Iranians block a road and gather during a protest in Kermanshah, Iran, January 8, 2026.
Kamran | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s list ranks Iran next to Venezuela and Greenland.
Background: Protests in Iran, now in their third week, have been sparked by a sharp rise in inflation and have turned into anti-government protests. More than 500 people have been killed in Iran’s crackdown on dissidents, according to US-based human rights group HRANA.
“The United States of America will come to their aid,” President Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Friday, referring to the protesters.
Those were not empty words. White House officials have laid out plans for how Trump will carry out his threats and are expected to outline military, cyber, economic and other actions on Tuesday, according to MS Now and other media outlets.
Iran is a major oil producing country. If the United States launches an operation against a country in the Middle East, energy prices are likely to be affected, but it is unlikely to proceed as smoothly as it did in the case of Venezuela.
The broader conflict could also impact market sentiment in the short term.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned of possible retaliation if the United States attacks the country. “In case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) and all US military bases and ships will be legitimate targets,” Khalibaf said, according to a Reuters report.
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President Trump is reportedly considering options against Iran. According to MS Now and other media outlets, the president has been presented with potential plans ranging from a possible military attack to actions that do not involve the military.
President Trump said Cuba would not receive oil from Venezuela. But the Caribbean island pushed back against President Trump’s threat to sign a deal with the United States. Separately, President Trump on Friday signed an executive order aimed at blocking the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenues held in U.S. Treasury accounts.
Job creation in the United States has been slower than expected. Nonfarm payrolls in December rose by a seasonally adjusted 50,000 from the previous month, below the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s forecast of 73,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.4% from 4.6% the previous month.
The S&P 500 and Dow hit new highs at the close. Major U.S. indexes rose on Friday, marking a strong week. of S&P500 Week to date, the increase was more than 1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite They rose 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively. pan-european Stocks 600 It rose by 0.97%.
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