al Jazeera:
Iran-US: Tension lingers amid Trump’s threats, Tehran reopens airspace
By Tim Hume and Caolán Magee
Published On 15 Jan 2026
- Tensions are rising in the region after the United States began to withdraw some personnel from an airbase in Qatar amid growing fears of a renewed US-Iran conflict.
- Iran’s airspace has reopened to traffic after a temporary closure to most flights expired, with tracking data showing aircraft making their way towards Tehran.
- Protests that rocked Iran in the last few weeks have mostly subsided.
- Iran has released no official death toll, but authorities said more than 100 members of the security forces have been killed. Opposition activists said the toll is much higher and includes more than 1,000 protesters.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied that Tehran plans to execute antigovernment protesters, after US President Donald Trump said he had received assurances that killings of demonstrators in Iran had stopped.
(08:15 GMT)
Protests cooling down amid security clampdown
By Tohid Asadi
Reporting from Tehran
Since Monday, when we had a pro-government demonstration attended by hundreds of thousands of people, we have been witnessing fewer antigovernment protests across Tehran.
We have seen some protests in some small cities, but these have been sporadic. The situation has been cooling down to a certain extent.
This seems to be for several reasons. Firstly, the tightening of security measures. In addition to the Basij militia, you have special forces dealing with them.
The other factor is that many people who were protesting against economic conditions started to withdraw after they saw the unrest flaring into violence. But the public dissatisfaction regarding the economic deterioration is still out there.
The government says it has the situation under control in terms of security, and it is working to come up with measures to settle down the economic difficulties that people are facing.
Biar betul...?!!!
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/i/status/2011796499710296549
🇺🇸🇮🇷 TRUMP JUST DE-ESCALATED WITH IRAN
Not through State Department.
Not through Switzerland.
Not through Qatar.
Through Pakistan. At 1am.
Iran’s ambassador received the message overnight: No attack. Exercise restraint.
Brent crashed 2.5% within hours.
Why Pakistan? 959 kilometers of shared border. ISI-IRGC channels predating both governments. Geographic inevitability with plausible deniability.
Qatar offers neutrality. Pakistan offers something better: a channel where both sides claim they never talked.
Trump says he told them to behave. Iran says they showed strength. Neither capitulates publicly. The architecture lets both narratives survive.
72 hours ago the world watched Diego Garcia. Six B-2 bombers. Half the combat-ready stealth fleet. GBU-57 bunker busters designed for Fordow.
Wing of Zion evacuated to Greece. The exact pattern preceding June 2025.
Every signal pointed to war.
Then a message moved through Islamabad at 1am and the calculus inverted.
The buildup was never preparation for strikes.
It was leverage for this moment.
Trump proved in June he would act. Seven B-2s. Fourteen bunker busters. Largest strike of its kind in history.
Now he is proving he can restrain.
Markets understood instantly. WTI settled $60.11. CFTC longs unwinding. Another $4-6 downside as positioning catches reality.
But here is what oil bulls are missing.
Lower prices compress Iranian revenues 10-15%. Lower revenues deepen the fiscal crisis. Deeper crisis accelerates pressure on a regime already bleeding in the streets.
Trump does not need bombs.
Price compression does the work.
The 25% tariffs on Iran’s trading partners complete the architecture. China and India face $70 billion exposure. Economic strangulation without a single Tomahawk.
The protesters are still dying. The rial is still collapsing.
But the bombs are not coming.
Not because Washington is weak.
Because Washington already won.
The art of the deal. Executed at 1am. Through a border that cannot be ignored.
🤔 Pahlavi can be a ruse for another rugpull, "look here, not there"...
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/i/status/2011833591760896229
Dear friends- Last night, the world held its breath as reports surfaced of fighter jets taking off from Europe and Northern Israel, recorded flying over Iraq toward the Iranian border. To the average observer, the silence that followed looked like a "nothingburger"—a false alarm or a mission aborted. In reality, what we witnessed was a masterclass in strategic deception and psychological warfare. President Trump and Israeli leadership did not just launch a mission; they launched a trap. By creating a scenario where the Iranian regime was certain a massive kinetic strike was imminent, they forced the Ayatollahs to hit the "red button" on their entire defensive strategy. Believing the end had come, the regime activated every emergency protocol they have spent years perfecting in secret. They played their best cards before the game even started, and while they scrambled in panic, the United States and Israel watched their every move.
In those few hours of perceived attack, the regime’s entire "nervous system" was exposed. We now possess the exact coordinates of the hidden bunkers where senior officials flee during a crisis, the secret emergency frequencies they use for "blackout" communication, and the specific procedures they follow at every level of command. This was an intelligence harvest of unprecedented proportions. By the time the regime realized this was a ruse, it was too late to change the locks. We now have the roadmap to their entire survival strategy, leaving them with no time to implement alternative protocols. While the world looked for explosions, we were busy dismantling the regime’s ability to defend itself. We are now more prepared for a final confrontation than at any point in history.
This moment marks the beginning of the end for a 47-year disaster that began with the failures of the Carter and Obama eras. For nearly five decades, the "long drive" toward freedom has felt weary and endless, but last night provided the answer to the question: "Are we there yet?" This is a two-front war for the future of the globe. On the physical front, we are seeing a high-stakes chess match with China, using massive leverage to isolate and reclaim Iran and Venezuela. On the spiritual front, this is the ultimate battle of Light versus Darkness—a collision between the strength of Messianic Israel and the corruption of the Ayatollahs. The intelligence on the ground is undeniable: the foundation is crumbling, the era of executions is coming to an end, and the momentum is now unstoppable.
The timeline is set. History is moving at a pace that cannot be ignored. The regime is projected to fall by March 15th, and by 2027, the symbolic return of Pahlavi will mark the dawn of a new era for the Iranian people. The "long drive" is almost over. From Washington D.C. to Jerusalem to the brave souls on the streets of Tehran, the forces of good are rising in unison. The regime no longer has the tools to hide or the time to recover. Do not be fooled by the lack of smoke on your television screens; last night, the tide officially turned. The good people of Iran and their allies have already won the strategic battle. Now, we simply watch the clock run out on a dying regime.
Hold the line and stay patient. The victory is already written.