MOHAWK STANDARDBREAD HARNESS RACEWAY 2026 - RESULTS AS OF SAT JAN-17, 2026 - DAY-010
MOHAWK PICKS
01-3-8-6-7 4TH WBP (3-1), MSUP-215.05 - 215.05
02-4-1-7-2 MTRI-9.30 - 224.35
03-1-3-7-4 W-7.00, 4TH WBP (9.5) - 231.35
04-6-2-8-1 P-3.60 - 234.95
05-3-5-1-2 W-2.90, P-3.00, SEX-6.90 - 247.75
06-1-5-2-6 W-2.60, 4TH WBP (5-1), DD-4.10 - 254.45
07-3-6-1-5 MTRI-39.55 - 294.00
08-4-2-3-5 4TH (3-1)
09-2-7-4-3 W-6.10, 4TH WBP (15-1) - 300.10
10-1-7-2-4 MEX-12.80 - 312.90
11-2-10-1-9-7 S-2.90, 4TH WBP (6-1) - 315.80
MOHAWKS TONIGHTS TOTAL $315.80 OVERALL TOTAL $2,484.10
STANS PICKS
01-3-2-4-6-7 4TH (3-1)
02-4-1-7-2-5 MTRI-9.30 - 9.30
03-1-2-7-4-5 W-7.00, 4TH WBP (9.5) - 16.30
04-5-1-7-8-10
05-3-5-6-7-2 W-2.90, P-3.00, 4TH WBP (7-1), SEX-6.90, MSUP-33.75 - 62.85
06-1-2-6-3-5 W-2.60, S-2.30, DD-4.10 - 71.85
07-1-6-7-4-3 MEX-25.30 - 97.15
08-2-5-6-4-3 W-21.80, 4TH WBP (1-1), MSUP-251.30 - 370.25
09-2-8-7-6-5 W-6.10, 4TH (7-1), DD-133.70 - 510.05
10-1-4-8-5-7
11-9-10-6-2-7
HI-5 MONEY BEFORE TONIGHT = $45,089.33
STANS TONIGHTS TOTAL $510.05 OVERALL TOTAL $2,317.30
ACTUAL RACE RESULTS
01-7 (3-1)-3 (3-1)-8 (2-1)-6 (3-1)
02-7 (9.5)-4 (1-1)-1 (5-1)-3 (27-1) (6-SCR)
03-1 (5.2)-6 (15-1)-4 (9.5)-8 (35-1)
04-7 (1.5)-2 (7-1)-3 (83-1)-6 (6-1)
05-3 (2.5)-5 (3-1)-7 (7-1)-6 (19-1)
06-1 (1.5)-7 (15-1)-6 (5-1)-2 (17-1)
07-6 (4-1)-1 (6.5)-3 (5.2)-2 (42-1)
08-2 (9-1)-6 (3-1)-4 (1-1)-5 (3-1)
09-2 (2-1)-4 (8-1)-3 (15-1)-6 (7-1)
10-7 (6.5)-1 (2-1)-6 (8-1)-3 (20-1)
11-7 (5.2)-9 (6-1)-1 (3-1)-3 (49-1)-2 (9-1) (4-SCR)
MOHAWK PREDICTIONS)-RECORD 2026
01-035-BIG-$13.30 (JAN 02-10TH) (5-1), $08.90 (JAN 4-9TH) (3-1), $07.30 (JAN 02-7TH) (5.2)
02-021-BIG-$09.10 (JAN 3-5TH) (13-1), $08.40 (JAN 10-7TH) (9-1), $07.30 (JAN 09-9TH) (9-1)
03-018-BIG-$05.30 (JAN 05-6TH) (29-1), $05.20 (JAN 03-10TH) (5-1), $05.00 (JAN 16-2ND) (6-1)
04-013-BIG-31-1 (JAN 12-10TH) 17-1 (JAN 12-9TH), 16-1 (JAN 11-10TH), 13-1 (JAN 11-9TH)
04-041-W B P-BIG-32-1 (JAN 04-11TH), 17-1 (JAN 12-2ND), 17-1 (JAN 11-7TH), 16-1 (JAN 02-8TH)
S EX-010-BIG-$32.50 (JAN 2-10TH)
M EX-005-BIG-$26.20 (JAN 02-12TH)
S TRI-002-BIG-$21.30 (JAN 02-10TH)
M TRI-007-BIG-$117.65 (JAN 12-5TH)
S SUP-001-BIG-$57.75 (JAN 12-10TH)
M SUP-004-BIG-$667.70 (JAN 09-10TH)
DD-1,2-01-BIG-$06.50 (JAN 05-2ND)
DD-2,3-00-BIG-$
DD-3,4-01-BIG-$11.80 (JAN 02-4TH)
DD-4,5-01-BIG-$10.00 (JAN 09-5TH)
DD-5,6-02-BIG-$13.30 (JAN 04-6TH)
DD-6,7-01-BIG-$08.90 JAN 02-7TH)
DD-7,8-01-BIG-$09.00 (JAN 02-8TH)
DD-8,9-02-BIG-$10.90 (JAN 02-9TH)
DD-9,10-02-BIG-$35.10 (JAN 02-10TH)
DD-10,11-00-BIG-$
DD-11,12-00-BIG-$
DD-12,13-00-BIG-$
P3 (1-3)-00-BIG-$
P3 (2-4)-00-BIG-$
P3 (3-5)-00-BIG-$
P3 (4-6)-00-BIG-$
P3 (5-7)-00-BIG-$
P3 (6-8)-01-BIG-$13.45 (JAN 02-8TH)
P3 (7-9)-01-BIG-$07.70 (JAN 02-9TH)
P3 (8-10)-02-BIG-$21.60 (JAN 02-10TH)
P3 (9-11)-00-BIG-$
P3 (10-12)-00-BIG-$
P3 (11-13)-00-BIG-$
P4 (3-6)-00-BIG-$
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$
P4-(8-11)-00-BIG-$
P4 (9-12)-00-BIG-$
P4-(10-13)-00-BIG-$
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$
P5 (6-10)-01-BIG-$160.45 (JAN 02-10TH)
P5-(8-12)-00-BIG-$
P5-(9-13)-00-BIG-$
P6-(4-9)-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-01-BIG-$160.80 (JAN 12-10TH)
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
5-1+ LONG-(04)-40
5-1+ LONG TOT-(12)-144-27.8%
PICK 4 PLACINGS-31-44
OA PICK 4 PLAC TOT-267-432-61.8%
TOTAL RACES-(11)-108
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-04,02-03,03-03-04-02,05-03,06-03,07-03,08-03,09-03,10-02,11-02,12-00,13-00=31-44-OATOT 267-432-61.8%
(STANS PREDICTIONS)-RECORD AT MOHAWK 2026
01-032-BIG-$26.30 (JAN 03-10TH) (12-1), $25.70 (JAN 04-7TH) (11-1), $21.80 (JAN 17-8TH) (9-1)
02-012-BIG-$04.50 (JAN 02-7TH) (9.2), $04.40 (JAN 03-11TH) (7.2), $04.00 (JAN 02-5TH) (5.2)
03-012-BIG-$09.00 (JAN 12-1ST) (10-1), $06.20 (JAN 11-4TH) (5-1), $05.70 (JAN 16-3RD) (10-1)
04-014-BIG-59-1 (JAN 04-11TH), 49-1 (JAN 05-8TH), 33-1 (JAN 10-5TH), 28-1 (JAN 09-11TH)
04-047-W B P-BIG-52-1 (JAN 11-6TH), 30-1 (JAN 11-4TH), 29-1 (JAN 02-9TH), 28-1 (JAN 05-3RD)
S EX-007-BIG-$90.80 (JAN 04-7TH)
M EX-002-BIG-$47.00 (JAN 16-6TH)
S TRI-001-BIG-$21.30 (JAN 02-10TH)
M TRI-004-BIG-$278.30 (JAN 04-6TH)
S SUP-000-BIG-$
M SUP-004-BIG-$523.05 (JAN 02-2ND)
DD-1,2-00-BIG-$
DD-2,3-01-BIG-$11.50 (JAN 02-3RD)
DD-3,4-00-BIG-$
DD-4,5-01-BIG-$10.00 (JAN 09-5TH)
DD-5,6-02-BIG-$09.50 (JAN 12-6TH)
DD-6,7-00-BIG-$
DD-7,8-02-BIG-$78.00 (JAN 04-8TH)
DD-8,9-03-BIG-$133.70 (JAN 17-9TH)
DD-9,10-02-BIG-$35.70 (JAN 02-10TH)
DD-10,11-00-BIG-$
DD-11,12-00-BIG-$
DD-12,13-00-BIG-$
P3 (1-3)-00-BIG-$
P3 (2-4)-00-BIG-$
P3 (3-5)-00-BIG-$
P3 (4-6)-00-BIG-$
P3 (5-7)-00-BIG-$
P3 (6-8)-00-BIG-$
P3 (7-9)-02-BIG-$110.35 (JAN 04-9TH)
P3 (8-10)-02-BIG-$21.60 (JAN 02-10TH)
P3 (9-11)-00-BIG-$
P3 (10-12)-00-BIG-$
P3 (11-13)-00-BIG-$
P4 (3-6)-00-BIG-$
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$
P4-(8-11)-00-BIG-$
P4 (9-12)-00-BIG-$
P4-(10-13)-00-BIG-$
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$
P5 (6-10)-00-BIG-$
P5-(8-12)-00-BIG-$
P5-(9-13)-00-BIG-$
P6-(4-9)-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
5-1+ LONG-(04)-50
5-1+ LONG TOT-(12)-144-34.7%
PICK 4 PLACINGS-25-44
OA PICK 4 PLAC TOT-252-432-58.3%
TOTAL RACES-(11)-108
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-02,02-03,03-02-04-01,05-04,06-03,07-02,08-04,09-02,10-01,11-01,12-00,13-00=25-44-OATOT 252-432-58.3%
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Friday, January 16, 2026
MINNESOTA GOONS,LOONS,BAPHOONS AND ANTIFA, BLACKLIVES MATTER CULTS TO BURN IN HELL FOREVER.
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)
MINNESOTA GOONS,LOONS,BAPHOONS AND ANTIFA, BLACKLIVES MATTER CULTS TO BURN IN HELL FOREVER.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(CAN YOU SAY TORNADOES,HURRICANES,VOLCANOES,EARTH QUAKES,LANDSLIDES,FLASH FLOODING,EXPLOSIONS,SNOW STORMS,THEN FINALLY NUKESAND ANY OTHER JUDGEMENTS THE EARTH CAN VOMIT THE SINNERS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH WITH.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.
Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
WELL THE LAWLESS CULTS IN MINNESOTA ARE BACK AT IT AGAIN.2020 WAS THE SUMMER OF LAWLESS CULTISTS.2026 IS THE WINTER OF LAWLESS CULTS.MINNESOTA AND THEIR BRAIN-DEAD TAMPON TIM, OMAR AND FREY (I CALL HIM FRYED BRAIN-DEAD).THESE REPROBATE LIBERALS WITH TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME THINK THEY CAN STOP TRUMP FROM GETTING RID OF FRAUD SOMALIA MUSLIMS WHOSE RIPED OFF MINNESOTA FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SCAMS. AND LITTLE TIMMY AND LITTLE FREY THINK THEY CAN STOP THE ICE POLICE AGENTS FROM CATCHING ILLEGEL CRIMINALS AND THESE SOMALIA DEATH CULT CRIMINALS FROM CRIMINAL FRAUD.BY ARRESTING THESE ILLEGELS AND SOMALIA MUSLIMS VIKINGS THAT THINK THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO STEAL FROM INNOCENT LEGAL MINNESOTANS. AND THESE ILLEGEL CULTS WILL GET JAILED AND THROWN OUT OF THE COUNTRY. THEN OF COURSE THE LIBERAL PAID PUPPETS OF BIG MONEY LEFT LOONES.HAVE PAID LAWLESS GOONS AND BAPHOONS.ANTIFA,BLACK LIVES MATTER,GANG BANGIN,DRUG DEALIN PIMPS AND SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPER LAWLESS CULTS TO BURN,LOOT,RIOT MINNESOTA AGAIN TO GET RID OF GODS PROTECTING ICE AGENTS FROM DOING THEIR JOBS.BY ARRESTING AND GETTING RID OF THESE LAWLESS ILLEGEL DEATH CULTS.
MINNESOTAS 2020 LAWLESS ACT
https://www.lrl.mn.gov/edocs/edocs?oclcnumber=1205588485
Leftist Lawlessness-Violence and obstruction of law enforcement are not acceptable forms of protest.By James Freeman-Jan. 15, 2026 1:14 pm ET
Whatever one thinks of President Donald Trump or his immigration policy decisions, there is no excuse for obstructing or assaulting federal officers engaged in the lawful performance of their duties. If one does not like federal immigration laws the way to challenge these laws is through free speech, including peaceful protest, and by urging elected officials to amend these laws—not by initiating physical confrontations with federal officers. If one quarrels with an arrest the venue to challenge it is federal court—not a Minneapolis street corner. Some reckless and irresponsible media and political actors seem determined to drag the country back to the violent moral relativism of 2020 which held that leftist protest did not have to remain peaceful. Many promoted the poisonous lie that police forces constitute a threat to public safety. The cost in blood for American cities was high and the experiment must not be repeated.Attorneys Andrew and Katie Cherkasky write in the New York Post:After federal courts in September upheld ICE’s authority to make detentive stops, the opposition didn’t accept the ruling.They escalated, moving from rhetoric to coordinated action.What’s followed, in Minneapolis and elsewhere, no longer looks like civil disobedience, but like a concerted effort to obstruct federal law enforcement through misinformation, agitation and street-level interference…Local leaders like Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey didn’t merely criticize President Trump’s policies.They systematically delegitimized federal authority by portraying ICE’s lawful acts as an invasion — knowing full well that federal immigration enforcement is exclusive, constitutional and mandatory.Their statements ran in parallel with activist messaging, reinforcing the same false claims and producing predictable, dangerous results.
What’s a Liberal to Do? Noah Smith writes on Substack: As the 2000s turned into the 2010s, I noticed that my fellow liberals had stopped using the word “liberal”, and begun to use “progressive” instead. At first I thought this was a defensive response to taunting from Fox News talk show hosts who had made “liberal” a dirty word. As late as 2013, I saw little difference between the values of Barack Obama and the ideals I had grown up with. But beginning in the mid-2010s, I began to understand that my political “side” had evolved beyond the goals and beliefs of the late 20th century…I watched, too, as “progressive” governance hollowed out the great American metropolises whose revitalization had been one of the quiet triumphs of late 20th century liberalism. A small anecdote illustrates this. Recently, a homeless man attacked and blinded an elderly woman in Seattle. Despite dozens of violent arrests, this man had been allowed to live on the streets of the city, attacking passers-by. A cop on the scene told reporters that “He’s a regular…he usually punches.”“He usually punches”??? How has progressive governance allowed the people of America’s greatest cities to live like this? After decades of mass incarceration, a loose alliance of progressive DAs, judges, and anti-police protesters shifted blue cities toward far more permissive policies toward property crime, public drug markets, and low-level assaults and harassment. The progressivism that emerged in the 2010s seems to view anarchy as a form of welfare, believing that the best way to help the poor and unfortunate was to allow the worst and most violent among them to terrorize the rest of them without restraint or reprisal… At this point, a litany of progressivism’s missteps reads like a rant. Progressive education policy, which in my youth focused on directing more resources toward the disadvantaged, now focuses on relentlessly dumbing down curricula and testing standards. Progressive scholars in academia have pushed to replace objective truth-seeking with political activism — something none of the liberal professors I knew growing up would have endorsed. Where the liberal culture I grew up with emphasized tolerance, intellectual argument, and broad-minded discourse, progressive culture in the social media age became strident and shrill — an endless cycle of purity spirals and denunciations whose mix of passion and paranoia would have been familiar to Robespierre.
Monoculturalism at Yale-Jaeha Jang reports for the Yale Daily News:In 2025, Yale professors made 1,099 donations to federal political campaigns and partisan groups reflected in fundraising disclosures. Not one of the recipients was Republican.The News analyzed data from more than 7,000 Federal Election Commission filings from 2025 for which the employer was listed as Yale. Of 1,099 filings that included “professor” in their occupation, 97.6 percent of the donations went to Democrats, while the remaining 2.4 percent went to independent candidates or groups.
Hennen: Lawlessness from the top down in Minnesota-Scott Hennen asks, “Why do Walz and Frey think they’re above the law?”By Scott Hennen-January 10, 2026 at 4:41 AM
Minneapolis has become the national showcase for what happens when politicians spend years undermining the rule of law — and then scream at the people forced to clean up the wreckage.Around 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been dispatched to Minneapolis to deal with the aftermath of four years of the Biden administration allowing criminals to pour across our borders. Instead of backing law enforcement, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have responded with reckless rhetoric directed at federal officers who are doing the job elected leaders refuse to do.And Minneapolis has made it even harder.The city council recently strengthened an ordinance designed to prohibit local resources and employees from aiding federal civil immigration enforcement efforts. City employees are barred from enforcing federal civil immigration laws. They’re discouraged from even asking immigration status except under narrow circumstances. The city limits cooperation with ICE, and the mayor even signed an executive order preventing ICE from using city-owned parking lots. Imagine that: the government actively shielding criminals and obstructing law enforcement — then acting shocked when federal resources are required.That’s why federal officers have surged in recent days — and in that short period, more than 1,500 criminals have been arrested off Minneapolis streets. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said those arrests included “murderers, known and suspected terrorists, child pedophiles, and other brutal criminals” who were being protected by sanctuary policies and political refusal to cooperate with federal enforcement.At far too many scenes, agents are met by mobs of agitators who impede operations, provoke chaos, and place everyone in danger — including themselves.Tragically, this past week it turned deadly.A protester parked her vehicle in the middle of a street to block ICE vehicles. Officers approached and repeatedly ordered her to exit. She refused. Then she drove her vehicle into an officer positioned at the front of the car. An ICE agent fired in defense. She died at the scene.The loss of life is heartbreaking — and preventable. If she follows lawful instructions, she’s alive today. If she doesn’t attempt to flee and run over an officer, she’s alive today.But here’s the familiar pattern: partial videos circulate online, cropped angles that obscure key facts, and within hours the political class chooses narrative over truth. Walz called Noem’s explanation “propaganda.” Frey called it “B.S.” and shouted that ICE should get the “F” out of Minneapolis — without a full investigation and relying on social media clips that didn’t show the officer being hit.Federal law is clear. Under 18 U.S.C. §111 and §1509, it is a crime to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, or interfere with federal officers engaged in official duties.So here’s the question Minnesotans should be asking: Why do Walz and Frey think they’re above the law? At a minimum, their words and policies are opposing and impeding federal law enforcement — while giving cover to thugs who physically obstruct sworn officers doing their jobs. That isn’t leadership. It’s lawlessness from the top down.This insanity must end. Enforce the laws. Stop pouring gas on the fire. And stop pretending that obstructing federal law enforcement is “compassion.” It’s not. It’s chaos — and Minnesotans are paying the price.
January 10, 2026Washington, DCEnforcement and Removal-ICE arrests dozens of criminal illegal aliens convicted of murder, child rape and more in sanctuary state Minnesota-Violent rioters and politicians in Minnesota are actively trying to protect some of the worst criminal offenders in the world. Despite their interference, ICE is focused on getting the job done.
WASHINGTON — While ICE fights to remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota – including child rapists, murderers, and more – violent rioters and agitators are actively trying to protect these vicious criminals by interfering and obstructing ICE operations.Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are encouraging this behavior with their rhetoric of lawlessness, while their sanctuary policies continue to ensure that the worst of the worst criminal illegal alien offenders flock to their state in a vain attempt to escape justice.“Regardless of staged political theatrics, ICE is going to continue to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota and elsewhere,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “Some of these criminal aliens have had final orders of removal for 30 years, but they’ve been free to terrorize Minnesotans. ICE’s arrests prevent recidivism and make communities safer, but it feels like local politicians want to ignore that part and drum up discontent rather than protect their own constituents.”Below are the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens that our brave ICE officers arrested, despite the efforts of rioters and sanctuary politicians to protect them:
Hernan Cortes-Valencia-Hernan Cortes-Valencia, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal dated Dec. 1, 2016, who’s been convicted of sexual assault against a child, sexual assault-carnal abuse and four DUIs.
Sriudorn Phaivan-Sriudorn Phaivan, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from March 8, 2018. He’s been convicted of strongarm sodomy of a boy, strongarm sodomy of a girl, another aggravated sex offense, nine counts of larceny, unauthorized use of a vehicle, four counts of fraud, vehicle theft, two counts of drug possession, obstructing justice, possession of stolen property, receiving stolen property, burglary and check forgery. He also has pending charges for two counts of receiving stolen property, flight to avoid prosecution or confinement and burglary.
Ge Yang-Ge Yang, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from Oct. 16, 2012. He’s been convicted of strongarm rape, strongarm aggravated assault against a family member, aggravated assault with a weapon, an additional sex offense and domestic violence involving strangulation.
Vannaleut Keomany-Vannaleut Keomany, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal dated Dec. 17, 2009. He’s been convicted of two counts of attempting to commit strongarm rape.
Tou Vang-Tou Vang, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal dated Oct. 31, 2006. He’s been convicted of sexual assault and sodomy of a girl under the age of 13 and procuring a child for prostitution.
Chong Vue-Chong Vue, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal dated March 11, 2004. He’s been convicted of strongarm rape of a 12-year-old girl, kidnapping a child with intent to sexually assault her, and vehicle theft.
Kou Lor-Kou Lor, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from Aug. 16, 1996. He’s been convicted of sexual assault, rape, rape with a weapon, statutory rape without force, two counts of burglary and shoplifting.
Pao Choua Xiong-Pao Choua Xiong, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal dated Jan. 10, 2003. He’s been convicted of rape, fondling a child, two counts of domestic violence, burglary, larceny and disorderly conduct.
Gabriel Figueroa Gama-Gabriel Figueroa Gama, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico who was previously removed from the U.S. in 2002 and later convicted of homicide, battery, assault and amphetamine possession.
Abdirashid Adosh Elmi-Abdirashid Adosh Elmi, a criminal illegal alien from Somalia who’s been convicted of homicide.
Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed-Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, a criminal illegal alien from Somalia with a final order of removal dated Feb. 18, 2022. He’s been convicted of two counts of negligent manslaughter with a vehicle, two counts of DUI, larceny and damage to property.
Mongong Kual Maniang Deng-Mongong Kual Maniang Deng, a criminal illegal alien from Sudan who’s been convicted of attempt to commit homicide, weapon possession and DUI.
Aldrin Guerrero Munoz-Aldrin Guerrero Munoz, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico with a final order of removal from Dec. 17, 2015. He’s been convicted of homicide and assault.
Gilberto Salguero Landaverde-Gilberto Salguero Landaverde, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador with a final order of removal dated June 25, 2025. He’s been convicted of three counts of homicide.
Aler Gomez Lucas- Aler Gomez Lucas, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala with a final order of removal dated May 24, 2022. He’s been convicted of negligent homicide with a vehicle and DUI.
Galuak Michael Rotgai-Galuak Michael Rotgai, a criminal illegal alien from Sudan who’s been convicted of homicide and assault.
Shwe Htoo-Shwe Htoo, a criminal illegal alien from Burma who’s been convicted of negligent homicide with a weapon.
Mariama Sia Kanu-Mariama Sia Kanu, a criminal illegal alien from Sierra Leone with a final order of removal from July 5, 2022. She’s been convicted of two counts of homicide, four DUIs, three counts of larceny and burglary.
Thai Lor-Thai Lor, a criminal illegal alien from Laos with a final order of removal from June 15, 2009. He’s been convicted of two counts of homicide.You can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.Learn more about ICE’s public safety mission on X at @ICEgov.Follow Us@ICEgov
January 14, 2026Washington, DCEnforcement and Removal-Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE has arrested members of some of the world’s most dangerous criminal gangs in Sanctuary Minnesota-The criminal illegal aliens — members of criminal gangs like MS-13, Paisas, Oriental Boys, MS-13 and more— have extensive rap sheets that include homicide, sexual assault and weapons crimes
WASHINGTON — ICE has arrested several gang members — many convicted of violent crimes — in Minnesota. These are the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens that ICE is targeting and who rioters, agitators, and sanctuary politicians like Tim Walz and Jacob Frey are trying to protect. Several of these dangerous criminal illegal alien gang members have been arrested during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis.“We’ve arrested over 2,500 criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota since starting this operation with DHS,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “We’re picking up the worst of the worst offenders, and as these cases come in, we’re finding that a significant number of the aliens we arrest — in addition to having serious criminal histories in the U.S. and abroad — are part of dangerous gangs that terrorize communities all over the nation.”
See below for the list of dangerous criminal illegal alien gang members that ICE has taken off of Minneapolis streets:
Jose Miguel Reyes Jovel-Jose Miguel Reyes Jovel, a criminal illegal alien from El and known MS-13 gang member. He has been convicted of homicide, drug trafficking and selling amphetamine. He was also arrested for aggravated homicide in El Salvador in 2011.
Htun Min Pai-Htun Min Pai, a criminal illegal alien from Burma and former member of the South Side Crips who’s been convicted of three counts of felony drug possession, one count of misdemeanor drug possession and fraud. He’s also been arrested for vehicle theft and DUI.
Alfredo Garcia-Arreola-Alfredo Garcia-Arreola, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and active member of the Paisas gang who’s been convicted of felony dangerous drug charges, misdemeanor assault, smuggling synthetic narcotics, other drug possession charges, possessing fraudulent immigration documents, and two counts of felony illegal reentry.
Luis Antonio Flores Atilano-Luis Antonio Flores Atilano, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and member of the Paisas gang who’s been convicted of a weapon offense as an aggravated felony. He also has pending charges for carrying a prohibited weapon and amphetamine possession
Junior Alvarez Vera-Junior Alvarez Vera, a criminal illegal alien from Cuba and active member of the Paisas gang who’s been convicted of a dangerous drug charge as an aggravated felony and selling cocaine.
Dionicio Carbajal Escobar- Dionicio Carbajal Escobar, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and active member of the Paisas gang. He’s been convicted of seven drug crimes — including cocaine possession — and trespassing, 13 counts of illegal reentry, possession of fraudulent immigration documents and trespassing. He also has pending charges for a felony weapon offense, shoplifting, property damage and dangerous drugs.
Jose Alberto Benitez Rodriguez-Jose Alberto Benitez Rodriguez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and active member of the Paisas gang who’s been convicted of nine counts of burglary, three counts of assault, two counts of larceny, obstructing police, public order crimes, damage to property, unauthorized use of a vehicle, drug possession, possession of fraudulent immigration documents and seven counts of illegal reentry.
Hector Ivan Galicia Cuevas-Hector Ivan Galicia Cuevas, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and active member of the Paisas gang who’s been convicted of drug trafficking.
Fong Vang-Fong Vang, a criminal illegal alien from Laos and member of the Purple Brothers gang who’s been convicted of two felony dangerous drug charges, DUI, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of amphetamine, rioting, weapon possession and damage to property. He has pending charges for an additional DUI.
Benevenuto Walter Lopez Alonzo-Benevenuto Walter Lopez Alonzo, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala and active member of the Paisas gang who’s been convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material and illegal reentry. He was also charged with sexual exploitation of a child, which was dismissed, and has pending charges for sexual assault.
Aureliano Escorcia Martinez-Aureliano Escorcia Martinez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and active member of the Paisas gang who’s been convicted of robbery, kidnapping, and two counts of illegal reentry. He also has pending charges for DUI.
Mong Cheng-Mong Cheng, a criminal illegal alien from Thailand and member of the Oriental Boys gang who’s been convicted of two counts of homicide, assault, vehicle theft, two counts of property damage, three counts of stolen property — one of which was a vehicle—and possession of narcotics equipment. He also has pending charges for arson of a residence.
Omar Alexander Arriaza-Omar Alexander Arriaza, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador and member of MS-13 who’s been convicted of offenses under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.You can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s public safety mission on X at @ICEgov.
2nd federal officer shooting in Minneapolis prompts protests, calls for calm-DHS said the shot person fled a traffic stop and attacked a federal officer.ByAhmad Hemingway and Jason Volack-January 15, 2026, 10:07 AM
The Department of Homeland Security said a federal law enforcement officer shot a person in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, saying the latter fled a traffic stop and then -- along with two other people -- began attacking the officer."Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired defensive shots to defend his life," DHS said in a statement on social media. "The initial subject was hit in the leg."Both the officer and the person who was shot were taken to the hospital, DHS said.Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the person shot was an "adult male," and that his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.DHS said federal law enforcement officers were conducting a "targeted traffic stop" Wednesday evening at 6:50 p.m. local time. The DHS statement identified the person being stopped as "an illegal alien from Venezuela."DHS said the person drove away in his car, crashed into a parked vehicle and then fled on foot.When a pursuing officer caught up to the person, "the subject began to resist and violently assault the officer," DHS said in the statement. "While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle," the statement said.The statement added, "As the officer was being ambushed and attacked by the two individuals, the original subject got loose and began striking the officer with a shovel or broom stick."After the officer fired, the three people ran back into the apartment and barricaded themselves inside, DHS claimed in the statement.It's unclear from the statement when and how an arrest was made, but DHS said both of the two people, who were not shot, it alleges attacked the officer were taken into custody.A crowd later gathered at the scene of the second shooting. O'Hara said the crowd amounted to an "unlawful assembly" and accused some people of throwing fireworks and rocks at officers."People need to leave. This is already a very tense situation and we do not need this to escalate any further," O'Hara told reporters at a news conference Wednesday night.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the situation was "not sustainable" and urged residents to protest peacefully."There's still a lot that we don't know at this time," Frey said. "But what I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable. This is an impossible situation that our city is being put in."ICE and Border Patrol officers are "creating chaos," in the city, Frey said, adding, "I've seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. If it were your city, it would be unacceptable there too."ICE officials have disputed those claims, saying federal officers are seeking only those who've broken the law. "If Frey truly cared about safety in his community, he would work with ICE to get the worst of the WORST out of Minnesota," the agency said on Wednesday.Customs and Border Protection said on Monday that additional officers were "are on their way to restore order and we welcome cooperation from state and local law enforcement" in Minneapolis. The agency, which sits under the DHS, described Frey's leadership as "weak," accusing his administration of encouraging "lawlessness.""We are not going to let our officers be attacked in an aggressive manner and sit idly by," Gregory K. Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official, said on Wednesday. "In addition to the most important mission of enforcing Title 8 Immigration laws, we will also arrest those who attack and assault our agents. You will go to jail."Frey said protesters should avoid confrontations with federal officers. "And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight -- stop," he said. "That is not helpful. Go home. We cannot counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos."Frey said there were 600 Minneapolis Police Department officers working to "keep our streets safe" as the protests continued. About 3,000 federal officers had been dispatched to Minnesota, he said.In a rare primetime address, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Wednesday called on President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to "end this occupation" in Minnesota."Donald Trump wants this chaos. He wants confusion, and yes, he wants more violence on our streets. We cannot give him what he wants," Walz said. "We can, we must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully. Indeed, as hard as we will fight in the courts and at the ballot box, we cannot and will not let violence prevail."Noem had said on Tuesday that the ICE officers were on the scene for an operation that was "rapidly removing the criminal illegal aliens who have found sanctuary in Tim Walz's Minnesota.""The men and women of DHS law enforcement are working day and night to arrest and deport sickos, dirtbags, and fraudsters from across the state," she added.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, meanwhile, accused both Frey and Walz of inciting unrest."Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement," Blanche said on Wednesday on social media. "It's disgusting."He added, "Walz and Frey -- I'm focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It's a promise."
Over the years, whistleblowers alleged that the fraud money in Minnesota's child care system was being used to fund the Somali terrorist organization al-Shabab. The 2019 Office of the Legislative Auditor investigation found those claims to be unsubstantiated.5 days ago
PBS HIT PIECE TO WATER DOWN THE SOMALI MUSLIM THEFT SCAM OF BILLIONS FROM INVISIBLE DAY CARES.
Nick Schifrin:This week, the Trump administration dispatched federal officers to Minnesota amid renewed concerns over fraud. The deployment comes after right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video on YouTube last week claiming without proof that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had misappropriated more than $100 million.In response, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X his agency was already investigating and that -- quote -- "This is just the tip of a very large iceberg." And Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted this video yesterday of agents on the ground in Minneapolis.But state and city officials question Shirley's claims that come as the Somali community in Minneapolis was already facing the administration's immigration crackdown.To break it all down, I'm joined by Jeff Meitrodt of The Minnesota Star Tribune, who's been covering this story.Jeff Meitrodt, thanks very much. Welcome to the "News Hour."Federal prosecutors said earlier this month they're investigating some $9 billion worth of fraud in more than a dozen Medicaid-funded programs in Minnesota. That is much broader, much larger than anything they have announced previously. So explain, what's new here? Jeff Meitrodt, Investigative Reporter, The Minnesota Star Tribune:What's new here is that a fraud problem that started with a COVID era really relief program to help kids get meals when the schools were all shut down has just spiraled into this sort of giant monster that just keeps spreading from one program to another.It seems like there's a playbook that's been passed around out there, and dozens, if not hundreds, of criminals are figuring out how to rip out the state for -- it's certainly hundreds of millions of dollars. And I think, at the $9 billion, my God, that's a huge lift.I guess it's possible, but there's been a little bit of skepticism about that number too.Nick Schifrin:In the video, Nick Shirley visits several day cares. Some appear closed and some turn him away when he asks to see children. And he seems to take this as proof that the centers are fraudulent. What is he claiming and how does it square with your reporting? Jeff Meitrodt:Well, it's not investigative reporting by any stretch of the imagination.I can't imagine these day care facilities letting a stranger in the door. That seems like a violation of all kinds of rules, state and federal, but it does make good theater. And it does raise actually questions about the legitimacy of some of these sites.Some of these do not look like your standard day cares, blacked-out windows, sites that are not that family-friendly. And so it looks damning. And it may very well be that some of these sites are not taking care of children. It looks like a couple of them actually have been closed for some period of time.So did he cherry-pick a list for sort of maximum impact visually that ultimately is going to turn out to be nothing? We don't know yet. The state hasn't shared any of their results from what they saw on the streets this week when they went and they visited those day care centers.Nick Schifrin:Have any of the sites themselves responded? Jeff Meitrodt:Yes, we have heard from several of them. We visited some of them today and yesterday. They're pushing back and saying, it's business as usual here, we're still open.My colleague was in one today that had 50 kids present, which certainly is not the narrative that we saw in the video. And it did not look like a staged situation, like they just suddenly put in a bunch of cots for kids.But that said, we have visited all of them. And at least one of them had quite a history of problems, including a failure to report what looks like either the death of a child or some other kind of very serious incident. So these look like some facilities that may have some issues. Whether they're committing fraud, that's a different question.Nick Schifrin:As you know, Republicans have put the blame on Minnesota's Democratic governor, Tim Walz.And here's what his office told us in part -- quote -- "Fraud is unacceptable and it is appropriate that the federal government is investigating problems in federal programs. The governor has been combating this for years, and before the viral video, the state had already referred these cases to law enforcement."What has the state and federal response been even before the latest allegations? Jeff Meitrodt:Very robust at the federal level, somewhat tepid at the state level.And so I think there's legitimate questions that have been raised about whether the state did what it needed to do at the beginning to shut this thing down. Now, there certainly has been a lot of action at the state level recently to try to crack down, create new guardrails, to create new processes that would catch fraud and prevent these kind of things from happening again.But a lot of critics are saying this is a little bit too little too late.Nick Schifrin:And, finally, the Somali community in Minneapolis has been demonized by the president of the United States, who has called them -- quote -- "garbage." He sai: "We don't want them in our country."And here's what Ahmed Samatar told our Fred de Sam Lazaro these new allegations. He's a Somali professor at Macalester College in St. Paul. He's lived in Minnesota for over 30 years.Ahmed Samatar, Macalester College:The consequences could be frightening for many Somalis, especially young people who would think that they were born here, they're living the life of a normal citizen, going to school and getting along with life, and, therefore, should now have to watch their back all the time because they are targeted as an unwanted foreign group of people.That's the danger.Nick Schifrin:How is this renewed attention affecting the Somali community? Jeff Meitrodt:Absolutely.They have been under siege now for weeks with this crackdown by ICE. And I think the recent video, I mean, based on the hate mail that I'm getting for the stories that we have done that have raised some questions about both things that the state have done, statements that the feds have made, I can't imagine what it's like to be a Somali person in our community right now.Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States. Over 100,000 folks are living here. They're police officers. They're teachers. A handful of them are criminals. But it's paining the entire community with a very broad brush.Nick Schifrin:Jeff Meitrodt is with The Minnesota Star Tribune.Thank you very much.Jeff Meitrodt:Thank you.
MY MOHAWK RACEWAY PREDICTIONS 2026 RD 009 FRI JAN 16, 2026
MOHAWK STANDARDBREAD HARNESS RACEWAY 2026 - RESULTS AS OF FRI JAN-16, 2026 - DAY-009
MOHAWK PICKS
01-5-6-3-0 W-4.90 - 4.90
02-5-4-3-1 S-5.00, 4TH WBP (4-1) - 9.90
03-3-1-6-5 W-5.70, 4TH WBP (10-1) - 15.60
04-5-8-1-2 P-5.20, 4TH WBP (2.5) - 20.80
05-8-5-9-3 4TH WBP (1-1)
06-1-3-2-5 P-3.50, S-5.00 - 28.50
07-2-3-6-5 4TH (2-1)
08-8-3-4-5 4TH WBP (7.5)
09-1-7-5-8 4TH WBP (9-1)
10-3-4-6-5-1
MOHAWKS TONIGHTS TOTAL $28.50 OVERALL TOTAL $2,168.30
STANS PICKS
01-4-5-6-3-7
02-5-2-4-6-1 4TH (4-1)
03-3-1-5-9-6 W-5.70, S- 5.70 - 11.40
04-3-5-2-6-4 4TH WBP (10-1)
05-3-8-4-9-10 W-4.00, 4TH (11-1) - 15.40
06-3-4-1-5-2 MEX-47.00 - 62.40
07-2-1-5-6-7 4TH WBP (1-1)
08-3-4-8-5-6 4TH WBP (7.5)
09-1-5-7-8-3 4TH WBP (9-1)
10-3-4-5-6-1 4TH WBP (6.5)
HI-5 MONEY BEFORE TONIGHT = $37,282.85
STANS TONIGHTS TOTAL $62.40 OVERALL TOTAL $1,807.25
ACTUAL RACE RESULTS
01-5 (7.5)-7 (5.2)-4 (5.2)-6 (8-1) (2-SCR)
02-1 (4-1)-5 (2-1)-3 (6-1)-6 (4-1)
03-3 (9.5)-6 (3.2)-5 (10-1)-8 (19-1)
04-2 (2.5)-8 (7-1)-6 (10-1)-5 (9.2) (7-SCR)
05-3 (1-1)-1 (7.2)-8 (7.2)-9 (11-1)
06-4 (6-1)-3 (2-1)-2 (9-1)-1 (8.5)
07-6 (1-1)-2 (8-1)-4 (10-1)-5 (2-1)
08-6 (5-1)-7 (4-1)-5 (7.5)-4 (5-1)
09-7 (6.5)-8 (9-1)-1 (7-1)-3 (2-1) (2-SCR)
10-6 (6.5)-2 (29-1)-3 (7.2)-10 (27-1)-8 (76-1)
MOHAWK PREDICTIONS)-RECORD 2026
01-031-BIG-$13.30 (JAN 02-10TH) (5-1), $08.90 (JAN 4-9TH) (3-1), $07.30 (JAN 02-7TH) (5.2)
02-019-BIG-$09.10 (JAN 3-5TH) (13-1), $08.40 (JAN 10-7TH) (9-1), $07.30 (JAN 09-9TH) (9-1)
03-017-BIG-$05.30 (JAN 05-6TH) (29-1), $05.20 (JAN 03-10TH) (5-1), $05.00 (JAN 16-2ND) (6-1)
04-013-BIG-31-1 (JAN 12-10TH) 17-1 (JAN 12-9TH), 16-1 (JAN 11-10TH), 13-1 (JAN 11-9TH)
04-036-W B P-BIG-32-1 (JAN 04-11TH), 17-1 (JAN 12-2ND), 17-1 (JAN 11-7TH), 16-1 (JAN 02-8TH)
S EX-009-BIG-$32.50 (JAN 2-10TH)
M EX-004-BIG-$26.20 (JAN 02-12TH)
S TRI-002-BIG-$21.30 (JAN 02-10TH)
M TRI-005-BIG-$117.65 (JAN 12-5TH)
S SUP-001-BIG-$57.75 (JAN 12-10TH)
M SUP-003-BIG-$667.70 (JAN 09-10TH)
DD-1,2-01-BIG-$06.50 (JAN 05-2ND)
DD-2,3-00-BIG-$
DD-3,4-01-BIG-$11.80 (JAN 02-4TH)
DD-4,5-01-BIG-$10.00 (JAN 09-5TH)
DD-5,6-01-BIG-$13.30 (JAN 04-6TH)
DD-6,7-01-BIG-$08.90 JAN 02-7TH)
DD-7,8-01-BIG-$09.00 (JAN 02-8TH)
DD-8,9-02-BIG-$10.90 (JAN 02-9TH)
DD-9,10-02-BIG-$35.10 (JAN 02-10TH)
DD-10,11-00-BIG-$
DD-11,12-00-BIG-$
DD-12,13-00-BIG-$
P3 (1-3)-00-BIG-$
P3 (2-4)-00-BIG-$
P3 (3-5)-00-BIG-$
P3 (4-6)-00-BIG-$
P3 (5-7)-00-BIG-$
P3 (6-8)-01-BIG-$13.45 (JAN 02-8TH)
P3 (7-9)-01-BIG-$07.70 (JAN 02-9TH)
P3 (8-10)-02-BIG-$21.60 (JAN 02-10TH)
P3 (9-11)-00-BIG-$
P3 (10-12)-00-BIG-$
P3 (11-13)-00-BIG-$
P4 (3-6)-00-BIG-$
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$
P4-(8-11)-00-BIG-$
P4 (9-12)-00-BIG-$
P4-(10-13)-00-BIG-$
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$
P5 (6-10)-01-BIG-$160.45 (JAN 02-10TH)
P5-(8-12)-00-BIG-$
P5-(9-13)-00-BIG-$
P6-(4-9)-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-01-BIG-$160.80 (JAN 12-10TH)
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
5-1+ LONG-(05)-36
5-1+ LONG TOT-(12)-132-27.3%
PICK 4 PLACINGS-27-40
OA PICK 4 PLAC TOT-236-388-60.8%
TOTAL RACES-(10)-97
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-02,02-03,03-03-04-03,05-03,06-03,07-03,08-02,09-03,10-02,11-00,12-00,13-00=27-40-OATOT 236-388-60.8%
(STANS PREDICTIONS)-RECORD AT MOHAWK 2026
01-027-BIG-$26.30 (JAN 03-10TH) (12-1), $25.70 (JAN 04-7TH) (11-1), $15.80 (JAN 02-5TH) (6-1)
02-011-BIG-$04.50 (JAN 02-7TH) (9.2), $04.40 (JAN 03-11TH) (7.2), $04.00 (JAN 02-5TH) (5.2)
03-011-BIG-$09.00 (JAN 12-1ST) (10-1), $06.20 (JAN 11-4TH) (5-1), $05.70 (JAN 16-3RD) (10-1)
04-012-BIG-59-1 (JAN 04-11TH), 49-1 (JAN 05-8TH), 33-1 (JAN 10-5TH), 28-1 (JAN 09-11TH)
04-044-W B P-BIG-52-1 (JAN 11-6TH), 30-1 (JAN 11-4TH), 29-1 (JAN 02-9TH), 28-1 (JAN 05-3RD)
S EX-006-BIG-$90.80 (JAN 04-7TH)
M EX-001-BIG-$47.00 (JAN 16-6TH)
S TRI-001-BIG-$21.30 (JAN 02-10TH)
M TRI-003-BIG-$278.30 (JAN 04-6TH)
S SUP-000-BIG-$
M SUP-002-BIG-$523.05 (JAN 02-2ND)
DD-1,2-00-BIG-$
DD-2,3-01-BIG-$11.50 (JAN 02-3RD)
DD-3,4-00-BIG-$
DD-4,5-01-BIG-$10.00 (JAN 09-5TH)
DD-5,6-01-BIG-$09.50 (JAN 12-6TH)
DD-6,7-00-BIG-$
DD-7,8-02-BIG-$78.00 (JAN 04-8TH)
DD-8,9-02-BIG-$10.90 (JAN 04-9TH)
DD-9,10-02-BIG-$35.70 (JAN 02-10TH)
DD-10,11-00-BIG-$
DD-11,12-00-BIG-$
DD-12,13-00-BIG-$
P3 (1-3)-00-BIG-$
P3 (2-4)-00-BIG-$
P3 (3-5)-00-BIG-$
P3 (4-6)-00-BIG-$
P3 (5-7)-00-BIG-$
P3 (6-8)-00-BIG-$
P3 (7-9)-02-BIG-$110.35 (JAN 04-9TH)
P3 (8-10)-02-BIG-$21.60 (JAN 02-10TH)
P3 (9-11)-00-BIG-$
P3 (10-12)-00-BIG-$
P3 (11-13)-00-BIG-$
P4 (3-6)-00-BIG-$
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$
P4-(8-11)-00-BIG-$
P4 (9-12)-00-BIG-$
P4-(10-13)-00-BIG-$
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$
P5 (6-10)-00-BIG-$
P5-(8-12)-00-BIG-$
P5-(9-13)-00-BIG-$
P6-(4-9)-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
5-1+ LONG-(04)-46
5-1+ LONG TOT-(12)-132-34.8%
PICK 4 PLACINGS-26-40
OA PICK 4 PLAC TOT-227-388-58.5%
TOTAL RACES-(10)-97
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-03,02-02,03-02-04-03,05-03,06-03,07-03,08-02,09-03,10-02,11-00,12-00,13-00=26-40-OATOT 227-388-58.5%
MOHAWK PICKS
01-5-6-3-0 W-4.90 - 4.90
02-5-4-3-1 S-5.00, 4TH WBP (4-1) - 9.90
03-3-1-6-5 W-5.70, 4TH WBP (10-1) - 15.60
04-5-8-1-2 P-5.20, 4TH WBP (2.5) - 20.80
05-8-5-9-3 4TH WBP (1-1)
06-1-3-2-5 P-3.50, S-5.00 - 28.50
07-2-3-6-5 4TH (2-1)
08-8-3-4-5 4TH WBP (7.5)
09-1-7-5-8 4TH WBP (9-1)
10-3-4-6-5-1
MOHAWKS TONIGHTS TOTAL $28.50 OVERALL TOTAL $2,168.30
STANS PICKS
01-4-5-6-3-7
02-5-2-4-6-1 4TH (4-1)
03-3-1-5-9-6 W-5.70, S- 5.70 - 11.40
04-3-5-2-6-4 4TH WBP (10-1)
05-3-8-4-9-10 W-4.00, 4TH (11-1) - 15.40
06-3-4-1-5-2 MEX-47.00 - 62.40
07-2-1-5-6-7 4TH WBP (1-1)
08-3-4-8-5-6 4TH WBP (7.5)
09-1-5-7-8-3 4TH WBP (9-1)
10-3-4-5-6-1 4TH WBP (6.5)
HI-5 MONEY BEFORE TONIGHT = $37,282.85
STANS TONIGHTS TOTAL $62.40 OVERALL TOTAL $1,807.25
ACTUAL RACE RESULTS
01-5 (7.5)-7 (5.2)-4 (5.2)-6 (8-1) (2-SCR)
02-1 (4-1)-5 (2-1)-3 (6-1)-6 (4-1)
03-3 (9.5)-6 (3.2)-5 (10-1)-8 (19-1)
04-2 (2.5)-8 (7-1)-6 (10-1)-5 (9.2) (7-SCR)
05-3 (1-1)-1 (7.2)-8 (7.2)-9 (11-1)
06-4 (6-1)-3 (2-1)-2 (9-1)-1 (8.5)
07-6 (1-1)-2 (8-1)-4 (10-1)-5 (2-1)
08-6 (5-1)-7 (4-1)-5 (7.5)-4 (5-1)
09-7 (6.5)-8 (9-1)-1 (7-1)-3 (2-1) (2-SCR)
10-6 (6.5)-2 (29-1)-3 (7.2)-10 (27-1)-8 (76-1)
MOHAWK PREDICTIONS)-RECORD 2026
01-031-BIG-$13.30 (JAN 02-10TH) (5-1), $08.90 (JAN 4-9TH) (3-1), $07.30 (JAN 02-7TH) (5.2)
02-019-BIG-$09.10 (JAN 3-5TH) (13-1), $08.40 (JAN 10-7TH) (9-1), $07.30 (JAN 09-9TH) (9-1)
03-017-BIG-$05.30 (JAN 05-6TH) (29-1), $05.20 (JAN 03-10TH) (5-1), $05.00 (JAN 16-2ND) (6-1)
04-013-BIG-31-1 (JAN 12-10TH) 17-1 (JAN 12-9TH), 16-1 (JAN 11-10TH), 13-1 (JAN 11-9TH)
04-036-W B P-BIG-32-1 (JAN 04-11TH), 17-1 (JAN 12-2ND), 17-1 (JAN 11-7TH), 16-1 (JAN 02-8TH)
S EX-009-BIG-$32.50 (JAN 2-10TH)
M EX-004-BIG-$26.20 (JAN 02-12TH)
S TRI-002-BIG-$21.30 (JAN 02-10TH)
M TRI-005-BIG-$117.65 (JAN 12-5TH)
S SUP-001-BIG-$57.75 (JAN 12-10TH)
M SUP-003-BIG-$667.70 (JAN 09-10TH)
DD-1,2-01-BIG-$06.50 (JAN 05-2ND)
DD-2,3-00-BIG-$
DD-3,4-01-BIG-$11.80 (JAN 02-4TH)
DD-4,5-01-BIG-$10.00 (JAN 09-5TH)
DD-5,6-01-BIG-$13.30 (JAN 04-6TH)
DD-6,7-01-BIG-$08.90 JAN 02-7TH)
DD-7,8-01-BIG-$09.00 (JAN 02-8TH)
DD-8,9-02-BIG-$10.90 (JAN 02-9TH)
DD-9,10-02-BIG-$35.10 (JAN 02-10TH)
DD-10,11-00-BIG-$
DD-11,12-00-BIG-$
DD-12,13-00-BIG-$
P3 (1-3)-00-BIG-$
P3 (2-4)-00-BIG-$
P3 (3-5)-00-BIG-$
P3 (4-6)-00-BIG-$
P3 (5-7)-00-BIG-$
P3 (6-8)-01-BIG-$13.45 (JAN 02-8TH)
P3 (7-9)-01-BIG-$07.70 (JAN 02-9TH)
P3 (8-10)-02-BIG-$21.60 (JAN 02-10TH)
P3 (9-11)-00-BIG-$
P3 (10-12)-00-BIG-$
P3 (11-13)-00-BIG-$
P4 (3-6)-00-BIG-$
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$
P4-(8-11)-00-BIG-$
P4 (9-12)-00-BIG-$
P4-(10-13)-00-BIG-$
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$
P5 (6-10)-01-BIG-$160.45 (JAN 02-10TH)
P5-(8-12)-00-BIG-$
P5-(9-13)-00-BIG-$
P6-(4-9)-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-01-BIG-$160.80 (JAN 12-10TH)
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
5-1+ LONG-(05)-36
5-1+ LONG TOT-(12)-132-27.3%
PICK 4 PLACINGS-27-40
OA PICK 4 PLAC TOT-236-388-60.8%
TOTAL RACES-(10)-97
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-02,02-03,03-03-04-03,05-03,06-03,07-03,08-02,09-03,10-02,11-00,12-00,13-00=27-40-OATOT 236-388-60.8%
(STANS PREDICTIONS)-RECORD AT MOHAWK 2026
01-027-BIG-$26.30 (JAN 03-10TH) (12-1), $25.70 (JAN 04-7TH) (11-1), $15.80 (JAN 02-5TH) (6-1)
02-011-BIG-$04.50 (JAN 02-7TH) (9.2), $04.40 (JAN 03-11TH) (7.2), $04.00 (JAN 02-5TH) (5.2)
03-011-BIG-$09.00 (JAN 12-1ST) (10-1), $06.20 (JAN 11-4TH) (5-1), $05.70 (JAN 16-3RD) (10-1)
04-012-BIG-59-1 (JAN 04-11TH), 49-1 (JAN 05-8TH), 33-1 (JAN 10-5TH), 28-1 (JAN 09-11TH)
04-044-W B P-BIG-52-1 (JAN 11-6TH), 30-1 (JAN 11-4TH), 29-1 (JAN 02-9TH), 28-1 (JAN 05-3RD)
S EX-006-BIG-$90.80 (JAN 04-7TH)
M EX-001-BIG-$47.00 (JAN 16-6TH)
S TRI-001-BIG-$21.30 (JAN 02-10TH)
M TRI-003-BIG-$278.30 (JAN 04-6TH)
S SUP-000-BIG-$
M SUP-002-BIG-$523.05 (JAN 02-2ND)
DD-1,2-00-BIG-$
DD-2,3-01-BIG-$11.50 (JAN 02-3RD)
DD-3,4-00-BIG-$
DD-4,5-01-BIG-$10.00 (JAN 09-5TH)
DD-5,6-01-BIG-$09.50 (JAN 12-6TH)
DD-6,7-00-BIG-$
DD-7,8-02-BIG-$78.00 (JAN 04-8TH)
DD-8,9-02-BIG-$10.90 (JAN 04-9TH)
DD-9,10-02-BIG-$35.70 (JAN 02-10TH)
DD-10,11-00-BIG-$
DD-11,12-00-BIG-$
DD-12,13-00-BIG-$
P3 (1-3)-00-BIG-$
P3 (2-4)-00-BIG-$
P3 (3-5)-00-BIG-$
P3 (4-6)-00-BIG-$
P3 (5-7)-00-BIG-$
P3 (6-8)-00-BIG-$
P3 (7-9)-02-BIG-$110.35 (JAN 04-9TH)
P3 (8-10)-02-BIG-$21.60 (JAN 02-10TH)
P3 (9-11)-00-BIG-$
P3 (10-12)-00-BIG-$
P3 (11-13)-00-BIG-$
P4 (3-6)-00-BIG-$
P4 (7-10)-00-BIG-$
P4-(8-11)-00-BIG-$
P4 (9-12)-00-BIG-$
P4-(10-13)-00-BIG-$
P5 (1-5)-00-BIG-$
P5 (6-10)-00-BIG-$
P5-(8-12)-00-BIG-$
P5-(9-13)-00-BIG-$
P6-(4-9)-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
10TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
11TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
12TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-S-00-BIG-$
13TH -P5 (HF)-M-00-BIG-$
5-1+ LONG-(04)-46
5-1+ LONG TOT-(12)-132-34.8%
PICK 4 PLACINGS-26-40
OA PICK 4 PLAC TOT-227-388-58.5%
TOTAL RACES-(10)-97
TOP 4 PICKS EACH RACE-01-03,02-02,03-02-04-03,05-03,06-03,07-03,08-02,09-03,10-02,11-00,12-00,13-00=26-40-OATOT 227-388-58.5%
Thursday, January 15, 2026
AMERICA FRYS PRISON AND AREA WITH A SMALL EMP WEAPON.SO THE IRANIANS CAN'T BE HANGED.
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)
AMERICA FRYS PRISON AND AREA WITH A SMALL EMP WEAPON.SO THE IRANIANS CAN'T BE HANGED.
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)
ITS REPORTED BY
PAUL BEGLEY FROM HIS GOVERNMENT INSIDER THAT AMERICA SUNK AN IRANIAN
FREIGHTER BY THE NAME OF RONA.THIS FREIGHTER HAS BEEN CARRYING WEAPONS
TO RUSSIA AGAINST UKRAINE FROM 3 DIFFERENT PORTS. AMERICA SUNK THE RONA.
AND TO STOP IRAN FROM HANGING PEOPLE. AMERICA FRYED OR MICROWAVED ALL
THE EQUIPMENT IN THE JAIL. TO PUT IT IN ONE SENTENCE. AMERICA USED AN
EMP AGAINST THAT IRANIAN JAIL AND AREA. ITS CALLED A HPM THERMAL BLOOM.
THERMAL BLOOMING. THAT FRYS ALL ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. IN A SMALL AREA.
"HPM bloom weapon" is not a standard term, but seems to be a combination of two distinct concepts:
High-Power Microwave (HPM) Weapons
HPM
weapons are a type of real-world directed-energy weapon (DEW) that emit
concentrated electromagnetic energy in the microwave frequency range to
disrupt, damage, or destroy electronic systems.
Key aspects of HPM weapons include:
Function:
They disrupt or fry the electronic components of targets like drones,
missiles, aircraft, and command-and-control systems.
Effects: The
effects can range from temporary disruption to permanent damage, and
they offer non-lethal options for specific scenarios.
Examples: The
U.S. Navy and other militaries are developing and testing such systems,
including counter-drone measures like the Russian Stupor and Ukrainian
KVS G-6.
Advantages: They can offer cost-effective, precise attacks
with minimal collateral damage compared to traditional kinetic weapons.
In
Iran,hangings are the primary method of execution and occur in various
prisons across the country, as well as sometimes in public.
Human rights organizations have identified several prisons that frequently carry out executions:
Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.
Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, which has been the site of unannounced mass executions.
Evin Prison in Tehran, a notorious facility often associated with the detention and execution of political prisoners.
Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.
Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.
Dieselabad Prison (or Kermanshah Prison) in Kermanshah.
Gohardasht Prison (also known as Rajaee Shahr Prison) in Karaj.
Sanandaj Central Prison.
Executions
are carried out for a wide range of charges, including murder,
drug-related offenses, espionage, and political charges like "waging war
against God" (moharebeh). The number of executions in Iran has surged
in recent years, with thousands having been executed since the 1979
revolution.
Iranian Freighter Sinks in the Caspian Sea-Published Jan 14, 2026 8:47 PM by The Maritime Executive
An
Iranian-flagged freighter has gone down in the Caspian Sea, according
to Turkmenistan's ministry of foreign affairs. On January 14, the cargo
ship Rona issued a distress call off the coast of Turkmenistan. Turkmen
responders reached the scene promptly and rescued all 14 people aboard
the vessel, the ministry said. The crew was composed of Iranian and
Indian nationals. Unverified footage on Ukrainian social media showed
apparent damage amidships, accompanied by smoke, and the vessel appeared
to be trimmed heavily by the stern. Rona provided a regular service
rotation between ports in Iran and the Russian ports of Astrakhan,
Makhachkala and Azov, according Ukrainian news channel Astra. This
profile happens to align with the shipping route for deliveries of
Iranian arms to Russian buyers for use in the war in Ukraine. In 2023,
the Wall Street Journal revealed details of the volume of trade on this
known arms-trafficking corridor. Iran has provided the Russian
government with billions of dollars in weaponry over the course of the
last few years, according to Western officials, including ballistic
missiles, artillery shells and long-range drones - much of it shipped
across the Caspian.There is no confirmation of the cause of Rona's
sinking, but speculation has quickly turned to Ukraine's long-range
strike drone forces. Ukrainian special operations forces have hit
targets in the Caspian before, including a claimed strike on two Russian
military cargo vessels just last month.
Iranian Ship Sinks in Caspian Sea, Possibly Linked to Arms Shipments to Russia-Vladyslav Khomenko-January 14, 2026-21:47
A
bulk carrier sailing under the Iranian flag, RONA, sank in the Caspian
Sea.The incident was reported by Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.Turkmen rescue units received an SOS signal from the vessel and
promptly launched a rescue operation.Rescuers saved all 14 people on
board. It was previously established that those rescued were citizens of
Iran and India.According to ASTRA, RONA regularly sailed between
Iranian ports and Russia’s Astrakhan, Makhachkala and Azov. This route
coincides with the main maritime corridor used for transporting Iranian
arms to Russia.This has previously been highlighted in investigative
reports by CNN and The Wall Street Journal, which documented the use of
the Caspian Sea as a channel for shipping ammunition and military cargo
from Iran to the Russian Federation.The bulk carrier RONA was built in
1983 and has a displacement of 2,453 tons. The vessel is 114 meters long
and 13 meters wide.
Sentenced to death within days': Who is
Erfan Soltani, Iranian protester reportedly facing execution? 9 hours
ago-Malu Cursino-JAN 14,26
A man arrested in connection with the
current wave of protests in Iran has been sentenced to death and told he
faces execution, his family and a human rights group say.Erfan Soltani,
26, was arrested last Thursday in the city of Fardis, just west of
Tehran. Days later, authorities informed his family his execution had
been scheduled for Wednesday without giving any additional details,
according to Norway-based Kurdish human rights group Hengaw.On
Wednesday, Hengaw said it had "serious and ongoing concerns regarding
Soltani's right to life" but that, according to information obtained
through relatives, his execution had been postponed.Iran's judiciary has
not yet commented on Soltani's case or announced any execution in
connections with the protests. The internet blackout imposed by the
government has also made obtaining information on his status - and
others in potentially similar situations - difficult.Awyer Shekhi of
Hengaw told the BBC she feared there were "many" cases like Soltani's,
highlighting the scale and speed to which Iranian authorities were
carrying out violent crackdowns compared to previous protests.On
Tuesday, one of Soltani's relatives told BBC Persian that a court had
issued a death sentence "in an extremely rapid process, within just two
days".Soltani is a resident of Fardis, Karaj, where he owns a clothes
shop. He was arrested "at his private residence", Hengaw said in a
statement.Iranian authorities have reportedly failed to give Soltani's
family any more information about his case, citing only that he had been
arrested in connection with a protest.His sister, who is a lawyer,
tried to pursue the case but authorities told her there was nothing to
pursue, Shekhi told BBC Radio 4's Today programme."He is just someone
who is against the current situation in Iran... now he's received a
death sentence for expressing his opinion."Shekhi said prisoners on
death row in Iran were typically granted a final visit by their loved
ones before their execution.While the Iranian authorities had told the
family they would allow a meeting with Erfan before his execution, he
had not been allowed any contact with his family since his arrest, she
added.There was a "high chance" other people in Iran were in a similar
position to Soltani, but there was little information about them because
of the internet shutdown, according to Shekhi.President Donald Trump
has said the US will take "very strong action" against Iran if it
executes protesters - telling Iranians to "KEEP PROTESTING" in a post on
his Truth Social platform. He also said he has cancelled all meetings
with Iranian officials "until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS.
HELP IS ON ITS WAY".He has since said that his administration had been
told "on good authority" that "the killing in Iran is stopping, and
there's no plan for executions".Authorities in Tehran imposed an
internet blackout last Thursday, as the protests escalated and
authorities stepped up their deadly crackdown.The BBC and most other
international news organisations are also unable to report from inside
Iran, making obtaining and verifying information difficult.The US-based
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had so far confirmed
the killing of 2,417 protesters, as well as 12 children and 10
uninvolved civilians, despite the blackout. Nearly 150 people affiliated
with the security forces or government had also been killed, the group
said.At least 18,434 protesters have been arrested during the unrest,
according to HRANA.Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei has
pledged swift legal action against what he called "rioters". According
to Mohseni-Ejei, those who have "committed terrorist acts should
definitely be given priority for trial and punishment".Authorities were
planning to hold open trials for some of the main figures involved in
recent unrest, with proceedings accessible to the media, he said on
Wednesday.But Iran's handling of Soltani's case "constitutes a clear
violation of international human rights law", Hengaw's statement said,
adding: "The rushed and non-transparent handling of this case has
heightened concerns over the use of the death penalty as a tool to
suppress public protests.""Erfan is the first protester to be sentenced
to death, but he won't be the last," the US State Department said on its
Farsi-language X account.The protests, which have reportedly spread to
more than 180 cities and towns in all 31 provinces, were sparked by
anger over the collapse of the Iranian currency and soaring cost of
living.They quickly widened into demands for political change and became
one of the most serious challenges to the clerical establishment since
the 1979 Islamic revolution.Horizontal bar chart titled “Countries with
the most executions in 2024”. Subtitle reads “Iran’s recorded executions
rose about 14% from year before”. China has the longest bar, labeled
“1,000s” (Amnesty International estimate thousands executed). Iran
follows with “972+”, then Saudi Arabia “345+”. Other countries: Iraq
“63+”, Yemen “38+”, Somalia “34+”, US “25”, Egypt “13”, Singapore “9”,
Kuwait “6”. Note at bottom: “Numbers with a ‘+’ indicate minimum
figures; China’s exact data unavailable.” Source: Amnesty
International-At least 12 men have been executed in Iran over the past
three years after being sentenced to death in connection with the 2022
"Woman, Life, Freedom" protests.That nationwide unrest was triggered by
the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was
accused by morality police of wearing "improper" hijab.Human rights
groups say the last such execution happened on 6 September, when Mehran
Bahramian was hanged in Isfahan.The Norway-based group, Iran Human
Rights, reported at the time that the authorities had tortured Bahramian
to obtain confessions and that he did not receive a fair trial.He was
sentenced to death by a court in January 2024 on the charge of "enmity
against God" for allegedly killing a member of the Revolutionary Guards
at a protest in Semirom in December 2022, it said.
Free Starlink
access seen as game changer in helping Iran protesters get their message
out-SpaceX hasn’t confirmed decision to provide internet service for
free though activists say it has also pushed an update to help
circumvent regime efforts to jam the satellite signal By AP Today, 5:27
am-JAN 15,26
Iranian demonstrators’ ability to get details of
bloody nationwide protests out to the world has been given a strong
boost, with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service dropping its
fees to allow more people to circumvent the Tehran government’s
strongest attempt ever to prevent information from spilling outside its
borders, activists said Wednesday.The move by the American aerospace
company run by Elon Musk follows the complete shutdown of
telecommunications and internet access to Iran’s 85 million people on
January 8, as protests expanded over the Islamic Republic’s faltering
economy and the collapse of its currency.SpaceX has not officially
announced the decision and did not respond to a request for comment, but
activists told The Associated Press that Starlink has been available
for free to anyone in Iran with the receivers since Tuesday and that the
company has gone even further by pushing a firmware update to help
circumvent government efforts to jam the satellite signals.The moves by
Starlink came two days after US President Donald Trump told reporters on
Air Force One that he was going to reach out to Musk to ask for
Starlink help for protesters, a call later confirmed by his press
secretary, though it’s not clear if that is what prompted Musk to
act.“Starlink has been crucial,” said Mehdi Yahyanejad, an Iranian whose
nonprofit Net Freedom Pioneers has helped smuggle units into Iran,
pointing to video that emerged Sunday showing rows of bodies at a
forensic medical center near Tehran.“That showed a few hundred bodies on
the ground, that came out because of Starlink,” he said in an interview
from Los Angeles. “I think that those videos from the center pretty
much changed everyone’s understanding of what’s happening because they
saw it with their own eyes.”Since the outbreak of demonstrations
December 28, the death toll has risen to more than 2,500 people,
primarily protesters but also security personnel, according to the
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.Starlink is banned in Iran
by telecommunication regulations, as the country never authorized the
importation, sale or use of the devices. Activists fear they could be
accused of helping the US or Israel by using Starlink and charged with
espionage, which can carry the death penalty.Cat-and-mouse as
authorities hunt for Starlink devicesThe first units were smuggled into
Iran in 2022 during protests over the country’s mandatory headscarf law,
after Musk got the Biden administration to exempt the Starlink service
from Iran sanctions.Since then, more than 50,000 units are estimated to
have been sneaked in, with people going to great lengths to conceal
them, using virtual private networks while on the system to hide IP
addresses and taking other precautions, said Ahmad Ahmadian, the
executive director of Holistic Resilience, a Los Angeles-based
organization that was responsible for getting some of the first Starlink
units into Iran.Starlink is a global internet network that relies on
some 10,000 satellites orbiting Earth. Subscribers need to have
equipment, including an antenna that requires a line of sight to the
satellite, so must be deployed in the open, where it could be spotted by
authorities. Many Iranians disguise them as solar panels, Ahmadian
said.After efforts to shut down communications during the 12-day war
with Israel in June proved to be not terribly effective, Iranian
security services have taken more “extreme tactics” now to jam
Starlink’s radio signals and GPS systems, Ahmadian said in a phone
interview. After Holistic Resilience passed on reports to SpaceX,
Ahmadian said, the company pushed its firmware update to avoid
jamming.Security services also rely on informers to tell them who might
be using Starlink, and search internet and social media traffic for
signs it has been used. There have been reports they have raided
apartments with satellite dishes.“There has always been a cat-and-mouse
game,” said Ahmadian, who fled Iran in 2012 after serving time in prison
for student activism. “The government is using every tool in its
toolbox.”Still, Ahmadian noted that the government jamming attempts had
only been effective in certain urban areas, suggesting that security
services lack the resources to block Starlink more broadly.A free
Starlink could increase the flow of information out of Iran-Iran did
begin to allow people to call out internationally on Tuesday via mobile
phones, but calls from outside the country into Iran remain
blocked.Compared to protests in 2019, when lesser measures by the
government were able to effectively stifle information reaching the rest
of the world for more than a week, Ahmadian said the proliferation of
Starlink has made it impossible to prevent communications. He said the
flow could increase now that the service has been made free.“This time
around they really shut it down, even fixed landlines were not working,”
he said. “But despite this, the information was coming out, and it also
shows how distributed this community of Starlink users is in the
country.”Musk has made Starlink free for use during several natural
disasters, and Ukraine has relied heavily on the service since Russia’s
full-scale invasion in 2022. It was initially funded by SpaceX and later
through an American government contract.Musk’s involvement had raised
concerns over the power of such a system being in the hands of one
person, after he refused to extend Ukraine’s Starlink coverage to
support a planned Ukrainian counterattack in Russian-occupied Crimea.As a
proponent of Starlink for Iran, Ahmadian said the Crimea decision was a
wake-up call for him, but that he couldn’t see any reason why Musk
might be inclined to act similarly in Iran.“Looking at the political
Elon, I think he would have more interest … in a free Iran as a new
market,” he said.Starlink’s moves to circumvent Tehran’s efforts to shut
down communications is being watched closely around the world. The
satellite service has expanded rapidly in recent years, securing
licenses in more than 120 countries, including some with authoritarian
rulers who have persecuted journalists and protesters.Julia Voo, who
heads the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Cyber Power and
Future Conflict Program in Singapore, said there is a risk of activists
becoming reliant on one company as a lifeline, as it “creates a single
point of failure,” though currently there are no comparable
alternatives.China has been exploring ways to hunt and destroy Starlink
satellites, and Voo said the more effective Starlink proves itself at
penetrating “government-mandated terrestrial blackouts, the more states
will be observing.”“It’s just going to result in more efforts to broaden
controls over various ways of communication, for those in Iran and
everywhere else watching,” she said.
Iranian FM declares Tehran
'in full control' amid crackdown-Reports suggest US may strike Iran in
coming days, as Trump says killing is ‘stopping’Islamic Republic
threatens ‘decisive’ action against US and Israel if targeted; Hezbollah
warned against joining fray; IDF ups defensive posture, tells Israelis
to ‘avoid spreading rumors’By Agencies, Stav Levaton,Jacob Magid and ToI
Staff Today, 12:54 am-JAN 15,26
The likelihood of a US strike on
Iran has increased significantly in recent days, Israeli television
reported Wednesday, as the Islamic Republic threatened that it was ready
to respond “decisively” to any action taken against it on the 17th day
of deadly protests that have swept the troubled nation.According to
Channel 12 news, Washington’s shift toward the possibility of striking
Iran came about after US President Donald Trump held a lengthy
discussion with his advisers on the matter on Tuesday.An American source
quoted by the outlet said that as “the bloodshed in Iran is
continuing,” it was likely that Trump “will have to do something within a
day or two at the latest.”According to the New York Times, Trump was
presented with several options in recent days, including new strikes on
Iran’s nuclear program — which the US joined Israel in targeting last
June — or on its ballistic missile program.Other options included
striking the Islamic Republic’s internal security infrastructure, or
launching cyberattacks, the US daily said, noting that these two options
were “more likely” than targeting nuclear or missile sites.Officials
cited by the newspaper said it would likely be “at least several days”
until the course of action decided upon by the Trump administration
becomes apparent.Trump has been openly threatening to intervene in Iran
for days, though without giving specifics, as protests have continued
unabated across all of Iran’s 31 provinces. The protests began as
economic rallies on December 28, but rapidly ballooned into mass
anti-regime demonstrations.But on Wednesday, the US president said
Washington had been informed that the killing of protesters had ceased,
and that the Islamic Republic would not proceed with executions as
feared.“We have been notified pretty strongly — but we’ll find out what
that all means… We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping,
and it’s stopped,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office without
elaborating on who passed along that message to Tehran.However, he
avoided saying definitively that military action was off the table,
while refusing to specify who had informed him that the killings had
ceased when pressed by journalists.“We have been informed by very, very
important sources on the other side, and they said the killing has
stopped, and the executions won’t take place,” Trump said.“There was
supposed to be a lot of executions today, and [those] won’t take place,”
The added. “We’ve been told on good authority, and I hope it’s true,
[but] who knows.”Trump said footage of protesters in body bags is from
previous days, suggesting that the extrajudicial killings have ceased
more recently.“We’re going to watch and see what the process is, but we
were given a very good statement by people [who] are aware of what’s
going on.”Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, had been in touch
with Trump’s top aide Steve Witkoff over the weekend.Araghchi declared
on Wednesday that the government was in full control after brutally
cracking down on the protests.“After three days of terrorist operation,
now there is a calm. We are in full control,” Araghchi told US
broadcaster Fox News’s “Special Report” program.Earlier on Wednesday,
the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said that at least 2,571
people had been killed and more than 18,100 had been arrested in the
more than two weeks of protests. The Mossad is said to believe the death
toll is more than twice as high.‘Unpredictability is part of the
strategy’Amid Trump’s threats of action, the Iranian regime has
threatened to retaliate, warning that it will target both US military
bases in the US and Israel should Washington act.The commander of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accused Israel and the US on
Wednesday of being behind the protests that have upended the country,
and reiterated that Tehran was ready to respond “decisively” should it
be threatened.The Guard is at “the height of readiness to respond
decisively to the miscalculation of the enemy,” said IRGC Commander
Mohammad Pakpour in a written statement quoted by state television,
accusing Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being the
“murderers of the youth of Iran.”Israel, too, was said to be preparing
Wednesday for the possibility of escalation between Washington and
Tehran, and Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu has been in frequent
contact with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the issue.The pair
spoke on Saturday and Monday, and another call was expected to take
place on Wednesday, it said.It was unclear, however, whether Netanyahu
had spoken directly with Trump in recent days, or if a call between the
two leaders was planned.Addressing the possibility of Iranian
retaliation against Israel, the report cited a senior Israeli security
source as saying that “if Iran attacks, there won’t be another round —
we will act to topple the regime.”According the network, Arab diplomats
have delivered similar warnings to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist
group in Lebanon, threatening unprecedented consequences if it takes any
aggressive action against Israel in the event of a US strike on Iran.A
Lebanese source familiar with the terror organization’s thinking told
Reuters that Hezbollah did not offer explicit guarantees that it would
withhold from military action against Israel, but said it had no plans
to act unless a US strike on Iran was deemed to be “existential” for the
regime’s leadership.The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday night
that it has stepped up its defensive posture and was closely monitoring
developments in the region, but urged the public to rely only on
official updates and avoid spreading rumors.“I am aware of the reports
over the past day and especially in the last few hours and request to
clarify – the IDF is closely following the developments,” IDF Spokesman
Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said in a statement posted on X.Chief of Staff
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has been holding ongoing situational assessments in
recent days, Defrin said, and the military is on full alert.“Rely only
on official IDF statements and avoid spreading rumors that could cause
public concern,” he wrote, urging the public not to rely on unofficial
information. “At this stage, there is no change in the Home Front
Command’s defensive guidelines.”“The IDF is prepared and will continue
to act responsibly to protect the security of the citizens of the State
of Israel,” he said.Meanwhile, after some personnel were advised to
leave the US military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Wednesday, The
UK’s newspaper reported that Britain was also withdrawing some personnel
from an airbase in Qatar.The British defense ministry had no immediate
comment on the report.“All the signals are that a US attack is imminent,
but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on
their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy,” a Western
military official told Reuters later on Wednesday.Two European officials
stated that US military intervention could occur within the next 24
hours, corroborating Channel 12’s account.Later on Wednesday night, six
American Stratotanker aircraft took off from the base, according to
flight tracking websites.It was unclear whether the KC-135s were
repositioning to US bases further from Iran or were preparing to support
a US strike in the region.Commercial ships anchor outside Iran’s port
limits-Separately, data and shipping sources showed on Wednesday that
dozens of commercial ships had dropped anchor at a distance outside
Iran’s port limits in recent days.Such movements were precautionary
given the tensions amid ongoing protests in Iran, the shipping sources
said. Port limits are significant because they run a higher risk of
collateral damage in the event of air strikes on nearby
infrastructure.The country relies on seaborne trade for imports using
dry bulkers, general cargo and container ships as well as oil tankers
for oil exports.The number of tankers moving into Iran’s exclusive
economic zone (EEZ), a stretch of water along its Gulf and Caspian
coasts that extends up to 24 miles and beyond local territorial limits
of 12 nautical miles, jumped from 1 vessel to 36 tankers between January
6 and January 12, analysis by maritime intelligence solutions provider
Pole Star Global shows.At least 25 bulk carriers were stationary in
Iran’s EEZ off the major port of Bandar Imam Khomeini, data from ship
tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed.A further
25 ships including container and cargo vessels had dropped anchor
further south off the port of Bandar Abbas, MarineTraffic data
showed.The level of interference with GNSS navigation systems, which
included GPS, had increased to “substantial” in the Gulf and Strait of
Hormuz area over the past week, the US Navy’s Combined Maritime Force
said in a note on Monday.“This is highly likely due to force protection
measures being taken in relation to the ongoing political tensions in
the region. Vessels transiting this area could be impacted,” the note
said.The flow of information from inside Iran has been hampered by an
internet blackout.The government’s prestige was hammered by its 12-day
war with Israel last June that followed setbacks for Iran’s regional
allies in Lebanon and Syria. European powers restored UN sanctions over
Iran’s nuclear program, compounding the economic crisis there.The unrest
on such a scale caught the authorities off guard at a vulnerable time,
but it does not appear that the government faces imminent collapse, and
its security apparatus still appears to be in control, one Western
official said.The authorities have sought to project images showing they
retain public support. Iranian state TV broadcast footage of large
funeral processions for people killed in the unrest in Tehran, Isfahan,
Bushehr and other cities.People waved flags and pictures of Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and held aloft signs with anti-riot
slogans.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, an elected figure whose
power is subordinate to that of Khamenei, told a cabinet meeting that as
long as the government had popular support, “all the enemies’ efforts
against the country will come to nothing.”State media reported that the
head of Iran’s top security body, Ali Larijani, had spoken to the
foreign minister of Qatar, while Iran’s top diplomat Araghchi had spoken
to his Emirati and Turkish counterparts. Araghchi told UAE Foreign
Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed that “calm has prevailed.”
Op-ed:
Day 831 of the war-etic justice for October 7, but it’s not
guaranteed-Hamas sought to destroy Israel 27 months ago, enabled and
cheered by the Islamic Republic. Now that regime is facing collapse and
massacring its own citizens. How and when will Trump honor his promise
to help? By David Horovitz-14 January 2026, 3:53 pm
The current
protests against the regime in Iran are seen as the biggest since 2009,
when masses took to the streets in outrage over the faked reelection of
president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the expense of his challenger, the
former prime minister and relative reformist Mir-Hossain Mousavi, who
remains under house arrest to this day. And they are being suppressed
with a brutality that may be unprecedented since the ayatollahs seized
power in 1979, with anything from 2,500, to 5,000, to 12,000 people
reported gunned down by regime forces, and tens of thousands
injured.Initially fueled by economic dissent, they have swelled to
become what the regime recognizes as a threat to its rule. Doing its
best to conceal the horrors it is unleashing by closing down the
internet, it has moved to ruthlessly massacre its own protesting
people.As they did in 2009, the protesters are looking to the
international community for support, and especially to the United
States. Then-president Barack Obama declared gravely in June 2009 that
“when I see violence directed at peaceful protesters, when I see
peaceful dissent being suppressed… it is of concern to me and it is of
concern to the American people.” But he provided no practical
assistance.Current President Donald Trump has been warning the regime
for days that if it starts shooting its citizenry, “we will start
shooting,” and on Tuesday threatened “very strong action” if the regime
starts executing people. As of this writing, the ayatollahs and their
security forces are doing precisely what the president warned them not
to do, blithely ignoring his threats, and Trump has yet to act on
them.There can be no doubt that the murderous regime in Iran should go.
It is ideologically and territorially rapacious, in the cause of a death
cult iteration of radical Islam.It incites and funds terror worldwide.
It created Hezbollah to try and destroy Israel from the north. It armed
and funded Hamas with its shared goal of destroying Israel from the
south. It has journeyed most of the way to a nuclear weapons capability.
Its ballistic missile arsenal had become an existential threat to
Israel before the 12-day war set it back in the summer, and it promptly
resumed manufacture afterward. It has constantly sought to expand its
missile range to bring Europe and, eventually, it hopes, North America
within reach. It is the prime fomenter of global instability. And right
now, it is turning its guns on its own repressed, impoverished and
captive people.It may never have been as vulnerable to defeat as it is
today, in a Middle East that has seen an acceleration of immense and
sudden shifts since Hamas invaded Israel 27 months ago: Israel was
caught woefully unprepared on October 7, 2023, and still lives in a
humbled, traumatized new reality, albeit reviving and insistently
resilient; Hezbollah was radically degraded at the press of a button;
Bashar Assad was ousted almost overnight… But getting rid of the
ayatollahs, even in this roiling region and with Iranians risking their
lives to challenge their rulers, is not straightforward or
guaranteed.Markedly upbeat in his most recent address in Detroit on
Tuesday evening, Trump devoted just a few sentences in a very lengthy
speech to the fate of Iran and his capacity to impact it.Rattling
through a list of foreign military interventions, he highlighted that
each of them had been carried out precisely as planned:“We did [Islamic
State chief Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi [who killed himself during a US raid
in 2019]: Flawless.“We did [Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Al-Quds chief Qasam] Soleimani [killed in a US drone strike in 2020]:
Flawless.“We did the Iran nuclear attack (striking three Iranian nuclear
facilities on June 22, 2025, the final day of the Israel-Iran war),
where we wiped out their nuclear capacity, which would have been very
bad. You wouldn’t have peace in the Middle East: Flawless.“We did them
all: Flawless,” he repeated, and then added, “I want to keep it going
that way too.”And therein lies the challenge.As of this writing, Trump
has not indicated how he intends to provide the help that he has
repeatedly promised the protesters “is on its way.” He seems to have set
aside initial talk of diplomacy — apparently recognizing that even a
professed readiness by the regime to now give up its demand to maintain
the right to enrich uranium is just a case of playing for time.Is he
about to wage war against the IRGC and the Basij, in their hundreds of
thousands? By definition, that would not be flawless.Will he target
symbols of the regime, to underline its helplessness? Might he seek to
eliminate members of the leadership? Could he choose to strike energy
infrastructure, which is unlikely to be a game-changer? Might he focus
on that renewed missile program, though this, too, might not be
sufficient to deter the regime from its ongoing massacre? How will he
balance intervention with concerns that this could spark a lengthy
conflict, potentially drawing in Israel, which is currently braced for a
potential, if currently deemed unlikely, Iranian attack? Is there more
that can be done to counter the ayatollahs’ ongoing internet blackout —
and bring the awful reality of what the killers sent by Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei are doing to the Iranian people more clearly into the global
public domain? The relative paucity of massacre footage contributes to
the relative indifference of much of the international community, and by
extension the world’s political leadership.The indifference is widened,
of course, because this is a case of Muslims killing Muslims — no
ostensible colonialism, no alleged Jewish oppressors. And so a vicious
regime mass-murdering its own people sparks no vast campus protests,
only minor demonstrations in city centers, no impassioned pleas by
Hollywood actors, little urgency at the UN, and of course no belated
recognition that maybe Iran and the proxies who are trying to wipe out
Israel might be on the wrong side of history and humanity.This is not
Israel’s war, but Israel has an existential interest in its outcome. It
also has a fervent desire for a relationship with a different Iran, much
of whose public may not have fallen for the regime’s decades of
anti-Israel indoctrination.This Iranian regime, its military proxies and
its second battlefield demonization corps have worked relentlessly with
every ounce of their perverted ingenuity to destroy the Jewish state —
to mobilize global opinion against our legitimacy; to misrepresent the
events of October 7, 2023, and their fallout, and seek to deny Israel
the right to defend itself; to target Jews; to redefine Zionism not as
movement to revive and maintain the historic homeland of the Jewish
nation but as an illegitimate, terrorist cause.It would be bittersweet
poetic justice were the cycle of events introduced by Yahya Sinwar’s
invasion of southern Israel — the worst massacre and abduction of our
people in our modern history, cheered and enabled in considerable part
by the ayatollahs and their allies — to close not with the intended
elimination of Israel but, rather, with the collapse of the malevolent
Islamic Republic. (Bitter, of course, because of all the lives lost and
ruined, all the pain, heartbreak and devastation.)-The Iranian people
are, one more time, spearheading an effort to break out of a
decades-long nightmare. The US president is avowedly committed to their
freedom, and promising assistance. And the world waits, knowing that the
last thing he would want is to be perceived, Obama-style, as a
president who missed the moment to help liberate Iran.
PHASE 2 OF THE PEACE PROCESS IS READY TO START.
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)
PHASE 2 OF THE PEACE PROCESS IS READY TO START.
FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of
Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE
HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an
angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men,
and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of
all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS
TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN
FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING
BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @
39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the
earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY)
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS)
and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U
WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS)
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the
horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were
filled with their flesh.
Zephaniah 2:1-15
1 Gather together, yes, gather,O shameless nation,
2
before the decree takes effect[a] -before the day passes away like
chaff—before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before
there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 Seek the
Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands;[b] seek
righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of
the anger of the Lord.
4 For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon
shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to you inhabitants of the
seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against
you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no
inhabitant is left.
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows[c] for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7
The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of
Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they
shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of
them and restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the taunts of Moab
(JORDAN) and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my
people and made boasts against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I
live,” declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become
like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles
and salt pits, and a waste forever.The remnant of my people shall
plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11
The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods
of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the
lands of the nations.
12 You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword.
13
And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy
Assyria,(SYRIA) and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like
the desert.
14 Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of
beasts;[d] even the owl and the hedgehog[e] shall lodge in her
capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the
threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the
exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and
there is no one else.” What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild
beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.Sa'ar: No
free meals; talks possible if more hostages freed Israel halts aid into
Gaza, citing Hamas refusal to extend first phase of truce
Footnotes-a
-Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth, b-Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his
judgment, c-Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves, d-Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of
every nation, e-Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl
and hedgehog is uncertain
DANIEL 2:37-45
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made
thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after
thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third
kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And
the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh
in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these,
shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the
feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom
shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never
be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of
the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the
brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known
to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is
certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
DANIEL 7:17-26
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19
Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from
all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his
nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
with his feet;
20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of
the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn
that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was
more stout than his fellows.
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of
the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,
which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the
ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and
another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first,
and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words
against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High,
and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his
hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
THE WORLD IN 10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION THE WORLD LEADER, NOT AMERICA.I PREDICT.
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND REVIVED ROMAN WORLD GOVERNMENT
DANIEL 2:31-33,36-43, DAN 7:3-8,17
First From Daniel Chapter 2
1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (HEAD OF GOLD) DAN 2:31-32,36-38, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (CHEST & ARMS OF SILVER) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (WAIST & HIPS OF BRONZE) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (2 LEGS OF IRON) DAN 2:33,40, ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) (FEET IRON & CLAY) DAN 2:33,41-43,10 TOES
Now From Daniel Chapter 7
1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (LION WITH EAGLES WINGS) DAN 7:4, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (BEAR ON HIND LEGS) DAN 7:5, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (LEOPARD 4 WINGS, 4 HEADS) DAN 7:6, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (HUGE IRON TEETH) DAN 7:7 (10 HORNS), ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) DAN 7:8,19-20,23-25 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS
REV
17:9,12, 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS, 7 HILLS ROME. REV 13:1 BEAST WITH 7 HEADS.
THE E.U LEADER OF WORLD GOVERNMENT DAN 2:40-45, 7:7-8,23-25,27, 8:23,
REV 13:3,7,8,12,14,16
REVELATION 17:10-12
10 And there are
seven kings (7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY) five are fallen, (EGYPT,
ASSYRIA, BABYLON,:MEDO-PERSIAN,GREECE and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS
DAY-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he
cometh,(FUTURE-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE-EUROPEAN UNION TODAY) he must
continue a short space.(7 YEARS OF WORLD DOMINATION-BUT 3 1/2 YEARS OF
NEW WORLD ORDER OR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT)
12 And the ten horns (10
WORLD TRADE BLOCS OR REGIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which
have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour
with the beast.
REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (10
WORLD TRADE BLOCS-NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have
received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the
beast.
13 These have one mind,(WORLD SOCIALISM) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
We
shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only
question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or
consent.James Paul Warburg appearing before the Senate on 7th February
1950
Like a famous WWII Belgian General,Paul Henry Spock said in
1957:We need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a
man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection
to himself and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten
to sink. Send us such a man. Be he a god or a devil, we will accept
him.And today, sadly, the world is indeed ready for such a man.
DICK
MORRIS-This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don’t
look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels.
THE CLUB OF ROME FOUNDER AURELIO PECCEI WANTS THE WORLD IN 10 REGIONAL TRADING BLOCKS.
REVELATION 16:1-2
1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels,
Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the
earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth;
and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the
mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16
And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in
their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
I KNOW THIS MARK WILL
BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK
SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE
VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW
LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE.
UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW
AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION
13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION
AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO
IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE
SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE),
OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX,
KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125
THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR
RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM
1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE;
FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 -
STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick;
(cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.;
Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According
to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of
their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to
indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even
some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their
gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα
τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in
Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left
there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by
him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and
approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on
Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian,
Plutarch, Lcian, others.)
THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo
THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.
LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)-UPDATED VERSION (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA
THE
CLUB OF ROME WANTS A WORLD CHARISMATIC DICTATOR (EITHER RELIGIOUS,
POLITICAL OR SCIENTIFICAL) TO HEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. REV 13:3,7-8,
DAN 7:23-24
WORLD POWERS IN THE END TIME
NORTH - RUSSIA EZEK 38:1-2, 39:1-2
SOUTH - EGYPT DAN 11:42
EAST - CHINA DAN 11:44,REV 16:12
WEST - EUROPEAN UNION DAN 7:23-24 (NOT THE U.S.A)
http://israel7777777.blogspot.ca/2012/03/10-world-trade-blocs-one-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2006/09/how-eu-takes-world-control.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2012/05/one-world-religion-crislam.html
FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of
Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE
HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an
angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men,
and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of
all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS
TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN
FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING
BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @
39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the
earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY)
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS)
and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U
WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS)
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the
horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were
filled with their flesh.
COUNCIL FOR EUROPE ON DEFENCE
https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/6d6f889c-e58d-4caa-8f3b-8b93154fe206_en?filename=SAFE%20Regulation.pdf
US
promises 'demilitarization,' though Hamas hasn't agreed-US launches
Gaza plan’s 2nd phase as Palestinian technocratic government
unveiled-Last hostage’s mom says move jeopardizes efforts to return her
son, as Witkoff warns Hamas on matter, Netanyahu says ‘declarative’ move
to stage 2 won’t harm repatriation efforts By Jacob Magid,Noam Lehmann,
Lazar Berman and AFP 14 January 2026, 10:23 pm
US special envoy
Steve Witkoff on Wednesday announced the launch of phase two of
President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the war in Gaza,
including the establishment of a new technocratic Palestinian
administration for the Strip.Witkoff said in a statement that this new
phase will consist of “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization,
technocratic governance and reconstruction.”“Phase two establishes a
transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza — the
National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) — and begins
the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the
disarmament of all unauthorized personnel,” Witkoff said.“The US expects
Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate
return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring
serious consequences,” the US envoy added.“Importantly, phase one
delivered historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned
all living hostages and the remains of 27 of the 28 deceased hostages,”
Witkoff said, thanking fellow mediators Egypt, Turkey and Qatar “for
their indispensable mediation efforts that made all progress to date
possible.”Israel pushed back on transitioning to phase two before Hamas
had given up its weapons and returned the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.
Top US officials told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his
Mar-a-Lago meetings last month that Washington is committed to those two
goals, but doesn’t want to condition the commencement of phase two on
either, a US official and two sources familiar with the matter told The
Times of Israel last week.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with
Gvili’s parents after the announcement, telling them that Gvili’s return
“is at the top of Israel’s priorities, and that the declarative move to
establish a committee of technocrats [to manage Gaza] will not affect
in any way the efforts to bring Ran back for burial in Israel.”Netanyahu
also said that Israel is insisting that information on Gvili’s
whereabouts provided by the mediators “be immediately translated into
effective actions on the ground.“Hamas is required to comply with the
terms of the agreement and make a 100 percent effort to return all
fallen hostages, until the very last one — Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel,”
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.Gvili’s mother, Talik, said in a
statement that the declaration will not impact her campaign for her son
but emphasized her opposition to the implementation of phase two until
he is returned.“Moving to phase two at this moment, while the efforts to
return Ran have yet to be exhausted, is a loss of the most significant
leverage and may be a sentence of eternal disappearance for Ran. Until
Ran is returned, the State of Israel will not be able to close its most
bloody wound and will not be able to begin the rehabilitation and
healing that it so desperately needs. Phase two must not be implemented
as long as Ran has not returned home,” she said.Notably, Witkoff’s
announcement does not include the unveiling of the Board of Peace, which
is supposed to be made up of world leaders who will oversee the
NCAG.The US had initially planned to reveal the Board of Peace’s members
last month, but has struggled to rally international support around its
plan amid heavy skepticism that Hamas will agree to disarm or that
Israel will agree to further withdraw from the Strip and allow for its
reconstruction.Nonetheless, the US is still aiming to hold the first
meeting of the Board of Peace on the sidelines of the World Economic
Forum in Davos next week.While Witkoff’s statement spoke of
demilitarization, no agreement has been reached yet on how that will be
executed.The US has been in talks with Mideast 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 is
not clear whether this framework will be sufficient for Israel, and
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. For its part, the US has claimed
that Hamas agreed to disarm during a meeting between top officials from
each side hours before phase one of the ceasefire was inked in
October.That deal has barely held in the nearly three months since, with
mutual allegations of violations and over 400 Palestinians killed,
according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate
between civilians and combatants.While aid has increased significantly
during this period, humanitarian groups say Israeli restrictions have
hampered their efforts to serve the people of Gaza, where hundreds of
thousands are displaced in often flimsy tents at the peak of winter.Arab
world, Palestinian factions welcome new committee-Mediating states
Egypt, Qatar and Turkey issued a joint statement welcoming the formation
of the technocratic committee, and confirmed that the committee will be
headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy transportation minister
Ali Shaath.“This step… will contribute to stability and improve the
humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” the mediators said,
expressing their hope that it will also pave the way for further
implementation of the Trump plan’s second phase.“The mediators stress
the need for all parties to commit to the full implementation of the
agreement in order to achieve a sustainable peace and create the
appropriate conditions for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in a
manner that meets the aspirations of the brotherly Palestinian people
for security, stability, and a dignified life,” the statement
added.Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty
announced that “a consensus has been reached on the members” of the
committee to govern Gaza.The PA had hoped that it would control the
panel and that one of its ministers would serve as its chairman. But
that demand was vetoed by Israel, which has blocked efforts to allow the
PA to gain a foothold in Gaza.“We hope that following this agreement,
the committee will be announced soon… and will then be deployed to the
Gaza Strip to manage daily life and essential services,” he said,
indicating that all Palestinian factions back the members of the new
committee.Abdelatty stressed that despite the formation of the new
technocratic body tasked with managing Gaza for an interim period, Egypt
will not allow for the enclave to be separated politically from the
West Bank, stressing the importance of a two-state solution.The Egyptian
foreign minister expressed his hope that an announcement would soon be
made revealing the 15 members.Some of the members of the technocratic
committee are located in Gaza, while others are outside the Strip. The
Haaretz daily reported that the panel will initially be based in Cairo,
though this would likely require Israel to reopen the Rafah
Crossing.It’s still unclear when the committee will be able to begin
operating.The members of the new panel have not yet been formally
announced, but they have received official letters from the Board of
Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov to serve on the transitional
committee.The PA’s President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his support for
the new technocratic committee on Wednesday.The statement from Abbas’s
office welcoming the new panel lauded Trump’s efforts to stabilize Gaza,
in an apparent effort to maintain working ties with Washington in the
hope that this will allow for the PA to gradually restore its role in
the Strip.Abbas’s office stressed the importance of not separating Gaza
from the West Bank and urged countries to take actions to prevent the
further tightening of Israel’s grip on the latter territory.The US State
Department welcomed the PA’s support in a statement.The majority of
Palestinian factions also offered their support for the technocratic
committee.In a statement, Palestinian factions, including terror groups
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said they had agreed “to support the mediators’
efforts in forming the Palestinian National Transitional Committee to
administer the Gaza Strip, while providing the appropriate environment”
for it to begin its work.The statement also vowed to “continue to work
for national unity,” called for an independent Palestinian state, and
urged mediators to pressure Israel to withdraw from Gaza. There was no
mention of Hamas’s weapons, which the terror group must surrender to
international forces under Trump’s plan.The statement came after a Hamas
delegation met with representatives of other Palestinian factions in
Cairo in the afternoon to discuss the transition to the second phase of
the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to Egyptian outlet al-Qahera, which
is considered close to Egyptian intelligence.Other outlets reported that
the meeting did not include representatives of the PA and its dominant
faction, Fatah.
We want to see Israel and Turkey rebuild their
relationship'US bullish as bodies tasked with replacing Hamas take
shape, despite disarmament hurdle-Trump aides insist Hamas is indicating
it’s prepared to give up weapons and say they’re committed to bringing
back last hostage’s body, but will not wait to advance Gaza peace
place-By Jacob Magid-Today, 6:10 am-JAN 15,26
A pair of US
officials expressed significant optimism about the chances for
stabilizing Gaza, during a Wednesday briefing held shortly after
Washington announced the start of a new phase of President Donald
Trump’s plan to end the war in the coastal enclave.“For the first time
in Gaza in almost a long time, there’s no Palestinian Authority and
there’s no Hamas governing it. This really has the potential to be the
beginning of a new era,” one of the US officials said, speaking to a
group of reporters on condition of anonymity.Hours earlier, Egypt
announced the establishment of a transitional Palestinian technocratic
committee that will be tasked with running daily affairs in the Gaza
Strip in place of Hamas. It is one of several bodies that the US is
establishing as part of the second phase of Trump’s plan, after a phase
one ceasefire was inked on October 9.Since then, intensive Israeli
military operations in the Strip have largely halted; the IDF withdrew
to a new demarcation known as the Yellow Line, leaving it in control of
roughly 53% of Gaza; all 20 living Israeli hostages were returned in
exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners; 27 of the 28 bodies of
deceased Israeli hostages have also been handed over; and a surge of aid
has entered the enclave, alleviating an ongoing humanitarian crisis as
winter peaks.While Trump within days of the October ceasefire declared
that phase two of his plan had already begun, the US struggled to make
that announcement a reality amid mutual allegations of ceasefire
violations, and widespread skepticism that Hamas will agree to disarm or
that Israel will agree to further withdraw from the Strip as envisioned
by Trump’s plan.Unmoved by those concerns, US special envoy Steve
Witkoff announced on Wednesday the “launch of phase two,” where the goal
will be “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic
governance and reconstruction.”The US officials briefing reporters hours
later acknowledged heavy doubt in Jerusalem over the prospect of Hamas
disarming, but they insisted that the terrorist group has indicated its
readiness to do so.“We’ve talked to a number of Hamas people, and we’re
hearing throughout the Arab world that people don’t want to be at war
anymore. They want peace. They want a better economic future for their
families. They want credible homes,” said a second US official on the
briefing. “They want what everybody else in this world wants — just a
good life, and a good life doesn’t occur through military means.”The
officials proceeded to offer status updates on the other bodies that
will be established as part of the second phase, including the Board of
Peace, which will oversee the entire operation and the International
Stabilization Force, which in turn will help secure the Strip in place
of the IDF. While officials familiar with the matter have told The Times
of Israel in recent weeks that Washington has struggled to recruit
allies abroad to serve on either forum, the two Trump aides briefing
reporters insisted that Washington has received more than enough
assistance to move its Gaza plan forward.Committed to finding Gvili, but
won’t hold up phase two-The US official touted the humanitarian
operation since the ceasefire and phase one of Trump’s plan came into
place in October, saying 53,120 trucks of aid — two million pallets
worth — have entered the Strip since and that cooperation between Israel
and the UN has increased.While basic food supplies have indeed
increased significantly, lack of sufficient shelter has become a major
issue, with aid organizations lamenting Israeli restrictions on metal
polls necessary to stabilize tents that have been widely filmed falling
apart amid the winter winds. Israel says those materials could be used
by Hamas for weapons and therefore has not allowed them into Gaza, where
hundreds of thousands are living in tents.The US official said that
progress has also been made in destroying tunnels, with 50 kilometers
worth already demolished and several tons of rubble cleared making room
for several square kilometers of space to build new temporary housing
for Gazans. The first such project is planned to go up on the ruins of
the southern Gaza city of Rafah, officials have told The Times of
Israel.Israel had pushed back on advancing to phase two of Trump’s Gaza
plan before Hamas has handed over Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili’s
body along with its weapons. But top US officials informed Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Florida last month that
they did not want to hold things up any longer and would continue the
search for Gvili along with efforts to disarm Hamas simultaneously with
the operationalization of phase two, officials told The Times of
Israel.A “very good channel of communication” is operating to find
Gvili’s remains and there are several potential sites where his body may
be located, said the first US official during the briefing.“We will not
consider this mission completed until the last body is found. With that
being said, we are not going to hold up going to phase two for that
because both parties have agreed to continue working in good faith,”
said the US official.The US official also argued that Wednesday’s launch
of the Palestinian technocratic committee, along with continued
progress on Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, would boost the chances of
locating Gvili’s body.Hamas ‘indicating’ readiness to disarm-Despite
the optimism regarding the prospect of disarming Hamas, the first US
official indicated that conversations on the topic with the terror
organization are only in their initial stages.“We will be engaging in
conversations with Hamas on the next phase, which is demilitarization
and [we will be engaging] with Israel on what amnesty program can be
given to Hamas [fighters] if they do this,” he said.“There’s clearly not
a lot of trust between both sides after decades of conflict, but…
believe that there is a good chance that everyone will try to keep their
word in the agreement, and we will be able to move things forward,” the
US official said.The official went on to claim that Hamas officials
“are indicating that there’s a real possibility that [demilitarization]
will happen, so we’re pushing very hard to make it happen.”Offering some
more detail on what demilitarization might look like, the first senior
US official said all terror infrastructure in Gaza will be destroyed and
“heavy weaponry, like RPGs, rocket launchers and missiles” will “need
to be put into a place where they’re not being used.”He notably made no
mention of light weapons, which Israel is also insisting be part of the
disarmament program, arguing that AK-47s are what Hamas uses to maintain
its control of Gazans in the Strip.“Gaza needs to have basic policing
so that they can keep control of their populations. People should be
able to make sure that it’s a place free of crime, where people can live
freely and safely,” the US official said.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 told The Times of Israel last week, 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.Board of Peace invites go out-While
talks on disarmament will likely take time, the Trump administration is
moving ahead with the establishment of the Board of Peace, with the
first US official revealing during the briefing that invitations to
serve on the panel went out to world leaders on Wednesday-The US
official declined to divulge which countries’ leaders were invited to
take part, but The Times of Israel reported last month that the US had
informed interlocutors 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.The US is hoping to more
than double that number, but has had limited success to date, a senior
Arab diplomat said last week, adding that Washington is considering
filling spots on the panel with the heads of the World Bank,
International Monetary Fund and World Economic Forum.But briefing
reporters on Wednesday, the first US official was bullish about the
Board of Peace’s makeup, saying that Trump was personally involved in
selecting who would receive an invitation to join him on the panel. The
official added that invitations were sent out earlier in the day to “a
lot of countries” and that “there has been a very overwhelming
response.”“The goal here is to create the alternative to Hamas that
wants peace and to figure out how to empower them,” the US official said
of the Palestinian technocratic committee, adding that its full list of
participants would be unveiled later this week.“Our job at the Board of
Peace is to be supporting them, giving them all the best practices of
what’s being done in the region and find ways to give them every
opportunity to be successful,” the US official said.The Board of Peace
will also have an executive committee that will effectively be headed by
Nickolay Mladenov. The former UN envoy to the Mideast has been given
the title of Board of Peace high representative. Also serving on the
executive committee will be former UK prime minister Tony Blair, and
Trump’s top aides Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, officials have told
The Times of Israel.The executive committee will work more closely with
the technocratic committee, than the Board of Peace, which will only
meet a handful of times each year and largely play a symbolic role that
will offer legitimacy for the initiative as it needs to fundraise a
significant amount of cash.Will Turkey join the International
Stabilization Force? Also being established as part of phase two of
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan is an International Stabilization Force that
will be tasked with providing security in the Strip.The US has struggled
to get countries on board amid heavy speculation that Hamas will
disarm. One of the two countries Washington had publicly touted,
Azerbaijan, announced earlier this month that it would not be
participating.But the US official briefing reporters downplayed the
challenge, insisting that enough countries have volunteered to
contribute troops to allow the initiative to move forward.Moreover, he
appeared to confirm The Times of Israel’s reporting on the shrinking of
the ISF mandate to more limited tasks such as securing borders and
humanitarian aid, rather than kinetic activity to disarm Hamas.“A lot of
the work inside Gaza will be done by the local Palestinian police
forces, which we think is the most important element of this plan, so
we’ve been putting a lot of time into that,” the US official said.He
said more information regarding the ISF will be released in about two
weeks, indicating that it is not at the top of the administration’s
priorities.People are in a celebratory mood. The fact that this
coincides with Davos feels a little bit like it was meant to be,” the US
official said.Asked whether Turkey will take part in the ISF amid
fierce Israeli pushback, the US official avoids answering directly,
while touting Ankara’s productive role.“Turkey has played a very
integral role in getting to the ceasefire, and President Trump is very
grateful to President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and (his team)…. They’ve
done an incredible job really working with us, and we think it’s very
important to have them involved, as they have influence with Hamas,” the
US official said.“We want to see Turkey and Israel start to rebuild
their relationship,” he said, adding that sustained calm in Gaza will
create more space for that to occur.“President Erdogan has a big heart
for the people of Gaza — hopefully we can get both sides to start
deescalating their rhetoric, start focusing on their interests and
seeing that there’s a lot of benefit that both countries can have in
working together,” the US official said.The first meeting of the Board
of Peace is slated to take place on the sidelines of the World Economic
Forum in Davos next week, and a second US official on the briefing said
announcements will likely be made at the gathering.“People are in a
celebratory mood. The fact that this coincides with Davos feels a little
bit like it was meant to be,” the US official said.
Former
deputy PA minister to lead technocratic committee slated to administer
Gaza-Ali Shaath, a Gazan native and longtime civil servant, touts his
plans for rebuilding Strip after 2 years of war, including pushing
rubble into sea in order to reclaim land By AFP Today, 4:35 am-JAN 15,26
Gaza
native and former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath will
head the new technocratic committee set to administer the devastated
Gaza Strip, mediating countries announced on Wednesday.A seasoned civil
servant largely unknown to the wider public, Shaath was born in the
southern city of Khan Younis in 1958, later leaving to study in Cairo, a
family member told AFP.He became a civil engineer, and previously
served as the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority’s deputy minister of
planning and international cooperation, as well as undersecretary for
the ministry of transportation and communications, among other
portfolios.In a technical and detail-oriented interview on Palestinian
Basma Radio on Wednesday, Shaath spoke at length on rebuilding the Gaza
Strip, ravaged by more than two years of war and intensive bombing.“We
are not talking about ‘reconstruction’ but construction anew,” he said,
highlighting the immediate need for shelter for Gaza’s 2.2 million
residents, almost all of whom have been displaced at least once during
the war.“We will set plans for water, well rehabilitation, water
purification, and treated water — water is the secret to health,
education, hospitals, all of which were destroyed,” he added.On the
question of the vast amounts of rubble left from Gaza’s destroyed
buildings, Shaath floated the idea of pushing it into the adjacent
Mediterranean Sea to reclaim land.He told the broadcaster he had been
contacted about the post by Bulgarian diplomat and politician Nickolay
Mladenov-Under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Shaath’s
committee would operate under the supervision of a so-called “Board of
Peace,” expected to be led on the ground by Mladenov and chaired by
Trump himself.‘Brains’, not weapons-Regarding his jurisdiction, Shaath
said that under the terms of the US-brokered agreement, his committee
would gradually take over 50 percent of Gazan territory currently under
Israeli control, before expanding to cover the entirety of its area.He
added that security and coordination with armed groups were not part of
the committee’s mandate.“The commission is not an army; it is 15
Palestinian experts in reconstruction, assisted by staff — brains more
than weapons,” he said.Gaza’s technocratic committee will meet for the
first time Thursday in Cairo, a Palestinian official told AFP.Five
members of the committee currently in the Gaza Strip will travel via the
Rafah Border Crossing to bordering Egypt for the meeting, another
Palestinian official said.Palestinian factions including PA President
Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party and its rival Hamas expressed their support
for the committee’s composition.Hamas has said it does not seek a role
in any future governing authority in Gaza, and would limit its role to a
monitoring capacity, but has not agreed to handover its weapons.One
employee of an international organization working in the Palestinian
territories, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that given his
relatively low profile Shaath “didn’t strike me as an obvious
choice.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF
says 6 gunmen killed Tuesday in Rafah firefight after ‘serious
violation’ of truce-Weapons found on bodies of suspects after they
approached forces on the Israel-controlled side of the Yellow Line,
sparking a clash and airstrikes in the area By Stav Levaton,Noam
Lehmann, Lazar Berman and Agencies 14 January 2026, 8:01 pm
The
Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that all six of the gunmen
identified during a clash in western Rafah on Tuesday were killed during
the exchange of fire.In a statement, the military said troops from the
7th Armored Brigade had eliminated the six suspects. Searches were
carried out in the area and various weapons were found on their
bodies.The incident unfolded on the Israeli-controlled side of the
Yellow Line in the southern Gaza Strip after troops identified six armed
individuals near their positions. Tanks moved in and opened fire,
prompting the gunmen to return fire and triggering a firefight along
with Israeli airstrikes.In the immediate aftermath of the clash, the IDF
confirmed that it had killed at least two of the armed suspects and
said it was searching the area for the remaining gunmen.The military
reiterated its comments from Tuesday in the Wednesday statement, saying
that the incident constituted a “serious violation” of the October
ceasefire agreement, and said it would continue to act against any of
the attempts by terror groups in Gaza to attack Israeli forces or
civilians.Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has
largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both
sides have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.Three IDF soldiers have
been killed during the same period.The IDF published footage of
Tuesday’s clash, in which gunmen could be seen firing at IDF tanks, with
troops returning fire.The military also published photos of the weapons
that were found on the suspects’ bodies after the clash.The flare-up in
violence came even as Israel and other countries prepared for the onset
of the Gaza ceasefire’s second phase, which the US publicly launched on
Wednesday.Phase two is meant to establish longer-term governance and
security frameworks for the enclave. But Israel is insisting that Master
Sgt. Ran Gvili, the final deceased hostage held in Gaza, be returned
before the deal advances, and on Tuesday reiterated that it rejects
claims by the Gaza terror groups that they can’t locate his body.Israel
is “working every day, all day and night,” to return Gvili’s body to
Israel, a senior government official said on Tuesday.“The efforts are
being made through the negotiating team, and contacts with the
mediators, also through connections with the Americans, as well as
intelligence actions,” the official said.“There are those in the Islamic
Jihad who know where Ran Gvili is,” the official continued, referring
to the last slain hostage held in Gaza.“We are not going to give up on
this. Information we have given to the mediators multiple times,
including recently, must be translated into effective actions to bring
him back,” said the official. “That message has been communicated.”Last
week, multiple sources had told The Times of Israel that US President
Donald Trump was aiming to begin the second phase of the ceasefire, even
as Gvili remains held in Gaza. Trump is set to announce the Board of
Peace, which will supervise Gaza’s on-the-ground government.Trump’s move
comes as other key pieces of the ceasefire have yet to occur, such as
Hamas’s disarmament, which the terror group has rejected, and the
opening of the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
US
could declare shift to phase 2 of peace plan on Wednesday-Palestinian
technocrats invited to join transitional Gaza governing committee —
sources-Former deputy PA minister to head panel; Gaza Chamber of
Commerce head, who will also be a member, tells ToI he is ‘eager to
start work to alleviate suffering of Gazans’By Jacob Magid-14 January
2026, 4:24 am
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.Mladenov, a
Bulgarian diplomat who previously served as the UN special envoy to the
Middle East, 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, which could be announced as early
as Wednesday, the Arab diplomat said.Inked in October, phase one saw
the start of a fragile ceasefire along with a hostage-prisoner swap.
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 its 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 cede
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
Tuesday. 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 to the technocratic committee’s legitimacy,
including the reopening of the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt.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.
Analysis-Israel’s
recognition of Somaliland brings danger and opportunity to a rough
region-‘It is a mutually beneficial friendship,’ says breakaway region’s
FM, though al-Shabab threats, Houthi risks and Middle East power games
make the new ties with Jerusalem precarious By SAM METZ and Omar Faruk
14 January 2026, 10:30 am
AP — Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
has thrust the breakaway territory into the international spotlight,
causing an uproar in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East as a
surprise new factor in regional power struggles.For Israel, the decision
reignites questions about the contentious proposal raised last year by
American and Israeli officials for Somaliland to take in Palestinians
displaced from Gaza. Israel also could use Somaliland as a base to more
closely respond to attacks from Iran-backed Houthis rebels in Yemen,
just across the Gulf of Aden.Israel also would get a diplomatic win.
Somaliland’s foreign minister told The Associated Press that it aims to
join the Abraham Accords, bilateral agreements between Israel and Arab
and Muslim-majority countries.“It is a mutually beneficial friendship,”
Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adan said in an interview. In return,
“Somaliland gains open cooperation with Israel in trade, investment and
technology.”But the first international recognition of Somaliland as an
independent nation also could make it a target. Analysts warn that its
ties with Israel could become a rallying cry for Islamic extremists,
destabilizing an already volatile region in which Somaliland has prided
itself as an oasis of relative calm.Al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab, based
in Somalia and the key challenge to that country’s stability, is already
making threats. The group has rarely carried out attacks in Somaliland,
which broke away in 1991 as Somalia collapsed into conflict.“Members of
the movement reject Israel’s attempt to claim or use parts of our land.
We will not accept this, and we will fight against it,” al-Shabab
spokesperson Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rageal said in an audio message posted
on one of the group’s sites.Strategic location-Somaliland sits along one
of the world’s busiest maritime corridors. It has drawn interest from
foreign investors and military powers who see it as a potential
alternative to neighboring Djibouti, which is home to the premier
African bases for the American and Chinese militaries, and those of
several other nations.Somaliland lies less than 100 miles (160
kilometers) from Yemen, where the Houthis have been targeting commercial
and other ships in response to the Israel-Hamas war. The attacks have
upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of
goods pass annually. The Houthis also fired scores of missiles and
drones at Israel during the war in Gaza, triggering long-range strikes
by Israel’s air force.“If you are trying to watch, deter or disrupt
Houthi maritime activity, a small footprint (in Somaliland) can provide
disproportionate utility,” said Andreas Krieg, a military analyst at
King’s College London.Shortly after Israel’s recognition, the Houthis
threatened Somaliland.‘No limits’ to cooperation-Israeli Foreign
Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Somaliland last week, and Somaliland’s
president is expected to visit Israel soon.“This is a natural connection
between democratic countries — both in challenging regions,” Sa’ar said
in defending Israel’s recognition.Israel and Somaliland have said their
new ties would include defense cooperation, but officials declined to
elaborate. Somaliland’s foreign minister said that details would follow
his president’s visit to Israel.“There are no limits as to what areas we
can work with,” Adan said.He expressed hope that Israel’s recognition
would bestow new legitimacy on Somaliland and prompt others to recognize
its sovereignty, even as Somalia has angrily rejected it.“Before
Israel’s recognition, we were worried so much that other powers like
Turkey and China would squeeze us,” Adan said, mentioning two of
Somalia’s top benefactors. “I’m very hopeful that in the near future
there will be many other countries that will follow Israel.”But the
foreign minister insisted there has been no discussion with Israel about
taking in Palestinians from Gaza. US and Israeli officials told the AP
last year that Israel had approached Somaliland about the
proposal.Warnings of violence-Israeli recognition of Somaliland has
pushed the region into uncharted waters, said Mahad Wasuge, director of
Somali Public Agenda, a think tank.“It could increase violence or bring
proxy wars, particularly if the Israelis want to have a presence in the
port of Berbera to counter threats in the Red Sea,” he said, referring
to Somaliland’s largest port.The 57-nation Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, and the African Union continental body, have condemned
Israel’s recognition.Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said it
threatens his country’s sovereignty. He said that Somalis wouldn’t
accept their nation being used by a foreign power accused of harming
civilians — meaning Palestinians in Gaza — and warned that the
establishment of foreign military bases would further destabilize the
region.Somali territory “cannot be divided by a piece of paper written
by Israel and signed by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Mohamud
said in a televised address.Adan dismissed the criticism from Mogadishu,
calling Somalia a “failed state.”Great power rivalries-Already,
Israel’s recognition has rocked the balance of powers in a region where
rich Gulf countries and others have a growing interest.On Monday,
Somalia annulled its security and defense agreements with the United
Arab Emirates, a key regional ally of Israel that has long invested in
Somaliland’s Berbera port, saying it was meant to safeguard “unity,
territorial integrity, and constitutional order.”For the UAE, the area
is important for its proximity to Sudan, where it has been accused of
funding and arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in that
country’s civil war. And last week, Saudi Arabia accused the UAE of
using Somaliland as a transit point to smuggle the leader of a
separatist group out of southern Yemen.Asher Lubotzky, an analyst with
Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said that Somaliland
is one of several examples of the emerging alliance between Israel and
the UAE, which have sought to align with US foreign policy and shown a
willingness to eschew international norms while countering extremist
groups.“We know the Israeli interest is with the Houthis, but Somaliland
also has an interest in some kind of an external protection,” he
said.Others put on alert by Israel’s recognition are Turkey, Somalia’s
largest investor and a rival to Israel, and China, which has long viewed
Somaliland with suspicion over its ties with Taiwan. A rare visit to
Somalia by China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, set for last week did not
occur as the Chinese embassy cited “scheduling reasons.”Closer to home,
landlocked Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country, sees
Somaliland next door as a key route to the sea. It has remained silent
on Israel’s recognition — perhaps scrambling, like many other countries,
to understand what might come next.
Trump reiterates desire for
Greenland following high-stakes diplomatic meeting-US Secretary of State
Rubio and VP Vance meet with Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers,
but Washington’s position remains unchanged; Greenland stresses its
unity with Denmark-By Nandita Bose, Simon Lewis and Jacob
Gronholt-Pedersen Today, 1:03 pm-JAN 14,26
WASHINGTON/NUUK
(Reuters) — US President Donald Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the
US needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the
island, even as he said that “something will work out” with respect to
the future governance of the Danish overseas territory.The remarks,
which came after a high-stakes meeting between US, Danish and
Greenlandic officials, indicate that there are still fundamental, if not
intractable, differences between how Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk
see the political future of the island.“Greenland is very important for
the national security, including of Denmark,” Trump told reporters in
the Oval Office. “And the problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark
can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but
there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with
Venezuela,” he said.After meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio
and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Wednesday, Danish
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart
Vivian Motzfeldt said the US and Denmark would form a working group to
discuss a broad array of concerns regarding the island that could meet
in the coming weeks.Greenland ‘not for sale,’ Copenhagen and Nuuk
say-But they also made clear that Washington had not budged on its
position that it must acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of
Denmark that is strategically located and rich in minerals. Rasmussen
and Motzfeldt described such an outcome as an unacceptable breach of
sovereignty.“We didn’t manage to change the American position,”
Rasmussen told reporters outside the Danish embassy in Washington. “It’s
clear that the president has this wish of conquering over
Greenland.”Trump has not ruled out taking Greenland by force. Before the
two-hour meeting, he argued on social media that NATO would become far
more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the US.
“Anything less than that is unacceptable,” he wrote.In recent weeks, he
has frequently repeated longstanding claims that acquiring Greenland is a
national security imperative and that Denmark is not capable of warding
off Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic region.Greenland and
Denmark say the island is not for sale, that threats of force are
reckless and security concerns should be resolved among allies.
Prominent EU countries have backed Denmark, a member of the NATO
alliance.Ahead of the meeting, Greenland and Denmark said they had begun
to increase their military presence in and around Greenland in close
cooperation with NATO allies, as part of their promise to beef up Arctic
defense.Late on Wednesday, a Danish Air Force plane landed at Nuuk
airport and personnel in military fatigues disembarked, footage showed.
The Danish military will support the preparation of exercise activity,
according to the nation’s Joint Arctic Command.Germany, Sweden and
Norway have also announced that they would send military personnel to
the island.The increased military presence would include a range of
exercise activities throughout 2026, according to the Danish defense
ministry.Avoiding a Zelensky moment at the White House-In their remarks
to reporters, Rasmussen and Motzfeldt called the meeting respectful and
emphasized that Denmark shared US concerns about Arctic security. But
they firmly rejected the idea of the island becoming American.While
Trump has at times portrayed the island as besieged by Russian and
Chinese ships, Rasmussen rejected that characterization, saying “it is
not a true narrative that we have Chinese warships all around the
place.”The meeting presented an opportunity for Copenhagen and Nuuk to
de-escalate the crisis and find a diplomatic path to satisfy US demands
for more control, analysts said.Noa Redington, an analyst and former
political adviser to previous Danish premier Helle Thorning-Schmidt,
said concerns were high in Denmark and Greenland that Motzfeldt and
Rasmussen could be treated in the same way as Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky, when he suffered a public humiliation in a meeting
with Trump and Vance at the White House in February 2025.“This is the
most important meeting in modern Greenland’s history,” he told
Reuters.Denmark and Greenland had originally sought a meeting with
Rubio, hoping to have a discussion among top diplomats on resolving the
crisis between the two NATO allies. But Denmark’s Rasmussen said Vance
had also wanted to participate.European diplomats had said the White
House had for months brushed off Denmark’s attempts to engage on
Greenland at a high level. Wednesday’s meeting was the first
principal-level encounter between US and Danish officials on the
issue.Anxiety has been high in Greenland.“I have been sleeping very,
very badly, really,” said Liv Aurora Jensen, a craftswoman and designer
in Nuuk, right before she watched the Motzfeldt and Rasmussen press
conference on television.“I was talking to my sister yesterday and I
told her: ‘I’m trying not to get a panic attack.'”Greenlandic leaders
appear to be shifting their approach to handling the diplomatic crisis.
Until recently, they were stressing Greenland’s path to independence,
but now their public statements put more emphasis on Greenland’s unity
with Denmark.“It’s not the time to gamble with our right to
self-determination, when another country is talking about taking us
over,” Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told Greenland
daily Sermitsiaq in an interview published on Wednesday.“That doesn’t
mean that we don’t want something in the future. But here and now we are
part of the kingdom and we stand with the kingdom,” he said.Motzfeldt
had a similar message.“We choose the Greenland we know today – as part
of the Kingdom of Denmark,” she said in a statement released by the
Danish ambassador to the US late on Tuesday.Trump’s desire for Greenland
contrasts with Americans’ opposition to annexation of the Arctic
island, according to a new poll.Just 17 percent of Americans approved of
Trump’s efforts to acquire Greenland, and substantial majorities of
Democrats and Republicans opposed using military force to annex the
island, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.Some 47% of respondents disapproved
of US efforts to acquire Greenland, while 35% said they were unsure, in
the two-day poll which concluded on Tuesday.
Israeli official:
US has decided to intervene, scope unclear-Some US personnel told to
leave Qatar base as Iran touts ‘peak readiness’ for conflict-Official
says move is ‘posture change’; Tehran signals fast trials and executions
for protesters as official death toll in crackdown passes 2,500, though
actual number may be much higher By Agencies, Lazar Berman and ToI
Staff 14 January 2026, 4:52 pm
Amid concerns of a new round of
fighting with Iran, some personnel were advised to leave the US
military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Wednesday and Israel’s official
state plane was briefly flown out of the country, as Iran said it was
at “peak readiness” for potential conflict.Tehran has said it will
attack Israel and US military bases in the Middle East if US President
Donald Trump were to carry out strikes in response to Iran’s mass
killing of anti-government protesters.According to an Israeli
assessment, Trump has decided to intervene, although the scope and
timing of this action remains unclear, an unnamed Israeli official told
Reuters.Three diplomats told the news agency that some personnel had
been advised to leave the US military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.One
of the diplomats described the move as a “posture change” rather than an
“ordered evacuation.”There was no sign of a large-scale movement of
troops off the base to a nearby soccer stadium and shopping mall, as
took place last year in the hours before Iran targeted the base with
missiles in retaliation for US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear targets.The
US embassy in Doha had no immediate comment and Qatar’s foreign
ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Al Udeid
is the Middle East’s largest American base, housing around 10,000
troops. Ahead of the US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program in June,
some personnel were moved off US bases in the Middle East.Also on
Wednesday, Israel’s state Wing of Zion plane took off from the Nevatim
Air Force base near Beersheba and headed out over the Mediterranean,
landing in Greece’s Crete.The plane had departed Israel ahead of past
rounds of fighting with Iran to avoid it being targeted by Iranian
missiles, sparking speculation that this was the case.However, the plane
returned to Israel hours later, after unnamed Israeli officials cited
by Hebrew-language media said it was engaged in a regularly scheduled
training mission.On June 13, hours after Israel launched its attack on
Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile sites, Wing of Zion took off from
Ben Gurion Airport. Prior to Iran’s April 13, 2024, missile and drone
attack on Israel, Wing of Zion was flown out from Nevatim Airbase, which
was later targeted.Trump has been openly threatening to intervene in
Iran for days, though without giving specifics.In an interview with CBS
News on Tuesday, the US president vowed “very strong action” if Iran
executes protesters. “If they hang them, you’re going to see some
things,” he said. He also urged Iranian to keep protesting and take over
institutions, declaring “help is on the way.”Relatives of 26-year-old
Erfan Soltani, who was detained last week, have said they have been
informed he would be executed on Wednesday. A relative said that a court
had issued a death sentence “in an extremely rapid process, within just
two days.”Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish human rights group, told Reuters
on Wednesday it had not been able to confirm whether the sentence had
been carried out.Protests have taken place across all of Iran’s 31
provinces, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
It said Wednesday that at least 2,571 people had been killed and more
than 18,100 had been arrested in the more than two weeks of protests.
The Mossad is said to believe the death toll is more than twice as
high.On Wednesday, a funeral ceremony was held in Tehran for over 100
members of the security forces killed in the wave of protests.The
ceremony, attended by thousands of people waving flags of the Islamic
Republic, began with prayers being read out for the dead outside Tehran
University, according to state media.Meanwhile, Revolutionary Guards’
Aerospace Commander Majid Mousavi claimed that Iran’s stockpile of
missiles has increased since its 12-day war with Israel last year, and
that the Islamic Republic was at “peak readiness” ahead of the potential
fighting.“We are at the peak of our readiness,” Mousavi was quoted as
saying by state media, adding that wartime damages have been repaired
and output in various areas by the Guards’ aerospace forces is higher
than before June 2025.Last month, NBC reported that Israeli officials
were concerned about Iran’s growing ballistic missile program, with one
source warning that, left unchecked, the country’s production could
climb to as many as 3,000 missiles per year.Another report has suggested
that Israel believes Iran currently possesses some 2,000 ballistic
missiles, roughly the same number it had on the eve of the 12-day war.
Analysts are said to have concluded that the damage Israel inflicted on
Iran’s ballistic missile program during the conflict with the Islamic
Republic was “less severe” than initially assessed.
4.2-magnitude earthquake recorded in southern Israel; no reports of injuries-JAN 15,26
The
earthquake that set off alerts in the Dead Sea and southern Negev
regions measured 4.2 on the Richter scale, the European-Mediterranean
Seismological Centre says.The epicenter of the quake was near Dimona, it
says.The Magen David Adom emergency service says it has not received
any reports of injuries as a result of the earthquake.
4hr
ago-Earthquake alerts activated in Dead Sea, southern Negev areas-The
Home Front Command publishes an earthquake warning for the Dead Sea area
and the southern Negev Desert.Residents of the areas report feeling the
earthquake.
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)
UN Security Council to meet on demonstrations-Iran’s
nationwide protests appear smothered, with fate of potential US action
unclear-Oil prices fall as chance of conflict seems to recede; Tehran
says protester’s execution called off; Iran’s airspace reopens after
closing for several hours By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 1:21 pm-JAN
15,26
The nationwide protests challenging Iran’s theocracy
appeared to be smothered Thursday, a week after the regime shut the
country off from the world and escalated a bloody crackdown that
activists say killed thousands.In Tehran, witnesses say recent mornings
saw no new signs of bonfires lit the night before or debris in the
streets. The sound of gunfire, which had been intense for several
nights, has faded.Meanwhile, Iranian state media announced wave after
wave of arrests by authorities, targeting those it calls “terrorists”
and also apparently looking for Starlink satellite internet dishes, the
only way to get videos and images out to the internet.“Since January 8,
we saw a full-fledged war and anybody who was in the gathering since
then is a criminal,” said Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi,
according to a report Wednesday from the judiciary’s Mizan news
agency.But there are multiple indications that the threat of mass
executions after the protests is receding. Iranian state media on
Thursday reported that Essam Soltani, 26, a man who was due to be
executed, would not be given the death sentence. US President Donald
Trump said he had been told that killings in the regime’s crackdown were
subsiding.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday
there would not be any “hanging today or tomorrow,” despite earlier vows
from Tehran to fast-track trials for protesters. He said that the
regime was back in “full control.”The activity followed days of
speculation over whether Trump would follow through on threats to strike
Iran in response to the killings of thousands of protesters. Trump’s
comments about the easing of killings may have implied a hold-off on
military action, even as the US evacuated some of its personnel from a
military base in Qatar that Iran bombed last year. An NBC report, citing
a US official, said Trump would want any strike to be “definitive.”Amid
the uncertainty, Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for
hours on Wednesday night, but reopened it Thursday morning.The apparent
receding of chances for a strike prompted a fall in oil prices.The UN
Security Council was due to meet over the demonstrations later Thursday,
as countries in the region urged stability.Estimates of the death toll
range from under 3,000 to over 12,000. A days-long shutdown of the
internet by the Iranian regime meant that information about the protests
and violence was hard to access and verify. Iran and its Western foes
have both described the unrest as the most violent since the 1979
Islamic Revolution that installed Iran’s system of Shiite clerical
rule.Earlier this week, rights organization Hengaw reported that the
protester, Soltani, arrested in connection with demonstrations in the
city of Karaj, was due to be executed on Wednesday. However, on
Thursday, Iranian state media said that while Soltani was being charged
with “colluding against the country’s internal security and propaganda
activities against the regime,” the death penalty does not apply to such
charges if they are confirmed by a court.The human rights group said
there were “serious and ongoing concerns” regarding Soltani’s life.In an
interview with Fox News, Araghchi said on Wednesday that “there is no
plan” by Iran to hang people “today or tomorrow,” when asked about the
protests.“There is no plan for hanging at all,” he said. “Hanging is out
of the question,” he added.Araghchi claimed in the interview, without
citing evidence, that the violence surrounding the protests was the
result of an “Israeli plot.”Earlier Wednesday, Gholamhossein
Mohseni-Ejei, Iran’s judiciary chief, had said the government must act
quickly to punish more than 18,000 people who have been detained,
through rapid trials and executions. Mohseni-Ejei’s comments about rapid
trials and executions were made in a video shared by Iranian state
television.“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to
do something, we have to do it quickly,” he said. “If it becomes late,
two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we
want to do something, we have to do that fast.”Tensions escalated on
Wednesday, as Iran said it had warned neighbors it would hit American
bases in the region in the event of US strikes, and a US official said
the United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the
region. Several Western officials had said US military intervention
could be imminent.The NBC report also said that Trump was due to be
presented that day with different military options designed to achieve
goals that he had outlined during a briefing with his national security
team a day earlier.Qatar said drawdowns from Al Udeid air base, the
biggest US base in the Middle East, were “being undertaken in response
to the current regional tensions.” Iran launched missiles at Al Udeid
last year in response to US airstrikes on its nuclear installations
during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.But Trump then said he’d
learned that the killings were being halted.“We have been informed by
very, very important sources on the other side, and they said the
killing has stopped, and the executions won’t take place,” Trump
said.Trump said it was possible the government in Tehran could fall due
to the protests, but that in truth “any regime can fail.”“Whether or not
it falls or not, it’s going to be an interesting period of time,” he
said.Trump’s comments on Wednesday led oil prices to retreat from
multi-month highs, and gold eased from a record peak on
Thursday.According to the report in NBC News, Trump told his top
national security aides that he wanted any military action against Iran
to deal a swift and decisive blow to the regime while not triggering an
extended conflict that lasts for weeks or months.Citing a US official
and people familiar with the matter, the broadcaster said that Trump’s
advisers had not been able to guarantee that the Islamic Republic would
swiftly fall if struck by the United States, and also cited concerns
that they don’t have the military assets in place across the Middle East
to defend against an Iranian response.Therefore, if Trump does decide
to attack, he could initially greenlight more limited strikes on Iran,
while keeping open the possibility of later escalation, according to the
report, which described the situation as quickly evolving and stressed
that no decision had been made.The sources quoted in the report
emphasized, however, that Trump is prepared to follow through on his
repeated pledge that the US is coming to the aid of anti-government
protesters.“If [Trump] does something, he wants it to be definitive,”
one of the people told NBC.The UN Security Council scheduled an
emergency meeting on Iran at the request of the United States on
Thursday afternoon.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a
phone call with Araghchi on Thursday to discuss regional developments
and ways to support security and stability in the region, Saudi state
media reported.And Turkey’s top diplomat on Thursday called for dialogue
to resolve the crisis. “Hopefully, the United States and Iran will
resolve this issue among themselves — whether through mediators, other
actors, or direct dialogue,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told
journalists in Istanbul.Iran’s airspace closure began overnight
Wednesday and ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance
issued by Iran, which lies on a key east-west flight route.
International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after
one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic
flights were in the air just after 7 a.m. Thursday (5:30 a.m. Israel
time).Around midday, Iranian state television carried a statement from
the country’s Civil Aviation Authority saying that the nation’s “skies
are hosting incoming and outgoing flights, and airports are providing
services to passengers.” It did not acknowledge the closure.Iran
previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in
June, and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas
war.Website SafeAirspace said that, nonetheless, the situation continued
to affect aviation.“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended
services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the
site, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The
situation may signal further security or military activity, including
the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the
risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Hezbollah warns
Beirut that expanded disarmament push could cause ‘chaos, civil
war’Terror group official says forcing it to fully give up arms would be
‘the biggest crime,’ day after Lebanese FM says IDF has right to strike
in country as long as Hezbollah holds weapons By Reuters and ToI Staff
14 January 2026, 12:27 pm
A senior Hezbollah official has warned
Lebanon’s government that pressing on with efforts to disarm the group
throughout the country would trigger chaos and possibly civil war,
according to comments circulated by the terror group on
Wednesday.Lebanon has pledged to bring all arms in the country under
state control, in line with a 2024 agreement that ended a devastating
war between Hezbollah and Israel, and Beirut’s foreign minister admitted
Tuesday that the deal permits Israel to continue striking in the
country as long as the Iran-backed group refuses to give up its
arms.Hezbollah insists that deal only applies to the southernmost region
of Lebanon that borders Israel and has refused to relinquish its
arsenal elsewhere.In an interview with Russian state media outlet RT,
senior Hezbollah political official Mahmoud Qmati said pursuing a state
monopoly on arms further north would be “the biggest crime committed by
the state.”“The path taken by the Lebanese government and state
institutions will lead Lebanon to instability, chaos and perhaps even
civil war,” Qmati said, though he added that Hezbollah would not be
dragged into a confrontation with Lebanon’s army.The Lebanese government
claimed last week to have disarmed Hezbollah south of the Litani River —
around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border — in line with
the deadline it had set for itself, saying it had “achieved the
objectives of the first phase” of its plan in an “effective and tangible
way.”’It said it has extended operational control over the south,
except for the handful of areas still controlled by Israeli troops.
Hezbollah, which has rejected efforts to disarm, did not immediately
comment.Israel sounded a cautious note on the announcement, saying the
efforts from Beirut to disarm the terror group were “encouraging” but
insufficient, and adding in a second statement that “Hezbollah is
rearming faster than it is being disarmed.”Hezbollah has said that
Israeli troops must withdraw from five hilltop positions they still hold
in southern Lebanon, halt near-daily airstrikes on Lebanon and release
detained Lebanese before any further disarmament is discussed.“There
will be no talk or dialogue about any situation north of the Litani
River before Israel withdraws from all Lebanese territory, liberates the
South and the prisoners, and stops its violations against Lebanon,”
said Qmati.While Hezbollah considers Israel’s frequent strikes in
Lebanon to be a violation of the ceasefire, Lebanese Foreign Minister
Youssef Rajji on Tuesday disputed this, saying that the agreement allows
for Israeli strikes as long as Hezbollah continues to hold onto its
arms.“The ceasefire agreement stipulates that the Lebanese government
will disarm Hezbollah,” Rajji said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.
“As long as Hezbollah still holds weapons, Israel, regrettably, has the
right to continue its attacks against them.”Rajji’s comments appeared
to be the first admission from a Lebanese government official that
Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah targets in the country are approved by
Beirut.Since the ceasefire, the IDF has killed around 400 operatives and
struck hundreds of additional Hezbollah-linked targets. The IDF has
repeatedly asserted that the activity at the targeted sites constitutes a
violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.The conflict
began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started firing rockets and
drones at northern Israel, one day after its fellow Iran-backed terror
group Hamas launched a shock assault on southern Israel, sparking the
war in Gaza.
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