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Iran Slams ‘Sinister’ Paris Attack Plot against it

Iranian President Rouhani (R) and Foreign Minister Zarif attend a meeting in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. (Reuters)
Iranian President Rouhani (R) and Foreign Minister Zarif attend a meeting in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. (Reuters)
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Iran Slams ‘Sinister’ Paris Attack Plot against it

Iranian President Rouhani (R) and Foreign Minister Zarif attend a meeting in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. (Reuters)
Iranian President Rouhani (R) and Foreign Minister Zarif attend a meeting in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. (Reuters)

Iran stated on Monday that it was prepared to cooperate with the concerned authorities to unravel the “sinister” plot against it in wake of Belgium’s announcement that it had arrested six people, including an Iranian diplomat, on suspicion of plotting an attack against an Iranian opposition meeting in Paris.

"Iran unequivocally condemns all violence & terror anywhere, and is ready to work with all concerned to uncover what is a sinister false flag ploy,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.

The Belgian announcement coincided with the arrival of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Switzerland on Monday to hold talks with European officials on cooperation with Tehran in wake of the US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

"How convenient: Just as we embark on a presidential visit to Europe, an alleged Iranian operation and its 'plotters' arrested,” added Zarif.

The plotters were planning on targeting a meeting of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) - an umbrella bloc of opposition groups in exile that seek an end to clerical rule in Iran.

The NCRI meeting, which attracted a crowd of thousands, took place on Saturday in Villepinte, just outside Paris, a three-hour drive from Brussels.

US President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani and several former European and Arab ministers attended the meeting.

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World

Trump Hints at Land Strike as Venezuela Pressure Mounts

A US Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport, amid tensions between US President Donald Trump's administration and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, December 28, 2025. (Reuters)
A US Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport, amid tensions between US President Donald Trump's administration and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, December 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Hints at Land Strike as Venezuela Pressure Mounts

A US Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport, amid tensions between US President Donald Trump's administration and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, December 28, 2025. (Reuters)
A US Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft approaches for landing at Rafael Hernandez Airport, amid tensions between US President Donald Trump's administration and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, December 28, 2025. (Reuters)

A throwaway remark last week by President Donald Trump has raised questions about whether US forces may have carried their first land strike against drug cartels in Venezuela.

Trump said the US knocked out a "big facility" for producing trafficking boats, as he was discussing his pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an interview broadcast Friday.

"They have a big plant or a big facility where they send, you know, where the ships come from," Trump said in an interview with billionaire supporter John Catsimatidis on the WABC radio station in New York.

"Two nights ago we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard."

Trump did not say where the facility was located or give any other details. US forces have carried out numerous strikes in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing more than 100 people.

The Pentagon referred questions about Trump's remarks to the White House. The White House did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.

There has been no official comment from the Venezuelan government.

Trump has been saying for weeks that the United States will "soon" start carrying out land strikes targeting drug cartels in Latin America, but there have been no confirmed attacks to date.

The Trump administration has been ramping up pressure on Maduro, accusing the Venezuelan leader of running a drug cartel himself and imposing an oil tanker blockade.

Maduro has accused Washington of attempting regime change.

World

UN Chief Says ‘Get Serious’ in Grim New Year Message

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (AFP)
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UN Chief Says ‘Get Serious’ in Grim New Year Message

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (AFP)

The United Nations urged global leaders Monday to focus on people and the planet in a New Year's message depicting the world in chaos.

"As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads. Chaos and uncertainty surround us. Division. Violence. Climate breakdown. And systemic violations of international law," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message.

In 2026, as war rages in Ukraine and elsewhere, world leaders must work to ease human suffering and fight climate change, he added.

"I call on leaders everywhere: Get serious. Choose people and planet over pain," said Guterres, criticizing the global imbalance between military spending and financing for the poorest countries.

Military spending is up nearly 10 percent this year to $2.7 trillion, which is 13 times total world spending on development aid and equivalent to the entire gross domestic product of Africa, he said.

Wars are raging at levels unseen since World War II, he added.

"In this New Year, let's resolve to get our priorities straight. A safer world begins by investing more in fighting poverty and less in fighting wars. Peace must prevail," said Guterres, who will be serving his last year as secretary general.

World

Türkiye and Armenia Agree to Simplify Visa Procedures to Normalize Ties

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (Turkish Presidency via AP, File)
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (Turkish Presidency via AP, File)
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Türkiye and Armenia Agree to Simplify Visa Procedures to Normalize Ties

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (Turkish Presidency via AP, File)
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (Turkish Presidency via AP, File)

Türkiye and Armenia have agreed to simplify visa procedures as part of efforts to normalize ties, Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry announced Monday, making it easier for their citizens to travel between the two countries.

Relations between Türkiye and Armenia have long been strained by historic grievances and Türkiye’s alliance with Azerbaijan. The two neighboring countries have no formal diplomatic ties and their joint border has remained closed since the 1990s.

The two countries, however, agreed to work toward normalization in 2021, appointing special envoys to explore steps toward reconciliation and reopening the frontier. Those talks have progressed in parallel with efforts to ease tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Türkiye supported Azerbaijan during its 2020 conflict with Armenia for control of the Karabakh region, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, a territorial dispute that had lasted nearly four decades.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on social platform X that Ankara and Yerevan agreed that holders of diplomatic, special and service passports from both countries would be able to obtain electronic visas free of charge as of Jan. 1.

“On this occasion, Türkiye and Armenia reaffirm once again their commitment to continue the normalization process between the two countries with the goal of achieving full normalization without any preconditions,” the ministry said.

Türkiye and Armenia also have a more than century-old dispute over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Türkiye. Historians widely view the event as genocide.

Türkiye denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest. It has lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognizing the massacres as genocide.