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UPDATE: 5:30 PM CET
Trump’s New Ukraine Envoy Issues Warning to Iran, Says ‘Maximum Pressure Must Be Reinstated’
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, recently said the United States must return to the policy of “maximum pressure” and that the Iranian regime’s weakness has reopened what the future of Iran will look like.
“I believe this year should be considered a year of hope, it should be considered a year of action, and it should be considered a year of change,” Kellogg, who served in Trump’s first administration, said at an event sponsored by an Iranian opposition group, The National Council of Resistance of Iran, in Paris.
The retired lieutenant general said that Iran’s development and acquisition of a nuclear weapon would be the most destabilizing event for the Middle East. Kellogg reminded the opposition group that then-President Trump walked away from the Iran nuclear deal during his first term, even with opposition from those who served in the first administration.
UPDATE: 7:00 AM CET
Iran’s Regime Futile Efforts to Whitewash Its Strategic Defeat in Syria
Since Iran’s regime lost one of its most coveted investments with the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has made four speeches offering empty promises to his audience. Without presenting a clear position or directive, he makes promises to IRGC Basij forces, asserting that Syria will improve, Lebanon and Yemen remain part of the “Axis of Resistance,” and the “Resistance Front” is still intact.
In all four speeches, Khamenei tried to convince his audience that Syria remains unaffected and that the expenses were for ensuring security. To dress the shaky foundation of the regime in the guise of “security,” he symbolically offers Lebanon’s and Syria’s loss to Iraq’s holy sites, trying to console his followers that the holy shrines in Karbala and Najaf still exist.
Iran’s Oil Reserves and the Looming Energy Crisis
Global media outlets have reported that a severe cold front is expected to envelop much of the Northern Hemisphere, impacting countries across Asia and Europe in the coming days. This weather phenomenon is likely to exacerbate existing energy challenges, particularly in Iran, where a shortage of fuel and electricity could lead to a serious crisis for both citizens and businesses.
Iran faces a paradoxical situation: while struggling with internal energy shortages, the regime has stored approximately 25 million barrels of oil in Shandong Port, China. Recent reports indicate that with China’s agreement, Iran has withdrawn several million barrels from these reserves to sell in global smuggling markets and convert them into cash.
Iran’s Worsening Power Crisis: A Looming Threat to Industries and Daily Life
Iran is grappling with a severe energy crisis that has already caused widespread disruption to daily life, paralyzed industries, and inflicted massive economic losses. With consecutive power outages during autumn and winter, the situation is expected to worsen significantly in the coming months. Minister of Energy Abbas Aliabadi warned on Sunday, January 5, during a meeting with parliamentarians, that the country is facing a more critical summer ahead, with an anticipated electricity deficit of 25,000 megawatts by the summer of 2025.
Aliabadi bluntly stated that “big dissatisfaction” is on the horizon, emphasizing that while people can endure winter by wearing warm clothing, surviving summer without electricity will be far more difficult. This term, “dissatisfaction,” is often used by Iranian officials to refer to the widening gap between energy production and consumption.
Iran’s Household Budgets: Rising Costs and Growing Economic Strain
The Central Bank of Iran’s latest report on household budgets in 2024 reveals alarming statistics. The average annual gross expenditure for an urban household was over 340 million tomans, equivalent to approximately 28.5 million tomans per month, marking a staggering 48.3% increase compared to 2022. This significant rise highlights a growing disparity between incomes and expenses in Iranian society, as the minimum wage in 2024 stood at only 5.308 million tomans.
Amid an annual inflation rate of around 52%, as announced by the Central Bank, the report identifies housing as the largest expense for Iranian families, accounting for an average of 34.7% of total spending. Food followed closely at 29.9%, reflecting a 44% increase in household budgets compared to 2022. These figures underscore a sharp decline in purchasing power, particularly given that workers’ salaries increased by only 27% in 2022. The average urban household size in this report is 3.29 people.
Tragedy in Qom’s Langarud Prison: Woman Sets Herself Ablaze in Protest, Faces Inhumane Treatment
On Friday, January 10, 2025, a female prisoner named Fatemeh Lotfi set herself on fire in Langarud Prison, Qom, in protest against her prolonged uncertainty and lack of resolution regarding her case. Instead of transferring her to a burn center, prison officials sent her to a psychiatric hospital. After just one day and without receiving any proper treatment, she was returned to prison and confined to solitary confinement.
Fatemeh Lotfi, imprisoned on charges related to drug offenses, suffered severe burns, blisters, and infections after the incident. Nevertheless, the prison staff cruelly moved her to the psychiatric hospital without appropriate medical care. Despite her critical condition, she was brought back to Langarud Prison the next day, shackled hands, and feet, and left in solitary confinement.
Iran: Theft of “70,000 Liters” of Jet Fuel Per Day from Bandar Abbas Pipeline
Mojtaba Ghahramani, Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province in southern Iran has provided new details about a fuel theft pipeline in Bandar Abbas, revealing that the illegal pipeline branched off the main fuel transfer line and extended for two kilometers. He stated that the illegal pipeline extracted approximately “70,000 liters” of jet fuel daily from the main line. On January 11, Ghahramani told Iranian state television that inspections of the discovered equipment and evaluations of pipe corrosion and rust indicate that the thieves had been using this pipeline for a long time.
The Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province also said on January 11, “The value of the illegal pipeline itself is approximately 40 billion rials, and it appears that the thieves possessed the technical expertise and necessary information.”
Iran’s Health Ministry: 30,692 Deaths Due to Air Pollution Last Year
Abbas Shahsavani, head of the Air Health and Climate Change Group at Iran’s Health Ministry, announced that based on monitoring a statistical population of 48 million, 30,692 deaths were attributed to air pollution last year.
He also stated that the number of visits to public health centers for non-infectious respiratory illnesses has increased by approximately 30% since December 22, 2024. The number of deaths due to air pollution last year increased by 4,385, approximately 17%, compared to the previous year.
Previously, Shahsavani reported that an average of 26,307 deaths from air pollution were recorded in 2022, marking an increase of over 26% compared to 2021.
Iran’s Industries Face Complete Power Shutdown Amid Growing Crisis
Ali-Mohammad Abouei, chairman of the board of the Iranian regime’s Steel Rolling Association, criticized the governance of the Iranian regime and stated that there is a possibility of a complete power outage for industries in the coming days. According to the state-run Eghtesad Online website, Ali-Mohammad Abouei emphasized, “I have no good news for steel industry activists. There are reports from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade and the Ministry of Interior indicating that orders have been issued to completely cut off power to industries.”
Abouei, sarcastically pointing out the contradictory behavior of the Minister of Energy, said, “When Mr. Ali-Abadi was Minister of Industry and Mines, he used to say that industrialists could legally sue the Ministry of Energy for damages caused by power outages, and now he himself is the Minister of Energy.”
Dorchester, UK – January 11, 2025: ‘Academics in Exile’ Exhibition Highlights Iran’s Human Rights Violations and Calls to End Executions
Dorchester, UK – January 11, 2025: Members of the Academics in Exile Association, supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), organized a book and photo exhibition for the second consecutive day to protest the death sentences imposed on political prisoners associated with the PMOI. They also highlighted the grave injustices perpetrated by Iran’s regime: over 1,000 executions in 2024, including 18 that were carried out on New Year’s Day alone.
MEK Supporters Rally in Vancouver to Demand Action Against Iranian Regime’s Executions
Vancouver, Canada – January 11, 2025: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK held a rally to advocate for a free and democratic Iran, urging the Canadian government to condemn the Iranian regime for over 1,000 executions that occurred in 2024. The rally highlighted the urgent need for international awareness and action regarding human rights violations in Iran, particularly the alarming rise in executions under the current regime. Participants called for solidarity with the Iranian people and emphasized the importance of holding the mullahs accountable for their crimes.
MEK Supporters Rally in Toronto to Demand Action Against Iranian Regime’s Executions
Toronto, Canada – January 11, 2025: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK held a rally to advocate for a free and democratic Iran, urging the Canadian government to condemn the Iranian regime for over 1,000 executions that occurred in 2024.
MEK Supporters Rally in Gothenburg, Demanding Action Against Iranian Regime and Solidarity with Political Prisoners
Gothenburg, Sweden — January 11, 2025: Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) gathered to protest against the regime of the mullahs. They expressed their support for the Iranian Resistance, led by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and her Ten-Point Plan for the future of Iran.