Hamas official rejects foreign diktats on Palestinian arms

A senior Hamas political bureau member sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of obstructing the transition to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The remarks came after Netanyahu reiterated that Israel would not permit Gaza’s reconstruction unless armed groups in the Strip disarm, and insisted that Israeli security control would continue in both Gaza and the West Bank.

By Wesam Bahrani 

Israel's Rafah closure is a death sentence for Gaza's patients

TEHRAN – Israel's continued closure of the Rafah crossing amounts to a death sentence for thousands of Palestinian patients and wounded trapped in the Gaza Strip.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Lebanon’s paradox: An unfinished state and a necessary resistance

BEIRUT — The central challenge facing Lebanon today is often misrepresented as a confrontation between the “state” and the “Resistance.” In reality, it is a struggle between a state that has yet to be fully realized and a defensive necessity imposed by persistent danger.

Trump’s ultimatum to Iraq: A blatant assault on sovereignty and the democratic order

TEHRAN — The recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki’s potential return to power represent a direct challenge to Iraq’s sovereignty and a troubling disregard for international norms. 

Trump shakes up immigration crackdown leadership

The administration of President Donald Trump is shaking up the leadership of its immigration crackdown in Minneapolis by pulling its director of on-the-ground enforcement, according to two U.S. officials, as federal agents face growing criticism for their heavy-handed tactics in the city, New York Times reported. 

By staff writer 

A truce in words only: Israel keeps bombing Gaza

TEHRAN – Israel’s killing of two Palestinians in Gaza City’s al-Tuffah neighborhood on Tuesday reflects a familiar pattern. Israel is once again violating the October truce it claims to uphold. On paper, the ceasefire exists. On the ground, Israeli gunfire, airstrikes, and shelling continue. 

By Bobby Ciputra

Indonesia tests the limits of a decades-long doctrine by joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s decision to sign US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP) charter in Davos marks a defining moment for President Prabowo Subianto’s foreign policy, revealing a strategic shift from traditional multilateralism toward calculated maneuvering within an emerging parallel global order.

By Wesam Bahrani 

U.S. interference in Iraqi politics 

TEHRAN – Iraq stands at a critical point as parliament prepares to elect a new president and form the next government. 

Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’: A colonial blueprint for Gaza’s future

The Resist US-Led War Movement stands in resolute opposition to the Trump administration's attempt to repackage the genocide of the Palestinian people into a financial venture under its newly unveiled "Board of Peace." This so-called board, launched at the Davos summit, is a colonial blueprint for Gaza’s future, a direct assault on international law in an attempt to once again bend the world to the will of US imperialism.

Ran Gvili’s remains and the myth of victory: How Netanyahu rebrands failure as triumph

TEHRAN — The retrieval of the remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli captive in the Gaza Strip, has been framed by Prime Minister Benjamin as an "extraordinary achievement," but this rhetoric serves only to mask a deeper reality of military and political failure. 

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Lebanon: Rising pressures amid Syria’s instability and Israeli threats

BEIRUT — With the Israeli enemy maintaining continuous attacks from the south and the resurgence of ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria, Lebanon faces unprecedented security challenges. 

By Ranjan Solomon

Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza and the monetization of ruins

GOA — Gaza today is not emerging from conflict; it is still being crushed by its consequences. Entire neighbourhoods have been erased, civilians displaced en masse, famine conditions allowed to fester, and allegations of international crimes hang unresolved over the ruins. Any serious discussion of Gaza’s future would begin with a ceasefire, accountability, and the restoration of Palestinian political agency. Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” begins elsewhere. It begins with money, authority, and control.

By staff writer 

The ceasefire illusion: Israel’s cover for calculated aggression in Lebanon

TEHRAN — Despite the ceasefire agreement signed with Israel in November 2024, the promised peace remains a distant hope for the people of Lebanon. Israel’s military has effectively transformed a signed truce into a period of controlled aggression, conducting near-daily strikes that have claimed hundreds of innocent lives.

Clinton and Obama call on Americans to ‘stand up’ to ICE 

Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have called on Americans to “stand up” and “speak out” after federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti.

Anti-ICE rallies sweep across the U.S. after Minneapolis fatal shooting 

Demonstrators have marched through major U.S. cities, calling for an end to federal immigration crackdowns and demanding the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

Winter storm paralyzes U.S., killing more than a dozen 

The U.S. workweek opened with yet more snow dumping on the Northeast under the tail end of a colossal winter storm that brought ice and power outages, impassable roads, canceled flights and frigid cold to much of the southern and eastern United States. Over a dozen weather-related deaths have been reported, PBS News reported. 

By Shahab Sarmadi 

Minneapolis: Ground zero of American hypocrisy

Alex Pretti’s death exposed a US that champions freedom abroad even as federal agents take the lives of its own citizens at home

TEHRAN — Anger is surging across the United States — particularly in Minneapolis — after federal agents shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old American ICU nurse, during a chaotic immigration raid. His death has become a symbol of what critics describe as a violent and uncontrolled federal crackdown — one that is now claiming the lives of U.S. citizens.

Israel carries out another deadly attack in Lebanon in violation of 2024 ceasefire

TEHRAN – Israel’s airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Sunday once again exposed what many in Lebanon describe as the regime’s entrenched disregard for international law and ceasefire agreements. The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed that one civilian was killed and several others wounded after an Israeli strike hit the area near Kfardounin in the Bint Jbeil District, a region that has endured repeated bombardment despite the 2024 ceasefire.

By Wesam Bahrani 

Nouri al-Maliki nominated for Iraqi premiership

TEHRAN – In a major development, Iraq’s Coordination Framework has officially nominated former Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki as its candidate to lead the next government.

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

Economic fragility and militarized escalation in Trump’s foreign policy

BEIRUT — Since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump’s foreign policy has been characterized by confrontation, escalation, and a growing reliance on military force. 

President Lula: Trump attempts to create a new UN

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday that US President Donald Trump is attempting to create a new United Nations and be its sole owner.

Report: Syrian and Kurdish forces extend ceasefire for up to one month

The Syrian government and Kurdish forces agreed to extend a ceasefire on Saturday, according to Syrian diplomatic sources, temporarily staving off a looming war between the two sides in Syria’s northeast. 

No breakthrough in Abu Dhabi as Western policy toward Ukraine faces new questions

TEHRAN — The first trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States since the start of the Moscow–Kyiv war in 2022 have concluded in Abu Dhabi with no sign of progress. The two-day meeting, which wrapped up on Saturday, brought the three sides together for direct discussions for the first time in nearly four years. But the core disagreements that have defined the conflict from the start remain firmly in place, and none of the parties suggested that a breakthrough is anywhere close.

By Wesam Bahrani 

What Palestinians endure in Gaza amid Israel’s continued demolition and siege

TEHRAN — Palestinians in Gaza are hoping for real changes that could ease their suffering and help them survive the harsh reality they face. 

By Sondoss Al Asaad 

The US and Lebanon’s trilateral trap

BEIRUT — The United States is intensifying pressure on Lebanon to abandon the existing military “mechanism” overseeing the southern front and move instead toward a Washington-sponsored trilateral committee that would pave the way for political-security arrangements with Israel. 

By staff writer 

A state in protest: Is Minnesota becoming the fault line of US immigration policy?

TEHRAN — Recent events in the US state of Minnesota have exposed the deep tensions created by President Donald Trump’s immigration strategy. The mass protests on Friday, the widespread business shutdowns, and the willingness of thousands to gather in dangerous cold weather show a community reacting forcefully to a federal operation it sees as excessive and harmful.

Orban rebukes Zelenskiy as ‘a man in a desperate position’

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, describing him as "a man in a desperate position" whose "war efforts" he would not support.

Japan to hold an early election next month 

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house of parliament on Friday, paving the way for an early election on Feb. 8