Seizing Greenland

"We don't have any involvement whatsoever in plans to seize Greenland, and I have no doubt that Washington is fully aware that neither Russia nor the People's Republic of China has any such plans."

"This is not our issue. Our primary concern is our interest in establishing open and free Arctic co-operation."

"[Russia is monitoring developments in this] serious geopolitical situation."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

 

"We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not."

"We've not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland and that's what they going to do if we don't."

"Considering your Country [Norway] decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace."

"Although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America."

"The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland."

"NATO has been telling Denmark for 20 years that 'you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland'. Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it."

"Now it is time, and it will be done!!!" 

U.S. President Donald Trump

 

"If a trade war is launched against us, which I cannot recommend, then we must of course respond. We would be forced to do so."

"I hope we do not get to that point. I hope that we succeed in convincing the Americans that this is not the path we should take."

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen 

Greenland is not a distant outpost but is of great importance to the whole of Europe. It is an Overseas Country and Territory of the European Union with special rights. Bruegel

 

Thousands of Greenlanders marched over the weekend to protest any threat from the U.S. President, warning that their island would be taken over by the United States. "We will not be pressured", responded Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielson, and the tariff threats issued by Trump would make no difference in Greenland's determination of complete sovereignty. 

 

A 10 percent tariff was announced by Mr. Trump to  take effect on February 1, rising to 25 percent in June, for eight European countries -- EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland as well as Britain and Norway -- as punishment following their decision that they would take part in NATO military exercises in Greenland. This latest threat has given cause to European Union leaders to plan an emergency summit for discussion of possible retaliatory measures, counter-tariffs included. 

 

The uncertainty has led Greenland's prime minister and the people of the Arctic island's population alert to the need to begin preparing for a possible military invasion, a scenario that seems unlikely, but given the U.S. President's mercurial decision-making, not entirely implausible. "It's not likely there will be  military conflict, but it can't be ruled out", cautioned Prime Minister Nielsen at a Nuuk news conference on Tuesday. 

 

The government plans to work on distributing new guidelines to its 57,000 population, including a recommendation to ensure each family has sufficient food for a five-day period, in a drive to help people prepare for any possible disruptions to daily life. Earlier on Tuesday, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself planting a U.S. flag on the island. Alarming symbolism for Greenlanders. 

 

As part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but with its own government overseeing life on the island, but for defence, Denmark has deployed a greater number of troops there to boost its Arctic defence. As well, Denmark and seven other NATO countries deployed a number of officers on the island, part of the Operation Arctic Endurance. The plan now is for Denmark's Joint Arctic Command to expand the military exercises to operate possibly year-round, according to a Greenlandic newspaper.  

 

The Greenlandic flag flies over a building as the HDMS Vaedderen of the Danish Navy patrols behind on Jan. 18, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

"I think it's a complete canard that the president would be doing this because of the Nobel [not having know/n anything about the president's letter to Norway]."

"[Trump] is looking at Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States."

"We are not going to outsource our hemispheric security to anyone else."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 

Trump cancels tariff threat over Greenland, says NATO agreed to 'framework' of future Arctic deal. PBS News

"We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won't give it. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember."

"[There should be] immediate negotiations [for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. There's a bigger price, [than merely monetary] and that's the price of safety and security and national security and international security."

U.S. President Donald Trump 

Canada Obsequiously Indulging Beijing's Public Relations -- Taking the World As It Is

"It is expected that within three years, this agreement will drive considerable Chinese investment into Canada's auto sector, create good careers in Canada, and accelerate our progress towards a net-zero future."

"For Canada to build its own competitive EV sector, we will need to learn from innovative partners, access their supply chains, and increase local demand."

"We're leveraging each other's strengths, remaining clear-eyed, and focusing on the areas where we stand to make  historic gains, particularly in agriculture and agrifood, energy and finance."

"We fundamentally stand up for human rights, for democracy, territorial integrity, rights to self-determination."

"We take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be." 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney 

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaks to the media at Ritan Park in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

"A healthy and stable China-Canada relationship serves the common interest of our two countries. It is also good for the peace, stability and prosperity of the world."

"I am ready to continue working with you, with a sense of responsibility for the history, for the people and for the world, to further advance the relationship in a positive direction."

Chinese President Xi Jinping 

Less than a year ago, Canada's prime minister characterized China as the greatest threat to the national security of his country. In Beijing, Carney was happy to usher in a "new era in the relationship" when he described China as a strategic partner, that Canada is "heartened" by the leadership of President Xi. Carney, referencing "a time of global trade disruption", finds himself recalibrating his earlier assessment of the CCP led by President Xi; presumably that China's abysmal human rights record isn't so bad after all, that support for territorial integrity doesn't include Taiwan.

 

So Canada, happy to invite China to invest in Canada, is now on a pathway to join China's 'Belt and Road' program, eager now to help Beijing achieve its goal of world domination in territorial gains, in access to natural resources, in expanding its already Goliath status as the world's producer of manufactured goods. China, notorious for its appetite for accessing trade secrets, can now be forgiven for destroying Nortel Network Corporation's preeminence in communications so that Huawei could thrive in its place. That Canada's National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg could have its security breached by Chinese agents.

 

Xiangguo Qiu wears a biocontainment suit while working in the containment lab at the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg. Qiu, her biologist husband Keding Cheng, and her students were escorted out of the NML in July 2019. Qiu and Cheng were fired in January 2021. The RCMP is still investigating a possible 'policy breach' reported by the Public Health Agency of Canada. (CBC)

 

As for President Xi's noble sentiments of "peace, stability and prosperity of the world", perhaps we should overlook its aggressive  territorial expansion in the South China Sea, claiming land, air and sea rights in claims disputed by the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia.

"China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the sea—and the sea’s estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—have antagonized competing claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. As early as the 1970s, countries began to claim islands and various zones in the South China Sea, such as the Spratly Islands, which possess rich natural resources and fishing areas. The failure of Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders to resolve the disputes diplomatically could undermine international laws governing maritime disputes and encourage destabilizing arms buildups." Council on Foreign Relations 

 

Chinese Warships and fighter jets in a military display in the South China Sea .. Reuters

  

Prime Minister Carney speaks of this new relationship with China as more "predictable" than that Canada has long enjoyed with the United States in view of President Donald Trump's explosive new tariff regulations imposed world wide and impacting economies around the globe deleteriously, no less than Canada's. But President Trump will be in the White House for another three years. China's government, a dictatorship with a belief in its divine destiny as the sole world power and its most important economy will be there for a trade eternity.

 

The goal, for Canada to be enabled to increase its exports to China; not in manufactured goods, but agricultural products and natural resources; Beijing has no interest in finished products, it is the the bare essentials of raw industrial minerals and above all oil and gas that fixates China's interests, while it is exuberant over exporting its finished products abroad, consolidating its position as the apex of world production. Many of its technologies have illicitly 'borrowed' heavily from advances originating elsewhere. But those it exports abroad as finished products of its own link back to Beijing as listening devices.   

"Prime Minister Carney must explain how he has gone from saying China was Canada's 'biggest security threat' before the [April general] election to announcing a 'strategic partnership' with Beijing after the election."

"His agreement will allow 50,000 EVs onto our streets, jeopardizing our security and auto jobs". 

Parliamentary Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre  

Mark Carney — pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping — reached a 'landmark' trade deal with China on Friday, in a trip that marked the first China visit by a Canadian prime minister since 2017. (Sean Kilpatrick/Reuters)

 

 

The Muslim Brotherhood's Global Threat Linked to Qatar's

Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN)

"The Muslim Brotherhood is a militant Islamist organization with affiliates in over 70 countries, including groups designated a terrorist organizations by the U.S."

"[Its founder, Hassan al-Banna, said in 1928 that] Jihad is an obligation from Allah [for every Muslim] and cannot be ignored or evaded."

"The Way of Jihad [he wrote]: Jihad means the fighting of the unbelievers and involves all possible efforts that are necessary to dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam, including beating them, plundering their wealth, destroying their place of worship, and smashing their idols."

"This belief was put into action in t he decades that followed as the Muslim Brotherhood's members committed numerous acts of terrorism, including the assassination of Egypt's Prime Minister in 1948."

"This jihadist ideology continues to fuel the Muslim Brotherhood today. The Brotherhood mourned the death of Osama bin Laden and its leaders developed teachings justifying revolutionary violence under sharia law."

"The Brotherhood has preached hatred towards Jews, denied the Holocaust, and called for Israel's destruction."

The Brotherhood has incited violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt amidst a wave of church bombings and other attacks by terrorist groups, including ISIS."

"Yusuf al-Qaradawi, perhaps the Brotherhood's preeminent cleric, issued a fatwa legitimizing  terrorist attacks against American troops in Iraq. And he's also deemed the Holocaust to be a, quote, 'punishment for Jews', and expressed hope that another Holocaust would someday be carried out by his fellow Islamists."  

U.S. House Reform Committee, 2018 ... The Muslim Brotherhood's Global Threat

The US has urged Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to act against terrorism  Reuters

 

Not only are some governments in the West recognizing finally the dire threat to Western civilization posed by the ideological fascism of Islamist fundamentalism espoused by the Muslim Brotherhood, they are now joined by a handful of Muslim countries as well whose governments have taken steps to outlaw their activities on their  soil. Among them is the United Arab Emirates which has been in the vanguard of issuing warnings to the West of the threat posed by this almost 100-year-old totalitarian Islamist group.

 

When President Donald Trump's government made it known it intended to "counter violence and destabilizing activities carried out by terrorist Muslim Brotherhood branches wherever they operate", a few branches of the Brotherhood were named as proscribed targets. A partial, and incomplete decision which should logically have outlawed the entire ideological/religio apparatus. Even that move, however, inspired the UAE to welcome the U.S. designation of several branches as terrorist organizations.

 

Unfortunately Mr. Trump's attention was to focus only on branches of the Muslim Brotherhood located in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, where it originated and from which the government of Egypt itself outlawed the group, which didn't stop it from continuing operations in Egypt. During the Arab Spring, when mobs of Egyptian dissenters called for Hosni Mubarak to step away from the presidency, the Muslim Brotherhood had huge support from the population. As it did from the U.S. Obama administration which chose to abandon its support for President Mubarak, and welcome the Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi in his stead.

 

The Muslim Brotherhood is not alone in its "resources that enable them to engage in, support, or justify acts of extremism, hatred and terrorism" as the UAE put it. There is another source of all that the Brotherhood is recognized for, as a threat to Western values, heritage, society, culture and laws, that works studiously to accomplish the very same goal that motivates the Brotherhood. And that is the monarchy of Qatar whose vast riches from oil resources has enabled it to literally buy its way into the United States, furnishing tens of millions to American universities, while inserting itself into the political fabric of the U.S

.

Qatar's then-Emir, Sheikh Hamad, visited the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip in 2012   Reuters

 

Qatar is the Muslim Brotherhood financier, just as it plowed millions upon millions into terrorist group activities, most notably Hamas, in Gaza. The US. State Department itself has recognized Qatar as a chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood for decades. That acknowledgment has come to nothing, despite knowing Qatar finances Islamist jihad and terrorist outfits that exemplify jihadist terrorism.

 

All of this is well known, and recognized, and it cannot have slipped the attention of the U.S. president who nonetheless views Qatar as a U.S. protectorate. Mr. Trump went so far as to issue an order stating the U.S. "shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure of the state of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States". This, despite the Qatar funding of terrorism, including al-Qaeda which carried out the 9-11 attacks in New York, Washington/Pentagon and Pennsylvania. The 'art of the deal' enters the picture, with Qatari/U.S. business interests.

 

The Qataris are shrewd enough to know that even American presidents can be 'bought' with extravagantly expensive gifts. Qatar's strategy to undermine the West while funding the Muslim Brotherhood is known, yet its vast wealth and 'investments' abroad have gained it respectability and admiration. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney stated his intention to meet with "the Amir of Qatar, His Highness sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to deepen the relationship between Canada and Qatar".

 

Underlining the fault lines between intelligence and caution in that the West has chosen to blind itself to the reality of extremism that the Muslim Brotherhood and its sponsors represent as a dire threat to all the West holds dear.

 

The Growing Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood on Politics, Academia, and Civil Society in Canada

---

This research report provides a comprehensive analysis of the organization and impact of the Muslim Brotherhood network in Canada. Over a period of decades, Brotherhood-affiliated organizations have managed to develop legitimate ties and wield considerable influence within Canada’s civil, academic, and political spheres. Branches of organizations that have previously been found to be supporting terror organizations such as Hamas continue to operate with impunity, often after rebranding themselves. The report also assesses the impact that these developments have had on Canadian university campuses, with a particular focus on McGill University, Concordia University, the University of Toronto, and York University.

"The ongoing diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours, which centres mainly on the country's alleged support for terrorism, represents one of the biggest challenges to the UK’s foreign policy to the Middle East since the Arab Spring. Qatar has been accused by its neighbours of supporting terrorism and there is substantial evidence that the country has long been supporting the Al Nusra Front, designated by the US in 2012 as a foreign terrorist organization and the Al Qaeda branch in Syria. The support has included coordination between Al Nusra commanders and senior Qatari military officials and financiers, financial assistance, and help in creating a new opposition coalition in which Al Nusra was a leading member. Qatar has also found other means to support Al Nusra in the face of the US designation including the facilitation or direct payment of ransom to the group for the released of kidnapped victims and the toleration of private, designated terrorist financiers within the country. The most significant of these financiers is an individual described by the US as a Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who is also the President of an anti-Western political coalition comprised of prominent Salafi and Global Muslim Brotherhood leaders. This coalition includes at least seven leading figures and/or their organizations designated as terrorists by the United States, the EU, and/or the United Nations for their support of Al-Qaeda and related groups. Some of these figures and/or the organization itself have suggested direct attacks on the US and the UK military and the Qatari GAAC President himself has bragged about the close cooperation between GAAC and the violent Iraqi "resistance" against coalition forces."

Committees, Parliament, U.K. 

Prospective Regime Collapse...

"In Iran's political psychology, two factors are traditionally essential for a fundamental transformation: first, the bazaar must enter into sustained strikes and protests; second, the army or national armed forces must side with the people against the ruling power."

"At this stage, the first condition has partially materialized."

"However, it remains unclear whether bazaar strikes will continue or fade."

"The large number of protesters killed by security forces demonstrates the continued allegiance of the armed forces to Khamenei and the IRGC."

Hussain Ehsani, research fellow, Turan Research Center, Washington think tank 

 

"In 2009, it was still based on a disputed election. People were asking, Where is my vote?' They were still trying to operate within the framework of the Islamic Republic."

"Iran's regime was humiliated in the 12-day war. It no longer has the proxies it once relied on, so it can't project strength."

"It's far more financially squeezed, and the economy is in free fall. Donald Trump is in the White House and appears, at least rhetorically, to be taking a much tougher line on Iran's regime."

"That's what makes this protest more significant than those in the past."

"I think it really depends on U.S. involvement. If the U.S. gets involved, you could very well see the regime collapse."

"But if it's just ordinary people fighting, the regime may be able to hold on for another day. Still, these protests will flare up again. There's simply no doubt."

Kaveh Shahrooz, senior fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Ottawa 

Pedestrians pass a burned-out building on Jan. 10, 2026, in Tehran, Iran, following widespread protests against the regime. Stringer/Getty

 

Twenty days have passed since protests first began in Iran, unremarkable at first and little-noticed outside the country, then when the protests spread from city to city, covering the entire country in hundreds of thousands, finally millions of Iranians out in the streets, damning their government, calling for its downfall, for the death of the Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, the government response changed as well, turning guns and live ammunition on those the regime called 'terrorists', inspired by foreign governments.

 

Over 3,500 civilian protesters were killed by some accounts, while other analysts claim a death toll in the tens of thousands, with greater numbers of protesters injured and hospitalized. Sparked initially by bazaaris (shopkeepers) in the main bazaar of Tehran considered the country's financial hub, demonstrations spread across major cities with demands of the protesters calling for an end to five decades of oppression under theocratic rule.

 

The price of basic food items increased in the space of three years, by 72 percent. Critical water and energy shortages compounded people's misery. Major cities ran out of electricity and gas. Iranians resented their government using billions in state funds to support their proxy militias, terrorist groups like Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthis and Hamas in Gaza, while families in Iran struggled with food scarcity, a shortage of medications, cooking and heating oil.

 

Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026.   UGC via AP

 

Following days of threats to strike Iran should authorities continue killing the protesters, the issue was taken to the UN Security Council for deliberation. While urging protesters to "take over your institutions", saying that "help is on its way", the impression was left that the powerful United States of America planned to come to the aid of the protesting public. The tension of guessing what form that help might take ranged from long-distance empathy to the commitment of military strikes.

 

From Iraq to Lebanon and Yemen, the IRGC special Quds Force orchestrated funding, training and equipping Shi'ite militant groups regionally, Hamas included. This past summer, decades of shadow warfare culminated in direct conflict in a 12-day war that saw Israel strike weapons depots, IRGC command posts, government buildings and eliminate a number of senior military and government figures. The U.S. flew warplanes equipped with bunker-penetrating bombs targeting Iran's nuclear installations. Iran both regionally and domestically was left reeling and diminished.

 

Earlier conflicts by Israel with Hamas, following the 7 October 2023 Palestinian terrorist incursion into southern Israel to commit mass atrocities, and with Hezbollah which joined Hamas in sending rockets into Israel, then finding itself engaged in battle, and Yemen with its ballistic missiles supplied by Iran entering Israel airspace and attacking marine traffic linked to Israel in the Red Sea, all engaged militarily with a responding Israel military to their hapless detriment. Leaving Tehran no dedicated outside terror proxy to call upon.                 

 

President Trump's intention to intervene in the regime crackdown on the protests as well as its execution of protesters was circumvented at the behest of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman and Qatar, informing  him that Iran had put a stop to the executions and the killing of protesters. The threat of U.S. intervention subsided. The regime instituted a total internet lockdown, along with a moratorium on texting, so no information came or went. And under lockdown executions continued, arrests and torture recommenced, and Iranians fled for safety to their homes.

 

The conditions for a prospective regime collapse, according to analysts, would depend largely on positions taken by the military and the national police; to ally with the protesters, or the government. Hopeful claims expressed by Iranian opposition groups in exile aside, no such scenario of police defections laying down their arms and the military supporting the protesters materialized.                                                        

"First is street protests, which we have, but the other two things we don't have."

"Second is just the crippling of the economy through strikes, most importantly, the oil sector."

"And third would be defections from the security services, and we haven't seen that either."

Kaveh Shahrooz   

Bodies lie in body bags on the ground outside Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre in Tehran, Iran, in these images from video obtained from social media, Jan. 11, 2026.  Social Media/via REUTERS

                                        

Trump 'Monitoring the Situation in Iran'

"The truth is only President Trump knows what he's going to do and a very, very small team of advisers are read into his thinking on that."

"He continues to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Iran."

"All options remain on the table." 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt 

 

"President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations."

"He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter."

Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

At least 52 prisoners were executed in Iran based on prior non-political convictions during a period of nationwide protests and an ongoing internet shutdown.  Iran International

 

Last June Leavitt had read a message to reporters saying it had come "directly from the president". Trump himself would decide, he maintained, whether to strike Iran "within the next two weeks"; this at a time when Israel was carrying out strikes on Iran, and the president was weighing whether he would order the U.S. military to become involved. Before two days elapsed B-2 bombers were ordered to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. 

 

"It might be that they're delaying things and using the time for getting that posture correct", ventured Jeremy Shapiro, research director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, on the theory that the American president might have been concerned over the current U.S. force posture in the Middle East spurring him to hesitate. No U.S. aircraft carriers, an asset during a military operation in the region were available having been deployed to an operation focused on Venezuela.

 

The perceived shifting tone of U.S. President Donald Trump leaning away from his threats to attack Iran following his continued warning issuing warnings against Tehran for its brutal crackdown on Iranians mounting a countrywide protest against the oppressive Islamist Republic's theocratic regime saw a drop in oil prices as markets reacted to the uncertainty of this mercurial president's changeable sentiments.

 

The intervention of top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar warning that an American military intervention would have the effect of destabilizing the global economy as well as shaking an already volatile region moving it close to a total regional war appears to have had an effect on the president's decision-making. This is a Muslim Brotherhood reaction to the potential removal of the Islamist theocracy ruling Iran.  

 

Anti-government protesters demonstrate on January 8, in Tehran.   Getty Images

 

While Oman and Qatar are in full support of Iran, as Muslim Brotherhood-linked states, the Muslim Brotherhood has been officially proscribed in Egypt, where it was formed almost a century ago, as a fundamentalist Islamist group dedicated to strict Sharia and jihad by any means, and in Saudi Arabia as well it is outlawed, though it seems that the severe orthodoxy of totalitarian Islamism dictates the decision making in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood whose agenda the Islamic Republic of Iran represents a living example.

 

Qatar in particular, with its massive oil wealth, has bought respectability and recognition as a 'moderate' Muslim state in the United States. Its persuasive power lies in its massive financial investments there, in its universities where it has been able to influence academia to respect its agenda of portrayals of Islam as benign, not the Western values-destructive totalitarian threat it carries. President Trump admires the trappings of wealth and power and is not immune to appreciating those whose generosity benefits him personally.

 

Iranians took to the streets despite the danger they face from their despotic, oppressive government that has, over almost a half-century persecuted them through force of threats and state punishment from imprisonment, torture and a relentless death penalty. Despite Iran's authorities warning the population that taking part in mass protests against the government would be construed as grounds for capital punishment, Iranians kept turning out in their hundreds of thousands in cities across the nation, facing police violence.

 

Iran International

 

Estimates of the rising death count have reached well over 30,000 people. The wounded have overwhelmed hospitals and now reports emerge that the Basij are entering hospitals to take away and execute those wounded in the protests. As for families frantic to recover the bodies of their loved ones for burial, without the thousands of dollars demanded by the regime to release them, those families that cannot afford the price to redeem the corpses are left disconsolate in their grief. 

 

After having issued vehement threats to the Iranian regime for the rising death count, and promising Iranians that the U.S. military is prepared to rescue them,  Trump's assurances that "help is on its way", while urging Iranians to take over their country's institutions, abruptly declared information had been given him from "very important sources on the other side" that Iran  had put a halt to killing protesters and executions were no longer proceeding. No need, therefore, to intervene.

 

At the same time that Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia persuaded Trump to stand down from his word to the Iranian people, they urged Iranian officials to end the visible repression of protesters, warning that continued Iranian responses or an action against the U.S. would significantly impact Iran. Through social media Trump repeated the speaking lines of those persuading him not to strike Iran: "This is good news, hopefully, it will continue!", he posted over the commutation of a death sentence for a young Iranian shopkeeper-protester.

 

Iran's response was to once more completely shut down the Internet connections across the nation.  And nor can cellphones be operational. No news in or out of the theocracy, other than what the regime may permit. No guarantees that the hunting down and slaughter of Iranians, disconsolate over their abandonment by the world at large and fearing now to emerge from their homes, is ongoing. This is what is meant by a pact with the devil some might compare to the 'art of the deal'. 

"[Thousands have been killed], some in an inhuman, savage manner."

"Those linked to Israel and the US caused massive damage and killed several thousand."

"We consider the US president criminal for the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation."

"[Iran considered President Trump to be a] criminal. [The US must be] held accountable [for recent unrest]."

"America's goal is to swallow Iran."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 

Iran's supreme leader has for the first time publicly acknowledged that thousands of people were killed during recent protests, blames the West. Iranian leader press office via Getty Images

 

Correcting The Record

"The chief constable of West Midlands police no longer has my confidence."

"Rather than follow the evidence, the force sought only the evidence to support their desired position to ban the fans."

"[A] damning [review from the policing watchdog over the intelligence that led to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being banned showed a] failure of leadership." 

"[Sir Andy Cooke] shows that the police overstated the threat posed by the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, while understating the risk that was posed to the Israeli fans if they travelled to the area."

"[His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke had found] confirmation bias [in police intelligence gathering]."

"The force, we now discover, conducted little engagement with the Jewish community and none with the Jewish community in Birmingham before a decision was taken."

British Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood 

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs she had lost confidence in West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford over the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban. Photo, House of Commons

 

The British Home Secretary had initiated an independent inquiry to study the decision by Chief Constable Craig Guildford of the West Midlands police to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from attendance at a a Birmingham match late last year. The decision, according to the chief constable, was one made in the interest of public safety, citing a reputation of violence among fans of the storied Israeli football team. A contention that the inquiry found unrepresentative of reality. As was the explanation that police in the Netherlands had warned the West Midlands police over the potential of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans going amok.

 

Months of scrutiny of the West Midlands police following the controversial decision and refusal to allow the fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv to attend the match, led to empty stadium seats and an outraged public reaction. The justification for the ban of the fans was proven to be void of reality. And left Chief Constable Craig Guildford under fire for incompetence, and possibly political interference. Birmingham, the second largest city in Britain, has a 30 percent Muslim population. 

 

And it was, in fact, Islamists from among that population who had been overheard to instruct one another to arrive at the game armed and prepared to challenge the presence of Israeli fans and members of the local Jewish community eager to cheer on their team of choice. By choosing to ban the ostensible targets of a potential violent event who represent a much smaller community than the Muslims, the opportunity for a planned confrontation that could turn violent was thus 'solved'.

 

Police officers escort a woman with an Israeli flag away from Pro-Palestinian protesters outside Villa Park in Birmingham on November 6, 2025 ahead of the UEFA Europa League league-stage football match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv  HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP

 

The match in Birmingham had been classified as "high risk" by the West Midlands police, as they cited previous games with Maccabi, a Europa League encounter in particular that took place in Amsterdam where clashes broke out between locals and Israeli fans. Evidence the U.K. police purported to have received from their Dutch counterparts supported their decision -- except for the fact that the Dutch police denied they had ever offered such 'evidence'. Which was actually non-existent, since the Israeli fans were the victims of antisemitic locals, not the perpetrators of a violent clash.

 

To find a similar instance when a home secretary last made such a statement of non-confidence in police authority one would have to go back several decades. There was, as a result, heavy security and the match proceeded without Maccabi fans. Police chief Guildford apologized to MPs for having given them erroneous evidence relating to his decision, mere hours before the report was released. 

 

Police had cited a match between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv which had never taken place, noted the report. The error, brought to Chief Guildford's attention, was ascribed by him to the use of Microsoft Copilot, an AI chatbot. "I would like to offer my profound apology to the committee for this error", he stated; there had been "no intention to mislead the committee. And on Friday, Chief Guildford resigned his position. 

More than 700 police officers were deployed in an effort to keep the peace during November's Europa League match. HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images

 

"Where Are The Judges Who Make These Decisions?"

"Just recently, once again, charges were withdrawn by provincial Crown Attorneys against nine protesters arrested at the beginning of October."

"Time and again [Crown attorneys have informed my officers that the actions at Bathurst and Sheppard do not] meet the legal threshold for criminal charges."

"As we have said many times, when officers have the lawful grounds to do so, arrests will be made and charges laid -- anywhere in the city, whether involving protesters or counter-protesters."

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw 

 

"When such incidents [as demonstrators staging a blockade of Christmas shoppers at Toronto's Eaton Centre, using megaphones to shout 'Intifada right now!'] occur repeatedly and without visible consequences, it substantially undermines public confidence in the rule of law and in the institutions responsible for upholding it."

Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner

 

"Where are the judges who make these decisions?"

"Our members are held accountable for the decisions they make and the actions they take."

"Why isn't anyone else?"

Toronto Police Association

 

"What we expect from the Crown -- what you and the public should expect -- is that the Crown is a zealous advocate for justice."

"Unfortunately, so far, we have not seen that in this case."

Megan Hankewich, Edmonton Police executive director of legal services

Pro-Palestine protesters took to Toronto's Eaton Centre to demonstrate on Boxing Day. Friday, Dec. 27 (Courtesy: Instagram/@pymtoronto)

 

A weak justice system is being held responsible by Canadian police for rising public disorder, as instance after instance of police attempting to uphold the law find themselves constrained by the rejecting reaction of Crown attorneys. If it were not for Crown prosecutors not having their back, Toronto police claim they would set about reigning in constant anti-Israel demonstrations.

 

Toronto Police chief Myron Demkiw complained that his department had been forced to expend over $42 million in policing over 800 anti-Israel demonstrations and blockades since the terrorist attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 led by Hamas, outlining his position in a letter to the Province of Ontario. On the infrequent occasion his officers took steps to lay charges for mischief, intimidation or hate speech, typically the outcome would be that the charges would be thrown out.

 

Five anti-Israel activists who crashed a Giller Prize gala a mere few weeks following the October 7 attacks, Chief Demkiw pointed out in his letter, faced no consequences for their illegal actions. Forged documents were used by the disruptors to enable entrance to the event at which they repeatedly interrupted proceedings, screaming slogans or leaping on stage to accuse the organizers of being complicit in genocide.

 

Police laid charges, including that of criminal mischief, despite which Crown prosecutors dropped all the charges. His investigators, said Chief Demkiw, do not lay charges frivolously; as a result "there is a frustration" experienced when so few of those duly charged end up not being prosecuted. Weekly anti-Israel demonstrations held at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue, the heart of Canada's densest Jewish neighbourhood came under mention in the letter.

 

Demonstrators have dressed themselves to resemble the deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 atrocities. Masked flag-bearers march through surrounding neighbourhoods at the nexus of the Jewish-domiciled areas. For weeks a highway overpass near the neighbourhood was occupied in 2024 by anti-Israel demonstrators who deliberately blocked the road so they could perform public Islamic group prayers.

The Palestine Youth Movement held a downtown rally from Yonge and Dundas Sts. to the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, before shutting down the intersection to traffic. Photo by Caryma Sa'd /Special to the Toronto Sun

 

"The only reason to show up in this neighbourhood mostly masked up is to intimidate Jews where they live", observed Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman. The December 30 letter from Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner chiding law enforcement for  being too hands-off in dealing with anti-Israel disorder, prompted Chief Demkiw's response, blaming Crown attorneys for what appeared to be police inaction.

 

The Toronto Police Association in September was inspired to blame judges for an incident where a 12-year-old on a release order was accused of taking part in the beating death of a homeless man. Edmonton Police slammed Crown prosecutors for failing to pursue charges against a woman accused of killing an eight-year-old Indigenous girl, the same month.

 

Even while Toronto police argue with the provincial government over who is responsible for lax prosecution of demonstrators, a protest on the weekend saw police respond more toughly when officers were pelted with "eggs, used toilet paper, and plastic bags filled with what appeared to be urine". This took place at an anti-immigration rally by the group Canada First. 

 

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, Toronto police say officers have attended more than 800 demonstrations related to the conflict. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)