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US Targets Iran's 'Shadow Fleet' over Crackdown on Protesters

The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
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US Targets Iran's 'Shadow Fleet' over Crackdown on Protesters

The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on nine vessels of what is ​known as the shadow fleet and eight related firms, the US Treasury Department said in a statement, as Washington sought to escalate pressure on Iran over the recent killing of protesters.

"Today’s sanctions target a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people. As previously outlined, ⁠Treasury will continue to track the tens of millions ‌of dollars that the regime ‍has stolen and ‍is desperately attempting to wire to banks ‍outside of Iran," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.

Rights groups say thousands of people, including bystanders, were killed during the unrest in Iran, ​which they describe as the biggest crackdown since clerics took power ⁠in the 1979 revolution.

Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters there, but protests dwindled last week and President Donald Trump's rhetoric regarding Iran has eased.

The shadow fleet refers to ships that carry oil that is under sanctions. They are typically old, their ownership opaque and they sail without the top-tier insurance cover needed to meet ‌international standards for oil majors and many ports.

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World

Italy’s Meloni Hopes to Nominate Trump for Peace Prize

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) on the sidelines of an intergovernmental summit between Italy and Germany at Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, 23 January 2026. (EPA)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) on the sidelines of an intergovernmental summit between Italy and Germany at Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, 23 January 2026. (EPA)
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Italy’s Meloni Hopes to Nominate Trump for Peace Prize

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) on the sidelines of an intergovernmental summit between Italy and Germany at Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, 23 January 2026. (EPA)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) on the sidelines of an intergovernmental summit between Italy and Germany at Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome, Italy, 23 January 2026. (EPA)

Italian leader Giorgia Meloni said Friday she hoped US President Donald Trump would end the conflict in Ukraine so she could nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Meloni revels in her cordial ties with Trump, who has expressed frustration at failing to win the prize.

"I hope that one day we can award a Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump," Italian Prime Minister Meloni told a press conference after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"I trust that if he makes a difference... in achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, for Ukraine too... finally, we too could nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize."

In a message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made public on Monday, Trump said failing to get the prize meant he no longer felt obliged "to think purely of peace".

On Thursday, Trump unveiled his "Board of Peace", initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory's revival, but which has morphed into a mechanism aiming to resolve all sorts of international conflicts.

Italy has been invited to join the "Board", but Meloni said she had told Trump that Italy faced "constitutional problems".

Italy's constitutional rules do not allow the country to join an organization led by a single foreign leader, according to media reports.

Trump is the chairman of the "Board", as well as serving as the US representative and the chair of its executive board.

Meloni said she had asked Trump to reopen the framework "to meet the needs not only of Italy, but also of other European countries".

"We must try to do this work," she said. "The presence of countries like ours can make a difference."

World

Turkish Court Rejects Bid by Erdogan Rival to Overcome Block to His Presidential Run

Turkish gendarmes block the way as supporters of jailed and suspended Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu rally outside the courthouse of the Marmara Prison Complex, formerly Silivri Prison, on the outskirts of Istanbul, Türkiye, 15 January 2026. (EPA)
Turkish gendarmes block the way as supporters of jailed and suspended Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu rally outside the courthouse of the Marmara Prison Complex, formerly Silivri Prison, on the outskirts of Istanbul, Türkiye, 15 January 2026. (EPA)
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Turkish Court Rejects Bid by Erdogan Rival to Overcome Block to His Presidential Run

Turkish gendarmes block the way as supporters of jailed and suspended Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu rally outside the courthouse of the Marmara Prison Complex, formerly Silivri Prison, on the outskirts of Istanbul, Türkiye, 15 January 2026. (EPA)
Turkish gendarmes block the way as supporters of jailed and suspended Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu rally outside the courthouse of the Marmara Prison Complex, formerly Silivri Prison, on the outskirts of Istanbul, Türkiye, 15 January 2026. (EPA)

A Turkish court rejected on Friday a lawsuit from jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu challenging the cancellation of his university degree, his legal team said, in a further blow to his plans to run for the presidency in the next election.

Imamoglu, who is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, has been in jail since last March, pending trial ‌on corruption charges. He ‌received a separate ‌prison ⁠sentence in July ‌for insulting and threatening the city’s chief prosecutor.

Without a university degree, Imamoglu cannot stand as a candidate for president. His legal team told Reuters that he would appeal against Friday's court ruling.

His jailing has been criticized ⁠by Imamoglu's opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), other opposition parties, ‌some Western leaders and rights ‍groups as an ‍anti-democratic move aimed at eliminating an electoral ‍threat to Erdogan.

Imamoglu himself has denied all the accusations against him, saying they are politically motivated. Erdogan's government denies political pressure on the courts and says the judiciary is independent.

Istanbul University said last March it had annulled Imamoglu’s ⁠degree, days before the opposition picked him as its presidential candidate in the next election, which is scheduled to take place in 2028.

Imamoglu has said the university's decision was illegal and outside its jurisdiction.

In a post on X, CHP Vice Chair Burhanettin Bulut said the court's dismissal of the diploma case amounted to a political decision that ‌showed the judiciary was being used against rivals.

World

French Prosecutors Investigate Seized Oil Tanker Suspected of Evading Sanctions on Russia

In this photo, provided by the French Army on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that traveled from Russia, is pictured after being intercepted by France’s Navy. (French Military via AP)
In this photo, provided by the French Army on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that traveled from Russia, is pictured after being intercepted by France’s Navy. (French Military via AP)
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French Prosecutors Investigate Seized Oil Tanker Suspected of Evading Sanctions on Russia

In this photo, provided by the French Army on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that traveled from Russia, is pictured after being intercepted by France’s Navy. (French Military via AP)
In this photo, provided by the French Army on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that traveled from Russia, is pictured after being intercepted by France’s Navy. (French Military via AP)

French prosecutors said Friday they opened an investigation into an oil tanker intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea by the French navy and suspected of shipping Russian petroleum in violation of sanctions against Moscow.

The Grinch, an oil tanker that came from Murmansk in northwestern Russia and is suspected of being part of the sanctioned Russian shadow fleet, was redirected to an anchorage following Thursday’s operation by the French navy.

Prosecutors in the southern French city of Marseille said Friday they were investigating the ship's alleged failure to confirm its nationality, The AP news reported.

A video provided by the French military show members of the navy boarding the ship from a helicopter.

Russia is believed to be using what has been described as a “shadow fleet” of over 400 ships to evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. France and other countries have vowed to crack down.

The fleet is a compilation of aging vessels and tankers owned by nontransparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries, and sailing under flags from such countries.

Last September, French naval forces boarded another oil tanker off the French Atlantic coast that Macron also linked to the shadow fleet. Putin denounced that interception as an act of piracy.

The tanker’s captain will go on trial in February over the crew’s alleged refusal to cooperate, according to French judicial authorities.