TOP STORIES
Trump Floats Nuclear Peace Deal With Iran | The Hill
President Trump suggested early Wednesday that the U.S. strike a nuclear peace deal with Iran, reiterating his belief that the Islamic Republic should not have nuclear weapons. Still, Trump added that he wants to see the nation be “successful.” “I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon. Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper,” he continued. “We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!”
Iran Inaugurates Its First Drone-Carrier Warship | Associated Press
Iran has inaugurated its first drone-carrier warship, saying the vessel is capable of operating in oceans far from its mainland, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday. The report said the vessel, manned by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s navy, can carry several squadrons of drones as well as helicopters and cruise missiles. Named Shahid Bagheri, it’s capable of launching cruise missiles, IRNA said. With a 180-meter-long runway for drones, the vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports. The report said it was converted from a commercial ship and would increase Iran’s power of deterrence. Footage broadcast by state TV on the inauguration showed at least four helicopters and three drones on the warship’s runway.
This Is the House That Höss Built | The Wall Street Journal
‘Why does the Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran have a f— Twitter account?” asks Mark Wallace, a rare lapse in language from a courtly man. “Why should the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism be on f— social media?” Mr. Wallace, who served as a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, has succumbed to righteous anger. Blame it on the day when our conversation occurs: Jan. 27, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Blame it also on the ghostly place where we are talking: the house, right next to the original Auschwitz camp, where its commandant, Rudolf Höss, lived with his family from May 1940 through December 1943, and then again in the spring of 1944, when he came back to oversee the murder of 400,000 Hungarian Jews at the nearby Birkenau death camp. Höss, his wife and their five children dined and sang and gardened and swam a few feet from the headquarters of the complex where more than a million Jews were gassed or shot or beaten or worked to death.
UANI IN THE NEWS
Dark Fleet Scrapping Speculation Spikes After Donald Trump Hint At Iran Deal | TradeWinds
If Donald Trump is in a deal-making mood, long-awaited dark fleet scrapping could finally come to fruition. The US president on Tuesday signed a memorandum instructing the government to renew the maximum pressure campaign against Iran, promising new sanctions and more strict enforcement of the ones already in place. […] However, in December three VLCCs and a product tanker identified as dark fleet vessels by US pro-sanctions pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) were sold to a recycling yard in India. The vessels were never on the US blacklist, but UANI maintains a list of alleged dark fleet ships and claims to have influenced sanctions actions in the past.
What A Second Round Of ‘Maximum Pressure’ Iran Sanctions Means For Shipping | Lloyd’s List
A SUPER-charged sequel to Donald Trump’s so-called ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions campaign promises, on paper, to drive Iran’s export of oil to zero, stemming the flow of discounted crude to China and impounding dark fleet* tankers along the way. But even as he was signing the executive order on Tuesday night, the US president was touting an alternate scenario that could see legitimised Iranian crude rapidly returning to the market via a nuclear ‘deal’. […] According to UANI’s analysis of Iranian exports, there are 503 vessels totalling 61.3 dwt that carry cargo for Iran. Only 41.2% of the Iran-trading fleet is sanctioned by the US, suggesting that there will be an imminent slew of designations coming out of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Trump Torpedoed The Iran Nuclear Deal. Now He’s Calling For Another One. | The New York Times
President Trump on Wednesday vowed to negotiate a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran, saying he wants to avoid a military clash by reaching a deal that prevents Tehran from acquiring an atomic weapon. Mr. Trump, who withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord that Iran negotiated with the Obama administration, effectively called for a do-over on Wednesday. In an early morning post on his social media site, the president said the United States and Iran “should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed.” “I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Iran’s government seems to be welcoming some recent decisions by the United States — even though they happen to come from a man Iranian operatives have allegedly been plotting to assassinate. President Donald Trump’s moves to freeze spending on foreign aid and overhaul, maybe even end, the U.S. Agency for International Development have been lauded in Iranian state media. The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the country’s Shiite theocracy — pro-democracy activists and others supported through programs as part of U.S. government’s efforts to help democracy worldwide. At the same time, Iranian officials appear to be signaling that they are waiting for a message from Trump on whether he wants to negotiate over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Calls For OPEC To Unite Against Potential US Oil Sanctions | Reuters
Iran's oil minister said imposing unilateral sanctions on crude producers would destabilise energy markets, the ministry's SHANA news outlet reported on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would seek to drive Tehran's oil exports to zero. "Depoliticising the oil market is a vital issue for energy security. Imposing unilateral sanctions against major oil producers and putting pressure on OPEC will destabilise oil and energy markets as well as harm consumers around the world," Mohsen Paknejad told OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais. Paknejad's comments came after Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran that includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
The Women Of Iran Vs. The Regime | Israel National News
The Iranian people, particularly its courageous women, are at the forefront of a movement that could change the course of their nation's history. While the ruling mullahs obsess over building nuclear weapons, the Iranian people are mobilising to reclaim their rights and freedom. This is more than a political battle. It is a fight between repression and self-determination, between a theocratic dictatorship and a democratic future. Many in the West fail to understand that Iran’s population overwhelmingly oppose the religious extremism imposed upon them. Iran’s history, long before the rise of radical theocracy, was defined by intellectual advancements, cultural achievements, and a tradition of tolerance. Women in particular have suffered under the current regime, facing draconian restrictions that seek to erase their role in public life.
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Iran Is Willing To Give Trump Diplomacy 'Another Chance', Senior Iranian Official Says | Reuters
Iran is ready to give the United States a chance to resolve disputes between the arch foes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on the country. The official said Tehran disagreed with "any displacement of Gazans, but Iran-U.S. talks are a separate matter", referring to Trump's remarks that the U.S. would take over war-ravaged Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling Palestinians elsewhere. "Iran does not agree with any displacement of Palestinians and has communicated this through various channels. However, this issue and the path of Iran’s nuclear agreement are two separate matters and should be pursued separately,” the official said.
Trump’s ‘Maximum Pressure’ Return May Curb Iran’s Defence Plans | The National
Iran’s growing shopping list of military hardware could face a budget crunch after Donald Trump restored his policy of “maximum pressure”, a tough sanctions regime started by the President in his first term. Similar to the first round of Mr Trump's sanctions between 2018 and 2020, he aims to “bring Iran’s oil exports to zero”, but hinted on Wednesday at wanting a “deal” to make Iran a “successful country” without a nuclear weapon. How much of a setback for the regime this represents is uncertain. It could rattle hardliners intent on deterring another Israeli attack, potentially on the country’s advanced nuclear programme. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite hardline force, and Iran’s regular army, the Artesh, have been re-equipping as quickly as possible after two successful Israeli air attacks on the country.
Top Trump Official Passes On Giving IDF Real Bunker Buster To Strike Iran | The Jerusalem Post
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday seemed to equivocate about providing Israel with 30,000-pound, bunker-buster bombs that could destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facility at Fordow. Israel “already has bunker busters,” he told Fox News. Israel has been seeking these weapons from the US since the 2000s and the George W. Bush administration. So far, no Republican or Democratic president, including President Donald Trump in his 2016-2020 term, has agreed to provide them. When Witkoff said Israel has bunker busters, he was likely referring to 2,000-pound bombs and some other smaller bombs the Joe Biden administration delivered to Israel for large parts of the Israel-Hamas War but then froze. The current administration resumed the deliveries when Trump reentered office.
IRANIAN REGIONAL AGGRESSION
90 Major Attacks Thwarted As Iran Fuels Unrest In Judea And Samaria | JNS
Over the past month, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) agents, working alongside the Israel Defense Forces, have thwarted 90 major terrorist attacks, including 75 in Samaria, as security sources warn that Iran is fueling violence in Judea and Samaria. A security official identified Tehran as a central force escalating tensions by supplying weapons and financial aid to terrorist networks, significantly increasing the security threat, Channel 12 News reported on Wednesday. The IDF and Shin Bet have expanded “Operation Iron Wall,” now in its 16th day, targeting the “Pentagon of Villages”—the area east of Jenin that includes Tubas, Tammun, Tayasir, Aqabah and Far’a. So far, around 50 terrorists have been killed, and more than 100 wanted suspects arrested.
CHINA & IRAN
Debate Grows In Iran Over Ties With Russia And China | Iran International
Political figures in Tehran are divided over ties with Moscow and Beijing. Some warn that Russia could exploit Iran’s tensions with the US, while others stress the importance of trade ties with both countries. In an interview with Didban Iran website, reformist politician Mahmoud Mirlohi said that Iran must maintain an independent foreign policy and leverage its ties with Russia and China to improve relations with the United States. "We should not allow Russia to use Iran as a pawn in its dealings with the United States," Mirlohi warned. He also warned of the potential fallout from Iran's military support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, calling it "a serious cause for concern." He stressed that "Iran's strategic cooperation with Russia should not come at the expense of improving relations with other countries."