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      The Guardian view on Trump’s world: from Venezuela to Iran to Greenland, the madness is the method | Editorial

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      The US president delights in his inconsistency. But his short-term victories have profound long-term costs for his country and the worldThe Middle East was braced on Wednesday night, but the anxious petitioning of Gulf states and Iran’s attempts to appease the US president appeared to win out – at least for the moment. No bombs fell on Tehran. After all his threats, and with military options under discussion in Washington, Donald Trump stepped back, announcing that “the killing [of protesters] has stopped”.Despite the telecommunications blackout, it seems clear that a ruthless regime has shed still more blood than in previous protest crackdowns. Rights groups say that thousands have been killed and vast numbers arrested; one official spoke of 2,000 deaths. Witnesses compared the streets to a war zone. If the large-scale killings have indeed ebbed, that is probably because Iranians have been terrified out of the streets – for now, at least. Iran’s foreign minister chose Fox News to insist no hangings were imminent, in case the identity of the message’s one-man audience was in any doubt. But while retribution may have been postponed, it will not be cancelled as it should be: the calls for the regime’s downfall are seen as an existential threat. The Iranian authorities can wait. Mr Trump will move on.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading… More

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      How a billionaire with interests in Greenland encouraged Trump to acquire the territory

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      US president’s friend Ronald Lauder – who first proposed Arctic expansion – is now making deals in the islandOne day during his first term, Donald Trump summoned a top aide to discuss a new idea. “Trump called me down to the Oval Office,” John Bolton, national security adviser in 2018, told the Guardian. “He said a prominent businessman had just suggested the US buy Greenland.”It was an extraordinary proposal. And it originated from a longtime friend of the president who would go on to acquire business interests in the Danish territory. Continue reading… More

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      Trump news at a glance: president vows to help ‘Iranian Patriots’ in latest signal of military action against Tehran

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      Administration issues warning to US citizens: ‘Leave Iran now’ – key US politics stories from 13 January at a glanceDonald Trump has told Iranians to keep protesting and said help was on the way, in the clearest sign yet that the US president may be preparing for military action against Tehran.“Iranian Patriots, keep protesting – take over your institutions!!! … help is on its way,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday. He added that he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until the “senseless killing” of protesters stopped. Continue reading… More

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      US Strike on Venezuela: A Violation of the Sovereign Equality of Nation-State Principle

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      The US strike on northern Venezuela’s establishment on January 3 is a gross violation of international law and the principle of the sovereign equality of the nation-state. This noble principle, first articulated in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 — which ended the balkanization of Europe — was later reiterated in the Charter of the… Continue reading US Strike on Venezuela: A Violation of the Sovereign Equality of Nation-State Principle
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      2026 is already pure chaos. Is that Trump’s electoral strategy? | Moustafa Bayoumi

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      Less than two weeks into the year, the US is stoking mayhem at home and abroad – with midterms coming in the autumnHave we ever seen a year in recent memory begin with as much deliberate turmoil as 2026 has? Less than two weeks into 2026, we have witnessed Donald Trump deploy US forces to depose and abduct the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, along with Cilia Flores, his wife and close political adviser. The US president then informed the world that the United States would “run” Venezuela for the time being, which he later explained could potentially last for several years.Trump has also threatened – and then seemingly made peace with – the president of Colombia; seized at least five oil tankers in the Caribbean (actions that UN experts label illegal armed aggression); promised US military strikes targeting cartels in Mexico against the wishes of Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum; and frightened the people of Cuba with the prospect that Marco Rubio could be their next president. Continue reading… More

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      Trump news at a glance: White House doubles down on threat of ‘lethal force’ against Iran amid unrest

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      Trump also announced a 25% tariff for ‘any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran’ – key US politics stories from 12 JanuaryLast week, as growing protests in Iran were met with violent crackdowns, Donald Trump issued a threat to the country’s leadership: “You’d better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too.”This week the White House is doubling down on Trump’s saber-rattling. Continue reading… More

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      Trump says countries doing business with Iran face 25% tariff on US trade

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      President posts online as US weighs response to situation in Iran, which is major facing anti-government protestsDonald Trump has said any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the US, as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran, which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” the US president said in a post on Truth Social on Monday. Tariffs are paid by US importers of goods from those countries. Iran has been heavily sanctioned by Washington for years. Continue reading… More

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      Gunboat Diplomacy Returns: US Resource Grab in Venezuela

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      In the early hours of January 3, US forces stormed a military compound in Caracas, capturing Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Hours later, from his Mar-a-Lago estate, US President Donald Trump dismissed Venezuela’s democratic opposition, asserting the US would “run the country until transition.” Thus began what US forces dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve.” The name implies… Continue reading Gunboat Diplomacy Returns: US Resource Grab in Venezuela
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