John Solomon’s Just the News reports that a dark-money NGO network tied to CCP-linked communist billionaire Neville Roy Singham was allgedly activated as a command-and-control support node to organize nationwide anti-ICE protests just hours after the deadly shooting in Minneapolis.

“China may be helping astroturf far-left protests against ICE via a financial network in league with radical-left financier and multi-millionaire Neville Roy Singham. Singham funds a network of groups expressing anti-American sentiment,” Solomon’s team wrote in a note. 

On Wednesday, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote on X, “I have formally made a motion to subpoena Neville Singham, an American billionaire with ties to the CCP.”

During a House Oversight Committee meeting earlier that day, Luna said the China-based Singham “has been funding extremist organizations that fuel division and civil unrest in this country, especially regarding the anti-ICE riots last summer.”

For example, the Los Angeles riots last year.

What we have outlined mere hours after the ICE-related shooting of a left-wing “ICE Watch” activist trained to obstruct federal agents during deportation operations was the well-oiled protest industrial complex machine run by left-wing socialists and Marxists, which quickly mobilized nationwide, from Minneapolis to Portland to Seattle to New York City, or left-wing-controlled cities. 

BREAKING: Tonight, cities across the country erupted in protest against ICEpic.twitter.com/CngPJd6AfE

— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) January 8, 2026

Such coordination showed observers just how inorganic the protests were, as the Democratic Party appeared to be hoping for a “George Floyd 2.0” moment to burn city blocks to the ground in an attempt to sway public opinion polls against ICE operations. After all, ICE is deporting the Democratic Party’s illegal aliens, either their current voting bloc in some metro areas and states or a future one.

We also pointed out that Singham’s Party for Socialism and Liberation network was quickly activated in NYC on Wednesday night.

EXPOSED 🚨 The protest tonight in New York City against ICE is being paid for and organized by ‘PSL New York City – Party for Socialism and Liberation’

They are funded by Neville Roy Singham who lives in China and works with the CCP

He donated over $20 million to entities like… pic.twitter.com/Fy508FFbqn

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) January 8, 2026

By Thursday night, unhinged Marxists in NYC were chanting, “Kristi Noem will hang!”

NOW: “Kristi Noem will Hang!” Huge crowd chants in Foley Square NYC, also “Save a life, kill an ICE” as they gather to protest the ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis.

Some in the crowd condemn the talk of killing. pic.twitter.com/ifrXNZB0dz

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) January 8, 2026

Luna made her case to the House committee earlier this week for why Singham should testify, and the motion to issue a subpoena passed by voice vote. That vote also included approval of unrelated subpoenas.

“Neville Singham was referred to the Department of Justice, I believe, for FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] violations by then-Senator Rubio when he served on the Senate Intelligence Committee,” Luna said. “Neville Singham, regardless of what you might feel about your colleagues, has been a mechanism and funding arm of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Luna added, “He’s not a registered agent under FARA and has been connected to a number of riots, including the anti-ICE riots funded in Los Angeles. He has been avoiding our request to appear before Congress and provide information. He is definitely anti-American ideologically and is funding groups known to sow discord in this country. He is a known foreign agent for China. He should face a subpoena. If he does not comply, I will make a motion for inherent contempt.”

The Trump administration is running out of time in the midterm election cycle to enforce actions against Singham and other left-wing billionaires who operate dark-money-funded NGOs that function as what can only be described as an invisible insurrection against President Trump and the America First agenda. The administration has slow-walked enforcement across the nonprofit universe and, by doing so, should brace for a summer of chaos, with socialists and Marxists once again pushing the nation toward disorder. 

Seamus Bruner, Director of Research at the Government Accountability Institute, commented… 

Great work, @RepLuna! A subpoena is a necessary first step, but it’s not sufficient. If @USTreasury concludes that foreign-aligned money is financing domestic unrest, penalties should be severe — up to and including freezing and seizing assets. If warranted, bring on some… https://t.co/GhldXtWbYI

— Seamus Bruner (@seamusbruner) January 9, 2026

Time is ticking. 

Authored by Joseph Lord and Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump announced in an interview aired Jan. 8 that the United States would begin launching strikes on cartels in Mexico.

“We knocked out 97 percent of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land with regard with the cartels,” Trump told Sean Hannity from Fox News.

“The cartels are running Mexico. It’s very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country.

“They’re killing 250,000, 300,000 in our country every single year.”

The announcement comes just five days after Trump ordered an operation to capture and remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to the United States to face criminal charges, including narco-terrorism.

Trump gave a warning to several Latin American countries following the U.S. strike on Venezuela and Maduro’s capture.

The president also warned Mexico on Sunday that it needs to “get its act together,” referring to drug cartels operating in the country.

“You have to do something with Mexico,” Trump told reporters during his trip back to Washington from Florida. “We’re going to have to do something. We’d love Mexico to do it; they’re capable of doing it, but unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”

Trump said that he had spoken to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on a number of occasions, saying that the United States has offered to send troops into her country. However, he described her as “afraid” and that the “cartels are running Mexico,” not her

Mexico has repeatedly opposed U.S. proposals to fight drug cartels in the country.

“We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries,” Sheinbaum said during her daily morning press conference on Monday. “The history of Latin America is clear and compelling: Intervention has never brought democracy, never generated well-being, nor lasting stability.”

Trump’s administration has intensified anti-cartel measures, including designating Mexican syndicates as terrorist organizations, a step he announced years ago. Officials say sea-based trafficking has been nearly halted, prompting a pivot to land operations.

Trump has previously said no formal war declaration is necessary.

“I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country,” Trump said on Oct. 23, 2025.

U.S. officials have linked cartels to tens of thousands of American overdose deaths annually. Trump has criticized Sheinbaum for declining U.S. offers to dismantle the cartels.

Trump did not give a timeline for land strikes against cartels.

There are competing narratives about Wednesday’s ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis. Some left-leaning corporate outlets focused on the fact that a woman was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a federal enforcement deportation operation, while other media, like the New York Post, highlighted that the woman, identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, was part of a left-wing group “Ice Watch” that mounted pressure campaigns on ICE agents on the ground.

Put aside all those viral videos on X; now Alpha News has obtained cellphone footage from what appears to be one of the ICE agents, and it provides a completely new perspective on what happened and why the ICE agent felt threatened enough to fire several shots at Good, killing the activist.

BREAKING: Alpha News has obtained cellphone footage showing perspective of federal agent at center of ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/p2wks0zew0

— Alpha News (@AlphaNews) January 9, 2026

The NYPost reported late Thursday night that Good was an anti-ICE “warrior” and part of a network of left-wing activists who worked to “document and resist” ICE operations in Minnesota.

The video from an ICE agent appears to confirm that Good and another individual were obstructing federal agents in the middle of the street.

Vice President JD Vance commented on Alpha News’ report, saying, “What the press has done in lying about this innocent law enforcement officer is disgusting. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.” 

*This is a developing story…. Check back for more updates.

We earlier detailed yet another massive overnight Russian strike on Ukraine – including on the capital and the Western city of Lviv, the latter which was hit with a nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missile.

More details have emerged Friday as emergency crews assess the damage in Kiev. Notably the Embassy of Qatar in Kyiv appears to have been directly hit, likely by a drone, or else possibly from missile debris.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha was the first to announce and confirm that the embassy suffered damage, though without casualties to diplomatic staff or personnel. 

Sybiha blasted the Russian attack as a “clear violation of the Vienna Convention” and said Moscow’s “brutality” is without bounds, and offered the Zelensky government’s full support for Qatar. 

Alongside this, Sybiha once again called on NATO to urgently step up support:

“Such a strike close to EU and NATO border is a grave threat to the security on the European continent and a test for the transatlantic community,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said on X.

“It is absurd that Russia attempts to justify this strike with the fake ‘Putin residence attack’ that never happened,” he added.

“Putin uses an IRBM near EU and NATO border in response to his own hallucinations – this is truly a global threat. And it demands global responses.”

As for the Qatari embassy, President Zelensky said on Telegram Friday, “In addition to our civilian infrastructure and energy facilities, a building of the Embassy of Qatar was damaged last night by a Russian drone.”

This after hundreds of drones and missiles pummeled the country overnight, leaving at least four dead.

More interesting has been Qatar’s incredibly meek and muted reaction, a sign that it doesn’t want to damage its important and delicate relations with Moscow. It has long sought to present itself as ‘mediator’ between the warring sides as well. 

“The State of Qatar expressed today deep regret over the damage sustained by its embassy building in Ukraine as a result of the shelling of the capital Kyiv last night, affirming that no diplomats or embassy staff were harmed,” per Qatari media.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed in a statement today the importance of sparing embassies, diplomatic missions, headquarters of international organization and civilian facilities from the repercussions of crises, and to protect its members in line with international law,” it added.

This quite muted response quickly transitioned to calling for peace in Ukraine, offering to mediate efforts and international diplomatic action to resolve the conflict peacefully. Clearly Qatar is more concerned with not causing Russia any offensive whatsoever at this delicate moment.

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

“. . .the Minnesota protests look less like a local eruption and more like the latest deployment of an international revolutionary machine.”

– Insurrection Barbie on “X”

Chrump, Chrump Chrump… He’s come to occupy the Left’s minds like an infestation of weevils chawing away the ligaments of civilized society.

But, of course, the whole wicked, Cluster-B, anomie-driven, insurrectionist extravaganza is a made-for-video production bought and paid for by a tiny coterie of super-wealthy megalomaniacs untouched by consequence — George and Alex Soros (The Open Society Foundations), Shanghai-based American Neville Roy Singham (Codepink and more), Reid Hoffman (funder of Trump prosecutions and more), Lauren Powell Jobs (The Atlantic and the Emerson Collective), Hansjorg Wyss (Berger Action Fund), Bill Gates (of course). . . .

Their main client in all this mischief is the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party’s chief motivation, its raison d’être going on at least ten years now, has been to hide its multifarious crimes, its vast racketeering operations now garishly on display in the state of Minnesota, where the grift just went too far and was done right in America’s face.

Who can possibly fail to see how it works? Import a bunch of people from a foreign land. . . enable them to set up a vast network of social services frauds. . . organize them for ballot harvesting and election fraud. . . and kick-back bundles of money to Democratic Party politicians. If anybody notices, yell “racist!” Sound the klaxon to turn out a thousand LARPing protesters on the Soros payroll. Provide them with signs, banners, black-bloc outfits, cartoon costumes, pride flags, umbrellas, snacks, bullhorns, pallets of bricks, and hope that some of them get hurt so you can manufacture the next martyr.

The crescendo of this long-running seditious treason was the wide open border during the four-year fake presidency of “Joe Biden,” including the colossal coordinated scam of funding who-knows-how-many NGOs with additional US taxpayer money, funneled through the UN, to process, transport, and outfit with social security numbers and debit cards X-millions of alien mutts, professional terrorists, gang-bangers, mental patients, and actual soldiers from faraway lands, and sprinkle them into every cranny of the republic to queer the next election and otherwise cause as much disruption as possible to the everyday life of actual US citizens.

They flooded the country with millions dependent on the Democratic Party’s largess — your tax dollars — and now they are doing everything possible to prevent the removal of this riffraff back to their countries of origin. Starting a civil war over it, in fact, because that’s what it’s come to. The federal agents tasked with the removal operation are apparenty not allowed to defend themselves when the LARPing street cadres attack them. There have been 66 car attacks against ICE officers since January, 2025. State and local officials in Minneapolis have behaved so dishonestly that federal investigators kicked them off what is now a federal case in the matter of “ICE-tracker” Renee Nicole Good, shot dead at the scene in her car. Minnesota will not be permitted to turn ICE agent Jonathan Ross into another Derek Chauvin. That sort of hustle is over.

What you can now discern in the winter darkness through fog of tear gas is that the Democratic Party will choose to destroy the country rather than face the consequences of its long-running crimes. Everybody knows now that the sort of social services grifts uncovered in Minnesota, with the kickbacks to Democratic politicians, have been going on all over America. The president has ordered an “all-of-government” effort to find the fraud and prosecute it, and you can assume the effort will tend to concentrate on the very states and cities where the Democratic Party dominates. Expect election fraud to bubble up in this cauldron. The evidence of a stolen 2020 election is finally emerging and converging with the larger illegal immigrant story.

It’s also clear now, that the NGO racket associated with all that is going to be dismantled — the money-stream from the likes of Soros & friends. They are going to get RICOed, their assets could be seized, and the public will learn a whole lot more about the damage they have done to the country. The Left’s NGOs not only support the on-the-ground street action, they also provide thousands of “executive” jobs and salaries to the Maoist nose-rings and transy-boys churned out of the higher ed diploma mills who are otherwise unemployable in any real economy with their race-and-gender studies diplomas.

The Democratic Party apparently realizes that the latest round of scandals and crimes might be its last rodeo. After a day of hearings this week, featuring several Minnesota politicos who testified about sketchy goings-on in the state, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FLA) launched criminal referrals against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and MN Attorney General Keith Ellison. That’s apart from whatever the DOJ has already been working on, and it is probably the beginning of a nation-wide web of prosecutions moving toward the midterm election that will drag in many other big dawgs of the party, including 2028 front-runner Gavin Newsom. The suicide of the Democratic Party has gone live, Donald Trump assisting.

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

Attorneys general in five states filed a lawsuit on Jan. 8 seeking to block the Trump administration from freezing $10 billion in federal funds for child care and family assistance programs.

The move came just two days after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it was withholding the funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, pending further review of state-administered programs due to concerns “about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

The freeze applies to $2.4 billion in Child Care and Development Fund, $7.35 billion in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund, and $869 million under the Social Services Block Grant, the agency said on Jan. 6.

HHS said its Administration for Children and Families has identified concerns indicating the benefits “may have been improperly provided to individuals who are not eligible under federal law.”

In their lawsuit, the states alleged that HHS exceeded its authority by withholding congressionally approved funds, arguing that the agency failed to provide a “legitimate justification” for the funding freeze or evidence to support its fraud claims.

The states further argued that the freeze was intended to pressure them into turning over documents related to the use of funding for the affected programs within two weeks, including “personally identifying information of millions of their residents.” They said that it was “an impossible timeline.”

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to prevent the government from withholding the funds and a court declaration that the freeze is unconstitutional.

“Once again, the most vulnerable families in our communities are bearing the brunt of this administration’s campaign of chaos and retribution,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the coalition in pursuing legal action against HHS, said in a statement.

“As New Yorkers struggle with the rising cost of living, I will not allow this administration to play political games with the resources families need to help make ends meet.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the HHS for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Prior to the funding freeze on the plaintiffs’ programs, HHS halted federal funding for child care programs in Minnesota amid an ongoing probe into allegations that the state had funneled funds to fraudulent daycares.

Deputy Health Secretary Jim O’Neill stated on Dec. 31 that he had asked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to provide a comprehensive audit of child care centers in Minnesota, covering records of attendance, licenses, complaints, investigations, and inspections.

Walz has defended his administration’s handling of fraud in state programs. The governor announced on Jan. 5 that he would not run for a third term in a bid to focus on resolving the issues.

Philadelphia’s top law enforcement officials have drawn a red line with the Trump administration after an ICE agent killed an activist protester this week during in Minneapolis. 

In a Thursday press conference, Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner slammed President Donald Trump as the ‘criminal-in-chief,’ and vowed to prosecute any federal officers who commit crimes in the city. 

Krasner said that widely circulated footage of the Minneapolis shooting of Renee Nicole Good showed that the ICE officer’s actions were unlawful and violated law enforcement protocols. 

“Silence will not protect us from people who trade in violence to achieve their fascist goals. Our voices will,” Krasner said. “The law must apply to everyone, and therefore we have to use our voices to call out people who commit terrible crimes or justify them. We have to use our voices to remind people that it’s not just a question of what you can get away with. It’s a question of right and wrong.”

PHILLY DA Larry Krasner warns ICE agents in wake of the Minneapolis shooting: “If any law enforcement agent, any ICE agent is gonna come to Philly to commit crimes, then you can get the F out of here.”

“I will charge you with those crimes. You will be arrested. You will stand… pic.twitter.com/xYB0yL65GD

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 8, 2026

Krasner dismissed the idea that the ICE officer fired his weapon in self-defense, saying “Blocking streets is something protesters, suffragettes have done forever. It’s an incredibly minor offense.

“There is no justification whatsoever in the law for shooting to death someone who is leaving having blocked the street, if that’s even what she did. No justification whatsoever under the Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court, president or the law for doing that.”

Sheriff Rochelle Bilal echoed Krasner’s comments, calling ICE agents “fake law enforcement,” and saying she is “with the DA” when it comes to prosecuting federal agents that commit crimes in the city.

“…law enforcement professionals – real ones, not the fake, made-up ICE, probably Trump’s new army to attack citizens in the United States. Did you hear what I said? No law enforcement professional wears a mask. None. None.”

“Those that come into our communities wearing masks to commit crime – and thank God for our District Attorney Larry Krasner, who says he’s gonna lock them up. And I’m saying now, we are not going to whisk you away for them to hide your identity. Because when you do it here, you’re getting arrested.”

“You don’t want this smoke,” she concluded. 

🔥🚨 BREAKING: Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal calls ICE agents “fake law enforcement,” and says she will ARREST them for enforcing federal immigration law.

She then threatens them, saying:

“YOU DON’T WANT THIS SMOKE!” pic.twitter.com/fl5gorX9JO

— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) January 9, 2026

It’s worse than that. More chaotic. It’s blue CITIES. Governors like Walz are really govs of the cities. Because mostly the state is red. The blue cities are the confederates here and that makes the whole situation a lot more complicated

— Kira (@Kiradavis) January 9, 2026

Are we on the cusp of an M&A boom in metals and commodities, with prices continuing to soar? Or are deals just easier to get through under a new administration?

Regardless, Rio Tinto and Glencore have reopened merger talks that could create the world’s largest mining company, with a combined valuation exceeding $200 billion — more than a year after earlier negotiations collapsed, according to Yahoo.

The companies confirmed Thursday that they are discussing various deal structures, including an all-share takeover covering part or all of Glencore’s business. The market reacted swiftly: Glencore shares jumped about 10% in London, while Rio slipped more than 2%.

If completed, the transaction would eclipse any previous mining merger and create a giant capable of rivaling BHP. Copper is the central prize. With prices recently surging above $13,000 a ton amid supply disruptions and tariff fears, mining executives increasingly see copper as the industry’s most strategic asset. “It makes a lot of sense,” said Ben Cleary of Tribeca Investment Partners. “It’s the one big deliverable mining deal out there.”

Yahoo writes that for Rio, absorbing Glencore would sharply expand copper output and provide access to prized assets such as Chile’s Collahuasi mine. The move would also help reduce dependence on iron ore as China’s construction boom fades.

Although analysts have questioned whether Rio would accept Glencore’s large coal business, people familiar with the talks say Rio is now open to keeping it — at least initially — and could divest later. No final structure has been agreed.

The renewed talks follow major changes at both firms. Rio has a new chief executive, Simon Trott, who has emphasized cost discipline and simplification, while Glencore has highlighted plans to nearly double copper production over the next decade. In private, Glencore CEO Gary Nagle has described a tie-up with Rio as the most logical deal in the sector.

“This is Simon’s first test as CEO and I would expect his disciplined approach to be carried through to M&A,” said John Ayoub of Wilson Asset Management.

The discussions come amid a broader wave of consolidation after Anglo American’s deal for Teck Resources and earlier takeover interest from BHP. Under UK rules, Rio must decide by Feb. 5 whether to proceed or step back for six months.

Shares of a Nuuk-based commercial bank, founded in 1967 to serve Greenland’s private and corporate customers, have surged sharply as investors speculate that President Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” to secure the Western Hemisphere could ultimately involve acquiring Greenland.

The 42% rally in Bank of Greenland shares this year, which has since retraced roughly 20% of those gains, has been entirely headline-driven, linked to the Trump administration’s efforts to acquire the mineral-rich, strategically located territory in North America, rather than by fundamentals.

Per Hansen, an investment economist at Nordnet Bank AB, said investors were piling into Bank of Greenland shares on the OMX Copenhagen Mid Cap Index, whose market capitalization stands at around 1.91 billion kroner ($298 million).

“Greenland could see massive investment,” Hansen said. “I do not know, and investors do not know, what will happen, but it might happen. More investment means more business buzz.”

In other words, investors are buying Bank of Greenland shares first and asking questions later.

Overnight, Reuters reported that the Trump administration has considered sending lump-sum payments of up to $100,000 to Greenlanders in exchange for a vote to secede from Denmark and join the United States.

Trump has cited several reasons for acquiring Greenland, including its mineral wealth for military applications and the need for the Western Hemisphere to fall under Washington’s geopolitical influence.

Hmm. 

The simple diplomatic solution is Barron Trump marries Princess Isabella of Denmark and Greenland is given to America as dowry payment pic.twitter.com/fhs3b6IDZG

— miss white (@cinecitta2030) January 7, 2026

The Bank of Greenland stock frenzy also follows recent U.S. regime-change operations in Venezuela that removed socialist leader Nicolás Maduro roughly a week ago, reinforcing perceptions of a more interventionist U.S. posture in the Western Hemisphere aimed at pushing China and Russia out of the region and dismantling socialist and Marxist regimes seen as plundering the wealth of nations. 

Update(1335ET): Iran is two days into a total internet blackout, which has not only impacted news footage from the ground getting out of the country, but the ability of ATMs to function (already there is a full Wikipedia page). Rumors have begun that people are trying to access their bank savings (despite the collapsing currency crisis) at shuttered locations, but one clear trend is that supermarket shelves are being emptied, amid unpredictable circumstances as protests spread, some locales witnessing fires, vandalism, and severe violence. BBC’s live blog coverage highlights the following trends, amid an information fog and the Ayatollah blaming a US and Israeli hidden hand:

The cutting off of the internet in Iran has led to a near-total blackout of news about the unrest sweeping across the country.

Only a few videos have been posted today from Zahedan in the east of the country, showing protesters facing off against security forces, with the sound of gunfire in the background. Another from Mashhad, the second biggest city in Iran shows a burnt out government building.

One person who has been able to send a message to the BBC says he is in Shiraz, in southern Iran, where he reports a run on supermarkets by residents trying to stock up on food and other essentials, expecting worse days to come.

The shutdown of the internet has meant that ATMs are not working, and there is no way to access cash to pay for purchases in shops where debit cards cannot be used due to the lack of internet.

Cigs are apparently still in good supply…

* * *

Iran’s supreme leader has just taken to X where he for the first time explicitly called out the United States for instigating ongoing unrest in the Islamic Republic, where raging economic protests have taken root in more that one hundred cities and towns – with in some instances rioters torching buildings and cars.

“Today like the past, the US is wrong in its calculations about Iran,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote. Importantly he added context to this assertion in a Friday speech – his first since protests began in a Tehran market 13 days ago – that authorities will “not back down” as Tehran officials have charged that the unrest has a foreign hand behind it.

The Ayatollah denounced the protesters as “vandals” and “saboteurs” and called out their alleged foreign agendas, amid increased images of city sectors burning, ongoing clashes with police, and reports of some limited exchanges of gunfire.

Protesters are now “ruining their own streets to make the president of another country happy… because he said he would come to their aid” – in reference to President Trump, after the US leader has warned at least twice that there could be American military intervention if Iran starts killing protesters.

Trump also claimed in a FOX interview, but without citing specific intel or any evidence that the Ayatollah is “looking to go somewhere. It’s getting very bad.” The claim is based on anonymously sourced reports that he could flee to Moscow if things got bad enough.

The US President has said that if the Iranian govt. does such-and-such, I’ll take the side of the rioters. The rioters have put their hopes in him. If he’s so capable, he should manage his own country.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 9, 2026

However, given the nature of Iran’s brand of Shia revolutionary Islam, it remains highly unlikely that the country’s Supreme Leader and top Shia cleric would simply or hastily just flee (perhaps would face ‘martyrdom’ first?) – especially during the opening phase of such unrest, given also the country has weathered similar ones over several years prior, including the so-called ‘anti-hijab protests’.

By some international accounts, these current protests have yet to reach the size of the 2022 large-scale demonstrations, but that could change at any moment at this rate.

Buildings have been set on fire and national flags ripped in half as huge crowds of anti-government protesters marched through Iran’s capital and cities across the country. The protests mark the largest wave of unrest in three years, fueled by deepening economic distress —… pic.twitter.com/zQi03D36Dt

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 9, 2026

Thursday saw an escalation as the internet was cut throughout almost the entirety of the country, as much more images emerged of largely peaceful demonstrations quickly turning violent in some areas:

There were violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in several locations in Iran on Wednesday, as a wave of unrest sparked by the country’s economic crisis continued for an 11th day.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, said two policemen were shot and killed by armed individuals in the south-western town of Lordegan.

Videos posted on social media showed a tense stand-off between protesters and security forces, with the sound of gunfire in the background. In footage from several other areas, security forces appear to fire guns and tear gas towards crowds of protesters, some of whom are throwing stones.

Like with Syria of the last decade of the anti-Assad insurgency, information out of Iran can be hard to assess and interpret, given almost no international reporters or observers are on the ground. This means that professional activist networks and NGOs outside the country can dominate the narrative, cheerleading the spiraling crisis from afar.

🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 U.S. INTELLIGENCE SAID IRAN PROTESTS WEREN’T STRONG ENOUGH TO THREATEN REGIME. NOW THEY’RE REASSESSING

U.S. intelligence assessed Iran protests lacked “sufficient energy” to challenge regime stability, officials told Axios.

That assessment is now being revised “in light… pic.twitter.com/aPcDZXGhOw

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 9, 2026

To be expected, Israel is also cheering this on, and had even last week issued brazen statements – including that Mossad stands ‘with’ the protesters and is even helping them (a statement full of the usual ambiguity and psychological warfare). Former CIA Director Mike Pompeo has stated the same.

Below is an example of some of the worst and most simplistic propaganda which has no basis in any presentable evidence, and by ‘anon’ sources which don’t tend to have any understanding of the internal dynamics of the country and people:

BREAKING | Discussions have taken place inside Iran which would result in Supreme Leader Khamenei leaving Iran in exchange for keeping the Iranian regime in place (The Economist).

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has reportedly attempted to secure visas via a…

— InsideNK/GeoPolitics (@inside_nk) January 9, 2026

According to one such ‘anti-Iran media’ source and agency, “The 42 documented fatalities include 29 protesters, eight security personnel and five children or adolescents, figures released on Thursday by the US-based rights group HRANA showed.”

Russian state media sources have alternately been highlighting the ample evidence of rioting and crowds attacking police, in some locales:

‘Down with Israel’ — chants in Iran’s city of Ilam at funeral ceremony of police officer killed by RIOTERS

The protests MSM won’t be showing

Footage from FotrosResistancee pic.twitter.com/sr3OSHAyrZ

— RT (@RT_com) January 9, 2026

The clear admission from even Western mainstream reports that some eight or at least several among the security forces have been killed seems a full-on admission that this is sliding into more than just economic protests by common people. Will Tehran be targeted by the external ‘powers that be’ for regime change next after Maduro? Will the protests be hijacked and fully driven by nefarious actors and enemy intel? …The next proxy war for the fate of the Persian heartland?