While the United States presses for negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, Russia is signaling a parallel strategy — deepening cooperation with U.S. adversaries and portraying itself as resistant to Western pressure.

That posture was on display this week when Iran announced that three of its domestically designed satellites were launched into orbit aboard a Russian rocket.

The launch was broadcast by Iran’s Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam News Network, which aired footage showing the satellites lifting off from Russian territory. The Associated Press and Reuters reported that the satellites were carried into orbit aboard a Russian rocket launched from eastern Russia, marking the seventh time Iran has conducted a satellite launch with Russian assistance.

IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS HIS COUNTRY IS AT ‘TOTAL WAR’ WITH THE US, ISRAEL AND EUROPE: REPORTS

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said the satellites were «designed and produced by Iranian scientists,» adding that cooperation between Tehran and Moscow continues «despite all the sanctions and threats,» according to Iranian state media cited by Reuters.

Iranian officials claim the satellites are intended for civilian purposes, including environmental monitoring and agriculture, though Western governments have long warned that Iran’s space program could advance technologies applicable to ballistic missile development.

The launch underscored a broader strategic relationship between Moscow that has expanded significantly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Iran has supplied Russia with drones and other military equipment used on the battlefield, while Russia has provided diplomatic cover, economic cooperation and advanced technical support amid sweeping Western sanctions on both countries.

IRAN REPORTEDLY DEVELOPING CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL MISSILE WARHEADS AS PROTESTS SPREAD OVER COLLAPSING ECONOMY

A Russian warship and an Iranian army speed boat attend a joint naval exercise on Tuesday. (AP/Iranian Army)

The growing Russia-Iran alignment comes as tensions between Tehran and Washington continue to rise. After President Donald Trump recently warned that the United States could strike Iran again if it attempted to rebuild its nuclear program, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a sharp response.

According to the Associated Press, Pezeshkian said any U.S. attack would be met with a «harsh and discouraging» response. Iranian officials framed the warning as defensive, arguing it was meant to deter potential U.S. aggression rather than signal an intention to initiate conflict. Tehran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is peaceful, a claim the United States and its allies dispute.

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Russian army Mi-24 helicopters fly above a warship at the Turali range on the Caspian Sea coast in the Republic of Dagestan in Southern Russia on Sept. 23, 2020 during the «Caucasus-2020» military drills gathering China, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar troops, along with ex-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. (Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP via Getty Images)

The exchange highlights how Iran and Russia are increasingly positioning themselves as partners pushing back against U.S. pressure, even as Washington attempts to pursue diplomacy on multiple fronts. Russia has portrayed its partnerships with Iran and other sanctioned states as evidence that Western efforts to isolate Moscow have failed, while Iran has used its cooperation with Russia to showcase technological resilience under sanctions.

Bolivia vivió un 2025 marcado por una crisis económica iniciada años atrás, pero que terminó de agudizarse por la persistente falta de dólares y combustibles que dispararon la inflación, y que, además, fue determinante para el viraje político hacia el centro tras casi dos décadas de la izquierda en el poder.

La falta de divisas registrada desde 2023 ya se sentía en las restricciones a las transacciones bancarias en esa moneda y su encarecimiento en el mercado paralelo, donde el dólar este año llegó a costar 20 bolivianos frente a una cotización oficial de 6,96, fija desde 2011.

Las consecuencias se hicieron aún más evidentes en la elevada inflación, que entre enero y noviembre llegó a 19,69%, y en el desabastecimiento de combustibles que se volvió crónico, un problema que el Gobierno de Luis Arce (2020-2025) atribuyó a la falta de dólares por el “bloqueo” del anterior Legislativo a los créditos externos.

A esto se sumó el declive del sector de hidrocarburos, que hasta hace unos años fue el sustento de la economía boliviana, pero cuyas exportaciones entre enero y octubre alcanzaron los 945,4 millones de dólares, un 34% menos que en el mismo periodo de 2024.

Otros indicadores fueron el déficit comercial de 521 millones de dólares registrado entre enero y octubre y unas reservas internacionales de 3.277 millones de dólares hasta el 2 de diciembre, de los que apenas 75 millones son divisas y la mayoría es oro.

El Gobierno de Arce entregó el poder el pasado 8 de noviembre asegurando que dejaba una “economía estable”, ante lo cual las nuevas autoridades advirtieron que recibieron un país “devastado” y con un “mar de deudas” y de “corrupción” por los que responsabilizó al Ejecutivo saliente y a la Administración de Evo Morales (2006-2019).

Este año también estuvo marcado por la ruptura del Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), por la pelea entre Arce y Morales por el control del partido que gobernó Bolivia durante casi 20 años y la candidatura para las elecciones generales.

La popularidad de Arce cayó por la crisis de la que el entonces gobernante responsabilizó a Morales, quien intentó forzar su candidatura pese a una disposición constitucional que se lo impide porque ya gobernó el país en tres ocasiones.

Inicialmente, Arce iba a buscar la reelección, pero declinó su candidatura en mayo con un llamado a la unidad de la izquierda, lo que no ocurrió porque, al no poder postular, Morales impulsó el voto nulo y su “heredero” político, Andrónico Rodríguez, participó por su cuenta en las elecciones.

El candidato del MAS fue el ex ministro de Gobierno Eduardo del Castillo, que apenas logró el porcentaje necesario para conservar la sigla.

Hace tres semanas, Arce fue encarcelado preventivamente por cinco meses, investigado por supuesta corrupción en su etapa de ministro en el Gobierno de Morales.

La sorpresa de los comicios generales del 17 de agosto fue el centrista Rodrigo Paz Pereira, quien lideró la primera vuelta y luego venció al ex presidente conservador Jorge Tuto Quiroga (2002-2002) en la inédita segunda vuelta del 19 de octubre, pese a que las encuestas preelectorales lo situaban inicialmente con escaso apoyo.

El político, de 58 años, fue investido presidente ante los mandatarios de Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay y Uruguay y una importante delegación de EEUU, país al que el nuevo Gobierno boliviano se acercó después del alejamiento que hubo durante las administraciones del MAS.

Además, Paz restableció las relaciones con Israel, rotas por Arce por el conflicto en Gaza, y se distanció de aliados del MAS, como Cuba, Nicaragua y Venezuela.

La primera medida fuerte del nuevo gobernante fue el reciente decreto que retiró la subvención a los combustibles que rigió por más de dos décadas y que, según las autoridades, ya era insostenible, una medida resistida por la Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) que fue aliada política del MAS.

Paz tiene una relación tensa con el vicepresidente Edmand Lara desde el triunfo en la segunda vuelta, pues el ex policía considera que lo marginaron del Gobierno, al que critica constantemente y acusa sin pruebas de supuesta corrupción, al punto de declararse en “oposición constructiva”.

(EFE)

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are escalating their investigation into Minnesota’s sweeping fraud schemes, setting a hearing next week and demanding answers from Gov. Tim Walz’s administration over what they say were glaring failures of oversight.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced lawmakers would hold a hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 7, evaluating the fraud scandal, its scale and whether the state’s leadership could have done something to prevent exploitation from happening in the first place.

«Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist and enact stronger safeguards to prevent fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, as well as strong sanctions to hold offenders accountable,» Comer said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS

While the committee will also hear testimony from lawmakers in Minnesota, Republican lawmakers believe it is the Walz administration that holds the answers on how the problem got so large.

«Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs. American taxpayers demand and deserve accountability for the theft of their hard-earned money,» Comer said.

The Committee will hear from Reps. Kristin Robbins, Walter Hudson and Marion Rarick — all Republican members of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

It’s unclear if Walz or Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will accept the invitation.

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Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks at a get-out-the-vote rally on Oct. 22, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The hearing is a part of the committee’s own investigation into the Minnesota fraud, a separate effort from ongoing FBI probes.

The Oversight Committee’s announcement comes as new revelations about fraud in Minnesota reveal that the state could have lost as much as $9 billion through abuse of its government assistance programs.

In recent months, investigators have unearthed sweeping fraud schemes masquerading as daycare centers, medical providers, food assistance programs and more. By fabricating services or inflating the number of people they claimed to serve, the schemes allegedly siphoned billions in government funds.

«In addition to conducting transcribed interviews with Minnesota state officials, the House Oversight Committee will hold hearings on fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs to expose failures, identify solutions, and deliver accountability,» Comer said.

Given their size and frequency, lawmakers have raised questions about how a state’s lack of awareness of its own programs could have been so easily abused.

Comer believes the lawmakers who have agreed to testify before the committee will provide insight into the visibility of the fraud rings and whether Walz was made aware of their scale ahead of shocking reporting that made Minnesota’s shortcomings a matter of national attention.

MINNESOTA FRAUD COMMITTEE CHAIR CLAIMS WALZ ‘TURNED A BLIND EYE’ TO FRAUD WARNINGS FOR YEARS

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Friday that former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would face contempt of Congress charges if they fail to cooperate with the panel’s Epstein probe. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

«Next week, we will hear from Minnesota state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on this fraud — and whose warnings were ignored by the Walz administration. This misconduct cannot be swept aside, and Congress will not stop until taxpayers get the answers and accountability they deserve,» Comer said. 

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The Walz office did not respond to Fox Digital’s request for comment on whether he would attend next week’s hearing.