Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei confirmed that the Geneva talks addressed enrichment levels and the number of centrifuges. He also told the press: “We are ready to stay in Geneva for days and weeks to reach an agreement.” The second round of US-Iran talks in Geneva concluded at 2:30 p.m. A senior Iranian official told Reuters: “The key to stable and meaningful negotiations is American seriousness in lifting sanctions and abandoning unrealistic demands. Iran is approaching the negotiations in a positive and serious manner, with a realistic plan and constructive proposals.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said he provided technical details on nuclear matters and sanctions relief. The Iranian delegation is present with a full team covering technical, economic, and legal matters. Iran has also expressed its concerns. The spokesperson states that there is no connection between the Iran-US negotiations and the Ukrainian issue. Iran is ready to negotiate until a result is reached, and time is of the essence. Baghaei assures the population that the diplomatic apparatus is diligently and attentively pursuing the rights of the people.
Sultan of Oman: “Omani Foreign Ministry, Today’s negotiations have made tangible progress, paving the way for their continuation.”
Since 8:00 PM on February 16, pizzerias around the Pentagon have reported an increase in orders. It appears that US officials do not have a clear plan for who would take power in the event of the collapse of the Iranian regime, CNN reports. US intelligence suggests the IRGC would likely fill any immediate leadership vacuum, but its internal hierarchy is poorly understood, especially after the killing of Qasem Soleimani. Unlike Venezuela, the United States does not have a detailed view of potential successors. Some officials believe there was a brief window during the height of the protests when military action could have shifted attention toward the Iranian opposition. Sources close to intelligence told CNN they now wonder whether Trump “missed the moment” and whether military strikes a few weeks later would have achieved the same results as last month.
Imam Khamenei declared in an address to the nation: “Even the most powerful army in the world can sometimes suffer a devastating blow from which it cannot recover.” “More dangerous than an American warship, it is a weapon that can sink it to the bottom of the ocean.” “Only someone with great confidence in their country’s capabilities can say such a thing.”
The Iranian Secretary of the National Security Council received Russian Energy Minister Sivilyov, who is visiting Iran.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reported: “We are ready to train the police forces of Gaza and the Palestinian National Authority. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem discusses Hamas’s demands at the Peace Council meeting and warns against the occupation using the meeting as cover to continue its crimes.
And now a look at the military scenarios in the Middle East and West Asia, updated at 3:40 PM on February 17. Satellite images obtained by the BBC from the Sentinel-2 satellite on Sunday, February 15, show the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) continuing to operate in the North Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman, amid rising tensions with Iran.
Online videos show members of the U.S. Air Force’s 452nd Air Logistics Squadron assisting loading a “next-generation” miniature nuclear reactor built by Valar Atomics onto a C-17A Globemaster III at March Air Force Base, California, as part of Operation Windlord, Sunday, February 15, 2026.
Heavy activity occurred overnight among U.S. Air Force KC-135R/T and KC-46A tanker aircraft heading northeast across the United States, likely preparing to cross the Atlantic to Europe.
According to Flightradar data, six tanker aircraft and 18 U.S. Air Force F-35 fighters departed the United Kingdom for the Middle East. Following the movement of U.S. aircraft from the United Kingdom to the Middle East, CNN reports: “U.S. Air Force assets with UK bases, including oil tankers and fighter jets, are moving closer to the Middle East. Several U.S. military units stationed in the Middle East, which plan to leave the region in the coming weeks, have been ordered to extend their stay. “U.S. intelligence agencies assess with high probability that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will fill any power vacuum that could arise in the Iranian regime in the event of an overthrow.”
At least 18 more American F-35 fighters are currently being transferred to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. They are being transported by a total of nine KC-135s in aerial refueling, which will return to Chania Air Base in Greece. This would bring the total number of U.S. aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti to: – 30 F-35As; – 6 EA-18Gs; – 24 F-15Es; – 12 A-10Cs.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards announced the start of naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz “due to potential security threats.” The Fars news agency reported IRGC: “Some sections of the Strait of Hormuz will be closed for several hours today due to IRGC exercises.”
A car was attacked by Israeli forces near the Syrian border, killing four people, including foreigners. Full details are not yet clear.
Overnight, Israeli forces demolished a new civilian home near Aita al-Shaab. On the afternoon of February 17, an Israeli drone dropped a fourth bomb today on the town of Aita al-Shaab, southern Lebanon. A school bus in Hanine was attacked, killing the driver. An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle in the town of Tallouseh. Clashes erupted between Lebanese army personnel and protesters during the reopening of the road at the Ring Bridge.
As part of an operational plan implemented following the escalation of Israeli infiltrations into border villages, the Lebanese army has begun strengthening its border deployment at several points. Photos Documenting a Lebanese Army bulldozer constructing a new site opposite the new enemy site in “Khalat al-Mahfara,” south of the town of Adaisse, accompanied by an army and UNIFIL force.
Israeli forces demolished the home of slain Qassam leader Raafat Dawasa in the town of Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin.
Radical Israeli settlers burned down a sheep farm in southern Hebron. Fifteen Palestinian families were displaced from the communities of Al-Burj and Al-Mayta in the northern Jordan Valley after their homes were forcibly demolished due to increasing settler attacks: arson, livestock theft, and harassment of residents.
The IDF announces the release of land for citizens, for military use, in the towns of Al-Funduq, Jinsafut, and Amatin in Qalqilya Governorate. Deir Istiya in the Salfit district.
This incident is not an isolated one, but rather a new chapter in a systematic displacement project aimed at emptying the Jordan Valley of its inhabitants and turning it into a space open to Israeli settlement expansion. Defending the Jordan Valley begins by making this forced displacement a matter of public opinion, not just a passing news story.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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