13/01/2026

TUESDAY | JAN 13, 2026

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Iran ready for either dialogue or war

GAZA: Palestinians in the Gaza Strip staged a protest on Sunday as humanitarian and environmental conditions continued to deteriorate to catastrophic levels following Israel’s two-year-long genocide. Demonstrators at a refugee camp in Gaza City carried banners reading, “Enough with injustice and neglect”, “An epidemic is threatening us”, and “Trash is everywhere”. Protesters called on the UN to fulfil its responsibilities and stand with the people of Gaza. Eylin, a Palestinian girl displaced by Israeli attacks, told an Anadolu correspondent, “We live in tents that offer no protection.” She said,“Children and people are dying because of disease, rodents, and extreme cold. We want to rebuild our lives and need homes.” Said Akluk, an official with Gaza’s Health Ministry, said the Gaza Strip lacks waste collection systems. He said attacks have made it impossible to transport garbage to landfills outside residential areas under hygienic conditions. Akluk said tents do not meet even minimum standards, contributing to the spread of infectious diseases. He said rodents and insects have multiplied because Israel has banned the entry of pest control products. He said authorities have received reports of stray animal attacks. ISTANBUL: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark is facing a “fateful moment”. “We are at a crossroads and this is a moment of destiny,” she said during a panel debate at the Social Liberal Party’s New Year meeting in the Danish city of Nyborg on Sunday, where she was pressed on whether Copenhagen has a concrete plan if the US were to use military force. She declined to discuss specific measures, saying the situation must be addressed at a more fundamental level. “What is at stake is bigger than what the eye can see, because if what we are experiencing from the American side is that one is turning one’s back on the Western alliance, on Nato cooperation by threatening an ally, then everything stops there,” she said. Trump has said Washington would “do something about Greenland”, warning that if it does not happen “the easy way”, it would happen “the hard way”, and claiming that China or Russia could otherwise take control of the Arctic island. Frederiksen also spoke of a planned meeting between the foreign ministers of the US, Denmark and Greenland, saying the goal would be to firmly present the Danish position. “There are things we cannot compromise on. There will be moments where you can only choose between what is right and what is wrong, an she said. Greenlandic political leaders have also issued a joint statement rejecting any idea of becoming part of the US. – Bernama Denmark faces fateful moment

EXERCISE RESTRAINT, TEHRAN TOLD ISTANBUL: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Iranian authorities on Sunday to exercise “maximum restraint” and avoid “unnecessary, disproportionate” force against protesters. “The secretary-general is shocked by the reports of violence,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Guterres emphasised all Iranians must be able to express their “grievances” peacefully without fear, stating rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly enshrined in international law must be “fully respected and protected”. The UN chief also called for steps enabling access to information in the country, including restoring communications. – Bernama WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Sunday he plans to speak with Elon Musk about restoring internet in Iran, where authorities have blacked out services for four days. “He’s very good at that kind of thing, he’s got a very good company,”Trump told reporters in response to a question about whether he would engage with Musk’s SpaceX company, which offers a satellite internet service called Starlink that has been used in Iran. Musk and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Starlink satellite service has been used in other regions marked by unrest or conflict such as Ukraine, where Musk in 2022 ordered a shutdown during a pivotal Ukrainian offensive. – Reuters SON OF OUSTED SHAH STIRS THE POT PARIS: The US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah urged Iranian government workers and security forces on Sunday to join the swelling protest movement in the Islamic republic. “Employees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice: stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people,” Reza Pahlavi posted on social media. Pahlavi, who has emerged as an opposition figurehead, also called for replacing the flags outside of Iranian embassies with the pre-Islamic revolution one. “The time has come for them to be adorned with Iran’s national flag.” – AFP ISRAEL SIGNS SECURITY PACT WITH GERMANY TEL AVIV: Israel and Germany signed a security pact on Sunday to expand cooperation on counterterrorism and cyber defence, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. “Iran and its proxies threaten not only Israel but also regional stability and international security,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said. “The declaration anchors deep cooperation with Germany in the fields of cyber security, counterterrorism and advanced technologies. Enemies should know our eyes are on them.” The declaration was signed by Netanyahu and visiting German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. – AFP CALL TO RESTORE STARLINK IN IRAN

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former commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. The protests began on Dec 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iranians, who are struggling to make ends meet, have grown increasing resentful of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, whose business interests including oil and gas, construction and telecommunications are worth billions of dollars. State TV yesterday aired live footage of large crowds attending a funeral procession for security forces killed in Shahrud and pro government demonstrations in cities such as Kerman, Zahedan and Birjand, held “in condemnation of recent terrorist events”. It also relayed calls from senior officials inviting people to take to the streets yesterday. Iranian authorities accused the US and Israel of fomenting trouble and called for a nationwide rally to condemn “terrorist actions led by the United States and Israel”, state media reported. The situation in Iran is “under total control” after violence linked to protests spiked over the weekend, said Araqchi. He said Trump’s warning against Tehran of action should protests turn bloody had motivated “terrorists” to target protesters and security forces in order to invite foreign intervention. – Reuters

o Trump considers military options

DUBAI: President Donald Trump said the US may meet Iranian officials and was in contact with the opposition, as he weighed a range of strong responses including military options to a crackdown on protests. “We are ready for war but also for dialogue,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi (pic) said yesterday in a briefing to foreign ambassadors in Tehran via English translation. Trump has warned Iran’s leaders that the United States would attack if security forces open fire on protesters. US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested. Iran has not given an official toll and Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies. Trump said on Sunday that Iran had called to negotiate its nuclear programme, which Israel and the US bombed in a 12-day war in June. “Iran wants to negotiate, yes. We might meet with them. A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting, but a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. Trump was to meet senior

advisers today to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. The Wall Street Journal had reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti government sources. “The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington 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 Qalibaf, a

Palestinians protest as humanitarian crisis worsens

Israeli soldiers take position during a military operation in the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday. – AFPPIC

Palestinians are struggling to survive in makeshift tents with no protection from severe cold, rain and wind, and that the lack of shelter, health care and heating has left infants and children in particular facing life threatening risks. – Bernama

said that despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct 10 last year Israel has continued violations in Gaza and restricted the entry of aid, worsening the humanitarian catastrophe. It said hundreds of thousands of

Since the start of winter, 21 Palestinians have died from the cold in the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian crisis has worsened due to the Israeli blockade, attacks and widespread displacement. Gaza’s Government Media Office