Japan Snap Election Sparks Bond Yield Surge as Parties Clash Over Fiscal and Monetary Policy 
New York Judge Orders Redrawing of GOP-Held Congressional District 
Russia, U.S., and Ukraine Plan Abu Dhabi Security Talks as Moscow Stresses Territorial Demands 
California Sues Trump Administration Over Federal Authority on Sable Offshore Pipelines 
Russian Drone Attack Hits Kyiv and Kharkiv Amid Ongoing Peace Talks 
U.N. Human Rights Council Condemns Iran Over Deadly Crackdown on Protests 
Trump Calls for Prosecution of Jack Smith After Congressional Testimony 
U.S. Vice President JD Vance to Visit Azerbaijan and Armenia Following Historic Peace Deal 
United States Officially Exits World Health Organization, Raising Global Public Health Concerns 
Trump Administration Weighs Tougher Sanctions on Cuba Including Possible Oil Blockade 
Haiti Transitional Council Pushes to Remove Prime Minister Despite U.S. Warnings 
Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Stall as Energy Crisis Deepens 
Colombia Suspends Electricity Exports to Ecuador as Trade and Security Dispute Escalates 
NATO Chief Says Greenland Sovereignty Not Discussed as Trump Backs Off Tariff and Force Threats 
Keir Starmer Condemns Trump’s Afghanistan Remarks as European Allies Push Back 
Somaliland President Meets Eric Trump and Israeli President at Davos to Seek Recognition and Investment 
U.S. Steps Aside as Syria Reclaims SDF-Held Territory in Power Shift 
The Iranian court sentenced four people to death for allegedly cooperating with Israel’s intelligence agency. The sentencing is the latest flare of tensions between Iran and its longtime enemy.
Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that the Iranian judiciary Wednesday sentenced four people to death for cooperating with Israeli intelligence and for kidnappings. The outlet named the four people that were accused and that they were “sentenced to death for the crime of cooperating with the intelligence services of the Zionist regime and for kidnapping,” referring to Israel.
“With guidance from the Zionist intelligence service, this network of thugs was stealing and destroying private and public property, kidnapping people, and obtaining fake confessions,” said the report, adding that the four people accused were arrested by the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence.
The report also noted that three other people were sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for allegedly acting against national security, aiding in kidnapping, and possession of illegal weapons.
The sentencing of the four people is the latest flare of tensions between Iran and Israel. Tehran has long accused Israel of carrying out covert operations on Iranian soil. Tehran has also sought to blame Israel and the United States for inciting a civil war due to the widespread protests that have been taking place in recent months since the death of Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini back in September in the custody of the morality police.
The widespread protests are seen as the biggest show of opposition to the clerical establishment since the 1979 revolution.
A United Nations-appointed expert on Iran has voiced concern about the fate of the protesters who were sentenced to death for their participation in the demonstrations. The sentences come amidst the deaths of over 300 people in the protests, with 14,000 others getting detained by security forces.
“I’m afraid that the Iranian regime will react violently to the UN Human Rights Council resolution and this may trigger more violence and repression on their part,” Javaid Rehman told Reuters when the UN rights council voted in favor of launching a probe into Tehran’s crackdown on the protests. Iran has rejected the probe and said it has no intention of cooperating.
