Iran Supreme Leader Says Will Not Yield as Protests Simmer and US Threatenshttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5225799-iran-supreme-leader-says-will-not-yield-protests-simmer-and-us-threatens
Iran Supreme Leader Says Will Not Yield as Protests Simmer and US Threatens
An Iranian woman walks past an anti-US mural on a street in Tehran, Iran, 03 January 2026. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed not to yield after US President Donald Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters, as rights groups reported a sharp rise in arrests following days of unrest sparked by soaring inflation.
Speaking in a recorded appearance on television on Saturday, Khamenei said the Islamic Republic "will not yield to the enemy" and said rioters should be "put in their place".
ECONOMIC CRISIS
Authorities have attempted to maintain a dual approach to the unrest, saying protests over the economy are legitimate and will be met by dialogue, while meeting some demonstrations with tear gas amid violent street confrontations.
"The bazaaris were right. They are right to say they cannot do business in these conditions," said Khamenei, referring to market traders' concerns over the currency slide.
"We will speak with the protesters but talking to rioters is useless. Rioters should be put in their place," he added.
The weeklong protests, have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the protests have yet to be as widespread and intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.
Reports of violence have centered on small cities in Iran's western provinces, where several people have been killed. Authorities have said two members of the security services had died and more than a dozen were injured in the unrest.
Rights groups say more than 10 people have been killed so far.
Hengaw, a Kurdish rights group, said late on Friday that it had identified 133 people arrested, an increase of 77 from the previous day.
The deaths overnight into Saturday involved a new level of violence. In Qom, a grenade exploded, killing a man there, the state-owned IRAN newspaper reported.
Online videos from Qom purportedly showed fires in the street overnight.
The second death happened in the town of Harsin, some 370 kilometers (230 miles) southwest of Tehran. There, the newspaper said a member of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, died in a gun and knife attack in the town in Kermanshah province.
Demonstrations have reached over 100 locations in 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.
Maduro Now in New York Jail as Trump Says US to ‘Run’ Venezuelahttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5226046-maduro-now-new-york-jail-trump-says-us-%E2%80%98run%E2%80%99-venezuela
Federal law enforcement personnel stand watch outside the Metropolitan Detention Center as they await the arrival of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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Maduro Now in New York Jail as Trump Says US to ‘Run’ Venezuela
Federal law enforcement personnel stand watch outside the Metropolitan Detention Center as they await the arrival of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York jail Saturday, hours after American special forces seized and flew him out of his country - which Donald Trump said would come under effective US control.
The US president's announcement followed a lightning pre-dawn attack in which commandos grabbed Maduro and his wife while air strikes pounded sites in and around Caracas.
A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter to New York City, where the couple were to be arraigned on drug trafficking and weapons charges.
The White House posted video on X of Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.
"Good night, happy new year," the 63-year-old leftist is heard saying in English.
Despite the success of the risky raid, what happens next is highly uncertain.
Trump said he was "designating people" from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela but gave no further details.
In another surprise, Trump indicated US troops could be deployed, saying Washington is "not afraid of boots on the ground."
But he appeared to reject the possibility of the country's opposition taking power and said he could work instead with Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez.
One aspect that became clearer was Trump's interest in Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies... go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure," he said.
"We'll be selling large amounts of oil."
- Trump dismisses opposition leader -
US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, posted on social media that "the hour of freedom has arrived."
She called for the opposition's 2024 election candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to "immediately" assume the presidency.
But Trump was surprisingly cold about expectations that Machado could become Venezuela's new leader, saying she doesn't have "support or respect" there.
Instead, he touted Rodriguez, saying "she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."
Rodriguez poured cold water on that, demanding Maduro's release and vowing to "defend" the country.
Late Saturday, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Rodriguez to assume presidential powers "in an acting capacity."
Reflecting the confusion, Trump indicated US involvement is likely for the long haul.
This screengrab taken from the X account of Rapid Response 47, the official White House rapid response account, shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) escorted by DEA agents inside the headquarters of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in lower Manhattan, New York, on January 3, 2026. (Photo by X account of Rapid Response 47 / AFP)
"We're going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place," he said.
Venezuela ally China said it "strongly condemns" the US operation, while France warned a solution cannot "be imposed from outside."
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected."
At Venezuela's request, the UN Security Council will meet Monday to discuss the crisis, the Somali presidency of the Council told AFP.
- Blackout and bombing -
Venezuelans had been bracing for attacks as US forces spent months massing off the coast.
Caracas residents woke to explosions and the whir of military helicopters around 2:00 am (0600 GMT). Air strikes hit a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, for nearly an hour.
The top US military officer, General Dan Caine, said 150 aircraft took part in the operation, supporting troops who choppered in to seize Maduro with the help of months of intelligence into his daily habits -- down to "what he ate" and what pets he kept.
Maduro and his wife "gave up" without a struggle and there was "no loss of US life," he said.
Venezuelan authorities have yet to release casualty figures. But Trump told the New York Post that "many" Cubans in Maduro's security detail were killed.
Within hours of the operation, Caracas had fallen eerily quiet, with police stationed outside public buildings and the smell of smoke drifting through the streets.
- Shifting justifications -
The US and numerous European governments did not recognize Maduro's legitimacy, saying he stole elections in 2018 and 2024.
Maduro -- in power since 2013 after taking over from leftist mentor Hugo Chavez -- long accused Trump of seeking regime change in order to control Venezuela's oil reserves.
Trump has offered several justifications for the aggressive policy toward Venezuela, at times stressing illegal migration, narcotics trafficking and oil.
But he had previously avoided openly calling for regime change.
Several members of Congress quickly questioned the legality of the operation. But Trump's key ally Mike Johnson, top Republican in the House of Representatives, said it was "justified."
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Disconnected from One of Two Power Lineshttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5225930-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-disconnected-one-two-power-lines
A Russian all-terrain armored vehicle is parked outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Disconnected from One of Two Power Lines
A Russian all-terrain armored vehicle is parked outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, September 1, 2022. (Reuters)
One of two high-voltage lines supplying electricity to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been disconnected, the Russian management of the station said on Saturday.
The 330-kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna-1 line was disconnected by a protection system but the plant continued to receive power via the 750 kV Dniprovska line, the management said on the Telegram messaging app.
Radiation levels remained normal, the management said, Reuters reported.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on X that it had been informed about the situation and was investigating the cause.
The station, which is not producing electricity but relies on external power to keep nuclear fuel cool, regularly loses power from one or both power lines.
Russian forces seized the nuclear plant, Europe's largest, in the early weeks of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and each side regularly accuses the other of actions endangering safety there.
UK's Starmer Says Britain Was Not Involved in US Strikes on Venezuelahttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5225914-uks-starmer-says-britain-was-not-involved-us-strikes-venezuela
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts a reception to celebrate Hanukkah at Downing Street in London, Britain December 16, 2025. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS
UK's Starmer Says Britain Was Not Involved in US Strikes on Venezuela
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he hosts a reception to celebrate Hanukkah at Downing Street in London, Britain December 16, 2025. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was not involved in the United States' strikes on Venezuela on Saturday and that it was important to uphold international law, and that he wanted to speak to US President Donald Trump and find out exactly what had happened.
Trump said in a post on social media early on Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and removed him from the country while Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said she did not know Maduro's location or if he was still alive.
Asked if he condemned the US action like the leaders of Britain's left-leaning Liberal Democrat and Green parties, who both called it unlawful, Starmer said he first wanted to understand exactly what had happened, Reuters reported.
"It's obviously a fast-moving situation and we need to establish all the facts," he said in a statement to British broadcasters.
"I want to speak to President Trump. I want to speak to allies. I can be absolutely clear that we were not involved ... and I always say and believe we should all uphold international law," he added.
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party which is currently highest in the opinion polls, said he believed the US actions broke international law "but if they make China and Russia think twice, it may be a good thing".
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, also said the foreign ministry was working to ensure the roughly 500 British citizens in Venezuela remained safe.
Britain's foreign ministry advises against all travel to Venezuela.
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