Iranian Protests Continue for 13th Day; Spread Across Iran's 31 Provinces + Russia Strikes Lviv with Oreshnik Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile + US Seizes Tanker in the Caribbean Sea

For review:

1. Iranian Protests Continue for 13th Day; Spread Across Iran's 31 Provinces.

2. During visit to Beirut, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has said his country is seeking to open a new chapter in relations with Lebanon, at a time when Lebanon is continuing with plans to disarm Tehran's most potent proxy- Hezbollah.

3. Iran’s supreme leader signaled Friday that security forces would crack down on protesters after they screamed from windows and marched through the streets overnight, directly challenging US President Donald Trump’s pledge to support those peacefully demonstrating.

4. Report: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will escape to Moscow if his regime collapses- an intelligence report shared with The Times of Israel says.

The Supreme Leader Khamenei, 86, will flee Tehran with his aides and family members if his security forces fail to halt the growing demonstrations or desert his side amid the unrest, the report says.

5. Russia fired its new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile at the western Ukrainian city of Lviv overnight on Jan. 9, the Russian Defense Ministry said, calling the attack "retaliation" for an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences, a claim Kyiv has denied.

6. The US has seized another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said on Friday.

7. The head of NATO’s forces in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, said Friday the military alliance was far from being in “a crisis,” following President Donald Trump‘s threats to bring Greenland under US control.

8. Lockheed Martin says it delivered 191 F-35 Stealth Fighters in 2025, a record for the program facilitated by a backlog of jets held in storage.