Links to nine reports: from Agence France-Presse, Le Figaro, the Cradle, the Associated Press, and Middle East Eye, to commentary via Middle East Eye, and to an analysis from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for IRAN 1-26-26 and LEBANON, GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM
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NEWER U.S. mulls ‘precision strikes’ on Iranian leaders amid military buildup: report. From the Cradle. Washington is mulling “precision strikes” on “high-value” Iranian officials and military leaders whom the U.S. holds responsible for the “deaths of protesters,” a Gulf source told Middle East Eye on Monday. READ MORE . . .
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Iran’s neighbors will be considered ‘hostile’ if territory used to launch attack: IRGC. From AFP. An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander warns that neighboring countries will be “considered hostile” if their “soil, sky, or waters” are used to attack Iran, after a U.S. carrier group arrived in Middle Eastern waters. READ MORE . . . Click HERE later for AFP (with Le Figaro) report in French, and HERE for others.
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NOTE: It is worth reading all three of the report just below and considering what each includes and doesn’t.
U.S. aircraft carrier enters Middle East region as Iran warns against attack. From AFP. WASHINGTON — A U.S. naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier has deployed to Middle Eastern waters, the U.S. said on Monday, as Tehran warned it was ready to hit back at any American attack launched in response to a crackdown on anti-government protests. READ MORE . . . Click HERE later for Jan. 26 report from the Cradle, and HERE for one from AP.
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Iran welcomes any process to prevent war, president tells Saudi crown prince in phone call, by Jaidaa Taha, Menna El-Din and Parisa Hafezi | Reuters Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call that Tehran always welcomes any process, within the framework of international law, that prevents war, Iranian media reported today. READ MORE . . .
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Activists say Iran’s crackdown has killed at least 6,159 people, as the country’s currency plunges, by Jon Gambrell | AP DUBAI — Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests has killed at least 6,159 people while many others still are feared dead, activists said today, as a U.S. aircraft carrier group arrived in the Middle East to lead any American military response to the crisis. Iran’s currency, the rial, meanwhile . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.
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Turkey plans buffer zone if Iran government falls, by Ragip Soylu | Middle East Eye Turkey is planning to establish a buffer zone on the Iranian side of the border if a worst-case scenario unfolds and the government in Tehran collapses. READ MORE . . .
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For Iran, another U.S.–Israeli attack would be an ‘existential war,‘ by Seyed Hossein Mousavian | Middle East Eye Iran is facing a crisis unlike any it has seen in decades. Between domestic unrest, economic instability and heightened tensions with the U.S. and Israel, Tehran is navigating a perilous landscape with profound regional and global implications. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JAN. 22 Iran: The Eurasian lock, by Abbas al-Zein | The Cradle In the corridors of U.S. strategic decision-making, Iran is no longer treated as a discrete regional file. Dealing with Tehran has become inseparable from great-power competition itself. READ MORE . . .
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