12/01/2026

MONDAY | JAN 12, 2026

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Iran vows to strike US bases and ships if attacked

NICARAGUA FREES POLITICAL PRISONERS SAN JOSE: Nicaragua said on Saturday it had freed “tens” of detainees, following US pressure and a week after American forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, a close Managua ally. “Tens of people who were in the national penitentiary system have gone home to their families,” the government said in a statement published online, calling it a gesture to commemorate 19 years of rule by President Daniel Ortega, 80. On Friday, the US embassy in Nicaragua posted a statement that hailed a promised release of political prisoners in Venezuela. It said that in Nicaragua, however, “more than 60 people remain detained or disappeared”. – AFP AMERICANS TOLD TO LEAVE CARACAS WASHINGTON: The US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs on Saturday warned that as international flights have resumed, US citizens in Venezuela “should leave the country immediately”. The bureau said the security situation in Venezuela “remains fluid” and there are “reports of groups of armed militias setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence of US citizenship or support for the United States”. US citizens are advised to “exercise caution” when travelling by road and to monitor airlines’ communications and websites for updated information. Venezuela has the highest travel advisory level, Level 4: Do Not Travel. – Bernama MADURO LOYALISTS STAGE MODEST RALLY CARACAS: Supporters of President Nicolas Maduro staged protests in the capital on Saturday, a week after his capture by US forces, as the interim government moved to revive ties with Washington and slowly released some prisoners. Waving flags and placards with the face of the mustachioed ex-leader and his wife Cilia, around 1,000 protesters rallied in the west of Caracas and a few hundred in the eastern Petare district, far smaller than demonstrations Maduro’s camp has mustered in the past. “I’ll march as often as I have to until Nicolas and Cilia come back,” protester Soledad Rodriguez, 69, said of the presidential couple who were taken by US forces to New York to face trial. – AFP RUSSIAN WOMAN DIES IN DRONE STRIKE MOSCOW: A woman died and three other people were injured in a drone attack on the southern Russian city of Voronezh on Saturday night. More than 10 apartment buildings, about 10 private houses, a secondary school and several administrative buildings were damaged in the attack on the city, the region’s Governor Alexander Gusev said yesterday.“Our city was subjected to one of the heaviest drone attacks since the start of the special military operation,” Gusev said, using Moscow’s term for its war in Ukraine. Ukraine says it strikes targets inside Russia to disrupt the Kremlin’s war effort and in response to missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. – Reuters

BR I E F S

o Israel on ‘high-alert’

DUBAI: yesterday threatened to retaliate against Israel and US bases in the event of US strikes on Iran, delivering the warning to Washington as Israeli sources said Israel was on high alert for the possibility of any US intervention. With Iran’s clerical establishment facing the biggest anti-government protests since 2022, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in recent days, warning Iranian leaders against using force against demonstrators. On Saturday, Trump said the US stands “ready to help”. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaking in parliament yesterday, warned the United States against “a miscalculation”. “Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Mohammad, a former commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Three Israeli sources, who were present for Israeli security consultations over the weekend, said Israel was on a high alert footing, but did not elaborate on what that meant. Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June, in which the US joined Israel in launching airstrikes. Iran retaliated for those US strikes by firing missiles at an American air base in Qatar. Protests have spread across Iran since Dec 28, beginning in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule. Authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting unrest. Tehran

Pro-government protesters marching in Khorramabad, western Iran. – IRAN PRESS/AFPPIC

in US custody for governmental and diplomatic purposes and is not subject to private claims. “President Trump is preventing the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue that could undermine critical US efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela,” the White House said in a fact sheet. A US agreement with Venezuela’s interim leaders would provide up to 50 million barrels of crude oil to the US, where refineries are specially equipped to refine it. – Reuters opposition was trying to keep up pressure until key government figures either flee or switch sides, while the authorities were trying to sow enough fear to clear the streets without giving the US justification to intervene, the official said. Israel has not signalled a desire to intervene, with tensions between the two arch-foes high over Israeli concerns about Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. In an interview with the Economist published on Friday, Netanyahu said there would be horrible consequences for Iran if it were to attack Israel. Alluding to the protests, he said: “Everything else, I think we should see what is happening inside Iran.” – Reuters

custody of a woman accused of violating dress codes. Trump, posting on social media on Saturday, said: “Iran is looking at freedom, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” In a phone call on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran, according to an Israeli source who was present for the conversation. A US official confirmed the two men spoke but did not say what topics they discussed. A senior US intelligence official on Saturday described the situation in Iran as an “endurance game”. The

The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout imposed by the authorities since Thursday. Iranian state TV broadcast funeral processions in western Iranian cities like Gachsaran and Yasuj for security forces killed in protests. A social media video posted on Saturday showed large crowds gathered in Tehran’s Punak neighbourhood at night, drumming rhythmically on a bridge or other metal objects in an apparent sign of protest. Reuters verified the location. Iran’s rulers have quelled repeated bouts of unrest, most recently in 2022 over the death in

Trump blocks courts from seizing oil revenue WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at blocking courts or creditors from impounding revenue tied to the sale of Venezuelan oil held in US Treasury accounts, the White House said on Saturday. longstanding claims against the country. Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, for example, left Venezuela nearly 20 years ago after their assets were nationalised. Both are still owed billions of dollars. ConocoPhillips is the largest non a lot of its money back, but the US would start with a clean slate. “We’re not going to look at what people lost in the past because that was their fault,”Trump said before asking Lance how much ConocoPhillips lost in Venezuela.

Lance said his company was owed US$12 billion (RM48.9 billion). “Well, good write-off,”Trump said. Saturday’s order does not mention any specific company. It declares that the money is the sovereign property of Venezuela held

sovereign credit holder in Venezuela, its CEO Ryan Lance told Trump during a White House meeting on Friday, adding that the US government has an opportunity to restore what has been lost. Trump said ConocoPhillips will get

The emergency order said the revenue, held in foreign government deposit funds, should be used in Venezuela to help create “peace, prosperity and stability”. The order was signed on Friday. Several companies have

Allied forces attack IS in Syria WASHINGTON: US and allied forces carried out “large-scale” strikes against the IS group in Syria on Saturday, the US military said, the latest response to an attack last month that killed three Americans. US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees American military forces in the region, said strikes

Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter were killed on Dec 13 after a gunman ambushed them in Palmyra, home to Unesco-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by the group. Syria’s Interior Ministry later said the gunman was a member of the security forces who had been set to be fired for extremism. – AFP

attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra,” Centcom said. Jordan’s air force also carried out targeted air strikes against IS as part of the operation, its military said yesterday. It said in a statement it struck “a number of targets ... in several areas within Syria territory”.

“targeted IS throughout Syria”. Centcom’s post on X did not give specifics on where they took place. Grainy aerial video accompanying the post showed explosions, apparently in rural areas. The strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched “in direct response to the deadly IS