English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For February 20/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
We command you, beloved, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and
not according to the tradition that they received from us
Second Letter to the Thessalonians 03/06-14/:"We command you,
beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who
are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received
from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle
when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it;
but with toil and labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden
any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give
you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this
command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you
are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we
command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn
their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to
do with them, so that they may be ashamed."
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February
19-20/2026
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video (Arabic & English): Hezbollah is an army of
mercenaries entirely subordinate to the Iranian Mullahs; therefore, negotiations
regarding its weapons and the means to uproot it from Lebanon must be conducted
with Iran under international & Arabic sponsorship.
Video Link to an important set of reports from the “Syrian Satellite Channel”
website on the commemoration of the Syriac Mother Language Day that falls on
February 21/
Trump says working on 'very important' things regarding Lebanon
Israel strikes Tabna near Sidon as incursions into southern border villages
increase
Israel trains for Lebanon, warns of escalation with Iran—What comes next?
Aoun and Haykal tell Quintet north Litani plan has begun
Lebanese President receives invitation to visit Brazil
Macron invites Aoun to co-chair Paris conference as Haykal meets Berri
What did Quintet ambassador discuss with Haykal in Yarze?
Report: Berri-led contacts with Hezbollah seek to prevent it from backing Iran
militarily
Lebanon’s State Security uncovers $500,000 port fee evasion at Tripoli port
As regional powers spend billions, can Lebanon define its defense strategy?
Lebanon’s revenue challenge: Can smarter policies replace new taxes?
Cairo meeting to set stage for Paris conference on supporting Lebanese Army
Israel on alert on Lebanon border as Iran war threat grows
Praise or Pressure: What CENTCOM's Commendation for the LAF Tells Lebanon/Amal
Chmouny/This Beirut/February 19/2026
Hezbollah Readies Its Electoral Machine After War Losses/Marwan El Amine/This
Beirut/February 19/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on February
19-20/2026
Link to a video and transcript of an interview in English with US Senator
Lindsey Graham: A realistic, bold, and pragmatic analysis of the necessity of
using force to deal with the Iranian regime, Hamas, and all those like
them/Host: Hadley Gamble/The National News/February 19, 2026
To those who are perpetuating false narratives against the United Arab Emirates
and President Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed
Video-Link from "Stand Tall Israel" website with Dr. Mordechai Kedar
Video Link from Visegrad24 to an interview with Iranian Crown Prince n In Exile
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Trump Tells First Meeting of Board of Peace that $7 billion Raised for Gaza
Is Trump about to go to war with Iran?"You're gonna be finding out over the
next, probably, 10 days," the president said on Thursday.
Trump says US to give $10 bn to new 'Board of Peace'
Trump says Iran must make 'meaningful deal' or 'bad things happen'
France says surprised by European Commission presence at Board of Peace
Iran says no country can deprive it of enrichment rights
Iran, US lean into gunboat diplomacy as nuclear talks hang in balance
Rubio to visit Israel on February 28 amid Iran tensions
What to know about Hormuz Strait, which Iran temporarily closed for military
drill
Israel's Netanyahu Says No Reconstruction of Gaza before Demilitarization
UN says Israeli actions raising 'ethnic cleansing' fears in West Bank, Gaza
Rafah Crossing Traffic Lags Two Weeks after Reopening
Settlers shoot at 19-year-old Palestinian-American in West Bank clashes
Israeli forces and Hamas committed atrocity crimes in Gaza, UN report says
Hamas tightens grip in Gaza as Trump pushes peace plan
Andrew arrested over misconduct related to Epstein
Morocco to contribute military, police to Gaza in first Arab pledge
AUTOPSY OF THE ANTI-UAE CAMPAIGN/Nadim Koteich/February 19/2026
Russia ‘Trying To Drag Out Negotiations’: No Breakthrough in Latest Geneva Talks
To End Ukraine War
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on February
19-20/2026
The Global Debate on Immigration Isn’t Cooling Down/Alberto M. Fernandez
/International Catholic Register/February 19/2026
Énigmes stratégiques et élaboration des politiques/Charles Chartouni/Ici
Beyrouth/19 février 2026
Strategic Enigmas and Policy Formulation/Charles Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/February
19/2026
It Is Time To Listen To What Hamas Says in Arabic/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/February 19/2026
Libya: Joy and Grief Define Anniversary of the February Revolution/Dr. Jebril
El-Abidi/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 19/2026
Russia and Saudi Arabia: A Century of Mutual Recognition and Strategic
Partnership/
Sergey Kozlov-Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia/Asharq Al-Awsat/February
19/2026
X Platform Selected twittes for 17/2026
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on February
19-20/2026
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video
(Arabic & English): Hezbollah is an army of mercenaries entirely subordinate to
the Iranian Mullahs; therefore, negotiations regarding its weapons and the means
to uproot it from Lebanon must be conducted with Iran under international &
Arabic sponsorship.
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/152238/
February 17/2026
Emphasis on Hezbollah’s Iranian Alignment
In a statement issued byHezbollah on February 16, 1985, it declared that it is
“committed to the commands of a wise and just leadership embodied in the ولاية
الفقيه (Guardianship of the Jurist), represented by Ruhollah Khomeini, the
Ayatollah al-Mousawi, the instigator of the Muslims’ revolution and the reviver
of their glorious renaissance.”
In an interview published in the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir in February 1988,
Hassan Nasrallah stated:“Our project, which we have no choice but to adopt as
ideological believers, is the project of an Islamic state and the rule of Islam,
and that Lebanon should not be a single Islamic republic but rather part of the
greater Islamic Republic, ruled by the Awaited Imam and his rightful نائب
(deputy), the Jurist-Guardian, Imam Khomeini.”
Elias Bejjani: Key Points In my Video Commentary
*Legal Necessity: Legally, Lebanon is required to negotiate with Iran—under
Arab, International, and American supervision—regarding the weaponry, existence,
and institutions of Hezbollah, which are subordinate to Iran and act upon its
orders.
*The “Army, People, Resistance” Heresy: This formula is unconstitutional and was
forcibly inserted into ministerial statements. Legislation originates from the
Parliament, not from a ministerial statement, which is merely a proposed action
plan.
*Eternal Enmity: The concept of “eternal enmity” is a sick sectarian ideology
promoted by both Sunni and Shia political Islam to trade in conflict and justify
their continued existence.
*Iranian Command: Hezbollah’s decision-making lies in Iran and is governed by ”
Sharia mandates” (Taklif Shari).
*A Captive Community: The Shia community has been kidnapped and held hostage
since 1982.
*Foreign Identity: Hezbollah is an Iranian army composed of Lebanese
mercenaries.
*Lack of Legitimacy: Hezbollah has never been legitimate, Lebanese, or a
“resistance”; it is a terrorist organization by virtue of its “Mullah-inspired”
composition.
*The Lebanese Army: The Lebanese Army is capable of disarming Hezbollah if the
State officially tasks it with this mission.
*Israeli Actions: Israel has never once committed aggression against Lebanon;
rather, it has always reacted to attacks launched against it from Lebanese
territory by Syrian, Arab, Iranian, Jihadist, and Leftist factions.
*The Liberation Myth: Hezbollah did not liberate the South; it is not part of
the Lebanese social fabric, and it does not represent the Shia. It is a
fully-fledged Iranian army made up of Lebanese mercenaries.
*Ending the “Arena” Status: It is required today, not tomorrow, to close the
“Lebanese Arena,” which has been open since the Cairo Agreement to all those who
trade—with obscenity, hypocrisy, and lies—in the name of “Resistance and the
Liberation of Palestine.”
*The Only Solution: The sole solution is full peace with the State of Israel.
Whoever wishes to fight Israel should do so from their own country.
*Defense vs. Offense: The Lebanese Army is a defensive, not an offensive force.
The majority of Lebanese do not view Israel as an enemy but as a neighbor,
noting that there are no inherent problems between Lebanon and Israel, and
Israel has no ambitions within Lebanese territory.
Video Link to an important set of reports from the
“Syrian Satellite Channel” website on the commemoration of the Syriac Mother
Language Day that falls on February 21/
February 20/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/152337/
Speakers-Participants
Eng. Amine Jules Iskandar: President of Tur Levnon Association for Arts.
Leila Latti: Mukhtara and Researcher.
Nura Jerjes: Secretary-General of the Syriac Union Party.
Malphono Elia Barsoum: President of the Friends of the Syriac Language
Association.
Roy Araygi: Researcher and President of the Ehden Youth Association.
Chorbishop Elias Jerjes: From the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of Mount Lebanon
and Tripoli.
Ephrem and Gabriel Kourieh: Representing Syriac families.
Host: Jornalist Rania Zahra Charbel
Suroyo TV – YouTube Channel
Trump says working on 'very
important' things regarding Lebanon
Naharnet/February 18/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday tackled Lebanon's situation in his
speech at the first meeting of the so-called Board of Peace in Washington. "We
have Lebanon with certain things that we're working on that are very important,"
Trump said. "We have to solve the problem of Lebanon, but it's relatively small
in terms of what's been done," he added.
Israel strikes Tabna near Sidon as incursions into southern
border villages increase
Naharnet/February 18/2026
Israeli warplanes carried out strikes on the southern area of Tabna near Sidon
overnight, with Israel claiming that it targeted Hezbollah arms depots,
launchpads and military sites. Troops also entered the southern border towns of
Yaroun and Khiam and detonated two houses there, as incursions into Lebanese
border villages increased in frequency in recent weeks. The use of stun grenades
also became a routine in south Lebanon, especially in the war-hit village of
Aita al-Shaab, where less than 52 people now live out of around 15,000
residents. The Incursions, toxins, and grenades are a strategy to pressure
residents and force a gradual displacement, according to the town's mayor.
Earlier this month, Israel sprayed the herbicide glyphosate on the Lebanese side
of the border, with President Joseph Aoun decrying a "crime against the
environment". On Thursday, a drone dropped a stun grenade on Odaysseh, and on
Wednesday at least four stun grenades were dropped by the Israeli army on Aita
al-Shaab. For residents of these border villages and other villages deeper into
Lebanon, the war never ended, as Israel kept up regular attacks on the south
despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024.
Israel trains for Lebanon, warns of escalation with
Iran—What comes next?
LBCI/February 18/2026
Israel is intensifying military preparations in its north as officials and media
in Tel Aviv increasingly frame Lebanon as a likely front in any expected
escalation with Iran.Israeli officials have promoted days of military exercises
near the Lebanese border, featuring scenarios that include ground forces
entering deep into Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah's capabilities, as well as
simulations of Hezbollah fighters infiltrating into Israel. The renewed focus on
Lebanon has come amid Israeli leaks suggesting Hezbollah could join a potential
war under pressure from Iran. Israel has been circulating the possibility of a
military confrontation with Iran as early as the end of the week, and has
accelerated preparations across multiple institutions. Israeli media reported
that the Health Ministry held an emergency meeting with hospital directors and
health fund officials, instructing them to prepare to operate without
electricity in the event of a war. In parallel, Israel's Foreign Affairs and
Defense Committee held a closed-door meeting with Home Front Command chief Shai
Klepper to review preparations for civilian protection in the event of war. A
meeting of Israel's security cabinet scheduled for Thursday evening was
postponed to Sunday, raising questions about whether Israeli leaders are
maneuvering ahead of a possible escalation. Israeli officials had previously
postponed a cabinet meeting shortly before launching what was described as a
12-day war with Iran last July. The developments come as it was announced that
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to arrive in Israel on February
28.Against the backdrop of rising tensions between Washington and Tehran,
Israel’s air force and navy have continued preparations for any potential
strike. At the same time, Israeli officials and analysts have warned against
reckless steps toward Iran, amid concerns that the home front is not fully
prepared for scenarios involving missile and drone attacks, not only from Iran,
but also from its regional allies.
Aoun and Haykal tell Quintet north Litani plan has begun
Naharnet/February 18/2026
Contrary to the reports about the dissatisfaction of some countries with the
army’s report on the second phase of the arms monopolization plan, all foreign
countries are satisfied and have agreed to the report but they are hoping for
quick implementation, official sources told al-Liwaa newspaper. The daily added
that President Joseph Aoun and Army chief Rodolphe Haykal have told the
five-nation group for Lebanon, known as the Quintet, that the implementation of
the army’s plan north of the Litani has started. “Any discovered military
facility is being seized, but launching a broad search operation requires
understandings so that a clash does not take place between the army and the
parties on the ground in the South,” al-Liwaa said. “The more the plan gets
implemented through understandings, the more the results will be better, as
happened south of the Litani River,” the sources added.
Lebanese President receives invitation to visit Brazil
LBCI/February 18/2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has received an official invitation from
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to visit Brazil, conveyed by
Brazil's ambassador to Lebanon, Tarcisio Costa. The invitation said the visit
aims to deepen the historic partnership between Lebanon and Brazil.
Macron invites Aoun to co-chair Paris conference as Haykal meets Berri
Naharnet/February 18/2026
President Joseph Aoun on Thursday received an official invitation from his
French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to join him in presiding over the Lebanese
Army support conference that will be held in Paris on March 5, the Presidency
said.
“Your personal participation in this conference will represent a powerful
political signal that reflects the firmness of the ties that link France to
Lebanon and our common insistence on the stability of your country and the full
restoration of its sovereignty,” Macron told Aoun in the invitation letter.“The
conference’s goal is to reaffirm the international community’s political,
financial and technical support for these (security) institutions and rallying
coordinated international assistance,” the French leader added. Army Commander
General Rodolphe Haykal meanwhile met in Ain el-Tineh with Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri.
What did Quintet ambassador discuss with Haykal in Yarze?
Naharnet/February 18/2026
Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal has discussed, in a meeting in Yarze with
the ambassadors of the Five-Nations Group - the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Egypt, and France, a preparatory meeting that will be held next week in Egypt
before the Lebanese Army support conference that will be held in Paris on March
5.The meeting in Yarze discussed the importance of enhancing the capabilities of
the Lebanese Army, as it moves to its next phase of Hezbollah's disarmament -
north of the Litani river. Al-Anbaa news portal said Thursday that in addition
to the conference's preparations, the meeting also addressed the disarmament
plan.President Joseph Aoun received on Thursday an official invitation from his
French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to join him in presiding over the Paris
conference.
Report: Berri-led contacts with Hezbollah seek to prevent
it from backing Iran militarily
Naharnet/February 18/2026
There are intensive political and security contacts with Hezbollah, led by
Speaker Nabih Berri, with the aim of reining in any attempt to back Iran
militarily should a new war be waged on the Islamic republic, media reports
said. In remarks to the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper, Shiite circles warned that
such an involvement would be a “suicidal act” that would make the Shiite sect
pay “an existential cost.”Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper meanwhile reported
that there are estimations in Israel that Iran is exerting pressure on Hezbollah
to join any upcoming military confrontation against Israel, contrary to the
12-day war, when Hezbollah stayed out of the conflict.
Lebanon’s State Security uncovers $500,000 port fee evasion
at Tripoli port
LBCI/February 18/2026
Lebanon’s State Security agency announced that it has uncovered port fee evasion
by several maritime agencies operating at the Port of Tripoli, with unpaid dues
dating back to 2010 and estimated at around $500,000. In a statement, the agency
said that after receiving detailed information about the violations, the Beirut
Port office of State Security launched a judicial investigation. One employee
from the Tripoli Port administration, along with the owners and agents of 18
companies, were questioned. The investigation found deliberate evasion of port
fees by a number of companies, as well as administrative negligence by some port
employees who failed to follow up on the collection of the outstanding dues.
State Security said the employee remains under investigation. Owners of 16
maritime companies were required to settle outstanding invoices totaling
$150,000 and LBP 75 million. They were granted financial clearance after payment
and released on residence bonds. The statement added that an additional $300,000
remains in the process of being collected. The investigation has been concluded,
and the file has been referred to the competent judiciary to complete the
necessary legal procedures and recover the remaining funds.
As regional powers spend billions, can Lebanon define its
defense strategy?
LBCI/February 18/2026
Two presidential terms have passed, two presidents have changed, and multiple
dialogue sessions have been held, yet Lebanon’s defense strategy has remained
little more than a slogan — raising a central question: What, then, is a defense
strategy in the first place? Simply put, it is the military rulebook — the
state’s plan to defend itself internally and externally. It includes offensive
and defensive doctrines, as well as securing the necessary capabilities. The
reason it has stalled is tied to the deep divide over the role and usefulness of
Hezbollah’s weapons. That was the case before the so-called “war of support.”
After that war, however, the gap widened further — between those who see
Hezbollah’s arsenal as Lebanon’s last remaining source of strength, and those
who argue that the recent war proved the weapons serve no real purpose. In the
second year of President Joseph Aoun’s term, the national security strategy he
referenced in his inaugural address — covering finance, the environment, the
economy, defense, and other sectors — has yet to be finalized. Still, talk of a
defense strategy persists. Sources indicate that upon Aoun’s arrival at Baabda
Palace, several retired officers, academics, and politicians offered their
expertise to draft a defense plan. A proposal was prepared, but the version
submitted to the presidential palace was deemed unsuitable. It linked the
defense strategy to political considerations, while the presidency is seeking a
comprehensive national defense strategy aligned with realities on the ground.
Disagreements among the volunteers prevented the submission of a revised draft.
Beyond politics, however, can a defense strategy be formulated without solid
economic foundations in a country that is effectively bankrupt? The answer lies
in the defense budgets of countries in the region — from Saudi Arabia, whose
defense spending reached $78 billion in 2025, to Israel, with a defense budget
of $30 billion, and Qatar, which allocates $9.4 billion to defense. What kind of
strategy can be discussed when the Lebanese state struggles to pay its army’s
salaries, while the army is deployed from south to north, tasked not only with
ensuring that weapons remain exclusively in state hands but also with internal
policing? And what strategy can be envisioned when international assistance
today barely ensures continuity, unless the international community is convinced
that the army is seriously advancing a clear, time-bound plan to fully
consolidate arms under state authority? It is the reality of the cycle Lebanon
has been trapped in since the emergence of the “New Middle East” concept — a
reality that makes a defense strategy today more distant than ever.
Lebanon’s revenue challenge: Can smarter policies replace
new taxes?
LBCI/February 18/2026
Lebanon can increase its revenues without burdening citizens by raising fees on
luxury goods such as imported tobacco and alcohol, strengthening taxation on
coastal properties, combating smuggling to recover customs revenues — estimated
at around $800 million lost to evasion — and by collecting actual taxes instead
of relying on paper declarations. This was emphasized by the National Economy,
Trade, Industry, and Planning Committee, chaired by MP Farid Boustany, following
its latest meeting. The committee stressed that the solution does not lie in new
taxes but in smarter management of existing revenues. Boustany said recent
events are unacceptable and that authorities must take responsibility and define
a clear course of action. If the Lebanese government reverses its recent
decisions — including the 1% VAT increase and the LBP 300,000-per-barrel
gasoline hike — other viable solutions could be implemented without harming
purchasing power or fueling inflation. He also stated that the committee does
not support new taxes. Instead, it proposes improving the exchange rate to
around LBP 60,000, which would increase purchasing power by roughly 30%. With
the central bank holding around $8 billion, Boustany questioned why part of
these funds cannot be used during a transitional phase.The committee also said
that recent financial decisions were made too quickly and that the economic file
needs a more balanced and structured approach. Ultimately, after all that is
happening, the decision lies with parliament — will it approve the VAT increase
and the LBP 300,000 gasoline hike?
Cairo meeting to set stage for Paris conference on
supporting Lebanese Army
LBCI/February 18/2026
Lebanon and key international partners are preparing for a Cairo meeting next
Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a Paris conference in March focused on
supporting the Lebanese Army. With only days remaining before the Cairo session,
Beirut has seen intensified diplomatic and military contacts. Among the latest
meetings was a visit by Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari and Lebanese Army
Commander General Rodolph Haykal to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain el-Tineh.
The discussions came a day after Haykal met President Joseph Aoun and days after
the Cabinet approved salary increases for public sector employees and military
personnel. The pay raises still require parliamentary approval to take effect.
At Ain el-Tineh, Berri and Haykal discussed military affairs and the importance
of supporting the army. While sources did not disclose details of the talks,
observers noted Berri has long been associated with the phrase, "With the army,
whether it is right or wrong."The army's leadership is expected to carry its
message on the institution's challenges and needs to the Cairo meeting.
According to LBCI, Haykal is expected to attend alongside representatives of the
five-nation committee involved in Lebanon's political and security file.
Participants are expected to include French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le
Drian, U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa, Qatari Minister of State Mohammed al-Khulaifi,
Saudi envoy Prince Yazid bin Farhan, and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. The meeting is also expected to include the head and
members of the Military Technical Committee for Lebanon, known as MTC4L, whose
permanent members are France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the
United States. Egypt has not yet announced who will represent it.
In Cairo, Lebanese army officials are expected to present the institution's
operational challenges and the need to fulfill its full mandate. The meeting is
not expected to produce pledges, but rather a summary that will be submitted to
the Paris conference, where the five-nation committee has been intensifying
efforts to ensure a successful outcome. The Paris conference is expected to
shape the international community's view of Lebanon. It will be chaired by
French President Emmanuel Macron and, in principle, Lebanese President Joseph
Aoun, who is expected to lead the Lebanese delegation following an invitation
from Macron delivered by French Ambassador to Beirut Hervé Magro.
Israel on alert on Lebanon border as Iran war threat grows
Naharnet/February 18/2026
Israeli forces are on alert on Lebanon’s border out of concerns of a possible
escalation with Hezbollah in connection with the growing possibility of a war
with Iran, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported. The Israeli
media outlet also said that the United States would inform Israel in advance
should it decide to wage an attack on Iran.
Praise or Pressure: What
CENTCOM's Commendation for the LAF Tells Lebanon
Amal Chmouny/This Beirut/February 19/2026
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper’s praise of the Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) for uncovering a "massive underground tunnel" near the southern
border represents far more than routine diplomatic protocol. While his February
9 statement commended the LAF, it implicitly contested the Lebanese army’s
announcement the previous month that it had completed operations to disarm
Hezbollah along the southern border. The message highlighted the ambiguities of
Lebanon’s disarmament process while underscoring Hezbollah’s military
entrenchment. On January 8, the LAF declared that it had completed the first
phase of disarmament, south of the Litani, asserting control over 1,100 square
kilometers of territory after deploying approximately 10,000 troops. "The
Lebanese army is systematically locating Hezbollah’s remaining weapons caches.
The region south of the Litani River is firmly under army command. They have
discovered roughly 90 percent of the weapons there,” retired LAF Brig. Gen.
Khalil Gemayel told This Is Beirut. "No [non-state] armed group can operate
freely south of the Litani. It is now under army control," said Gemayel, who
formerly served as the LAF’s commander of the south Litani sector. Nevertheless,
the retired general said the LAF has yet to fully complete its disarmament
mission in the border region, explaining that competing operational demands and
time constraints have posed challenges. As Lebanon begins moving forward with
Hezbollah’s disarmament north of the Litani, the tunnel’s discovery, while
celebrated, exposes gaps in the LAF’s efforts along the border and casts doubt
on the process to confiscate non-state weapons nationwide.
Renewed Skepticism
A senior U.S. military officer said that doubts persist about whether the LAF
has fully achieved its disarmament mission south of the Litani. “The longer
disarmament drags on, the greater the risk that Hezbollah regroups. Large
weapons caches, especially anti-tank missiles like Kornet, remain hidden in
villages,” the source told This is Beirut.
“Hezbollah is actively rebuilding its military apparatus,” the officer added.
David Schenker, a former U.S. diplomat and senior fellow at the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy, questioned whether the LAF has achieved full
operational control of the southern Litani region. “The Lebanese army is
present, but it is not in control,” he told This is Beirut. "There is little
confidence in Washington unless real pressure and benchmarks are imposed," he
told This Is Beirut. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s pointed rebuke of LAF
commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal after a February 5 meeting in
Washington—following the Lebanese army chief’s refusal to brand Hezbollah as a
terrorist group—underscored Washington’s skepticism. “As long as this attitude
persists, I don’t think we have a reliable partner in the Lebanese Armed
Forces,” Graham wrote on X, after cutting short his meeting with the LAF chief.
LAF on the Front Line
Retired LAF Brig. Gen. Khalil Helou defended the efforts of the Lebanese army.
"When the army declares an area secure, it means no one can move militarily
without its knowledge, though absolute security is a myth. Any incident south of
the Litani qualifies as a security breach,” he told This is Beirut.
Gemayel, for his part, explained that Hezbollah has refused to cooperate with
the LAF’s weapon inspections south of the Litani under the pretext that it had
withdrawn from the area as part of the November 27, 2024 ceasefire.
"If any hidden [Hezbollah] caches remain in southern Lebanon, they are few. The
army will locate them as operations continue. They are carrying out the
cabinet’s decision to restrict arms to the state,” the retired general said.
Helou attributed the recent discovery of the massive Hezbollah tunnel to the
LAF’s field surveys, not foreign intelligence. "CENTCOM’s praise is
motivational, but the army found this tunnel through its own operations—Israelis
bombed it repeatedly, to no avail, as it is embedded deep in the mountain.
Security isn’t perfect, but strategically, the army’s control stands,” he said.
Incentives and Accountability
LAF commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal on February 16 briefed Lebanon’s cabinet on
plans to disarm Hezbollah between the Litani and Awwali rivers. Afterward, the
government announced that the process had begun and was scheduled to last four
months, with the timeline extendable to eight months depending on LAF
requirements, including equipment and personnel.On March 5, France is set to
host a conference on aid for the LAF, with sponsorship from the U.S., Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar. Paris has urged Beirut to move forward with the next
phase of disarmament and present a detailed plan that addresses Washington’s
concerns.Meanwhile, Israel’s ongoing airstrikes against Hezbollah’s military
reconstitution efforts underscore the stakes, with any delays in disarmament
potentially triggering renewed conflict. Schenker said that U.S. support for the
LAF should be conditioned on tangible metrics, such as Hezbollah caches seized,
to compel Lebanon’s progress on disarmament. "U.S. aid should be strictly tied
to LAF performance. Without timelines, oversight, and accountability, Lebanon
will do nothing,” he said. “It is up to Washington to keep the pressure on,” the
Washington Institute fellow said. Schenker argued that disarmament alone will
not suffice to weaken Hezbollah, which thrives on Lebanon’s dysfunctional and
cash-based economy. “Without robust reforms, terrorist financing persists,” he
said. “Confidence in the system must be rebuilt," Schenker told This Is
Beirut.CENTCOM’s praise for the LAF’s discovery of the Hezbollah tunnel
represents the carrot in the U.S. approach, while aid conditioned on Lebanon’s
disarmament progress is the stick. The LAF’s ability to seize remaining caches
near the border and extend the state’s monopoly on arms north of the Litani will
determine Lebanon’s success.
Hezbollah Readies Its Electoral Machine After War Losses
Marwan El Amine/This Beirut/February 19/2026
Whether Lebanon’s parliamentary elections are held on time in May or postponed,
Hezbollah’s electoral machine appears to be in a state of full readiness. While
the party commands the largest popular base within the Shia community,
maintaining a wide lead over its closest ally, the Amal Movement, this electoral
advantage has not bred complacency.On the contrary, Hezbollah has doubled down
on its organizational and mobilization efforts, activating its human and media
resources to guard against any shift in public sentiment or potential attempts
to penetrate its core constituency.
The upcoming elections will take place in a markedly different context from the
ones held four years ago. The 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah has produced
profound shifts in Lebanon’s broader political landscape and within the
country’s Shia community.
Israel’s assassination of former Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah
dealt a severe blow to the organization, depriving it of his charismatic
presence and deep emotional resonance among the Shia community. Nasrallah was
not merely a political leader; over time, he became a symbolic authority capable
of shaping public opinion and rallying supporters at pivotal moments. However,
while Nasrallah’s death has stripped Hezbollah of its central source of
charismatic authority, it may serve as a powerful mobilizing force for the
party. Hezbollah is expected to invest heavily in the symbolism of “martyrdom”
to galvanize its base, framing the electoral battle as an act of loyalty to its
leadership and the sacrifices made during the war.This narrative will encompass
not only Nasrallah’s death but the thousands of Hezbollah commanders and
fighters killed during the conflict with Israel. Their families are deeply
rooted in Shia towns and villages, where nearly every community has suffered
losses that have left a lasting imprint on the collective psyche.Alongside the
loss of its iconic leader, two other pillars, central to Hezbollah’s past
electoral campaigns, have been significantly shaken by its war with Israel.
These were embodied in Hezbollah’s campaign slogan for the 2022 elections: “We
Protect and We Build.”
Following the 2006 war with Israel, Nasrallah entrenched a narrative portraying
Hezbollah’s military strength as a protective umbrella for southern Lebanon and
an effective deterrent against large-scale Israeli military action. Over time,
this narrative became a decisive electoral asset, reinforcing the belief among a
broad segment of the Shia community—particularly those living near the
Lebanese-Israeli border—that the party’s weapons provided tangible, day-to-day
security.The latest war, however, dealt a direct blow to this equation. A
growing segment of the Shia community now believes that the party’s arsenal no
longer guarantees protection as effectively as it once did. While Hezbollah’s
narrative of deterrence against Israel may have eroded, the organization’s
weapons remain a key instrument of political influence within Lebanon. The party
uses them to consolidate its dominance in Shia-majority areas where state
institutions are weak, less influential, and largely deferential to Hezbollah’s
authority.As such, Hezbollah reframes its arsenal as a means of safeguarding the
Shia community’s political standing within Lebanon’s delicate sectarian balance.
Some of the party’s base views defending Hezbollah and its arsenal as synonymous
with defending Shia influence within the state, fearing that disarmament would
tilt the balance of power toward other sects.While the “We Protect” component of
Hezbollah’s 2022 campaign slogan has been visibly shaken, the “We Build” element
appears even more fragile. The promise of reconstruction, long associated with
Hezbollah’s image as a force capable of rapid compensation and rebuilding, now
collides with a starkly different reality. In the aftermath of the 2006 war,
reconstruction efforts became central to helping communities overcome the
devastation, enabling Hezbollah to swiftly restore its legitimacy within its
constituency. Today, the picture is far different. More than a year after the
war with Israel, large swathes of southern villages remain in ruins.Hezbollah
has distanced itself from reconstruction pledges made by Nasrallah, shifting
responsibility onto the Lebanese state in an apparent effort to transfer the
burden of failure to official institutions. Yet comparisons between 2006 and the
present remain vivid among many in the Shia community, who note the contrast
between the rapid rebuilding effort then and the current stagnation.
As Hezbollah’s inadequate compensations for war damages pose a potential
electoral vulnerability, the party will likely turn to alternative measures to
contain public frustration. Hezbollah is likely to revive the moral authority of
its war casualties and the symbolism of blood sacrifice, attempting to use
emotional capital to compensate for its material shortcomings.The party is also
expected to emphasize its continued control and influence on the ground in Shia-majority
areas, implicitly signaling that it wields real power while the state remains
weak and subordinate. This approach draws on a broader social tendency to align
with the actor perceived as most powerful, particularly in environments where
sectarian and political balances are seen as fragile.Beyond symbolism, arms, and
reconstruction, a fourth factor weighs heavily in Hezbollah’s electoral
calculations: its financial resources and the extensive network of services the
party administers within its constituency. Although regional shifts, most
notably the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, have disrupted a key
traditional supply line for Hezbollah, the party has not suffered total
financial suffocation. It continues to channel funds into Lebanon through
various means, leveraging illicit foreign networks and a parallel financial
system built over years. Together, these financial mechanisms play a central
role in consolidating the party’s influence within the Shia community.Notably,
the recent war did not significantly disrupt Hezbollah’s institutional
infrastructure, whether financial, medical, educational, or social. From medical
associations and hospitals to schools and social service centers, these
institutions provide resources to Hezbollah’s constituents and serve as daily
points of connection between the party and its base.In the run-up to the
elections, Hezbollah is likely to intensify its service provision, whether
through expanded social assistance programs or increased direct aid. The party
understands that financial support and social services can help offset the
setbacks from its war with Israel, including diminished deterrence, stalled
reconstruction, and psychological and social strains.As such, Hezbollah’s system
of social services is now an electoral lever comparable to its ideological and
military structures. If symbolism stirs emotions and arms consolidate influence,
money and services address immediate daily needs. Through this multi-layered
strategy, Hezbollah seeks to recalibrate its relationship with its constituency
and steer a pivotal electoral moment, reflecting a shift from a triumphalist
discourse to one of containment and compensation.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published
on February
19-20/2026
Link to a video and transcript of an interview in English with US Senator
Lindsey Graham: A realistic, bold, and pragmatic analysis of the necessity of
using force to deal with the Iranian regime, Hamas, and all those like them.
Host: Hadley Gamble/The National News/February 19, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/152327/
*Iran's inflection point is weeks,
not months away, says Lindsey Graham
*US senator tells Hadley Gamble in On The Record that military planning for
strike on Tehran is under way
*US senator Lindsey Graham discusses Iran, the Gaza war, Russia sanctions and
shifting dynamics across the Middle East.
*US senator Lindsey Graham has revealed that military planning for a strike on
Iran is under way, with the decision on whether to attack hanging in the
balance.
*"The military capability is being built up as I speak. The inflection point is
weeks away, not months away," he told The National during a visit to Abu Dhabi.
"That's why I'm here. That's why I haven't slept. Because you see this can go
really good or really bad."
*senator Lindsey Graham' comments came after a trip to Israel where he met Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and emphasised the need for regime change in Iran.
*Iran and Russia hold joint naval drills amid fears US could strike 'as soon as
Saturday'
*Iran and Russia hold joint naval drills amid fears US is 'ready' to strike
"This region will never stabilise, will never move towards the lightness, away
from the darkness, until the Ayatollah [Ali Khamenei] is dispatched," he said on
an episode of On The Record with Hadley Gamble. "Either he changes, which I
don't think will happen, or he's replaced."
*The US and Iran have been engaged in nuclear talks in Geneva, but progress has
been slow. Iran has insisted that negotiations focus only on its nuclear
programme, rejecting US demands to discuss ballistic missiles and regional
proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthi rebels.
*US President Donald Trump previously warned he could intervene as Tehran
carried out a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests that swept across the
country. Praising Mr Trump's approach to Iran, Mr Graham explained: "When Trump
said, ‘Keep protesting, help is on the way’, he locked in this region in a way
where the choice is really clear. [Trump] said we need new leadership in Iran
... the best way to make Iran great again is for the people to take over."
The senator’s visit to Abu Dhabi coincided with the movement of significant US
military hardware to the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier
is already in the Arabian Gulf and the USS Gerald R Ford is on its way.
*Mr Graham warned that time is running out for a diplomatic resolution with
Tehran, saying: "In the next 30 days, if we don't have some resolution about the
Iranian file, I think the moment may pass."
US Senator Lindsey Graham says no good reason for Gulf tension
*Mr Graham also spoke of another regional matter, after several weeks of intense
criticism of the UAE through Saudi social media and TV channels. He urged the
countries to put aside their differences and focus on the "big prize" of
replacing Iran's regime.
*"Saudi Arabia is now moving backwards. They're attacking the United Arab
Emirates viciously for being in the Abraham Accords,” he said. “I'm here to get
everybody back together on the big prize. The big prize is for the Iranian
regime to be replaced by people that don't want to blow us all up and kill
everybody all the time."
*He urged Saudi Arabia to "suck it up" and prioritise the bigger issue in the
region. "There is no good reason for this," he added. "You can have disputes
about Sudan and Yemen, but they're basically declaring war."
**Elias Bejjani/Great interview. Senator Lindsey Graham know very well what is
the nature of the Iranian Mullahs' regime and yes their regime must be toppled
for the benefit of the whole world.
To those who
are perpetuating false narratives against the United Arab Emirates and President
Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed
Lindsey Graham/February 18/2026
personally, you are full of it. I met with him today for an hour and a half. Not
only is he alive, but he is also well and as sharp as I’ve ever seen him. To
those powers that feel the need to attack MbZ and the UAE for doing the right
thing - you do so at your own peril.
Our meeting today was very enjoyable and informative. We discussed the historic
moment that is facing the region. I told him how much I appreciated his courage
and vision to create an Islamic country that can be integrated into the world in
a win-win fashion, both for the people of the UAE and for those who visit and do
business with the country.
However, there are other voices in Islam that have the darkest vision of
mankind. Those voices are distinctly in the minority, in my view.
MbZ’s decision to embrace the Abraham Accords and to modernize his country while
still maintaining the faith is the biggest change in the Middle East in my
lifetime. What the United Arab Emirates have done to try to integrate the region
with the whole world is one of the bravest and most consequential decisions any
Middle Eastern leader has made. I was very candid with MbZ that he cannot do
this by himself. Other people in the region have to buy-in to what’s happening
with the UAE, not just be casual observers.
To the region: Understand that history is about to be made. President Trump
wants a region that looks more like the UAE and less like the Ayatollah. The
region can only move forward if it follows the vision that embraces the light
instead of going backwards into the darkness. The UAE’s vision for the Middle
East and the 2030 vision previously expressed by the Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia is something I would fully embrace because it would be great for South
Carolina, and great for America.
The forces that are merging here recently are trying to undercut the movement
toward the light. They are going back to the old way of doing business, playing
cheap politics. Your actions have not gone unnoticed by me or others. If this
continues, it will do enormous damage to the best opportunity I've seen in
hundreds of years to change the Middle East for the better. Finally, to those
who believe that the region still flourishes if the ayatollah’s regime survives,
I could not disagree more. If this religious Nazi regime in Iran still stands
after all this bluster and the people are shut out and continue to be oppressed,
it puts everything we’ve worked for at risk, including the Abraham Accords. Now,
I am off to Saudi Arabia where I look forward to meeting with the Crown Prince
who has shown a lot of courage and wisdom and has embraced, in the past, a
vision that will forever change the Middle East for the better.
Time will tell as to what happens.
Video-Link from "Stand Tall
Israel" website with Dr. Mordechai Kedar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tqZ7bL8Yps
Iran’s Secret Plan to Destroy Israel — And Why Hamas Ruined It | Dr. Mordechai
Kedar
Was October 7th part of a much bigger plan?
In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Mordechai Kedar—former Israeli military
intelligence officer and one of the world’s leading experts on the Middle
East—breaks down what he believes was Iran’s long-term strategy to surround and
overwhelm Israel, and why Hamas may have disrupted that plan by acting early.
Dr. Kedar explains:
The Iranian multi-front war scenario against Israel
How Hezbollah, militias, and regional proxies fit into the strategy
Why normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia changed everything
Why Iran responds only to credible threats
What the West still misunderstands about the Middle East
This interview was conducted by the Bearded Bible Brothers, and this segment is
shared here to help viewers better understand the geopolitical realities shaping
the region today.
Whether you agree or disagree, this is a perspective rarely heard in mainstream
coverage—and one that raises serious questions about what may come next.
Video Link from Visegrad24 to an interview with Iranian Crown Prince n In Exile
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Reza Pahlavi: “Nothing Good Came From Sharia Law.” | Reza Pahlavi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4RkDOa94wU
Visegrad24 founder Stefan Tompson meets in Munich with the Crown Prince of Iran
Reza Pahlavi to ask him what happened after the Islamic Regime in Iran shut down
the internet nationwide on January 8th and started the world's largest massacre
of protesters in modern times.
Tompson also asks what the Crown Prince wants the West to do after this
unprecedented bloodshed on Iran's streets and whether he fears that Europe is in
danger of Islamization through demographic replacement.
0:00 - Intro
2:16 - Crackdown on anti-regime protesters
4:11 - Mainstream Media Silence
6:59 - What should the West do for Iran
11:01 - Islamic Regime Spreading the Calipathe
13:08 - The Islamic Regime and Organized Crime
14:14 - Why won't EU Ban the IRGC & Muslim Brotherhood
15:50 - Europe is Turning Islamist
18:32 - Demographic Replacement in Europe
20:52 - Europe Must Be Free from Sharia Law
22:52 - The Iranian Diaspora and Success
25:40 - What a Free Iran Will do for the World
Trump Tells First Meeting
of Board of Peace that $7 billion Raised for Gaza
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 19/2026
US President Donald Trump told the first meeting of his Board of Peace on
Thursday that $7 billion has been contributed to a Gaza reconstruction fund that
aims to rebuild the enclave once Hamas disarms, an objective that is far from
becoming a reality.
The disarmament of Hamas militants and accompanying withdrawal of Israeli
troops, the size of the reconstruction fund and the flow of humanitarian aid to
the war-battered populace of Gaza are among the major questions likely to test
the effectiveness of the board in the weeks and months ahead. In a flurry of
announcements at the end of a long, winding speech, Trump said the United States
will make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace. He said
contributing nations had raised $7 billion as an initial down payment for Gaza
reconstruction. Trump first proposed the board last September when he announced
his plan to end Israel's war in Gaza. He later made clear the board's remit
would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide.Trump also
said FIFA will raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza and that
the United Nations will chip in $2 billion for humanitarian assistance.
TRUMP SAYS ANY IRAN DEAL MUST BE MEANINGFUL, PROSPECTS SHOULD BE CLEAR IN 10
DAYS
The Board of Peace includes Israel but not Palestinian representatives and
Trump's suggestion that the Board could eventually address challenges beyond
Gaza has stirred anxiety that it could undermine the UN's role as the main
platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution. "We're going to
strengthen the United Nations," Trump said, trying to assuage his critics. "It's
really very important."The meeting came as Trump threatens war against Iran and
has embarked on a massive military buildup in the region in case Tehran refuses
to give up its nuclear program. Trump said he should know in 10 days whether a
deal is possible. "We have to have a meaningful deal," he said. The event had
the feel of a Trump campaign rally, with music blaring from his eclectic
playlist from Elvis Presley to the Beach Boys. Red Trump hats were given to
participants. Senior US officials said Trump will also announce that several
nations are planning to send thousands of troops to participate in an
International Stabilization Force that will help keep the peace in Gaza when it
eventually deploys.Hamas, fearful of Israeli reprisals, has been reluctant to
hand over weaponry as part of Trump's 20-point Gaza plan that brought about a
fragile ceasefire last October in the two-year Gaza war. Trump said he hoped use
of force to disarm Hamas would not be necessary. He said Hamas had promised to
disarm and it "looks like they're going to be doing that, but we'll have to find
out."
Is Trump about to go to war
with Iran?"You're gonna be finding out over the next, probably, 10 days," the
president said on Thursday.
Andrew Romano, Reporter/February 19, 2026
In recent weeks, President Trump has amassed what he’s described as an “armada”
of destroyers, aircraft carriers, warships, submarines and attack planes within
striking distance of Iran — a build-up that has “progressed to the point [where
he] has the option to take military action … as soon as this weekend,” the New
York Times reported on Wednesday. At the same time, the president has said that
regime change “would be the best thing that could happen” to Iran, which has
been ruled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since 1989. “We have to make
a meaningful deal, otherwise bad things happen,” Trump told his Board of Peace
in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “They can't have a nuclear weapon and they've
been told that very strongly." So is Trump about to launch a major war with
Iran? Here’s what we know.
How we got here
If a possible U.S. attack on Iran sounds familiar, that’s because Trump already
launched one in June 2025, striking the regime’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan
nuclear sites in concert with Israel. The president claimed at the time that
Iran’s facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated,” putting a “stop
to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of
terror.”Yet other reports suggested that the Iranians might have moved their
stash of enriched uranium before the strikes — and that the U.S. bombings left
at least some of Tehran’s nuclear program intact.During his first term, Trump
withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal that had "dismantled much of [Iran’s]
nuclear program and opened its facilities to more extensive international
inspections in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief,”
according to the Council on Foreign Relations — at which point Iran “resumed its
nuclear activities.”When protests broke out in Iran late last year — and when
the regime launched a violent crackdown that reportedly killed thousands — Trump
started weighing another round of strikes, repeatedly declaring that the U.S.
military was “locked and loaded” and ready to attack. Then, in mid-January,
Trump abruptly backed down at the urging of Israel and several Arab nations
after Iranian authorities said they had canceled hundreds of scheduled
executions. So why is Trump saber-rattling again — and beefing up America’s
firepower in the region? According to Vice President JD Vance, “our primary
interest here is we don’t want Iran to get a nuclear weapon.” To that end,
American and Iranian officials held three hours of indirect talks in Geneva,
Switzerland, on Tuesday that ended with a “set of guiding principles,” according
to Iran’s foreign minister, as well as an agreement to exchange drafts of a
potential deal within two weeks.
But Trump allies have also been pushing for regime change rather than diplomacy.
“I talked to the president the day before yesterday and we talked about Iran,”
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News on Wednesday. “I said the regime is teetering,
the ayatollah is in his last days — and I said do not let this opportunity
pass.”
Where things stand right now
Trump seems to be moving forward on two tracks at once. Yes, he’s pursuing a
diplomatic deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program. But he’s also pressuring Tehran
to meet his terms by surging U.S. military forces to the region — forces he says
he’s prepared to deploy if diplomacy falls short. “So now we may have to take it
a step further, or we may not,” Trump said on Thursday. “You’re gonna be finding
out over the next, probably, 10 days.”
The question now is whether a deal on Trump’s terms is really attainable.
According to the Times, “three Iranian officials familiar with [Tuesday’s] talks
said that Iran had indicated a willingness to suspend nuclear enrichment for
three to five years — which would cover the duration of Mr. Trump’s presidency —
and then join a regional consortium for civilian grade enrichment.” The Times
also reported that Iran had offered to “dilute its stockpile of uranium on its
own soil in the presence of international inspectors.” In exchange, the U.S.
would have to “lift financial and banking sanctions and the embargo on [Iran’s]
oil sales.”
The problem is that Iran has insisted that the talks be strictly limited to its
nuclear program — but the Trump administration is also demanding that Tehran
curb the range of its ballistic missiles and stop supporting militias across the
region. In a speech on Tuesday, the ayatollah accused the Trump administration
of an “illogical” attempt to interfere with Iran’s self-defense. “Any country
without deterrent weapons will be crushed under the feet of its enemies,” he
said. A day later, Vance told Fox News “it was very clear that the president has
set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge
and work through.”As a result, “senior U.S. officials remain skeptical that the
Iranians will agree to a deal that satisfies Mr. Trump, who has shown a growing
impatience with the negotiations,” according to the Times.Other outlets have
been blunter. “The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle
East than most Americans realize,” Axios reported on Wednesday. “There's no
evidence a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran is on the horizon. But there's more
and more evidence that a war is imminent.”
What’s next
Last June, Trump also indicated that he would take the next two weeks to decide
between continued talks and military action. Following Israel’s lead, U.S.
forces attacked three days later.Citing two Israeli officials, Axios reported on
Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “pushing for a maximalist
scenario targeting regime change as well as Iran's nuclear and missile programs”
— and “preparing for a scenario of war within days.”According to CBS News, Trump
has “not yet made a final decision about whether to strike,” but top national
security officials have told him that “the military is ready” to attack Iran “as
soon as Saturday.”“The boss is getting fed up,” one Trump adviser told Axios.
“Some people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think
there is a 90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks.”How that
action unfolds — and what it involves — remains to be seen. Experts say Trump
might be tempted to attack because the ayatollah has been weakened by age,
sanctions, economic upheaval and protests. But dislodging him would not be as
simple as, say, toppling Nicolás Maduro. In fact, “a U.S. military operation in
Iran would likely be a massive, weeks-long campaign that would look more like
full-fledged war than last month's pinpoint operation in Venezuela,” according
to Axios’s sources — with surefire retaliation against U.S. and Israeli
targets.“An aircraft carrier is certainly a dangerous piece of equipment,” the
ayatollah said on Tuesday, shortly after Trump ordered a second one to the
region. “But more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon that can send it to
the bottom of the sea.”
Trump says US to give $10 bn to new 'Board of Peace'
LBCI/February 19/2026
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced $10 billion in U.S. funding for the
"Board of Peace," his Gaza stability push that has largely been snubbed by the
Western democracies that normally back Washington's initiatives.
"I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution
of $10 billion to the Board of Peace," he told its inaugural meeting, which
gathered around two dozen world leaders and senior officials, including several
of Trump's authoritarian-leaning allies.AFP
Trump says Iran must make 'meaningful deal' or 'bad things
happen'
LBCI/February 19/2026
President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Iran to strike a "meaningful" deal as a
huge American military build-up takes shape in the Middle East amid U.S. threats
of action against its adversary. "It's proven to be over the years not easy to
make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal otherwise
bad things happen," Trump told the inaugural meeting of the "Board of Peace,"
his initiative to secure stability in Gaza. He warned that Washington "may have
to take it a step further" without any agreement, adding: "You're going to be
finding out over the next probably 10 days."AFP
France says surprised by European Commission presence at
Board of Peace
Reuters/February 19/2026
France said on Thursday it was surprised that the European Commission had sent a
commissioner to the Board of Peace in Washington saying it did not have the
mandate to represent member states, its foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Pascal Confavreux said as far as Paris was concerned, the Board of Peace needed
to recentre to focus on Gaza in line with a United Nations Security Council
resolution and that until that ambiguity was lifted, France would not take
part."Regarding the European Commission and its participation, in reality we are
surprised because it does not have a mandate from the Council to go and
participate," he told reporters, referring to the Council of the European
Union's members. U.S. President Donald Trump is presiding over the first
meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday with the event expected to include
representatives from more than 45 nations. Most European governments have opted
to not send top-level representatives to the gathering, but the European
Commission has said that its commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica,
is attending. "Our objective is clear: coordinated action, accountable
governance, and tangible results for the Palestinian people," Suica wrote on
social media platform X on Thursday ahead of the meeting. While Suica is
attending as an observer, several EU member states have raised concerns about an
EU commissioner participating in a meeting of a body many EU governments see as
undermining international law.Some diplomats have also questioned whether the
European Commission has a mandate to decide on sending a representative without
approval from capitals. "It is surprising that the Commission has decided to be
represented at the event, given that numerous countries have expressed concerns
about its potential instrumentalisation and have questioned the credibility of
an initiative that appears to seek to supplant the United Nations," a Belgian
diplomat said. Europeans have also been divided on how to approach the
U.S.-led gathering, with some sending officials in an observer capacity. The
United Kingdom and Germany have sent ambassadors to the event, while France has
opted not to be represented. The Commission has defended Suica's attendance as
in line with its commitment to the implementation of a ceasefire and part of
the institution's efforts to support Gaza's recovery and reconstruction.
Iran says no country can deprive it of enrichment rights
Agence France Presse/February 19/2026
Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said Thursday that no country can
deprive the Islamic republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after U.S.
President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in
Geneva.
"The basis of the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the
nuclear process, you need nuclear fuel," said Eslami, according to a video
published by Etemad daily. "Iran's nuclear program is proceeding according to
the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive
Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology."
Iran, US lean into gunboat diplomacy as nuclear talks hang in balance
Associated Press//February 19/2026
Iran and the United States leaned into gunboat diplomacy Thursday as nuclear
talks between the nations hung in the balance, with Tehran holding drills with
Russia and the Americans bringing another aircraft carrier closer to the
Mideast. The Iranian drill and the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft
carrier near the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea underscore the tensions between
the nations. Iran earlier this week also launched a drill that involved
live-fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow opening of the Persian Gulf
through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passes.
The movements of additional American warships and airplanes don't guarantee a
U.S. strike on Iran — but it does give President Donald Trump the ability to
carry out one should he choose to do so. He's so far held off on striking Iran
after setting red lines over the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran
holding mass executions, while reengaging Tehran in nuclear talks earlier
disrupted by the Iran-Israel war in June. "Should Iran decide not to make a
Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the
Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a
highly unstable and dangerous Regime," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website,
seeking to pressure the United Kingdom over its plans to settle the future of
the Chagos Islands with Mauritius. Meanwhile, Iran struggles with unrest at home
following its crackdown on protests, with mourners now holding ceremonies
honoring their dead 40 days after their killing by security forces. Some of the
gatherings have included anti-government cries, despite threats from
authorities.
Iran holds drill with Russia
The drill Thursday saw Iranian forces and Russian sailors conduct operations in
the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency
reported. The drill will be aimed at "upgrading operational coordination as well
as exchange of military experiences," IRNA added. China had joined the "Security
Belt" drill in previous years, but there was no acknowledgment it participated
in this round. In recent days, a vessel that appeared to be a Steregushchiy-class
Russian corvette had been seen at a military port in the Iranian city of Bandar
Abbas. Iran also issued a rocket-fire warning to pilots in the region,
suggesting they planned to launch anti-ship missiles in the exercise. Meanwhile,
tracking data showed the Ford off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean
midday Wednesday, meaning the carrier could transit through Gibraltar and
potentially station in the eastern Mediterranean with its supporting
guided-missile destroyers. Having the carrier there could allow American forces
to have extra aircraft and anti-missile power to potentially protect Israel and
Jordan should a conflict break out with Iran. The U.S. similarly placed warships
there during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip to protect against Iranian
fire.
Anti-government chants made at mourning ceremonies
Mourning ceremonies for those killed by security forces in the protests last
month also have increased. Iranians traditionally mark the death of a loved one
40 days after the loss. Both witnesses and social media videos showed memorials
taking place at Tehran's massive Behesht-e Zahra cemetery. Some memorials
included people chanting against Iran's theocracy while singing nationalistic
songs. The demonstrations began Dec. 28 at Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar,
initially over the collapse of Iran's currency, the rial, then spread across the
country. Tensions exploded on Jan. 8, with demonstrations called for by Iran's
exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi. Iran's government has offered only one death
toll for the violence, with 3,117 people killed. The U.S.-based Human Rights
Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous rounds of unrest in
Iran, puts the death toll at over 7,000 killed, with many more feared dead.
Rubio to visit Israel on February 28 amid Iran tensions
Associated Press/February 19/2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to travel to Israel next week to update
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, two
Trump administration officials said. Rubio is expected to meet with Netanyahu on
Feb. 28, according to the officials, who spoke Wednesday on condition of
anonymity to detail travel plans that have not yet been announced. The U.S. and
Iran recently have held two rounds of indirect talks over the Islamic Republic's
nuclear program. Iran has agreed to draw up a written proposal to address U.S.
concerns that were raised during this week's Geneva talks, according to another
senior U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the
condition of anonymity.That official said top national security officials
gathered Wednesday in the White House Situation Room to discuss Iran, and were
briefed that the "full forces" needed to carry out potential military action are
expected to be in place by mid-March. The official did not provide a timeline
for when Iran is expected to deliver its written response. Officials from both
the U.S. and Iran had publicly offered some muted optimism about progress this
week, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even saying that "a new
window has opened" for reaching an agreement. "In some ways, it went well," U.S.
Vice President JD Vance said about the talks in an interview Tuesday with Fox
News Channel. "But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set
some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and
work through."Netanyahu visited the White House last week to urge President
Donald Trump to ensure that any deal about Iran's nuclear program also include
steps to neutralize Iran's ballistic missile program and end its funding for
proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Trump is weighing whether to take
military action against Tehran as the administration surges military resources
to the region, raising concerns that any attack could spiral into a larger
conflict in the Middle East. On Friday, Trump told reporters that a change in
power in Iran "seems like that would be the best thing that could happen." He
added, "For 47 years, they've been talking and talking and talking."The Trump
administration has dispatched the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest
aircraft carrier, from the Caribbean Sea to the Mideast to join a second carrier
as well as other warships and military assets that the U.S. has built up in the
region. Dozens of U.S. fighter jets, including F-35s, F-22s and F-16s, have left
bases in the U.S. and Europe in recent days to head to the Middle East,
according to the Military Air Tracking Alliance, a team of about 30 open-source
analysts that routinely analyzes military and government flight activity. The
team says it's also tracked more than 85 fuel tankers and over 170 cargo planes
heading into the region. Steffan Watkins, a researcher based in Canada and a
member of the MATA, said he also has spotted support aircraft like six of the
military's early-warning E-3 aircraft head to a base in Saudi Arabia. Those
aircraft are key for coordinating operations with a large number of aircraft. He
says they were pulled from bases in Japan, Germany and Hawaii.
What to know about Hormuz Strait, which Iran temporarily
closed for military drill
Associated Press/February 19/2026
Iran says it temporarily closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth
of the Persian Gulf. The move came as semiofficial Iranian news agencies
reported live fire exercises in the vital waterway, through which 20% of the
world's oil passes.
The move is a rare, perhaps unprecedented shutdown of the strait, a signal from
Iran of the potential fallout to the world economy if the United States goes
through with threats to attack it as tensions mount between the two countries.
In past times of tension and conflict, Iran has at times harassed shipping
though the narrows, and during the 1980s' Iran-Iraq war, both sides attacked
tankers and other vessels, using naval mines to completely shut down traffic at
points. But Iran has not carried out repeated threats to close the waterway
altogether since the 1980s, even during last year's 12-day war when Israel and
the U.S. bombarded Iran's key nuclear and military sites. The extent and impact
of Tuesday's closure were not immediately known. Iranian media said it would be
for several hours for "safety and maritime concerns." The U.S. military's
Central Command did not immediately comment on the closure or Iran's live fire
drills. But during Iranian military exercises in the strait and nearby waters
several weeks ago, it warned Tehran that any "unsafe and unprofessional behavior
near U.S. forces, regional partners or commercial vessels increases risks of
collision, escalation and destabilization."Here's what to know about the strait,
the drill, what caused the tensions and what might happen next.
A key waterway for global shipping
The Strait of Hormuz is a bending waterway, about 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide
at its narrowest point. It connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. From
there, ships can then travel to the rest of the world. While Iran and Oman have
their territorial waters in the strait, it's viewed as an international waterway
all ships can ply. The United Arab Emirates, home to the skyscraper-studded city
of Dubai, also sits near the waterway.
The strait long has been important for trade
The Strait of Hormuz through history has been important for trade, with
ceramics, ivory, silk and textiles moving from China through the region. In the
modern era, it is the route for supertankers carrying oil and gas from Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran. The vast majority of it
goes to markets in Asia, including Iran's only remaining oil customer, China.
While there are pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE that can avoid the
passage, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says "most volumes that
transit the strait have no alternative means of exiting the region." Threats to
the route have spiked global energy prices in the past, including during the
Israel-Iran war in June.
Iran drill includes live fire
With the U.S. threatening to strike amid the massive nationwide anti-government
protests that erupted in late December and January, Iran held a live-fire
military drill in the Strait of Hormuz in early February. It warned ships of the
drill at the time but did close the passage. On Feb. 4, tensions between the
Iranian and U.S. navies rose further after a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an
Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in
the Arabian Sea. Iran also harassed a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant
vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military reported.
On Monday, Iran announced its new drill, dubbed, "Smart Control of the Strait of
Hormuz" military drill. Mariners in the region were warned by radio that it
planned "live surface firing." The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, which is
close to the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported a live missile
test Tuesday morning, saying missiles launched from inside Iran and along its
coast had struck their targets in the Strait of Hormuz. US CENTCOM has
previously said Iran has a "right to operate professionally in international
airspace and waters," but it warned against interfering or threatening American
warships or passing commercial vessels. The command, which oversees the U.S.
Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said it would not tolerate actions such as
Iranian aircraft or vessels getting too close to American warships or pointing
weapons toward them.
Iran's Supreme leader issues sharp threat to U.S.
The actions around the strait come amid increasing tension between the U.S. and
Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump initially threatened to launch a military
strike against Iran after its bloody crackdown on last month's protests. Since
then, he has shifted to threatening attack to pressure Tehran to make a deal
over its nuclear program. The two sides held a new round of indirect nuclear
negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and
supporting guided missile destroyers have been in the Arabian Sea for several
weeks, where they could launch an attack if Trump calls for it. Trump said
Friday the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, was being
sent from the Caribbean to the Mideast to join other military assets the U.S.
has built up in the region. Iran has warned it could launch its own preemptive
strike or target American interests across the Middle East and Israel. While the
12-day war saw Iran fire off ballistic missiles and Israel target its stockpile,
Tehran maintains an arsenal of short- and medium-range missiles that could hit
surrounding Gulf Arab states. On Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei warned the U.S that "the strongest army in the world might sometimes
receive such a slap that it cannot get back on its feet.""Of course a warship is
a dangerous apparatus, but more dangerous than the warship is the weapon that
can sink the warship into the depths of the sea," Khamenei said, Iranian state
TV reported.
Israel's Netanyahu Says No
Reconstruction of Gaza before Demilitarization
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 19/2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday there would be no
reconstruction of war-shattered Gaza before the disarmament of Hamas, as the
"Board of Peace" convened for its inaugural meeting in Washington. Around two
dozen world leaders and senior officials met for the first meeting of the board,
which was set up after the United States, Qatar and Egypt negotiated a ceasefire
in October to halt two years of war in the Gaza Strip. "We agreed with our ally
the US there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarization of
Gaza," Netanyahu said during a televised speech at a military ceremony on
Thursday, AFP reported. The meeting in Washington will also look at how to
launch the International Stabilization Force (ISF) that will ensure security in
Gaza. One of the most sensitive issues before the board is the future of the
Islamist movement Hamas, which fought the war with Israel and still exerts
influence in the territory.Disarmament of the group is a central Israeli demand
and a key point in negotiations over the ceasefire's next stage. US officials
including Steve Witkoff, Trump's friend and roving negotiator, have insisted
that solid progress is being made and that Hamas is feeling pressure to give up
weapons. Israel has suggested sweeping restrictions including seizing small
personal rifles from Hamas. It remains unclear whether, or how, the Palestinian
technocratic committee formed to handle day-to-day governance of Gaza will
address the issue of demilitarization.The 15-member National Committee for the
Administration of Gaza (NCAG) will operate under the supervision of the "Board
of Peace", and its head, Ali Shaath, is attending the meeting in Washington on
Thursday.
UN says Israeli actions raising 'ethnic cleansing' fears in
West Bank, Gaza
Agence France Presse/February 19/2026
Israel's increased attacks and forcible transfers of Palestinian civilians
"raise concerns over ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the
United Nations said Thursday. "Intensified attacks, the methodical destruction
of entire neighborhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to
aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza", the U.N. human rights office said
in a report. "This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a
permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the
West Bank."held two rounds of indirect talks over the Islamic Republic's nuclear
program. Iran has agreed to draw up a written proposal to address U.S. concerns
that were raised during this week's Geneva talks, according to another senior
U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the
condition of anonymity. That official said top national security officials
gathered Wednesday in the White House Situation Room to discuss Iran, and were
briefed that the "full forces" needed to carry out potential military action are
expected to be in place by mid-March. The official did not provide a timeline
for when Iran is expected to deliver its written response. Officials from both
the U.S. and Iran had publicly offered some muted optimism about progress this
week, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even saying that "a new
window has opened" for reaching an agreement. "In some ways, it went well," U.S.
Vice President JD Vance said about the talks in an interview Tuesday with Fox
News Channel. "But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set
some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and
work through."Netanyahu visited the White House last week to urge President
Donald Trump to ensure that any deal about Iran's nuclear program also include
steps to neutralize Iran's ballistic missile program and end its funding for
proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Trump is weighing whether to take
military action against Tehran as the administration surges military resources
to the region, raising concerns that any attack could spiral into a larger
conflict in the Middle East. On Friday, Trump told reporters that a change in
power in Iran "seems like that would be the best thing that could happen." He
added, "For 47 years, they've been talking and talking and talking."
The Trump administration has dispatched the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's
largest aircraft carrier, from the Caribbean Sea to the Mideast to join a second
carrier as well as other warships and military assets that the U.S. has built up
in the region.
Dozens of U.S. fighter jets, including F-35s, F-22s and F-16s, have left bases
in the U.S. and Europe in recent days to head to the Middle East, according to
the Military Air Tracking Alliance, a team of about 30 open-source analysts that
routinely analyzes military and government flight activity. The team says it's
also tracked more than 85 fuel tankers and over 170 cargo planes heading into
the region. Steffan Watkins, a researcher based in Canada and a member of the
MATA, said he also has spotted support aircraft like six of the military's
early-warning E-3 aircraft head to a base in Saudi Arabia. Those aircraft are
key for coordinating operations with a large number of aircraft. He says they
were pulled from bases in Japan, Germany and Hawaii.
Rafah Crossing Traffic Lags
Two Weeks after Reopening
Asharq Al-Awsat/February 19/2026
Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the
Iranian republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald
Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva. "The basis of
the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the nuclear
process, you need nuclear fuel," said Eslami, according to a video published by
Etemad daily on Thursday. "Iran's nuclear program is proceeding according to the
rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran
of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology." The comments follow
the second round of Oman-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva
on Tuesday.The two foes had held an initial round of discussions on February 6
in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel
war in June.
The United States briefly joined the war alongside Israel, striking Iranian
nuclear facilities. On Wednesday, Trump again suggested the United States might
strike Iran in a post on his Truth Social site. He warned Britain against giving
up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, saying that the
archipelago's Diego Garcia airbase might be needed were Iran not to agree a
deal, "in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and
dangerous regime". Washington has repeatedly called for zero enrichment, but has
also sought to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for
militant groups in the region -- issues which Israel has pushed to include in
the talks. Western countries accuse the Iranian republic of seeking to acquire
nuclear weapons. Tehran denies having such military ambitions but insists on its
right to this technology for civilian purposes.
Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed
a significant naval force to the region, which he has described as an "armada".
After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to
the Gulf in January, he recently indicated that a second aircraft carrier, the
Gerald Ford, would depart "very soon" for the Middle East. Separately, the
Iranian and Russian navies were conducting joint drills in the Sea of Oman and
the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday.
Settlers shoot at 19-year-old Palestinian-American in West
Bank clashes
Associated Press/February 19/2026
The Israeli military said soldiers responded to a violent confrontation in the
area and attempted to disperse a riot. The military said that suspects shot at
several Palestinians, who were evacuated for medical treatment. Abu Siyam's
mother told The Associated Press that he also held American citizenship. The
U.S. Embassy did not respond to requests for comment Thursday, Violence in the
West Bank from extremist settlers has soared in the past few years. Palestinians
and rights groups say authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers or hold
them accountable for violence. Under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir,
investigations into settler attacks have plummeted, according to the Israeli
rights group Yesh Din. In a rare move earlier this week, Israeli prosecutors
announced they plan to charge a settler in the killing of a Palestinian activist
during a confrontation that was caught on video. More than 3.4 million
Palestinians and 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east
Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by Palestinians for
a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli
settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Report finds Palestinian journalists imprisoned in Israel were tortured. The
Committee to Protect Journalists said that dozens of Palestinian journalists who
were detained in Israel during the war in Gaza experienced terrible conditions,
including physical assaults, forced stress positions, sensory deprivation,
sexual violence and medical neglect. CPJ has documented the detention of at
least 94 Palestinian journalists and one media worker during the war in Gaza. It
covers 32 journalists and one media worker from Gaza, 60 from the West Bank, and
two from Israel. Thirty of the journalists are still in custody, CPJ said. The
report found that half of the journalists detained were never charged with a
crime and were held under Israel's administrative detention system, which allows
for suspects deemed a security risk to be held for six months and can be renewed
indefinitely. Israel's prison services did not immediately respond to a request
for comment about the report, but had rejected a similar report in January about
conditions for Palestinian prisoners as "false allegations," contending it
operates lawfully, is subject to oversight and reviews complaints. UN
development chief says removing Gaza rubble will take 7 years. The vast
destruction across Gaza will take at least seven years just to remove the
rubble, according to the United Nations Development Program. Alexander De Croo,
the former Belgian prime minister who just returned from Gaza, said that the
UNDP had removed just 0.5% of the rubble and people in Gaza are experiencing
"the worst living conditions that I have ever seen."De Croo said 90% of Gaza's
2.2 million people live in "very, very rudimentary tents" in the middle of the
rubble, which poses health dangers and a danger from exploding weapons. He said
UNDP has been able to build 500 improved housing units, and has 4,000 more that
are ready, but estimates the true need is 200,000 to 300,000 units. The units
are meant to be used temporarily while reconstruction takes place. He called on
Israel to expand access for goods and items needed for reconstruction and the
private sector to begin development.
Israeli forces and Hamas committed atrocity crimes in Gaza, UN report says
Olivia Le Poidevin/Reuters/February 19, 2026
Israeli forces, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have both committed
serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and carried out
atrocity crimes, a U.N. report published on Thursday said. Intensified Israeli
attacks and the forcible transfer of Palestinians appeared aimed at a permanent
demographic shift in Gaza "raising concerns over ethnic cleansing," the report
by the U.N. human rights office said. The holding and mistreatment of hostages
by the Hamas Islamist militant group may amount to war crimes, it said. Israel's
permanent mission in Geneva dismissed the report's findings about Israel's
actions, and said in a statement that the U.N. human rights office had lost its
credibility. "Office of the High Commissioner is engaged in a vicious campaign
of demonization and disinformation against the State of Israel," it said.Hamas
did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ETHNIC CLEANSING CONCERNS
The 17-page report investigated events in Gaza from November 2024 to October 31,
2025. Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing over 1,200 people
and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military
offensive in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 people, the Palestinian health
ministry says. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into force last October after two
years of war that damaged buildings across Gaza, displaced most of its
residents and led to a humanitarian crisis. Israel still holds over half the
enclave. Israel's actions had imposed "conditions of life increasingly
incompatible with Palestinians’ continued existence as a group in Gaza", the
report said. Famine found in some parts of Gaza last August by a global hunger
monitor and malnutrition resulted directly from Israel's actions, the report
said. Militarised distribution centres run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
(GHF) backed by Israel and the United States "failed utterly" to deliver
humanitarian aid at the scale required, violating Israel's obligations under
international humanitarian law, it said.Israeli practices in Gaza and the
occupied West Bank indicated an accelerating effort to consolidate the
annexation of large parts of occupied Palestinian territory, with unlawful use
of force by Israeli security forces, the report said. "During the reporting
period, intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods
and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent
demographic shift in Gaza," it said."This, together with forcible transfers,
which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic
cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.
"CONCERNS ABOUT HAMAS' ACTIONS
The report found that the killing last June of 12 Palestinian staff associated
with the GHF by armed men, including possible summary executions, may amount to
war crimes by Hamas. Hamas has declined to comment on the shootings. The report
raised concerns about the use of civilians as human shields to prevent Israeli
attacks, something Hamas has denied doing, and outlined unnecessary or
disproportionate use of force by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.The
holding of and mistreatment of hostages taken in the Hamas attack on Israel in
2023 may amount to war crimes and potentially other atrocity crimes, the report
said. It cited allegations of torture, beating and deprivation of food. "There
must also be accountability for serious violations of international law,
including possible international crimes, by Hamas and its armed wing, Al Qassam
Brigades as well as other Palestinian armed groups," it said.
Hamas tightens grip in Gaza as Trump pushes peace plan
Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell/Reuters/February 19, 2026
CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Hamas is cementing its hold over Gaza by placing loyalists in
key government roles, collecting taxes and paying salaries, according to an
Zionist military assessment seen by Reuters and sources in the Palestinian
enclave. Hamas’ continuing influence over key Gaza power structures has fuelled
widespread skepticism about the prospects of US President Donald Trump’s peace
plan, which requires the militant group to give up its weapons in exchange for
an Zionist entity military withdrawal from the territory.
Trump’s international Board of Peace, which is meant to supervise Gaza’s
transitional governance, is holding its inaugural meeting in Washington on
Thursday. “Hamas is advancing steps on the ground meant to preserve its
influence and grip in the Gaza Strip ‘from the bottom up’ by means of
integrating its supporters in government offices, security apparatuses and local
authorities,” the military said in a document presented to Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu in late January. Hamas says it is ready to hand over
administration of the enclave to a US-backed committee of Palestinian
technocrats headed by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority official in the
occupied West Bank. But it says Zionist entity has not yet allowed committee
members to enter Gaza to assume their responsibilities. Netanyahu did not
respond to Reuters’ questions about Hamas’ control over Gaza. An Zionist
government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed any notion of
a future role for the group as “twisted fantasy”, saying, “Hamas is finished as
a governing authority in the Gaza Strip.”The Zionist military declined to
comment on Hamas’ assertions. Zionist military officials say Hamas, which
refuses to disarm, has been taking advantage of an October ceasefire to reassert
control in areas vacated by Zionist troops. Zionist entity still holds over half
of Gaza, but nearly all its 2 million people are in Hamas-held areas. Reuters
could not determine the full scope of Hamas’ appointments and attempts to
replenish its coffers. Hamas has named five district governors, all of them with
links to its armed al-Qassam Brigades, according to two Palestinian sources with
direct knowledge of its operations. It has also replaced senior officials in
Gaza’s economy and interior ministries, which manage taxation and security, the
sources said. And a new deputy health minister was shown touring Gaza hospitals
in a ministry video released this month. “Shaath may have the key to the car,
and he may even be allowed to drive, but it is a Hamas car,” one of the sources
told Reuters. Zionist entity’s military appears to have reached a similar
conclusion. “Looking ahead, without Hamas disarmament and under the auspices of
the technocrat committee, Hamas will succeed, in our view, to preserve influence
and control in the Gaza Strip,” it said in its assessment, which was first
reported by Zionist entity’s Channel 13 news. This is the most complete account
of the document’s contents.
Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-controlled government’s media office,
denied these were new appointments, saying temporary replacements had been found
for posts left vacant during the war to “prevent any administrative vacuum” and
ensure residents receive vital services while negotiations continue over next
steps in the peace process. — Reuters
Andrew arrested over misconduct related to Epstein
Kuwait Times/February 19, 2026
LONDON: Britain’s former prince Andrew was arrested Thursday on suspicion of
misconduct during his time as a trade envoy, as UK police investigations into
allegations emerging from the Jeffrey Epstein files gathered pace. The arrest of
a royal family member is unprecedented in Britain’s modern era, and within hours
King Charles III issued a rare personally signed statement insisting “the law
must take its course”. It was a humiliating new blow for the ousted prince, who
was last year stripped of his titles, and was marking his 66th birthday Thursday
in custody. “I’m pleased ... he deserves that,” lawyer Emma Carter, 55, told AFP
in London. “He’s been hiding behind his privileges... for too many years.”
Police said they were also searching two properties, with the BBC reporting one
was Andrew’s former home, Royal Lodge, on the monarchy’s Windsor estate west of
London.
The other was his residence since the start of this month on the king’s private
Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, where his arrest occurred,
according to British media. Widely-published images showed a fleet of unmarked
cars, believed to be police vehicles, arriving there early Thursday. “We have
today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of
misconduct in public office,” Thames Valley police said, without naming the
suspect, as is common practice in the UK. “The man remains in police custody at
this time,” the force added.
Andrew’s ties to convicted US sex offender Epstein have caused a spectacular
years-long fall from grace. His arrest follows new revelations last week that
the ex-prince appeared to have sent potentially confidential documents during
his time as a UK trade envoy.
In a November 2010 email seen by AFP, Andrew appeared to share with Epstein
reports on several Asian countries following an official visit to the region.
The ex-royal, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also allegedly sent the
American financier details of the trip — on which he was accompanied by
Epstein’s business associates — along with investment opportunities months
later. Charles last year stripped his brother of his titles and ordered he leave
his Windsor mansion — though he does remain eighth in the line of succession to
the British throne.
In his statement, the king reiterated he had learned of the latest claims “with
the deepest concern” and that a “full, fair and proper process” investigated “in
the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities” would follow. “In
this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and
co-operation,” he added. “Let me state clearly: the law must take its
course.”Charles last year ousted Andrew after one of Epstein’s accusers,
Virginia Giuffre, claimed in shocking detail in her posthumous memoirs that she
had been trafficked to have sex with Andrew when she was a teenager. The Giuffre
family welcomed Andrew’s arrest Thursday, saying “our broken hearts have been
lifted at the news”, adding “he was “never a prince”. He has previously denied
any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein. Andrew settled a US civil
lawsuit in 2022 brought by Giuffre while not admitting liability.
He served as a British trade envoy for a decade from 2001. Official guidance
stipulates trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive,
commercial or political information related to their official visits, the BBC
has said. Misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life
imprisonment, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.Before news of Andrew’s
arrest broke, Prime Minister Keir Starmer had said “nobody is above the law”.
The ex-prince is deeply unpopular with the British public, and many welcomed his
arrest. It was not immediately clear where Andrew had been taken to. Under UK
law he can be held for 24 hours without charge, after which the police must
apply to the courts for a custody extension. At least nine UK police forces have
confirmed they are assessing claims stemming from the Epstein files, many
related to Andrew.
It follows the US justice department’s latest release of millions of files from
its investigation into the US financier, who was awaiting trial for sex
trafficking when he died in prison in 2019. That has prompted high-profile
figures, including former UK prime minister Gordon Brown, to urge police to
probe dozens of flights dating back decades arriving at UK airports tied to
Epstein, dubbed by media the “Lolita Express”. London’s Metropolitan police has
also launched an investigation into the relationship between the UK’s former
ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, and the disgraced financier.
Were Andrew to ultimately face criminal charges, he would join a very small
group of senior British royals who have formally been accused of offences. His
elder sister Princess Anne was fined for speeding in 2001, and the following
year became the first royal to be convicted of a criminal offence in 350 years
when she appeared in court to plead guilty to failing to stop one of her dogs,
named Dotty, biting two children. King Charles I was tried for treason in 1649
towards the end of the English Civil War, found guilty and beheaded. – Agencies
Morocco to contribute military, police to Gaza in first Arab pledge
LBCI/February 19/2026
Morocco announced Thursday that it would send military and police contributions
to Gaza in the first public pledge by an Arab nation to the nascent
international force. "Morocco is ready to deploy police officers and train
policemen from Gaza," Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita announced at
President Donald Trump's inaugural "Board of Peace" meeting.Morocco also will
deploy "high-ranking military officers to ISF joint military command," he said,
referring to the International Stabilization Force.AFP
AUTOPSY OF THE ANTI-UAE CAMPAIGN
Nadim Koteich/February 19/2026
There is a principle in information warfare that most practitioners understand
intuitively but rarely admit: the quality of an attack reveals more about the
attacker than the target. When a campaign against a rival state begins with
policy accusations and ends with rumors about a leader's health, you are not
watching an escalation. You are watching a collapse.
Since November, an unofficial
campaign against the UAE has cycled through five distinct registers, Sudan,
Yemen, enabling Israel, regional isolation, and lastly fabricated reports about
the health of #MBZ. Not one of these waves reached a conclusion. Each collapsed
under its own weight and gave way, almost automatically, to the next. The
content of any single phase matters far less than the morphosis between them,
because it is a diagnostic.
It tells you things about the campaigner.
It reveals the absence of a sustainable argument. Each pivot is an implicit
admission that the previous accusation couldn’t survive contact with
counter-evidence or public scrutiny. It exposes a declining analytical capacity.
There is a hierarchy in political discourse: policy critique sits at the top,
followed by strategic accusation, then moral indictment, then ad hominem, and at
the very bottom, rumor about the physical health of the subject. The trajectory
from “UAE’s secessionism” to “MBZ is fataly ill” traces a straight line down
this hierarchy, because the campaigners simply exhausted their capacity to
operate at higher registers. This is what intellectual bankruptcy looks like in
real time.
AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSE ENOUGH, IT UNMASKS EVERYTHING THAT COME BEFORE:
The pivot to MBZ's health is perhaps the most revealing phase, not just as the
lowest register of the campaign, but as an involuntary confession of what
actually drives the rupture. You do not target a person when your grievance is
truly strategic, nationalist, or existential. The descent from Sudan to Yemen to
Israel to isolation, and finally to the body of one man, traces the campaign
back to its origin point: the personal. Strip away the geopolitical framing, the
civilizational rhetoric, the pan-Arabist posturing, and what remains is a
fixation on a single individual. MBZ. The health rumors do not reveal a new
phase of the campaign. They reveal its core. I won't dignify the content of any
single phase of this campaign. The timeline speaks for itself. A campaign that
begins in policy and ends in pathology is writing its own death certificate. The
morphosis is the message. And the message is bankruptcy.
Quote
Lindsey Graham
@LindseyGrahamSC
To those who are perpetuating false narratives against the United Arab Emirates
and President Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed personally, you are full of it. I met with
him today for an hour and a half. Not only is he alive, but he is also well and
as sharp as I’ve ever seen him.
Russia ‘Trying To Drag Out Negotiations’: No Breakthrough in Latest Geneva Talks
To End Ukraine War
FDD/February 19/2026
Second Day of Negotiations End: The second day of trilateral negotiations in
Geneva on February 18 between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States,
represented by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, concluded after only two
hours, yielding no apparent breakthrough. Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, who was not physically present at the discussions, accused Russia of
“trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final
stage.” Meanwhile, Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir
Putin who led the Moscow delegation, said the negotiations were “difficult but
businesslike.” Specifics of the Talks: Whereas two earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi
focused mainly on technical matters concerning the implementation and monitoring
of a potential ceasefire, the talks in Geneva were supposed to address key
political matters. These include Russia’s demand that Ukraine unilaterally cede
the rest of its Donbas region to Russia, surrendering territory that Russian
troops have been unable to occupy. In an interview with Axios, Zelenskyy
reiterated his opposition to ceding more land, saying the Ukrainian people would
never accept it. Russian Drones Kill Civilians on Tuesday: Hours before the
first day of talks this week, on February 17, Russia carried out a combined
attack utilizing some 400 drones and 30 missiles against Ukraine, killing three
people, according to Ukrainian media. Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, which
targeted 12 regions across the country, stating that the strikes were “specially
calculated to cause as much damage as possible to our energy sector.”
FDD Expert Response
“There is no mystery about Vladimir Putin’s goals. He wants to conquer Ukraine
or, failing that, turn Ukraine into a vassal state like Belarus. So long as he
believes his goals can be achieved, he will draw out negotiations, pretending to
be interested in peace. This is evident by Putin once again deploying Vladimir
Medinsky — his sycophant court historian — to lead the Geneva talks. President
Trump should recognize that one can’t play softball with a former KGB agent who
regards U.S. negotiators as amateurs while he plays a great game intended to
secure Russian domination of Europe. Trump must pressure Russia, not Ukraine, if
he is to achieve a ceasefire.” — Clifford D. May, Founder and President
“These negotiations are failing due to one issue — leverage. The United States
is failing to make any effort to gain leverage over Russia. If Trump won’t fire
his envoy Steve Witkoff, he should at least make him read ‘The Art of the Deal.’
It’s pretty clear what the United States needs to do — cut off Russian fossil
fuel deliveries to China, India, Turkey, and Hungary.” — RADM (Ret.) Mark
Montgomery, Senior Fellow and Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and
Technology
“Russia’s latest strikes that kill civilians in Ukraine tell us all we need to
know about Putin’s willingness to negotiate in good faith. Zelenskyy is correct
that Russia wants to drag on the negotiations because for Putin, this is a
protracted war in which he plans to outlast the West. Buying time through
negotiations allows Putin to strengthen his military and to continue with his
imperial project.” — Ivana Stradner, Research Fellow
The Latest
LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on February
19-20/2026
The Global Debate on Immigration Isn’t Cooling Down
Alberto M. Fernandez /International Catholic Register/February 19/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/152322/
COMMENTARY: Recent events in Spain, South Africa and Kuwait have underscored the
scope of the challenge and the seemingly intractable nature of issues
surrounding immigration, citizenship and national identity.
In early 2026 one would have thought that America — maybe even Minneapolis — was
the capital of the globe. News of clashes and two deaths at anti-ICE actions in
Minnesota circled the globe and, especially in Western Europe, became staples of
progressive discourse.
Some observers noted that the turmoil in America over immigration, and the two
activists killed by government agents, seemed like a bigger issue than the tens
of thousands of protesters killed by the Iranian regime over the same period.
Americans and American Catholics may think that the immigration issue is a
particularly American crisis. Catholic bishops in the U.S. have spoken out
repeatedly on the issue in recent months, most recently decrying last month “the
current climate of fear and polarization, which thrives when human dignity is
disregarded.”
But recent events in Spain, South Africa and Kuwait have underscored the global
scope of the challenge and the seemingly intractable and explosive nature of
issues surrounding immigration, citizenship and national identity.
In Spain, socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez garnered progressive applause
worldwide when he announced that he would regularize the status of 500,000
illegal migrants currently in his country. Estimates are that, including
dependents, the number may be closer to 1.35 million people. Sánchez made the
announcement without clearing it with the European Union.
The move was particularly applauded by Sánchez’s allies, like former Equality
Minister Irene Montero, who asserted that “I hope so, great replacement theory,
I hope we can sweep this country clean of right-wingers and racists with migrant
people.”
Montero made the statement right before regional elections in Aragon, which saw
her party and Sánchez’s Socialist Workers Party decimated at the ballot box by
right-wing parties on Feb. 8.
According to the Madrid daily El Español, 67% of all Spaniards reject the
“regularization” initiative. Among the young (age 17-35), it was rejected by
89.3%. A sizeable majority (69%) thought that the government’s move will worsen
the labor market and bring about even more illegal immigration. And 41% believed
that the goal is to replace citizens with foreigners.
Even before the latest announcement, Sánchez had already regularized 1.4 million
foreigners, and 1 million more of them will be eligible to vote in 2027 than did
in the 2023 elections that Sánchez lost (but was able to keep power by making
deals with separatist regional parties).
If the Spanish are unhappy about immigration, so is King Misuzulu Sinqobile
kaZwelithini of the Zulus. On Feb. 1, the hereditary Zulu king in South Africa,
a powerful traditional position among that 12-million-strong community,
triggered a national backlash when he not only called for foreigners to leave
the country but also used a highly offensive term to describe the millions of
foreign migrants who have come to South Africa from neighboring countries.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Feb. 12 called illegal immigration “a
risk to the country’s security and economic stability.” Both Spain and South
Africa have extremely high levels of youth unemployment, 26.6% and 46%,
respectively.
While the turmoil in Spain and South Africa point to popular unrest on the
issue, in Kuwait it is the government that is taking steps on citizenship
unheard of in any Western country. Kuwaiti citizens are a minority in their own
country (the same is true in most Arab Gulf states), making up only 32% of the
population. A citizen is entitled to many privileges in the oil-rich state,
while foreign guest workers have few rights.
In 1991, the Kuwaiti government expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians,
many of whom had been born and lived in Kuwait for decades, when the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) favored Saddam Hussein in the 1990-1991 war.
Kuwait also expelled many members of its own illegal migrant community, the
so-called “Bidoon” (Bedouin, the word means “without” in Arabic, as in “without
nationality”) from Iraq and Syria.
But Kuwait’s latest actions since 2024 are different. Since that date, the
government has withdrawn Kuwaiti citizenship from an estimated 3% of its
citizens (50,000 out of 1.5 million). Some observers say that the actual number
could be far higher, as much as a quarter of a million. Among those who have had
their citizenship revoked have been prominent figures, such as famous soccer
star Ahmed Al-Tarabulsi, and even the serving Kuwaiti ambassador to the United
Kingdom, Badr Mohammed Al-Awadhi.
The legal grounds for revocation or denaturalization have been various: that
citizenship was acquired initially under false pretenses or through corruption;
that the citizen holds other passports, or because of actions deemed against the
best interests of the Kuwaiti state. One in the latter category seems to have
been radical Islamist Tareq Al-Suwaidan, a highly influential figure in regional
extremist circles. He is now a former Kuwaiti citizen. Ironically, the fiercely
anti-American Al-Suwaidan has an American-citizen daughter at Harvard. Mafaz Al-Suwaidan
was born in Oklahoma when her father studied there.
The Kuwaiti policy shift saves money, roots out corruption, and sharpens and
reshapes the Kuwaiti identity. It seems to be more controversial, or at least
treated more negatively, outside Kuwait than within. The country has been
harshly condemned by various international human-rights groups for the decision.
Do Zulus or Kuwaitis have an inherent right to a specific identity? Do they have
a right not to be overwhelmed and to take drastic actions in protecting their
identity? Can they also do this — as seems to be at least partially the case in
Kuwait — to save money? And how do these principles apply, if at all, to Western
countries like Spain or the United States? Kuwaitis are Muslims, but the South
Africans and Spaniards are Christians. The temperature seems to have dropped in
Minneapolis, and that is something to be grateful for, but the larger questions
of migration, citizenship, legality and identity aren’t going away.
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/the-global-debate-on-immigration-isn-t-cooling-down
**Alberto M. Fernandez Alberto M. Fernandez is a former U.S. diplomat and a
contributor at EWTN News.
Énigmes stratégiques et
élaboration des politiques
Charles Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/19
février 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/152316/
Deux questions majeures sont passées au premier plan de la scène politique
internationale. Il s’agit de la conférence annuelle sur la sécurité de Munich et
des potentielles projections militaires dans le golfe Persique. L’une est plutôt
un enjeu à moyen terme, l’autre est urgente ; dans les deux cas, les décisions
auront des conséquences profondes. La conférence a été assez instructive pour
l’ordre géopolitique mondial : elle a dissipé pour la première fois les
ambiguïtés entourant l’avenir de l’alliance transatlantique.
Le discours du secrétaire d’État américain, Marco Rubio, a réaffirmé la
centralité de l’alliance transatlantique et ses ancrages civilisationnels. En
soulignant l’enracinement culturel de cette alliance, il a levé tous les doutes
quant à son avenir et à sa fondation normative. La mise en lumière des
principaux thèmes autour desquels l’alliance historique s’est construite et a
fonctionné lors des huit dernières décennies, a dissipé l’atmosphère corrosive
qui régnait pendant la première phase de l’administration Trump. Une approche
conciliante et un sentiment d’unité remplacent désormais la truculence et les
incertitudes qui ont entaché le processus de la politique étrangère. Un
sentiment de continuité politique faisait depuis longtemps défaut.
On observe un mouvement évident d’une diplomatie transactionnelle et cynique
vers une conduite des affaires internationales plus structurée et fondée sur des
principes. Le fait que le secrétaire Rubio ait insisté sur l’ancrage
civilisationnel de cette alliance élève le débat diplomatique à un autre niveau
de communication et de gestion opérationnelle. Les liens de filiation entre les
États-Unis et l’Europe rattachent la diplomatie à une communauté de valeurs qui
explique l’engagement centenaire des États-Unis envers la sécurité stratégique
de l’Europe. Néanmoins, l’Europe doit se recentrer sur ses missions stratégiques
différées, qui impliquent de reconquérir son autonomie morale et opérationnelle,
d’autant plus que les menaces à la sécurité liées aux dysfonctionnements de
l’ordre international se font de plus en plus sévères.
Les débats en cours sur le budget de l’OTAN, les contributions inégales des
États membres, les dysfonctionnements du système de sécurité européen et la
réponse inconsistante aux défis posés par les migrations de vaste ampleur sont
des questions très importantes. La refonte de l’architecture transatlantique
exige une restructuration profonde pour corriger les déséquilibres et apporter
davantage de cohérence au dispositif opérationnel. Le conflit en Ukraine, les
guerres commerciales avec la Chine, les menaces sécuritaires suscitées par les
régimes crypto-communistes et le poids du terrorisme international et de la
criminalité organisée pèsent considérablement sur la sécurité occidentale. Ils
sapent en outre la crédibilité des institutions internationales, minées par des
contradictions profondes qui remettent en cause les logiques sous-jacentes et
leur efficacité.
Le secrétaire Rubio appelle à la réforme de cet ordre mondial créé par
l’Amérique et à la correction de ses institutions déformées. Nous sommes loin
des visions radicales et de la diplomatie personnalisée qui ont marqué le style
diplomatique inaugural de l’administration Trump. Les envoyés spéciaux ne
peuvent pas remplacer une diplomatie structurée, que ce soit au niveau
interétatique ou dans la diplomatie publique sous ses divers aspects. La
conférence de Munich a irrévocablement marqué un tournant dans la vie et
l’avenir de la sécurité occidentale et dans son impact décisif sur l’ordre
mondial et la gestion des conflits dans différentes régions du monde. Ce
sentiment d’unité retrouvée est de bon augure, surtout à un moment où des
régimes néo-totalitaires tentent de saboter l’OTAN et de remettre en question la
notion même et la pertinence de la sécurité occidentale.
À ce stade, la confrontation avec l’Iran paraît plus pressante que la guerre en
Ukraine. Les démarches diplomatiques en cours ne semblent pas produire de
résultats tangibles pendant que les conflits s’enveniment, mettant en péril la
paix régionale et mondiale. La destruction par Israël des nœuds de sécurité
établis par le régime islamique à travers le Moyen-Orient, a entraîné la rupture
des équations stratégiques et des plateformes de projection militaire à travers
divers théâtres opérationnels. L’agenda diplomatique est manifestement obsolète
et fondé sur une perception paranoïaque de la position politique de l’Iran sur
la scène internationale.
La destruction des infrastructures militaires massives, l’anéantissement de
sites nucléaires et de missiles, et la neutralisation des États auxiliaires ont
considérablement affaibli les capacités de projection de la politique de
puissance iranienne ; les asymétries de pouvoir pourraient être dissuasives si
les dirigeants en place évaluaient la situation de manière réaliste. Les
postures suicidaires, les erreurs de calcul stratégiques et l’hubris politique
sont trompeuses et contre-productives alors que la coalition
américano-israélienne se prépare à un scénario de guerre totale. Les capacités
militaires hypothétiques, l’intensification de la répression intérieure et les
risques de guerre civile et de chaos institutionnel sont des défis majeurs. Les
enjeux stratégiques ultimes concernent les alternatives qui devraient relayer
l’effondrement d’une autocratie profondément enracinée et sanglante, ainsi que
ses effets en cascade et ses répercussions sur des ordres régionaux et nationaux
déstabilisés.
Strategic Enigmas and Policy Formulation
Charles Chartouni/Ici Beyrouth/February
19/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/02/152316/
Two major issues have moved to the forefront of the international political
scene: the annual Munich Security Conference and potential military projections
in the Persian Gulf. One is more of a medium-term issue, the other is urgent; in
both cases, the decisions made will have profound consequences. The conference
proved quite instructive for the global geopolitical order: for the first time,
it dispelled the ambiguities surrounding the future of the transatlantic
alliance.
The speech by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the centrality of
the transatlantic alliance and its civilizational foundations. By emphasizing
the cultural roots of this alliance, he removed any doubts about its future and
its normative basis. Highlighting the key themes around which this historic
alliance has been built and has functioned over the past eight decades dispelled
the corrosive atmosphere that prevailed during the first phase of the Trump
administration. A conciliatory approach and a renewed sense of unity have now
replaced the truculence and uncertainties that had tainted the foreign policy
process. A sense of political continuity had long been lacking.
There is a clear shift from a transactional and cynical diplomacy toward a more
structured and principle-based conduct of international affairs. Secretary
Rubio’s insistence on the civilizational anchoring of this alliance elevates
diplomatic debate to another level of communication and operational management.
The ties of historical lineage between the United States and Europe link
diplomacy to a community of values that explains America’s century-long
commitment to Europe’s strategic security. Nevertheless, Europe must refocus on
its deferred strategic missions, which involve regaining its moral and
operational autonomy, especially as security threats linked to dysfunctions in
the international order grow increasingly severe.
Ongoing debates about the NATO budget, unequal contributions from member states,
dysfunctions within the European security system, and inconsistent responses to
the challenges posed by large-scale migration are highly significant issues.
Reshaping the transatlantic architecture requires deep restructuring to correct
imbalances and bring greater coherence to its operational framework. The
conflict in Ukraine, trade wars with China, security threats posed by
crypto-communist regimes, and the weight of international terrorism and
organized crime all heavily burden Western security. They also undermine the
credibility of international institutions, weakened by profound contradictions
that call into question their underlying logic and effectiveness.
Secretary Rubio calls for reforming this American-created world order and
correcting its distorted institutions. We are far from the radical visions and
personalized diplomacy that characterized the early diplomatic style of the
Trump administration. Special envoys cannot replace structured diplomacy,
whether at the interstate level or in public diplomacy in its various forms. The
Munich Conference has irrevocably marked a turning point in the life and future
of Western security and in its decisive impact on the global order and conflict
management across different regions of the world. This renewed sense of unity is
promising, especially at a time when neo-totalitarian regimes are attempting to
sabotage NATO and question the very notion and relevance of Western security.
At this stage, confrontation with Iran appears more pressing than the war in
Ukraine. Ongoing diplomatic efforts do not seem to be producing tangible results
as conflicts worsen, endangering regional and global peace. Israel’s destruction
of the security networks established by the Islamic regime throughout the Middle
East has disrupted strategic equations and military projection platforms across
various operational theaters. The diplomatic agenda appears manifestly obsolete
and based on a paranoid perception of Iran’s political position on the
international stage.
The destruction of massive military infrastructure, the annihilation of nuclear
and missile sites, and the neutralization of auxiliary states have significantly
weakened Iran’s power-projection capabilities; power asymmetries could serve as
deterrence if current leaders assessed the situation realistically. Suicidal
posturing, strategic miscalculations, and political hubris are misleading and
counterproductive as the U.S.-Israeli coalition prepares for a total war
scenario. Hypothetical military capabilities, intensified internal repression,
and the risks of civil war and institutional chaos pose major challenges. The
ultimate strategic stakes concern the alternatives that would follow the
collapse of a deeply entrenched and bloody autocracy, as well as its cascading
effects and repercussions on destabilized regional and national orders.
*Translated into Arabic and English from French freely by the publisher of the
Coordination Website, Elias Bejjani, with significant assistance from online
translation platforms.
It Is Time To Listen To What Hamas Says in Arabic
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/February 19/2026
When addressing Arab audiences in Arabic, however, Hamas leaders and senior
officials have been saying the exact opposite.
Anyone who believes that Hamas would "keep their word" is grotesquely misguided.
Before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, many people seemed to
believe Hamas when its leaders used to say that they were interested in
maintaining their ceasefire with Israel.
Moreover, the assumption that pro-Hamas members of the "Board of Peace" such as
Qatar, Turkey, and Pakistan would participate in any effort to disarm the terror
group is clueless and misinformed.
Recent statements in Arabic by two of the terror group's senior officials,
Khaled Mashaal and Mahmoud Mardawi, show that Hamas remains vehemently opposed
to Trump's plan, specifically the provisions concerning disarmament, the
involvement of foreigners in the governance of the Gaza Strip, and the
deployment of an international security force there.
According to Trump's plan: "There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza
under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing
weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning..."
[Emphasis added.]
Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist in any borders and
understandably wants to keep its weapons to pursue its Jihad (holy war) to
destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state.
"We do not accept the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or a return
of the mandate. Palestinians govern Palestinians." — Khaled Mashaal, head of
Hamas's political bureau abroad, manassa.news, February 8, 2026.
It is crucial that the Trump administration and the rest of the international
community start paying attention to what Hamas says in its own language, Arabic,
not what some of its leaders or friends in Qatar and Turkey tell foreign
officials in English and behind closed doors. Disarmament would undermine
Hamas's core identity, reduce its political influence within Palestinian
politics, and deprive it of what it claims to view as deterrence against Israel.
Historically, however, Israel does not attack anyone unless it is attacked
first. The only way to ensure the success of Trump's plan is by insisting that
Hamas cease to exist, both as a political and as a military entity, and vanish
from the Palestinian universe. Failure to do so will only encourage Hamas and
other Islamists to pursue their Jihad to kill more Jews, eliminate Israel, and
defy Trump.
Recent statements in Arabic by two senior Hamas officials, Khaled Mashaal
As the US is preoccupied with the crisis in Iran, the Palestinian terror group
Hamas has again announced its rejection of President Donald J. Trump's 20-point
plan for ending the war in the Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders may have told US envoys
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during secret meetings that the terror group
does not rule out the possibility of laying down its weapons. "Hamas has always
indicated that they would disarm," Witkoff said in November 2025.
"They've said so – they said it to us directly during the famous meeting that
Jared [Kushner] had with them. I hope they keep their word because if they do,
they'll understand that the development plan we have for Gaza is really terrific
– a lot better than anyone has ever discussed before."
When addressing Arab audiences in Arabic, however, Hamas leaders and senior
officials have been saying the exact opposite.
Anyone who believes that Hamas would "keep their word" is grotesquely misguided.
Before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, many people seemed to
believe Hamas when its leaders used to say that they were interested in
maintaining their ceasefire with Israel. Moreover, the assumption that pro-Hamas
members of the "Board of Peace" such as Qatar, Turkey, and Pakistan would
participate in any effort to disarm the terror group is clueless and
misinformed.
Recent statements in Arabic by two of the terror group's senior officials,
Khaled Mashaal and Mahmoud Mardawi, show that Hamas remains vehemently opposed
to Trump's plan, specifically the provisions concerning disarmament, the
involvement of foreigners in the governance of the Gaza Strip, and the
deployment of an international security force there.Reminder: Trump's plan,
announced in October 2025, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian
technocratic committee that would be responsible for "delivering the day-to-day
running of public services and municipalities, with oversight and supervision by
a new international transitional body, the 'Board of Peace,' which will be
headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump."
According to Trump's plan:
"There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of
independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use
through an agreed process of decommissioning..." [Emphasis added.]
The plan, in addition, calls for the establishment of "a temporary International
Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza"In early February,
Mashaal, head of Hamas's political bureau abroad, told the 17th Al-Jazeera
Forum:
"Talk about disarmament is an attempt to make the Palestinian people an easy
victim that Israel can eliminate. If we return to the big question about the
root of the conflict, that it is a matter of occupation, and a people resisting
occupation, with the right to self-determination, then the question of
resistance, and its weapons, becomes natural."
Resistance, Mashaal clarified, takes various forms, including "a revolution,
sometimes an uprising, and sometimes armed resistance."It is important to note
that "resistance" is a sanitization for terrorism and violence against Israelis.
When Hamas talks about "occupation," it is referring to Israel's existence, from
the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas does not recognize Israel's
right to within any borders and understandably wants to keep its weapons to
pursue its Jihad (holy war) to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist
state.Hamas's 1988 charter quotes the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan
al-Banna, as saying: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam
will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."Mashaal said his
group would be prepared to discuss the issue of disarmament only after the
reconstruction of the Gaza Strip begins and as part of a long-term ceasefire
with Israel.
He also said that Hamas, backed by Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, is willing to accept
a truce lasting five to 10 years, but without handing over its weapons.
Regarding Trump's International Stabilization Force, Mashaal has stated that the
troops should be deployed only "on the borders" of the Gaza Strip (with Egypt
and Israel) to prevent any clashes or renewed fighting. This stipulation means
that the ISF should have no role in destroying the terror infrastructure or
disarming the terror groups in the Gaza Strip.Finally, the Hamas leader repeated
his group's unequivocal rejection of Trump's "Board of Peace.""We do not accept
the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or a return of the mandate.
Palestinians govern Palestinians," Mashaal stressed."This requires great effort,
not a simple approach of disarmament," he concluded. Mardawi, the other senior
Hamas official, also declared that his group "will not give up its weapons."
Hamas, he added, might consider surrendering its weapons only after a
Palestinian state is established. "The issue of the resistance weapons is linked
to the political goals of the Palestinian people," he emphasized. It is crucial
that the Trump administration and the rest of the international community start
paying attention to what Hamas says in its own language, Arabic, not what some
of its leaders or friends in Qatar and Turkey tell foreign officials in English
and behind closed doors. More than four months have passed since the ceasefire
in the Gaza Strip went into effect, and all indications are that Hamas is
working hard to rearm, regroup, and maintain its presence both as a political
and military entity in violation of Trump's plan. Hamas evidently does not take
seriously Trump's repeated warnings that it must disarm and relinquish control
of the Gaza Strip. Even if Hamas does hand over some of its weapons, it will
only be as part of a façade to appease the Trump administration and facilitate
the entry of aid and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas will never actually lay down all its weapons: they are central to its
ideology, which requires all Muslims to take part in the Jihad to liberate all
of Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
"The liberation of Palestine is an individual duty for every Muslim wherever he
may be. It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the
nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the
fighters." (Articles 14 and 15, Hamas Charter)The chances that Hamas will
voluntarily disarm or abandon its Jihad against Israel are pitifully low, if not
zero. Disarmament would undermine Hamas's core identity, reduce its political
influence within Palestinian politics, and deprive it of what it claims to view
as deterrence against Israel. Historically, however, Israel does not attack
anyone unless it is attacked first. The only way to ensure the success of
Trump's plan is by insisting that Hamas cease to exist, both as a political and
as a military entity, and vanish from the Palestinian universe. Failure to do so
will only encourage Hamas and other Islamists to pursue their Jihad to kill more
Jews, eliminate Israel, and defy Trump.Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning
journalist based in Jerusalem.
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© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Libya: Joy and Grief Define Anniversary of the February
Revolution
Dr. Jebril El-Abidi/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 19/2026
The anniversary of Libya’s February 17, 2011 revolution remains a bittersweet
occasion. The fall of the dictatorship is rejoiced, but there is almost nothing
left of this joy amid grief over the calamities that followed: a series of grave
crises, failure to rebuild the state, erosion of state authority, and squandered
wealth. On this anniversary, one can only be torn. Was it a revolution, or a
betrayal and a NATO conspiracy? The February anniversary is also associated with
the controversial journalist Bernard-Henri Lévy. He played a major role in the
push for international intervention. Having instrumentalised the “February
revolutionaries” a few months earlier, he did not even acknowledge them as
“revolutionaries” in his book War Without Love. Instead, he mocked and insulted
yesterday’s allies, disowning them and their actions.The February
anniversary—after having been stained by political Islam with blood,
belligerence, displacement, destruction and devastation, foreign agendas, and
the transfer of wealth abroad—is now marked at a time when the country has two
governments, one in the east and another in the west.
The “joy” of February has become mixed with frustration and disappointment amid
a crippling financial crisis, chaos, militia rule, state failure, and deep
social fragmentation. Libyans want a unified government tasked with national
reconciliation—one that turns the page on the injustices and dictatorship of the
past, ensuring reparations, accountability, and reconciliation—not governments
that plunder the people after having emptied the state’s coffers. The absence of
clear objectives facilitated the dominance of imported projects and ideologies.
Foremost among them was political Islam, which overwhelmed the February
revolution and ignored people’s suffering and aspirations. Under the banner of
the “caliphate,” and under foreign leadership, Islamists sought to fuel chaos.
In their grand project, Libya became little more than a treasury for the Muslim
Brotherhood and the first target of its plan to govern the region. Their
ideology is alien to Libya and its people, and it has been rejected by the
majority of the population.
Among the reasons for the Libyan public’s reluctance to celebrate the February
anniversary are disappointment, perpetual crisis, and a total lack of hope for
positive change. Libyans have found themselves facing several new tyrants rather
than the single tyrant they had known and lived under for more than forty years.
The peaceful transfer of power—the most basic pillar of democratic
governance—has not taken hold. The officials elected after the February
revolution continue to rule more than ten years later. Only the titles and
political entities (which were not put to a vote) have changed. Power is shared
exclusively among those who prevailed in the war. The High Council of State, an
unelected body, is merely an extension and rebranding of the General National
Congress elected in 2012. It now rules under a new name that has no precedent in
the so-called “democratic” era. Likewise, the parliament elected in 2014
continues to extend its mandate to this day, amid widespread democratic
illiteracy and the abandonment of democratic transitions.
The joy associated with the February anniversary across Libya may become
increasingly muted, especially in light of the collapse and near absence of
health, education, and public services. How can Libyan citizens be asked to
celebrate this anniversary when they cannot find a hospital built during the
“February era” to treat them—not to mention queues for bread, gas, petrol, and
cash liquidity? Hardship shapes the lives of all Libyans, whether in the east,
west, or south. The government has failed to deliver basic services—healthcare,
education, public utilities, decent housing, and infrastructure that respects
human dignity—underscoring the calamity of this anniversary as it manifests
itself across Libya, even among rival political factions.
You would find no signs of joy in Libya on this anniversary of the February
revolution, and the calamity of the anniversary is not the only source of
sorrow. Libya is in need of sincere men, not opportunists, to mend its wounds
and rebuild its institutions. The revival of the military, which has risen from
the ashes, might offer a glimmer of hope for the revival of other institutions,
allowing an exit from this dark tunnel and the return of hope for change.
Russia and Saudi Arabia: A Century of Mutual Recognition and Strategic
Partnership
Sergey Kozlov-Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia/Asharq Al-Awsat/February
19/2026
Russia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will mark a historic moment for both
countries on February 19, the centenary of their bilateral diplomatic relations.
On this day in 1926, the Soviet Union became the first state to recognize the
Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd and its dependencies, the polity that would go on to
become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of its founding monarch,
King Abdulaziz. This historic step laid the foundations for strong bilateral
ties that the two countries would develop as equals on the basis of mutual
respect and trust.
Russian-Saudi relations have followed a long trajectory of success. Today, our
multifaceted cooperation effectively amounts to a strategic partnership; here,
the role of dialogue and confidence between the leaders of our two countries
cannot be ignored. Key milestones include Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s
first visit to Moscow in 2003 and President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to
Saudi Arabia in 2007- a first in the history of our bilateral relations.
Cooperation between our two countries has further enhanced since the Custodian
of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, ascended to the throne in
2015. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also played a key role in this
regard. Russia understands the value of his tireless efforts to ensure the
comprehensive political, social and economic modernization of the Kingdom.
The long-standing upward trajectory of our bilateral engagement accelerated
further following King Salman’s first visit to Moscow in October 2017, which
President Putin reciprocated in October 2019 before making another trip to the
Kingdom in December 2023. All of these junctures have strengthened our
broadening relations. Tangible forms of cooperation between Russia and Saudi
Arabia have evolved remarkably over the past few years. The Joint Russian-Saudi
Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical
Cooperation is the primary framework through which this cooperation has
progressed. The Russian-Saudi Business Council has also done effective work,
facilitating direct contacts between the business communities of our two
countries. As a result, bilateral trade has increased steadily, and new joint
projects are underway in industry, agriculture, and other promising sectors.
The energy sector remains a core priority. As two of the world’s largest oil
producers, Saudi Arabia and Russia safeguard the stability of the global economy
through close coordination of their efforts. Russia and Saudi Arabia jointly
launched OPEC+, bringing OPEC together with other oil-producing states. OPEC+
has taken steps to limit crude oil production and make adjustments flexibly,
containing volatility and enhancing predictability in the oil market.
Our countries have also taken important practical steps to strengthen business.
We have had regular direct flights between Moscow and Riyadh since August 2025,
with flights from Moscow to Jeddah added in December 2025.
Of particular significance is the agreement between the governments of the
Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on mutual visa exemptions,
which was signed in Riyadh on December 1, 2025, on the sidelines of the ninth
session of the Russian-Saudi Intergovernmental Commission. The agreement is
expected to be implemented shortly, making Russians the first citizens outside
the Gulf Cooperation Council to be granted visa-free entry to Saudi Arabia.
These efforts, which complement the trade and economic objectives of our
cooperation, provide a tangible boost to tourism and business, as well as
scientific and social engagement. Religious travel occupies a special place in
this regard: each year, some 25,000 Russian Muslims travel to Saudi Arabia to
perform the Hajj, and tens of thousands visit to perform Umrah. Cultural
exchange also plays an increasingly prominent role. Saudi Arabia recently took
part in the revived international music competition Intervision, held in Russia
in September 2025. The Saudi leadership has also subsequently decided to host
Intervision 2026 in the Kingdom. Russia is fully prepared to share its
experience and provide the necessary support to ensure the success of this
event.
As Ambassador of the Russian Federation, I am particularly keen on underscoring
our close coordination in foreign policy and within bodies like the United
Nations and the G20. Our positions on most global and regional issues either
coincide or are closely aligned, as we are united by a firm commitment to all
the interconnected and indivisible principles of the UN Charter, our respect for
the cultural and civilizational diversity of the world’s nations, and our
recognition of nations’ right to independently pave their path toward political,
social and economic development.
This mutually respectful dialogue on equal footing over the course of a century
does not merely allow us to take pride in what has been achieved. It also
enables us to look to the future with confidence and optimism. At a time when
our countries face new and increasingly difficult challenges resulting from
various global political shifts, Russia will continue to work side by side with
its Saudi partners, seeking to realize the full potential of our strategic
partnership, serve the interests of our two peoples, and reinforce regional and
global security and stability.
X Platform
Selected twittes for 17/2026
Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn
https://x.com/i/status/2024212869131227302
I call for ExSyria and independence of Sweida Republic
Narendra Modi
Had a fruitful discussion with His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in
Delhi. We talked about boosting cooperation in futuristic sectors such as AI,
supercomputers, investing in data centres in India and more.