hopeless but they talk about continuing the protests,” he said.Meanwhile, it appeared that security service personnel were searching for Starlink terminals as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in their homes and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.On the streets, people also could be seen challenging plainclothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random.State television also read a statement about mortuary and morgue services being free — a signal some likely charged high fees for the release of bodies amid the crackdown.Iran says it communicated with Washington-Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with US envoy Steve Witkoff.The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.“I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!”Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in anti-regime protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.Trump imposes tariffs on Iran trading partners-Trump announced Monday that countries doing business with Iran will face 25 percent tariffs from the United States. Trump announced the tariffs in a social media posting, saying they would be “effective immediately.”It was action against Iran for the protest crackdown from Trump, who believes exacting tariffs can be a useful tool in prodding friends and foes on the global stage to bend to his will.Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are among economies that do business with Tehran.Trump said Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”Iran, through the country’s parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.Around 2,000 people have been killed in the protests, an Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, blaming “terrorists” for the deaths of civilians and security personnel.More than 10,700 people have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the latest death toll early Tuesday. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information.With the internet down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government hasn’t offered overall casualty figures.
Iranian authorities say some 2,000 people killed in protests, as news trickles out-Opposition-aligned site claims 12,000 killed, far higher than any NGO or state estimates; Tehran defends internet block, as Germany’s Merz predicts regime in ‘last days and weeks’By Agencies and ToI Staff 13 January 2026, 3:17 pm
An Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that about 2,000 people have been killed amid mass demonstrations, blaming “terrorists” for the deaths of civilians and security personnel.The figure came as Western nations and the UN responded to emerging reports of protesters being killed en masse, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz went so far as predicting the Islamic Republic’s demise.The demonstrations across Iran began in late December over an economic crisis, but have come to include mass calls for the fall of the regime.As of Tuesday, estimates of the death toll varied dramatically. The Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it had confirmed 648 people killed during the protests, including nine minors, but warned the death toll was likely much higher — “according to some estimates, more than 6,000.”The Iran International news site, which is based in the UK and is critical of the Islamic Republic, claimed at least 12,000 people have been killed in recent days — far beyond any other report. The site claimed this is the estimate used internally by Iran’s own security authorities.In its report, the opposition website said the killings were “fully organized,” and mostly carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Basij militia, on the direct order of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.Iran International said it compiled and cross-referenced the information from multiple sources, including a source close to the Supreme National Security Council and the Iranian presidential office, as well as sources in the IRGC, witness accounts, and information from medical officials.“This data was examined and verified through multiple stages and in accordance with strict professional standards before being announced,” it said.Iran’s FM: Internet cut amid anti-regime ‘terrorist operations’Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi defended the regime’s move to cut off internet access across the country last week, a blackout that is ongoing.“The government was in dialogue with the protesters. The internet was cut only after we confronted terrorist operations and realized orders were coming from outside the country,” he said.Iran has blamed “America and the Zionist regime,” referring to Israel, for the protests. The US has threatened military intervention, but has also backed the demonstrations as an organic opposition movement and said it favors diplomacy. Israel has similarly endorsed the protests, but otherwise kept a low profile amid the unrest while warning of a possible attack by Iran.On Tuesday, Iranian security forces claimed to have arrested what a state television report described as terrorist groups linked to Israel in the southeastern city of Zahedan.The report, without providing additional details, said the group entered through Iran’s eastern borders and carried US-made guns and explosives that the group had planned to use in assassinations and acts of sabotage.UN denounces ‘horrific violence,’ EU vows more sanctions-International bodies denounced Tehran for its crackdown.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that the EU will “swiftly” propose “further sanctions on those responsible for the repression.”She said the “rising number of casualties in Iran is horrifying. I unequivocally condemn the excessive use of force and continued restriction of freedom.”“We stand with the people of Iran who are bravely marching for their liberty,” von der Leyen wrote.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement read by a spokesman that the “cycle of horrific violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard.”He also voiced concern that the death penalty might be used against thousands of protesters who have been arrested.Responding to the possibility of US intervention, however, spokesman Jeremy Laurence said there is “concern that (the protests) have been instrumentalized, and they shouldn’t be instrumentalized by anyone.”Germany’s Merz: Iran’s regime in its ‘last days and weeks’In the Netherlands, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said he’d summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest against the “excessive” violence.German Chancellor Freidrich Merz, during a visit to India on Tuesday, went a step further, predicting that “we are now witnessing the last days and weeks of this regime.”“When a regime can only maintain power through violence, then it is effectively at its end. The population is now rising up against this regime,” he said.Iran’s leaders have “no legitimacy” as they were not elected by the people and the population is now “rising up,” Merz said, adding: “I hope that there is a way to end this conflict peacefully.”He said Germany was in contact with the United States and other European governments with the aim of ensuring “that there can be a peaceful transition to a democratic government in Iran.”He did not comment on Germany’s trade ties with Iran. Germany maintains limited trade relations with Iran despite significant restrictions, making Berlin Tehran’s most important trading partner in the European Union.US President Donald Trump said on Monday that any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the United States.
Iran has aired some 100 forced confessions by anti-regime protesters, activists say-Tehran ups pace of notorious broadcasts amid unrest, with regular references to Israel and US as supposed proof of foreign plots; activists report that confessions follow torture By Melanie Lidman Today, 1:34 am-JAN 13,26
AP — They are shown handcuffed, their faces blurred. The confession videos, broadcast on Iranian state media, feature dramatic background music interspersed with clips appearing to show protesters attacking security forces. Some showcase gruesome homemade weapons that authorities claim were used in the attacks. Others highlight suspects in grainy security footage, appearing to set fires or destroy property.Iran alleges these confessions, which often include references to Israel or America, are proof of foreign plots behind Iran’s nationwide protests. Activists say they are coerced confessions, long a staple of Iran’s hard-line state television, the only broadcaster in the country. And these videos are coming at an unprecedented clip.Iranian state media has aired at least 97 confessions from protesters, many expressing remorse for their actions, since the protests began on December 28, according to a rights group that is tracking the videos.The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says that based on testimony from prior detainees, the confessions often come after psychological or physical torture — and can have serious consequences, including the death penalty.“These rights violations compound on top of each other and lead to horrible outcomes. This is a pattern that’s been implemented by the regime time and time again,” said Skylar Thompson, the group’s deputy director.Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not return a request for comment from The Associated Press. Iranian officials have described the protests as “riots” orchestrated by the United States and Israel. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said the violence must be foreign-influenced because Iranians would never set mosques on fire.An unprecedented number of confessions over two weeks.The nearly 100 confessions broadcast over just two weeks is unprecedented for Iran, Thompson said.By comparison, from 2010 to 2020, there were around 350 forced confessions broadcast on state media, according to the activist groups Justice for Iran and the International Federation for Human Rights, the last major study compiled by activists. The rights group Together Against the Death Penalty said there were 40 to 60 confessions aired in 2025.Additionally, Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty reported at least 37 televised confessions of people facing the death penalty in the weeks following the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country’s morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of authorities. More than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 detained during the month-long protests and security crackdown, the last major protests in Iran.A 2014 UN Special Rapporteur human rights report on Iran found that among interviews with previously detained individuals, 70 percent said coerced information or confessions were used in their hearings. In nearly half the cases, the trial lasted just a few minutes.After the Amini protests, the European Parliament adopted a resolution in January 2023 strongly condemning “the Islamic Republic’s policy of forcing confessions using torture, intimidation, threats against family members or other forms of duress, and the use of these forced confessions to convict and sentence protesters.”United Nations: Iran executed 975 people in 2024In 2024, Iran executed 975 people, the highest number since 2015, according to a report by the United Nations. Four of the executions were carried out publicly. Iran carries out executions by hanging. According to the UN report, most people in Iran are executed for drug-related offenses or murder.In 2024, security-related offenses, such as espionage, accounted for just 3% of the executions.Thompson said she is “gravely concerned” over a surge in executions connected to the latest protests, adding that many of the video confessions are serious security-related offenses that carry the death penalty.Tehran is known to have executed 12 people for espionage since the 12-day war in June between Israel and Iran. The most recent execution for espionage was last week, when Iran said it executed a man who was accused of spying for Israel’s Mossad spy agency in exchange for cryptocurrency. The state-run IRNA news agency said the man confessed to the spying charges.A long history of coerced confessions-The use of televised, coerced confessions dates to the chaotic years after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. State TV aired confessions by suspected members of communist groups, insurgents, and others. Even Mehdi Bazargan, Iran’s first prime minister after the revolution, warned at one point that he could be detained and put on television, “repeating things like a parrot.”Among coerced confessions that gained international attention was one in 2009 by then-Newsweek correspondent Maziar Bahari, who was also imprisoned for several months. He directed a documentary, “Forced Confessions,” and wrote a memoir about his ordeal.Since the protests began on December 28, 16,700 people have been arrested, and more than 2,000 have been killed, the vast majority protesters, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency. The organization relies on a network of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities.The Iranian government has not released overall casualty figures for the demonstrations. The AP has been unable to independently assess the toll, given that the internet is now blocked in Iran.Even before the protest movement exploded across the country, human rights organizations and Western governments had condemned Iran’s increasing use of capital punishment, particularly for political and espionage-related offenses.Activists argue that many of the convictions rely on coerced confessions and that trials often take place behind closed doors, without access to independent legal representation.
Analysis-Why the massive Iran protests haven’t toppled its clerical establishment-Protests have gone on for weeks, but unless street unrest and foreign pressure can prompt defections at the top, the regime, though weakened, will likely hold, analysts say By Samia Nakhoul 13 January 2026, 11:24 pm
Reuters —Despite Iran’s nationwide protests and years of external pressure, there are as yet no clear signs of fracture in the Islamic Republic’s security elite that could bring an end to one of the world’s most resilient governments.Adding to the stress on Iran’s clerical rulers, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened military action over Tehran’s severe crackdown on the protests, which follow an air war between Israel and Iran last June in which the IDF, joined by US bombers, struck Iran’s nuclear facilities and key officials.Responding to Reuters, a White House official said “all options” were at Trump’s disposal to address the situation in Iran.But unless the street unrest and foreign pressure can prompt defections at the top, the establishment, though weakened, will likely hold, two diplomats, two government sources in the Middle East and two analysts told Reuters.Around 2,000 people have been killed in the protests, an Iranian official told Reuters, blaming people he called terrorists for the deaths of civilians and security personnel. Human rights groups had previously tallied around 600 deaths. Some estimates of the death toll have been far higher.Iran’s layered security architecture, anchored by the Revolutionary Guards and Basij paramilitary force, which together number close to one million people, makes external coercion without internal rupture exceedingly difficult, said Vali Nasr, an Iranian-American academic and expert on regional conflicts and US foreign policy.“For this sort of thing to succeed, you have to have crowds in the streets for a much longer period of time. And you have to have a breakup of the state. Some segments of the state, and particularly the security forces, have to defect,” he said.Iran’s foreign ministry declined to comment.The country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, has survived several past waves of unrest. This is the fifth major uprising since 2009, evidence of resilience and cohesion even as the government confronts a deep, unresolved internal crisis, said Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute.For that to change, protesters would have to generate enough momentum to overcome the state’s entrenched advantages: powerful institutions, a sizeable constituency loyal to the clerical rule, and the geographic and demographic scale of a country of 90 million people, said Alan Eyre, a former US diplomat and Iran expert.Survival, however, does not equal stability, the analysts said. The Islamic Republic is facing one of its gravest challenges since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Sanctions have strangled the economy with no clear path to recovery. Strategically, it is under pressure from Israel and the United States, its nuclear program degraded, its regional “Axis of Resistance” proxies weakened by crippling losses to terror groups and other allies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.For this sort of thing to succeed, you have to have crowds in the streets for a much longer period of time. And you have to have a breakup of the state. Some segments of the state, and particularly the security forces, have to defect.Nasr said that while he didn’t think the Islamic Republic had reached the “moment of fall,” it was “now in a situation of great difficulty going forward.”The protests began on December 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning squarely against clerical rule. Politically, the violent crackdown has further eroded what remained of the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy.What sets this moment apart, and raises the stakes, analysts say, is Trump’s explicit warnings that the killing of demonstrators could trigger an American intervention.On Tuesday, Trump urged protesters to take over institutions and said “help is on its way,” while saying he was cancelling meetings with Iranian officials. Earlier, he threatened tariffs on countries that trade with Iran. China is Tehran’s top trade partner.In a phone call on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran, according to an Israeli source present for the conversation.Trump’s interest in the protests, the analysts said, is likely tactical rather than ideological, Salem said. The aim could be pliability — weakening the state enough to extract concessions such as curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program, he said.The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Trump’s goals in Iran. The White House official said Trump had demonstrated with military operations in Iran and Venezuela last year and this month “that he means what he says.”The idea of a “Venezuela model” has growing appeal in some circles in Washington and Jerusalem, a diplomat and three of the analysts said. It envisions the removal of Iran’s top authority while signaling to the remaining state apparatus: stay in place, provided they cooperate, they said.Applied to Iran, however, it collides with formidable obstacles — a security state entrenched for decades, deep institutional cohesion and a much larger and ethnically complex country.Two regional officials and two of the analysts told Reuters that foreign military action could fracture Iran along ethnic and sectarian lines, particularly in Kurdish and Sunni Baloch regions with histories of resistance.For now, constraints remain. US military assets are stretched elsewhere, though the diplomats said that deployments could shift quickly.David Makovsky at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank, said that if Trump acts, he expects a swift, high-impact action rather than a prolonged campaign – consistent with the president’s preference in recent conflicts for a single decisive action rather than deploying ground troops.“He looks for this one gesture that might be a game changer, but what is it?” said Makovsky.Options range from maritime pressure on Iranian oil shipments to targeted military or cyber strikes, all carrying serious risks.Some measures, all the sources said, could stop short of force, such as restoring internet access via Starlink to help protesters communicate. Some telecommunications access came back on Tuesday.The White House and State Department did not respond to Reuters’ questions about what action, if any, Trump might take.“Trump sometimes uses threats to delay decisions, sometimes to deter adversaries, and sometimes to signal he is actually preparing to intervene,” said Makovsky. “We just don’t know yet which applies here.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Mossad reportedly puts death toll at 5,000-‘Help is on its way’: Trump urges Iranians to keep protesting, seize institutions-US president says he has canceled unspecified meetings with Iranian officials, declines to elaborate on offer of help; Witkoff said to meet with son of deposed shah By ToI Staff, Agencies, Lazar Berman and Jacob Magid-13 January 2026, 11:10 pm
Appearing to depart from the notion of negotiating with the Iranian government, US President Donald Trump told protesters in Iran on Tuesday that “help is on its way” and urged them to keep protesting and take control of the country’s institutions.He added that those who have killed protesters would “pay a big price.”Trump’s remarks, made in a social media post, came after Iranian authorities said some 2,000 people had been killed in the mass demonstrations, though the Mossad was reported to say that the true toll was more than twice as high.Iranian authorities have now insisted that they have regained control of the country. But Trump urged the protests to continue.“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS.”“HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” he added.Two days before publishing that post, Trump had appeared to tack toward negotiations with Iran, saying the regime wanted to talk and that the discussions were “being set up.” Now, the US president was broadcasting ambiguity about what his post means.“You’re going to have to figure that one out. I’m sorry,” he told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question about the post.Later, in a speech in Michigan otherwise focused on the economy, Trump essentially repeated the text of the post, telling protesters to “take over your institutions if possible,” reiterating that meetings with Iranian officials had been canceled, and saying again, without elaborating, that “help is on its way.”“Save the name of the killers and the abusers,” he repeated, “because they’ll pay a very big price.”Talks on the Iranian protests did happen — but not with representatives of Iran’s regime. Axios reported, citing an unnamed senior US official, that White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, over the weekend to discuss the demonstrations.Pahlavi, who lives in exile, has become an increasingly prominent voice in the fragmented Iranian opposition in recent days. He has been encouraging Iranians to take to the streets to oppose the regime. The meeting comes after Trump, last week, had indicated that he did not plan to meet with Pahlavi, saying that he “seems like a nice person,” but that it would not be “appropriate at this point.”“There has been an ascendance of Pahlavi. They are chanting his name in demonstrations in many cities and it seems to be happening organically,” a US official told Axios.Elsewhere, diplomatic engagement was taking place. The European Union summoned Iran’s ambassador in Brussels over the Islamic Republic’s response to the protests, an EU official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity.France, Germany and the United Kingdom also summoned their Iranian ambassadors to protest what French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called “state violence unquestioningly unleashed on peaceful protesters.”Trump’s post came as reports of the death toll from the protests has continued to mount. Other sources have reported far higher numbers than the figure cited by Iran’s authorities. According to an American official quoted by Channel 12 news on Tuesday, the Mossad has conveyed to the US that at least 5,000 Iranians have been killed in the protests.“[Security forces] are deliberately shooting at the head and the eyes. They want to damage the head and the eyes so they can no longer see, the same thing they did in [2022],” a doctor at a Tehran hospital told the Guardian.“Eyes were hit by birdshot pellets and it was deliberate, they are shooting to kill.”Trump lamented the death toll on Tuesday, even as he said its true scope was unclear.“I hear five different sets of numbers,” Trump said in the Michigan speech. “Look, one death is too much, but I hear much lower numbers, and then I hear much higher numbers.”Against that backdrop, Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against anti-government protesters. On Sunday, he told reporters he believed Iran was “starting to cross” that line and has left him and his national security team weighing “very strong options.”On Monday, Trump said he would slap 25% tariffs on countries doing business with Tehran “effective immediately,” but the White House has not provided details on that move.China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Brazil and Russia are among the economies that do business with Tehran.Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and key White House National Security Council officials began meeting Friday to develop options for Trump, ranging from a diplomatic approach to military strikes.Iran, through the country’s parliamentary speaker, has warned that Israel and the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.On Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet for a prescheduled meeting.More than 600 protests have taken place across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported Tuesday. The activist group said 1,850 of the dead were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated. It said more than 16,700 people had been detained.The demonstrations are the biggest Iran has seen in years — protests spurred by the collapse of Iranian currency that have morphed into a larger test of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his repressive rule.The Iranian government on Monday sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies that Khamenei hailed as proof that the protest movement was defeated, calling them a “warning” to the United States.But advocates urging Trump to take strong action against Iran say this moment offers an opportunity to further diminish the theocratic government that’s ruled the country since the Islamic revolution in 1979.Trump also may have hinted at that possibility in his speech.“I say make Iran great again,” he said, in a play on his “MAGA” slogan. “You know, it was a great country until these monsters came in and took it over.”
Israel said to suggest US wait to strike Iran until heat further turned up on regime.
Israeli and Arab officials have suggested the Trump administration hold off on striking Iran for now, believing that the Islamic Republic may not be sufficiently weakened in order for an American attack to topple it, NBC News reports.Citing a US official, an-ex US official briefed on the matter, a person familiar with Israeli leaders’ thinking and two Arab officials, the network says that the Israeli and Arab officials prefer the US wait to strike until the Iranian regime is further stretched.The report says these messages were relayed in talks held the past few days involving US political and military leaders.According to NBC, Israeli officials told their American interlocutors that they strongly support regime change and US efforts to bring it about, but are worried that foreign military action may not be enough.They also reportedly suggested the US act in other ways to destabilize the regime and support the protesters, who could do more to undermine the Islamic Republic until strikes could have a decisive role. Among the actions that NBC says Israel proposed are assisting Iranians get around the communications shutdown, toughening economic sanctions, engaging in a cyberattack or launching targeted strikes against specific senior leaders in Iran that could help spur the regime’s demise.One of the Arab officials quoted in the report says there is a “lack of enthusiasm from the neighborhood” for an American attack on Iran at the moment, while the other is worried that “any attack or escalation by Israel or the US will unite Iranians.”
3hr ago-Iran claims US, Israel to blame for ‘loss of innocent civilian lives’ in deadly protest crackdown By Reuters
Iran is accusing US President Donald Trump of encouraging political destabilization, inciting violence, and threatening the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani writes to the Security Council.“The United States and the Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives, particularly among the youth,” he writes in the letter, which was also sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
3hr ago-Tehran doctors say Iranian security forces intentionally firing at protesters’ eyes and heads
Over 400 eye wounds from gunshots have been documented at a Tehran hospital by an ophthalmologist working there, according to the Guardian.The British newspaper reports that it received three messages from doctors about the conditions in hospitals, which they say have been overwhelmed by demonstrators with gunshot wounds — most of them to the eyes and heads.“[Security forces] are deliberately shooting at the head and the eyes. They want to damage the head and the eyes so they can no longer see, the same thing they did in [2022],” one of the doctors is quoted as saying. According to the doctor, many of the injured had to have their eyes removed and were blinded as a result.“Eyes were hit by birdshot pellets and it was deliberate, they are shooting to kill.”
4hr ago-Senior Khamenei aide speaks with Qatari PM about protests after calling Trump, Netanyahu ‘main killers’ of Iranians-By Agencies
Iranian and Qatari officials speak amid the deadly crackdown in Iran and America’s escalating threats to intervene if protesters are not spared.Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, speaks by phone with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister.In a statement on X, Al Thani says he “reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s backing of all de-scalation efforts, as well as peaceful solutions to enhance security and stability in the region.”Qatar got caught in the crossfire during Israel’s 12-day war in June when the Islamic Republic retaliated on US airstrikes on its nuclear facility by targeting US forces at Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha.Earlier, after Trump’s social media post urging Iranians to “take over” government institutions, Larijani posted on X: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2- Netanyahu.”
4hr ago-Heading into briefing, Trump says he’ll soon have ‘accurate numbers’ on Iran protest death toll-By Jacob Magid
US President Donald Trump says he is about to be briefed on the situation in Iran, during which he is expecting to receive a more accurate figure of protesters killed by the regime.“We’ll get some accurate numbers as to what’s happening with regard to the killing. The killing looks like it’s significant, but we don’t know yet for certain… I’ll know in about 20 minutes,” Trump tells reporters after landing back in Washington after a brief trip to Detroit.“It looks like they’re killing a lot of people, but it has not been confirmed,” he adds.Trump says he knows what the possible responses to Iran’s killing of protesters might be, but has not yet decided on which action the US will take.
5hr ago-Trump threatens ‘very strong action’ if Iran starts hanging protesters-By Agencies and ToI Staff
US President Donald Trump warns of unspecified “very strong action” against Iran if its authorities go ahead with the threatened hanging of some protesters.Trump tells CBS News that the United States would act if Iran began hanging protesters, after Tehran prosecutors said Iranian authorities would press capital charges of “moharebeh,” or “waging war against God,” against some suspects arrested over recent demonstrations.“I haven’t heard about the hanging. If they hang them, you’re going to see some things… We will take very strong action if they do such a thing,” says the American leader, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with military intervention.“When they start killing thousands of people — and now you’re telling me about hanging. We’ll see how that’s going to work out for them,” Trump adds.He also says “no one has been able to give us accurate numbers” on how many demonstrators the Islamic Republic has killed in its crackdown on the unrest.“It looks like it could be a pretty substantial number, and that’s going to be a lot of problems for them,” Trump says. “I’ve heard two numbers, but we’ll see what that is.
US labels Muslim Brotherhood branches in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan as terror organizations-Washington accuses brotherhood branches of collaborating with Hamas and Hezbollah; Egypt, where fundamentalist group was born, praises move against ‘extremist ideology’By Agencies 13 January 2026, 9:04 pm
The United States on Tuesday designated the Egyptian, Lebanese and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as global terrorists, citing in part what it called their support for the Hamas terror group.The move, which Washington formally set in motion last November, will bring sanctions against one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements.The Treasury said it was labeling the three chapters as specially designated global terrorists. It has accused the trio of supporting or encouraging violent terror attacks against Israel and US partners.“Chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood purport to be legitimate civic organizations while, behind the scenes, they explicitly and enthusiastically support terrorist groups like Hamas,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.The designations mean that the United States will block any assets by the Muslim Brotherhood in the world’s largest economy and criminalize transactions with its groups.The move also severely impedes members’ ability to travel to the United States.Egypt’s foreign ministry welcomed the move, describing it as a “crucial step that reflects the gravity of the group and its extremist ideology and what it represents as a direct threat of regional and international security and stability.”Founded in 1928 in Egypt, the pan-Islamist movement once spread across the Arab world, but it has been in retreat as it comes under concerted pressure from major Arab powers.The movement rose to power in its native Egypt democratically through the 2012 election of Mohamed Morsi following the overthrow of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, who had imposed a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood, even though some of its activities were tolerated, including its network of social services.Morsi was deposed in 2013 in a coup by then-military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has since pursued a sweeping crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood.Egypt, as well as US-allied monarchies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have long sought to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood, whose vision calls for the creation of a unified Islamic caliphate.Targeting links with Hamas.The Trump administration designated the groups in part on the basis of their support for Hamas.The Treasury Department said that the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the brotherhood both have coordinated with Hamas, whose massive October 7, 2023, attack on Israel triggered an overwhelming Israeli offensive into Gaza.The State Department said that in Lebanon, the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Muslim movement, had allied itself with the Hezbollah terror group in firing rockets into Israel.The Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood has “pushed for a more formal alignment with the Hizballah-Hamas axis,” the State Department said.The Muslim Brotherhood had gained strength in Jordan, where its political wing is the main opposition party in parliament.In April last year, Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood, ordering confiscation of its assets, after accusing the movement of stockpiling weapons and planning to destabilize the kingdom, which has a peace agreement with Israel.In recent years, US conservatives have also seized upon the Muslim Brotherhood, with some spreading the unfounded conspiracy theory that the organization is infiltrating the US government with a goal of imposing Islamic sharia law.Republican lawmakers have repeatedly sought a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood, hoping to cut off any financing for the movement.The US had held off on the designation in part out of concern about jeopardizing ties with Turkey, whose president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has a deep and longstanding ideological affinity with the Muslim Brotherhood.Trump has a generally positive relationship with Erdogan and has also played down the Turkish leader’s fierce criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre of southern communities.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
”Neo-Nazi convicted of planning to fire explosives at cops during San Diego anti-Trump rally-Messages found by investigators show ex-Navy SEAL Gregory Vandenberg was mad at the president because he believes the US government is controlled by Israel and the Jewish people-By AP Today, 2:15 am
SAN DIEGO — A jury has convicted a former Navy SEAL with neo-Nazi beliefs of transporting fireworks across state lines with plans to shoot explosives at police during last year’s “No Kings” protest in San Diego, federal prosecutors said.Following his conviction on Monday, Gregory Vandenberg was ordered held in custody until his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled. He faces up to 10 years in prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office.During a five-day trial in Albuquerque, New Mexico, prosecutors outlined Vandenberg’s intention to travel from El Paso, Texas, to California to injure law enforcement officers at the June 14 rally.Investigators found messages on his phone indicating he was angry with President Donald Trump because he believed the US government is controlled by Israel and the Jewish people, according to prosecutors. His home screen on his phone displayed a picture of the Taliban flag.FBI agents testified that they found clothing and paraphernalia in Vandenberg’s car with anti-Israel slogans and neo-Nazi symbols, including a flag for the militant group the Caucasian Front and a message in Latin saying “Judea must be destroyed.”Vandenberg, 49, stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico, on June 12 and purchased six large mortar fireworks as well as 72 M-150 firecrackers, which are designed to sound like gunfire. He told the store clerk that he had significant knowledge of explosives and prior special operations forces experience, and he outlined his intentions to harm police at the upcoming demonstration, prosecutors said.Vandenberg, who had no stable employment and lived in his car, urged the clerk to join him, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office. While in the store, he wore a T-shirt with the word “Amalek” on the front, which he said he designed specifically to mean “destroyer of Jews,” the statement said.Store employees wrote down his license plate and contacted authorities. Vandenberg was arrested June 13 while sleeping in his car at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. He told FBI agents he was traveling for work, despite being unemployed, and visiting friends in Phoenix, prosecutors said.Vandenberg was convicted of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California. A phone message was left Tuesday seeking comment from his attorney, Russell Dean Clark.Acting US Attorney Ryan Ellison said in a statement that the verdict shows that the government will prosecute those who intend to use violence to express political beliefs.“People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully,” Ellison said. “What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others. Vandenberg intended to turn explosives into a tool of intimidation.”Asked what is “the end game” in Iran, Trump answers, “the end game is to win. I like winning.”
Palestinian technocrats invited to join transitional Gaza governing committee — sources-Former deputy PA minister to head panel, which will include Gaza Chamber of Commerce head, who tells ToI that he is ‘eager to start work to alleviate suffering of Gazans’By Jacob Magid-Today, 4:24 am-JAN 13,26
Roughly a dozen Palestinians received official invitations on Tuesday to serve on the technocratic committee slated to manage Gaza’s daily affairs in place of Hamas, an Arab diplomat and a Palestinian official told The Times of Israel.The letters were signed by the Board of Peace’s designated high representative, Nikolay Mladenov, two of the technocrats who received the letters said.A Bulgarian diplomat, Mladenov previously served as the UN special envoy to the Middle East and will be tasked with directly overseeing the technocratic committee on behalf of the Board of Peace. He held meetings last week with senior officials in Israel and the Palestinian Authority in preparation for the transition to phase two of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip.Inked in October, phase one saw the start of a fragile ceasefire along with a hostage-prisoner. Phase two is supposed to see the disarmament of Hamas, the completion of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the reconstruction of the Strip and the establishment of the various transitional bodies tasked with running the enclave before it is handed off to a reformed PA.One of those bodies is the Board of Peace, a panel of world leaders headed by Trump that will oversee the Palestinian technocratic committee, formally called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCACG). Washington had aimed to unveil the Board of Peace last month, but that announcement has been delayed as foreign policy priorities have shifted between Gaza, Venezuela and Iran.The US has also struggled to recruit international support for the plan, with the Arab diplomat citing heavy skepticism that Hamas will agree to disarm or that Israel will agree to further withdraw from the Strip and allow for its reconstruction.While the Trump administration had hoped to announce this week the world leaders joining Trump on the Board of Peace, those plans are up in the air, said a senior Arab diplomat.The US informed interlocutors last month that it secured commitments from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany to have their leaders join Trump on the Board of Peace, four officials familiar with the matter revealed at the time.Washington still aims to hold the first meeting of the Board of Peace on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week, the Arab diplomat said on Tuesday.With the invitations sent out to the members of the Palestinian technocratic committee, the public unveiling of the panel could come as soon as Wednesday in Cairo, where several Palestinian factions are already gathered for talks on phase two.Those factions include Hamas, whose team headed by senior leader Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, according to a statement from the terror group.Hamas announced earlier this week that it had instructed its agencies to prepare to rescind power to the US-backed technocratic committee.Notably absent in Cairo were officials from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which had hoped to play a more prominent role in the formation of the technocratic committee.However, Mladenov met with PA Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh last week in Ramallah, days after the latter traveled to Cairo along with PA intel chief Majed Faraj for talks with top Egyptian officials involved in the formation of the technocratic committee.The technocratic committee will be headed by Ali Shaath, who previously served as the PA’s deputy transportation minister, the Arab diplomat and Palestinian official said. Shaath is from Gaza but currently based in the West Bank.Gaza Chamber of Commerce chairman Ayad Abu Ramadan was also among those who received a letter from Mladenov on Tueady. He said he has been asked to serve as the technocratic committee’s commissioner for Economy, Trade and Industry.Abu Ramadan said he is “eager to start working to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza.”Despite The Times of Israel being an Israeli news outlet, Abu Ramadan agreed to speak on the record, a stark contrast from the policy of Gaza’s current Hamas rulers.He said his apartment in Gaza City is one of the few that has not been completely destroyed in the war and that his building is surrounded by tents, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are living.“The people in Gaza are suffering immensely. They are living in inhumane conditions in a big jail,” he continued. “We’re looking forward to ending all of this, to starting recovery and reconstruction and to holding the world to its commitment to peace.”“Now, it’s President Trump’s turn to execute his plan, which we’re ready for and thrilled that it’s finally starting,” Abu Ramadan said before stressing that the “proper environment is needed for reconstruction and recovery” to move ahead.An Arab diplomat said that the US is working to coax Israel to agree to a series of steps that will give an initial boost the technocratic committee’s legitimacy, including the reopening of the Rafah Border Crossing.Israel has pushed back on allowing Palestinians to return to the enclave, arguing that Hamas must first return the body of the last Israeli hostage, Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.The Trump administration told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the latter’s visit to the US late last month that it is committed to both bringing back Gvili and disarming Hamas, but is not prepared to condition the commencement of phase two of its peace plan on either, a US official and two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel last week.Jerusalem has pushed back on proceeding with phase two before Hamas returns Gvili and hands over its weapons.The US has been in talks with mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have assured Washington that Hamas will agree to a gradual disarmament plan that would begin with the terror group giving up its heavy weaponry and the launch of a “buy-back” program for lighter weapons, according to the US official and two Arab diplomats, who said the goal is to begin implementing the program in the coming weeks.It was not clear whether this framework will be sufficient for Israel. Hamas officials have publicly asserted that the organization will only agree to give up its weapons in a negotiated process that results in the establishment of a Palestinian state.
WAY TO GO ISRAEL.THE USELESS UNITED NOTHING NATIONS CAN NOT CONDEMN WHOS NOT IN THE U.N. FOLD NOW U.N. YOU ISRAEL,GOD HATING SCOUNDRELS OF DUNG.TRUMP JUST HAS TO GET OUT OF UN AGENCIES.AND THEY WILL FOLD LIKE AN ACCORDIAN.
Jerusalem severs ties with 7 UN agencies, citing anti-Israel bias-Sa’ar decries UN Women for ignoring sexual violence cases on Oct. 7, slams another agency for wastefulness, will examine ties with further UN organizations By ToI Staff 13 January 2026, 8:59 pm
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Tuesday Israel’s withdrawal from several United Nations agencies and associated organizations for reasons ranging from their alleged anti-Israel bias to “ineffective bureaucracy.”The agencies Israel withdrew from, effective immediately, are the: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women); UN Conference on Trade and Development; UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; UN Alliance of Civilizations; UN Energy; and Global Forum on Migration and Development.In a statement announcing the move, the Foreign Ministry said it was ceasing cooperation with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict after it added the IDF to a “blacklist” in its annual report on children in armed conflict, along with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.“Israel is the only democratic country to be listed, alongside ISIS and Boko Haram,” it noted, adding that Israel already cut ties with the office in June 2024.Similarly, it said, Sa’ar pulled Israel out of UN Women after it “deliberately ignored all cases of sexual violence committed against Israeli women on October 7, 2023.”It cited “virulent anti-Israel reports” as the reason for withdrawing from both the UN Agency for Trade and Development and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, and says the Alliance of Civilizations is “used as a platform for attacks against Israel.”Finally, it accused UN Energy of being a “wasteful organization,” reflective of the “excessive and inefficient bureaucracy of the UN,” and said that the Global Forum on Migration and Development “erodes the ability of sovereign nations to enforce their own immigration laws.”The ministry added that it will continue to examine Israel’s ties with additional UN agencies.Israel has long accused the global body of bias, with more resolutions against Jerusalem annually than against other countries combined.Israel has been particularly critical of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, even before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror assault in southern Israel — accusing the agency of colluding with Hamas and teaching anti-Israel hatred, which UNRWA denies.Israel has already banned UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and has curtailed its activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, based on what it says are its entrenched ties to terror groups.Israel has also provided evidence that UNRWA schools incited hatred of Israel and glorification of attacks against Israelis.Additionally, Israel last year refused to renew visas for the heads of at least three United Nations agencies in Gaza.Under the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service adopted by the UN, staff are advised not to take sides or express their convictions publicly on controversial matters.Last week, US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a total of 66 global organizations and treaties — roughly half affiliated with the United Nations — accusing them of acting “contrary to the interests of the United States.”
