GOG AND MAGOG UPDATE
Articles in the News
Israel on high alert for Iranian attack amid widening protests
Israel is on high alert in case Iran launches a surprise missile attack as internal protests against the regime intensify and spread to more than 20 cities, The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
Although Iran was significantly weakened by Israel’s 12-day Operation Rising Lion in June and has little desire to initiate another round of hostilities, Israeli officials said the ayatollahs may feel “cornered,” the report said, as the economic crisis that sparked the protests continues to deepen.
Totalitarian regimes that feel threatened have historically sought to redirect public anger toward an external enemy, potentially creating a “rally around the flag” effect.
On Wednesday, the fourth consecutive day of protests against the ayatollahs, the first fatality was reported: a member of the Basij militia, a feared volunteer force that often uses violence to suppress dissent.
Iranian media said the man was killed when demonstrators threw stones in the city of Kuhdasht in southwestern Lorestan province.
The district’s deputy governor said 13 members of the security forces were also injured in the clashes.
Video circulating online showed a police vehicle being pelted with stones before fleeing protesters.
Basij forces were also targeted in western Hamedan province, where protesters in one city overran the militia’s headquarters and set it ablaze while reportedly chanting, “Death to [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei.”
Also in Hamedan, protesters located an Iranian intelligence hideout Wednesday night, “set it on fire, and, according to some claims, released civilians who were being held captive by Iranian intelligence,” Abu Ali Express reported Thursday.
Numerous videos posted on social media have shown dozens or hundreds of defiant demonstrators in important cities such as Tehran, Shiraz, Kermanshah and Yazd marching toward riot police and chanting that they are “without honor,” presumably for supporting the regime.
Another slogan, heard in Dorud, was “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life for Iran,” reflecting anger over the regime’s spending billions of dollars on military and economic aid abroad rather than prioritizing its own citizens.
Authorities have so far refrained from firing on crowds, instead using nonlethal methods such as tear gas and water trucks to disperse demonstrators.
Four University of Tehran students arrested during protests Tuesday were even released later that night, according to the school.
Students — a key force in previous anti-regime protests — have joined the demonstrations in many cities, especially in the capital.
The unrest began when merchants in Tehran’s bazaars went on strike over runaway inflation that has caused the Iranian rial to lose nearly half its already diminished value in 2025.
The currency is being unofficially traded at about 1.4 million rials to the dollar, making it extremely difficult for ordinary Iranians to make a living.
A severe water crisis, caused by decades of mismanagement, had already left the public on edge during the long summer.
Iran’s leadership has publicly acknowledged the economic crisis and has so far struck a conciliatory tone, saying it is willing to meet protest leaders to hear their complaints.
Officials warned, however, that any attempt to “exploit the demonstrations to implement plans of foreign elements will be answered accordingly.”
Trump gives Israel green light to attack Hezbollah as deadline passes
The deadline set by the White House for Lebanon to demonstrate it has made significant progress in disarming the Hezbollah terror organization passed overnight, amid reports that President Donald Trump has given Israel a green light to launch a major military operation against the Iranian-backed terror group.
The US had repeatedly warned Beirut that failure to demilitarize Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon would likely result in the renewal of Israeli military operations across Lebanon against the Shi’ite terror group.
The Trump administration set a deadline of Dec, 31 for Beirut to lay out a clear timetable for dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure and arsenal, and to show progress demonstrating its commitment to upholding the terms of the November 2024 ceasefire deal and the 2006 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
Trump did not discuss Hezbollah at length during a press conference Monday ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but did say the group was “behaving badly.”
“We’re gonna see about that,” Trump said when asked whether Israel “should strike Hezbollah.”
“We’ll see about it. The Lebanese government is at a little bit of a disadvantage, if you think about it with Hezbollah, but Hezbollah has been behaving badly, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Jerusalem Post quoted a source who said that during their Monday meeting, Trump gave Netanyahu a green light to take action against Hezbollah.
“If the Lebanese army doesn’t succeed in disarming them, and Israel believes an action is the necessary thing to do,” then the US will back Israeli action in Lebanon, Trump was quoted as saying during the meeting.
A report by the Lebanese Al Joumhouria newspaper suggested that Trump has likely already approved expanded Israeli operations against Hezbollah.
Earlier this month, the IDF reported that as of December 15, Hezbollah has violated the November 2024 truce over 1,900 times.
While the IDF has regularly struck Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon, since the ceasefire went into effect, strikes on targets north of the Litani, including in Beirut, have been rare.
Trump says US is ‘locked and loaded’ to retaliate if Iranian protesters are killed
Responding to ongoing anti-regime protests in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that if demonstrators are killed, the United States will retaliate.
On Truth Social, he wrote, “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump said. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he added.
Four people were reported killed in Iranian protests in several cities on Thursday.
Iranian authorities were swift to respond to the president’s threat.
“Any interventionist hand that attacks Iran’s security under any pretext whatsoever will be exposed to a response,” Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to the supreme leader, wrote on X. “Iran’s security is a red line.”
Tensions between Iran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other have been high, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago and discussed potential Israeli strikes to prevent Iran from rebuilding its ballistic missile and nuclear capabilities.
President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu both described the 12-day confrontation with Iran in June as a major success, though Netanyahu has said additional strikes may still be required to prevent Tehran from restoring its military capabilities.
Trump said after the meeting that the United States would again dismantle Iran’s nuclear program if Tehran attempts to rebuild it, while adding that he would prefer to reach a nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic.
A U.S. official said Trump would likely support a “second round” of strikes if Washington determines that Iran is taking concrete and verifiable steps to revive its nuclear program, though defining what constitutes reconstitution would be a central point of contention.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded to news of the talks in an X post: “Answer of Islamic Republic of Iran to any cruel aggression will be harsh and discouraging.”