Iran has denounced the U.S. detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, describing the operation as an ‘abduction’ and calling for his immediate release.
The speaker of Georgia’s parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has questioned the European Union’s ability to act as a global geopolitical power, saying it no longer functions as a guarantor of international order.
In late December 2025, protests erupted across Iran after the rial collapsed and inflation soared. Unrest spread from Tehran’s Grand Bazaar as citizens expressed frustration over rising prices, economic hardship, and long‑standing grievances with government policies.
Israeli air strikes in Gaza and Lebanon have raised fresh concerns about the durability of ceasefire agreements, after deadly attacks were reported in both territories.
At least 29 people have been killed and more than 1,200 arrested during a fresh wave of unrest in Iran, a U.S.-based rights organisation says.
Around 20 Azerbaijani migrant workers in Russia have been coerced into fighting on the front line in Ukraine, according to reports cited by Azerbaijani media.
President Ilham Aliyev said 2025 has politically closed the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, as a Trump-era reset in U.S. ties, new transport corridors and a push into AI, renewables and defence production reshape Azerbaijan’s priorities.
At the end of last year, U.S. President Donald Trump was reported to have raised the Azerbaijan–Armenia peace agenda during a conversation with Israel’s prime minister, warning that if peace were not achieved, Washington could raise tariffs on both countries by 100 percent.
President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijan’s Orthodox Christian community on the occasion of Christmas.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stressed the need to expand comprehensive relations between Tehran and Baku, describing his visit to Azerbaijan last December as “constructive”.
Iran does not trust Israel and remains fully prepared to defend its national sovereignty against any potential threats, the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson has said.
Israel’s minister for diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, has called on Israel to “cut ties” with Türkiye, describing the country as an “enemy state”.
Iran’s leadership is facing its most acute challenge in years as violent unrest driven by economic hardship coincides with renewed military warnings from the United States and Israel.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has moved to advance reforms of the Armenian Apostolic Church, signing a controversial roadmap with ten senior bishops that could pave the way for the departure of the current church leader.
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has dismissed the political significance of recent private meetings between Vladimir Putin and former Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, describing them as purely personal exchanges.
President Ilham Aliyev has held talks in Baku with a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Congress, focusing on regional peace efforts, expanding bilateral ties and new transport corridors.
Azerbaijan and Türkiye have signed an agreement covering the supply of 33 billion cubic metres of natural gas, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that the Russia-Ukraine war is now threatening trade in the Black Sea.
U.S. authorities say they have thwarted an ISIS‑inspired terrorist attack planned for New Year’s Eve in the town of Mint Hill, North Carolina, arresting an 18‑year‑old suspect just hours before the alleged assault was due to take place.
The Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami unveiled that the country’s civilian nuclear program has been the target of industrial sabotage by the Israeli and the U.S. intelligent agencies for the last three decades.
