President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he hopes Iran will reach an agreement with the United States, while again underscoring that Washington has bolstered its military footprint across the Middle East.
Addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump pointed to naval movements in the region, saying, “There is another beautiful armada floating beautifully towards Iran right now. So we will see.”
He followed by emphasizing his preference for diplomacy, adding, “I hope they make a deal. I hope they make a deal.”
Trump on Iran:
There is another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran right now, so we will see.
I hope they make a deal. I hope they make a deal. pic.twitter.com/oDcUgwX12n
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 27, 2026
The president has repeatedly cautioned Iranian leaders that the United States would respond forcefully if authorities move ahead with executions of anti-regime demonstrators.
Last Thursday, Trump delivered another sharp warning during an in-flight exchange with reporters as he traveled back to Washington from Davos, detailing what he described as a substantial buildup of U.S. forces near Iran.
“We have a lot of ships going in that direction, just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.”
Trump also reiterated his claim that U.S. pressure had halted mass executions in Iran the week before. “I stopped 837 hangings [last] Thursday. They would have been dead. Every one of them would have been hung…I said ‘if you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit. It’ll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts.’ And an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it. And they actually said they canceled it. They didn’t postpone it. They canceled it. So that was a good sign.”
In related developments, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned on Monday that the Islamic Republic would deliver a “comprehensive and regret inducing” response to any act of aggression.
Separately, reports on Tuesday said the United States is considering targeted strikes against Iranian officials and military commanders, as the reported death toll from ongoing protests in Iran climbs past 36,000.
{Matzav.com}
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group knowingly fired malfunctioning rockets during the Gaza war that ended up killing hundreds of Palestinian Arabs, according to a report disclosed by Kan Reshet Bet.
Documents uncovered during the fighting indicate that Hamas leadership was fully aware that rockets launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad were causing widespread destruction and resulting in civilian deaths inside Gaza.
One such document summarizes a tense meeting in Beirut between a Hamas official identified as Ahmed and Akram al-Ajouri, the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing. According to the summary, Hamas officials expressed fury over the rockets, describing them as inaccurate and responsible for severe casualties on the ground.
Al-Ajouri reportedly acknowledged that the organization knew the rockets were technically flawed and defended their use as an unavoidable wartime cost. “Even if a thousand people are killed by friendly fire, that is the price of war,” he said.
The document lays bare a grim reality: both Hamas and Islamic Jihad were fully aware that the faulty rockets were striking inside Gaza and killing large numbers of Palestinian Arab families.
One of the most prominent incidents cited was the blast in the courtyard of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City during the early weeks of the war. While Hamas accused Israel of carrying out a massacre, video evidence later showed that a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad had fallen short and detonated at the hospital site.
{Matzav.com}Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman urged New York State on Tuesday to formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, making the appeal on the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Blakeman, the Nassau County executive and the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, made his remarks on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He faulted Gov. Kathy Hochul for what he said was her refusal to fully adopt the IHRA definition and criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for eliminating it from city law.
“New York State has not adopted the definition,” Blakeman said Tuesday, according to the New York Post.
Appearing alongside Israel’s consul general in New York, Ofir Akunis, Blakeman continued, “On top of that, Mayor Adams, who adopted the definition, was overturned by the new mayor, Zohran Mamdani. We believe this is a disgrace, it is an injustice, and we are demanding our elected officials adopt that definition.”
The IHRA working definition outlines antisemitism in its many manifestations, including hatred and discrimination directed at Jews, Holocaust denial, and, in some cases, how antisemitism can intersect with certain forms of criticism of Israel.
To date, 37 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted or endorsed the IHRA definition, along with numerous countries around the world.
In June 2025, then–New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order formally recognizing the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
That action was undone on Mamdani’s first day in office, when he issued an executive order rescinding all directives signed by Adams after September 26, 2024. As a result, the IHRA recognition was nullified, along with an Adams-era order barring mayoral appointees and city agency employees from participating in boycotts or divestment efforts targeting Israel.
Jewish organizations have reported a significant increase in antisemitic incidents nationwide since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks, citing spikes in threats, vandalism, physical assaults, and attacks on synagogues.
Hochul has pointed to a 2022 proclamation she signed recognizing the IHRA definition as a guidance tool. She told The Post that she was “proud” of that action and said her administration has taken “comprehensive measures to protect Jewish New Yorkers and stand up to antisemitism.”
Blakeman rejected that approach in his comments Tuesday, arguing that a proclamation falls short and accusing both Mamdani and Hochul of backing policies he characterized as antisemitic.
“Potentially criticizing [Israel] for the way they act, when they were acting in self-defense, to me, is something that defies logic,” he said, referring to Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks.
Blakeman received President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the race for New York governor after Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who had been expected to run against Hochul, announced she was ending her campaign.
{Matzav.com}A rabbi was assaulted Tuesday afternoon in a brazen antisemitic attack on a public street in New York City, after a man hurled slurs at him, struck him in the face, and knocked him to the ground before fleeing the scene. The suspect was later apprehended.
The attack took place at approximately 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near Queens Boulevard in the Forest Hills neighborhood. According to reports, the assailant approached the rabbi and began shouting antisemitic insults, including calling him “Dirty Jew,” before punching him in the face and throwing him to the ground.
Eyewitnesses said the suspect continued to behave in a threatening manner, making menacing gestures and forming his hands into the shape of a gun, which he pointed at the victim before escaping on foot.
Despite the assault, the rabbi managed to photograph the suspect and immediately contacted police and alerted the Queens Shomrim. By the time law enforcement arrived in the area, the attacker had already fled.
Shomrim volunteers quickly launched a search of nearby streets and transportation hubs. One volunteer eventually spotted the suspect walking toward a nearby train station, discreetly followed him, and then stopped the train the suspect boarded, buying crucial time for police to arrive and make the arrest.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the attack, calling it “an act of hate,” and stressed that such incidents are unacceptable in the city.
Authorities continue to investigate the incident.
{Matzav.com}
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