Overview

• Protests erupted across Iran beginning on December 28, 2025, following an unprecedented economic crisis triggered by the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial against the dollar and widespread merchant strikes.

• According to reports, Iran’s supreme leader has prepared an escape plan to relocate senior officials to Moscow should the regime collapse, mirroring the manner in which the Assad regime fell.

• Reporting indicated that President Trump agreed to the possibility of an additional Israeli strike on Iran should Tehran continue expanding its ballistic missile capabilities and fail to reach any diplomatic agreement.

• The Rafah crossing will be jointly managed by Egypt and the Palestinian Authority under European Union supervision.

• Palestinian Authority security forces completed what appeared to be a military training course that included long marches, combat drills, and ideological instruction focused on strengthening Islamic faith.

• On Friday, January 2, 2026, the president of the Southern Transitional Council announced that within two years, by January 2, 2028, the council would declare the establishment of an independent “State of South Arabia”.

• Turkey’s pro-government daily Yeni Şafak, widely regarded as President Erdoğan’s primary media mouthpiece, published a front-page article declaring that “as of today, Israel is the number-one threat.”

Iran

Protests

• Protests erupted across Iran…