📢 🇪🇺 🇮🇷 EU adds Iran's Revolutionary Guards to terrorist list

The European Union has listed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, citing its role in the violent crackdown on recent protests. The move, led by Italy and supported by France, subjects the IRGC to sanctions like travel bans and asset freezes. The EU also targeted 21 Iranian individuals and entities involved in the repression. While the US, Australia, and Canada have already labeled the IRGC a terror group, the UK refrains from such designations. Amid rising tensions, US President Donald Trump warned Iran of potential military action if a nuclear deal is not reached.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20gypw8enjo

🇲🇽 🇨🇺 🇺🇸 Mexico has cancelled a shipment of oil to Cuba

The country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, appeared to confirm on Tuesday, but she insisted the decision was “sovereign” and not a response to pressure from the US.

Fuel shortages are causing increasingly severe blackouts in Cuba, and Mexico has been the island’s biggest oil supplier since the US blocked shipments from Venezuela last month.

The cancelled shipment comes amid reports that the Mexican government had been privately reviewing whether to keep sending oil to Cuba amid fear of reprisals from the US.

After the US captured and renditioned Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela at the start of the year, it appeared to turn its attention to Cuba, Venezuela’s longstanding ally, with Donald Trump writing in a 11 January Truth Social post: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!”

Sheinbaum sidestepped a question about whether the cancelled shipment is a one-off or could represent a more lasting suspension of oil shipments, while restating Mexico’s longstanding stance against the US blockade on Cuba.

“Cuba has been under a blockade for too many years now. And this blockade has caused supply problems on the island,” said Sheinbaum. “Mexico has always shown solidarity and Mexico will continue to show solidarity.”

The issue of oil shipments to Cuba is a fraught one for Sheinbaum, who is striving to show the Trump administration that Mexico is a partner on trade and security without alienating the left wing of her party, Morena.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/27/mexico-cuba-trump-oil

🇨🇳 🇺🇸 💰 China Dumps Treasuries, Stockpiles Gold as Gold Hits Record High

China is significantly reducing its holdings of US Treasuries, now at an 18-year low of $680 billion, while simultaneously amassing record gold reserves, officially reported at 2,306 tonnes.

Goldman Sachs estimates China's true gold accumulation is potentially ten times greater than reported, indicating a strategic de-risking in preparation for potential geopolitical shifts.

Minas Tirith | 24/7 News channel