INTERNACIONAL
Iran poses a far more dangerous military test for the US than Venezuela, experts warn
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Fresh off a successful operation in Venezuela, the U.S. is weighing its options as Iran’s leadership launches a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters — raising questions about whether similar military pressure could be applied to Tehran, Iran.
In Caracas, Venezuela, U.S. special operators moved quickly to capture Nicolás Maduro. In Tehran, Iran, any comparable effort would unfold against a state with greater military depth and the ability to strike back well beyond its borders.
«Thinking of this as an operation, as in the case of Venezuela or the nuclear program, is the wrong framing,» Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. «This has to be seen as a campaign.»
Iran is a larger, more capable military power than Venezuela, with security forces designed to protect the regime from both foreign attack and internal unrest. Power is distributed across clerical institutions, security services and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a structure built to survive the loss of individual leaders rather than collapse with them.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces mass protests in Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
IRAN GOES DARK AS REGIME UNLEASHES FORCE, CYBER TOOLS TO CRUSH PROTESTS
«Musical chairs at the top is highly unlikely to work in Iran,» Taleblu said.
He pointed to the central role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which he described as «the tip of the spear of the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism,» warning that removing a single figure would leave a hardened security apparatus intact — and potentially more dangerous.
That structure is backed by a military capability Venezuela never possessed: a resilient missile force that gives Iran credible options for retaliation if it believes the regime itself is under threat.
US RAID IN VENEZUELA SIGNALS DETERRENCE TO ADVERSARIES ON THREE FRONTS, EXPERTS SAY
«The retaliatory capability of the Islamic Republic is still fairly intact, which is their missile program,» Taleblu said.
During heavy Israeli strikes in the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, Iran’s missile force was degraded but not eliminated. While air defenses and launch infrastructure were damaged, Tehran, Iran, retains a significant inventory of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and the ability to disperse and fire them from mobile launchers.
Analysts say the conflict reinforced Iran’s reliance on missiles as its primary deterrent, even as it accepted that air defenses could be penetrated. During the war, Israel degraded Iran’s air defenses while the U.S. moved in to strike its nuclear facilities.
Iran’s armed forces also are far larger than Venezuela’s, with nearly 1 million active and reserve personnel compared with roughly 120,000 troops in Venezuela — a disparity that underscores the very different military environments U.S. planners would face.
Iran’s antagonism toward the United States is rooted in the ideology of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which cast opposition to Western influence — particularly the U.S. and Israel — as a core principle of the state. Venezuela’s clashes with Washington, by contrast, largely have been driven by political power, sanctions and control over oil revenues, rather than a revolutionary ideology aimed at opposing Western society itself.
Iranians have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the regime across the country. (UGC via AP)
In Venezuela, Trump administration officials framed the operation not as regime change, but as a limited action to advance U.S. interests — prosecuting Maduro on drug trafficking charges and securing leverage over the country’s oil sector. After Maduro’s capture, Trump allowed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume power on an interim basis and expressed doubt that opposition leader María Machado had sufficient internal support to govern.
In Iran, by contrast, any military action would be interpreted as a direct challenge to the regime itself.
Unlike Venezuela, where the state apparatus remained intact after Maduro’s removal, targeting Iran’s leadership risks expanding the mission from a narrow strike into a broader campaign against the regime’s security forces.
«You could conduct an attack against the leadership, including the supreme leader, but that raises lots of questions about who comes next,» Seth Jones, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Pentagon official, told Fox News Digital.
«Is it Khamenei’s son? Is it Sadegh Larijani? Is it Hassan Khameini?» Jones said, referring to figures often discussed as potential successors. «Or do you start to look at other options?»
Nicolás Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed federal agents. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)
That uncertainty, Jones said, is what turns a leadership-targeting strike into a far broader and riskier proposition.
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«The more this starts to be not just the removal of a leader, but regime change, the more it becomes an expansive targeting problem,» Jones said.
Jones added that the core challenge for U.S. planners is not whether military force could be used, but what political objective it would serve.
«The big question then becomes what’s the objective — not just militarily, but what’s the political objective in Iran and how does that translate into what types of military resources you need?» he said.
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Such an expansion, Jones warned, would raise the risk of a prolonged and destabilizing conflict in a country of Iran’s size and complexity.
«The more you start looking at regime change and using military force for that, the more messy the situation in Iran could get,» Jones said. «It’s really hard to social engineer from the outside.»
iran,venezuelan political crisis,ali khamenei,nicolas maduro
INTERNACIONAL
Obama wingman Eric Holder defended Walz’s vetting — then Minnesota’s fraud scandal erupted
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Former Democratic Attorney General Eric Holder, who served under former President Barack Obama’s tenure, played a key role in vouching for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the Democratic Party’s 2024 pick for vice president before a massive fraud scandal rocked the Gopher State.
«There’s nothing that of any substance that was missed by our vetting team,» Holder told CNN in an October 2024 interview as the federal election came down to its final days.
Walz is in the midst of facing a sweeping fraud scandal involving alleged money laundering operations related to alleged fraudulent meal and housing programs, daycare centers and Medicaid services that prosecutors say could total as much as $9 billion, Fox News Digital has reported. Dozens of individuals have been charged amid the investigations, most of whom are from the state’s Somali community.
The scandal led to Walz dropping his re-election bid to serve a third term as Minnesota governor.
VANCE CALLS WALZ ‘A JOKE,’ CLAIMS MINNESOTA GOVERNOR ENABLED MASSIVE FRAUD
Former Attorney General Eric Holder led the vetting process for then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ potential running mates that year before landing on Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (Yuri Gripas/AFP via Getty Images)
Walz has said he is «accountable for» the scandal as the state’s top elected official, but has accused Republicans and the Trump administration of sensationalizing multibillion dollar figures of alleged fraud.
Walz bucked calls to step down as governor, declaring during a press conference Tuesday: «Over my dead body will that happen.»
More than a year ago, Walz’s run on the 2024 Democratic ticket catapulted his national name recognition after serving in politics for decades, including in the U.S. Congress from 2007 until 2019, before his election as governor. Ahead of his name being floated as a potential vice presidential contender, Walz was a relatively unknown name to everyday Americans.
Then-Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Obama’s former attorney general to lead the vetting process of her potential running mates during the 2024 cycle.
Holder is a longtime Obama ally and was one of the officials tasked with vetting Obama’s potential running mates back in the 2008 election cycle before landing on then-Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.
Holder told the media in 2004 that Walz was not at the top of his list when vetting 11 candidates for Harris’ running mate, but that he moved up the list of names as Holder reviewed his «very impressive» and «significant» work in Minnesota, including signing a law in 2023 for universal free breakfast and lunch for all K-12 students in the state, KSTP reported in November 2024 ahead of the election.
«As part of the process, the vetting process, I looked at almost every YouTube he’s ever been on,» Holder told KSTP of Walz. «Everything we could ever find about his media interactions and he’s a genuine nice guy. He’s got that Minnesota Nice thing.»
«There was a chemistry that I saw, I actually saw that happen with Kamala Harris and with Tim Walz,» Holder added at the time. «So it was a combination, I think, of accomplishments and chemistry that propelled him to the number two spot on the ticket.»
A source with knowledge of Walz’s vetting process told Fox News Digital that the fraud investigation was included in the vetting process, as details had already emerged during the governor’s 2022 re-election race.
«Governor Walz’s Department of Education had been in contact with the FBI regarding investigations into organizations diverting funds from child nutrition programs,» the source explained. «This issue was not a factor in the 2024 presidential campaign, nor did Kamala Harris’s vice presidential choice ultimately prove to be a negative factor in the race.»
BLAGOJEVICH TELLS WALZ IF HE DIDN’T ‘DO IT’, GO DOWN FIGHTING: ‘MAKES ME THINK HIS HANDS ARE UNCLEAN’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s emergence as the vice presidential pick quickly drew scrutiny over a string of past controversies. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Walz’s emergence as the vice presidential pick quickly drew scrutiny over a string of past controversies, including allegations he exaggerated his military service, repeated misstatements about his presence during China’s Tiananmen Square massacre, and questions about his handling of Minnesota’s 2020 riots — issues Republicans seized on as Democrats rushed to elevate him on the national stage.
The 2024 election cycle was unprecedented for a multitude of reasons, most notably when then-President Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, 2024, amid mounting concerns over his health, and a pair of assassination attempts on then-candidate President Donald Trump’s life.
Holder joined CNN in October 2024 and defended the vetting process of Walz, calling him an «authentic guy, a person with a great record as the governor of Minnesota and who I think will be a superb vice president.»
COMER SAYS WALZ ‘RETALIATED’ AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWERS WHO WARNED OF MINNESOTA FRAUD FOR YEARS
«He has resonated with the American people,» Holder told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer at the time. «He has generated enthusiasm for the ticket. And I think that the slight exaggerations, misspeaking that he has done, and, again, for which he has, you know, taken responsibility, is not something that’s going to ultimately hurt him,» he said of Walz’s past misstatements.
Holder was pressed if he and «your team of lawyers (missed) important information about him during the vetting process,» considering the previous misstatements. Walz, for example, claimed in 2018 he had carried «weapons in war,» but had not been deployed to an active combat zone across his 24 years in the Army National Guard.
Gov. Tim Walz has come under scrutiny since the fraud issue came to light in Minnesota. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«No, I don’t think we did,» Holder responded about whether his team missed anything on Walz’s record. «I mean, I don’t think that we were surprised by any of the things that he has said. And as what he has indicated is that sometimes he misspoke but he is — unlike Donald Trump, who lies like all the time Tim Walz has made some misstatements that he has said, you know, I was wrong in saying that, apologized for making the misstatements.»
Walz has been directly implicated in the Minnesota fraud schemes, though the Trump administration has pinned some of the blame on the governor.
«I think Tim Walz should resign,» Vice President JD Vance told the media Thursday during a White House press briefing. «Because it’s very clear either that he knew about the fraud in Minneapolis, he knew about the welfare fraud, or at the very least, he looked the other way. I mean, this is not this is not like Lex Luther, right? This is not movie villain fraud. This is the lowest IQ possible fraud.»
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Amid the fraud investigations, federal law enforcement converged on Minneapolis in January. A fatal shooting broke out in a residential area Jan. 7 when a woman allegedly attempted to use her car as a weapon against immigration officers in what the Department of Homeland Security called an «act of domestic terrorism.» The woman was shot and killed, sparking fierce condemnation from Democrats and Trump critics, including some lawmakers referring to the incident as a «murder.»
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Fox News Digital also reached out to Walz’s office and Obama’s office regarding the 2024 vetting process considering the fraud investigations, but did not immediately receive replies.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
tim walz,minnesota fraud exposed,eric holder,barack obama,kamala harris
La bandera de Estados Unidos en el consulado en Nuuk, Groenlandia. Foto: REUTERS «Lo más difícil está por venir»
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While Christians in America enjoy religious freedom, many Christians around the world suffer persecution, and some are even martyred for their faith.
Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026 discusses the anti-Christian persecution in dozens of nations around the globe.
The list includes 50 countries — here’s a closer look at several of them:
North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives closing remarks at the 13th Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Dec. 10, 2025. (KCNA via KNS/AFP via Getty Images)
North Korea, a notoriously autocratic country ruled by Kim Jong Un, is one of the nation’s included in the list.
«If you are found to be a Christian in North Korea, you and your family could be immediately executed or sent to a terrible labor camp – forever,» Open Doors notes.
«North Koreans may only pay homage to the Kim regime, not God. Christian gatherings must be completely secret; a neighbor could inform on you with devastating results.»
Somalia
Somalia, a nation located in the Horn of Africa, is also included on the list.
«Anybody becoming a Christian in Somalia faces danger on all sides: from the authorities, from your clan and from anti-Christian extremists,» the report notes. «It’s illegal for a Muslim to become a Christian. Christians have no legal protection and can be harassed and intimidated by the authorities. Leaving Islam is also seen as seriously dishonoring your family and clan: they may disown, attack or even kill you.»
Al-Shabaab — which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. — has grown «more dominant in certain areas,» Open Doors notes, explaining that the group seeks «to eradicate Christianity, openly executing suspected believers.»
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ENDS TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR THOUSANDS OF SOMALIS IN US
Soldiers of the Somalia National Army walk near Sabiid, one of the towns they have liberated from Al-Shabaab, in Somalia’s lower-Shabelle region on Nov. 11, 2025. (Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images)
Yemen
Yemen, a nation in the Middle East, comes next on the list.
Most Christians there have «converted from Islam,» according to the list, which says they «must practice their faith in absolute secrecy or risk a death sentence.»
«Last year, Western airstrikes were framed by the Houthis as ‘Christian aggression,’ pushing believers further underground,» Open Doors says.
The report highlighted the personal story of Aweis, whose own father told him that if he became a Christian, he would kill him.
«Aweis knew the dangers of following Jesus in Somalia the moment he showed his father a New Testament, which he obtained after becoming curious about Christianity,» Open Doors explains.
«I cannot stop you from reading your Bible,» his father noted, according to the report. «But if you become a Christian, I’ll be the one to kill you.»
The report adds, «Aweis later gave his life to Jesus.»
CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPING CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA BY JIHADI HERDSMEN, EXPERTS SAY
A fighter loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan holds up a weapon in the southeastern Gedaref state on May 27, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Sudan
A civil war in Sudan has caused the globe’s «largest humanitarian crisis,» the list says. «The Christian community is hungry, on the run and facing strong persecution at the same time.»
Sudan is located in Africa.
«Sudan’s brief period of religious freedom has been rowed back, and oppressive ‘morality policies’ are back in force. Christians can face physical punishment to convert to Islam, with church leaders arrested. Many church buildings have been closed, bombed or taken over by militia groups,» according to Open Doors. «New Christians face rejection from their families and violence from Islamic extremist groups. In a lawless vacuum, they have no protection.»
world,christianity religion,persecutions,islam,controversies religion
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