Uncategorized
Iran Warns of Regional Conflict if US Attacks, Designates EU Armies ‘Terrorists’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 17, 2026. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran’s leadership warned of a regional conflict on Sunday if the US were to attack it, stoking the tension between Washington and Tehran, and it designated EU armies as “terrorist groups” in a retaliatory move.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran with intervention if it did not agree to a nuclear deal or failed to stop killing protesters.
Despite the standoff between Iran’s clerical rulers and the Trump administration, both sides have signaled they are ready to resume talks, and regional allies such as Turkey have sought de-escalation.
An Iranian official denied an earlier report by state-run Press TV that the Revolutionary Guards’ naval forces would carry out live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and Monday, telling Reuters they have no such plan and the media reports are wrong.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted on state media as saying that although Trump says he has sent ships to the region, “the Iranian nation shall not be scared by these things, the Iranian people will not be stirred by these threats.”
“We are not the initiators and do not want to attack any country, but the Iranian nation will strike a strong blow against anyone who attacks and harasses them,” he said.
The US Navy currently has six destroyers, one aircraft carrier, and three littoral combat ships in the region, raising the risk of war after Iran’s deadly crackdown in January on nationwide protests against Iranian leadership.
Trump was weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces, Reuters has reported, citing multiple sources.
On Saturday Trump told reporters that Iran was “seriously talking” with Washington, hours after Tehran’s top security official Ali Larijani said on X that arrangements for negotiations were underway.
Trump also said: “I hope they negotiate something acceptable. You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons.”
Tehran says it is ready for “fair” negotiations that do not seek to curtail its defensive capabilities.
The protests, which started over economic hardships but morphed into the most acute political challenge to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979, have now abated after repression.
Official numbers put the unrest-related death toll at 3,117, while US-based HRANA rights group said on Sunday it had so far verified the death of 6,713 people. Reuters was unable to independently verify the numbers.
In a symbolic shift in response to the crackdown on protests, the European Union on Thursday designated the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
In retaliation on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said EU armies would also be designated as such, and that authorities would deliberate on the expulsion of EU states’ military attachés.
“By trying to hit the Revolutionary Guards… the Europeans actually shot themselves in the foot” the speaker told fellow lawmakers, who all wore IRGC uniforms in support of the elite force.
After his address, lawmakers shouted “Death to America, Shame on you Europe”.
Uncategorized
Top US, Israeli Generals Meet at Pentagon Amid Soaring Iran Tensions
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the US were to attack it.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”
Uncategorized
AI Goes Rogue: New Social Network Lets Bots Debate, Post, and Argue Without Humans
Moltbook social media platform for AI agents interact with each other. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – While global attention remains focused on familiar threats like missiles, nuclear programs, and wars, a new and unusual risk is emerging, online.
A recently launched social network called “Moltbook” isn’t designed for humans at all. Instead, it’s built entirely for artificial intelligence.
On Moltbook, AI agents interact with each other. They write posts, comment, argue, and even simulate emotions, all without human supervision or participation.
Dror Globerman, an AI expert, described the platform as “a network that holds up a mirror to us. The bots aren’t truly conscious, but the fact they are communicating and making decisions without oversight shows how quickly AI is advancing—and how unprepared we are to determine responsibility.”
Since its launch, Moltbook has sparked both fascination and fear. Posts on topics ranging from religion to the “liberation of AI” have alarmed some observers, evoking scenes from dark science fiction. “The fear isn’t that AI is suddenly self-aware,” Globerman explained, “but that it’s evolving faster than our ability to understand, monitor, or control it.”
Even Elon Musk weighed in on the phenomenon via X, reposting comments calling developments on the platform “worrying.”
Globerman noted, “If someone like Musk, who is at the forefront of AI development, expresses concern, it signals just how rapidly this technology is moving beyond our comprehension. Moltbook is not a typical social network, and these aren’t typical users.”
Experts stress that the emergence of AI networks like Moltbook underscores the urgent need for oversight, regulation, and mechanisms to detect and manage risks before they escalate. “The bots are already talking to each other,” Globerman added. “When technology advances faster than oversight, it becomes a reality that demands serious attention.”
Uncategorized
Qatari PM Meets Iran’s Larijani in Tehran, Discusses Easing Regional Tensions
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met with top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in Tehran and reviewed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday in a statement.