🔴Witkoff: Washington wonders why Iran has not “surrendered” despite U.S. naval pressure

🫶In an interview with Fox News, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff expressed the administration’s surprise at Iran’s lack of response to pressure, despite what he described as the superiority of American naval power in the region.

✌He noted that Washington is questioning why Tehran has not explicitly declared its abandonment of any pursuit of weapons, stressing that the United States has multiple alternatives for dealing with the issue.

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴Al-Sudani: Strategic Continuity in an Accelerating History

The News:

Sources report a consensus within the Iraqi "Coordination Framework" to grant Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani a second term.

This move is presented as the primary solution to resolve the ongoing political deadlock and mitigate internal friction among major blocs and to prevent the pressures of the US .

Analysis:

This is not a decision born of political comfort; it is a pragmatic necessity dictated by a region on the brink. Al-Sudani has navigated the "Iraqi tightrope" by maintaining Iraq’s vital position within the Axis of Resistance while shielding the domestic front from Washington’s "Dollar Diplomacy"—the weaponization of the federal reserve against Baghdad’s sovereignty.

History is accelerating. The survivors of regional upheavals know that institutional stability is a weapon in itself. Al-Sudani’s administration has focused on "the legitimacy of achievement"—infrastructure and service projects—to bypass the paralysis of liberal-bureaucratic models.

By securing a second term, the Coordination Framework aims to prevent the "Libyanization" or "Lebanonization" of the Iraqi state, ensuring Baghdad remains a pillar of regional stability rather than a western-aligned proxy.

Geopolitical Perspective:

The West seeks a weak, fractured Iraq to sever the land bridge of the Resistance. A second Sudani term thwarts this objective. It signals that Iraq’s internal decision-making has matured beyond the immediate reach of foreign embassy dictates. The strategic focus will now shift toward total energy independence and the expulsion of foreign combat troops—goals that require a tested leadership rather than a novice experiment.

Predictions:


1. Consolidation of Sovereignty: A firmer stance against violations of Iraqi airspace, backed by upgraded non-Western defense acquisitions.

2. Economic Retaliation: Expect Washington to escalate "compliance" pressures on Iraqi banks as a desperate tool of political leverage.

3. Regional Integration: Iraq will move closer to a formal strategic partnership with the East (BRICS/SCO), further eroding the unipolar grip on Middle Eastern trade routes.


#Iraq #AlSudani #CoordinationFramework #AxisOfResistance #Geopolitics #Sovereignty

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Empire’s Last Gamble: Steel in the Gulf, Deception in Geneva


THE NEWS

The Biden-Trump transition era reaches a fever pitch as Washington concentrates its largest air and naval strike force in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As of late February 2026, the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is stationed in the Arabian Sea, while the USS Gerald R. Ford—the world’s most advanced supercarrier—has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to take up positions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Simultaneously, indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington are set to resume this Thursday in Geneva under Omani mediation.


THE ANALYSIS

History is accelerating, but the playbook remains stale. The U.S. has deployed over 120 combat aircraft—including F-22 Raptors, F-35A stealth fighters, and a massive fleet of KC-46 tankers—to regional hubs like Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. This is not "deterrence"; it is the structural preparation for a sustained, weeks-long kinetic campaign.
The duality of the "Geneva Table" and the "Carrier Strike Group" is a classic imperial pincer move. By demanding "zero enrichment" while pointing a gun at the room, Washington seeks a surrender, not a treaty. However, the strategic map has shifted since 2003:

• Sovereign Resistance: Unlike the Iraq era, regional powers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have reportedly restricted their airspace for offensive strikes, forcing the U.S. to cluster its assets in Jordan and at sea.

• The Drone Factor: The February 3rd shoot-down of an Iranian Shahed-139 drone near the Lincoln group proves that the "Blue Water" advantage is being challenged by low-cost, high-lethal asymmetric tech.

• Historical Resilience: The Axis of Resistance has survived "Maximum Pressure" and the "Midnight Hammer" operations of 2025. Military concentration often masks political exhaustion.


THE PREDICTION

Expect the Geneva talks to stall as Tehran refuses to negotiate under the shadow of the Ford and Lincoln. The U.S. buildup will likely culminate in a "demonstration of force" rather than a full-scale invasion, as the American domestic front cannot sustain another multi-year quagmire. The Axis will likely respond not with a symmetrical naval fleet, but by activating "gray zone" maritime pressures and multi-front drone saturation to signal that every billion-dollar carrier is a floating target. The Empire is loud because it is losing its grip on the silent levers of regional geography.


#AxisOfResistance #Geopolitics #USNavy #Iran #MiddleEast2026 #EndofHegemony

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Security Cabinet Paradox: Strategic Panic Amidst Settler Savagery

THE NEWS

On Sunday evening, February 22, 2026, Benjamin Netanyahu convened the Israeli Security Cabinet to finalize military protocols ahead of a potential U.S. "kinetic campaign" against Iran. This meeting, originally postponed to avoid "Iranian miscalculation," focused on neutralizing Hezbollah and domestic fronts should a regional war erupt. Simultaneously, in the West Bank, Israeli settlers torched a mosque in the village of Tell, south of Nablus—part of a coordinated escalation since the start of Ramadan. This follows the 15 February cabinet decision to resume land registration in Area C, a move designed to accelerate de facto annexation while the world watches the Persian Gulf.

THE ANALYSIS

The Zionists are trapped in a strategic paradox. While they represent themselves as the "indispensable partner" for Washington’s massive naval buildup—which now includes the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln strike groups—they are terrified of being the primary target of the Axis response.

• The Iranian Deterrent: Tehran’s warning of a "decisive and regret-inducing" response has forced the Security Cabinet to brief ministers on scenarios involving simultaneous saturation strikes from Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq.

• Annexation under Fire: The torching of the Tell mosque is not a random act of vandalism. It is a tactical byproduct of the Smotrich-Ben Gvir policy to "bury the idea of a Palestinian state" by inciting a Third Intifada. This domestic arson serves to distract Palestinian resistance while the military prepares for a broader external confrontation.

• Diplomatic Divergence: Despite the military coordination, Minister Zeev Elkin’s recent refusal to fund Gaza reconstruction through Trump’s "Board of Peace" reveals a growing rift. Israel wants American bombs on Iran but refuses to pay for the political stability Washington demands.

OPINION & PREDICTION

History proves that empires and their proxies escalate domestic brutality when they feel most vulnerable externally. The Security Cabinet’s focus on "not appearing at the forefront" of a U.S. strike suggests a profound lack of confidence in their own missile defense systems against a multi-front Axis assault.


Predictions:

1. The West Bank Implosion: The settler attacks in Tell and the land-registration seizures will trigger a centralized resistance response in the West Bank by early March, forcing the IDF to divert elite units from the northern border.

2. The "Sacrifice" Play: Washington will likely demand Israel absorb the first "gray zone" retaliatory strikes from Iran’s allies to justify a full-scale U.S. intervention, a price Netanyahu is currently debating in the Cabinet.

3. Failed Containment: Any U.S. strike on Iran will not stay "kinetic" or "surgical"; the Axis will likely respond by targeting the energy infrastructure of regional U.S. allies, rendering the carrier groups strategically obsolete in a darkened region.

#AxisOfResistance #WestBank #IranCrisis2026 #SecurityCabinet #Geopolitics #Palestine

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Damascus Dilemma: Sovereignty Resurrected and the Idlib Shadow


SUBHEADING

As the Syrian state reasserts territorial integrity through the closure of the Al-Hol "incubator," the fragile transition in Damascus faces a structural threat from within: the friction between Idlib’s fundamentalist administrative model and the capital’s pluralistic social fabric.


EXECUTIVE OPENING

On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the Syrian central government officially announced the full evacuation and closure of the Al-Hol camp in Hasakah province. Fadi al-Qassem, the official overseeing the transition, confirmed that the last convoys departed the facility—once the world’s most dangerous concentration of ISIL-linked families. This follows the January 2026 military and political collapse of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which ceded control of the northeast to Damascus. While the state celebrates this milestone of sovereign recovery, the capital is simultaneously gripped by a governance crisis. Tensions have reached a boiling point between the provisional administration and a "Shadow Government" consisting of religious hardliners who have migrated from Idlib to Damascus, clashing with the city's diverse and secular-leaning populace over the enforcement of conservative social codes.


CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND

The fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 opened a vacuum that the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led alliance, headed by Ahmad al-Sharaa, sought to fill with a technocratic yet Islamist-leaning provisional government. Historically, Damascus has been a mosaic of religious and ethnic diversity—Sunnis, Christians, Druze, and Alawites—governed for sixty years by a secular Ba’athist framework. Conversely, Idlib functioned for seven years under the "Syrian Salvation Government," a model of rigid religious governance. The attempt to transplant the "Idlib Model" into the cosmopolitan heart of Damascus is the latest chapter in a century-long struggle between centralized urban pluralism and rural-based religious conservatism.


STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

The current Syrian landscape is defined by two contradictory movements:

• The End of the "Terror Incubator": The closure of Al-Hol is a masterstroke for the new authorities. By relocating residents to the Akhtarin camp in Aleppo and facilitating repatriations to Iraq, Damascus is stripping the West of its primary pretext for military intervention in the northeast.

• The Shadow Government Threat: The "religious conservatives" from Idlib represent a deep-state challenge to al-Sharaa’s attempt to gain international legitimacy. These elements are pushing for a "moral police" apparatus, causing significant capital flight and social unrest.

• Geopolitical Shifts: The February 2026 deal that integrated SDF units into the national military has effectively ended the US-led "de facto" partition of Syria. However, the internal cultural war in Damascus provides an opening for regional actors to exploit sectarian fault lines once again.

EVIDENCE & DOCUMENTATION

• Al-Hol Data: At its peak, the camp held 73,000 people. The final evacuation involved the relocation of the remaining 24,000 residents, including over 6,000 foreign nationals.

• Escape Crisis: Intelligence reports indicate that during the chaotic SDF withdrawal in January, at least 15,000 residents escaped, many with active ISIL ties, heading toward Idlib and Lebanon—fueling the very conservative surge now threatening Damascus.

• Public Dissent: Verified reports from February 12, 2026, detail protests in Damascus suburbs where residents openly called for a "civil state" (Dawla Madaniyya), directly defying the edicts of the Idlib-originating shadow councils.

POSITION & ARGUMENT

The Axis of Resistance has always maintained that Syria’s strength lies in its territorial unity and its resistance to sectarian fragmentation. The current crisis proves that while the "external enemy" (the Zionist-backed partition plans) has been largely neutralized, the "internal enemy"—religious extremism masquerading as governance—is the new frontline.

For Syria to survive as a sovereign power, the leadership in Damascus must dismantle the Shadow Government and prioritize the "Damascus Model" of pluralism over the "Idlib Model" of exclusion. Failing to do so will only invite a new cycle of foreign-sponsored "stabilization" missions.


FORWARD-LOOKING ASSESSMENT

• Short-term: Expect an increase in "security sweeps" in Damascus as the provisional government attempts to rein in unauthorized religious committees to preserve its fragile international recognition.

• Medium-term: If the al-Sharaa administration cannot provide a secular-legal framework that protects minorities (Alawites, Christians, Druze), we may see the emergence of "self-defense" militias in the south and coast, leading to a new, decentralized civil conflict.

• Escalation Threshold: The reintegration of the northeast’s oil fields into the state treasury by mid-2026 will be the deciding factor. If this wealth is used to fund a pluralistic reconstruction, the central government wins. If it is co-opted by the "Shadow Government" to fund an ideological state, the Syrian social contract will permanently shatter.

CONCLUSION

Syria has survived the total war of the last decade, but it may yet succumb to the peace. The closure of Al-Hol is a victory for sovereignty; the struggle for the soul of Damascus will determine if that sovereignty is worth the blood shed to reclaim it.

#Syria2026 #DamascusTransition #AlHolClosure #SovereigntyRestored #Geopolitics #AxisOfResistance #IdlibShadow #MiddleEastAnalysis #StateBuilding #Decolonization #RegionalSecurity #PostWarSyria #StrategicIntelligence #TheObserver #AlMuraqeb

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Bekaa Massacre: Pre-emptive Aggression or Strategic Desperation?


THE NEWS

On Friday, February 20, 2026, the Israeli Air Force conducted a series of heavy airstrikes targeting the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, specifically around the Baalbek region. Hezbollah officially confirmed the martyrdom of eight operatives "on the road to Al-Quds," including a senior field commander identified as Hussein Mohammad Yaghi (also known as Abu Ali). Lebanese medical sources reported that the total death toll reached at least 10, with over 50 others wounded, including children, as strikes hit residential structures in Temnine and Aali en Nahri. The IDF claimed the operation targeted "command centers of Hezbollah's missile array" to disrupt preparations for a major retaliatory strike.

THE ANALYSIS

The intensification of strikes in the Bekaa—the strategic depth of the Resistance—signals a deliberate collapse of the November 2024 ceasefire framework.

• The "Forward Deterrent" Logic: These strikes are not isolated tactical events. As the U.S. concentrates 50% of its air power in the region, Tel Aviv is attempting to systematically degrade Hezbollah’s medium-range missile capabilities. The objective is to ensure that if a U.S.-led "kinetic campaign" against Iran begins, the Resistance in Lebanon will be too decapitated to activate its deterrent fire.

• Ceasefire as a Siege: Since November 2024, Israel has committed over 2,000 documented violations of Lebanese sovereignty. The Zionists are using the "truce" not for peace, but as a low-intensity war of attrition to pick off high-value targets like Commander Yaghi without triggering a full-scale regional conflagration.

• The Ramadan Escalation: Executing these massacres during the holy month follows a historical pattern of trying to break the psychological morale of the "Support Fronts" while the West Bank is simultaneously being torched by settler terrorism.

POSITION & OPINION

The martyrdom of Commander Yaghi and his comrades will not achieve the "neutralization" the IDF seeks. History—from the 2006 war to the 2025 "Midnight Hammer" operations—proves that the Resistance’s command structure is designed for seamless succession. By striking the Bekaa, Israel is effectively telling Beirut that the ceasefire is dead. The Resistance is morally and strategically obligated to respond; an aggressor that views a truce as a hunting season cannot be restrained by diplomacy, but only by the cost of its arrogance.

GEOPOLITICAL PREDICTIONS

1. Saturation Response: Hezbollah will likely move beyond "tit-for-tat" border skirmishes, potentially targeting deep IDF logistics hubs or airbases used for the Bekaa raids to re-establish the equation of "Depth for Depth."

2. Ceasefire Dissolution: By mid-March 2026, the 2024 ceasefire will likely be officially declared void by the Lebanese government, leading to a formalized "war state" that mirrors the 2023-2024 conflict intensity.

3. The "Gray Zone" Trap: If Israel continues to strike missile arrays, the Axis will likely activate a "maritime closure" strategy, using drone saturation against naval assets to pressure the U.S. into reining in its proxy.

#Hezbollah #BekaaValley #Lebanon2026 #AxisOfResistance #EndTheCeasefire #ZionistAggression

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴Imperial Overreach: The Supreme Court’s Blow to Washington’s Trade War

THE NEWS

On February 23, 2026, global financial markets are reeling following a seismic shift in U.S. trade policy. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark 6-3 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, stripping the executive branch of its power to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The ruling effectively nullified the "Reciprocal Tariffs" and "Fentanyl Tariffs" enacted throughout 2025, potentially forcing the U.S. Treasury to refund upwards of $175 billion to importers. In a defiant counter-move, the administration immediately proposed a new 15% global tariff leveraging Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974—a temporary measure capped at 150 days.

THE ANALYSIS

The Supreme Court’s intervention represents a rare internal fracture within the American imperial apparatus. By invoking the "Major Questions Doctrine," the Court has asserted that revenue-raising measures (tariffs) belong to Congress, not the "economic emergency" whims of the President.

• The Leverage Collapse: Washington’s trade negotiations with Beijing have been fundamentally compromised. The IEEPA tariffs were the primary "gun on the table" used to coerce Chinese concessions; their sudden illegality leaves U.S. negotiators empty-handed as the effective trade-weighted tariff rate is set to drop from 15.3% to approximately 8.3%.
• The 15% Desperation: The shift to Section 122 is a tactical retreat. While it sets a 15% floor, its 150-day limit signals a lack of long-term strategic stability. Markets are punishing the U.S. Dollar (down 0.4%) and Bitcoin (below $65k) not because of the tariffs themselves, but because of the manifest chaos in U.S. governance.

• Global Resilience:

The Axis of Resistance and its partners in the Global South are observing a "paper tiger" moment. When the Empire's own judiciary dismantles its chief economic weapon, the era of unilateral financial diktat enters its twilight.

POSITION & OPINION

The administration’s attempt to bypass the Court with a 15% "emergency" levy is an act of strategic desperation. Morally and legally, Washington is discovering that it cannot indefinitely sustain a global trade war while its internal legal framework is at war with itself. The "America First" policy has hit a structural wall: the U.S. cannot lead a multipolar world economically while it is functionally incapable of maintaining a consistent legal basis for its own trade taxes.

GEOPOLITICAL PREDICTIONS

1. Chinese Counter-Offensive: Beijing will likely stall all major trade purchases (soybeans, aircraft) until the refund process for the "illegal" 2025 tariffs is formalized, using the $175 billion debt as a diplomatic cudgel.

2. Congressional Gridlock: The administration will fail to secure permanent legislative backing for the 15% tariff, leading to a "tariff cliff" in mid-2026 that will trigger a massive domestic retail shock.

3. Alternative Corridors: Expect accelerated growth in the BRICS+ settlement systems as global traders flee the "legal volatility" of the U.S. Dollar-denominated trade environment.

#TradeWar2026 #SupremeCourt #EconomicSovereignty #USChinaTrade #EndofHegemony #GlobalFinance


☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴Western Hemisphere "Cleanup": The Strategic Siege of Havana After Caracas


THE NEWS

Following the dramatic capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026, during Operation Absolute Resolve, Washington has shifted its focus to the Caribbean. As of late February, the Trump administration has effectively choked Cuba's energy lifeline by halting all subsidized Venezuelan oil shipments. On January 29, the U.S. signed Executive Order 14380, declaring a national emergency regarding Cuba and authorizing secondary tariffs on any third-country—specifically targeting providers like Russia or Mexico—that sells or supplies oil to the island. While an interim military-civilian council under Delcy Rodríguez governs Caracas under U.S. financial trusteeship, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signaled that "strategic patience" for the Kremlin's remaining regional proxies has expired.

THE ANALYSIS

The removal of Maduro was the opening move in a broader "monroeist" restructuring of Latin America. By taking control of Venezuela’s oil proceeds—now deposited in U.S.-monitored accounts—Washington has weaponized energy to induce a systemic collapse in Havana.

• The Energy Guillotine: Cuba previously relied on 27,000 to 35,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude. With this flow severed and the U.S. threatening tariffs on alternative suppliers, the island is facing its worst blackout and food crisis since the "Special Period" of the 1990s.

• Eradicating the "Russian Bridge": The primary U.S. objective is to dismantle the intelligence and logistical hub Russia maintains in Cuba. The recent February 4 extension of the New START treaty between Washington and Moscow did not prevent the U.S. from moving to evict Russian military influence from its immediate "near abroad."

• The "Rodríguez Model": In Venezuela, the U.S. is not building a democracy but a stable petroleum colony. By keeping Delcy Rodríguez as a figurehead while controlling the 19% of global oil reserves under the GL 49 license, Washington ensures that no "Resistance" funds reach Cuba or Nicaragua.

POSITION & OPINION

The capture of a sovereign leader and the deliberate starvation of a neighboring island via energy blockades are clear acts of imperial lawlessness.

The Axis of Resistance recognizes that the "National Pacification" in Venezuela is a euphemism for the total surrender of national resources to the U.S. Treasury. Washington's "Shadow Siege" of Cuba is a desperate attempt to re-assert a 19th-century sphere of influence in a multipolar 21st-century world.

History shows that those who survive under decades of embargo possess a resilience that carrier groups cannot bomb into submission.


GEOPOLITICAL PREDICTIONS

1. Havana's Breaking Point: Unless Russia or China risks a direct maritime confrontation to break the "Oil Tariff" blockade by April 2026, the Cuban government will likely face massive internal unrest, potentially leading to a "managed transition" similar to the Venezuelan council.

2. The Nicaraguan Front: Expect Managua to be the next target for "Southern Spear" operations, as the U.S. seeks to close the last ideological gaps in the Caribbean basin before the 2026 midterm elections.

3. Sino-Russian Counter-Moves: Russia will likely respond by increasing military posturing in the Mediterranean or Eastern Europe to distract from its waning influence in the Western Hemisphere, as the costs of maintaining regional allies under the new U.S. tariff regime become prohibitive.


#Venezuela2026 #CubaBlockade #OperationAbsoluteResolve #MonroeDoctrine #AxisOfResistance #LatinAmericaGeopolitics #EndofHegemony


☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴EU Foreign Affairs Council Convenes on Ukraine and Gaza: Rhetoric Versus Leverage

The EU Foreign Affairs Council meets today the 23rd , February 2026 , to address two escalating fronts: the war in Ukraine — where European military and financial commitments to Kyiv have reached tens of billions of euros since 2022 — and the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank amid ongoing Israeli military operations.

The contrast is stark. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the EU has implemented sweeping sanctions packages against Russia and expanded arms deliveries. In the Palestinian arena, however, European responses have largely centered on statements of concern, despite repeated UN reporting on humanitarian collapse in Gaza and rising tensions in the West Bank.

Strategically, this reflects structural constraints. The EU’s security architecture remains intertwined with NATO and closely aligned with U.S. policy priorities. In Ukraine, Europe sustains a long-war containment framework. In Palestine, it stops short of deploying meaningful economic or diplomatic pressure.

The result is a credibility gap. A power that uses sanctions decisively in Eastern Europe but hesitates in the Levant weakens its claim to normative consistency.

Outlook: Continued military and financial backing for Kyiv is highly likely. On Gaza and the West Bank, expect reaffirmations of a two-state formula without enforcement mechanisms. Unless regional deterrence equations shift, Europe will remain a secondary actor operating within U.S.-defined parameters.

#EuropeanUnion #UkraineWar #Gaza #WestBank #Geopolitics #ResistanceAxis


☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Horn for Sale: Somaliland’s Bid for Imperial Guardianship

THE NEWS

On February 21, 2026, the breakaway region of Somaliland escalated its bid for international legitimacy by offering the United States exclusive access to its untapped mineral wealth and the establishment of permanent military bases. Speaking to AFP, Minister of the Presidency Khadar Hussein Abdi confirmed that Hargeisa is ready to grant Washington "exclusive rights" to strategic minerals, including lithium and coltan. This offer follows the seismic December 2025 decision by Israel to become the first UN member state to formally recognize Somaliland's independence. While the Trump administration has yet to mirror the Israeli move, the offer of a military alternative to Djibouti—where Chinese influence is surging—has placed the Horn of Africa at a new geopolitical flashpoint.


THE ANALYSIS

The Hargeisa-Tel Aviv-Washington axis represents a calculated assault on the "One Somalia" policy and a restructuring of Red Sea security.

• The Mineral Ransom: By offering exclusive access to lithium and coltan—critical for the global "green" energy transition—Somaliland is attempting to buy sovereignty with resources that legally belong to the Somali Federal Republic. This "privatization of recognition" sets a dangerous precedent for resource-rich breakaway regions globally.

• Strategic Encirclement: The potential for U.S. and Israeli bases in Berbera is designed to counter the Ansar Allah (Houthi) blockade in the Bab el-Mandeb. For the Axis of Resistance, an Israeli military presence on the 850km Somaliland coastline is a direct threat to the maritime depth of the regional Support Fronts.

• Somalia’s Sovereign Defiance: Mogadishu has correctly identified this as a "blatant violation of international law." The 22nd joint statement from Arab and African nations in January 2026 reaffirmed that any recognition of Somaliland is a colonial-style partition aimed at weakening the Somali state.

POSITION & OPINION

The willingness of Somaliland’s leadership to auction off national minerals and land for a seat at the table of imperial recognition is a rejection of African solidarity. Morally, the "Israel first" recognition strategy ties Somaliland’s fate to a regime currently isolated by the Global South. Strategically, inviting the U.S. military to set up shop in exchange for "exclusive" mineral rights is not independence; it is the transition from an unrecognized state to a corporate-military protectorate.

GEOPOLITICAL PREDICTIONS

1. Asymmetric Escalation: If Israeli or U.S. boots hit the ground in Berbera, expect Ansar Allah to extend their "strike zone" to include Somaliland’s infrastructure, transforming a relatively stable region into an active war theater.

2. Regional Realignment: Somalia will likely deepen its security ties with Turkey and Egypt to enforce a maritime blockade or "sovereignty patrol" around Somaliland’s waters, leading to high-seas friction with Western-aligned vessels.

3. The Lithium Cold War: China, currently dominant in African mining, will likely use its influence in the African Union to further isolate Hargeisa, ensuring that Somaliland’s "exclusive" offer to the U.S. remains legally and logistically impossible to execute.


#Somaliland2026 #SomaliaSovereignty #HornOfAfrica #RedSeaSecurity #AxisOfResistance #EndTheBlockade #LithiumWar

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴India Urges Its Nationals to Leave Iran

🔽The Indian Embassy in Tehran has asked its nationals to leave Iran as soon as possible, in a move that has raised questions about its timing and political implications—particularly following the visit of Narendra Modi to Israel and amid escalating regional tensions.

➡️In this context, two key observations arise:

1⃣ First, Indian authorities recently detained an Iranian vessel on alleged legal grounds, without any clear escalatory response from Tehran, prompting criticism over what some perceive as a weak reaction.

2⃣ Second, India’s continued investment in Chabahar Port despite these developments has led some to question why Tehran does not reconsider this cooperation if it views New Delhi’s actions as unfriendly.


☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴Direct U.S. Intervention in Selecting Iraq’s Prime Minister: Brack Praises Al-Sudani

🌕Thomas Brack described his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as productive, noting discussions on Iraq’s goals to build a stable and prosperous future in line with the U.S. President’s plan for peace and prosperity in the region.

🤔Brack emphasized that having an effective Iraqi leadership aligned with U.S. policies is a key step toward achieving stability, in a clear reference to Al-Sudani’s role following the U.S. veto of the Coordination Framework candidate Nouri al-Maliki.

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴Israeli Aggressions: Border Attrition and the Failure of Deterrence

📄The News:

🌕On February 23, 2026, Israeli occupation forces executed a series of targeted strikes across the Lebanese border. Key incidents included :

🔢 artillery illumination rounds over Kfar Chouba,
🔢 an acoustic bomb dropped by a drone on Karkla,
🔢 and heavy machine-gun fire directed at the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab, Labbouneh, and Aitaroun.
🔢 Additionally, Israeli artillery targeted Lebanese territorial waters off the coast of Naqoura.

🖊Strategic Analysis:

🫶These maneuvers constitute "operational harassment," a calculated Israeli tactic designed to test the Axis of Resistance's readiness and probe for structural weaknesses in the current rules of engagement. The maritime shelling near Naqoura is a significant escalation, signaling an attempt to assert fire control over disputed naval boundaries. On land, the persistent machine-gun fire reflects a deep-seated Israeli insecurity regarding the Resistance’s tactical positioning in the border woods.

🔴 Position and Assessment:

✌These acts are not isolated incidents but a systematic violation of Lebanese sovereignty. The reliance on "soft" aggression—such as acoustic bombs and illumination rounds—demonstrates the enemy's fear of a full-scale kinetic response while simultaneously trying to maintain a state of psychological warfare against border populations.

🫶History proves that the Zionist entity only retreats when the cost of provocation becomes unsustainable. Documented patterns show that such escalations often precede broader attempts to redraw "buffer zones" through intimidation rather than direct combat.

🔴 Geopolitical Outlook:

Moving forward, the border will likely remain a flashpoint for low-intensity conflict as Israel attempts to normalize these incursions. However, the expansion of strikes into Lebanese territorial waters suggests a potential shift toward maritime friction. If the occupation persists in bypassing established red lines, a calibrated response from the Resistance is inevitable to restore the balance of terror and protect Lebanese resources.

#Lebanon #Naqoura #Resistance #IsraeliAggression #TheObserver

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴Beirut Embassy Evacuation:

🌕Washington Clears the Deck for Regional War


📄The News:

✌On February 23, 2026, the U.S. State Department ordered the mandatory evacuation of non-emergency personnel and their families from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. This diplomatic drawdown coincides with the largest American military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The deployment features the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to join the USS Abraham Lincoln, alongside over 50 advanced fighter jets (F-16, F-22, F-35) moved to regional bases within the last 24 hours. This maneuver precedes crucial nuclear talks in Geneva and follows President Donald Trump’s deadline for Tehran to meet U.S. demands or face "limited military strikes."

🖊Strategic Analysis:

🫶Staff reductions at U.S. Embassy Beirut are historically a bellwether for imminent kinetic action. By thinning its diplomatic footprint, Washington is attempting to insulate its personnel from the inevitable asymmetrical retaliation that would follow a strike on Iranian soil. The current posture—comprising 14 warships and dozens of fuel tankers—suggests preparations for a sustained air campaign rather than a "symbolic" strike. Centrally, the U.S. is signaling a shift from coercive diplomacy to direct military confrontation, seeking to dismantle Iran's nuclear infrastructure and weaken the Axis of Resistance through a decisive blow.

🔴 Position and Assessment:

🫶The "prudent" reduction of the Beirut footprint is a clear admission of American vulnerability. Washington realizes that Lebanon is the frontline of Iranian deterrence; any strike on Tehran will activate Hezbollah’s strategic arsenal against U.S. assets and the Zionist entity. This escalation reveals the failure of American diplomacy, which now relies solely on brute force to dictate regional terms. Evidence from the June 2025 skirmishes shows that Iran and its allies no longer adhere to traditional "proportionality," rendering American attempts at "limited" warfare a dangerous strategic fallacy.

🔴 Geopolitical Outlook:

👌The region is now on a hair-trigger. If the Geneva talks on Thursday fail to yield immediate concessions, a U.S. strike is statistically probable within a 10-day window. Expect an immediate Iranian counter-response targeting U.S. bases in Qatar and the Emirates, coupled with a total mobilization of the border fronts in Lebanon and Syria. This is no longer a deterrent display; it is the final positioning of assets for a conflict intended to break the regional stalemate, though it risks a catastrophic overextension of U.S. power.

#Lebanon #USA #Iran #Geopolitics #AxisOfResistance #TheObserver


☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Illusion of a "Quick Win": Trump’s Military Surge and the Strategic Reality of Iran

📄The News:

🫶President Donald Trump has dismissed intelligence suggesting General Dan Caine warned of the catastrophic risks of a full-scale war with Iran, labeling the reports "100 percent incorrect." Asserting that a conflict could be "easily won," Trump has overseen the deployment of a massive naval and air armada, spearheaded by the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln.

✌This deployment represents nearly 50% of total U.S. global air power currently concentrated in the region.

🖊 Strategic Analysis:

👌The concentration of half of America's global air assets in a single theater is an escalation of "maximum pressure" into the realm of kinetic preparation. However, the rhetoric of an "easy victory" ignores the evolution of asymmetric warfare and the doctrine of "Strategic Depth" employed by the Axis of Resistance. Historically, U.S. reliance on air superiority has failed to achieve political submission in the Middle East; in the case of Iran, the cost of engagement involves the immediate paralysis of global energy corridors—a variable the White House appears to be discounting.

🔴 Position and Assessment:

✌Trump’s dismissal of military counsel highlights a dangerous disconnect between ideological bravado and operational reality. The assumption that advanced carrier strike groups can deliver a decisive blow without a prolonged regional conflagration is flawed.

🫶The Axis of Resistance operates on a decentralized model that renders conventional "victory" metrics obsolete. Evidence suggests that any strike would trigger a multi-front response, nullifying the tactical advantages of U.S. naval positioning.

🔴 Forward-Looking Predictions:

🔢 Overextension: Maintaining 50% of global air power in one sector creates strategic vulnerabilities elsewhere, forcing a future drawdown or a costly long-term stalemate.

🔢 Regional Blowback: Expect heightened coordination among regional resistance factions, aimed at making the cost of U.S. presence unsustainable through precision strikes and maritime disruption.

🔢 Pivot to Negotiation: As the reality of a "non-easy" war sets in, the U.S. will likely be forced back to the negotiating table by mid-2026, driven by economic instability and the refusal of regional allies to host a direct conflict.


#Iran #USA #Geopolitics #AxisOfResistance #StrategicAnalysis #TheObserver


☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Ford’s Decay: The Myth of American Steel in the Age of Resistance


🤔The twice-extended deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford is not a display of dominance, but a testament to logistical failure and the desperate clinging to a $13.3 billion floating liability.


🔴 Executive Opening

✌While the Pentagon’s propaganda machine continues to frame the USS Gerald R. Ford as the pinnacle of naval engineering, the reality at sea is a cynical comedy of errors. Surpassing 241 days in theater, this "floating fortress" has devolved into a high-tech prison. Marred by failing sewage systems that require $400,000 daily acid flushes and a crew so demoralized they are openly begging to quit, the Ford is less a deterrent and more a bloated monument to imperial overreach. Washington’s decision to extend its deployment yet again reveals a terrifying truth: they cannot afford to withdraw this hunk of "fake steel" because they have nothing left to mask the cratering of American prestige in West Asia.


🔴 Contextual Background

🫶The aircraft carrier was once the ultimate symbol of colonial enforcement—power projection without proximity. But the geopolitical clock has struck midnight on that era. In the age of precision strikes and asymmetric swarms, these 100,000-ton behemoths have become "slow-moving targets." Breaking post-Vietnam deployment records isn't a badge of honor; it is a symptom of a Navy that has run out of ideas and functional hulls. The Ford’s predicament echoes the frantic desperation of Vietnam, only this time the "jungle" is a sea of high-speed missiles and indigenous technological defiance.


🔴 Strategic Analysis

✌The cynicism of the Ford’s current positioning lies in its status as a "strategic hostage."

🔘 Technological Fraud: A ship that costs $13.3 billion but cannot manage its own waste disposal is the perfect metaphor for the corruption of the U.S. military-industrial complex. It is a gold-plated paper tiger.

🔘 The Myth of Air Superiority: The Ford is held in place because land-based U.S. assets in the region are now perceived as "sitting ducks." Washington has been forced to pack 5,000 sailors into a decaying steel shell, betting on a platform that is reaching structural exhaustion.

🔘 Human Sacrifice: The systemic disregard for the crew’s basic welfare—denying them births, funerals, and stability—proves that the empire prioritizes the image of the steel over the reality of the men. It is the management of a sinking brand.

🔴 Evidence & Documentation

🔘 Maintenance Masquerade: The daily $400k "acid flushes" are a temporary bandage on a systemic mechanical failure. You don't perform surgery in a hurricane unless you are desperate.

🔘 Futile Logistics: Shipping 700 tonnes of munitions via C-17s to a ship with a broken spirit is a logistical exercise in futility. No amount of ordnance can compensate for a crew that has lost faith in the mission and the vessel.

🔘 The Moral Deficit: Defense reporting now uses descriptors for morale that haven't been seen since the Fall of Saigon. When sailors want to quit the Navy en masse while stationed on its "best" ship, the strategic game is already lost.

🔴 Position & Argument

👌The USS Gerald R. Ford is a weapon of the past being forced to fight the wars of the future. It is not a platform of strength; it is a logistical burden. Washington refuses to blink not because it is ready for war, but because it is terrified of the vacuum that would follow the Ford’s departure. Using 5,000 humans as "ballast" for a political bluff is a height of moral bankruptcy. The Ford is not holding the line; it is being held together by duct tape and desperation, waiting for a reality check that its sophisticated radars will not be able to deflect.

🌕Forward-Looking Assessment

🔢 Structural Catastrophe:

Continued over-deployment will likely lead to a catastrophic mechanical or nuclear propulsion failure, forcing a humiliating towed withdrawal that would shatter the U.S. Navy’s image for decades.

🔢 The Death of the Carrier Doctrine:

The "Ford disaster" will mark the end of the carrier era.

🫶Future historians will view these ships as the "Maginot Line" of the 21st century—expensive, static, and ultimately irrelevant.

🔢 The Final Act:

🫶Should the current tensions boil over, the Ford will not be the hammer. It will be the anvil. U.S. resources will be diverted to simply protecting this $13 billion target, ensuring a tactical nightmare for any commander involved.

📌Conclusion


✌The USS Gerald R. Ford is the ultimate symbol of an empire in denial. It is a $13 billion floating relic, plagued by internal decay and surrounded by an external reality it can no longer control. Every day it remains at sea is not a victory for American power, but a countdown to the inevitable realization that steel—no matter how expensive—cannot stop the tide of history.

#TheObserver
#AlMuraqeb
#USSGeraldRFord
#USNavy
#AxisOfResistance
#StrategicAttrition
#GeopoliticalRealities
#NavalOverstretch
#ImperialDecay
#WestAsiaStrategy


☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Strategic Pivot: Russian Su-35s to Reshape Iranian Skies


📄The News:

👌Russian state media outlets confirm the imminent delivery of 16 Su-35 multi-role fighter jets to the Islamic Republic of Iran. This initial batch is reported to be the precursor to a larger strategic transfer involving three additional squadrons arriving in the near future. This development marks the most significant modernization of Iranian air power in decades, transitioning the fleet into the era of advanced generation 4++ capabilities.

🖊 Strategic Analysis:

✌The acquisition of the Su-35 is a geopolitical game-changer that addresses the primary vulnerability in the Axis of Resistance's defensive architecture: air superiority. For years, the Western-Zionist military calculus relied on a perceived technological gap in Iranian aviation. The introduction of Russia’s premier air-superiority fighter effectively nullifies this advantage. Structurally, this move cements the Moscow-Tehran defense axis, signaling a definitive shift toward a multipolar security order in West Asia. It is the direct consequence of failed Western "maximum pressure" campaigns which have instead accelerated the military integration of Eurasian powers.

🔴 Position and Assessment:

👌The delivery of these jets is a legitimate exercise of sovereignty and a vital deterrent against ongoing regional aggression. Documented evidence of Su-35 performance in modern theaters demonstrates its ability to challenge Western fifth-generation assets. By integrating these fighters with its existing indigenous long-range drone and missile programs, Iran is creating a "denial of access" environment that renders pre-emptive strike scenarios by the Israeli entity or US forces functionally obsolete and prohibitively expensive.

✌Forward-Looking Predictions:

🔢 Erosion of Air Hegemony: The era of uncontested Israeli or US air incursions in the region is ending; the cost of aerial engagement will become a primary deterrent.

🔢 Deepening Military Synergy: Expect subsequent contracts involving advanced S-400 missile systems and joint electronic warfare initiatives, creating an impenetrable defensive shield over Iranian territory.

🔢 Regional Recalibration: Gulf states and regional actors will likely pivot toward intensified diplomacy with Tehran, recognizing that the military balance has shifted permanently in favor of the Axis of Resistance.

#Iran #Russia #Su35 #Geopolitics #AxisOfResistance #StrategicBalance #TheObserver

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴Iraq Officially Deposits Maritime Map…

While "Arab Embrace" Aligns Against Its Sole Sea Outlet

In a clear sovereign move, the Iraqi government has deposited its maritime domain map with the United Nations. The coordinates have been officially published on the UN website to establish Iraq's legal rights to its territorial waters, specifically in the Khor Abdullah area—the sole maritime artery connecting Iraq to the Gulf and the world.
Iraq, which possesses only this narrow maritime corridor as an outlet to international waters, acted within international legal frameworks to confirm its borders and sovereign rights. However, the response was immediate.
Rapid Arab Alignment
The following nations quickly declared full solidarity with Kuwait, rejecting any perceived infringement on "Kuwaiti maritime sovereignty":
• United Arab Emirates
• Jordan
• Bahrain
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia

The Sole Outlet
Iraq does not possess extensive open coastlines or multiple maritime alternatives. Khor Abdullah is not a political choice, but a geographical necessity. Any interpretation or measure that leads to the restriction of Iraq's maritime movement or challenges its rights beyond established border points effectively tightens the noose on its economy, ports, trade, and sovereignty.

Between Sovereignty and Alignment
The Iraqi move falls under the right of states to establish maritime boundaries according to international norms. Conversely, the rapid alignment against this measure is viewed by many as a political message exceeding diplomatic support, impacting the sensitive maritime balance in a region whose economy cannot withstand further restrictions.

Ultimately, the geographical reality remains constant:
If Khor Abdullah is restricted for Iraq, it suffocates an entire nation that possesses no other path to the sea.

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5

🔴The Axis of Resistance: Prepared for All Scenarios

The News

Tehran has signaled total readiness for any escalation, including high-level assassination attempts, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) successfully dismantled a sophisticated "Mojahedin-e-Khalq" (MEK) network. Backed by the Zionist Mossad, the cell targeted the Presidential Palace and the Supreme National Security Council. Concurrently, Donald Trump’s return to a "Maximum Pressure" rhetoric has been met with Iranian strategic defiance, with Trump labeling Ayatollah Khamenei as "stubborn" in the face of failed American dictates.

Strategic Analysis

The timing of these disrupted terror plots highlights a desperate shift by the Zionist-American apparatus. Facing a multipolar shift, the U.S. under Trump is reverting to a personality-driven hostility that ignores 45 years of institutionalized resistance. The "stubbornness" Trump cites is actually a calculated refusal to surrender sovereign assets. Historically, whenever the West targets the leadership of the Resistance, the structural response is a rapid leap in deterrent capabilities.

Position & Evidence

The Zionist media’s admission—that targeting Ayatollah Khamenei would trigger an immediate transition to a nuclear-armed Iran—proves that the "Supreme Leader" is the primary stabilizer preventing total regional conflagration. Trump’s erratic approach lacks the nuance to understand that Iran’s security architecture is no longer vulnerable to 20th-century "regime change" tactics. The IRGC’s recent counter-intelligence success proves that internal infiltration attempts are being met with superior Iranian kinetic and electronic response.
Geopolitical Predictions

1. Nuclear Posture:
Any kinetic move by the Trump administration or Tel Aviv will result in an immediate revision of Iran's nuclear doctrine (Fatwa), moving toward full weaponization as a survival necessity.

2. Failed Proxy Wars: The reliance on the MEK and similar spent forces will yield zero strategic gains, further isolating the U.S. from meaningful diplomacy.

3. Regional Integration: Iran will deepen its military-industrial ties with the East, rendering Western sanctions and threats tactically obsolete.

#Iran #IRGC #ResistanceAxis #Trump #Geopolitics #Tehran

☑️ Our website

🔵Link to the article in Arabic

🖋@observer_5