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Iran Faces Deepening Crisis As Protests Spread Nationwide
Iran’s clerical establishment faces a growing legitimacy crisis as anti-government protests spread nationwide, though they remain smaller than the 2022–23 unrest sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death.
Starting in Tehran with shopkeepers in the Grand Bazaar angered by a sharp slide in the rial currency, the latest protests now involve others – mainly young men rather than the women and girls who played a key role at the Amini protests.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), has reported at least 34 protesters and four security personnel killed, and 2,200 arrested during the unrest, which analysts say highlights a deeper disillusionment with the Shi’ite status quo.
Authorities have tried to maintain a dual approach to the unrest, saying protests over the economy are legitimate and will be met by dialogue, while meeting some demonstrations with tear gas amid violent street confrontations.
Nearly five decades after the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s religious rulers are struggling to bridge the gap between their priorities and the expectations of a young society.
Protesters Take Over the Streets
A former senior official from the establishment’s reformist wing said the Islamic Republic’s core ideological pillars — from enforced dress codes to foreign policy choices – did not resonate with those under 30 – nearly half the population.
The hijab, a flashpoint during the Amini protests, is now being enforced selectively.
In the ongoing protests, many protesters are venting anger over Tehran’s support for militants in the region, chanting slogans such as “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran,” signalling frustration at the establishment’s priorities.
Tehran’s regional sway has been weakened by Israel’s attacks on its proxies – from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq – as well as by the ousting of Iran’s close ally, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
No Easy Way Out for Iran’s Supreme Leader
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, facing one of the most precarious moments of his decades-long rule, responded by vowing Iran “will not yield to the enemy.”
The former Iranian official said there is no easy way out for the 86-year-old leader, whose decades-old policies of building proxies, evading sanctions and advancing nuclear and missile programs appear to be unravelling.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the protests, calling them “a decisive moment in which the Iranian people take their futures into their hands”.
Inside Iran, opinions are divided on whether foreign military intervention is imminent or possible and even firm government critics question whether it is desirable.
(With inputs from Reuters)
USA Immigration Agent Shoots Two People In Portland
A U.S. immigration agent shot and wounded a man and a woman in Portland, Oregon, authorities said on Thursday, leading city and state officials to call for calm given public outrage over the ICE shooting death of a Minnesota woman a day earlier.
“We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more,” Portland police chief Bob Day said in a statement.
The Portland shooting unfolded Thursday afternoon as U.S. Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The statement said the driver, a suspected Venezuelan gang member, attempted to “weaponise” his vehicle and run over the agents. In response, DHS said, “an agent fired a defensive shot”, and the driver and a passenger drove away.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the circumstances of the incident.
Pause On Immigration Crackdown
Portland and Oregon leaders said at a news conference Thursday evening that they had no details on what led to the shootings, even whether the violence was linked to immigration enforcement.
While they said the FBI was investigating, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, both Democrats, called for a pause in the federal immigration crackdown pending a full and independent investigation.
“There was a time when we could take them at their word,” Wilson said of how federal officials had described the shooting. “That time is long past.”
At the same news conference, state Senator Kayse Jama, who arrived in the U.S. 28 years ago as a refugee from Somalia, addressed federal immigration agents: “We do not need you, you are not welcome, you need to get the hell out of our community.”
In an earlier statement, Portland police said that the shooting took place near a medical clinic in the eastern part of the city. Six minutes after arriving at the scene and determining federal agents were involved, police were informed that two people with gunshot wounds – a man and a woman – were asking for help at a location about 2 miles (3 km) to the northeast of the medical clinic.
Police said they applied tourniquets to the man and woman, who were taken to a hospital. Their condition was unknown.
Minneapolis Shooting
The shooting came a day after a federal agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a separate agency from the Border Patrol within the Department of Homeland Security, fatally shot a 37-year-old mother of three in her car in Minneapolis.
That shooting has prompted two days of protests in Minneapolis.
Officers from both ICE and Border Patrol have been deployed in cities across the U.S. as part of Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
While the aggressive enforcement operations have been cheered by the president’s supporters, Democrats and civil rights activists have decried the posture as an unnecessary provocation.
U.S. officials contend criminal suspects and anti-Trump activists have increasingly used their cars as weapons, though video evidence has sometimes contradicted their claims.
(with inputs from Reuters)
Trump To Meet Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Machado Next Week?
American President Donald Trump indicated on Thursday that opposition leader of Venezuela Maria Corina Machado, was coming to Washington next week.
During an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” program, Trump was asked if he plans to meet with Machado following U.S. strikes on Venezuela that resulted in the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro.
“Well, I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump responded.
The White House did not immediately respond when reached for additional details on the meeting.
First Meeting With Machado
This will be Trump’s first meeting with Machado, who said earlier this week that she hadn’t spoken to the U.S. leader since she won the Nobel Peace Prize in October.
The future governance of the South American country remains in doubt. Trump over the weekend dismissed the idea of working with Machado, saying “she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Trump told Fox News that it will take time for the South American country, currently led by interim acting President Delcy Rodriguez, to get to a place where it can hold elections.
“We have to rebuild the country. They couldn’t have an election,” he said. “They wouldn’t even know how to have an election right now.”
U.S. Interest In Venezuela
Venezuela, an OPEC member, is one of the biggest producers of oil. Its industry has become a focal point of the Trump administration, with a senior official telling Reuters that oil sales to the United States will start immediately, with an initial shipment of approximately 30 million to 50 million barrels and will continue indefinitely.
Trump said he will meet with oil executives at the White House on Friday. Those oil companies, according to the president, will play a key role in rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry.
“They’re going to rebuild the whole oil infrastructure. They’re going to spend at least $100 billion, and it’s an unbelievable oil that they have, and an unbelievable quality of oil and amount of oil,” he said.
(with inputs from Reuters)
Greenland: Opposition Wants Talks With The U.S. Without Denmark
Greenland should hold direct talks with the U.S. government without Denmark, a Greenlandic opposition leader told Reuters, as the Arctic island weighs how to respond to President Donald Trump’s renewed push to bring it under U.S. control.
Trump has recently stepped up threats to take over Greenland, reviving an idea he floated in 2019 during his first term in office, although he faces strong opposition to the idea in Washington, including from within his own party.
Greenland is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a critical site for the U.S. ballistic missile defence system. Its rich mineral resources also fit Washington’s goal of reducing dependence on China.
Is Denmark Antagonising?
The island is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has its own parliament and government, but Copenhagen retains authority over foreign affairs and defence.
“We encourage our current (Greenlandic) government actually to have a dialogue with the U.S. government without Denmark,” said Pele Broberg, the leader of Naleraq, the largest opposition party and the most prominent political voice for Greenland’s independence.
“Because Denmark is antagonising both Greenland and the U.S. with their mediation.”
All Greenlandic parties want independence but differ on how and when to achieve it. Naleraq, which strongly advocates a rapid move to full independence, doubled its seats to eight in last year’s election, winning 25% of the vote in the nation of just 57,000.
Although excluded from the governing coalition, the party has said it wants a defence agreement with Washington and could pursue a “free association” arrangement – under which Greenland would receive U.S. support and protection in exchange for military rights, without becoming a U.S. territory.
Greenland FM Says ‘No Direct Talks’
The Danish and Greenlandic governments did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Broberg’s remarks.
But Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt told Sermitsiaq daily late on Wednesday that Greenland could not conduct direct talks with the U.S. without Denmark because it is not legally allowed to do so.
“We have rules for how to resolve issues in the Kingdom,” she said.
The Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio are due to meet next week.
“My greatest hope is that the meeting will lead to a normalisation of our relationship,” Motzfeldt told Sermitsiaq.
Emotions are running high.
Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen posted on X a picture of a Danish soldier’s coffin being carried out of a church – a soldier the defence ministry said was killed in Afghanistan in 2011 – underlining Denmark’s contributions to its ally, the U.S.
“In first Afghanistan and then Iraq, Danish soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder with our allies… Many capable, heroic soldiers paid the highest price,” he wrote.
Diplomatic Truck
In a rare move, the Tivoli amusement park in central Copenhagen was flying the Greenlandic flag on Thursday.
But Denmark and Greenland are seeking to steer the debate onto a diplomatic track, said Ulrik Pram Gad, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. “The strategy is to get Trump’s undiplomatic social media statements put back into stabilised diplomatic channels,” he said.
NATO ambassadors in Brussels discussed Greenland on Thursday, agreeing the alliance should strengthen Arctic security, sources said. “No drama,” said a senior NATO diplomat. “Lots of agreement that NATO needs to accelerate its development of stronger deterrence presence in the region.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was weighing its response if U.S. plans materialise. “The messages we hear are extremely concerning,” she said.
Varying Attitudes
Top officials in the Trump administration seem to have different perspectives on how to achieve their objectives. Rubio appears not to favour a military operation, according to France’s foreign minister.
Many of Trump’s fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress dismissed talk of buying Greenland or taking it by force. “Greenland is not part of America, and we can’t simply take it because we want to. To do so would be a colossal mistake. It would end NATO,” Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said in a Senate speech.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, met on Thursday morning with the Danish ambassador to Washington, Jesper Moller Sorensen, and Greenland representative Jacob Isbosethsen.
Shaheen told reporters the U.S. should not be attempting to acquire Greenland, and Wicker said Washington’s focus could be on higher geopolitical priorities like threats from Russia and China.
But other U.S. officials say the military option is on the table.
“We are going to make sure we defend America’s interests,” U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News in an interview aired late on Wednesday. “And I think the president is willing to go as far as he has to make sure he does that.”
(with inputs from Reuters)
Thoise: India’s Northernmost Air Base Against The China-Pakistan Two Front Threat
Indian Air Force Station Thoise and its gravity for India’s deterrence against the Pakistan-China two-front threat is the focus of ‘The Himalayan Frontier’, Part X, our series of on-the-ground documentaries from Eastern Ladakh and Siachen. “Thoise lies in Shyok valley. It is a base at such a location that assets deployed can be useful for both fronts,” Air Commodore D.S. Handa, Air Officer Commanding, Indian Air Force (IAF) Station, Leh told us. In this episode, we film the Indian Air Force’s assets including the C-130, Il-76, Mi-17, ALH Rudra, Apache and, the Embraer at the strategically located base in Ladakh. The two IAF stations in Ladakh, Leh and Thoise are critical for the Indian Army’s deployment at the Siachen Glacier.
Critical IAF Bases in Ladakh
The Thoise Air Force Station is an essential part of the military’s deterrent all along the AGPL- the Actual Ground Position Line and the LOC- the Line of Control with Pakistan as well as along the LAC- the Line of Actual Control with China. Continuing our series on India’s Pakistan-China two-front threat, ‘The Himalayan Frontier’, our team of Amitabh P. Revi, Rohit Pandita, and Karan Marwaha also visits the ‘Siachen Healers’ of the Army Medical Corps’, who save lives and limbs in the sector. We make a trip to the Indian Army’s ‘Veer Marathas’ to watch an India cricket match. As a matter of fact, we also meet local schoolchildren, on their first trip outside Ladakh, thanks to the Indian Army’s Operation Sadhbhavna and an Indian Air Force Il-76.
Editor’s Note: This episode was aired on March 22, 2024. It hit 100,000 Views on March 23 and 200,000+ views on March 26. 300,000+ on March 30 and 400,000+ views on April 19. 500,000+ views on June 1, 2024 and 600,000+ on August 27. 700,000+ on October 13, 800,000 on Jan 14, 2025. It crossed 9 lakh on January 8, 2026.
The Himalayan Frontier Series
Other episodes in the series:
Firstly, an exclusive interview with the then Northern Army Commander, later Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen. Upendra Dwivedi. In Episode I, he tells StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin Gokhale that the “situation is stable but sensitive and not normal”. Secondly,the then Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Pande speaks to Nitin Gokhale in an exclusive interview in Episode II. He points out that talks with China are continuing at both military and diplomatic levels. But also notes India is maintaining a robust posture along the LAC. Thirdly, Part III documents India’s Infra Thrust To Ladakh In Countering China & Pakistan in a ground report. Episode IV documents The Nimu-Padam-Darcha (NPD) Road: Critical Connectivity To The China-Pakistan Himalayan Fronts In Ladakh. Also, in Part V: The Director General of the Border Roads Organisation, Lt General Raghu Srinivasan speaks to us on the frozen Zanskar River ‘Chadar’ trail.
Additionally, Episode VI is on The Indian Air Force & The China-Pakistan two-front Ladakh Threat. An interview with the Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Leh, Air Commodore D.S.Handa. Part VII is an on-the-ground report on The Indian Air Force’s China Challenge In Ladakh And A Slice Of Tibet. In Episode VIII: The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhuri speaks exclusively to Nitin A. Gokhale. And, in Part IX, we document the Siachen Glacier—A Triangular Wedge In The Pakistan, China Threat At The World’s Third Pole.
Buried Cold War Base Found Under Greenland Ice
NASA scientists have rediscovered the remains of Camp Century, a long-abandoned U.S. military installation buried deep beneath Greenland’s ice sheet, during climate research flights using ice-penetrating radar.
According to French digital science media platform Futura, the discovery was made when a NASA team flew over northwestern Greenland in a Gulfstream III aircraft to test a new radar system capable of mapping ice layers down to bedrock. The radar, originally developed for Antarctic research, is used to measure ice thickness and assess future sea-level rise. During the test flights, the team detected unexpected structures beneath the ice, later identified as Camp Century.
Constructed in the late 1950s, Camp Century was publicly presented as a scientific research station but was in fact linked to Project Iceworm, a classified Pentagon programme that explored the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles in an extensive network of tunnels carved into the Greenland ice sheet. The project aimed to position missiles closer to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
By 1964, shifting ice and melting conditions began to compromise the tunnel network, forcing the U.S. military to abandon the base. Over time, the installation was buried under accumulating ice and snow, fading from public awareness.
The rediscovery has renewed focus on Greenland’s long-standing military role. Several hundred kilometres from Camp Century lies Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base, which continues to operate as a major U.S. installation supporting missile warning and space surveillance missions in the Arctic.
Camp Century was once referred to as a “city under the ice,” housing living quarters, laboratories and power systems within its frozen tunnels. NASA scientists involved in the radar flights initially did not realise the historical significance of what they had detected beneath the ice.
The find highlights a little-known chapter of Cold War-era military activity in the Arctic, preserved for decades beneath Greenland’s ice sheet.
(With inputs from agencies)
Chinese-Cambodian Tycoon Chen Zhi Extradited To China
The arrest and extradition of Chinese-Cambodian businessman Chen Zhi to China this week signaled a dramatic downfall for the young tycoon, accused of orchestrating a ruthless online scam and money laundering scheme.
What Is Chen Accused Of?
At age 27, Chen founded the Prince Group, a Cambodian conglomerate with fingers in everything from real estate to banking and airlines as well as – according to U.S. prosecutors – cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes that stole billions of dollars from victims worldwide.
According to an indictment filed in a Brooklyn court last year, Chen and his top executives grew Prince Group, which operated more than 100 business entities in over 30 countries, into “one of the largest transnational criminal organizations in Asia.”
Many of the scam centres used forced labour, according to United Nations investigators.
Cambodia said he had been arrested after a joint investigation with China into transnational crime. Beijing had been probing Prince Group since 2020 and has a close relationship with Cambodia.
U.S. prosecutors said Chen used political influence and bribes to avoid punishment for years, and legal businesses such as casinos to launder stolen funds. They also said he had communications with members of China’s state security.
Chen and his associates devoted their illicit gains to luxury travel and entertainment and purchases of watches, yachts, private jets, vacation homes, high-end collectibles and rare artwork, including a Picasso painting in New York, according to the U.S. indictment.
Where Is Chen From?
Born in 1987 in China’s Fujian province, Chen began his career by setting up internet cafés and gaming centres in Fuzhou, and was described by the Prince Group as a “young business prodigy”.
He acquired Cambodian citizenship in 2014 through a donation and later received the title “Neak Oknha” (tycoon), though Cambodia said it stripped him of citizenship when extraditing him to China.
U.S. authorities said Chen had given up Chinese citizenship, while Chinese and Cambodian statements referred to him as a Chinese national; a U.S. indictment said he also held multiple other citizenships.
In 2014, he was abducted from a hotel in Thailand by men citing a Chinese arrest warrant and later released in Cambodia.
Prince Group websites portray him as a philanthropist who donated over $16 million and funded scholarships for 400 Cambodian students.
He kept a low profile until Chinese state media showed him shackled and hooded during his extradition from Cambodia.
(With inputs from Reuters)
How IIT Madras Quietly Built India’s Deep-Tech Powerhouse
India’s deep-tech revolution is not happening in boardrooms. Instead, it is happening inside its universities like IIT Madras, which recently incubated its 500th deeptech startup.
A remarkable achievement, given that birthing deeptech startups need the difficult combination of patient capital and world class innovation skills.
To unpack how IIT Madras built over 500 deep-tech startups in mobility, space, defence, automotive and robotics, StratNewsGlobal.Tech spoke to Tamaswati Ghosh, CEO IIT Madras Incubation Cell.
US Bill To Penalise Russia, India With 500% Tariffs Moves Forward
It’s called the Graham-Blumenthal Sanctions Bill and if passed will penalise Russia, India, China and Brazil, over their purchase of Russian oil with 500% tariffs!
President Trump seems to believe that sanctions of this kind will cripple Russia economically at a time when he is looking for a way to end the war in Ukraine.
“This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine,” said Senator Lindsay Graham, a Trump acolyte from South Carolina.
According to an Al Jazeera report quoting analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, China bought nearly half of Russia’s crude oil exports in November, while India took about 38 percent of exports.
But former Treasury official Catherine Wolfram, who worked on sanctions under the Biden Administration, “I worry that Russia and India will call the US government’s bluff and continue to import Russian oil, if perhaps at a slight discount, as the cost to the US of carrying through on the threat, especially in the middle of trade negotiations with China, is nontrivial.”
Trump’s move comes at a time when Moscow and Kyiv are engaged in Washington-brokered negotiations to bring an end to the nearly four-year war.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration for the first time gave its backing to European proposals for binding security guarantees for Ukraine, including post-war truce monitoring and a European-led multinational force.
Russia, which has repeatedly said it will not accept any deployment of NATO member countries’ soldiers in Ukraine, has yet to indicate that it would support such security measures, Al Jazeera reported.
But Graham believes the bill couldn’t have been better timed. “This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” he said.
Iraq To Nationalises West Qurna 2 To Safeguard Oil Output
Iraq’s cabinet has endorsed plans to nationalise operations at the West Qurna 2 oilfield—one of the world’s largest—in a bid to prevent potential disruptions linked to U.S. sanctions on Russian stakeholder Lukoil.
State-run Basra Oil Company will take over the oilfield’s operations for 12 months, two officials at the firm told Reuters.
“We aim to keep production running smoothly as Iraq navigates uncertainty over U.S. sanctions and will look for potential buyers for Lukoil’s stake during the 12-month period,” one Basra Oil official said.
Sanctions, Investors, and Financing
Lukoil declared force majeure in November at West Qurna 2 as it was hit with sanctions alongside fellow Russian oil producer Rosneft as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine.
The sanctions have drawn bids from about a dozen investors, including U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and private equity firm Carlyle, according to sources.
“The state-run Basra Oil Company will cover local staff salaries, operational expenses, and payments to subcontractors, using an account linked to the Majnoon oilfield to help facilitate the process,” an Iraqi oil manager at the oilfield told Reuters.
Production Stability and Strategic Importance
Production remains steady at around 465,000 to 480,000 barrels per day, the official said.
The government said in a statement on Wednesday that the cabinet had agreed to seek approvals to finance operations through the Majnoon oilfield account, to be boosted by proceeds from crude shipments sold by state oil marketer SOMO.
Lukoil’s 75% operational stake in the oilfield was its biggest foreign asset. The company has until January 17 to sell its overseas assets under the latest deadline set by the U.S. Treasury.
The field accounts for about 0.5% of global oil supply and 9% of output in Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.
(With inputs from Reuters)