Red Rage: Chinese propagandists promote Maduro arrest protests organized by CCP-linked network - Jerry Dunleavy

 

by Jerry Dunleavy

China may be promoting astroturfing far-left protests against Maduro's capture, through a financial network in league with infamous radical-left financier and multi-millionaire Neville Roy Singham.

 

Chinese state-run propaganda outlets are promoting U.S. protests against the Trump Administration’s arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro. The protests appear to be organized by a Chinese Communist Party-linked financial network in the United States.

After this weekend’s U.S. military-led operation capturing Venezuela’s leader and sending him to the U.S. to be prosecuted by the Justice Department, street protests opposing Maduro’s arrest were quickly organized in New York City and elsewhere by the Marxist revolutionary group known as The People’s Forum, the far-left anti-war group Code Pink, the leftist Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). 

Just the News previously reported on how these and other radical activist groups have leadership links or financial ties to a funding network backed by wealthy Marxist businessman Neville Roy Singham, who himself has connections to the CCP.

CCP-associated outlets promote support for Maduro

Media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, China Global Television Network (CGTN), and the Global Times — all directly run by the CCP — in turn promoted the pro-Maduro protests organized by these same groups, as the Chinese government repeatedly denounced the actions taken by President Donald Trump against the close Chinese ally in Latin America.

China Daily operates under the thumb of the Chinese government’s State Council Information Office (SCIO). The State Department, during the first Trump Administration, also designated both CGTN and the Global Times as “foreign missions” of the Chinese government due to their Chinese state control.

The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The People’s Forum, the ANSWER Coalition, Code Pink, and PSL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

U.S. Rep: "China was buddying up to Venezuela"

The Justice Department indicted Maduro in the Southern District of New York as long ago as 2020, charging him with narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking. Maduro was subject to a superseding indictment unsealed over the last weekend, arguing that he used his “illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States” amongst other crimes.

“The United States armed forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela,” President Trump said during a press conference on Saturday. “It was a force against a heavily-fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas to bring outlaw military dictator Nicolás Maduro to justice.”

“This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live — and we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

Fred Fleitz, a former chief of staff to the National Security Council, told Just the News that Venezuela “has become a nexus for bad actors, and we know that the Chinese spent billions of dollars to get control of Venezuela's oil and to install two pro-China, corrupt, narco-presidents in the country.”

“China had a delegation in Venezuela the day before this took place. China was buddying up to Venezuela and wanted to continue to prop them up and to help them,” Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, told Just the News. “Why? Because they want to isolate the United States and our influence around the world. We can't let that happen.”

CCP propaganda outlets promote astroturf Maduro arrest protests

Xinhua on Sunday published a story with a New York dateline, purportedly based upon on-the-ground reporting by a reporter stating that “hundreds of people took to the streets of Manhattan on Saturday to protest against the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro” and that “the march was part of nationwide ‘No War on Venezuela’ demonstrations in more than 100 U.S. cities, including Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami.”

The outlet quoted a “middle-aged New Yorker in the march” named “Karen” who said that “this war is not about drugs, it is about Venezuela's oil” as well as a “college student from Pakistan” named “Hassan” who said that “this is quite nakedly about oil and natural resources."

China Daily republished a Xinhua article on the protests — stating on X that “hundreds of people took to the streets of Manhattan on Saturday to protest against the #US military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas #Maduro” — and featured a picture of a sign from PSL.

Xinhua specifically named the ANSWER Coalition as “one of the organizers” which “condemned the latest U.S. bombing of Caracas and the capture of Maduro.”

CGTN also cited Xinhua when stating that “protesters gathered in major U.S. cities — including Washington, D.C., New York and Boston — to denounce the U.S. military attack on #Venezuela and oppose the use of force to subvert foreign governments.” The article also featured a protest picture which included a sign from PSL. The Global Times also shared footage featuring PSL signage.

Chinese state-run media has promoted the Singham network's protest efforts in the recent past. Xinhua highlighted the role of the People’s Forum in anti-ICE protests last summer. CGTN, China Daily, and Xinhua all pointed to the ANSWER Coalition’s role in protesting U.S. military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities last year.

Singham network activates to call arrest of Maduro a "war crime"

The Singham-affiliated groups swiftly swung into high gear to activate protesters quickly in the wake of the U.S. capture of Maduro this weekend, as first detailed by Fox News.

Manolo De Los Santos, the leader of the People’s Forum, early Saturday morning tweeted that “Trump has launched an illegal bombing campaign. Families, children, people sleeping in their homes across Caracas are under attack. … This is a war crime. Stop the bombing of Venezuela!”

Code Pink shared the video posted by Santos and added: “This is a war crime. The terrorist United States has bombed Venezuela because it dared to defy its imperialist regime. We stand with the Venezuelan people.”

The People’s Forum on Saturday tweeted, “NYC EMERGENCY PROTEST: No war on Venezuela! Stop the bombings!” as it promoted a protest in Times Square. The ANSWER Coalition similarly tweeted on Saturday about an “EMERGENCY DAY OF ACTION: No war on Venezuela! Stop the bombings!”

PSL shared the Answer Coalition's post, tweeting, “Stop the bombings — No U.S. war on Venezuela! Money for people’s needs, not the war machine! Find an action near you TODAY.”

Code Pink, the same day, shared a “Hands Off Venezuela” graphic, tweeting, “History shows that wars can be stopped when people force them into the open. That is why we are calling for immediate, visible, nationwide action. Take to the streets. Organize emergency protests.”

The People’s Forum on Saturday tweeted out a poster graphic saying, “No To Trump’s Illegal Kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro. Protest at Metropolitan Detention Center.” The forum continued: “Early this morning, Trump bombed Venezuela and illegally kidnapped its President, declaring that the U.S. would 'run' the country and sell its oil. Now, President Nicolás Maduro is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. ... We will show up as people in the United States to make one thing unmistakably clear: we will not accept the kidnapping of the Presidents of sovereign countries in our name.”

The forum added on Saturday that “we are building a new massive anti-war movement. This is just the beginning! NO WAR ON VENEZUELA!” The forum was sharing a video of a protest speech by ANSWER Coalition leader Brian Becker, who claimed that “the kidnapping of Maduro is an imperialist war for a capitalist class.”

Neville “Comrade” Singham and his on-line bubble-network

Singham’s links to these far-left groups are not surprising — the wealthy tech businessman is a true and long-standing Marxist.

“For months we’ve been the target of a campaign that alleges our funding comes from ‘dark money.’ A few years ago we met Roy Singham, a Marxist comrade who sold his company & donated most of his wealth to non-profits that focus on political education, culture, & internationalism,” the People’s Forum tweeted in December 2021.

Singham married Jodie Evans, the co-founder of the radical left-wing group Code Pink, in 2017. Her group touts itself as antiwar and has become increasingly pro-China in recent years.

The New York Times reported that Singham works in Shanghai, that his efforts there are linked to the CCP, and that he has attended at least one CCP workshop on promoting the party globally. The Times also said that Singham shares offices with a Chinese media company called Maku Group. The Chinese group’s “About Us” page — which has since been deleted but which was archived by the Wayback Machine in 2023 — says the goal of the company is to promote a positive vision of China worldwide.

Singham also wrote that he had served on the Central Committee of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers. The league, according to the Marxists Internet Archive, “played a key role in inspiring the Black Liberation Movement and spreading Marxist-Leninist ideas among Black workers and workers in general.” Singham reportedly worked as a “strategic technical consultant” with Chinese telecom giant Huawei from 2001 to 2008, according to New Lines Magazine.

The Free Beacon reported that key leaders of the People’s Forum “serve in top positions at Singham's Justice and Education Fund.” The outlet also reported that the network run by Singham is also behind BreakThrough Media and Dongsheng News, who both push pro-China narratives and whose content is regularly reshared by the forum.

The Free Press reported that Singham and Evans “have donated over $20.4 million to The People’s Forum from 2017 to 2022 through a series of shell organizations and donor advisory groups — accounting for nearly all of the group’s funding.” The outlet reported that the pro-China “No Cold War” group was also linked to Singham’s network.

Then-senator and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Biden Justice Department that “it appears that organizations tied to Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. citizen, have been receiving direction from the CCP.”

“I categorically deny and repudiate any suggestion that I am a member of, work for, take orders from, or follow instructions of any political party or government or their representatives,” Singham told the New York Times in 2023. “I am solely guided by my beliefs, which are my long-held personal views.”

Singham’s network plans to carry Maduro protests into the future

The far-left outlet BreakThrough News held a livestream on Sunday organized by the ANSWER Coalition titled, “Mass Public Webinar: Stop the War on Venezuela! Build the Antiwar Movement Nationwide!” The livestream aimed to keep the far-left Maduro protests going into the future.

The Network Contagion Research Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Daily Beast, and the Free Beacon have all pointed to the links between BreakThrough Media and Singham’s network. The tax forms for BreakThrough Media show that many of the group’s top leaders are tied to PSL as well. Network Contagion also reported PSL founding member Ben Becker as having founded BreakThrough in 2020.

BreakThrough Media did not respond to a request for comment by presstime.

The livestream featured Manolo De Los Santos, leader of the People’s Forum, who took the opportunity to praise former Venezuelan socialist strongman Hugo Chavez and to attack two decades of U.S. foreign policy toward Venezuela.

De Los Santos added: “We are the ones who actually have to stop Trump in his tracks. We are the ones who actually have to save humanity from the slide toward fascist rule that is taking place in this country.”

Claudia De La Cruz, now the executive director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization's Pastors for Peace, condemned the “kidnapping” of Maduro. The organization describes itself as rooted in "liberation theology."

ANSWER Coalition: "If we mobilize this public opinion, we can defeat the entire Trump program“ 

"We need to be clear on who our enemies are,” she also said. “Our enemies are not the people of Venezuela. The truth is that those who deny us health care, deny us housing, dignified wages, and civil rights are our enemies, and they are not the Venezuelan people or their leadership.”

De La Cruz said in a 2024 interview about her campaign as the PSL nominee to be U.S. president that “I co-founded and co-directed […] the People’s Forum.” The forum says that De la Cruz “is a central committee member of The Party for Socialism and Liberation” and that “in 2018, she co-founded The People’s Forum.” De La Cruz is listed as a director at the forum in tax records.

Brian Becker, the national director of the ANSWER Coalition, said during the livestream that “I couldn’t help but be inspired by the earlier speakers. … If we act together, if we move together, if we realize how powerful we can be, we can win this battle.” He added: “If we mobilize this public opinion, we can win. If we mobilize this public opinion, we can defeat the entire Trump program — its war against working class families at home and its war against Venezuela and the other people in the global south.”

Ashik Siddique, the co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America's (DSA) National Political Committee, spoke during the livestream with the words “Fight Facism Build Socialism” as his video background. He called the arrest of Maduro a “brazen act of imperialist aggression.” He contended, “We know that all our struggles are interconnected. We just won a massive victory in New York City … electing a socialist mayor.”

“This is the time to take action based on the power that we have and the resources that we have,” Siddique said. “We are going to be escalating with all of you” — presumably referring to the Singham-linked groups on the webinar — “over the next few weeks […] We can’t leave any power on the table. In the heart of empire, we have a responsibility to people around the world to take whatever action is within our means to build working-class power and become strong enough to challenge this horrific status quo.”

Mamdani: "An act of war"

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, like Ashik Siddique, a member of the DSA, had tweeted on Saturday that “I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City.”

“Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law,” Mamdani said. “This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”

It remains to be seen to what extent Mamdani will join his DSA brethren and the Marxist Singham network — openly, at least — in building support among the left to oppose or even obstruct the prosecution of Maduro. 

Jerry Dunleavy

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/chinese-propaganda-outlets-promote-maduro-arrest-protests-organized-ccp-linked

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Venezuela pleaded with Iran for long-range drones just months before U.S. strike on the country - Steven Richards

 

by Steven Richards

The U.S. strike follows months of effort by the Maduro regime to secure military support from its key allies, including China, Russia, and Iran under increasing pressure from President Donald Trump over Maduro’s rule.

 

Months before his capture by U.S. forces, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro pleaded with several nations for more advanced, long-range drones to defend his country amid U.S. pressure. Then, America reportedly struck an airbase at the center of Iran’s drone cooperation with Caracas during its surprise operation to apprehend Maduro on Saturday. 

The strike by the United States follows months of effort by the Maduro regime to secure military support from China, Russia, and Iran and possibly others amid withering pressure from President Donald Trump over Maduro’s rule, which the administration billed as a source of regional instability and narcoterrorism. 

Pleaded with China, Iran in October

In October, Venezuelan officials sent a letter to one of its primary backers, China, seeking their assistance to bolster its military capabilities. Internal U.S. government documents also reportedly show Venezuelan efforts to secure longer-range Iranian drones.  

It is not clear how Iran responded to the request from Caracas, but the reported U.S. strikes on Venezuela’s El Libertador Air Base, the facility at the center of Iran’s longstanding joint drone program with Venezuela, indicates that the Trump administration views Iran’s presence in the country as an unacceptable threat.

“Iran has been very active in Venezuela,” Fred Fleitz, former CIA analyst and National Security Council Chief of Staff in Trump’s first term, told Just the News. 

“It has attracted all the bad actors from the world, and you know, the Chinese and the Russians. They have no qualms about who they'll do business with. They knew this was a narco-dictator. They knew what this country was doing was hurting the United States. They didn't care. They did it because they wanted to undermine the United States,” he said in an interview on the John Solomon Reports podcast. 

In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, the United States conducted several strikes against Venezuelan military targets to pave the way for a daring law enforcement operation to detain Nicolás Maduro and his wife and bring them to the United States for trial on drug charges. According to military news website Task and Purpose, the raid was conducted by the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, as well as members of Delta Force, and U.S. Cyber Command.

Maduro sought drones that could attack as far away as Guantánamo Bay

Venezuelan residents reported blasts near the El Libertador Air Base, which the U.S. Treasury Department had identified only days earlier as a hub of Iranian drone assembly in the country.

The Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Dec. 30 new sanctions targeting ten individuals and entities between Venezuela and Iran, including the Venezuela-based Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA (EANSA) which the department said plays a role in assembling Iranian Mohajer drones in the country at Libertador. 

Internal U.S. government documents reportedly show that Maduro’s government reached out to Iran in recent months seeking new, long-range drones that could threaten key American military installations in the Caribbean, including Guantanamo Bay and Puerto Rico. 

Venezuela’s Transport Minister Ramón Celestino Velásquez spent the months leading up to Trump’s intervention seeking new shipments of military equipment and drones from Iran, including “passive detection equipment,” “GPS scramblers” and “almost certainly drones with 1,000 km [600 mile] range,” according to the documents, reported by The Washington Post. 

There is no indication whether Iran fulfilled any of these requests before the American strike last weekend. 

But, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments after the successful raid indicated that the administration viewed Venezuela’s close cooperation with Iran as a key justification for ousting Maduro. Rubio said this weekend America would no longer tolerate any country in its hemisphere closely cooperating with Iran or its terrorist proxy groups. 

Iran and Venezuela inked 20-year deal in 2022

“In the 21st century, under the Trump Administration, we are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere, in the sphere of control and the crossroads — for Hezbollah, for Iran, and for every other malign influence in the world,” Rubio said in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation. “That’s just not going to exist.”

Shortly after being confirmed by the Senate early in President Trump’s term, Rubio penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal outlining the first contours of the new administration’s foreign policy approach. In it, Rubio described “an Americas First” foreign policy focused on “paying closer attention to our own neighborhood.” 

Venezuela’s collaboration with Iran on drone technology dates back to June 2012 when Maduro’s predecessor, President Hugo Chávez, announced that his country was building drones with foreign support, including from Iran. The drones, Chávez said at the time, were purely defensive and that the U.S. assessed were primarily for “internal defense,” likely surveillance, according to a Reuters report that year. At the time, some in Washington expressed concern that Iranian involvement could broaden Tehran’s footprint in the Western Hemisphere. 

The strategic partnership reached new heights in June 2022, when Iran and Venezuela inked a 20-year cooperation agreement covering expansive fields such as energy, economic cooperation, and defense. The pact—which came as both nations faced intense U.S. sanctions—explicitly included defense components alongside its oil and economic development components.

Longstanding ties between Venezuela and Hezbollah

Iran also has ties to Venezuela through one of its key proxy groups, Lebanese Hezbollah, a paramilitary terrorist organization and political party in Lebanon, Just the News previously reported. 

Hezbollah has engaged in so-called “Narco-terrorism” since its founding in the early 1980s and has been welcomed in Venezuela, where it is reportedly involved in drug trafficking, especially cocaine, in the country.

Under Maduro, and his predecessor Hugo Chávez, Hezbollah reportedly established a presence within the country, maintaining cells that still engage in drug trafficking, money laundering, and illicit smuggling. Both the 2018 and 2019 Country Reports on Terrorism from the U.S. State Department noted that there are Hezbollah sympathizers in the country. 

Examples show Hezbollah’s presence in the country has endured for years, over successive administrations. In 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned two Venezuela-based supporters of Hezbollah, Ghazi Nasr al Din and Fawzi Kan'an, and accused them of using travel companies to provide funds to the terrorist organization.

In 2020, federal prosecutors charged Adel El Zabayar, an alleged associate of Venezuelan President Maduro, for participating in a narco-trafficking conspiracy and weapons offenses. El Zabayar, who the U.S. government alleged was part of Venezuela’s secretive Cártel de Los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns. 

The cartel is said to have coordinated cocaine and weapon trafficking between Maduro’s government and Hezbollah. He also allegedly worked to secure Hezbollah’s assistance in carrying out attacks on the United States. 

Steven Richards

Source: https://justthenews.com/government/security/venezuela-pleaded-long-range-iranian-drones-just-months-us-strike-country

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After Trump Hits Venezuela, Will China Invade Taiwan? - Gordon G. Chang

 

by Gordon G. Chang

The United States has treaty obligations to defend two likely victims of Chinese aggression — Japan and the Philippines — and has a moral obligation and many practical reasons to defend Taiwan. As a practical matter, once one country in America's treaty network gets attacked, all countries in the network end up fighting.

 

• China has never been more trade-dependent in its history. Xi Jinping's only hope for an economy that is probably contracting is to increase exports. He knows — or should know — that he is in no position to disrupt international commerce.

• Xi apparently believes that a high degree of tension is in his personal interest because continual confrontation would prevent political adversaries from challenging or even deposing him.... Any incident, therefore, could spiral out of control.

• The United States has treaty obligations to defend two likely victims of Chinese aggression — Japan and the Philippines — and has a moral obligation and many practical reasons to defend Taiwan. As a practical matter, once one country in America's treaty network gets attacked, all countries in the network end up fighting.

President Donald Trump's stunning moves against Venezuela on January 3 are sparking concerns that China may soon move against Taiwan. Pictured: China's Shandong aircraft carrier arrives in Hong Kong on July 3, 2025. (Photo by Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump's stunning moves against Venezuela on January 3 are sparking concerns that China may soon move against Taiwan.

Trump on December 16 imposed a "total and complete blockade" on sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, and some expressed their belief that his actions could make it easier for China to impose similar measures on Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

"If the U.S. blockades to change political outcomes in Venezuela, China can justify coercive measures against Taiwan on so-called security grounds," Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Reuters. "The legal contexts differ, but the propaganda opening is real."

China looks serious about a Taiwan blockade. On December 30, China Coast Guard and Global Times, the Communist Party newspaper, jointly released a "Throat-choking" poster showing the Coast Guard intercepting a Taiwan container vessel carrying the American HIMARS rocket system to the island republic.

On December 17, the U.S. State Department had announced the largest-ever arms sale package to Taiwan, which included HIMARS rockets.

The poster, the Global Times stated, demonstrated the Coast Guard's ability to "control key maritime areas and seize dangerous targets, as the CCG continued to organize task forces to carry out comprehensive law enforcement patrol around Taiwan island."

The release of the poster occurred on the final day of "Justice Mission 2025," a drill conducted by China's Eastern Theater Command. On December 31, the Command announced that it had "successfully completed" the exercises, the most extensive ever conducted in the seas and air around the island republic.

Justice Mission 2025, which included five large no-go zones surrounding the main island of Taiwan, practiced the imposition and enforcement of a "de facto" blockade by the Chinese Coast Guard and elements of the Chinese military.

Many say that America's arms sales to Taiwan are provocative. Cheng Li-wun, the chair of Taiwan's main opposition party, argues, in the words of NPR's Nick Schifrin, that "more weapons could provoke the very war they're designed to avoid."

Cheng is wrong because, among other reasons, it is unlikely that China will launch hostilities by invading the main island of Taiwan or even provoking a fight by imposing a blockade or quarantine.

Why unlikely?

First, China has never been more trade-dependent in its history. Xi Jinping's only hope for an economy that is probably contracting is to increase exports. He knows — or should know — that he is in no position to disrupt international commerce.

"China with these exercises managed to ring in the new year reminding the world that it was the one using military coercion to control a vast area, disrupt global supply chains, and obstruct global shipping lanes," Steven Yates of the Heritage Foundation told Gatestone. "That's not being a good neighbor, responsible stakeholder, or reliable trade partner."

Second, an invasion of Taiwan would be extremely unpopular in China. Although the people of the island see themselves as "Taiwanese" — self-identification surveys show only about 3% of Taiwan's people believe they are "primarily Chinese" — people in China, as a result of endless Communist Party indoctrination, believe that the Taiwanese are Chinese. The Chinese in China, both officials and common folk, believe that "Chinese do not kill Chinese."

This is one reason why China's regime would be extremely concerned about casualties resulting from an invasion of Taiwan. Beijing is casualty-averse, something evident from Beijing's reluctance to report losses from a skirmish with India in June 2020 in the Galwan region of the Himalayas. Chinese leaders are unlikely to start a war even if they think they will ultimately prevail, when casualties would be measured in the hundreds of thousands or more.

Because a war would be generally unpopular — the mood in the country right now is sour — Xi must know that an invasion would not only have to be successful but also bloodless, and that would be virtually impossible.

Third, the Chinese military, racked by continuing purges, is in no condition to start major hostilities. Purges have hit, among other units, the Eastern Theater Command, the command with the responsibility for Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait.

In general, Xi does not trust any general or admiral with complete control of the People's Liberation Army, control he would have to confer if he were to launch a combined air-land-sea operation against the island. Xi appears to be losing support in the military, and he is not about to make some flag officer the most powerful figure in China by giving him or her control of virtually all of the armed forces.

Fourth, China's actions are creating a formidable coalition against itself, and soon the Chinese will realize they cannot take on everyone. As Yates says, Justice Mission 2025 "is likely to accelerate trends toward civil resilience in Taiwan; toward indigenous defense capabilities; and toward collaboration against the common threat among Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, all supported by the U.S."

None of this is to say that Xi is unlikely to start a war. He is, after all, engaging in a series of provocative actions along China's periphery, from India in the south to South Korea in the north. Especially dangerous are the acts of the Chinese navy and coast guard against the Philippines at places such as Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal, and Sandy Cay.

Xi apparently believes that a high degree of tension is in his personal interest because continual confrontation would prevent political adversaries from challenging or even deposing him. He can miscalculate at any time and now cannot de-escalate or act constructively. Any incident, therefore, could spiral out of control.

If there is a war anywhere in East Asia, it will almost certainly spread fast. The United States has treaty obligations to defend two likely victims of Chinese aggression — Japan and the Philippines — and has a moral obligation and many practical reasons to defend Taiwan. As a practical matter, once one country in America's treaty network gets attacked, all countries in the network end up fighting.

On the other side, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the end of December said his country would support China in "the possible escalation in the Taiwan Strait." China would undoubtedly force North Korea into supporting its war effort as well.

No country in East Asia, therefore, escapes war.

• Follow Gordon G. Chang on X (formerly Twitter) 

Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America, a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22178/after-trump-hits-venezuela-will-china-invade

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The protests in Iran: 35 killed so far, more than 1,200 demonstrators arrested - i24 News

 

by i24 News

The protests in the country have spread to more than 250 locations, in 27 out of the country's 31 provinces

 

A motorcycle of Iranian paramilitary militia is set on fire during a protest in Tehran, Iran.AP Photo/Middle East Images

 

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The AP news agency reported Tuesday morning that, according to an American human rights organization, about 35 people have been killed since the start of the protests against the regime in Iran, including four children. In addition, law enforcement authorities in the country have arrested more than 1,200 protesters.

In the meantime, the protests in the country are showing no signs of stopping, and today they have spread to 250 locations in 27 out of a total of 31 provinces. According to reports, the protests are currently the largest since 2022, which began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Revolutionary Guards after she wore her hijab in an improper manner.

Iran anti-regime protests: Day 9: At least 19 protesters reported killed in crackdown

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Last night on the main edition, our political correspondent Guy Azriel brought the testimony of a former member of the Revolutionary Guards, who called them a "terror organization" and urged its members to join the protests. He also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump to support the demonstrators.

DAY 10: IRAN PROTESTS

Clashes erupted at Tehran's Bazaar between protestors and security forces who stormed the market and fired tear gas at demonstrators, who responded with chants of "Shame, shame!" pic.twitter.com/eH6xGnPp9y

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) January 6, 2026

Following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States military, the question arises whether Trump will indeed choose to intervene in Iran as well and take military action against the regime, due to the close relationship between the two countries in the anti-American axis.

i24 News

Source: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/iran-eastern-states/artc-the-protests-in-iran-35-killed-so-far-more-than-1-200-demonstrators-arrested

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US weighing intervention in Iran, indications received by ‘Post’ show - Yonah Jeremy Bob

 

by Yonah Jeremy Bob

Israel also checking if removal of Maduro will make action against Iran regime possible.

 

FILE PHOTO: People walk past closed shops, following protests over a plunge in the currency's value, in the Tehran Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, December 30, 2025.

(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)

 

The Jerusalem Post has received multiple indications that the US is considering some intervention in the ongoing Iran protests. At the same time, Israel is also checking if the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro will make action against the Iranian regime possible.

It appears that Israel was surprised by America's intervention in Venezuela and that this action scrambled Israeli calculations about what might be possible in the Islamic Republic.

Until the intervention by US President Donald Trump in Caracas, most Israeli officials did not view the protests against Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as necessarily approaching the volume necessary to achieve regime change.

In fact, by themselves, the protests are likely still viewed by Israel and the US as insufficient to topple Khamenei.

However, following the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, this may have changed.

Venezuela's captured President Nicolas Maduro poses next to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Terry Cole as he is led in custody from a U.S. federal airplane, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, U.S., January 3, 2026. (credit: Handout via Reuters)

Washington and Israel explore regime change options in Iran

There are indications that Washington is weighing some targeted intervention to assist the protest movement to get over the top of the Iranian regime.

Likewise, Israel is also checking if the removal of Maduro will make action against the Iranian regime possible.

More specifically, the Mossad has publicly admitted on Twitter to assisting Iranian protesters in the field.

Iran has claimed it has even arrested one of these agents.

Further, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, who formerly was intelligence minister and had partial responsibility for certain Iran issues, recently wrote in the Post, "The world must...recognize the Iranian people as the key to lasting regional stability and support their aspirations for human rights, freedom, and self-determination, not only through words of sympathy, but through concrete actions whenever and wherever possible."

She continued, "History shows that regimes built on fear eventually collapse. When that moment arrives in Iran, the question will not be whether change was inevitable, but whether the world helped prepare the ground for a better future," showing support for concrete action, and not mere words of sympathy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also held a special security meeting after the US actions in Venezuela.

Former defense minister Benny Gantz on Monday explicitly called for Israel and the US to intervene in Iran on behalf of the Iranian protesters to either cause the regime to surrender or topple it.

In June, both US and Israeli officials were universally opposed to seeking regime change, being focused on harming Iran's nuclear program and its ability to lash out in response to attacks on its nuclear program.

Yet, Tehran's weak attempts to recover from the June attacks, the protest movement, and America's quick ability to potentially influence the direction of Venezuelan policy by using military force, without having to mount a large ground invasion, may have changed the calculations.

Officials from both countries, as indicated above, now seem to be exploring new options. It is possible that the US may use some kind of threat of force and even limited force to prevent Khamenei from crushing the protest movement, in order to provide the movement more of a chance to grow.

Israeli officials, as indicated above, are exploring whether the removal of Maduro will make action against the Iranian regime possible.

There are no indications that a final choice has yet been made, especially with Trump still deciding how to handle the aftermath in Venezuela of having abducted Maduro.

But there are indications that, for the first time, there may be a belief that an intervention to assist protesters, which is short of a major invasion to topple the regime, may be viable.

Yonah Jeremy Bob

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-882420

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Pahlavi dismisses calls for US-led regime change in Iran, predicts 'Cyrus Accord' with Israel - James Genn

 

by James Genn

Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi said regime change will be driven by Iranians themselves, rejecting foreign military intervention and predicting closer ties with Israel after the Islamic Republic’s

 

Supporters of regime change in Iran rally and hold posters of exiled Iranian opposition leader Reza Pahlavi outside the Wilshire Federal Building, on June 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

(photo credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

 

Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi does not believe that it is necessary for the US to extract Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and put him on trial for his crimes, downplaying chatter that the US military may conduct such an operation, similar to the extraction of Maduro from Caracas, Venezuela.

Pahlavi's comments came during an interview with the Wall Street Journal's Tunku Varadarajan via Zoom, published on Monday.

"I think that change in Iran is ultimately in the hands of the people of Iran themselves," he affirmed.

"Many governments have reasons to hold Khamenei accountable, but I think it will be far more appropriate for this to be solely in the hands of the Iranian people, and to have world governments be supportive" of their fight to free themselves, he added.

"I don't think it’s a matter of any kind of outside intervention, either a military or a special ops kind, because I think the regime is collapsing. The regime is at its weakest."

PRINCE REZA Pahlavi sits in his office in Washington. (credit: Courtesy/Secretariat of Reza Pahlavi)

Pahlavi also spoke about how the 2009 Green Movement protest group was "thrown under the bus" by the Obama administration. He also discussed how the protests following the murder of Mahsa Amini in 2022 were damaged as the Biden administration "allowed the Islamic regime to have access to over $200 billion of oil revenue they shouldn’t have had in the first place."

Pahlavi continued, "The regime utilized that money not to benefit the Iranian people and the economic situation, but to strengthen their proxies."

"This strengthening of proxies, in turn, led to the October 7 massacre, he continued.

"You have a very strong prime minister in Israel who is clearly on our side. I think that [US President Donald] Trump, unlike his predecessor, is definitely on a different path vis-à-vis what’s happening in Iran today. And you have Marco Rubio at the State Department. I believe he’s perhaps the first secretary of state ever since the Iranian revolution who truly gets it," Pahlavi said, praising the political echelons in both Jerusalem and Washington.

Pahlavi: Iran will form a 'Cyrus Accord' with Israel after the fall of the Islamic regime

Varadarajan asked Pahlavi if the crown prince believes Tehran would join the Abraham Accords after the fall of the Islamic regime.

"I think Tehran will elevate it to the 'Cyrus Accord' to make Iran part of that Abraham Accord group. That’s what I said two years ago when I was in Jerusalem and met with President Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu," he replied.

"I think there are only two countries on this planet that can claim to have a biblical relationship: Iran and Israel. This goes back 25 centuries. Cyrus the Great [c. 600-530 BCE] freed the Jewish slaves in Babylon and helped them rebuild their temple in Jerusalem," he noted.

"Today, we have serious water issues in Iran. The best experts in the field happen to be Israeli scientists. Part of the reason I went there is to discuss the matter with them and have a plan of action to immediately be able to attend to a problem that could become a major issue," he continued.

"This is not just rhetoric. Iranians believe that they will have a solid strategic partnership with Israel and with our Arab neighbors to make the Middle East get back on track. That’s part of the reason why the Abraham Accords were sabotaged by the regime in Iran," he added.

James Genn

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-882490

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The Iranian Uprising: The Time to Plan for This Potential Regional Conflict Is Before the Boats Leave Qeshm - Sara al Nuaimi

 

by Sara al Nuaimi

If Iran's current instability deepens into a full crisis, Iranians may attempt these crossings by boat. The proximity of Iran to the UAE makes it virtually inevitable.

 

• Iran... will almost certainly retaliate over what it sees as the UAE helping its citizens escape.

• If Iran's current instability deepens into a full crisis, Iranians may attempt these crossings by boat. The proximity of Iran to the UAE makes it virtually inevitable.

• Once boatloads of people fleeing Iran appear in UAE waters, the sequence becomes predictable. Media coverage will be immediate and global. The UAE will accept refugees. Iran -- regardless of UAE intentions -- will see this as the UAE helping their citizens escape during a national emergency, and most probably retaliate.

Iran partially controls the powerful pressure point, the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies transits, mostly to Europe and Asia. Iran has threatened this chokepoint during conflicts far less severe than a refugee crisis. A regime facing collapse may likely use every means of leverage available -- and Iran's most powerful lever is the Strait of Hormuz. Pictured: Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, on January 15, 2011. (Photo by Marwan Naamani/AFP via Getty Images)

On December 29, protests erupted among shopkeepers in Tehran, Zanjan, and Hamadan -- all clustered in Iran's north and west. Then came Qeshm, isolated on the southern coast.

That location matters. Qeshm Island sits just 60 kilometers across the Strait of Hormuz from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That is roughly the distance from Manhattan to Philadelphia, and far shorter than most successful Mediterranean crossings from Syria to Europe.

If Iran's current instability deepens into a full crisis, Iranians may well attempt these crossings by boat. The proximity of Iran to the UAE makes it virtually inevitable.

Once boatloads of people fleeing Iran appear in UAE waters, the sequence becomes predictable. Media coverage will be immediate and global. The UAE will accept refugees. Iran -- regardless of UAE intentions -- will see this as the UAE helping their citizens escape during a national emergency, and most probably retaliate.

In Middle Eastern political contexts, the relationship between the government and the governed runs like an extended kinship network, not a Western social contract. The bonds run deeper than policy or politics. When you threaten to separate people from their state during a crisis, it is as if you are ripping apart a family. The response might not be measured -- it may well be extreme.

Consider what just happened between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. On December 30, 2025, Saudi Arabia, regardless of UAE intentions, bombed the Yemeni port of Mukalla. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are close allies -- members of the same Gulf Cooperation Council, partners in the same military coalition fighting Houthis in Yemen and others for nearly a decade.

If close allies can come to blows over Yemen, Iran -- already viewing the UAE with suspicion -- will almost certainly retaliate over what it sees as the UAE helping its citizens escape. Iran-backed forces already struck Abu Dhabi in 2022 over UAE involvement in Yemen. A refugee crisis could trigger worse.

Iran partially controls the powerful pressure point, the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies transits, mostly to Europe and Asia. Iran has threatened this chokepoint during conflicts far less severe than a refugee crisis. A regime facing collapse may likely use every means of leverage available -- and Iran's most powerful lever is the Strait of Hormuz.

Sara al Nuaimii is an Emirati writer living in Abu Dhabi.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22174/iran-uprising-hormuz

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Israel, Morocco deepen 2026 defense ties - JNS Staff

by JNS Staff

The two countries signed a joint military work plan in Tel Aviv, marking five years since Abraham Accords-era renewed diplomatic relations.

 

Members of the Moroccan royal armed forces (FAR) take part in the joint US military exercise "African Lion" in the Tan-Tan region in southwestern Morocco on May 31, 2024. Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images.

Israel and Morocco signed a joint military work plan for 2026 following their third Joint Military Committee meeting in Tel Aviv this week, marking five years since the Abraham Accords restored diplomatic ties between the nations..

The weeklong discussions included visits to Israeli military units, defense facilities and strategic planning sessions focused on force-building and shared security objectives, according to Monday’s Israeli military statement.

“The meeting marks another milestone in deepening defense cooperation between Israel and Morocco—key partners in promoting regional stability and security—and coincides with the fifth anniversary of the renewal of relations under the Abraham Accords,” the IDF said.

Rabat and Jerusalem normalized relations in December 2020 under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, which also established diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

JNS Staff

Source: https://www.jns.org/israel-morocco-deepen-2026-defense-ties/

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House panel directs $5 million to protect religious sites, fight hate crimes - Andrew Bernard

 

by Andrew Bernard

“This new program will start to alleviate that burden at a crucial moment when antisemitic crimes have skyrocketed,” Nathan Diament, executive director of the OU Advocacy Center, told JNS.

 

View of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, Aug. 25, 2025. Credit: Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90.

The House Appropriations Committee released a bill on Monday that would direct $5 million in federal funding to protect religious sites and fight the surge in religiously motivated hate crimes, including Jew-hatred.

The bipartisan, bicameral legislation releases funding held in reserve by the U.S. Department of Justice geared to “combat, address or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime,” and in this case to “address the precipitous increases in hate crimes targeting individuals on the basis of religion.”

Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, told JNS that the grant is intended to support the Jewish community as it continues to face steep security costs.

“Jewish communities have been forced to pay what amounts to an ‘antisemitism tax’ to fund private security guards, because local law enforcement does not have the resources to meet the rise in antisemitic threats,” Diament said. “This new program will start to alleviate that burden at a crucial moment when antisemitic crimes have skyrocketed.”

Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, told JNS that the funding would make it easier for religious sites to hire security staff.

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“In recent years, there has been a significant rise in attacks on houses of worship of Americans of many faiths, including the Jewish community,” Meng said. “This bipartisan win will help stop incidents before they occur and builds on existing programs that help at-risk institutions enhance their physical security.”

The funding for the security grant is separate from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s larger Non-Profit Security Grant Program, which distributed $94.4 million to Jewish organizations in 2025.

Formally titled the “Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026,” the bill enjoys bipartisan support but prompted strongly partisan reactions from the chair and ranking member of the committee.

“Gone are the days of bloated, backroom omnibuses,” panel chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) stated. “Thanks to Republican governance, funding decisions will move through a deliberate, member-driven process that emphasizes transparency, accountability and timely consideration.

Ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said that the bill was a “forceful rejection of draconian cuts to public services proposed by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.”

“There is not a single Republican poison pill provision in this bill,” DeLauro wrote. “Democrats successfully defeated every single one.”

Cole wrote that if the bill moves forward, the House will stay on track to complete all of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills before federal funding expires on Jan. 30. 

Andrew Bernard

Source: https://www.jns.org/house-panel-directs-5-million-to-protect-religious-sites-fight-hate-crimes/

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Trump warns Iran will be hit ‘very hard’ if regime kills protesters - JNS Staff

 

by JNS Staff

Nineteen dead over eight days of unrest in the Islamic Republic.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One en route to Washington on Jan. 4, 2026. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

The Islamic regime will get “hit very hard” if it starts killing protesters, U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday, upping his rhetoric as demonstrations continued for the eighth day.

Washington is monitoring the situation “very closely,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, asked about his warning on Friday that the U.S. would come to the protesters’ rescue.

“If they start killing people, like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump reiterated.

In a Friday post on the Truth Social social media platform, the president had threatened that the United States was “locked and loaded and ready to go” if the regime killed protesters, which he said was Iran’s “custom.” Trump vowed “the United States of America will come to their rescue.”

At least 19 protesters and one member of the security forces have been killed during eight days of protests that have spread to 200 sites, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a U.S.-based press association established by human rights advocates, said on Sunday.

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Protests intensified across dozens of cities overnight on Sunday, with regime forces responding with live fire and widespread arrests, Iran International, an opposition outlet headquartered in London, reported on Monday morning.

Anger over soaring inflation and a plunging currency has accelerated the biggest protest movement in three years. The Islamic regime is also grappling with economic sanctions over its nuclear program, as well as its worst water crisis in decades and a worsening electricity shortage.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has plans to escape to Moscow should security forces fail to suppress protests or desert, according to an intelligence report shared with The Times of London on Sunday evening.

Khamenei’s plans are reportedly based on the escape of his former ally, Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who fled Damascus for Russia before jihadi-led opposition forces took control of the capital in December 2024.

Khamenei and up to 20 other top regime officials “have plotted an exit route out of Tehran should they feel the need to escape,” including by “gathering assets, properties abroad and cash to facilitate their safe passage,” The Times cited an intelligence source as saying.

A psychological profile of Khamenei prepared by a Western intelligence agency and seen by The Times said the 86-year-old leader was “weaker, both mentally and physically,” since June’s 12-day war with Israel.

For the duration of the war, Khamenei holed up in a bunker, feeding his “obsession with survival,” the assessment read, calling him “paranoid.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced support for the protests on Sunday, telling reporters he stands with all Iranians seeking freedom and that this may be a pivotal moment in their fight.

“The government of Israel, the State of Israel, and my policy: We identify with the struggle of the Iranian people, with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice,” he stated at a Cabinet meeting.

“It is very possible that we are standing at the moment when the Iranian people are taking their fate into their own hands,” Netanyahu declared. 

JNS Staff

Source: https://www.jns.org/trump-warns-iran-will-be-hit-very-hard-if-regime-kills-protesters/

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