World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
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The U.S. Military on Saturday launched a series of large-scale airstrikes targeting Islamic State (ISIS) positions across Syria.
These operations, conducted under the broader Operation Hawkeye Strike, involved more than 20 aircraft, including F-15E Strike Eagles, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, AC-130J Ghostrider gunships, MQ-9 Reaper drones from the U.S. Air Force, and F-16 fighter jets from the Jordanian Air Force. Over 90 precision-guided munitions were deployed against at least 35 targets, which included weapons caches, supply routes, and other infrastructure supporting ISIS activities.
The strikes commenced around 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time and were coordinated with partner forces on the ground. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported no immediate civilian casualties or collateral damage assessments, emphasizing the actions as part of an ongoing effort to degrade ISIS capabilities and prevent attacks on U.S. and allied personnel.
Israel is on high alert for the possibility of any United States intervention in Iran as authorities there confront the biggest anti-government protests in years, according to three Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in recent days and warned Iran’s rulers against using force against demonstrators. On Saturday (Jan 10), Trump said the US stands “ready to help”.
Trump threatens US action over Iran protests, rules out sending troops – China Daily Capitalfm.co.ke
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Violence reported across Iran as government signals crackdown on protests Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Over 60 Killed in Iran as Anti-Government Protests Intensify The Sentinel – of this Land, for its People
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Anti-government protests spread in Iran as authorities impose internet blackout CBC
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As a wave of protests swept across Iran last night, the internet was completely shut down.
I have no idea what is happening to my friends, my family, or anyone else.
My best friend Champ was at the demonstration.
I desperately hope he is safe.
Iran is a nation wanting its soul back.
The exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who has emerged as a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, made his strongest call yet for the protests to broaden into a revolt to topple the clerical rulers.
State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed “rioters”. State TV broadcast footage of funerals of members of the security forces it said were killed in protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.
Footage posted on Friday on social media showed large crowds gathered in Tehran and fires lit in the street. In one video verified by Reuters showing a nighttime protest in Tehran’s Saadatabad district, a man is heard saying the crowd had taken over the area.
“The crowd is coming. ‘Death to the dictator’, ‘Death to Khamenei’,” he said, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Protests have spread across Iran since Dec 28, beginning in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule. Authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting unrest.
Trump Shares Lindsey Graham’s Post on Truth Social Warning Iran as It Enforces Crackdown on Protests International Business Times UK
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President Trump was briefed on new options for military strikes in Iran, a senior U.S. official confirmed Sunday.
Mr. Trump appeared to lay out his red line for action on Friday when he warned that if the Iranian government began “killing people like they have in the past, we would get involved.”
“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said at the White House. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
On social media, Mr. Trump offered his support for the protesters, saying that “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
Mr. Trump’s warnings come as nationwide unrest challenging Iran’s theocracy crossed the two-week mark. At least 538 people have died in violence surrounding the demonstrations, U.S.-based activists said, with fears the death toll is far higher. More than 10,600 people have been arrested, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said.
A reporter asked President Donald Trump about the protests in Iran:
REPORTER: There’s been protesters killed in Iran. You said we were locked and loaded, ready to go. What is the line there for when the US is going to get involved in those protests?
TRUMP: We’ll take a look. We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States.
Mass protests erupt in Iran over mounting economic distress World Socialist Web Site
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A member of Iran’s security forces was killed during a fourth day of protests in the country, which have been sparked by a currency collapse, the semi-official Fars news agency has reported.
Citing regional official Said Pourali, Fars said the incident happened in the city of Kouhdasht, in the western Lorestan province, adding that a number of members of the security forces were also injured.
Footage verified by BBC Persian appears to show security forces firing at protesters in the city on the same day.
President Donald Trump warned Friday that the United States would step in if Iran’s regime turns its guns on peaceful protesters, as economic demonstrations across the Islamic Republic spiral into deadly unrest.
If Iran “kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote in an overnight post on Truth Social.
Iranian leaders quickly fired back, threatening retaliation and warning that any U.S. involvement would put American forces in the Middle East in the crosshairs.
Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least six people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.
The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, one on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in three cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.
Two people are reported to have been killed during growing unrest in Iran on the fifth day of protests over the soaring cost of living.
Both the semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group, Hengaw, said people had died during clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan, in south-western Iran.
On Thursday videos posted on social media showed cars set on fire during running battles between protesters and security forces.
Many protesters have called for ending the rule of the country’s supreme leader. Some have also called for a return to the monarchy.
Death toll rises in Iran as anti-government protests spread Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least six people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.
The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, one on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in three cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.
Iraq’s Presidential Race: Kurdish candidates competing for the post – Shafaq News شفق نيوز
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Map Shows Anti-Government Protests Spreading Across Iran Newsweek
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Iranian anarchists: Uprising is “genuine self-organisation by ordinary people” Freedom News –
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We reported to you last week that two members of our military had been killed in an ambush in Syria.
That report here in case you missed it:
BREAKING: U.S. Soldiers Killed in Ambush Near Palmyra as Syria Fighting Intensifies Again
Their names were not released until today.
Sadly, the two have been identified as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, both of the Iowa National Guard:
Our entire National Guard family mourns the loss of Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa-the Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers who were ambushed and killed in Syria. Their mission was in support of… pic.twitter.com/eXcyCquOwb
— Gen. Steven Nordhaus (@ChiefNGB) December 15, 2025
Iceland joins 4 other countries in boycotting Eurovision over Israel’s participation Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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Afghanistan Pakistan Talks Collapse Amid Accusations And Mediation Evrim Ağacı
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DAMASCUS, Syris — A new round of clashes between Druze armed groups and government forces in the province of Sweida in southern Syrian had subsided Friday but left fears of another escalation.
Clashes on Thursday led to both sides blaming each other for violating a ceasefire that ended several days of violent fighting in July. There were reports of people wounded on both sides, but no deaths reported.
The National Guard, the de facto military in Sweida, accused government forces of launching an attack on the town of al-Majdal Thursday, “employing heavy and medium weapons and attack drones, in an aggressive attempt to breach our defense lines and target vital locations.”