Four Syrian Internal Security Forces members were killed in an ISIS attack on a checkpoint west of Raqqa today.

Gunmen targeted the Al-Sabahiya checkpoint with machine guns.

Security forces killed one attacker and seized an explosive belt, grenades, and a weapon. Two officers were also wounded.

Authorities say operations are ongoing to hunt down remaining ISIS cells.

John Bolton:

Although you could potentially eliminate the Ayatollah, that would leave the Revolutionary Guard in place, and the government in Iran is the Revolutionary Guard, while the Ayatollahs serve as a religious cover or an ideological cover for them.

John Bolton on Iran:

Trump, I think, just hopes that this show of American force will intimidate the Ayatollahs. If I were still his advisor, I’d be happy to tell him that isn’t going to work.

They’re not going to be intimidated. But Trump really thinks minute to minute; he doesn’t think strategically.

John Bolton on Iran:

It’s entirely possible Trump would be satisfied with strikes of a limited nature.

American conservative radio host Mark Levin, who has close ties to Trump, posted variations of “Get Khamenei!” at least 16 times on X between Feb. 11 and Feb. 23, 2026.

He began the slogan-style posts on Feb. 11 (“Get Khamenei! Today!”) and has repeated them almost daily since. On Feb. 15, he wrote:

“I’ll say it every day until it happens. Get Khamenei!”

The U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has been barred from meeting members of the French government after failing to appear at the Foreign Ministry when summoned.

Kushner was called in over comments by the U.S. Embassy regarding the killing of far-right activist Quentin Deranque, who was beaten to death in a clash with alleged hard-left activists. The embassy had warned that “violent radical leftism” was on the rise.

French officials said the case was a domestic matter and accused the embassy of interfering in national debate.

Source: Reuters

Anthropic said three Chinese AI companies—DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax—created over 24,000 fake accounts and prompted its Claude model more than 16 million times to extract data for their own systems.

Source: WSJ

The Jerusalem District Court has cut Tuesday’s hearing in Netanyahu’s criminal trial in half and canceled Wednesday’s session altogether.

The decision follows a request from Netanyahu’s lawyers, who said he must attend a Shin Bet conference and prepare for the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel.

A US delegation will meet Chinese officials in Geneva this week to discuss nuclear weapons, as the Trump administration pushes for a new round of arms control talks with both China and Russia.

The meetings come just weeks after the New START treaty between the US and Russia expired. US officials say future negotiations should include China, though Beijing has previously declined to participate.

Source: Bloomberg

Trump:

Numerous stories from the Fake News Media have been circulating stating that General Daniel Caine, sometimes referred to as Razin, is against us going to War with Iran.

The story does not attribute this vast wealth of knowledge to anyone, and is 100% incorrect. General Caine, like all of us, would like not to see War but, if a decision is made on going against Iran at a Military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won.

He knows Iran well in that he was in charge of Midnight Hammer, the attack on the Iranian Nuclear Development. It is a Development no longer, but rather, was blown to smithereens by our Great B-2 Bombers. Razin Caine is a Great Fighter, and represents the Most Powerful Military anywhere in the World.

He has not spoken of not doing Iran, or even the fake limited strikes that I have been reading about, he only knows one thing, how to WIN and, if he is told to do so, he will be leading the pack. Everything that has been written about a potential War with Iran has been written incorrectly, and purposefully so.

I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people, because they are great and wonderful, and something like this should never have happened to them.

Trump:

Everything that has been written about a potential War with Iran has been written incorrectly, and purposefully so.

Zelensky is pressing the European Union to move from promises to a concrete timeline on Ukraine’s membership.

“I want a date. I am asking for it,” he said, urging Brussels to stop delaying and to set a clear target — suggesting accession could happen as early as 2027.

“Let us not allow the next leaders or the next generation to face a situation where Russia blocks Ukraine’s EU membership for 50 years.”

Source: FT

Zelensky dismissed Moscow’s diplomatic overtures as performance rather than substance.

“I see it, because they are very poor actors. They are playing with Trump and playing with the entire world. That’s how it is,” he said.

He added that Putin was trying to project credibility in negotiations, but warned against believing it.

“Putin thinks he looks convincing and that he can be trusted. No — he is a bad actor.”

Source: FT

Trump:

Wow! Gavin Newscum just dropped out of the Presidential Race!!!

Trump is reportedly frustrated by the limited military options available against Iran.

Advisers have warned that even targeted strikes would likely not be decisive and could escalate into a broader, prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

Source: CBS News

Elon Musk’s xAI signed a deal with the Pentagon to use its AI model, Grok, in classified military systems.

The move comes as the Defense Department pressures Anthropic over limits on how its Claude model can be used.

It’s unclear if Grok will fully replace Claude.

Source: Axios

Hegseth on Iran:

Iran should make a deal. Iran has an opportunity to make a deal. That's the outcome Trump would prefer.

We will have options for Trump should Iran decide not to take a deal.

Q: Do you think aliens exist?

Hegseth: We'll see. I get to do the review and find out.

Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after being arrested in London on suspicion of misconduct in public office linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

The 72-year-old was taken in for questioning by the Metropolitan Police on Monday and later freed pending further investigation.

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