From Hindustan Times three hours ago: The Pentagon has issued a stark warning that future wars may no longer be confined overseas, cautioning that the United States itself could come under direct attack. Under a new U.S. defense strategy, homeland defense has been elevated to a top priority as nuclear, cyber, space, and electromagnetic threats rapidly expand. The warning comes amid escalating confrontation with Iran, which has threatened retaliatory strikes on what it calls “enemy territories” and is reportedly developing long-range missile capabilities, including a claimed 10,000 km ballistic missile. If confirmed, such advances could place U.S. territory within Iran’s striking range, raising fears of a new era of global warfare where American soil is no longer out of reach.
Believe it or not ! The Chinese don't agree !
The Times of India video makes us understand why Russia abstained from bombing civilian targets in Kiew, Ukraine, this weekend. It's just because Vladimir Putin is busy elsewhere ...
An opinion poll, effected by an Iraqi media outlet on January 27, alleged that War on Iran might start the next day, on January 31. Such evaluation is fitting with recent findings of another source specialized in air traffic analysis. But who really nows ? ...
Maybe, the Russians are providing further air-defense systems ...
In case further material & troops are needed in the Middle East ...
Nationalist source from inside Iran:
Oil prices have already risen to $75 and might further rise to $150-200
after the announcement of a temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Different media announced that Iran is preparing joint naval exercises
together with China & Russia in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
Anti-air missiles from China, delivered to Iran in a hurry by 16 Chinese military transport planes. Report from Sky News Arabic on January 25. Information partly confirmed in slightly amused Chinese TV videos produced outside of Mainland China (Taiwan), in the frame of US president Trump's recently renewed stance that Mainland China should forget about taking over Taiwan.
US strategy for an immediate attack on Iran. Report published by The Gulf, a news center from the Emirates, on January 26. Both Arabic sources, quoted here, are referring to an analysis made by the Israeli paper Maariv and which is based on Western intelligence.
The US is threatening to impose additional tariffs on eight European countries unless they support his plans to acquire Greenland. EU leaders are contemplating potential retaliatory measures — reiterating their support for territorial integrity.
Washington announced on Saturday that eight European countries would face a 10% tariff on their US exports from 1 February unless they support the US’ proposal to purchase Greenland. This rate will rise to 25% in June if no deal is reached.
Germany's Chancellor Merz reacting on the new Trump Tariffs for NATO partners in Europe.
Trump's plans are related to a decided EU support for Greenland's territorial integrity. Furthermore, Trump shows himself disappointed that he didn't receive the Peace Nobel Prize.
[Al-Arabiya on Jan. 19, English subtitles]
Canadian PM Mike Carney delivers his speech
at the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos.
[The Tribune from northern India on Jan. 21]
Is Donald Trump planning an invasion of Greenland?
The North American Aerospace Defence Command NORAD, said a military aircraft would arrive at the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland for 'long planned NORAD Activities'. The aircraft's arrival comes amid Trump's repeated threats to take over the world's largest island, a Danish territory.
[Times of India TOI on Jan. 20, including
important voices from Denmark & Britain]
It seems that Iranian mass protest has been weakened, both, by elementary fear of the protesters facing a bloody crackdown of the regime and by increasing opposition against foreign influence deciding over Iran's future.
There are voices from the region confirming the participation of armed rioters in the protests, described as foreign mercenaries serving as 'agents provocateurs' for Israel's Mossad and decided to create chaos in a volatile situation.
An Iranian observer, referring to official sources, said that 3.000 armed rioters should have been arrested in the past days. And there should have been some 'foreign intelligence officers' among them, according to another source from inside Iran.
US president Trump's special interest in saving the lives of just these guys might have been the true reason for his declaration that any killing of prisoners would have immediate military consequences in order to 'protect the people of Iran'.
Iran's response that no killings were intended, in addition to diplomatic pressure from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other countries might have eased the tensions for now. And a simultaneous temporary closure of Iran's airspace has already been abandoned by the regime, thus restoring civil air traffic again.
Tehran, January 17 (Xinhua) According to a report by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on the 17th, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said that US President Donald Trump's actions that have caused harm and casualties to Iran and his accusations against the Iranian nation should be considered a crime.
The report said that Khamenei made the above remarks during a meeting with thousands of Iranian citizens in Tehran, the Iranian capital. Khamenei also elaborated on the nature and methods of the recent unrest in Iran, and the responsibility of the Iranian people in the face of conspiracies.
[极目新闻 quoting Xinhua Agency on January 17, 23:07 local time]
The internet, however, has been down today for the seventh day.
While Elon Musk's Starlink initiative could be successfully blocked by the regime, now France is allegedly trying to smuggle Eutelsat into Iran, the European version of Starlink, in order to ensure communication.
CCTV reporter: An Iranian analyst points out that the US and Israel's plan to weaken Iran is divided into two phases. The first phase is to test Iran's military capabilities through a military strike, namely the "12-Day War" in June 2025. The second phase is to test the resilience of Iranian society through propaganda and psychological warfare. Analysts believe that under the current circumstances, Iran needs to formulate a series of practical policies to stabilize its economy and people's livelihoods while responding to external threats from the US and Israel.
The Chinese article, based on a CCTV news spot is related to an Iranian assessment of strategy to get equal in the 'hybrid war' waged against Iran by the USA and Israel.
The USA, now, are moving a carrier strike group from the South China Sea to the Middle East, being aware that, this time, the Islamic Republic will fight for its survival with everything they have, including their naval rocket force.
The carrier group of USS-Abraham-Lincoln-(CVN-72) is the most probable group for that task. Its last known position on December 25, 2025, (i.e. 23 days ago) was South-West of Manila (Philippines). At full speed, it might be moving with 30 knots maximum (i.e. 56 km/h; 35 mph). That implies a remarkable time to reach Middle Eastern waters. The Chinese video above is showing the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).
There is even a direct threat against Trump, shown
on Iranian TV and published by a US news center:
The Persian warning is a reminder of an earlier rifle assault on
Trump that wounded his ear: "This time there will be no error ..."
اين بار خطانمى رود
The situation remains as it is. Two enemies are confronting each other: The Islamic Republic in a precarious economic and political situation, due to international sanctions and internal oppression on one side, and the military power of Trump's USA and its satellite Israel on the other side, appearing like an outdated dinosaur with small brains and big feet on the ground and the intention to trample on just another country in the Middle East, like Afghanistan and Iraq before.
Anyway, war could theoretically start within 24 hours.
But this would only happen, if there were strategical benefits for that. This, however, has been questioned by another author, argueing that subversive US-Israeli networks are already active in the country, making an immediate attack rather unnecessary.
Iran under fire:
Protests defy repression, and cries of anger break the wall of silence from Mashhad to Tehran.
إيران تحت النار
احتجاجات تتحدى القمع وصرخات الغضب تخترق جدار الصمت من مشهد إلى طهران
Please Note: This video from Yemen, published on Jan. 17, is showing peaceful mass protest and singular outbreaks of violence in form of torched cars, busses and buildings. The majority of protesters is almost casually and unexcitedly passing by; only few of them are taking photos of the flames with their smartphones. And I asked myself, why common people in a difficult situation should damage the infrastructure of their hometown (busses and cash dispenensers) and the badly needed cars of other citizens. This would rather hint at experienced troublemakers who don't have to care for the consequences .....
My blog is widely known to concentrate on the dissemination of important news from various reliable sources. Thereby, I usually refrain from adding personal comments in order to avoid being suspected of manipulating my readers. However, I cannot help developing an own opinion about this or that subject.
Here now, is a remarkable external comment on late US policies regarding Latin America that I deem worth being noticed by our political leadership in the Western hemisphere:
Chinese Opinion on X
The author of that X-account is a Chinese voice from inside U.S.A.
The US Can’t Kick China Out of Latin America Anymore
Why Trump’s New Monroe Doctrine Is Already Too Late
When Trump talks about “taking back” Latin America, about restoring the Monroe Doctrine, around dragging Venezuela, Panama, Brazil, and the rest of the continent back under Washington’s exclusive jurisdiction, many people still interpret this as strength.
It isn’t.
It is exposure.
Only someone who has run out of cards flips the table.
Only a gambler close to bankruptcy reaches for robbery.
If U.S. sanctions still worked, if dollar hegemony were still intact, if political pressure, financial warfare, and diplomatic isolation still delivered results, Washington would not need to personally step into the mud — threatening kidnappings, floating regime-change fantasies, or openly talking about seizing resources as collateral.
This is not muscle-flexing.
This is imperial afterglow.
And the key misunderstanding in Washington is this: the outcome of this struggle does not hinge on whether Maduro survives, or whether a government falls. It hinges on something much more banal, much more material.
When the U.S. looks down at what it still calls its “backyard,” it no longer sees American soil.
It sees Chinese soybeans growing in the fields.
Chinese cranes loading containers in the ports.
Chinese power grids, telecom systems, roads, and railways quietly humming underneath daily life.
This is more powerful than ideology.
That is infrastructure, the backbone of economy.
And infrastructure does not disappear on command. Removing China from Latin America is removing the infrastructure and collapsing the fragile economies.
The Real Endgame: Resources, Collateral, and a Dollar Under Pressure.
Trump’s Venezuela obsession is not about democracy, human rights, or even oil in the traditional sense. It is about collateral.
The United States is cornered by its own balance sheet.
In the coming year alone, Washington needs to roll over and issue roughly five trillion dollars in new Treasury debt just to service maturing obligations. But fewer and fewer countries are willing to absorb U.S. debt at scale. Commodity trade is slowly de-dollarizing. If the U.S. is forced to monetize its own debt by printing money to buy Treasuries, inflation becomes uncontrollable.
That path cannot be allowed.
So the theory emerging in Washington is simple: secure massive pools of real assets — oil, gas, rare earths, minerals — re-peg them to the dollar, and restore confidence through material backing.
Venezuela.
Greenland.
Latin America.
On paper, Venezuelan oil reserves are worth tens of trillions. In reality, Venezuelan oil can't be monetized so easily.
Venezuela’s Oil Trap: Why China Cannot Be Replaced.
Venezuelan crude is among the most difficult on Earth to monetize. It is extra-heavy, buried deep, and requires extremely sophisticated extraction, upgrading, and transport infrastructure.
Only two countries on Earth have the technical and industrial depth to build and operate such systems at scale: China and the United States.
China already did it.
China buys roughly 70% of Venezuela’s oil. China financed, built, and operates much of the infrastructure that makes that oil usable and exportable.
If China is pushed out, who replaces it?
American oil majors — Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips (COP) — have no incentive to sink one hundred billion dollars over five years into facilities that could be expropriated the moment political winds shift again. The risk profile is suicidal.
And even if U.S. companies did step in, who would they sell to?
China is the only buyer large enough, patient enough, and technically compatible with this type of crude. If China is expropriated and sanctioned out of Venezuela, retaliation is inevitable. Supply chains will be disrupted. Markets will close. Sanctions will travel both ways.
Washington’s Venezuela fantasy collapses under its own economic logic.
Fabricated criminal charges, directed at the leader of the US Federal Reserve,
Jerome Powell, are intended to end the independent status of the US Notebank.
USA - Decline of an Empire
"Cold War on Five Continents"
"Ending the American Dream by 2029"
Anti-government protesters have again flooded the streets of Iran, despite the authorities resorting to lethal force against them. Human-rights groups are reporting hundreds of deaths in nationwide protests. The Islamic regime has ordered counter-rallies in an attempt to regain the initiative. And the government is warning the US not to intervene in the biggest challenge to its rule in years. Niloofar Gholami from DW's Farsi Service provides analysis. [DW on January 12]
Jakarta - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of participating in bloody demonstrations that erupted in 92 Iranian cities, killing hundreds.
Araghchi said Iranian authorities had evidence that the United States and Israel were involved in several days of anti-government demonstrations, killing 544 people.
“We have a lot of documents proving that the United States and Israel have been involved in terrorist activities in Iran in recent days, ” he said in a statement to foreign diplomats in Tehran on Monday, January 12.
The senior Iranian diplomat added that former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also admitted that [Israeli intelligence agency] Mossad agents guided the terrorist movement within the mob.
“we will investigate this issue, but those statements that contributed to the increase in deaths are responsible for this development", ”Araghchi continued.
“Western countries condemn our police as worse than terrorists. They (the West) failed to condemn the genocide of more than 70,000 people in the Gaza Strip and the deaths of more than 1,000 Iranians in the hands of the United States and Israel. "Today, they support Iran's terrorists", he said.
The demonstration began with a traders protest in Tehran on 29 December 2025. They protested the sharp depreciation of the Iranian Rial [currency].
On December 30, student crowds participated in demonstrations leading to riots in many cities in Iran.
The peak of the riots occurred on the evening of Thursday, January 8, when at least 13 civilians, including a three-year-old child, were killed in the mob's attack. Authorities also announced the deaths of 38 law enforcement officers
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said the mob burned 25 mosques and damaged 26 banks, three medical centers and 10 government buildings, as well as more than 100 fire trucks, buses and ambulances.
The Iranian authorities designated the rioters as terrorists and accused Israel and the United States of being involved in the arrangements for peaceful demonstrations, leading to the riots.
Citing Sky News, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency reported that 544 people were killed in bloody demonstrations in Iran.
The American media also stated that more than 10,681 people had been arrested and transferred to prison.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, January 12, that as many as 109 Iranian security personnel were killed during bloody demonstrations.
[Voice of Indonesia on January 12]
The accusation of Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi have been distributed, as well, by semi-official media on Mainland China.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated on the 11th that there is clear evidence linking the recent riots and vandalism in Iran to the Israeli intelligence and secret service (Mossad).
Former US Secretary of State Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on the streets of Iran on social media on the 11th. Araqchi stated that Iranian police are being attacked by "terrorists," and that all of this is being orchestrated by Israeli agents, as publicly identified by Pompeo.
[央广网 CNR， China Mainland, January 12]
Iran's Foreign Ministry summons Western Ambassadors to show them
videos of violent protesters. If that's true, the diplomats should know.
The above X-post came from an Iranian woman who seems to be a supporter of the regime.
She posted the British travel document of an exiled Iranian youth whom she named a 'Mossad mercenary'. That guy in his 20ies should have succeeded to flee from a crackdown of Iranian security on a group of Mossad agents. He was allegedly transferred to Erbil in Iraqui Kurdistan, where he might have tried to get a new document at the British Consulate General. It is unclear, if this was the reason for the Iranian government to summon the British ambassador for a second time these days as was reported elsewhere. Anyway, this travel document, granted by the British Home Office, seems to have been misused as it expressly excluded its use on any visit to Iran.
==> Listen, as well, to a related comment from Al-Jazeera. Professor Hamid Dabashi from Columbia University (NY) argues Israel has infiltrated otherwise legitimate anti-government protests in Iran to instigate chaos.
Another X-post came from an 'Iraqui writer and politician' referring to Iranian sources. Thereafter Mossad agents, who had been captured in a crackdown of Iranian security forces on armed rioters in the city of Kermanshah, were using SIM cards from the Iraqui Kurdish provider ASIACELL in the border region where network coverage is extending into Iranian territory. Such SIM cards were allegedly used by Mossad terrorists during the Iranian internet blackout to communicate with their partners in Israel (named the 'Zionist entity').
==> The crackdown on Mossad in Iran as shown on Pakistani TV on January 11.
....................................
The Times of India reported a threatening development:
Allied governments warning its expatriates to immediately leave Iran.
Iran has escalated its nationwide internet blackout by deploying military jammers to disrupt Starlink satellite connectivity, cutting off a vital lifeline for protesters and activists. Monitoring groups report more than eighty per cent disruption to satellite traffic, while GPS interference has created near-total blackouts in key areas. Experts warn this marks a new era of digital repression. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump says he will speak to Elon Musk about sending Starlink access to Iranian protesters, raising fears of further geopolitical escalation.
[Editor: Such Starlink access is being seen as illegal by Iranian authorities]
Warships from China, Russia, and Iran have arrived in South Africa for BRICS+ naval exercises, stirring tensions with the United States under President Donald Trump. The week-long drills, dubbed “Will for Peace,” focus on maritime safety, joint operations, and protecting shipping lanes. Critics question why an economic bloc holds military exercises, especially with internal political tensions. Ukrainian expats protested Russia’s involvement, while South African activists condemned U.S. operations in Venezuela, demanding Maduro’s release. Analysts warn Pretoria risks being caught between U.S. pressures and Global South alliances. Economically and geopolitically, South Africa faces a delicate balancing act amid growing international scrutiny.
Somaliland is an autonomous region in northern Somalia that has sought independence since the 1990's. Declaring its own secession from Somalia, yet without being recognized by international organisations like the United Nations.
Recently, Israel recognized Somaliland as an independent and sovereign country and established diplomatic relations on December 26, 2025. However, this move was widely condemned by the international community (such as China, the Arab League, the African Union, and the United Kingdom), reiterating its support for Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and emphasizing that any status change requires dialogue. Therefore, international mainstream views still regard Somaliland as part of Somalia, not as an independent and sovereign country.
Israel might have its reasons for that, possibly hoping to increase its military presence in a region which is strategically important to ensure Israeli ship traffic in the southern Red Sea, namely in the Strait of Hormuz where Israel's enemy Yemen is quite near.
On its 2nd page for December 30, 2025, China's official paper "People's Daily", overseas edition, expressed concern and opposition to Israel's step to establish diplomatic relations with Somaliland, a step that simultaneously raised the suspicion of other regional players.
This comes shortly before China's foreign envoyee Wang Yi is starting his traditional visit to African states at the beginning of the year, this time first visiting Somalia's capital Mogadishu. China's interest for Africa makes part of a global initiative to extend its economic and political ties.
Declaration of China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian
at the ministry's regular press conference on Dec. 29, 2025:
外交部发言人—中方坚决反对以色列承认索马里兰
China firmly opposes Israel's recognition of Somaliland.
Quotation:
Dr. Amani al-Taweel, the Director of the African Program at Al-Ahram Center for Studies, believes that the step reflects an Israeli insistence on pursuing policies that ignore the African and regional contexts, even if it leads to a clash with countries with direct interests in the region.
She considered that this was taking place under American cover. She adds that the most dangerous thing is a transformation of the 'Normalization with Israel' into a tool that grants political legitimacy to separatist entities, which may encourage similar movements at the Horn of Africa and Sudan.
وترى مديرة البرنامج الأفريقي بمركز الأهرام للدراسات، الدكتورة أماني الطويل، أن الخطوة تعكس إصرارا إسرائيليا على انتهاج سياسات تتجاهل السياقين الأفريقي والإقليمي، حتى لو أدت إلى صدام مع دول ذات مصالح مباشرة في المنطقة
واعتبرت أن ذلك يجري في ظل غطاء أميركي. وتضيف أن الأخطر هو تحوّل التطبيع مع إسرائيل إلى أداة تمنح شرعية سياسية لكيانات انفصالية، بما قد يشجع حركات مماثلة في القرن الأفريقي والسودان
.........................
Further News of the Day:
While searching the Arabic networks for additional material on Israel's approach of Somaliland, I stumbled over the Latest Trump Cheese. It is about his announcement to fight Mexican drug gangs on the ground. Same goes with Colombia. And Cuba isn't even worth dealing with. All Trump could do to Cuba, so he said, is to seize or destroy it. If my readers argue the above quoted paper stems from Yemen, I can assure you that the same information is just being disseminated by serious Western media like Deutsche Welle DW.
Trump is simply going on a rampage, and he seemingly doesn't need any drugs for that.
Footage posted by US Southern Command and Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, appears to show the US military intercepting a Venezuela-linked tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday, January 7. It was released on the same day US forces also intercepted and seized the Russian-flagged Marinera in the north Atlantic.
The Marinera, also known as M/V Bella 1 should have been accompanied for a certain time by other Russian ships and observed by a Russian submarine in the North-Eastern Atlantik. Moscow protested the seizure.
Tonight: Heavily armed U.S. Hellbirds storm Britain as a surge of American military power descends on RAF bases in Suffolk & Gloucestershire. Eleven C-17 Globemaster troop carriers and two lethal AC-130J Ghostrider gunships have touched down in what eyewitnesses and flight trackers confirm as one of the heaviest U.S. air deployments in Europe in years. The world watches tensely as this unprecedented projection of force raises urgent questions: Will allies be drawn into a broader confrontation as the Denmark-Greenland issue intensifies? Geopolitics is shifting, and the consequences are only beginning to ripple across the globe.
=> 委内瑞拉绑架时间线 <=
A Timeline of the Venezuelan
kidnapping incident [Chinese]
Maduro arrives at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Jan. 4, 05:00 CET
International media are reporting the kidnapping of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in the frame of a nightly attack on Venezuela's capital Caracas. US Delta forces should have carried out the operation on behalf of US president Donald Trump who intends to put him to trial "for his crimes" before a NY court. At the moment, Maduro and his wife are being held aboard US warship "Iwo Jima" but nobody knows for sure. Even Maduro's vice-president didn't know their whereabouts during the first hours.
This comes even before a probably planned attack on Iran discussed earlier today on my last blogspot.
And who will be next ? Maybe the Canadian Prime Minister to enforce a US-Canadian unification, or the Queen of Denmark because of raw materials and a cold-resistant Inuit workforce expected on Greenland ?
Video: Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia says Maduro’s capture is not ‘America First’. => Full interview
Former CIA director Brennan: This U.S. invasion of Venezuela is all about oil, wealth and regime change. And this is not an isolated voice from the US center of power ...
Video: Speech of Venezuela's Vice-President Rodriguez opposing Trump's stances, while Trump declares María Corina Machado, prominent leader of the Venezuelan opposition and laureate of the Nobel Prize, as not being legitimate to follow Maduro in office.
[France 24 in English, January 3].
On January 4, media reported that VP Rodriguez was officially named successor to Nicolas Maduro as a President of Venezuela. The ruling political party, presenting "La Revolución Bolivariana", seems to be still in power.
Only hours after the inauguration of Rodriguez as the new president of Venezuela, regional media reported "shots, anti-aircraft fire and sighting of drones among confusion in the neighbourhod of Miraflores Palace (Presidential Palace)". [A24 com, Argentinian TV station on Jan. 6]
US Embassy and Consulates in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia issued warning of restricted access to their offices due to expected anti-US manifestations during the weekend.
[Demócrata, Spanish paper on January 3]
Protesters unite during a demonstration in Paris, France, directed
against US incursion into Venezuela. [Huffington Post on Jan. 3]
It should be noted that anti-Maduro protesters from Venezuela took to the streets, as well, in order to celebrate the Maduro kidnapping, but that depends much on the place of their exile in neighbouring countries. In Bogotá, Colombia, they succeeded in blocking the local traffic and, thus, triggered a regional traffic warning from the authorities. Some time later, that manifestation allegedly should have been dissolved by its participants. In Buenos Aires, Argentine, Venezuelan refugees are celebrating the Maduro kidnapping. Yet, there are Argentinian protesters, as well, opposing the US incursion and further Trump plans "to run Venezuela". No wonder, this is the country of "chainsaw president" Milei.
On the contrary, Mexico came about with a clear stance of Mexico's President Sheinbaum against the US kidnapping. After a Trump statement on Mexico that "something will have to be done about Mexico", the Mexican Senate cancelled a meeting allowing US military to enter the country. [Mexico Solidarity Media on Jan. 3]
China, Russia, Iran, Brazil and Cuba are further countries opposed to US action against Venezuela. [Anadolou, Turkish News Agency, on Jan. 3]
