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Jan 9, 2026 - World

As President Donald Trump continues to threaten to attack Iran should it harm protesters, its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, issued a grave prediction Friday that Trump’s downfall was fast approaching.Sparked by an ongoing economic crisis, demonstrations have erupted across Iran, and in turn, Khamenei has vowed to crack down on protesters he accused of working on behalf of Trump, whose administration has long sought to topple Iran’s government. Trump made an explicit threat Thursday that his administration would “hit them very hard” should Iran harm any protesters, bragging that the United States was “ready to do it.”Khamenei took to social media on Friday, however, to attack Trump for his open threats, and offered a bleak prediction for the president’s immediate future.“The U.S. President who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants & arrogant rulers of the world, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Mohammad Reza [Pahlavi] & other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris,” Khamenei wrote in a social media post on X. “He too will fall.”Khamenei has frequently taken sharp jabs at Trump over social media, having taunted him last October over what he characterized as Trump’s premature celebration that the United States had destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Khamenei also mocked Trump in November for his failure to end the war in Ukraine, something Trump said he would end within “24 hours” of being elected.Later on Friday, Khamenei took another dig at Trump over his threats to Iran, and urged him to focus more on managing “his own country.”“The US President has said that if the Iranian govt. does such-and-such, I’ll take the side of the rioters,” Khamenei wrote in a social media post on X. “The rioters have put their hopes in him. If he’s so capable, he should manage his own country.”Iran’s supreme leader has also demonstrated an odd tendency to offer advice on love and marriage on social media, with a number of his older social media posts going viral last summer that show him declaring women to be “stronger than men,” and condemning violence against women.The US President who judges arrogantly about the whole world should know that tyrants & arrogant rulers of the world, such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Mohammad Reza [Pahlavi] & other such rulers saw their downfall when they were at the peak of their hubris. He too will fall.— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 9, 2026

Jan 9, 2026 - World

A proposed military action against Greenland would "crumble alliance" with NATO nations and spells disaster for public approval, a veteran has warned. The White House has suggested acquiring Greenland is a matter of national security, and that they would move to take over the country. This has been met with opposition from both Greenland's officials and Danish members of parliament. Donald Trump and members of the administration are keen to take the country into their possession for matters of national security. But an Iraq War veteran believes sentiment for the war would be broadly negative, with a "disillusioned" public turning on the administration more than they already have. Problems could also come with the damage an invasion of Greenland does to NATO members. Patrick Murphy, who served as the 32nd Under Secretary of the U.S. Army and is an Iraq War combat veteran, said a military operation in Greenland would be a point of no return for the US. He told The Mirror US, "A military takeover of Greenland is certainly possible. But it's absolutely not practical. Military action would put the most strain on Article 5 since the creation of NATO, and it would effectively crumble our alliance. It would snap our last threads of allyship with European nations, and they're our strongest allies."NATO, the North Atlantic treaty Organization, has 32 member states, 30 of which are in Europe. Article 5 of NATO states that an armed attack against one NATO member is an attack against all. While military action in Greenland would need congressional approval, it has not stopped some from worrying about how the public mood would turn should such a strike happen. Murphy said, "I'm hoping this is just irresponsible rhetoric. I hope and pray that America goes back to our roots as a reluctant warrior who honors our NATO commitments with our closest allies.""The American people are fatigued of conflict abroad and would be further disillusioned by conflict with one of our historic allies." He added that "a majority of Americans understand that Europeans are [our] closest and most reliable allies in this world."

Jan 9, 2026 - World

Two conservative commentators showered praise on President Donald Trump’s fixation on acquiring Greenland Friday during an appearance on Newsmax, both of whom aggressively defended the proposed land grab on the basis of the island’s vast mineral resources.Trump has floated the idea of the United States acquiring Greenland since 2019, and in recent months, has ramped up those calls, telling reporters on Sunday “we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.” Greenland is currently a territory of Denmark, though operates autonomously with its own government.Rebecca Grant, vice president of the conservative think tank the Lexington Institute, joined Newsmax Friday to champion the idea of the United States acquiring Greenland, which she compared to a “house you always wanted,” only a house flush with vast mineral resources.“It's like that house on your block that you always wanted, you keep making an offer,” Grant said. “Trump is right! Greenland has got to be better defended and he's pushing Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. to figure out how to make that happen. And don't forget! Strategic critical minerals there, too!”Evidence exists that Greenland is, in fact, lush with “rare earth elements and critical minerals used for green energy technologies," the BBC reported, and is also suspected to hold significant fossil fuel reserves, with the Arctic possibly containing 30% of the planet’s undiscovered natural gas.Andrew Harding of the Heritage Foundation, another conservative think tank, argued that Trump was “absolutely correct” in his case for acquiring Greenland, and like Grant, couldn’t help but note the Arctic island’s vast mineral resources.“It's very important [the United States acquire Greenland] when we see an aggressive Russia, also a China that claims to become an Arctic power once we were involved in the region, but then also from the economic angle,” Harding said.“[We should make] sure that the United States and its allies can have access to critical minerals that are essential, not only for the military weapons that we have today that keep Americans and our allies safe, but also for the products [and] technology that come tomorrow.”

Jan 9, 2026 - World

In a late-night post on Truth Social, Donald Trump announced he had planned a second wave of military operations against Venezuela but claimed to have cancelled them after stating the country is cooperating with his administration.The presidential announcement came hours after a bipartisan group of Senate Republicans and all Senate Democrats advanced a war powers resolution that would handcuff the president's authority to use U.S. armed forces in Venezuela.The president did not mention that rare setback, and instead wrote, “Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of ‘Seeking Peace.’ This is a very important and smart gesture. The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure.”He added, “Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes. At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT”You can see his post here.

Jan 9, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump told Fox News he would accept Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado's offer to share her Nobel Peace Prize.Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity earlier this week she would share the award that Trump publicly covets, and the president told the same broadcaster on Thursday night that he would accept if she makes the offer when they meet next week, reported the Washington Post."I understand she's coming in next week sometime and I look forward to saying hello to her, and I've heard that she wants to do that," Trump told Hannity. "That would be a great honor. I did put out eight wars – eight and a quarter, because, you know, Thailand and Cambodia started going at it again. I give a quarter."Machado won the opposition primary in Venezuela two years ago but barred from running in the general election by Nicolás Maduro, who then claimed victory over a candidate Machado had backed in an election determined by independent ballot audits as invalid.She had been living in hiding in Venezuela before the U.S. invasion last week that deposed Maduro, who was taken to a New York City jail to face criminal charges, and she appeared on Fox News days after the military action to discuss her plans after the strongman's removal."I do want to say today, on behalf of the Venezuelan people, how grateful we are for [Trump’s] courageous mission,” Machado said on Hannity’s show this week, and the host asked whether her rumored offer to share the prize with Trump were true."It hasn't happened yet, but I certainly would love to personally tell him that we believe, the Venezuelan people believe – this is a prize of the Venezuelan people – so we want to give it to him, share it with him," Machado said. "What he has done, as I said, is historic, it's a huge step towards a democratic transition."Trump announced after the military operation Saturday that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela with cooperation by Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president, but the Post previously reported, according to two sources close to the White House, that Trump was not willing to support Machado as the new leader because she had accepted the Nobel prize he covets.“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one of those sources told the newspaper.