Keane warns Iran’s leadership to take Trump ‘at his word’ as military assets move into region

Retired Gen. Jack Keane said Iran’s leadership should take President Donald Trump “at his word,” arguing that the administration’s threat to hold the regime to account for violence against its own people remains in place as the U.S. moves military assets into the region.

Keane pushed back on the idea that the White House had softened its stance toward Tehran or might be trying to mislead Iran, saying Trump has been clear about his intent.

“I believe the president at his word. He intends to hold the regime accountable for what they have done,” Keane said on “The Sunday Briefing.”

The U.S.-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that more than 3,000 people were killed over roughly three weeks of unrest, though other reports put the death toll higher. Many thousands more have been arrested.

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“Certainly, the regime should take him at his word. They’ve completely disregarded it, obviously,” Keane said, adding that Iran’s “bloodbath” was not over.

He claimed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had brought in militias from other countries such as Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan to patrol the streets with loudspeakers and machine guns to suppress dissent.

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER ACKNOWLEDGES THOUSANDS KILLED AS TRUMP CALLS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP: REPORTS

Trump has not yet taken action, Keane said, because the U.S. is still positioning assets and assessing how Iran might retaliate. He suggested American military bases and Israel were in danger of finding themselves in Iran’s crosshairs.

“What likely it means — I’m just speculating — is we’ve expanded the targets to ballistic missiles, which would do damage to us as well as to the Israelis. [We must] make certain that we have all the assets in the region to be able to accomplish that.”

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He said Trump has been explicit about his intentions and should not be underestimated.

“That threat is still on the table.”

Ukrainian drone strikes leave hundreds of thousands without power across Russian-controlled area

Ukrainian drone strikes targeted energy infrastructure across Russian-controlled areas in southern Ukraine in an attack on Sunday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.

Ukrainian officials say the attack is an effort to “weaponize winter,” much as Russian forces targeted Ukraine’s power grid. Russia’s attacks continued in kind overnight, killing two people, Ukraine says.

More than 200,000 households in the Russia-held part of Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region had no electricity on Sunday, according to the Kremlin-installed local governor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that repairing the country’s energy system remains challenging, “but we are doing everything we can to restore everything as quickly as possible.”

RUSSIA SAYS UKRAINE PEACE TALKS ‘PROCEEDING CONSTRUCTIVELY,’ AS KREMLIN LAUNCHES DEADLY STRIKE ON ODESA

He said that two people were killed in overnight attacks across the country that struck Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa.

In total, more than 1,300 attack drones, 1,050 guided aerial bombs and 29 missiles of various types were used by Russia to strike Ukraine this week, Ukraine says.

Meanwhile, discussions continue between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia in an effort to secure a peace deal. Zelenskyy has consistently argued Russia is not committed to the peace process.

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“If Russia deliberately delays the diplomatic process, the world’s response should be decisive: more help for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressor,” Zelenskyy said Sunday.

President Donald Trump argued last week, however, that it was Ukraine, not Russia, holding up a possible peace agreement.

“I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump told Reuters of Putin. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”

When he was asked why U.S. intervention had not brought about an end to the war, Trump responded: “Zelenskyy,” Reuters reported.

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Trump refused to go into detail on why he believed Zelenskyy was holding back, saying that he believes the Ukrainian president was “having a hard time getting there,” referring to a peace agreement. However, later in the interview, Trump said he would be willing to meet with Zelenskyy at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

World Economic Forum invites Iranian foreign minister to Davos after regime slaughter of Iranian civilians

The World Economic Forum is facing calls to freeze out members of the Iranian regime from a summit in Davos this week.

The Iran watchdog group United Against Nuclear Iran sent a letter to WEF President Borge Brende on Friday urging the group not to invite any officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The group tells Fox News Digital that WEF did not respond to the letter, and instead the forum added an interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to the summit’s schedule on Sunday.

WEF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

UANI CEO Mark Wallace, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, cited human rights group reports regarding the mass slaughter of Iranian civilians by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime.

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“Just this month, the Iranian regime has carried out what some believe to be the largest massacre in its history,” Wallace wrote to Brende. “Araghchi is a member of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), which reportedly issued an order to use live fire on Iranian civilians protesting. Estimates suggest the regime killed at least 12,000 and up to 20,000 Iranians over the course of a few days in January as they exercised their fundamental rights to demonstrate against the Ayatollah and his tyranny.”

“Hosting Iranian regime officials, such as Araghchi, who whitewash this record is deeply offensive and would be wholly inappropriate to platform at a Forum whose theme this year is ‘A Spirit of Dialogue.’ Instead of dialogue, the Islamic Republic offered bullets to these brave Iranians,” Wallace continued.

Iran’s supreme leader publicly acknowledged for the first time Saturday that thousands of people were killed during recent anti-government protests, according to reporting from the BBC.

TRUMP’S LEADERSHIP CREATES ‘RARE OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CHANGE IN IRAN, FORMER IRANIAN POLITICAL PRISONER SAYS

Khamenei made the remarks during a public address Saturday, blaming the U.S. for the unrest and violence and saying some protesters died “in an inhuman, savage manner.”

U.S.-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that more than 3,000 people were killed over roughly three weeks of unrest, though Iranian authorities have not released an official death toll and other estimates have been higher.

Videos authenticated by BBC Persian and BBC Verify show Iranian security forces firing on demonstrators during the unrest.

Trump told Politico on Saturday that “it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” after being read a series of hostile posts from Khamenei’s X account accusing the president of responsibility for the violence.

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“What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before,” Trump said, according to Politico. “Leadership is about respect, not fear and death.”

Read Wallace’s full letter to the WEF below (App users click here)

Trump’s leadership creates ‘rare opportunity’ for change in Iran, former Iranian political prisoner says

Former Iranian political prisoner Navid Mohebbi said President Donald Trump’s strong stance in confronting the government of Iran has presented a rare and potentially historic opportunity for change, as protesters challenge what he described as one of the world’s most brutal governments.

Mohebbi argued that the scale of unrest inside Iran, combined with U.S. leadership he believes has already demonstrated a willingness to stand up to Tehran, has placed the country at a turning point, with consequences for Iran’s future, U.S. national security and global stability.

“What’s happening right now is a historical test, not just for Iran, but for the entire world,” Mohebbi said Saturday on “My View with Lara Trump,” arguing that Trump’s actions in the coming days could change the course of history.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE REVEALS 6-STEP PLAN TO EXERT PRESSURE ON TEHRAN’S REGIME

“This is one of those moments that, in my opinion, will be written about for generations to come,” he added. “I think President Trump’s legacy is on the line here as well, and in the best possible way. I think his administration has a rare opportunity to redefine America’s global leadership by standing up with the people that are begging for freedom.”

He said Trump faces a rare, legacy-defining opportunity to both stand with Iranians seeking freedom and advance U.S. interests by “weakening a regime that funds terrorism, destabilizes the Middle East and threatens… global security, including President Trump’s life.”

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER ACKNOWLEDGES THOUSANDS KILLED AS TRUMP CALLS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP: REPORTS

Mohebbi alleged that millions of Iranians had taken to the streets and that security forces had killed “more than 12,000 and up to 20,000 people.”

The U.S.-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that more than 3,000 people were killed over roughly three weeks of unrest, though Iranian authorities have not released an official death toll and nationwide internet shutdowns have made independent verification difficult.

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Mohebbi pointed to Trump’s past confrontations with Tehran, including the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani and more recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“Today, Americans can really see why that mattered. If a regime is capable of slaughtering 20,000 of its own people, you can only imagine what it would do with a nuclear weapon.”