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BBC World Service

Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

Newshour

As mass protests continue in Iran over economic grievances, President Masoud Pezeshkian says he's willing to negotiate, but accuses foreign powers of stirring up the demonstrations. Tehran says it will retaliate if the US takes military action in defence of the protesters.

Also in the programme: as the US urges its citizens to leave Venezuela immediately, we speak to a former Venezuelan government minister; plus the “mind-reader” who spooked Barack Obama and infuriated a famous podcaster.

(IMAGE: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during an interview with the state TV, amid protests, in Tehran, Iran in this screengrab obtained from a video released on January 11, 2026 / CREDIT: IRIB/via Reuters TV)

Iran’s president offers to negotiate over protesters' grievances

Anti- government protesters have flooded the streets of the Iranian capital for a third night as Donald Trump repeats his support for the movement. Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's ousted shah, has called for nationwide strikes as authorities signal intensified crackdown amid internet blackout. Hospital staffs told BBC that facilities are overwhelmed with dead or injured patients. 

Also on the programme: Demonstrations take place after new video on deadly Minnesota ICE shooting released; and the earliest Superman comic sells for $15 million, we talk to a comic book artist who's held it. 

(Photo: Screen grab obtained from a social media video of protesters gathering in Tehran. Credit: Social Media/via REUTERS)

Iran protests grow despite regime crackdown

After another night of nationwide protests, the exiled son of Iran's ousted shah has urged Iranians to go further and seize and hold city centres. We hear from Iran expert Sanam Vakil of Chatham House.

Also in the programme: we hear from Aleppo after clashes between Syrian government forces and Kurdish militia; and a trip through David Bowie's London.

(Picture: Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on January 9, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

Iran: Pahlavi calls for more protests

Mass protests across Iran: but how will the authorities respond? We hear from the BBC Persian Service, where journalists are trying to monitor events amid an information blackout, and discuss Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's options with Iranian-American journalist Hooman Majd. 

Also in the programme: Colombian President Gustavo Petro's views on United States policy in Latin America; and Elon Musk's former partner Ashley St Clair explains her concerns about sexualised images made by the Grok AI chatbot on X, formerly known as Twitter.

(Photo: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, taken on 3 Jan 2026; Credit: IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER OFFICE HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock)

Reports suggest growing protests in Iran

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has described demonstrators as vandals aiming to please a foreign power - as he faces the biggest wave of anti government protests in over a decade.

Also in the programme: we'll hear from the Greenlanders tired of President Trump's talk of take over; and the British government accuses the social media platform X of insulting the victims of misogyny and sexual abuse.

(Photo: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency)

Iranian Supreme Leader denounces protests

Vice-President J.D.Vance insists Renee Good was shot by an ICE officer in self defence. We hear the latest from the city amid conflicting accounts of what happened. 

Also in the programme: reports of clashes between Iranian security forces and protestors across the country; political prisoners released in Venezuela; and what it's like to be sick in space.

(Photo: US Vice-President Vance addresses the media in the White House; Credit: WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock)

Trump officials defend officer who shot woman in Minneapolis while protests continue

Hundreds of people have attended a vigil in the US city of Minneapolis to protest against the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent. The woman, identified in the media as 37-year-old US citizen Renee Good, was shot at close range as she drove her car. The mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey has bluntly rejected the Trump administration's assertion that the agent had shot her in self-defence.
 
Also in the programme: the Lebanese military says it has completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, and the most exciting new species of plants and fungi identified last year, including a spider-eating fungus.
 
(Photo: People protest against the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. US, 8 January, 2026. Credit: Tim Evans/Reuters)

Hundreds attend Minneapolis vigil after ICE shooting

The United States says it has seized two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil - one in the Caribbean and a Russian-flagged vessel in the North Atlantic. We'll hear from a former head of NATO reflecting on President Trump's recent foreign policy moves. 

Also on the programme: we speak to the son of a prominent Venezuelan political prisoner; and the story of Aldrich Ames, the CIA officer who became one of America's most damaging double agents, who has died aged 84. 

(Photo: A US Coast Guard official looks through binoculars at the ship Marinera (Ex-Bella 1) in this handout image released January 7, 2026. Credit: X/Reuters)

US seizes Russian-flagged tanker in Atlantic

US President Donald Trump has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including use of the military, the White House said. The White House has told the BBC that acquiring Greenland - a semi-autonomous region of fellow NAT member Denmark – was a "national security priority". We hear from a former senior commander of NATO and a politician from Greenland's parliament. 

Also in the programme: US officials say that a mission to board a Russian flagged oil tanker sailing in the North Atlantic is underway; and the discovery of the trumpet from the Iron Age on the east coast of England. 

(File photo: People gather for a protest outside the Embassy of the United States of America in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 29, 2025. Credit: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

US says it could use its military to seize Greenland

After a meeting in Paris of the European allies who call themselves the "coalition of the willing", with the Ukrainian president and two senior US envoys also in attendance, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky signed a joint declaration on security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire. We hear military analysis of the Ukraine agreement and also the latest US threats to annex Greenland.

Also in the programme: as the authorities in Venezuela turn up the repression, we hear from a one-time protestor in Caracas; and why anger is growing over an AI-powered tool for sexual content on Elon Musk's social media platform X.

(IMAGE: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer deliver a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine during the so-called 'Coalition of the Willing' summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026 / CREDIT: Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS)

Iran: Pahlavi calls for more protests

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