Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson announced a series of steps on Jan. 30 in response to a potential surge in federal immigration enforcement, directing local police to track and document activities by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and barring agents from city property to conduct operations.
The moves made by Wilson, a democratic socialist, comes amid heightened Democratic pushback against federal immigration enforcement actions after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Wilson’s measures include an executive order banning ICE from using city-owned properties for civil immigration actions, mandatory training for city employees on how to report and respond to enforcement activity, and quickly investing $4 million in funding for legal defense and community support for illegal immigrants.
The mayor noted that the city does not have information indicating a surge in federal immigration enforcement activity.
Wilson also encouraged the Seattle School District and the Seattle Municipal Court to prohibit ICE agents from conducting operations on their property.
The directive requires the Seattle Police Department to investigate reports of immigration enforcement, verify agents’ identities, and record activities using body cameras and in-car video. Officers must secure scenes of potential unlawful acts for evidence collection, though the city emphasized police will not participate in deportations.
The Seattle Police Officers Guild pushed back on the mayor’s measures, saying, “The concept of pitting two armed law enforcement agencies against each other is ludicrous, and will not happen.”
“I will not let [Seattle Police Officers Guild] members be used as political pawns,” Mike Solan, president of the guild, said in a statement.
The mayor’s directive also establishes the Stand Together Seattle Initiative, which encourages private property owners to post signs on their property stating ICE agents may not enter without a warrant.
Seattle is a self-proclaimed sanctuary city, meaning it limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities. A federal judge last year blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to withhold funds from such cities, including Seattle, after the administration threatened funding cuts over non-compliance.
Similar rulings have curbed attempts to end humanitarian parole for thousands of illegal immigrants. A federal judge in Boston in January blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of more than 8,400 family members of U.S. citizens and green card holders.
The Trump administration has ramped up deportations, budgeting $170 billion for immigration agencies through 2029 and authorizing arrests at courthouses in cities like Seattle.
After the shooting of Pretti in Minneapolis, President Donald Trump deployed border czar Tom Homan to oversee immigration operations in the city. Homan said on Jan. 29 that the adminstration will draw down agents in the area when local authorites fulfill committments to cooperate with federal authorities.
Federal authorities, Homan, said, will focus on targeted immigration operations in the city, prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not return a request for comment by publication time.
Almost two millennia after St. Thomas the Apostle brought Christianity to the subcontinent, believers in northern India bear witness to a rise in persecution. Laws on religious conversion and physical attacks, including during the 2025 Christmas season, have driven fear into sanctuaries of love and faith.
Deepak, another Christian in northern India, said “there’s a lot of intimidation and harassment going on.”
He said Hindu radicals regularly “attack or disrupt [Christian] gatherings or go to mob violence.”
As a condition of speaking with The Epoch Times, both Amit, who has worked in Uttarakhand, and Deepak, who is based in Delhi, requested that their names and the details of their activities be anonymized out of fear of reprisal.
Statistics from the United Christian Forum, published on local website, The Wire, reflect an increase in violence against Christians in India in recent years. They documented 734 attacks targeting Christians in 2023. In 2024, that figure climbed to 834.
Genocide Watch, the Voice of the Martyrs, and other organizations have also chronicled anti-Christian trends in the country, in line with a similar pattern of growing violence against Muslims and other non-Hindu Indians.
Amit, Deepak, and others who spoke to The Epoch Times linked what is happening to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party that has ruled India since 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They decried the influence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a street-level Hindu nationalist group associated with the BJP.
Much of the organized, sometimes violent opposition to Christianity is concentrated in northern India, a BJP stronghold.
Nigel Barrett of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, the episcopal conference for India’s Latin Catholic bishops, told The Epoch Times in an email that “the persecution is not confined to northern India,” citing attacks in the western state of Rajasthan after it passed a conversion law, in the southern state of Karnataka, and elsewhere across the country.
Henry Hiinii, another Indian Christian in Delhi, told The Epoch Times that “the governments are not doing much to help the Christian community” as it comes under attack.
The BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh did not respond to requests for comment from The Epoch Times.
Some Indian Christians and close observers hope President Donald Trump—the man who has pledged to save Christians worldwide—will respond.
Commissioner Stephen Schneck of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom told The Epoch Times that the U.S. government should “issue targeted sanctions against Indian government officials and entities who participate in or tolerate egregious religious persecution of Christians, Muslims, and others.”
Escalating Hostility
Scott Bledsoe, who served as a pastor for 28 years, has visited India twice, cultivating relationships with Christians there. He said his latest visa to visit this past summer was denied.
Bledsoe told The Epoch Times he started to hear about anti-Christian persecution “in the last 10 years,” describing local mob violence against groups attempting to build churches.
Over the same period, major Christian nonprofits operating in the country faced setbacks and scrutiny, often tied to their receipt of money from abroad, including from the United States.
In 2017, Compassion International, a humanitarian organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, said it left India under pressure from the government.
The Missionaries of Charity, the group founded by Mother Teresa, sustained a serious blow in 2021, when it was barred from receiving foreign funding.
Deepak said these incidents are a bad sign for the homegrown Christian missionaries planting and nurturing small churches, including in unfriendly parts of the country.
“If you can go after them, then smaller organizations don’t have any chance,” he said.
In recent years, states across India have passed laws against forced conversion and numerous Christians, accused of coercing people into accepting their faith, have been jailed under the statutes.
Some Christians believe the opposition even extends to a kind of low-level surveillance enforced by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and similar groups. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh alone is estimated to have 4 million members nationwide.
“There are spies and people that are always watching what you’re doing,” Deepak said.
He said some believers worry that singing a religious song in their own home could draw scrutiny from neighbors, leading to arrests and prosecution under forced conversion laws.
Deepak recounted a visit to a church where that fear meant services were kept very quiet.
“I did a small devotion with them from the Bible and how the church was persecuted,” he said.
A wave of attacks on Christmas celebrations in late 2025, linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and similar groups, renewed concerns about the safety and freedom of Christians in India.
“Christians are actually afraid to celebrate Christmas openly now,” Deepak said.
Amit said Christmas services were restricted in many parts of northern India.
Schneck described “a sharp increase in targeted attacks against religious minorities” over Christmas 2025.
“Similar attacks have continued into the new year,” he said.
Amid rising tensions late last year, Modi attended a Christmas service at New Delhi’s Cathedral Church of the Redemption.
The Indian Christians who spoke with The Epoch Times, however, were skeptical of the sincerity of that gesture, attributing it to concerns over votes.
“It is disturbing to see limited official condemnation from the political authorities,” Barrett said.
However, a recent judicial decision on a conversion law drew praise from them.
In December 2025, judges on the Allahabad High Court ruled that merely preaching Christianity and distributing Bibles does not run afoul of a forced conversion statute in Uttar Pradesh, a heavily Hindu state in northern India.
Hiinii described the ruling as “good news” but said many people do not yet know about it.
The plight of Indian Christians has started to attract the attention of American political leaders.
In a Dec. 19, 2025, op-ed in The Hill, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) and U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom leaders asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern, a designation outlined in the International Religious Freedom Act. They cited its controversial conversion laws and the resultant mob violence.
A 2023 State Department report on religious freedom in India noted Christians’ concerns about those laws and their reports of harassment.
That same year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom held a forum on religious freedom in India.
Thai Police Track Down 3 Children Suspected Of Lighting Homeless Man On Fire
Authorities in Thailand have located three children, ages nine to 15, who are suspected of setting a homeless man on fire under a bridge in Bangkok and recording the attack.
The victim, a 51-year-old man known as Karn, lives beneath the Ban Ma Bridge in the Prawet district, where he earns money by collecting recyclable materials. He said the incident happened while he was asleep, according to SCMP.
“I was sleeping under the bridge when I felt cold liquid being poured on me before flames erupted on my body,” Karn told reporters.
Witnesses in the area said the attack appeared unprovoked, supporting Karn’s claim that he had no connection to the suspects.
SCMP writes that police confirmed Thursday that the three minors have been identified, but their identities are being kept confidential under child protection laws. Investigators said the children could face charges including attempted murder and destruction of public property, after nearby infrastructure was damaged during the fire.
Video footage of the incident quickly spread online, drawing intense backlash. Many users demanded tougher punishment, with some calling for the suspects to be tried as adults or for their parents to be held legally responsible.
The case has renewed attention on violent incidents involving young people in Thailand. In August last year, three teenagers in Lampang were arrested for killing a disabled dog by setting it on fire in an abandoned building, though authorities never revealed the outcome.
That same month, a separate attack in Bangkok made international headlines when a Malaysian tourist couple was set ablaze by an unemployed man near a major shopping center.
The government later pledged to cover their medical expenses and provide compensation.
As investigators continue their work, the latest incident has sparked wider debate about youth behavior, accountability, and public safety in Thailand.
By the time this piece publishes, the United States military might already have launched air strikes on Iran. Indeed, planes could be launching while I write this. Nevertheless, here is a list of seven reasons why our government should not intervene in the Middle East.
1) It has never gone well. That is unlikely to change now. In 1953, the CIA overthrew the elected government of Iran to help the British more easily extract oil. We then installed the Shah, whom lots of Persians didn’t like. That problem came to a head in 1979 with the Shah being deposed and the religious fundamentalists, led by the Ayatollah, coming to power. That was not a success story for the United States.
Then there are the horrific boondoggles in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lies that drew us into the First Gulf War (babies stabbed in incubators!), the Syrian civil war, the disastrous collapse of Libya after Obama’s airstrikes, the Arab Spring nonsense, and the intervention in Lebanon that led to 200 Marines getting killed. I could go on.
The American government has a long pattern of failure in the Middle East.
2) Iran is not a military threat to America. This will cause the DC establishment types to be upset, but it is true. Iran’s anger with America stems from the coup we staged there and the meddling in Iran’s near abroad. This relationship can be easily fixed by simply stopping our current policy of hostility to the regime in Iran and adopting a policy of simply ignoring the region.
This is the right policy towards Iran because the country is not a threat to us. Iran cannot militarily attack America. The Revolutionary Guard is not going to stage an amphibious landing on the Potomac. Iranian agents of subterfuge on American soil have been hapless fools, easily foiled.
Even if Iran develops nuclear weapons, nothing changes. Iran cannot nuke America without getting obliterated in return. Therefore, there is no incentive to use those nuclear weapons in an offensive fashion.
Pakistan, North Korea, Russia, and China are all “bad” powers that have nuclear weapons. They’ve never used these weapons for a reason—the price isn’t worth the gain. Nukes are an ace in the hole for national defense, but they don’t have offensive utility in a world of atomic parity.
3) Iran’s relationship to Israel is not our problem. Iran and Israel despise each other for reasons that are complex and not worth getting into here. Needless to say, this is not a problem for Americans. Lots of people on earth don’t like each other. This isn’t new. The best thing to do in these cases is to simply stay out. We ought not borrow trouble that has no bearing on our national interests.
Israel is a big boy country. The Israelis can solve their own problems. There is no need for the American taxpayer to be involved.
Much is made of the anti-Semitism of the Iranian regime, with the implication being that the Ayatollah will use nuclear weapons against Israel if he gets the bomb. This is fearmongering with no basis in reality. Israel, like America, has nuclear weapons. If Tel Aviv gets annihilated, then so will Tehran. There is simply no gain for the Iranians in that case. Moreover, there is absolutely zero reason for the United States to get mixed up in a potential nuclear standoff between any countries anywhere on earth.
To be frank, the leadership of Iran is no more insane, moralistic, or fanatical than the Israeli or American ruling classes. In fact, they seem to be less expansionist than our own DC meddlers, mostly due to the aged character of the Iranian ruling element. The American military-industrial complex is more ferocious about spreading gay sex, feminism, and “democracy” abroad than Iran is in spreading Shia Islam.
4) The Iranian struggle for freedom is not a concern of the American government. The Declaration of Independence says that the purpose of government is to secure the rights “to life, liberty, and happiness” of the American people.
The Iranian people, however we may feel at a personal level about their cause, are not Americans. They don’t pay taxes, don’t owe us loyalty, haven’t consented to being ruled by us, and we have not agreed to rule over them in turn.
Their problems are their problems. The American government serves the American people. The Iranians are not Americans. They don’t get to ask American taxpayers to give them money, weapons, and support.
If Americans privately want to support women’s liberation or whatever in Iran, they are welcome to do so, but that isn’t what tax money is for.
5) Tax money spent on bombing Iran would be more useful here at home. Let’s take a hard-headed view of the costs at stake here: every dollar we spend monkeying with the desert drama queens is a dollar we didn’t spend on something else here at home.
War does not “boost the economy” because all of the weapons used and all of the soldiers’ paychecks have to come from taxing the economy. Everything in life comes with tradeoffs. War is no different.
Americans shouldn’t pay for weapons to be used on causes that don’t serve their interests, and our primary interest is protection. Our government is supposed to protect our bodies and our property. We have real problems with this right now here at home. Much more needs to be done to make American communities safe and peaceful.
I care far more about violence and criminal mischief in Hillsdale, Michigan, than in Tehran. Lots of bad things happen every day all over the world. Our tax dollars should be used to solve problems here.
6) Intervention backfires. Wars for human rights and far-flung geostrategic “interests” are always boondoggles. The long-term effects are bad: we stoke resentment among the natives, offend local power players, get sucked into unintelligible complex regional problems, and bear the long-term costs of dealing with the fallout.
There is, thankfully, an easy way to avoid all these issues: just stay away. If individual Americans care about the Middle East, then they can choose to spend their own money and time messing around in the region.
Surely, if Americans really thought bombing Iran was a good idea, then they would be eagerly offering up money to mercenaries and resistance fighters to go in there and spread freedom. Since most Americans are not doing this willingly, why should they be forced to support these measures unwillingly with tax dollars? It doesn’t make sense.
7) The American government should adopt the golden rule out of self-interest. Americans would not like it if a foreign government decided to meddle in our internal affairs. If China or Russia announced that they were going to launch military operations against the American homeland because of police “brutality” waged by ICE against illegal migrants, there would be an enormous backlash. Even leftists might view this as going too far.
We expect other countries to mind their own business and to stay out of ours. We should do the same abroad. Our real interests are right here on our own soil.
Instead of going abroad in search of monsters to destroy, the American government should worry about problems here. The easiest way is to simply stay out of unnecessary conflicts. The opportunities for problems abroad are simply too great. The Middle East is a mess and one the American government has done more, over its history, to create than to solve.
Lululemon Athletica has drifted from its core strength in premium, high-quality yoga pants, chasing trends and fast product cycles. Competitors such as Alo Yoga and Vuori are quickly taking market share, while Lululemon has seen quality lapses, culminating in the botched launch of its “Get Low” tights earlier this month.
Bloomberg reports that Chief Brand and Product Activation Officer Nikki Neuburger told hundreds of employees at a meeting last week and in a video shared with staff worldwide that customers were not wearing the new $108 Get Low tights correctly.
Neuburger said that customers who bought the new controversial leggings, which some customers claim were see-through and “not squat proof,” must size up and wear skin-toned underwear before putting on Get Low tights.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that Neuburger’s memo to staff blaming customers for the see-through tights fiasco must “honestly be a joke.”
“You are selling a premium product, you shouldn’t have to issue instructions to women on how to wear leggings because your product is defective,” Saunders said.
Earlier this month, Lululemon pulled its new tights from its North America e-commerce website just days after launch, following an uproar on social media over claims that the leggings were see-through. But it re-introduced the tights to the online store about a week ago.
In response to the epic failure, founder Chip Wilson felt compelled enough to blast the Board in a social media post:
This is a new low for lululemon. Pulling back the “Get Low” product line after three days is clearly a total operational failure. This comes just 17 months after the failed launch of the “Breezethrough” leggings, a product line also discontinued for similar product flaws. I’ve believed that lululemon has lost its cool for some time, but it is now evident to me that the Company has completely lost its way as a leader in technical apparel. For years, lululemon’s results (particularly in North America) have shown how the Company has struggled to deliver products that are compelling and beloved; now it is unable to simply deliver products that work.
Despite any finger pointing internally following this mishap, this is not the fault of any hard-working employees. This is the fault of the Board. It is clear that persistent failures like this are born out of this Board’s lack of experience in creative businesses, disinterest in product development and quality, and focus on short-term, self-interested priorities. How could anyone reach a conclusion other than the Board continues to make decisions that are destroying the brand and the stock price?
What product quality testing did the Board review? How often does the Board review the product pipeline? Are leaders empowered to make the best product decision or simply pushed to the lowest cost decision?
I believe a leading Board would have a Brand Product Committee and have asked these questions.
For memory’s sake, let’s take another look at the Get Low line.
And one last time.
Meanwhile, Alo Yoga and Vuori are winning influencers and younger customers; Lululemon’s attempts to follow that playbook have epically backfired. Year-to-date, shares are down 17%, below Covid lows.
Saunders said, “They’ve gone from being the leader in the category to, honestly, a bit of a follower.”
The New World screwworm isn’t yet present in the United States or Texas, although officials say it has been spreading toward the U.S.–Mexico border. Abbot said it can cause potential problems for the U.S. livestock industry if it spreads northward across the border.
“State law authorizes me to act to prevent a threat of infestation that could cause severe damage to Texas property, and I will not wait for such harm to reach our livestock and wildlife,” he said in a statement.
The disaster declaration allows him to mobilize the Texas New World Screwworm Response Team to “fully utilize all state government prevention and response resources to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite” and that “Texas is prepared to fully eradicate this pest if need be,” he said.
The governor added that the order directs the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Animal Health Commission to create the response team and partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to respond to the parasite.
Screwworms can infect livestock, wildlife, and people, health and agriculture authorities have said. The insect’s maggots can burrow into the skin, inflicting serious and, in some cases, fatal damage to an organism.
In a notice on its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is usually found in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and South America. People are at a higher risk of contracting the infection if they travel to such areas or are around livestock in rural places where the screwworm flies are located and if they also have an open wound, according to the agency.
“NWS infestations are very painful,” the CDC says on its website, using an acronym for the New World screwworm. “If you have an NWS infestation, you may see maggots (larvae) around or in an open wound. They could also be in your nose, eyes, or mouth.”
The declaration from Abbott comes as the USDA said that, as of Jan. 22, the screwworm has not yet been detected in the United States.
Screwworms were previously found in the United States but were eradicated in 1966, the USDA said. Officials also eliminated a small outbreak reported in the Florida Keys in 2017, it said.
In August, officials said the first human case of a New World screwworm was detected in a person in Maryland who had at the time recently traveled to El Salvador. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told The Epoch Times at the time that the risk to the public posed by the infection was “very low.”
That same month, the USDA said it would launch an initiative to combat the spread of the parasite in the United States, describing it as a national security threat. The plan includes bolstering funding to technologies that will bolster U.S. sterile fly production that it said would prevent its spread as well as the construction of a “domestic sterile screwworm production facility” in Texas, it added.
No Death Penalty For Luigi Mangine, Biden Judge Rules
A federal district judge in New York has ruled that Luigi Mangione, 27, will not face the death penalty for allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.
The ruling by Judge Margaret Garnett (Biden) is a loss for federal prosecutors, who were pursuing the death penalty in the case.
Garnett also ruled that evidence recovered from Mangione’s backpack is admissible as evidence. Law enforcement seized various items from the backpack – including a handgun, a loaded magazine, and a red notebook, which authorities say tie him to the killing.
Mangione’s attorneys had asked that the evidence be barred from trial, arguing that the search of his backpack was illegal because they had not obtained a warrant, and there was no immediate threat that justified a warrantless search.
Surveillance cameras recorded the slaying, as video shows Thompson walking down the sidewalk outside a hotel when a man approaches from behind and opens fire. Thompson suffered multiple gunshot wounds and collapsed to the ground, after which the gunman fled and was later spotted on a bike making his way uptown. There was at least one eyewitness.
Mangione was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Atloona, Pennsylvania, after customers and staff recognized him from a wanted poster.
The defense has aggressively argued that prosecutors have failed to allege an underlying “crime of violence” necessary for the top charge of murder with a firearm. Prosecutors countered, arguing in an opposition filing that the defense is relying on an irrelevant precedent.
“Here, by contrast, no court has interpreted the ‘conduct that places [the victim] in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury’ element,” federal prosecutors wrote.
To charge Mangione with murder through the use of a firearm, prosecutors need to prove an underlying crime of violence. They have alleged this to be stalking, however legal analysts have suggested that stalking can be done without violence.
“It’s like a series of dominos — the only way that the federal government can get to a death penalty charge in their case is if the murder was committed during the course of a violent felony,” LA criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter previously told Fox News. “And the reason that they need that is because they need what’s called a federal hook to get them federal jurisdiction.”
Jury selection in the case is scheduled for Sept. 8, and a trial will follow in either October or January. Prosecutors have requested a July 1 start date.
The Market Is Responding To Warsh’s Nomination, But Nothing Has Changed
By Bas van Geffen, Senior Market Strategist at Rabobank
When the Fed decided to hold rates unchanged last Wednesday, Waller was one of the two dissenters in favour of another rate cut. Waller’s dissenting vote may have kept him on President Trump’s list of potential Fed chairs, but it now seems that it did not get him to the top of that list. Reportedly, Trump is ready to announce Kevin Warsh as his nominee (ZH: Trump officially nominated him this morning)..
The dollar has regained some strength. Perhaps that’s thanks to Warsh’ credentials as a former monetary policy hawk – prioritizing inflation control and favouring a smaller Fed balance sheet. However, let’s not forget that President Trump’s first selection criterion is whether the candidates are willing to pursue lower interest rates. So, if he does nominate Warsh later today, he is unlikely to be as hawkish as he once was – unless he has hidden that very well in his interviews with the president. Indeed, Warsh has recently also called for rate cuts.
Nonetheless, compared to the other candidates, Warsh is certainly more on the hawkish side of the spectrum. And so, most asset classes wavered. Treasury yields opened the day higher, and equities slid, with Chinese markets down 1% on the day. The record-breaking streaks in gold and silver have also ended – at least for now. The precious metals are currently down about 8% and 12% from their peaks, respectively. And that is despite concerns over a potential escalation in the Persian Gulf.
The retracements are notable, but we wouldn’t say that the debasement trade or diversification from the US have now stopped. The market may respond optimistically to the prospect of Warsh’ nomination, but broader US policy uncertainty is still not doing the dollar any favours.
Likewise, the US’ attitude towards other countries, is even starting to drive traditional allies away from the US. The European Union has accelerated trade deals with various other economies, and the signing of an accord with India earlier this week is a key step in the EU’s effort to diversify away its economic and geopolitical dependencies.
With a 99.5% reduction of tariffs on imports from India, it creates significant opportunities for India’s (labor) intensive export sectors. That may also help Europe, as it is facing a major acceleration in ageing in the coming decades. But it will also create more opportunities for European businesses to diversify their operations out of China and into India. That is the strategic value in that deal.
And the United Kingdom is pursuing closer ties with China. This week, Starmer became the first prime minister to visit China in eight years, where he met with president Xi. The visit thawed some of the relations between the two countries. China agreed to waive visa requirements for UK visitors. Amongst the results is a “services partnership” that should give the UK better access to the Chinese market. It’s a first step towards a potential bilateral trade deal on services, which both sides have agreed to explore.
The UK’s rapprochement to China drew criticism from Trump. The US president said it is “very dangerous” that the UK government is trying to get closer to China. The UK could therefore come into Trump’s crosshairs again, just like the US president threatened new tariffs on Canada over its recent trade deal with China. However, as we noted above, its precisely these kinds of threats that have encouraged the UK and Canada to seek alternatives to the US.
Iran Ready To Resume Nuclear Talks With US, Prepared For ‘War Or Diplomacy’
At the Thursday night world premier for “Melania,” President Trump told reporters on the red carpet in response to an Iran question: “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now. And it would be great if we didn’t have to use them. I told them two things; Number one no nuclear. And number two stop killing protesters. … They’re going to have to do something.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has on Friday while in Turkey said that his country is ready to engage in negotiations on the nuclear front, as long as they are fair and good-faith. “The United States has repeatedly requested negotiations with us through various intermediaries and continues to renew these requests. We have no problem with engaging in negotiations,” he said.
He then emphasized, “However, negotiations cannot begin with threats. They must set aside their threats.” He noted too that the “US has never been loyal… it hasn’t shown good intentions, but despite this, Iran remains ready for all diplomatic processes.”
This is no doubt a reference to the US unilaterally pulling out of the first JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018; and much more recently the US-Iran dialogue that took place right up to the eve of Washington secretly greenlighting the June Israeli attack on Tehran. Iran thought it was holding good faith talks, but was duped.
A main serious obstacle which stands in the way of potential fresh negotiations is that President Trump has also been talking about Iran reducing or getting rid of its ballistic missile arsenal.
According to the latest on Iran’s expressed position:
Araghchi said he discussed with Fidan the possible venue and agenda for talks with the Trump administration. “I hope we can soon reach a clear framework that can guarantee dignified negotiations,” Araghchi said.
“We need to see the conditions and the agenda first,” Araghchi said, adding that any negotiations need to be “fair and equitable.”
He stressed that Iran will not negotiate over its ballistic missile program and said Iran is ready for both scenarios — war or diplomacy.
Currently, Trump officials are reportedly insisting that Iran be stripped of any missile range capable of striking Israel. Israel, meanwhile, would retain its full missile arsenal – including the undeclared nuclear weapons that everyone in the world knows about – capable of hitting Iran. According to CNN:
The biggest sticking point, sources said, has been the US demand that Iran agree to put limits on the range of its ballistic missiles — an acute concern for Israel, which expended much of its missile interceptor stockpile shooting down Iranian ballistic missiles during last June’s 12-day war. Iran has balked at that and told the US it would only discuss its nuclear program. The US has not replied, leaving both sides at a dead end, the sources said.
Which leaves the so-called “sticking point” glaringly obvious: Washington is demanding that Tehran agree to unilateral disarmament, rendering itself defenseless against Israeli air and missile strikes. In other words, total capitulation – or else.
And about that supposedly “obliterated” Iranian nuclear program?
It’s not clear why Trump has since shifted his focus back to Iran’s nuclear program, which he said last summer had been “obliterated” by US strikes. But Iran has been trying to rebuild its nuclear sites even deeper underground, according to a person familiar with recent US intelligence on the issue, and has long resisted US pressure to halt its uranium enrichment. The regime has also barred the UN’s nuclear watchdog from inspecting its nuclear sites.
Like with Venezuela before – or even hearkening all the way back to Bush’s Iraq invasion – the justifications for war will keep on shifting, until something sticks in a thinly veiled effort to manufacture consent.
On these negotiation demands, offers, and counter-offers – we’ve all seen this movie before. It’s been a rinse and repeat kind of thing, and Iranian leaders know this better than anyone.
Extremist Somali Democrat Ilhan Omar faced relentless mockery Thursday after being asked why she reacted so oddly when she was sprayed with an unknown substance by a weirdo at a town hall event earlier this week.
Omar was spewing her usual anti-American nonsense when she glanced up at a fidgety creepy guy sitting in the front row, who then proceeded to stand up and start yelling at her before spraying what turned out to be apple cider vinegar at her from a water bottle.
Ilhan Omar looked directly at the guy and nodded before he sprayed that stuff on her. Staged.
He also sprayed her on her torso rather than directly between the eyes which is where most actual lunatic people would hit you pic.twitter.com/1RnAjbBhiw
— Anthony Brian Logan (ABL) ?? (@ANTHONYBLOGAN) January 28, 2026
The entire world immediately declared the incident a badly staged hoax designed to illicit sympathy for Omar and distract from investigations into her sudden vast wealth that seems to have come from nowhere.
What did she think she was going to gain by staging this pathetic display? https://t.co/cSky7x5PAa
One factor that convinced many the incident was manufactured was Omar’s odd response, choosing to approach the guy as he was being detained, and then just return to her podium, seemingly unconcerned about the liquid he just projected at her.
Dear Ilhan Omar, I spoke with Poison Control. Their instructions were very clear and you didn’t follow any of them
They said
If you are sprayed with an unknown substance:
• Get to fresh air immediately
• Do not touch your face
• Remove contaminated clothing
• Rinse skin… pic.twitter.com/ZGl4WBKVe4
• Wash with soap and water
• Seek medical attention right away
• Call Poison Control for guidance: 1-800-222-1222
You didn’t do anything on this list because it was staged.
Omar responded in her usual venomous fashion:
I didn’t do any of those things because I fear losing my dignity more than I fear losing my life. Something you coward losers will never understand. So fuck off. https://t.co/dVrhvI46Xd
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) January 29, 2026
And who exactly is she calling “coward losers”?
Ilhan is too proud to follow Poison Control guidelines—the ones that normal Americans refer to. Calls Americans “you coward losers”. https://t.co/eZjLimFgfd
It was staged Ilhan. Doesn’t matter. You’re still going to be deported after all that fraud has been exposed. Your day in court is coming. pic.twitter.com/1eMB29uGvF
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