White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: “Well there's many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran. The President had a very successful operation as Commander-in-Chief with Operation Midnight Hammer, as you know, as you just said, totally obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities. The President has always been very clear, though, with respect to Iran or any country around the world, diplomacy is always his first option, and Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with this administration.“

In a post earlier on Truth Social about the United Kingdom’s plan to turn over the Chagos Islands - which contains Diego Garcia - to Mauritius, President Donald J. Trump stated: “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 — An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries.”

Just yesterday, the U.S. State Department said in statement that it “supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago.”

Chief of the Israeli Homefront Command, Maj. Gen. Shay Kalper, in a classified briefing in front of the Knesset: “We are preparing for a large multi-front scenario.” -i24NEWS

Six F-22s with the U.S. Air Force’s 1st Fighter Wing, meant to join the other flight of F-22s that arrived yesterday at RAF Lakenheath, were forced to return to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia after departing earlier today, following an issue involving the aerial-refueling tankers meant to tow them across the Atlantic.

The United States is in the process of withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, ending a decade-long military operation in the country aimed at countering the Islamic State. Forces have already withdrawn from the Al-Tanf Garrison, a strategic outpost at the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq, and the Al-Shaddadi Patrol Base in Northeast Syria in early February, while the remaining bases in the country will be turned over the Syrian Army in the next two months, three American officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The United States is likely to attack Iran eventually but not necessarily in the coming days, despite the spike in global media “noise” surrounding the conflict, with President Trump having not yet decided on his final course of action, even after showing disappointment over recent negotiations with Iran, sources have told The Jerusalem Post.

The Trump Administration has decided that a U.S. military presence in Syria is no longer necessary, two officials said, citing the near-total disbandment of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who agreed last month to fully integrate into the Syrian Army.

The U.S. Air Force has officially unveiled the new paint scheme for part of the executive airlift fleet, which includes the upcoming Air Force One and Two, encompassing the VC-25B and C-32A. In the post, the Air Force states "This artist rendering depicts the VC-25B in its new livery. The U.S. Air Force is implementing this red, white, gold and dark blue paint scheme for the VC-25B, 747-8i as well as the executive airlift fleet, which includes four C-32 aircraft." The new paint scheme may also apply to the C-40B/C.

Iran is expected to submit a written proposal to the Trump Administration on how to avoid its ongoing standoff with the United States in the wake of Tuesday nuclear talks in Geneva, a senior U.S. official told Reuters

Top national security advisers to President Donald J. Trump met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran, and were told all U.S. Forces deployed to the region should be in place by the middle of March, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Israel in order to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the weekend of February 28, a senior official told Reuters.

The U.S. Air Force’s flow of aerial assets into Europe and the Middle East continues Wednesday, with 3 KC-46A Pegasus, C-5M Super Galaxy, and C-17A Globemaster lll, heading northeast across North America preparing to cross the Atlantic.

Top national security officials have told President Trump the military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, but the timeline for any action is likely to extend beyond this weekend, sources familiar with the discussions told CBS News.

President Trump has not yet made a final decision about whether to strike, with conversations described as fluid and ongoing, as the White House weighs the risks of escalation and the political and military consequences of restraint towards Iran.

Over the next three days, the Pentagon is moving some personnel temporarily out of the Middle East - primarily to Europe or back to the United States - ahead of potential action or counterattacks by Iran if President Trump were to move ahead with ordering an operation, multiple officials told CBS News.

Yet another Bombardier E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN), BACN01, has departed Robins Air Force Base, Georgia and appears to be preparing to cross the Atlantic, placing an unprecedented number of the E-11As operated by the U.S. Air Force, 6 of 8, in Europe and the Middle East.

The U.S. State Department is developing an online portal that will enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments including alleged hate speech and terrorist propaganda, to be hosted on “freedom.gov,” in a move Washington views as a way to counter censorship, three sources familiar with the plan told Reuters.

While the United States prepares for possibly its largest and most complex conflict since the Invasion of Iraq in 2003, involving the deployment of thousands of Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, and other Servicemembers from their homes, to locations across Europe and the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spent a day this weekend hanging from trees and doing cold plunges with the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

President Donald J. Trump has received several briefings on his military options against Iran should he choose to strike, all of them designed to maximize damage to Iran’s regime and its regional proxies across the Middle East. Options presented to President Trump include a campaign to kill scores of Iranian political and military leaders, with the goal of overthrowing the government, as well as an air attack that would be limited to striking targets including nuclear and ballistic-missile facilities, both would involve a potentially weeks-long operation, U.S. and foreign officials tell the Wall Street Journal.

The Trump Administration is still unsure what might come after a large-scale bombing campaign, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling lawmakers in January that the United States has no clarity on who would assume power if an operation resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Many analysts believe the leader or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would likely take control of Iran.