Iran's Only Female Olympic Medalist Defects (BBC News) Iranian female Olympic medalist Kimia Alizadeh, who won a bronze medal in taekwondo at the Rio Olympics in 2016, says she has defected. "I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran whom they've been playing for years," she wrote on social media. "I wore whatever they told me and repeated whatever they ordered. Every sentence they ordered I repeated. None of us matter for them, we are just tools."
Iran Chess Referee Fears Returning Home after Photo with Headscarf Not Visible - Raf Sanchez (Telegraph-UK) "There are many people in prison in Iran because of the headscarf. It's a very serious issue," she said, claiming she was in fact wearing a headscarf.
Soleimani's Replacement Has Blood on His Hands - Struan Stevenson (The Herald-Scotland) While Soleimani focused on proxy wars in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq, Ghaani's job was to bolster terrorist militias in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Africa.
Understanding the Situation in Iran (Asia Society Podcast)
Impact of Soleimani's Death Is Playing Out in Unexpected Ways (Guardian-UK) Conversations with representatives of regional powers over the past week reveal a mix of surprise that Qasem Soleimani was killed and relief at an aftermath that, in their minds, has sharply weakened Iran's regional hand.
Iraqi Protesters Clash with Iranian-Backed Militias in Wake of Soleimani's Killing - Azhar Al-Rubaie (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
How Libya Became the Ultimate Proxy Conflict - Karl Maier (Bloomberg)
Hamas Must Choose: Egypt or Iran? - Shlomi Eldar (Al-Monitor)
Gas Begins Flowing from Israel to Egypt (Globes) Israel's Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz and Egypt's Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla announced Wednesday that gas has begun flowing from Israel's Leviathan field to Egypt. Israel will now be able to export some of its natural gas to Europe via Egypt's liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
Keep an Eye Out for Israel Derangement Syndrome - Juliet Moses (Spectator-Australia)
New Evidence Reveals ISIS Hierarchy - Sarah El Deeb (AP-Stars and Stripes)
Text - Judge, Jury and Executioner: The ISIS Bureau of Justice and Grievances (Syria Justice and Accountability Center)
Turkey Deploys 2,000 Syrian Fighters to Libya to Support Islamist Government - Bethan McKernan (Guardian-UK)
Mohammed bin Zayed’s Dark Vision of the Middle East’s Future - Robert Worth (The New York Times)
The Times (of London, BBC, and AP) erases the ethnic cleansing of Egypt’s Jews - Tamar Sternthal (CAMERA)
