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Thursday, January 1, 2026

'NYT: CIA Kept Ukraine Fight Alive as Military Aid Faltered'

While the Pentagon halted weapons deliveries and temporarily suspended intelligence sharing after President Trump ordered an aid freeze in March, the CIA was granted an exemption.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned the White House that a full cutoff would endanger U.S. officers operating inside Ukraine, prompting approval for continued intelligence sharing on Russian threats.

With long-range missile strikes using ATACMS effectively curtailed, the CIA shifted focus to Ukrainian drone operations.

The agency provided targeting intelligence and operational support for strikes against critical parts of Russia’s war economy, including:

oil refineries,
“energetics” factories producing explosive chemicals,
and Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers in the Black Sea and Mediterranean.

Early drone attacks had limited impact due to poor coordination and Russian electronic warfare. In June 2025, CIA and U.S. military officers restructured the campaign, narrowing targets to refinery components that are difficult to replace, forcing facilities offline for weeks.

According to a U.S. intelligence estimate cited in the report, the refined campaign inflicted losses of up to $75 million per day on the Russian economy.

Fuel shortages followed, with gas lines forming in several regions of Russia.

The CIA deliberately avoided supplying weapons or hardware that Pentagon officials wanted redirected to Asia or the Middle East, relying instead on intelligence support and Ukrainian-produced drones.

Ratcliffe briefed President Trump on the operation, which officials said the president favored because it offered pressure on Russia without overt escalation.

The covert nature of the campaign provided Washington with deniability while weakening Russia’s ability to sustain the war.

A senior U.S. official quoted in the report said:

“We found something that is working.”

The CIA’s approach contrasted sharply with Pentagon policy, where munitions were restricted and Ukraine-focused officials were sidelined.

The result was a divided U.S. posture: overt military aid stalled, while covert intelligence operations quietly intensified to buy time for Ukraine.

https://clashreport.com/world/articles/cia-kept-ukraine-fight-alive-as-military-aid-faltered-kq1b4eptshf

'Iran’s President Blames Mismanagement, Not U.S.'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has delivered one of the clearest acknowledgments yet by a sitting Iranian leader that public anger reflects domestic failure rather than foreign pressure. Speaking during a visit to Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Pezeshkian said dissatisfaction among citizens should be laid squarely at the feet of the government. “If people are dissatisfied, we are to blame—not America or anyone else,” he said. “It is our responsibility to manage resources properly, improve efficiency and productivity, and solve the people’s problems.” Iranian media reported the remarks amid ongoing protests and economic strain, framing them as a directive to officials to stop deflecting responsibility outward.

The statement matters less for its novelty than for its clarity. Iranian leaders frequently cite sanctions and U.S. policy as the primary drivers of inflation, shortages, and social pressure. Pezeshkian explicitly rejected that reflex. “If people are not satisfied, this is our fault,” he said, adding that officials should not seek refuge in blaming Washington or unnamed external actors. The emphasis signals an internal diagnostic: governance, not geopolitics, is the binding constraint.

“Do Not Be Wasteful”

Pezeshkian anchored his critique in practical examples of waste and mismanagement observed firsthand. He described a single room where “14 lights” were left on when “one would have been enough,” and heating so excessive that a window had been left open, squandering energy. The anecdote was not incidental. It illustrated his broader point that inefficiency compounds scarcity in an economy already under stress. Quoting the Qur’an, he reminded officials: “Eat and drink, but do not be wasteful; for Allah does not love the wasteful.”

The president framed resource discipline as both an economic and moral obligation. He warned that routine excess—whether in energy use, procurement, or budgeting—undermines the state’s capacity to deliver services. In a country of more than one administrative layer and thousands of public buildings, such small lapses scale quickly. His message was directed at governors, managers, and financial deputies, naming each role explicitly to underscore accountability across the chain.

Governance as Moral Test

Pezeshkian cast the crisis in ethical terms, linking administrative failure to religious duty. “According to the Qur’an, if we fail to solve the people’s problems, we will end up in hell,” he said. The language was stark and deliberate. By invoking scripture, he reframed governance failures as a test not only of competence but of faith and national responsibility. “The challenges we face are a test—for our managers, for us as Muslims, and as Iranians,” he said, calling for an awakening and a “new course” for the country.

The appeal blended civic nationalism and religious obligation, a familiar Iranian rhetorical pairing, but with a notable shift in emphasis. Rather than mobilizing resistance to external pressure, Pezeshkian urged internal reform, arguing that determination must replace hopelessness. He said Iran could secure a “bright future” if officials committed to building collectively and correcting failures rooted in poor management.

Policy Signals on Currency Controls

Beyond rhetoric, Pezeshkian pointed to a concrete policy change: the government has decided to end a system that provided importers of certain goods with foreign currency at a state-set, lower exchange rate. While details were limited, the announcement signals a willingness to confront distortions that have long fueled rent-seeking and inefficiency. Preferential rates, applied unevenly across sectors, have been criticized for encouraging waste and arbitrage rather than productivity.

The move aligns with his broader critique. Subsidized access to hard currency, like excessive energy use, reflects a mindset that tolerates leakage. By highlighting both behavioral lapses—14 lights in one room, an open window in winter—and structural fixes, Pezeshkian sketched a governance agenda centered on discipline. The test, as he framed it, is execution. Responsibility, he insisted, “is ours.”

https://clashreport.com/world/articles/irans-president-blames-mismanagement-not-us-1ks083hka9t

Italy says US has sharply cut proposed pasta tariffs after a review

Italy's foreign ministry said on Thursday the United States had sharply lowered proposed duties on several Italian pasta makers following a reassessment of ‌their U.S. activities.

In October, the United States said that 13 Italian pasta companies ‌would face an extra 92% duty - on top of the regular 15% rate on most EU imports - from January 2026, accusing two producers in particular, La Molisana and Garofalo, of selling pasta ⁠at unfairly low prices.

However, ‌after a review, the U.S. Department of Commerce cut the tariff for La Molisana to 2.26%, ‍while Garofalo's rate was set at 13.98%, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The remaining 11 producers, which were not individually examined in the review, face a tariff of 9.09%.

"The recalculation of ‌the duties is a sign that U.S. authorities recognise our companies' constructive willingness to cooperate," the foreign ministry said.

It added that the full conclusions of the U.S. review would be released on March 11, adding that the ministry would continue to provide ⁠help to the companies affected in the coming weeks.

The threatened pasta tariffs had been an embarrassment to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had hoped that her close ties with U.S. ‍President Donald ⁠Trump would shield Italian companies from any additional tariffs.

Italy's total pasta exports were worth over 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) ⁠in 2024, according to data from national statistics agency ISTAT. The U.S. market ‌was worth almost $800 million to Italian firms.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/italy-says-us-sharply-cut-135550982.html

MTA’s new ‘modern’ subway gates send unlucky 5-year-old to hospital after head gets stuck

The MTA’s new “modern” fare gates have claimed yet another victim, this time catching the head of a 5-year-old girl, sending her to the hospital with swelling, according to her mother and the FDNY.

The kid’s head got stuck between the doors at the Broadway-Lafayette station around 1:40 p.m. on Dec. 19.

She was taken to New York Presbyterian hospital, according to the FDNY, who said the child had been freed from the terrifying experience by the time first responders arrived.

Her mother told PIX11 a bystander helped free the young girl.

Disturbing video of the aftermath showed the young girl’s brother screaming and crying after being separated from his family amidst the chaos.

The incident comes after a viral video showed a woman with her head stuck between the new turnstile doors at the same station.

After the video was posted, a technician at a Bronx station told The Post the only way to free someone from the gate’s jaws is to shut off the automated door and open it manually.

Despite the mishaps, the MTA is still running the $1.1 billion test of the new gates the agency has consistently described as “modern.”

The designs are meant to keep people from sneaking in without paying the $2.90 fare, according to the MTA, but fare beaters are easily defeating the technology, while other riders are trapped and injured by the new quick-moving doors.

“The new fare gates are a pilot program using technology from transit systems around the world. As we evaluate their performance, we’re learning more every day about how to design modern, effective fare gates for New York City,” a spokesperson from the MTA said Wednesday.

The MTA issued the exact same statement Monday when The Post witnessed half a dozen people defeat the technology, with one MTA worker telling a reporter she has seen people get their heads or belongings stuck in the swiftly closing gates.

After a December board meeting, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the MTA had been working for two weeks to install and test the gates.

“We want to make sure that they’re operating properly,” he told reporters Dec. 17.

The MTA will pilot three different kinds of fare gates, all designed to curb fare evasion, at 20 stations throughout New York City, with installation at 150 stations planned from 2026 onward.

The MTA lost about $400 million to subway fare evasion over the past year.

The Post asked the MTA Wednesday if the transit agency was keeping track of how many riders had been injured since the gates launched. A spokesperson did not respond.

The MTA issued a press release on New Year’s Eve of “25 Things the MTA Is Proud of in 2025.” The release did not mention the “modern” fare gates.

https://nypost.com/2025/12/31/us-news/child-gets-head-stuck-in-mtas-new-modern-fare-gates/

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