🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- "US forces weren’t deployed to the Middle East to just to sit on bases for long weeks," - A US source tells i24 (Israeli Channel 15).

🇺🇸🇬🇧⚡- "I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is “claiming” Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.

Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before.

In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature. 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.

Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease. This land should not be taken away from the U.K. and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.

DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!" - President Donald Trump.

🇮🇱⚡- BREAKING: Israeli emergency services, including the Magen David Adom, have been instructed to prepare for war.

🇮🇷🇮🇶⚡️- A drone strike targeted a vehicle belonging to the deputy council of the Komala Party, a Kurdish opposition party and rival to the IRGC, in Iran’s Kurdistan region. The deputy council member, Omar Ilkhanizadeh, was not in the car at the time of the strike, but two Peshmerga guards were killed.

Initial reports indicate that the drone originated from the IRGC.

🇮🇱⚡- "We are preparing for a large multi-front scenario," - Israeli Home Front Command.

🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡️- Tucker Carlson told the Daily Mail that he and his staff had been detained in Israel following their interview of U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

🇺🇸🇸🇾⚡️- BREAKING : WSJ reports that the U.S. is in the process of withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, according to three American officials.

🇸🇦🇪🇹⚡- Lebanese media, LebanGate, reports that last week's meeting between Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan, and Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, was tense and heated.

The meeting in Addis Ababa was allegedly confrontational according to the outlet, with bin Farhan urging Ahmed to cut ties with Abu Dhabi, citing UAE's arming of proxies that threaten Riyadh's security.

Ahmed slammed the Saudi Foreign Minister, saying Riyadh "supports a man [Sudan's Chairman al-Burhan] who gathers all Islamic extremists to threaten our security and the region." You [bin Farhan] don’t even know what you are doing."

Faisal bin Farhan called the arming of Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces, and the shipment of Emirati military aid to Addis Ababa a 'red-line' to Saudi's security, to which Ahmed responded "What security are you talking about? What does the relationship between the UAE and Ethiopia have to do with your national security?"

"Your Excellency, tell [Crown] Prince Mohammed bin Salman that I will not allow terrorism to rule Sudan and threaten Ethiopia's security, no matter the cost," - Abiy Ahmed to Faisal bin Farhan.

🇺🇸🇫🇷⚡- The US will resume nuclear enrichment of uranium domestically, working in partnership with French giant Orano.

🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡- Secretary of State Marco Rubio to travel to Israel on February 28th.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- Iran is expected to submit a written proposal on how to avoid its standoff with the United States in the wake of U.S. and Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday. - Reuters quoting a U.S. official.

🇪🇹⚡- BREAKING: Ethiopia's Deputy Chief of Staff Abebaw Tadesse says the Ethiopian military, ENDF, will soon enter the Tigray Interim Administration, TIA, region and assume control of all military bases.

While acknowledging the military operation will face challenges, he warned that any attempt to obstruct the objective would be met with decisive action.

Note, most of the bases in the TIA are under the control of the TPF (pro-Addis Ababa TPLF factions), which will likely hand over control of their camps. The main resistance will come from Debretsion Gebremichael-led TPLF-D (and the rest of the TDF, such as TPLF-M).

🇾🇪⚡- "The arrival of the Northern Yemeni Ministers [from Saudi-backed Yemeni territories] whose history is linked to invasion, occupation, and looting in Aden is a blatant challenge to the will of our people.

The anger of the Southerners cannot be stopped or controlled by anyone. Disregarding the rights of our people will place the region as a whole before grave challenges with dire consequences.

Everyone must realize that the will of the people cannot be broken and that the South will accept nothing less than freedom and full sovereignty," - Southern Transitional Council of Yemen (in exile).

🇸🇾⚡- Syrian forces are preparing to enter As Suwaida, Druze-controlled southern Syria, according to al-Jazeera.

The Qatari outlet reports that the entry of Syrian forces is aimed at restoring order.

"The Syrian operation could target [Israeli mercenary led] Hikmat al-Hijri forces, which could lead to a deal in which the so-called 'Druze National Guard' dissolves.

Israel would not support the creation of an independent Druze state, and that the Druze destination will be with Damascus," - Druze sources tell al-Jazeera.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡- "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," - CBS.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡- "Over the next three days, the Pentagon is moving some personnel temporarily out of the Middle East region — primarily to Europe or back to the United States — ahead of potential action or counterattacks by Iran if the U.S. were to move ahead with its operation," - CBS.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- “The US military is prepared to strike Iran as early as this weekend, though President Donald Trump has yet to make a final decision on whether he’ll authorize such actions,” sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- Congressmen Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna will force a vote next week on a bipartisan war powers resolution on Iran.

It will be aimed at preventing the executive branch from launching an operation against Iran without congressional approval.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- "Senior national security officials have told the president that any operation that aims to change the Iranian leadership is not guaranteed to be a success, the officials said." - NYT.

🇺🇸🇮🇶⚡️- Initial reports from Iraq say that the Iraqi militia and the Iran-aligned group Al-Nujaba have set up a "corps system," which would allow their soldiers to attack U.S. military targets in the region if Iran is attacked, without waiting for approval from their leadership.

They claim to have over fifty designated targets in the region.

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- "The U.S. is sending significant numbers of jet fighters and support aircraft to the Middle East, assembling the greatest amount of air power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The firepower will give the U.S. the option of carrying out a sustained, weekslong air war against Iran instead of the one-and-done “Midnight Hammer” strike the U.S. carried out in June against three Iranian nuclear sites, U.S. officials said

Trump has received several briefings on his military options should he choose to strike, all of them designed to maximize damage to Iran’s regime and its regional proxies, U.S. officials said.

The options 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 weekslong operation." - The Wall Street Journal citing U.S. and foreign officials.