TOP STORIES
Trump Says US ‘Armada’ Heading Toward Iran | Reuters
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States has an “armada” heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.
Iranian Prosecutor Denies Trump Claim 800 Prisoners Spared Execution | Associated Press
Trump has repeatedly said Iran halted the execution of 800 people detained in the protests, without elaborating on the source of the claim. On Friday, Iran’s top prosecutor Mohammad Movahedi strongly denied that in comments carried by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency. “This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” Movahedi said. His remarks suggested that Iran’s Foreign Ministry, led by Abbas Araghchi, may have offered that figure to Trump.
The death toll from Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests reached at least 5,002 people killed Friday, activists said, warning many more still were feared dead as the most comprehensive internet blackout in the country crossed the two-week mark.
UANI IN THE NEWS
UANI Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi Discusses Iran | Talk TV
“As the mullahs and IRGC commanders massacre civilians in Iran, their sons and daughters live lavish lives in the West. Treat them no differently to Putin’s corrupt oligarchs: freeze their assets and deport them back to Iran,” UANI Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi told Talk TV’s Peter Cardwell.
Trump's 11-Word Iran Armada Warning Sparks WW3 Fears | Daily Express
Trump confirmed to journalists aboard Air Force One that an “armada” of ships and flotillas is heading in Iran's direction. An audio recording of the informal press briefing aboard was posted on X by Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based, bipartisan non-profit policy organisation.
Saeid Golkar, senior adviser at United Against Nuclear Iran and associate professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, at the UC Foundation, did an extensive analysis for Foreign Policy about why it is difficult to demolish power in Iran. The problem is not the lack of popular opposition. The idea that the regime should fall because it has become unpopular is a wrong approach, a serious misunderstanding, in Golkar’s opinion, of how the power in Tehran works. The question is not whether or not Iranians want change, but why this massive discontent fails to achieve a political rupture similar to those that took place in 1989, a year that changed the face of Europe and many other regions of the world. The answer, as uncomfortable as it may be for the establishment in the West, is only one: the regime in Tehran was built precisely in such a way that it can withstand even if people reach the end of their patience.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
Inside Trump’s Iran Warning—and the Unexpected Pause That Followed | Fox News
Fox News Digital has learned from background conversations with U.S. officials that internal debates over Iran’s post-regime leadership and the lack of a clear successor factored into deliberations over a potential strike. Officials grappled not only with how to hit Iran, but with who would come next. . . . The pause has nonetheless drawn backlash, as critics argue Trump’s promise that “help is on the way” may have raised expectations or emboldened protesters. One Iranian citizen who witnessed violence during demonstrations said protesters are “still waiting on United States special forces to act in Iran.” “They can come to help us. We can finish the job on the ground,” the Iranian, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, said. . . . “Iranian patriots have now waited more than 160 hours for Trump’s promise that ‘HELP IS ON ITS WAY,’” wrote another.
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
UN Rights Body Holds Emergency Session on Iran's Protest Crackdown | Reuters
The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Friday to discuss the “alarming violence” used in Iran against protesters, while a group of states will call on United Nations’ investigators to document alleged abuses for future trials.
As Iran Grieves, Accounts Emerge of Disrespectful Treatment of Protest Victims | New York Times
The families rooted frantically through the piles of corpses, so crammed together that the living had to take care not to step on the dead. Wailing and cursing, they searched the body bags for the number assigned to their loved one for burial—a surreal veneer of bureaucracy imposed onto a chaotic nightmare.
Iranian Teen Hid in Body Bag Among Slain Protestors to Survive—Rights Group | Iran International
A wounded Iranian protester played dead inside a plastic body bag for three days to hide from security forces and heard what he believed to be fellow protestors being summarily executed, a rights group reported on Thursday.
Iran Seizes Assets to Punish Dissent | Iran International
Tehran has broadened its attack on dissent after the deadliest crackdown on protests in the Islamic Republic's history by seizing assets of those accused of supporting the unrest, in a tactic first deployed amid the state's chaotic birth. Judicial authorities in Qom province last week announced the confiscation of all assets and bank accounts belonging to Mohammad Saeedinia, the founder of a popular cafe chain operating in several Iranian cities. Saeedinia had been arrested a day earlier and officials linked the move to his alleged support for strikes and protests after he temporarily closed his cafés following calls for strikes and work stoppages. . . . Prosecutors said similar cases had been opened against dozens of other cafes, as well as actors, athletes and signatories of protest statements, adding that some assets had already been seized to compensate for damage to public property.
Still mourning the killing of his brother by government forces days earlier, a Tehran resident and fellow demonstrator painted a desperate and gruesome picture of conditions on the ground in Iran this week, with activists facing ongoing threats even as many still hope for foreign intervention, in a rare correspondence with Israeli media. . . . “People are filled with rage,” he said. “They are simply waiting for a US and Israeli attack to put an end to this regime.”
United Students Names 15 Students Killed in Iran Protests | IranWire
The group “United Students” (Daneshjouyan-e Mottahed) has released the names of 15 students killed in the recent protests, saying this is only an initial list and will be updated as more information comes in.
Maryam finished her morning errands in Tehran on Thursday, January 8 before heading home to change and meet friends for coffee. By evening, she was among the crowds protesting the dire economic conditions in the country. What happened over the next two days could prove pivotal in Iran’s history. Those heading to the protests were expecting violence, but what transpired that evening went beyond what they had imagined. It was the twelfth day of nationwide unrest, yet the atmosphere at demonstrations remained upbeat and determined—at least initially.
NetBlocks Says Iran Blackout Shows ‘Manufactured’ Restoration | Iran International
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said on Friday that Iran remained under a nationwide internet blackout entering its third week, with only limited signs of restored connectivity.
In a post on X, NetBlocks said there were “indications of an attempt to generate false traffic and manufacture narratives of a wider restoration.”
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran: IAEA Must Clarify Stance on June Attacks Before Inspecting Bombed Sites | Reuters
The U.N. nuclear watchdog must clarify its stance on U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites last June before inspectors are allowed to visit those facilities, Iranian media on Friday quoted the country’s atomic chief as saying.
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
The European Union has proposed sanctions against Iran’s interior minister and 14 other senior officials for their role in a violent crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in late December, documents obtained by RFE/RL show. . . . The bloc’s foreign ministers could adopt the measures, which include asset freezes and visa bans, when they meet in Brussels on January 29. All member states must vote in favor for the sanctions to be adopted.
MISSILE PROGRAM
A Defense Intelligence Agency report made public in support of President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense system reveals that Iran could field up to 60 intercontinental ballistic missiles by 2035.
RUSSIA, UKRAINE & IRAN
Zelenskyy Blasts Global Inaction on Iran, Claims Europe Stuck in ‘Greenland Mode’ | Fox News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Thursday that global inaction toward Iran and other authoritarian regimes is fueling mounting security threats, accusing Europe of relying on symbolism instead of real power at a moment of escalating danger. “Europe still feels more like geography, history, tradition—not a real political force, not a great power," he said during an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos . . . “As for Iran, everyone is waiting to see what America will do,” Zelenskyy said. “And Europe offers almost nothing.” He warned that refusing to support people fighting for freedom carries long-term consequences, arguing that Western delay repeatedly empowers hostile regimes. “When you refuse to help people fighting for freedom, the consequences always come back—and they are always negative,” Zelenskyy said.
Iran Launches Furious Tirade Against Zelenskyy After Davos ‘Bully’ Warning | Agence France Presse
Iran’s foreign minister on Friday launched a furious tirade against Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian president commented in Davos that the deadly crackdown on protests in the Islamic republic showed that if authorities “kill enough people” they stay in power. . . . Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to Zelenskyy’s comments with a broadside of accusations and claims in an English-language post on X, saying the Ukrainian leader had been “rinsing American and European taxpayers to fill the pockets of his corrupt generals.” “The world has had enough of Confused Clowns, Mr Zelenskyy,” he said, in apparent reference to the Ukrainian leader’s previous career as a wildly-successful comedian and comic actor. “Unlike your foreign-backed and mercenary-infested military, we Iranians know how to defend ourselves and have no need to beg foreigners for help,” he added.
EUROPE & IRAN
The European Parliament voted on Thursday in favor of a resolution calling on the Iranian regime to end executions and release detainees, and called for the European Council to immediately designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
TURKEY & IRAN
Turkey Opposes Foreign Intervention in Iran, Erdogan Tells Iran’s Pezeshkian | Jerusalem Post
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call on Thursday that Turkey opposed any foreign intervention in Iran.