Israeli media reports and a hawkish US lawmaker signalled that Iran might be next on US President Donald Trump’s list of interventions following the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that the US is weighing “some intervention” in Iran’s protests.
The article also said how Israel believes that the US’s abduction of Maduro over the weekend may indicate a new US risk threshold for intervention in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The report follows an appearance by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Fox News in which he sported a “Make Iran Great Again” baseball hat, saying, “I pray and hope 2026 will be the year that we make Iran great again.”
The brazen US intervention in South America came just after Trump on Friday warned Iran that the US could intervene to “rescue” Iranians if they continue to be met with a harsh response from their government amid protests there.
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At least 16 people have been killed so far in mass protests that have erupted over the cost-of-living crisis in Iran, as the local currency, the rial, effectively collapsed under the weight of US sanctions.
”If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote on his TruthSocial platform.
Mike Pompeo, Trump’s former secretary of state and an ardent supporter of Israel, was one of several Republicans over the weekend to draw a parallel between Maduro’s fall and Iran.
“As Maduro sails to NYC, the Venezuelan people now have a greater chance for freedom and the American people will now be able prosecute a man who transited drugs to kill us. I pray the Iranian leaders – who have supported Maduro – will soon be unable to harm the great Iranian people,” he wrote on X.
Trump’s willingness to deploy force in Venezuela has unnerved several countries, with the US leader signalling that Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico could be next.
On Sunday, Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, shared a social media post showing Greenland, which is part of Denmark, blanketed with a US flag and the word “SOON”.
US attack on Venezuela: Trump’s ‘peace’ means war in 2026
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Maduro was close to the governments of China, Russia, and Iran. He appeared at a US court on Monday, where he and his wife were charged with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and firearms offences.
“I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country,” Maduro said.
The death count from the US attack on Venezuela has risen to 80, including civilians and members of security forces, according to a senior Venezuelan official who said the number could rise further, The New York Times reported.
US special forces abducted Venezuela’s president from the capital, Caracas, early on Saturday, as American fighter jets bombed key military installations and bases across the country.
Over 30 Cuban security personnel who were protecting Maduro were killed in the US raid, say reports.
Netanyahu was visiting Trump in Florida in the days leading up to the attack on Venezuela. On Sunday, he issued his first remarks on the Iranian protests.
“The government of Israel, the State of Israel, and my own policies – we identify with the struggle of the Iranian people, with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice,” Netanyahu said. “It is quite possible that we are at a moment when the Iranian people are taking their fate into their own hands.”
