Japan Election 2026: Sanae Takaichi Poised for Landslide Win Despite Record Snowfall 
Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
Norway Opens Corruption Probe Into Former PM and Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjoern Jagland Over Epstein Links 
Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
Nighttime Shelling Causes Serious Damage in Russia’s Belgorod Region Near Ukraine Border 
U.S. Lawmakers to Review Unredacted Jeffrey Epstein DOJ Files Starting Monday 
Trump Allows Commercial Fishing in Protected New England Waters 
U.S. Announces Additional $6 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Cuba Amid Oil Sanctions and Fuel Shortages 
Trump Allegedly Sought Airport, Penn Station Renaming in Exchange for Hudson River Tunnel Funding 
U.S. to Begin Paying UN Dues as Financial Crisis Spurs Push for Reforms 
Jack Lang Resigns as Head of Arab World Institute Amid Epstein Controversy 
Iran–U.S. Nuclear Talks in Oman Face Major Hurdles Amid Rising Regional Tensions 
Pentagon Ends Military Education Programs With Harvard University 
Missouri Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Starbucks’ Diversity and Inclusion Policies 
New York Legalizes Medical Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Patients 
China Warns US Arms Sales to Taiwan Could Disrupt Trump’s Planned Visit 
Iran recently carried out war games at the Gulf last week, launching ballistic and cruise missiles during its exercises. The country’s top military officials said that the recent games were meant to serve as a warning to Israel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard carried out war games last week at the Gulf. The games culminated with a launch of ballistic and cruise missiles Friday that targeted a model that resembled Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor. Revolutionary Guard chief Hossein Salami told Iranian state television that the exercises are meant as a warning to Israel.
“These exercises had a very clear message: a serious, real … warning to threats by the Zionist regime’s authorities to beware of their mistakes,” said Salami. “We will cut off their hands if they make a wrong move. The distance between actual operations and military exercises is only a change in the angles of launching the missiles.”
“Through a simulation of the Dimona atomic activities, the Revolutionary Guards successfully practiced attacking this critical center of the Zionist regime in its missile exercise,” according to the Tasnim News Agency. The IRNA reported the names of the missiles that were fired during the exercises and that the rockets had a range between 220 and 1250 miles per hour.
The recent military exercises by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard come amidst concerns that Israel is planning to target Iranian nuclear facilities.
This has also led to backlash from the UK, with the Foreign Office issuing a statement Friday condemning the launches of missiles during its military exercises. The office also cited that the launches are a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 – Iran is not allowed to engage in activity regarding ballistic missiles that are designed to have capabilities of delivering nuclear weapons.
In other related news, the head of Iran’s judiciary announced Sunday that Christian prisoners are granted 10 days of liberty to spend the Christmas holidays with families, according to Voice of America. Judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei instructed authorities nationwide to issue the directive, which according to its Mizan Online site, was for the prisoners to mark the coming year and the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.
