Ali Reza Jirani, a senior Iranian diplomat at the UN office in Geneva, has reportedly requested political asylum in Switzerland, raising questions over whether this marks the first visible crack inside the regime’s diplomatic ranks.
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Boom: Senior Iranian UN Diplomat Seeks Asylum in Switzerland
Ali Reza Jirani, a senior Iranian diplomat at the UN office in Geneva, has reportedly requested political asylum in Switzerland, raising questions over whether this marks the first visible crack inside the regime’s diplomatic ranks.
Miami mourns the death of Mordchai Grunberger, 71, Who was tragically killed
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| Mordehay Grunberger, 71,and his wife |
A beloved Florida pastry chef was tragically killed after getting caught in a bread-mixing machine at a grocery store where he worked, according to reports.
Mordehay Grunberger, 71, was found dead at the South Florida Kosher Market in North Miami Beach early Friday morning following a freak accident with an industrial dough mixer, the North Miami Beach Police Department told multiple outlets.
Authorities believe the longtime employee got lodged in the machine and do not suspect foul palay.
“At this time, there are no signs of foul play and we believe the incident was accidental involving an industrial dough mixer,” police said, NBC 6 South Florida reported.
The Kosher grocer shut its doors Friday in the wake of the fatal incident, according to CBS Miami.
Police have not disclosed what led to the deadly accident.
Grunberger identified himself as a head pastry chef on his Facebook page.
His grief-stricken wife, Inna Gastman Moar, shared her devastation on social media Friday.
“Today, my beloved husband Miki, my closest person in my life my best friend, and father of my two beautiful sons, tragically passed away!” she wrote on Facebook.
I lost myself. I love him so much. He’s the love of my life!”
The grieving spouse shared several loving photos of her and her husband, something she often did, as family and friends flooded her page with condolences and memories of Grunberger.
One loved one described him as having a “noble heart.”
“He gave me his hand in the most difficult moments, of my life in the country, simple count on his love and solidarity,” the friend wrote.
Another said: “He was a wonderful person and a great friend and in our hearts of all those that he touched their life in one way or another.”
Police said Grunberger’s death is still under investigation, the outlet reported.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is also investigating the deadly incident.
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Israeli officials Believe that Steve Witkoff is a Danger to Israel
The officials mention sustained dissatisfaction with Witkoff. Sources close to the PM Netanyahu told i24NEWS on Saturday evening: “For several months now, the feeling has been that envoy Steve Witkoff has strong ties, for his own reasons, across the Middle East, and that at times the Israeli interest does not truly prevail in his decision-making.”
This criticism relates both to the proposed inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in Gaza’s governing bodies and to the Iranian threat. A senior Israeli official put it bluntly: “If it turns out that he is among those blocking a strike on Iran, that is far more than a coincidence.”
Disturbing Phone Call from Daughter of Senior Commander inside Iran
A woman calls into the Persian Manoto News program, saying she is the daughter of a senior commander inside Iran.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 15, 2026
Very disturbing conversation. pic.twitter.com/KmrPy9oLPd
Iran’s leader blasts Trump as a ‘criminal,’ blames him for country’s deadly nationwide unrest
Iran’s supreme leader blasted President Trump as a “criminal” on Saturday and blamed him for the brutal nationwide protests — one day after the president announced he had backed off attacking Tehran.
“We consider the US president a criminal for the casualties, damages, and the slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech, Iran International reported.
“Trump himself intervened in this unrest, made statements, encouraged the rioters, and said we will provide military support.”
His rhetoric comes just a day after Trump revealed that he decided against striking the Islamic Republic this week in part because Tehran said it had called off plans for a mass execution of protesters.
“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump told reporters Friday that he “convinced himself” after initially vowing publicly to back protesters against the repressive regime.
On Jan. 2, he warned hat the US was “locked, loaded and ready to go.”
That decision reportedly came after lobbying by Israel and Saudi Arabia led to Trump’s pivot, according to reports.
More than 3,000 protesters were reportedly slaughtered across Iran this week as demonstrations against Khamenei’s theocratic regime and its failing economy spurned into chaos on the streets of Tehran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Much of the killing occurred during nationwide blackouts that shut down the internet across all of Iran.
Khamenei’s aggressive rhetoric continued the antagonizing tone Tehran has taken with Trump.
Iranian state television aired an image of the 2025 assassination attempt against the president in Butler, Pennsylvania, on a Jan. 14 broadcast with the caption “this time it will not miss the target.”
Moshe Ludmer a student at the Boyan Yeshiva in Modiin Illit, was found dead after being swept away by the Modiin Stream on Tuesday.
The body of Moshe Ludmer, a student at the Boyan Yeshiva in Modiin Illit, was found today (Friday) after he had been missing since Tuesday.
He was swept away in the current of the Modiin Stream, near his yeshiva, while he went to dip in the water with another friend. The friend, who was rescued that same day, reported the incident, and rescue teams have been operating in the area since then.
Ludmer, 16, a resident of Beitar Illit, had recently joined the 'Tiferet Yisrael Rozhin Boyan' Yeshiva in Modiin Illit, where he had started his first year of studies.
Lieutenant Commander Shlomi Harosh, commander of the Benjamin Region of the Israel Fire and Rescue Service, said: "This is a tragic event in which a young man lost his life. This was a complex and challenging search because there was a lot of drift in the stream and in the water crossings under the bridges along the stream, as well as the stormy weather that prevailed during the first days of the search."
The police noted that the search was conducted continuously over four days, with extensive cooperation between security forces, rescue units, and volunteers.
A police spokeswoman said: "On the morning of the fourth day of searches conducted by the Judea and Samaria District police, along with numerous emergency security and rescue personnel, alongside hundreds of volunteers, the body of the missing young man who had been swept away in the Modi'im Stream was located."
Rabbi Kalmanson attacks draft law: 'A danger to Israel; Hashem will not forgive them.'
Rabbi Benny Kalmanson, head of the Otniel Yeshiva and the father of Elhanan Kalmanson, who was killed in battle on October 7, sharply criticized the new draft law and the manner in which the government is advancing it.
In an interview broadcast on Galei Zahal (Friday), Rabbi Kalmanson said that he took part in a protest outside the Knesset and argued that the law endangers the security of the state.
According to him, “In the absence of soldiers and a shortage of combat fighters, we are endangering the country. We are selling the security of the State of Israel in exchange for another two months in power."
He said the issue is not merely avoiding enlistment, but a move that would receive permanent legal backing: “They are going to grant a legal, permanent approval for the exemption of a valued sector. There is no mechanism whatsoever to ensure that these people are actually studying Torah."
Rabbi Kalmanzon, who also lost his nephew, Pediah Mark, during the fighting in Gaza, stressed that he did not come to the protest as a bereaved father, but “as a concerned citizen." Nevertheless, he added, “Bereavement intensifies the message. Torah study is dear to my heart; it is what I have devoted my entire life to."
He added that he has spoken with political figures, including those identified with the religious-Zionist public. “I receive answers saying that it is important to keep the government in place, and that the Left would do the same thing. I have no idea whether the claim that the Left would do the same is correct or not; that interests me less."
Addressing the argument that the government must be preserved, he said: “I think this claim will backfire. This public will be angry at the government and will vote it out. From their perspective, both the Religious Zionism party and Likud are currently committing political suicide - losing their popularity and their relevance - just to hang on for another moment, and in doing so they are endangering the State of Israel. Not a single combat soldier will be drafted through this Bismuth framework. History will judge Bismuth."
“Hashem will not forgive them, and history will not forget this injustice. The State of Israel has not yet finished dealing with its enemies - we need soldiers," he concluded.
Iran Cleric Brands Protesters “Trump’s Soldiers,” Calls for Mass Executions
A hardline cleric leading Friday prayers in Iran’s capital publicly demanded the execution of protesters swept up in the regime’s nationwide crackdown, as Tehran weighs its next steps amid mounting domestic unrest and international pressure.
Speaking at Tehran’s main weekly prayers, Ahmad Khatam called for the death penalty for detainees accused of involvement in the protests and urged authorities to arrest “anyone who supported the rioters in any way.”
His sermon, broadcast live on Iranian state radio, drew chants from worshippers including, “Armed hypocrites should be put to death!”
The remarks come as executions — along with the killing of peaceful protesters — have been identified by Donald Trump as red lines that could trigger U.S. military action, sharply raising the stakes for Iran’s leadership as it seeks to reassert control.
Khatami, who was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and sits on both Iran’s Assembly of Experts and its powerful Guardian Council, framed the unrest as a foreign-backed plot. He described protesters as “butlers” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “soldiers of Trump,” accusing them of seeking to “disintegrate the country.”
“They should wait for hard revenge from the system,” Khatami said, referring to Netanyahu and Trump. “Americans and Zionists should not expect peace.”
Beyond fiery denunciations, the cleric also delivered what appeared to be an official accounting of damage attributed to the protests. According to Khatami, 350 mosques, 126 prayer halls and 20 other holy sites were damaged, along with 80 homes belonging to Friday prayer leaders, a key pillar of Iran’s theocratic structure.
He further claimed that unrest had damaged 400 hospitals, 106 ambulances, 71 fire department vehicles and another 50 emergency response vehicles — figures that could not be independently verified.
As a senior public cleric with close ties to Iran’s ruling institutions, Khatami would likely have access to internal government data. His decision to disclose the figures during Friday prayers suggests the regime is using the pulpit as a proxy for official messaging, amplifying its justification for an uncompromising crackdown while avoiding a direct address from senior political leaders.
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