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Iran’s Khamenei Praises Basij Forces for Confronting ‘Riots’

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the country's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the country's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran’s Khamenei Praises Basij Forces for Confronting ‘Riots’

A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the country's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the country's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday Iran's Basij militia forces have sacrificed their lives in what he called riots, the wave of protests sparked by the death in custody of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in September. 

The protests that began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police on Sept. 16 have turned into one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution. 

Challenging the regime’s legitimacy, protesters from all walks of life have burned pictures of Khamenei and called for the downfall of the republic. 

The Basij forces, affiliated with the country's Revolutionary Guards, have been at the forefront of the state crackdown on the unrest in the past weeks. 

"They have sacrificed their lives to protect people from rioters ... the presence of Basij shows that the revolution is alive," Khamenei said in a televised speech. 

Iran's clerical establishment has blamed the country's foreign enemies, particularly the United States, and their agents for the unrest. 

On Saturday, videos posted on social media showed renewed protests at several universities in the capital Tehran and the central city of Isfahan. Reuters could not verify the footage. 

Meanwhile, a group of 140 Iranian eye doctors issued a statement warning that birdshot and paintball bullets used by security forces were blinding many protesters in one or both eyes, according to the reformist news website Sobhema and social media postings. 

Amnesty International has said Iran's security forces have been using unlawful force, including live ammunition and birdshot, killing dozens of people. Iranian authorities have blamed some shootings on unidentified dissidents. 

The activist news agency HRANA said that as of Friday 448 protesters have been killed, including 63 children. It said 57 members of the security forces have also been killed, and an estimated 18,170 people arrested. 

Authorities have not provided a death toll for protesters, but a senior official on Thursday said 50 police had been killed in the unrest. 

Iran's hardline judiciary has sentenced at least six protesters to death and thousands have been indicted for their role in the unrest, according to officials. 

Football team 

After many Iranian fans on social media accused the national football team of siding with the violent state crackdown on the unrest, Khamenei applauded the squad for their win in their World Cup match against Wales on Friday. 

"Yesterday, Team Melli (the National Team) made our people happy. May God make them happy," said Khamenei. 

The team sang along to Iran's national anthem before Friday's match, unlike in their first match against England in the opening game earlier this week when they chose not to sing, in apparent support for protesters at home. 

Akram Khodabandehlou, captain of the national Iranian women’s taekwondo team, said in an Instagram post on Saturday that she was leaving the team after a 12-year run in the team. She said she was doing so for "respect for my people’s sad hearts in these difficult days". 

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World

Trump Names Louisiana Governor as Greenland Special Envoy, Prompting Danish Alarm 

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks to reporters at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., Sept. 3, 2025. (AP)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks to reporters at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., Sept. 3, 2025. (AP)
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Trump Names Louisiana Governor as Greenland Special Envoy, Prompting Danish Alarm 

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks to reporters at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., Sept. 3, 2025. (AP)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks to reporters at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., Sept. 3, 2025. (AP)

US President Donald Trump named Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on Sunday as his special envoy to Greenland, reigniting Danish and Greenlandic alarm over Washington's plans for the vast, mineral-rich Arctic island. 

Trump has said several times over the years that Greenland, a Danish territory that is now largely self-governing, should become part of the US, citing security reasons and an interest in the island's mineral resources. Landry has praised the idea. 

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Monday he would summon the US ambassador to Copenhagen, saying he had been particularly upset by Landry's support for Trump's aim of making Greenland part of the United States. Greenland's prime minister reiterated ‌that the island ‌would decide its own future. 

"Jeff understands how essential Greenland is ‌to ⁠our National Security, and ‌will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday. 

The White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment. 

Landry, who took office as Louisiana governor in January 2024, thanked Trump on X, saying: "It’s an honor to serve ... in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US. This in no way affects my position as Governor of Louisiana!" 

DANISH CONSTERNATION 

Greenland ⁠and Denmark have consistently rejected that idea. 

Lokke Rasmussen told Denmark's TV 2: "I am deeply upset by this appointment of a ‌special envoy. And I am particularly upset by his statements, ‍which we find completely unacceptable." 

Earlier, in ‍an emailed statement to Reuters, Lokke Rasmussen said: "We insist that everyone – including the US – must show ‍respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark." 

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a post on Facebook: "We have woken up again to a new announcement from the US president. This may sound big, but it does not change anything for us. We decide our own future." 

Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, said the appointment of a US envoy was not in itself a problem. 

"The problem is that he's been given the ⁠task of taking over Greenland or making Greenland part of the United States, and there's no desire for that in Greenland," Chemnitz told Reuters. 

"There is a desire to respect the future that a majority in Greenland wants, namely to remain their own country and develop their independence over time." 

Seeking to mitigate tensions with the Trump administration over the past year, Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States, has focused on strengthening Greenland's defense to address US criticisms about inadequate security. 

Greenland, a former Danish colony and home to only around 57,000 people, has held the right to declare independence from Denmark since 2009. 

Its economy relies heavily on fishing and subsidies from Copenhagen, and the island sits strategically along the shortest route between Europe and North America, a vital location for the US ‌ballistic missile defense system. 

World

Israeli FM Urges Jews to Move to Israel a Week After Sydney Attack 

10 July 2025, Austria, Vienna: Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar takes part in a press conference at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria. (dpa)
10 July 2025, Austria, Vienna: Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar takes part in a press conference at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria. (dpa)
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Israeli FM Urges Jews to Move to Israel a Week After Sydney Attack 

10 July 2025, Austria, Vienna: Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar takes part in a press conference at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria. (dpa)
10 July 2025, Austria, Vienna: Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar takes part in a press conference at the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria. (dpa)

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Sunday for Jews in Western countries to move to Israel to escape rising antisemitism, one week after 15 were shot dead at a Jewish event in Sydney.

"Jews have the right to live in safety everywhere. But we see and fully understand what is happening, and we have a certain historical experience. Today, Jews are being hunted across the world," Saar said at a public candle lighting marking the last day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

"Today I call on Jews in England, Jews in France, Jews in Australia, Jews in Canada, Jews in Belgium: come to the Land of Israel! Come home!" Saar said at the ceremony, held with leaders of Jewish communities and organizations worldwide.

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israeli leaders have repeatedly denounced a surge in antisemitism in Western countries and accused their governments of failing to curb it.

Australian authorities have said the December 14 attack on a Hanukkah event on Sydney's Bondi Beach was inspired by the ideology of the ISIS extremist group.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Western governments to better protect their Jewish citizens.

"I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to fight antisemitism and provide the required safety and security for Jewish communities worldwide," Netanyahu said in a video address.

In October, Saar accused British authorities of failing to take action to curb a "toxic wave of antisemitism" following an attack outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, in which two people were killed and four wounded.

According to Israel's 1950 "Law of Return", any Jewish person in the world is entitled to settle in Israel (a process known in Hebrew as aliyah, or "ascent") and acquire Israeli citizenship. The law also applies to individuals who have at least one Jewish grandparent.

World

Israel Says it Is Facing an ‘Existential Threat’ as Iran Builds up its Military Capacities  

Israeli defenses intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on June 22. (AFP)
Israeli defenses intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on June 22. (AFP)
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Israel Says it Is Facing an ‘Existential Threat’ as Iran Builds up its Military Capacities  

Israeli defenses intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on June 22. (AFP)
Israeli defenses intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv on June 22. (AFP)

Iran is making “hysteric” efforts to produce up to 3,000 ballistic missiles per month, Israel's Maariv newspaper reported on Sunday.

“Although such missiles are considered old-fashioned, imprecise, and can be shot down before they reach their targets, the time they reach their targets is enough to cause serious damage,” the newspaper said quoting Israeli security sources.

In an article published in Maariv, writer Anna Persky said Iran is reviving its nuclear program and is resuming the production of ballistic missiles, but not yet its uranium enrichment.

Quoting Israeli security sources, she wrote: “There has been an ongoing movement in recent weeks around the nuclear reactors that were destroyed in the recent Israeli-US attacks on Iran.”

The sources stressed that the Israeli army’s new military doctrine is based on preemptive strikes to prevent threats before they materialize, but at the same time, they did not rule out a preemptive attack from Tehran.

Persky wrote that Iran is restoring facilities related to the production of ballistic missiles and nuclear facilities damaged by strikes during the 12-day war in June.

For Israel, Iran's nuclear program still remains a serious concern.

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to present the Iranian threat during his scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump” on December 29. “He will try to figure out if Trump is willing to participate in a new war against Iran,” she said.

Persky wrote that Netanyahu will present to the US President with a number of alternatives, including an independent Israeli attack with limited US assistance, a joint strike or a full-scale US operation.

“At the meeting, the main issue will not be what Israel wants to do, but what the United States is willing to offer,” she noted.

In Israel, the “inevitability of a war with Iran” was the headline of all Israeli newspapers over the weekend.

“Iran ramps up missile tests and military drills, renews threats toward Israel,” wrote Yedioth Ahronoth in its headline on Sunday.

It said amid recent reports that Tehran is producing ballistic missiles at a rapid pace and in large quantities, Iran has returned to threatening Israel and showcasing its military capabilities, much as it did before the June war.

But Maariv said the war initiative will rather come from Israel, which perceives Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat.

Israel is worried about missing the current opportunity. “Today, Iran is still in the midst of reconstruction, but tomorrow it will be more protected, more distributed, and its offensive capability will be more expensive and more dangerous,” Persky wrote.