Eugene Kontorovich: Yes, Israel Can Apply Israeli Law to the West Bank
Israel’s sovereign rights over all of Judea and Samaria do not dictate the form of governance there. Indeed, since the Oslo process of the early ’90s, Israel has not governed the Palestinians of Judea and Samaria, who are instead misruled by the Palestinian Authority. Israel neither taxes them nor conscripts them; it does not write their schoolbooks or make their welfare policies or clean their streets. Israel’s current interactions with the Palestinian population focus almost entirely on hard security issues. Given that all nations enjoy an inherent right to self-defense, this would be the case whether the Palestinian areas were technically an independent sovereign or not.Seth Mandel: The Promise and Peril of Phase 2 in Gaza
President Trump’s 2020 peace plan, recently reaffirmed in his 20-point plan for peace, contemplated Israel extending its civil law to roughly half of Judea and Samaria, where the Jewish population is concentrated, and leaving the other half for a potential Arab state. This helps explain his comments about “annexation of the West Bank.” However, while Trump does not support Israel applying its law to those areas under Palestinian Authority control, that is not inconsistent with the proposals being discussed in the Knesset.
The so-called annexation plans being discussed in Israel are thus not about the incorporation of foreign territory into Israel proper. Rather, they are about ending the anomalous military administration that has applied in this area since 1967. After the Six-Day War, Israel never fully applied its domestic laws to the territory because it always expected the Arab states to sue for peace, and it was always prepared to transfer to them at least some part of the territory. Until the late 1980s, many Israelis assumed that the party for such negotiations would be Jordan. With the Oslo process, Israel’s “peace partner” became the Palestine Liberation Organization. In both cases, there was no point in hurriedly applying Israeli law to territory that might not remain Israeli because of a negotiated peace settlement.
Israel’s system of military governance in Judea and Samaria was always intended to be temporary. In retaining that system through decades of negotiations with the Palestinians, all of which resulted in their rejection of internationally backed statehood offers, Israel seems to have both severely misjudged the preferences and intentions of its Arab neighbors while also injuring its own citizens, creating a new problem of its own making.
Today, roughly 700,000 Jewish Israelis live in Judea and Samaria—where they have every legal and historical right to live and buy property. Yet Israelis and Arabs alike continue to find themselves governed by an odd patchwork of military regulations that has deliberately never been normalized or transparent to anyone and, over time, has become increasingly unwieldy. Property law is based on obscure Ottoman statutes, permitting for infrastructure projects is difficult and burdensome, and environmental regulations don’t exist for either Jews or Arabs. Clearly, this ad hoc situation is being sustained by a combination of official Israeli delusion and sloth and by external actors whose goal is to make life in these areas as practically unpleasant as possible for everyone.
Five decades of Arab rejectionism interspersed with violent terrorist assaults has made it untenable to continue to hold the legal regulation of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria in limbo. And neither international law nor Western principles of democracy stand in the way of Israel finally applying its own civil law to its own citizens in those areas.
The decision to move to the second phase without a clear Hamas disarmament plan in place was not a mistake. As I argued last month, any extensive delay helps Hamas, which is gearing up for another round of fighting at some point. Also, the cease-fire deal pretty much locks any progress in place, since the IDF is in charge of security for any territory under reconstruction. Hamas can dig in, but it won’t advance.John Ondrasik: The "Free Palestine" Crowd Seems to Have Zero Interest in Freeing Iran
The challenge that Hamas still presents, however, is significant. The scenario that Trump’s team expects to play out is the following: Life for Gazans improves exponentially in the half of the enclave stewarded by the Israelis and a supplemental international force, and pressure on Hamas increases while the humanitarian crisis abates.
But here’s another scenario: The moment shovels get put in the ground on the Israeli-controlled side, Hamas begins firing rockets and challenging the troops along the Yellow Line with skirmishes and attempted incursions. In this environment, the stabilization force never materializes and the technocrats wait for the skies to clear. With rebuilding frozen, Israel has no choice but to go into Hamas-controlled Gaza and disarm the terror group by force. But the renewed fighting takes a toll on the civilians left in Hamas’s half of the enclave, and scenes from the two years of war start replaying themselves.
Trump will obviously support the forced disarmament of Hamas even (or especially) if Israel is the one to do it. But will the Europeans fold? Will the stabilization force dissolve before it’s even on the ground?
There are only two reliable actors in this saga: the U.S. and Israel. Hamas is going to attempt to make it so that the U.S. and Israel are the only actors in the saga at all. As long as the U.S. and Israel are committed to victory, they’ll succeed. Because the enemy always gets a vote, and Hamas always votes for war.
In recent days the tyrannical Iranian regime has conducted mass arrests and massacred thousands of protesters. Yet American college campuses, so recently the site of passionate encampments in support of the Palestinian people, are eerily quiet about what's happening in Iran. The congressional microcaucus known as the Squad are oddly mum about the suffering of women and children in Iran.
What's happening in Iran is a human rights nightmare. The UN Human Rights Council in recent years has been a merry-go-round of "genocide" accusations against Israel. Yet it has issued zero resolutions and held no inquiries about Iran. There is no global demand for humanitarian aid for the Iranian protesters, or even a ceasefire, from the people and institutions who don't hesitate to weigh in on Israel and Gaza.
Tahmineh Dehbozorgi, an attorney with the Institute for Justice in Washington who spent her childhood in Iran, says the millions risking their lives in Iran don't fit neatly into "the lazy moral categories that dominate modern discourse: oppressor and oppressed, colonizer and colonized, white and non-white."
Do Iranian lives matter?
The human-rights agencies’ response to the Iranian protests stands in stark contrast with their response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here, they speak with shrill moralistic certainty, denouncing and condemning the liberal, democratic state of Israel at every turn. Amnesty International constantly levelled baseless accusations of ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ against Israel. And the UN has issued countless statements affirming the Palestinians’ ‘inalienable, permanent and unqualified right… to live in freedom, justice and dignity’.Iranians are fighting back against Islamic tyranny
Do Iranians not have the same right to ‘live in freedom, justice and dignity’? If they do, why is the human-rights NGO-ocracy suddenly so reserved in its criticism? Are its leading bodies afraid of upsetting Iran’s Islamic regime – one of the most aggressive enemies of human rights on the planet?
There may be practical reasons for the response of the human-rights industry to the Iranian protests. Perhaps Amnesty International and its ilk fear appearing to endorse an alternative leadership in Iran. Perhaps they worry that open support for the protesters would bolster the Iranian regime’s claims of foreign interference. They may insist that they support human-rights law, not political movements for liberty.
But this does not explain why they qualify their support for Iranian protesters in ways they do not for Palestinians. It does not explain why they speak with moralistic zeal about some causes, but with legalistic restraint about others. Their commitment to human rights appears to fluctuate depending on how fashionable the cause is. And let’s be in no doubt that the Palestinian cause is far more in vogue among Amnesty’s Western, middle-class supporters than the Iranians’ fight for freedom against Islamist tyranny.
As a result, these international NGOs have reduced themselves to spectators in the face of the most significant pro-freedom movement the world has seen in decades. Their legalistic, half-baked response reminds us once again that real freedom is not granted by international lawyers, supranational bodies or NGOs. It’s fought for by the people themselves – in this case, by Iranian men and women whose bravery deserves to echo throughout history. They demonstrate that liberty is won through a willingness to fight for it – often at extraordinary personal cost.
Iranians are now paying that cost in blood. How appalling that the world’s most prominent human-rights institutions cannot bring themselves to stand firmly behind them.
Events in Iran have not occurred in a vacuum. In recent years, there has been a precipitous rise in secularism across the Arab world. The same trend is visible in Iran. Last year, Abolghasem Talebi, Iran’s representative for clerical affairs, said that 50,000 of the country’s 75,000 mosques had closed due to low attendance. This vindicates many surveys that reveal the ‘unprecedented secularisation’ of a nation that is ‘officially’ 99.5 per cent Muslim. Some studies suggest the figure is, in fact, as low as 40 per cent. In addition to this surge in secularism, more and more Iranians are celebrating Zoroastrian festivals (Zoroastrianism was the ancient religion of Persia). So popular had these festivals become that the regime was forced to ban them last year.The Silence on Iran: A Data-Driven Analysis of Selective Advocacy
This takes us to a point that has not been made enough: Islam is not native to Iran. Its Islamisation resulted from the Arab conquests of the seventh century. The Umayyad dynasty – the first Islamic caliphate – repressed both Persians and their indigenous religion. It was not until the Safavid dynasty, which ruled present-day Iran from the 15th to the 18th century, that Shia Islam was established as the dominant religion. The collapse of the Safavids was followed by a string of monarchies, culminating in the 20th-century Pahlavi dynasty. The Pahlavis sought to establish a secular nationalism, rooted in a pre-Islamic Persian identity.
In 1979, the Iranian Revolution overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The resulting clerical rule – the only thing Iranians have known for nearly 50 years – ruthlessly imposed Sharia law on the population, aided by the repressive state machinery it inherited from the Pahlavi regime.
This is, of course, a cursory summary of a country with an incredibly complex history. But it is enough to show that Islam – particularly the fundamentalist Shia Islam adopted by the current Iranian regime – is not organic to Iran, nor supported by a majority of its population. Its success owed entirely to militancy of the 1979 revolution, and the unpopularity of the corrupt regime it overthrew.
The demonstrators are, therefore, shattering the postcolonial narratives favoured by the Western intelligentsia – those unable to see the cruelty of imperialism unless it bears the fingerprints of a Western power. They are also exposing Arab and Muslim denialism, which has allowed them to pose as perpetual victims of foreign interference, ignoring their own colonial legacies.
Dislodging Iran’s theocrats wouldn’t only be of benefit to its long-suffering people. Iran has been a profligate financier of terrorism since 1979, and is responsible for wars that have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Hamas and Hezbollah’s recent attacks against Israel are but two examples.
Be under no illusion: these protests are a struggle for freedom. They are proof that secularism is not a ‘Western construct’, but a real aspiration for those longing to live in a more just, humane society. It is a validation of Hegel’s timeless reflection: that history is the story of liberty becoming conscious of itself.
Against the backdrop of ongoing protests in Iran, questions have emerged regarding the extent and nature of international human rights advocacy related to Iran, particularly on social media. Since October 7, 2023—when Hamas carried out an attack in Israel that resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the abduction of roughly 250 individuals—public communications by major nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations (UN) bodies, and influential media outlets have frequently focused on Israel’s conduct in Gaza, including recurring use of the term “genocide” in public commentary.Seth Mandel: Why Israel Might Have Argued Against an Iran Strike
At the same time, critics have alleged that these same actors have devoted comparatively less attention to the Iranian government’s response to domestic protests. Reports and public claims have described a large-scale crackdown on protesters, including allegations of significant fatalities and widespread repression. In addition, observers have argued that some public messaging by international organizations and media has, at times, minimized or reframed the Iranian government’s actions rather than explicitly condemning them.
In light of these concerns, Jewish Onliner—working with an independent third party specializing in large-scale data processing—conducted a study to systematically analyze the public-facing content output of prominent organizations within the human rights sector. The purpose of the study was to assess how these entities addressed Iran in the period following October 7, 2023, and specifically whether and how they referenced the current protests.
For its analysis, Jewish Onliner reviewed 180,785 posts, retweets, and quote tweets from the following official X (formerly Twitter) accounts published between October 7, 2023, and January 14, 2026: the American Friends Service Committee, ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Democratic Socialists of America, Drop Site News, Euro-Med HR, MPower Change, ICRC, Doctors Without Borders, National Lawyers Guild, Oikoumene, Oxfam, The People's Forum, Committee to Protect Journalists, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Save The Children, Center for Constitutional Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Zeteo.
X was selected as the primary platform for analysis because it is widely used for real-time political communication by institutions, journalists, and advocacy organizations, and because it provides high-volume, time-stamped public posts that are comparatively accessible for systematic collection and longitudinal comparison.
The New York Times reports that the Israeli government, as well as several Arab states, asked President Trump to postpone a strike on Iran. There are three possible reasons for this.
First: They didn’t; it’s all a ruse. Trump likes to set “final chance” deadlines after he’s already made his decision to strike. The administration has not hesitated in the past to maximize the element of surprise and could be doing the same here.
Second: We take the reporting at face value. In this telling, the Iranians would be tempted to retaliate against Israel for an American strike. “Iran fired many ballistic missiles at Israel during a 12-day war between the two nations in June that the United States also took part in by striking three Iranian nuclear sites. Some of the Iranian missiles got past Israeli air defenses and killed civilians,” the Times reminds readers.
Trump doesn’t like to outsource America’s foreign-policy decision-making, but he also doesn’t want to be blamed for an intervention that goes awry. Perhaps the Israelis convinced him a strike wasn’t yet necessary, or perhaps he decided that the party that will be put in the line of fire—in this case Israel—has the standing to make such a request.
Third: Israel did in fact ask Trump to hold off, just as the Times reports—but for a different reason. Rather than fearing an Iranian retaliation, Israel prefers the prevailing situation in the Middle East at the moment: All of its main enemies are on the back foot. Hamas is weak and cornered in Gaza; Hezbollah has been brought low, and Trump has reportedly given Israel the green light to flatten it for good if the terror group so much as sneezes in the wrong direction. The situation in Syria is fluid, but Israel has control of a buffer zone and allies on the ground, so that border remains quiet even if the conflict could flare up again. Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority has come out in support of the next step in the U.S.-led plan for Gaza.
In fact, if we follow this line of thought, we find that Israel is in the midst of a rare push to expand its diplomatic clout. Israel and Syria agreed last week on a framework for intelligence sharing and communication with an eye toward economic cooperation, continuing a shift in relations between the two states since the fall of the house of Assad.
Then there’s Lebanon: Yesterday, the Lebanese foreign minister made a remarkable statement to Sky News: “so long as Hezbollah is not completely disarmed, Israel has the right to continue its attacks” on the terrorist organization.
Looking further around the region, before the new year Greece, announced it would increase joint air and naval exercises with Israel and Cyprus this year. The three countries have also moved to increase economic cooperation. Both moves are aimed at curbing Turkey’s imperial aspirations in the Middle East.
Trump’s Unpredictable Calculus By Abe Greenwald
Via Commentary Newsletter, sign up here.Iran’s useful idiots: British complicity in Tehran's terror
It’s worth recalling this bit of history as we think about Trump’s apparent decision to hold off on another Iranian strike, this time in response to the regime’s brutality against its own people. Trump has no fear of false starts, pauses, reversals, and policy surprises of all sorts. He himself has said that he doesn’t necessarily know what he’s going to do about a given crisis until the moment he does it. If you don’t believe anything that comes of his mouth, you should at least believe that.
Trump doubtless wasn’t bluffing this time around either. When he told the Iranian people “help is on the way,” he meant it—before he changed his mind. Maybe he was persuaded to stand down by reticent foreign-policy advisers who don’t believe the Iranian regime is quite on the brink yet. Perhaps he was weighing the concerns of other Middle East governments with whom Trump has made deals. Or, possibly, he was satisfied with Tehran’s vow to “delay” the execution of protesters. It could have been some combination of all these. Whatever the impetus, it was enough to make Trump hit pause.
But as the Soleimani strike showed, for Trump, pause doesn’t necessarily mean stop. The same can be said about his eventually choosing to destroy Iran’s main nuclear facility. He’s happy to revise his thinking in response to changing circumstances. That sets him apart from recent American presidents who considered a decisive Iran strike somehow always possible yet never feasible.
Since 1979, U.S.-Iran relations have been characterized by crisis after crisis. Nothing suggests that will change so long as the current regime is in power. Which means that we’re nowhere near the end of the Trump-Iran saga, and more U.S. strikes are anything but unthinkable.
I doubt, of course, that this offers much comfort to those Iranians whom Trump, only two days ago, reassured. He urged them to “keep protesting” and “take over [the regime’s] institutions,” and he vowed to punish their tormenters. A sixth-month delay on that promise is, for Iranians, an eternity. While Trump may be in no hurry, they are in a desperate race for freedom. Here’s hoping our unpredictable president surprises them, and us, yet again.
The FCDO might also plead that we need to be represented in Tehran to live up to our obligations as a member of the European troika, with Germany and France, which continues to act as if the JCPOA still meant something. But why? Having triggered snap-back sanctions in the autumn, what else is there to say or do? And if there is anything, the ball is firmly in Iran’s court, not ours.Kylie Moore-Gilbert: The Islamic Republic of Iran is crumbling. Miscalculations have pushed it to this terminal frenzy
There are other indications of endemic institutional feebleness in this country: the reopening in 2023 of the Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale, long accused of links with Tehran, or the continued functioning of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which William Shawcross in his review of Prevent identified as aligned with the Iranian regime. Even when a stockpile of ammonium nitrate was discovered in 2015 in a flat in north London allegedly for use by Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran’s overseas agent of choice, it was kept very quiet. The press subsequently speculated that this was linked to the need to keep the Iranian nuclear deal afloat. It all resembles the way successive governments have sought to treat a wide range of malign Islamist bodies and organisations in this country and abroad with kid gloves ‘to keep lines open’. But the only lines I have ever observed being kept open are the ones that feed back into this country and undermine its security and cohesion.
We are seeing yet again the true nature of the Iranian regime in the mass murder being committed every day on the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country. They have been doing this for decades, whenever they feel under threat. Our response is to condemn – but then do nothing. It’s almost as if our political leaders agree with the Iranian regime that we can never atone enough for our vastly exaggerated role in the collapse of the Mosaddegh government in 1953 (spoiler alert: I know that some do).
Perhaps this time, we might think about doing something instead. And the FCDO could do a lot worse than dust off our 2023 report and start to implement at least some of its recommendations. The alternative is more paralysis in the UK and another false dawn for Iranians. They deserve better.
The Islamic Republic’s vulnerability is deep-rooted, but recent miscalculations by its 86-year-old supreme leader have arguably hastened what could be the gravest challenge to clerical rule since the country’s 1979 revolution.Trump Admin Sanctions 'Architects of Iran’s Brutal Crackdown' in First Action Against Regime Since Protests Began
Ayatollah Khamenei was the only world leader to publicly support the horrific massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, which was carried out by Hamas, one of Iran’s terror proxies. Like the immolation of Tunisian fruit-seller Mohamed Bouazizi in 2010, which set in train events that led to the fall of dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and, ultimately, Iran’s client state headed by Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the October 7 terror attack appears to be one of those history-shaping events whose aftershocks flow across borders, reshape alliances and will affect geopolitics in unexpected ways years into the future.
The fall of Assad, who had fought a brutal war of survival against his own people for 14 years, was complete in less than 11 days. It took Israel less than two months to comprehensively rout Hezbollah, a long-feared enemy thought to have been perched atop its northern border with more than 100,000 rockets. Hamas and Iran’s proxy militias in Iraq have also been cowed, for now. In this post-October 7 world might the Islamic Republic itself, which sits at the head of its so-called “Axis of Resistance” in the Middle East, be the next to crumble?
Khamenei’s longstanding refusal to implement any meaningful reforms to Iran’s highly repressive system of government, his inability to crack down on rampant corruption, and his rejection of genuine attempts to negotiate offered by both the Trump and Biden administrations primed the Islamic Republic for the current existential collapse in support of its populace. Iran’s ill-advised 12-day war with Israel of June 2025, which led to the humiliating destruction of Khamenei’s prized nuclear program and the assassinations of dozens of senior military, scientific and political figures, revealed the regime to be a paper tiger.
‘There are rivers of blood’: Iran horror emerges as phone lines restored
Iran was a powder keg in search of a spark, and on December 28, when merchants and currency traders in Tehran’s bazaars went on strike, it found one.
Will extreme violence yield a temporary reprieve for a regime that has revealed itself to be in terminal decline? The catastrophic collapse of Iran’s economy, coupled with widespread outrage at the unimaginable cruelty of the brutal crackdown on citizens voicing what President Masoud Pezeshkian had earlier acknowledged were “legitimate demands”, almost guarantees another round of protest.
The Islamic Republic is moribund. The question is not if it will fall, but when, and in what manner. And, most tragically of all, how many brave and innocent lives will it destroy on the way out?
The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled sweeping new sanctions on the Iranian leaders responsible for orchestrating a bloody crackdown against protesters, the first economic action the United States has taken since the regime began slaughtering thousands of civilians in the streets.NYTs Editorial: Iran's Murderous Regime Is Irredeemable
The measures target prominent Iranian figures like Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, who authorized deadly force against protesters in several major cities. Others include Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) officials like Mohammad Reza Hashemifar and Azizollah Maleki, as well as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leader Yadollah Buali, each of whom oversaw killings across the country. The LEF acts as Tehran's domestic enforcers, preserving the regime's rule by detaining dissidents and policing their behavior, while the IRGC serves as the regime's elite fighting force both inside and outside the country. At the instruction of IRGC leadership, LEF forces have fired on protesters and arrested up to 50,000, according to dissident groups. IRGC operatives, who have also shot demonstrators, have attacked wounded protesters, family members, and medical staff inside hospitals, the Treasury Department stated.
The Treasury Department also placed sanctions on a complex "shadow banking network" that enabled "Iran's elite to steal and launder revenue generated by the country's natural resources," according to a press release announcing the measures. The Trump administration targeted 18 individuals and entities "who play critical roles in laundering the proceeds of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales to foreign markets."
The fresh punitive measures come as the Trump administration moves military assets into the region for a potential strike. While Israel and several Gulf states reportedly urged Trump to postpone military action, fearing that Iranian retaliation would include attacks on their countries, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that "all options remain on the table."
Protesters have continued to take to the streets throughout Iran, though signs that the movement may weaken have appeared amid a historically violent crackdown in which the regime has killed upwards of 12,000 civilians. The sanctions have the potential to reinvigorate anti-regime voices that have implored the Trump administration to take concrete action to demonstrate its support for the uprising.
"The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "At the direction of President Trump, the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown against the Iranian people. Treasury will use every tool to target those behind the regime's tyrannical oppression of human rights."
The Iranians demonstrating against their government are displaying awe-inspiring bravery.Iran's Regime Is Not Merely Under Political Siege - It Is in a State of Existential Bankruptcy
They deserve the admiration of everybody who believes in democracy, freedom and equality under the law.
How to help them achieve liberty is a harder problem.
Before the 1979 revolution, Iran had per capita incomes above the global average. Today, Iran's per capita income is less than half the global average - falling behind that of Guatemala, Iraq, Kosovo, Libya, and South Africa.
The Khamenei regime is too depraved to be reformed. It has had plenty of chances to choose a different path. The ayatollahs have shown themselves to be beyond rehabilitation.
The protest movement represents the best hope for an Iran that does less damage in the world and better serves its own people.
The reality of January 2026 challenges the Iranian regime with an equation it has never faced before. Iran is in a state of existential bankruptcy. With inflation approaching 60% and a severe energy shortage in an oil-rich state, the government has lost its tools for managing the crisis.Bret Stephens: The Ayatollahs' Antisemitism Has Undone Iran
The real crack is not only in the pocket, but in the image, with the collapse of its proxies: Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas, and now Venezuela. And the blows inflicted on the Revolutionary Guards by Israel and the U.S. have fractured its all-powerful image.
The police and the regular army may show hesitation, but the Revolutionary Guards is a different story. For them, the fall of the regime means personal bankruptcy. The IRGC is not merely a military force; it is a conglomerate controlling 35-40% of the Iranian economy. Senior officers understand that revolution means nationalization of their assets and criminal prosecution.
In the intelligence world, a visible presence is often a liability. Israel is still perceived as an enemy among broad segments of Iranian society. Instead, Israel should stir the pot without leaving fingerprints, operating in the shadows through cognitive and cyber warfare, including surgical strikes against regime systems and the injection of incriminating information about senior IRGC corruption directly into citizens' phones.
It should encourage defections by creating covert channels to mid-level figures within the establishment, with promises of immunity on the "day after," in order to create cracks within the security apparatus. It should provide covert support and targeted arms to separatist groups in the periphery - Kurds in the west and Baluchis in the southeast. It should provide technological support, using satellites and cyber technologies to ensure continuous internet access for protesters.
A policy of antisemitism has a way of eventually destroying the antisemite. Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the regime has had a singular obsession with Jews. Iran's current leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is an avowed Holocaust denier. The vast majority of Iranian Jews have fled the country.Ynet Source from Tehran Killed by Security Forces
Iran has supported Hizbullah, sworn to Israel's destruction, with billions of dollars over four decades. It ordered the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. It has supplied weapons and training for Hamas, along with ballistic missiles for Yemen's Houthis. It has repeatedly hosted a conference of Holocaust deniers and antisemitic cartoon contests.
All this might be intelligible if Iran and Israel had ancient grievances or territorial disputes. There are none. Iran was among the first predominantly Muslim states to de facto recognize Israel, and Jerusalem and Tehran maintained close ties while the shah was in power. Even today, ordinary Iranians are markedly less antisemitic than people in other Middle Eastern states. What ordinary Iranians are revolting against is a regime that would rather pursue a perpetual jihad against the Zionist enemy than feed its own people.
After the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel systematically dismantled the ring of fire around the Jewish state built by Iran and its proxies. At a stroke, it turned decades of Iranian investment in efforts to destroy Israel to rubble and ash. It exposed to the Iranian people the regime's military incompetence and helplessness. The knowledge that the regime is brittle is surely part of what is driving Iranians into the streets.
When the regime collapses, it will also signal historic fulfillment: Jews have owed a debt to Persians ever since Cyrus the Great ended the Babylonian Captivity 2,564 years ago and restored Jews to Zion.
I asked an Iranian exile friend to connect me with activists inside Tehran who could tell us about life in Iran. We've spoken to Azita ten times.Restricted post When we look at the videos from Kahrizak, where many bodies are left scattered in the area, a few things immediately stand out.
I asked her why she agreed to speak to someone from "the Little Satan."
She said, "I want the world to know about the other Iranians. We want people to know what we're going through. We don't want the world to say it didn't know."
We spoke a lot during the summer war. "What kind of crazy reality is this," she said, "when war gives us hope - when the planes bombing overhead make us feel more alive?"
Her greatest fear was betrayal by the West - its unwillingness to join their fight against the tyrants ruling their lives.
She told me how more and more people were joining the resistance, how music was being played in the streets, how women were walking without hijabs.
She described an unbearable economic reality, a daily struggle to afford life's basic necessities and a total lack of faith in a regime that had failed to protect its people - even its top commanders and scientists - from Israeli strikes.
And yet, she was full of hope. The despair had vanished. "We've lost our fear of death," she told me.
On Tuesday I received the news. Security forces had shot her dead in the street.
In some of the images, the bodies still have breathing tubes attached to them. (First image)
In another image, you can clearly see heart monitor electrodes still attached to the body of someone who has been killed. (Second image)
A third image shows another body wearing a hospital gown. It’s clear this person was moved straight from a hospital bed to Kahrizak.
We had already heard reports of security forces killing wounded people inside hospitals, and even clashing with their families.
I have no doubt that some of the injured were taken alive from hospitals while they were still being treated and later killed.
“Died”?
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) January 16, 2026
Is Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs unable or unwilling to call it what it is: murder. https://t.co/FzT42QbTeu
Report: UN Experts Silent on Iran
Out of 87 Special Procedures, only five issued or endorsed an official statement condemning the regime’s crackdown. Published on January 13, 2026—two and half weeks into the violence—the statement was signed by Special Rapporteur on Iran Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan, and Special rapporteur on freedom of assembly Gina Romero. It was also endorsed by the Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennet. Other than this one official statement, there have been only a handful of social media posts on X—an extremely weak response given the scale, intensity, and barbarity of the government response.
This silence is not the result of institutional paralysis. Rather, it reflects a pattern of selective engagement and politicized mandate overreach by UN human rights experts. UN experts routinely mobilize on issues far removed from their areas of responsibility while failing to respond to mass atrocities.
For example, on August 28, 2025, 47 Special Procedures—including country mandate-holders and experts on migration, food, and displacement—co-signed a statement titled Reaffirming the Centrality of Gender as a Tool for Advancing Equality and All Human Rights, despite having no mandate-based connection to gender equality. This readiness to issue broad ideological statements stands in stark contrast to their near silence in the face of the Iranian regime’s mass killing of protesters.
In contrast to the ongoing violations in Iran, UN experts have repeatedly mobilized with remarkable speed to condemn the United States and Israel. On January 7, 2026—just four days after U.S. forces arrested Nicolas Maduro—19 UN experts signed an official statement “strongly condemning” the move. Similarly, on June 5, 2020, less than two weeks after the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, 27 UN experts co-signed a statement calling on the U.S. government to “address systemic racism in the criminal justice system.”
The same pattern is evident with respect to Israel. On September 19, 2024, within two days of Israel’s targeted pager attack on Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, 22 UN experts jointly condemned Israel for what they described as “terrifying” violations of international law. Similarly, on May 29, 2024, just two days after an Israeli strike targeting Hamas sparked a fire in nearby civilian tents, 52 UN experts demanded “decisive international action to end the bloodshed in Gaza.”
Moreover, the Israel-focused statements reveal the extent to which UN experts routinely overreach their mandates when addressing Israel. For example, on October 3, 2025, 28 UN experts—including the Special Rapporteurs on human rights in Eritrea and Somalia—co-signed a statement criticizing the Trump peace plan for Gaza, despite having no mandate-related connection to Middle East peace negotiations.
This pattern was especially evident following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre of Israeli civilians. Less than a week after the attack, 50 Special Procedures issued a joint statement condemning both Hamas and Israel, demanding de-escalation, and attributing the violence to Israel’s “56-year-old occupation.” Signatories included mandate-holders on climate change, albinism, and country situations such as Cambodia, Eritrea, and Iran—mandates with no direct nexus to the conflict itself.
This is beyond belief.
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) January 14, 2026
The Iranian UN ambassador has sent a letter to the UN, complaining about protesters in Iran, whom he describes as “terrorists and armed groups turning peaceful protests into political destabilization.”
This is the same regime that shoots protesters, hangs… pic.twitter.com/74VuPKIlTh
To all of our friends around the world,
— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) January 15, 2026
Under the yoke of the Islamic Republic, Iran is identified in your minds with terrorism, extremism, and poverty. The real Iran is a different Iran. A beautiful, peace-loving, and flourishing Iran.
It is the Iran that existed before the… pic.twitter.com/IhK6ZRYDY0
The Iranian regime’s violence and repression against its own people threaten international peace and security.
— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) January 15, 2026
President Trump and the United States stand with the brave people of Iran as they demand freedom and a better future. pic.twitter.com/IHzRoUQfcM
Iranian activist Masih Alinejad on Thursday called for the Iran government to be treated like ISIS at UN Security Council meeting. pic.twitter.com/AJAUGabkET
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 15, 2026
BREAKING FROM INSIDE OCCUPIED IRAN:
— Goldie Ghamari | گلسا قمری 🇮🇷 (@gghamari) January 15, 2026
A Commander's Daughter from inside the Islamic Republic’s repressive apparatus calls in. She speaks of fake passports, hidden dollars, sexual violence, and orders to kill.
THIS NEEDS TO GO VIRAL cc @ManotoNews pic.twitter.com/q67PyaY148
Israelis have a message for The Great Persian People! pic.twitter.com/Y1D0Le2pEM
— Tal Oran (@travelingclatt) January 15, 2026
I met an Iranian… he had one message for Israel. pic.twitter.com/j67J72Niho
— Israel Advocacy Movement (@israel_advocacy) January 15, 2026
This point cannot be emphasized enough.
— Dr. Brian L. Cox (@BrianCox_RLTW) January 15, 2026
It's actually not bad for media to be cautious covering #Iran. Comms blackout, few established sources, no organic assets in country, etc. All this makes it a challenge to verify info coming out of Iran.
Fine. There were/are similar… https://t.co/ZkORQ9hsqk
Unbelievable regime propaganda coming from @Glenn_Diesen! Repulsive. I tried to destroy his position. pic.twitter.com/RU6YoGLrye
— Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) January 15, 2026
The large American evacuation from Al Udeid Base in Qatar pic.twitter.com/TvoSxA7vki
— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) January 14, 2026
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claims that reports that thousands of Iranians have been killed by the regime are false
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) January 15, 2026
He says it's "only hundreds" of protesters that the killed
An Iranian officials told The New York Times that the number was well into the thousands pic.twitter.com/Q9XliTVixv
Bret Baier calls out the Iranian lie that their nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes pic.twitter.com/c31MP3FGPb
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) January 15, 2026
Bret Baier calls out Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's lies that Iran does not have proxy groups in the region
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) January 15, 2026
Iran's proxy groups include Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Shia militias in Iraq, and more. pic.twitter.com/wJKIWwwx04
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has a giant smile on his face as he is asked if Iran is going to continue massacring protesters pic.twitter.com/3wx9N0rkmS
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) January 15, 2026
Amnesty can't say the name of who shut down the internet to commit mass murder. https://t.co/rQHt0IWVJP
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) January 14, 2026
Hey, look at that: When Ted Cruz criticizes the Islamic Republic for committing genocide against the people of Iran, TrackAIPAC goes after him.
— Max 📟 (@MaxNordau) January 15, 2026
That's weird, right? pic.twitter.com/n0ye25wQIr
Moron, fraud https://t.co/ksaJNsclLL
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) January 15, 2026
Susan hates Iranians so much she sides with their despot. What a sick woman. https://t.co/fgxQKumGRX
— Eli Lake (@EliLake) January 15, 2026
David Miller in his inverted red triangle tie trying to blame Israel for the Iran protests. I can’t believe this guy lives in the UK while working for the Islamic regime’s Press TV. Why can’t @Ofcom do something about this. pic.twitter.com/xpMDGfsltw
— Heidi Bachram 🎗️ (@HeidiBachram) January 15, 2026
🚨 Iranians in Melbourne BEG Donald Trump to intervene as the ‘Free Palestine’ left goes DEAD SILENT while Iranians are SLAUGHTERED
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) January 14, 2026
Full story: https://t.co/5cobDucHTr pic.twitter.com/NaQDNwne8t
⚠️ The history lesson the LEFT ignores at their own peril
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) January 15, 2026
Iranians are trying to warn inner-city leftists.
In 1979, Islamists teamed up with communists and Marxists to seize power in Iran.
Once in control, the Islamic Republic massacred their leftist allies.
This is not… pic.twitter.com/rLnkEckN03
🚨 ‘Free Palestine’ meets REALITY
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) January 15, 2026
She turned up to an Iranian freedom protest wearing a Palestinian flag.
Then complained she was kicked out.
Full story: https://t.co/5cobDucHTr pic.twitter.com/orUzkNOpXG
Iran will attack Israel again, Tal makes sure Jordan knows we are thankful (MUST WATCH HILARIOUS 😂) pic.twitter.com/V7fLlOZJtQ
— Tal Oran (@travelingclatt) January 15, 2026
Tucker Carlson Amazed At How Clean And Well-Run The Murdering Of Iranian Protestors Is https://t.co/asapkDYwd4 pic.twitter.com/HSO9R1ihO0
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 15, 2026
IDF Enlists Older Immigrant Volunteers in Reserve Units
The IDF has announced a national initiative aimed at integrating skilled immigrants into the military reserves who arrived in Israel at an older age and were previously unable to enlist through standard tracks.Women Serving in IDF Combat Roles at Record High
The program allows eligible immigrants aged 26 and older to complete a condensed, two-week basic training course before being assigned to active reserve units in roles aligned with their professional and academic backgrounds.
Placements include positions in the Medical Corps for doctors and paramedics; technology and maintenance roles for technicians and engineers; Home Front Command positions focused on engineering, hazardous materials management, and community resilience; and logistics and transport roles such as drivers and crane operators.
The program is open to immigrants with a basic command of Hebrew and requires a commitment to active reserve service of five years, subject to operational needs.
Reserve duty is compensated through the National Insurance Institute.
8,500 women served in IDF combat roles in 2025 - more than double the number in 2020.IDF PodCast: Behind the Frontline: Inside the Paratroopers’ Command Center
5,000 women enlisted as combat soldiers over the past year, a tenfold increase compared with a decade ago.
One-fifth of combat forces are women, and there are currently six female combat battalion commanders.
Since the start of the war, 65,000 women have served in the reserves, compared with 7,000 during the 2014 conflict.
Women are now integrated in border defense, combat intelligence, infantry frameworks, and mixed-gender units.
Women who previously performed national civilian service in place of IDF service have begun volunteering for reserve duty.
After completing abbreviated basic training, they are assigned to roles aligned with their civilian expertise, primarily in medicine, logistics, casualty services, resilience centers, and the military legal system.
Go inside the Paratroopers’ command-and-control center, where battles are managed in real time and every decision can change an operation’s outcome. In this episode of Mission Brief, Major Y takes us behind the frontline to explain how intelligence, technology, and coordination turn information into action under constant pressure.15-Member Technocratic Committee to Govern Gaza Named
The 15 members of the technocratic committee to govern Gaza in place of Hamas were named Wednesday. They include professional figures with institutional and security experience. The committee chairman is Ali Shaath, who previously held senior posts within the Palestinian Authority.Bassam Tawil: Why Gaza Should Be Placed Under US and Israeli Control
Other members include Abdul Karim Ashour, head of an agricultural aid organization in Gaza; Aed Yaghi, director of a medical aid organization in Gaza; Ayed Abu Ramadan, head of Gaza's Chamber of Commerce; Jaber al-Daour, president of the University of Palestine in Gaza; Bashir al-Rais, an engineering consultant; engineer Omar Shamali, who oversaw Palestinian telecommunications in Gaza; Ali Barhoum, an engineer and adviser to the Rafah municipality; and attorney Hana Tarzi, the first Christian woman lawyer in Gaza.
Additional members are Mohammad Bseiso, owner of one of Gaza's largest law firms, who will oversee judicial affairs; Sami Nasman, a retired senior officer from PA security forces, responsible for internal affairs; Arabi Abu Shaaban, in charge of the Land Authority; Osama al-Saadawi, an engineer who previously served as a minister in the PA who will oversee housing; Husni al-Mughni, responsible for tribal affairs; and Bashir al-Rais, who will handle finance.
Before it can start work, the committee must first determines its internal structure, support teams, and governing tools. "There will be no immediate implementation of tasks in Gaza until the committee decides how it will operate," sources said.
Security officials said Israel agreed to the appointment of the committee members. "The names are familiar and acceptable to us," officials said. "They are Fatah figures who are not extremist and resemble Palestinian Authority officials Israel already works with. Some live in the West Bank and others in Gaza." They added that no withdrawal from the Yellow Line in Gaza is expected in the near future.
US and Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would, ironically, provide the least risk to all the parties involved -- most of all to the Palestinians of Gaza. Such an arrangement seems the only realistic solution that could lead to reduced violence and long-term regional stability.IDF strikes Hezbollah in response to ‘repeated’ truce violations
A joint US and Israeli security and business presence there could result at last in the emergence of moderate, pragmatic Palestinians. Such an outcome will certainly never take place if Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan or the Palestinian Authority are allowed inside the Gaza Strip. There is a far higher probability of accords being torn up and a new war launched after Trump leaves office.
American or Israeli control of the Gaza Strip would not only prevent Palestinian terrorists from gaining more power and launching attacks again but also send a reassuring message to neighboring Arab and Islamic states that they would be able to rely on the US when it comes to combating Islamist terrorism against their own regimes as well.
A strong US and foreign business presence, with the knowledge that these investments are safely protected, would not only create job opportunities and improve living conditions for local residents but could also make Gaza the spectacular "Gaza Riviera" it is waiting to become.
At the moment, many countries are hardly rushing to invest in Gaza. If countries aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood were in charge, there would be no way of protecting their investment, or even enforcing law and order.
If the US Administration thinks that an Arab and Muslim "Peace Board" will actually take any significant action to ensure that Hamas disarms and disbands, they are in for a nasty shock. The minute the first shot is fired, the last thing on the minds of the "Board of Peace" will be enforcing "Peace."
After two years of death and destruction, many Palestinians would prefer to live under American or even -- without admitting it of course --- Israeli control, than under a terror group that has brought them nothing but death, destruction and a new nakba (catastrophe).
Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Islamic countries would most likely be happy to be on the side of the "strong horse."
Strange as it may seem, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are popular among many Arabs and Muslims: they are viewed as reliable, sturdy and uncompromising leaders who can be counted on to keep their word.
If Arab and Muslim states disagree, they are welcome to stay behind and watch the train leave the station. If not, the Gaza Strip and the "Board of Peace" will be just another failed experiment.
The Israel Defense Forces attacked Hezbollah targets across Lebanon on Thursday in response to the Iranian-backed terrorist organization’s “repeated violations of the ceasefire,” the military said.
The IDF said it struck “several Hezbollah weapon storage facilities and additional terror infrastructure throughout Southern Lebanon,” adding that “Hezbollah’s activity at these sites constitutes a violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Before the strikes, steps were taken to mitigate possible harm to civilians,” the statement added.
Hezbollah started attacking the Jewish state’s north on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas-led terrorist massacre in the south, opening a second front on the country’s borders that lasted until a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Beirut and Jerusalem entered into effect on Nov. 27, 2024.
The truce terms required Hezbollah to be disarmed, starting in regions adjacent to the border, with the Lebanese Armed Forces mandated to establish a monopoly over weapons in the country under the terms of the ceasefire agreement and a subsequent Lebanese Cabinet decision.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in a Jan. 8 statement said that while Beirut’s efforts were “an encouraging beginning,” they were “far from sufficient” given Hezbollah’s Iranian-aided rearmament efforts.
“The ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States between Israel and Lebanon states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed. This is imperative for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future,” Jerusalem said.
IDF strikes in S Lebanon. If you want to know what’s going on: the IDF is hitting the Hezbollah targets the Lebanese Armed Forces can’t/won’t. Hezbollah currently rearming faster than they are being disarmed.
— Andrew Fox (@Mr_Andrew_Fox) January 15, 2026
Israeli policy in the north is “forward defence” to generate depth (ie… pic.twitter.com/sVzQbmdkd9
The IDF said it struck Hezbollah weapons depots and terror infrastructure in southern and deep inside Lebanon. The targets were used to plan attacks against Israel and the IDF. A separate strike hit an underground weapons storage site. The IDF said precautions were taken to… pic.twitter.com/f2nJVZv7Sd
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 15, 2026
HOSTAGE: Eli Sharabi’s Incredible Story of Surviving Hamas Captivity for 491 Days After October 7th
Eli Sharabi survived 491 days in Hamas captivity after being abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7. This week on Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, we are privileged to have Eli share his story of faith, resilience, and the power of the human soul.
Eli joins Jonah for a two-part conversation that moves from public testimony to deeply personal reflection. This special episode is in two parts, and opens with a live, onstage discussion at a Magen David Adom gala in Miami, honoring Eli and tracing his journey from Kibbutz Be’eri to captivity and eventual freedom. We then move to our regular studio where Eli speaks with remarkable clarity, courage, and humanity about survival, resilience, and the inner discipline that sustained him through unimaginable psychological and physical torment. Together, Jonah and Eli explore the writing of Eli’s book Hostage, the healing power of telling his story, and the global impact of his speech at the United Nations. With profound honesty, Eli reflects on the loss of his w7ife Lianne, his daughters Noiya and Yahel, and his brother Yossi, and shares his ongoing mission to share his story as a testimony against terrorism, confront disinformation, and raise awareness about the truth of what happened to Hamas captives.
00:00 - Eli's Message of Jewish Pride
01:07 - Gala Event: From Darkness to Light at Magen David Adom
02:44 - Storytelling as a Therapeutic Process
05:16 - October 7th: Kibbutz Be'eri Infiltration
09:00 - Honoring Heroes of Magen David Adom
13:36 - Witnessing Physical Transformation in Captivity
14:50 - Father-Son Bond with Alon Ohel
22:40 - Studio Segment: Choosing Hope Over Hatred
30:15 - Impact of Global Jewish Support
37:10 - Strength Found in Jewish Identity
45:00 - Rebuilding Life After Tragedy
53:40 - Advice for Future Generations
58:30 - Final Reflections and Closing Prayer
Coleman Hughes: Niall Ferguson: The U.S. Should Finish the Job in Iran
Iran is in crisis. The largest protests in years have brought millions into the streets, and sparked a brutal crackdown by the regime. More than 12,000 people are reported to have been killed.
To understand what triggered the protests and why they matter so profoundly, I sat down with historian and Free Press contributor Niall Ferguson.
Niall and I discussed the Islamic Republic’s crisis of legitimacy. Unlike earlier protest movements, this one features explicit calls for regime change and, in some cases, even the restoration of the monarchy. The protesters’ chants of “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon” make clear that these demonstrations are not simply pro-Western, as the regime claims, but are nationalist—they are demands that Iranian resources serve Iranian citizens rather than be spent on Hamas and Hezbollah.
Niall gave me his thoughts on the dilemma facing President Trump, who has alternated between threatening action against the regime and signaling a desire to avoid military intervention. We revisit the lessons of 1953, 1979, Iraq, Syria, and the Arab Spring, and consider whether U.S. intervention would help Iran’s protesters or risk discrediting them. Niall argues that inaction also carries costs, and contends that the collapse of the Islamic Republic would fundamentally reshape the Middle East, with implications stretching from Israel and Saudi Arabia to China, Russia, and Taiwan.
0:00- Intro
1:19- Framing the Current Crisis
5:26- Economic Collapse and the Roots of Protest
10:53- Regime Legitimacy Versus Cost-of-Living Grievances
15:17- Trump’s Risk Tolerance and U.S. Leverage
20:01- Reassessing the 1953 Coup Narrative
27:07- Foreign Policy Failures and Public Anger
31:15- Foreign Involvement and Protest Legitimacy
36:49- Is Iran Comparable to Iraq?
43:21- America First and the Limits of Nonintervention
50:03- Saudi Arabia, Israel, and regional shifts
55:55- Russia, China, and the Taiwan shadow
“Regime Change From Within” Mike Huckabee Defends Trumps Unpredictable Iran Policy
Ambassador Mike Huckabee joins Axis of Truth for a blunt reality check on the U.S.–Israel alliance, and why the loudest “America First” voices are getting it wrong. He breaks down why “America First” was never “America only,” argues that Israel’s enemies (especially Iran) are America’s enemies, and explains why regime change in Iran can’t be “imported” from outside without backfiring. You’ll also learn what actually sustains power inside closed regimes (hint: control of information), why internet access like Starlink can be a strategic lifeline and how the U.S. benefits from Israel far more than critics admit.. This episode will give you a sharper framework for defending the alliance and understanding the Iran endgame.
Call me Back Podcast: What Happens If the U.S. Strikes Iran? - with Karim Sadjadpour and Nadav Eyal
While President Trump has made multiple threats against the Islamic Republic’s regime due to its violent crackdown against protesters, the world still waits to see whether the United States will indeed follow through. Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Ark Media contributor Nadav Eyal join Dan to discuss what shape might an American attack take, whether it has in fact already started, how Iran might retaliate, and whether this could be the end of the Ayatollah regime.
In this episode...
Under the communications shutdown, can we know what’s happening in Iran?
Israel expects an American action… But of what kind?
Is the Ayatollah regime crumbling?
Is the United States already operating within Iran?
Getting into the mind of the Supreme Leader
How is Israel preparing?
What should the West do?
Understanding Reza Pahlavi’s role
Comedy Cellar USA: Debunking Holocaust Denial Myths- Professor Robert Jan Van Pelt - ICE shooting, RIP Scott Adams
Call ins, legal and civic positions on ICE shooting and Noam's take on Dilbert Cartoonist, Scott Adams. Guest: Professor Robert Jan Van Pelt, the principal expert witness on Nazi gas chambers in the David Irving trial, joins. Robert Jan van Pelt is one of the world’s leading experts on Auschwitz. An architectural historian who has taught at MIT and the University of Waterloo, he is best known for proving the reality of the gas chambers and crematoria.
His work made him a central figure in the fight against Holocaust denial. He appeared in Errol Morris’s Mr. Death and served as a key expert witness in the landmark Irving v. Penguin & Lipstadt trial. He has received major honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Jewish Book Award.
Jonny Gould: 196: Michal Cotler-Wunsh: a headline masterclass in defining and tackling antisemitism.
Help support Jonny by buying him a coffee and find his Substack feed with all his podcasts and articles.
What you’ll hear now in this short interview is a headline masterclass in defining and tackling antisemitism.
If only I had longer, but our guest filled the room with shorthand wisdom of the deepest kind when we met during an antisemitism conference in Vienna where I was presented with a plethora of brilliant and courageous people.
Vienna, the scene of my own family’s escape to Birmingham in 1938 and 1939 from Hitler’s European tyranny.
Join us for a compelling conversation with Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Israel's former Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, ex-Knesset member, and leading voice on the "oldest hatred" in its modern form.
Born in Jerusalem, raised in Canada as stepdaughter to renowned human rights advocate Irwin Cotler, she returned to Israel for military service, law studies, and a career bridging academia, policy, and politics. Her PhD probed free speech limits on campuses—eerily prescient today.
Since the October 7 attacks, Michal has spotlighted the surge in antisemitism, featured in the documentary Tragic Awakening: A New Look at the Oldest Hatred. She dissects how anti-Zionism mutates into mainstream Jew-hatred, the failures of the global response, and why this threat demands urgent action from everyone - and you.
A must-listen on resilience, truth, and defending shared humanity.
After implying that Israelis eat human flesh, UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese is back at her favorite pastime: dehumanizing Israelis, now using soldiers’ suicides to push her own agenda.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) January 15, 2026
Francesca didn’t give the names of the young men who took their lives. She didn’t tell… pic.twitter.com/fJ6CQ2zWBq
ColemanNation Podcast - Episode 190 | Ashley Rindsberg: Wiki Madness
You knew Wikipedia was bad. But before Ashley Rindsberg, you had no idea how bad.
travelingisrael.com: Algorithm of Hate – How Wikipedia and AI Poison Knowledge About Israel
Wikipedia is no longer a neutral encyclopedia—it’s an ideological battlefield where biased language poisons history, trains AI on lies, and systematically erases Jewish identity and Israel’s legitimacy. This video exposes how knowledge manipulation works, why it matters far beyond Wikipedia, and how false narratives about Israel are manufactured, amplified, and normalized.
To mark Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary - and its distorted entry on the term “Pallywood” - we prepared a short compilation to highlight how Wikipedia, once a genuinely positive idea, has in recent years been captured by a specific activist group that increasingly controls political… pic.twitter.com/tnbfUEKMY6
— GAZAWOOD - the PALLYWOOD saga (@GAZAWOOD1) January 15, 2026
Well, here you have it---the exact moment when the Arabs decided to invent a "Palestinian people" for the purpose of destroying the State of Israel-- August , 1960 (I think the meeting was actually held in September).
— Shoshana🦁🌞🇸🇨🪬 (@Shoshana51728) January 15, 2026
"4. At Arab League meeting at Shtaura last August, decision… pic.twitter.com/tdi09Krm3T
“Did Donald Trump Just BURY the Fake America First Crowd?”
— Jake Donnelly (@RedWhiteBlueJew) January 15, 2026
Donald Trump is Mr. America First.
Donald Trump is Mr. Art of the Deal.
So when Donald Trump gets upset at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for saying Israel intends to become militarily autarkic within 10… https://t.co/pE0ltyO69s pic.twitter.com/UDCCb6lSUz
Argentina takes a stand against the Muslim Brotherhood.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 15, 2026
Part of America’s renewed Monroe Doctrine should include exclusion of the brotherhood from our hemisphere. https://t.co/OS86oHiPIt
🚨 EXCLUSIVE — Tucker Carlson just used another reference to Jews in the time of Jesus.
— Joel Mowbray (@joelmowbray) January 15, 2026
Per Tucker, the key to Russia's economic success is Putin "kicked the money changers out of the Temple."
In the early 2000's, Putin pushed out oligarchs, disproportionately Jewish, and his… pic.twitter.com/7c89yAYv9r
Yesterday: you know, Russia would be within their rights to just nuke Europe.
— David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense (@davereaboi) January 15, 2026
Today: Beware the Deceivers—Bill Ackman and Ben Shapiro—They Lust for Blood. pic.twitter.com/eJMxEpHZUj
≈75k died immediately from one nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 15, 2026
According to Hamas, ≈70k died after two years of war and bombing in Gaza, the plurality of whom are combatants and/or males of fighting age.
Disproves indiscriminate bombing pretty conclusively. https://t.co/XZg0dHOJnm
👇This is the problem with people like @patrickbetdavid and @stevencr interviewing Nick Fuentes.
— Karys Rhea (@RheaKarys) January 15, 2026
Podcasters, take note:
Cc @BrianOSheaSPI pic.twitter.com/VGIFLbBN0A
It takes 2 seconds to debunk the claims here as obvious lies (see below). The original source apologized and retracted. The grenade wasn’t Israeli. Local police debunked the accusation. All of which you left out.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) January 15, 2026
So the real question is what is happening at OANN?
Why is a… https://t.co/gB0NG2CidY pic.twitter.com/9NzhQYU28t
Chicago Islamic Scholar Khalid Nijmeh: Trump Only Wants Muslims Who Give Up Their Religion, But Islam Is a Machine That Grinds Every Other Idea in the World; Eventually It Will Prevail pic.twitter.com/A2zFfmUbZP
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) January 13, 2026
Kids’ Story Night at Texas Mosque: Israel Is the Illegal State of the Jews pic.twitter.com/MBz0pdI9Zr
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) January 15, 2026
Columbia Encampment Organizer Mahmoud Khalil Can Be Rearrested, Appeals Court Rules
A federal appeals court ruled that a lower court didn’t have jurisdiction to order the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of anti-Semitic protests at Columbia University, from detention. The reversal could lead to his rearrest and brings the Trump administration closer to deporting Khalil.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on Thursday that the Immigration and Nationality Act indicated that Khalil’s petition for release needed to first go through immigration court processes before a district court could rule on the matter. The panel ordered New Jersey district judge Michael E. Farbiarz, who ordered Khalil’s release in June, to dismiss Khalil’s petition.
The ruling serves as more than just a win for the Trump administration in its efforts to deport Khalil—it could also prevent other foreign nationals arrested last year over their anti-Semitic activism from bypassing immigration courts to secure their freedom during deportation proceedings.
Khalil’s legal team plans to appeal Thursday’s decision, with one of his attorneys, Baher Azmy, saying it will "continue to fight with all available legal options." The matter will likely next be reviewed by a full panel of Third Circuit judges.
In September, an immigration judge ordered Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria after finding he "willfully misrepresented" his campus activism and work for the Hamas-tied U.N. Relief and Works Agency on his immigration forms. The Trump administration reached a deal with Khalil’s lawyers and paused the proceedings, but those could resume following Thursday’s decision.
After Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, Khalil became a prominent leader of the anti-Semitic Columbia University Apartheid Divest who organized the illegal 2024 encampments. He also led negotiations with the school as they unfolded, demanding divestment from Israel. Khalil pledged further unrest in the buildup to the fall 2024 semester, telling the Hill he would continue to push Columbia to divest from Israel by "any available means necessary." Video footage placed him at an illegal protest at Barnard College that took place in March.
For the fake news peddling misinformation about the appellate ruling for Mahmoud Khalil, here is our stance in simple terms:
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) January 15, 2026
If you sympathize with terrorists, your presence is contrary to the national and foreign policy interests of the United States. You are not welcome here. https://t.co/VyTAYGopSy
Please remind me: how many times has Zohran Mamdani made an impassioned plea on behalf of Jewish New Yorkers who’ve spent the last two years being harassed, hounded, and targeted? https://t.co/AMQVI2Pi4S
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) January 16, 2026
WATCH: The DSA then vs. now.
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) January 15, 2026
In one minute, see how the group moved from praising Israel in the 1980s to expressing support for terror organizations targeting America and Israel. pic.twitter.com/fgQmVrQ5vZ
Palestine Action hunger strikers claim victory despite lack of evidence
Incarcerated Palestine Action members have ended a hunger strike after an Israeli Defence company failed to win a major UK government contract, despite there being no evidence to suggest the contract decision was in any way related to their protests.
Representatives for Kamran Ahmed, Heba Muraisi and Lewie Chiaramello announced that the three would not be continuing their protest, after Elbit Systems UK was unsuccessful in its bid to win a British Army training contract. Ahmed and Muraisi had reportedly refused solid foods for more than 70 days, while Chiaramello was said to be refusing food on alternate days due to pre-existing health conditions.
A statement from “Prisoners for Palestine” said that their decision came “as it was revealed that Elbit Systems UK was denied a vital £2 billion army training contract with the Ministry of Defence”. It described “the abrupt cancellation of this deal” as “a resounding victory for the hunger strikers.”
In reality, there was no cancelled deal, but rather a decision by the Ministry of Defence that out of the two consortiums bidding for the contract, the one led by Raytheon UK rather than Elbit was the “better candidate”, according to the Times. The paper had previously revealed that a dossier had been sent to the MoD by a whistleblower, alleging that Elbit had breached business appointment rules – though a subsequent investigation by a senior civil servant found that no rules had been breached.
The hunger strikers had demanded a list of key actions from the British government: End all censorship of their communications in prison, immediate bail for those on remand for Palestine Action related protests, what they described as the “right to a fair trial”, de-proscription of Palestine Action and dropping of the “terrorism connection” attached to activists’ cases by the CPS, and the shutting down of all UK sites of Elbit Systems and subsidiaries, as well as no contracts between Elbit and the British state.
The Palestine Action placard holders who deliberately tried to overwhelm the justice system are now being tried. They’re doing all kinds of antics to disrupt the legal system including glueing hands to the dock and going “floppy”. They should be charged with contempt of court. pic.twitter.com/jViT1mI7Ld
— Heidi Bachram 🎗️ (@HeidiBachram) January 15, 2026
Hello @metpoliceuk there’s pro-Pals outside Wormwood Scrubs chanting “Globalise the Intifada”. This is ALARMING especially given it’s outside a prison. Can you arrest them please. pic.twitter.com/pTBMQcGwHp
— Heidi Bachram 🎗️ (@HeidiBachram) January 15, 2026
Identified:
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) January 15, 2026
The speaker with a foreign accent, who called for a "ban on Jewish-owned" businesses reminiscent of 1930s Germany, has been identified as Agata Florio. Apparently, everyone is welcome in Notting Hill except for Zionists, who represent the vast majority of Jews. pic.twitter.com/72HUdHNQUW
Her crime? Raising money for women and girls in Afghanistan who are persecuted by medieval Islamists.
— Joo🎗️ (@JoosyJew) January 15, 2026
The ultramarathon wasn’t *in* Afghanistan btw. It was across the Pennine Way in the North of England.
Sarah Porter’s GoFundMe is here:https://t.co/akEGGqFq86 pic.twitter.com/DRs5umaP6B
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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