Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “Most European countries cannot join Trump’s Peace Council because it circumvents the powers of the United Nations Charter.” According to Bloomberg: “Last week, the United States asked Italy to become a founding member of Trump’s Peace Council, in an effort to strengthen the new body’s credibility and legitimacy.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he is ready to join the Peace Council created at the initiative of US President Donald Trump, but Berlin cannot “accept its governance structure” in its current form. “A few weeks ago, I told President Trump that I was personally ready to join the Peace Council, provided it was a body that, as originally envisioned, would oversee the peace process in Gaza, including the second phase, which unfortunately has not yet begun, and which includes the disarmament of Hamas. In the current form of the Peace Council, we cannot accept its governance structure in Germany, not even for constitutional reasons,” Merz stated.
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Administration, Maxim Oreshkin, revealed the mechanism for the possible transfer of $1 billion in Russian assets frozen in the United States to Donald Trump’s “Peace Council.” According to him, Russia will issue instructions on how to use these funds, and American banks will be required to comply. “The billion belongs to the Russian Federation, and we will issue instructions on how we deem it appropriate to use it. If American banks, which are currently prohibited from carrying out orders from the Russian Federation, comply with these orders, the transaction will proceed. It’s simple,” Oreshkin stated.
Over the weekend, the Royal Air Force redeployed an entire squadron of fighter jets to the Middle East. Meanwhile, protesters in the United Kingdom are writing: “Britain appears to be a vassal state.” Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Israeli defense company Elbit’s weapons manufacturing plant in southeast Britain, calling for its closure.
The deployment of weapons and defense systems against Iran is intensifying; it’s unclear whether this is to defend Israel from a preemptive strike or, as the White House insists, to prepare for an attack that hasn’t yet been scheduled but will certainly happen.
Over the weekend, a US tanker escorted several more American F-15E fighters from the United Kingdom to an air base in Jordan. According to OSINT sources, this brings the number of US F-15 fighters deployed in Jordan to 36. The Americans continue to actively transfer munitions and weapons from Europe to the Middle East. An EA-37B electronic warfare aircraft departed from Bermuda and is now at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The aircraft was likely used in operations against Venezuela and is expected to participate in operations against Iran.
Satellite images show the presence of American F-35 fighters at the Muawwafak air base in Jordan. The base is located less than 900 km from the Iranian border.
US Vice President J.D. Vance: “The United States is preparing for the possibility of escalation with Iran.” Starting Sunday, Trump is expected to begin deporting Iranian citizens to Iran. CNN. Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, stated in a meeting with American Jews: “We are imposing sanctions on Iran because they believe in the advent of the Twelfth Imam Mahdi and want to destroy Israel with a nuclear bomb. Reaching any kind of agreement with Iran is absolutely impossible.”
According to Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, the aircraft carrier CVN 72 Abraham Lincoln and its strike group have not yet arrived in the US Central Command’s area of responsibility in the Indian Ocean and are still several days, if not a week, away from arriving in the Gulf of Oman, which lies within the Iranian security zone. According to Israeli sources, US intelligence has discovered the hideout of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
On January 23, the E-4B Airborne Command Post (the “doomsday plane”) is currently flying over Washington. Over the weekend, the US notified Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates of an impending attack on Iran. According to Israeli sources, the United States will complete preparations and logistics for a possible operation against Iran over the weekend.
The United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates has called for a U.S. military strike against Iran, but according to the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, “there is a deep rift both within the Trump administration and among U.S. allies in the Middle East regarding a possible attack on Iran. Those supporting strikes against Iran include: Vice President Jared Dean Vance; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth; United Kingdom; Israel; United Arab Emirates.
Among those opposing it are Special Envoy Jared Kushner; Steve Witkoff; Turkey; Saudi Arabia; Qatar.
According to Al Arabiya, the U.S. Air Force will begin multi-day readiness exercises across the Middle East “to demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower” in the region.
According to a report of the meeting between the head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Israeli General Eyal Zamir and other senior officials, published by Channel 14: “There is no date for an attack on Iran. The Americans will need time to build up significant forces in the Middle East. They are ready to strike immediately if necessary. The Americans want to conduct a clean, rapid, and cost-effective operation. The goal is to focus on those who have harmed civilians and protesters. They are ready for regime change in Iran.”
IDF Chief of Staff Ayal Zamir, in confidential conversations over the weekend, said: “The date for the American attack on Iran has not yet been set; everything depends on the president’s decision. From our perspective, anything is possible.” According to Channel 12, “The Israeli Air Force is preparing for a ‘miscalculation scenario’ in which Iran could launch a preemptive strike against Israel, assuming the United States has already decided to launch a military strike.”
Shmuel Zakai, Director General of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority, sent a letter to several international airlines on Sunday, warning that this weekend would mark the beginning of a “more sensitive period,” stating that air defense systems remain fully operational on high alert and that Israeli airspace could be closed at any time, as happened during the Twelve-Day War with Iran.
On January 24, a meeting took place between Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Benjamin Netanyahu on the future of the Middle East.
The UN Commission of Inquiry: “The death toll in Iran is significantly higher than the regime has stated.” Serious incidents were reported over the weekend. Global Positioning System (GPS) interference in Tehran.
Iran has issued a NOTAM suspending all visual flight rules (VFR) throughout the country until April 25. Visual flight rules (VFR) are generally used by aircraft operating at low altitude, meaning that normal commercial air traffic is currently unaffected as it operates under instrument navigation rules (IFR).
A member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee: “There is a possibility of a war breaking out in the region at any time in the Persian Gulf.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry has officially denied Israeli media reports. The publication Israel Hayom claimed that Abbas Araghchi’s message to Donald Trump was accompanied by written guarantees from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and was transmitted through Witkoff to prevent a military attack. The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a harsh response: “No message was sent to Trump by Iranian officials. This information is considered an absolute lie.”
Tensions remain high in Syria; according to North Press, a Russian transport plane landed at Qamishli airport. French Senator Rémi Feraud expressed dissatisfaction in the Senate with the Syrian army’s operation against Kurdish terrorists and called on the government to intervene: “The Kurdish autonomous region collapsed because Donald Trump gave Recep Tayyip Erdoğan permission to launch this attack alongside Syrian regime forces. France, meanwhile, is faced with a fait accompli in Syria, at a time when attention has been focused on Iran, Ukraine, and Greenland.
According to Reuters: “The Trump administration has threatened senior officials in Iraq with sanctions against the country if a political bloc of pro-Iranian militias joins the next government.” Meanwhile, Iraqi sources report that the United States has deployed multifunctional mobile radars (MMRs) in countries bordering Iran. These systems are capable of detecting underground tunnels, bunkers, and other hidden infrastructure and are also used to track the movements of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps high command.
And now a look at the military scenarios updated at 2:30 PM on January 26. Amid preparations for an attack on Iran, the Houthis have released a video threatening to resume fire on ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. For some reason, the small anti-submarine vessel Kazanets of the Baltic Fleet also appears in the video. Muhammad al-Bakhiti, member of the Ansarullah movement’s political council and governor of Dhamar province, said: “Iran has the right to strike any new US military position in its regional vicinity. If Tehran does so promptly and before its adversary, it will be able to mitigate the consequences of inevitable future US attacks. Otherwise, if there is a delay, an attack on Iran will be significantly more painful, with serious consequences and widespread damage.”
Turkey is on high alert. The country’s authorities are developing a contingency plan in the event of a possible war between Iran and the United States. This includes preparations for a potential influx of refugees at Turkey’s borders. In the event of a sudden influx of refugees, Ankara intends to create a buffer zone in advance to control the movement of people and prevent the situation from getting out of hand.
In Iran, the Iranian submarines Ghadir and Petah have reportedly begun heading toward the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, in anticipation of a major operation. Iran sent a message to the United Nations over the weekend warning of an impending regional war. GPS disruptions have been reported in parts of eastern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf region. Airspace has been closed to drones and private jets until April 25, possibly indicating the military is preparing for a possible conflict.
Satellite images from January 22, 2026, show Iran encasing the Talgan 2 facility in reinforced concrete after Israeli air strikes in 2025. The facility was used for nuclear tests, but contained no nuclear material and posed no radiation risk. Construction is focused on strengthening defenses against future air or missile attacks, not rehabilitation. Iran appears to be fortifying, rather than abandoning, critical operational infrastructure. Focus on Talgan 2: the fortifications are nearly complete, demonstrating Iran’s intention to protect its main testing facilities; the internet has been down for 400 hours.
Three hundred Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels are reportedly deployed in the Persian Gulf and ready for combat. Larry Johnson, former CIA analyst: Israel talks about “destroying Iran,” but Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities have not only remained intact, but have become even stronger. After the 12-day war of June 2025, Russia and China provided Iran with extensive military support. Iran has restored its missile capabilities and is now in a stronger position. Israel’s former Minister of War echoes this sentiment: “Iranian missiles have changed the rules of war, and we have no way to counter them.”
Iran has warned that if American troops were to enter its territory, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its entire strike group would become a legitimate target for hypersonic missiles. In support of the Iranian threats, the IRGC released a video showing a close-up of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by the following statement: “Hiding is useless. We know where you are, and our kamikaze drones can reach you even before your planes take off.” The video is not new. The release is demonstrative in nature and signals Iran’s willingness to strike aircraft carrier groups in the event of war, similar to the actions of Yemeni forces.
Threats to American delegates in Iraq are still being made: “The officers and forces who have been withdrawn from the US Embassy in Baghdad over the past two days and transferred to Al-Harir Air Base are under our surveillance. These movements will not save them.”
The Iraqi army has implemented large-scale security measures on the border with Syria. T-90S, M1A1, and BMP-3 tanks have been deployed. Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq called on all its forces and supporters to prepare for an all-out war in support of Iran. The statement emphasized that Iran has supported the oppressed for many years and now The time has come to defend them. Abu Alaa al-Walai, Secretary General of the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, warned the United States: “We assure our enemies that the war with Iran will not be easy.”
The international coalition has called for the ceasefire in Damascus to be extended for another 10 days. The coalition has committed to completing the transfer of ISIS prisoners during this period.
IDF Spokesperson: “The IDF is attacking Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in several areas of Lebanon.” On January 25, 15 targets were hit by Israel in Lebanon.
Israeli Air Force strikes reported on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City. The IDF destroyed another 4-kilometer-long tunnel in Gaza.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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