Iran is letting it be known that its proxies could lanch attacks against American assets across the Middle East….
The US HAS annouced it will be carrying out military ‘exercises ‘ in the region….
Some observers belive these actions are a preclude to direct attacks , or a typical Trump warning threat?….
Protest death toll numbers vary among organiztion’s on the ground in Iran….
The Iranian government is bracing itself for a fresh US and Israeli missile assault after it was announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has now deployed key assets to the region, observers have said.
It is thought that Washington has the firepower in conjunction with Israeli aircraft to mount an attack designed to topple the government accused of brutally suppressing protests and killing thousands of Iranians.
The US fleet including several guided-missile destroyers are not yet in final position but are already in striking range of Iran. It is by no means certain that further US attacks on Iran will reignite the street protests, as many Iranians opposed to the clerical leadership in power since 1979 are also opposed to externally imposed regime change.
With no signs of a diplomatic breakthrough imminent, the Iranian stock market suffered a record daily fall on Monday. Regional powers including the United Arab Emirates declared they will not allow their airspace or territorial waters to be used to mount an attack on Iran but the presence of the carrier strike group in the Mediterranean means permission will not be needed from many third parties for an attack. Over the weekend, the US military announced that it would carry out an exercise in the region “to demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower”.
Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, claimed the US was trying to destroy Iran’s social cohesion before an attack. He said Donald Trump’s effort to portray “the country as being in a state of emergency is itself a form of warfare, and this is exactly what the enemies are seeking to achieve. The rioters constitute an urban group with terrorist-like characteristics. When they rush toward military and police centres to obtain weapons, it indicates that they are seeking to provoke a civil war. This time, the US tactic is to first break public cohesion and only then carry out a military attack.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, speaking at his weekly press conference said it was a lie to suggest that the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in touch with the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, to discuss a possible diplomatic deal.
Witkoff has recently been raising his demands to include the return of UN weapons inspectors, the removal of all Iranian highly enriched uranium and curtailment of Iran’s missile programme.
Baghaei added that Iran’s armed forces are “carefully monitoring every movement” and warned that sending forces and making threats “goes against the principles of the international system” and threatened that “if these principles are violated, insecurity will befall everyone”. He then said “we will give a comprehensive and regrettable response to any aggression”.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the chief justice, called for Iran not to return to the negotiating table.
Trump held off from an attack on Iran a fortnight ago in the midst of the protests fearing he had not been offered decisive options to remove the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, from power or a detailed battle plan for how Israel would be protected from Iranian reprisals. Many Iranians resent Trump’s failure so far to hold good on his promise to come to the help of the protesters. The US administration remains divided whether to push for what amounts to regime change in a country of 90 million people….
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ISW….Iran Update, January 26, 2026
- The Axis of Resistance’s Efforts to Deter a US Attack on Iran: Several members of Iran’s Axis of Resistance have threatened to retaliate if the United States attacks Iran, likely to try to deter the United States from attacking Iran. These militias are very likely observing and reacting to ongoing discussions in Western and Israeli media about US concerns about a protracted conflict in the Middle East and likely seek to exploit these concerns by threatening to expand a potential conflict. Some members of the Axis of Resistance, particularly Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, face domestic constraints that may limit their ability to retaliate if the United States attacks Iran.
- Repairs at Natanz Nuclear Complex: Iran has covered the anti-drone cage at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at the Natanz Nuclear Complex with panels, which the Institute for Science and International Security previously assessed are meant to allow Iran to explore the rubble at the site discreetly. It is unclear if Iran has repaired the anti-drone cage under the panels.
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