Following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s closed-door briefing on Iran today for members of the Group of Eight (G8), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters: “This is serious, and the administration must make its position clear to the American people.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Donald Trump reportedly said, regarding the escalating tensions with Iran: “Iran wants a deal more than I do, but it can’t say the magic words,” which, he said, means it won’t build a nuclear bomb. ABC News’ Jonathan Karl reported. Iranian authorities are unwilling to directly declare their abandonment of plans to develop nuclear weapons, Donald Trump stated.
Bloomberg reports that NATO has announced the shift of aerial surveillance in Turkey from Russia to Iran due to the potential outbreak of war. The CIA released a video in Farsi urging Iranians to contact the agency. “Hello. The Central Intelligence Agency hears your voice and wants to help you.”
Beginning on February 24, the Israeli press began declaring: “Israel is firmly convinced that an attack on Iran is already inevitable, even before Iran’s reaction is known.”
On February 25, Indian Prime Minister Modi arrived in Israel. Netanyahu: “We are interested in creating our own axis, an axis of countries that see both extremist Islamic axes as opposing each other. This includes many countries. Some of them are visiting us these days; others we visit.”
Satellite imagery suggests that Iran is conducting renovations at the SPND facility, responsible for processing nuclear material into weapons. It was founded by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed in 2020. And again from Iran: “Iran is ready to take all necessary measures to conclude an agreement with the United States as soon as possible and is approaching the Geneva talks in good faith.” This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic Majid Takht-Ravanchi.
He also stated: “The only topic of negotiations at the upcoming Geneva meeting is the nuclear issue. We will continue our talks in Geneva, based on the same framework we had in Muscat and Geneva in recent weeks, so nothing will change. The subject of negotiations is the nuclear issue, and on this there is agreement among all parties.”
On the afternoon of February 24, an Iranian government plane headed for the Gulf, likely carrying Larijani with the draft nuclear agreement. Iranian President Massoud Bezeshkian emphasized the importance of Lebanon’s position in Iranian foreign and regional policy and its role in promoting peace and stability.
Iranian leader Ali Khamenei’s website published an article containing these two paragraphs: “In such a war, the previous red lines will radically change, and the battlefield will be broader than before. The list of targets will expand, and if it is decreed that Iranian soil and the lives of its children are endangered by American malice or aggression, then American interests and lives will not be safe anywhere. In the 12-Day War, Iran’s allies in the region did not enter the fray, and the Islamic Republic moved alone against the Zionist and American aggressors. However, in any potential future war, this equation will change, and the enemy will find itself facing multiple and diverse fronts on different battlefields.”
Lebanon’s interim Foreign Minister, Youssef Raji, told AP and AFP in Geneva: “I hope Hezbollah will refrain from embarking on new adventures and spare Lebanon further destruction. We have received warnings that any intervention on its part could push Israel to attack infrastructure, and we are working with all means to prevent this.” In response, the leader of Hezbollah and Amal in the southern region: “We reject any attempt to prolong, postpone, or disrupt the elections and call on the international community and its sponsoring countries to force Israel to cease its aggression against Lebanon.”
And now a look at the ongoing military scenarios in the Middle East and Western Asia, updated at 4:00 PM on February 25. The Yemenis still have control of Bab al-Mandab. The Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to any American-Israeli ground attack or that of their mercenaries in Yemen. They announced in a statement.
In his new Combat Instructions, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle outlined the Navy’s plans to ensure combat readiness, training, and operational employment of forces. The published guidelines will have a profound impact on the traditional carrier strike group (CSG) model, as they aim to integrate new capabilities and systems that will provide greater flexibility to naval combat formations. Building on experiences gained in the Red and Black Seas, the Navy intends to enhance the strike groups with scalable and adaptable forces. This initiative is part of a broader strategy aimed at providing operational commanders with greater freedom of maneuver and the ability to “deploy the forces as needed” to respond to evolving crises, Caudle writes.
However, Admiral Caudle acknowledges that the transition to a hybrid fleet represents not only a “cultural obstacle” but also a technical one.
For the fourth consecutive day, a NATO E-3B Sentry AWACS aircraft took off from Konya Air Base in Turkey and is heading towards Iran to conduct reconnaissance.
On February 24, students protested at Tehran University of the Arts with the progressive slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Iranian media reported that “Iran foiled a Mujahideen-e Khalq operation, with the direct support of foreign intelligence agencies. The plot was foiled at an early stage, with numerous members of the organization killed and arrested before the operation could be completed. The objective of the operation was to infiltrate the Presidential Palace complex, the headquarters of the Supreme National Security Council, and the residence of the Supreme Leader.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence service was able to uncover the plot and prevent its implementation.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces ambushed a convoy linked to the extremist Jaish al-Adl group—declared a terrorist group in Iran—in the Saravan border region of southeastern Iran. The operation, conducted as part of counterterrorism measures in Sistan-Baluchistan province, reportedly resulted in the elimination of six members of the group. In early February 2026, the region was on high alert due to militarization and the increased number of checkpoints deployed by Tehran to monitor the border with Pakistan and track the movements of insurgent groups.
The IRGC has trained in the use of drones to protect the coasts and respond quickly to an attack. The use of the short-range Majid system to protect early warning radars. One of the measures taken in air defense to protect critical systems (in this case, the Fath-14 radar) is the addition of short-range missile systems like the Majid, also visible in satellite imagery.
Brigadier General Seyed Mohammad Hosseini has been appointed the new commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Saberin Rapid Reaction Brigade. Hosseini previously commanded the 110th Salman Farsi Brigade and has experience in military missions and operations. According to Israeli sources, China has delivered supersonic anti-ship missiles to Iran. The CM-302 missiles have a speed of up to Mach 3.5 and a range of approximately 290 kilometers and are designed to evade naval defenses by flying low and fast.
Local Syrian sources say that gunmen, likely ISIS members, targeted the military headquarters and a government checkpoint in the towns of Al-Baghouz and Sousa, east of Deir Ezzor. Israeli forces also advanced into the Red Hill area and opened fire on shepherds near the village of Kodneh, in the Quneitra countryside.
Lebanese sources told Reuters: Israel has threatened to strike civilian infrastructure if Hezbollah joins a possible war with Iran. Since February 24, Israeli forces have launched numerous attacks against Lebanese positions, including those of regular soldiers: A barrage of fire was fired near the new Lebanese Army deployment point at Sardeh Farm, southern Lebanon. An Israeli aircraft dropped a sonic bomb east of Mays Al-Jabal; three sonic bombs were dropped near the new Lebanese Army deployment point at Sardeh Farm.
Israeli army spokesman: “We fired warning shots at Lebanese army soldiers after they set up an uncoordinated military outpost near our operational forces in southern Lebanon, during the day.” “We monitored Lebanese soldiers working to establish an uncoordinated military outpost near our forces in southern Lebanon. We sent a warning to the Lebanese soldiers, then contacted the coordination channels to forward a request to cease work, but this was not met.
Israel also fired in the al-Labouneh area, with bursts of gunfire toward the outskirts of the city of Alma Shaab. An Israeli plane dropped a sonic bomb on a house in the city of Hula, and gunfire was heard toward the outskirts of the city of Al-Aadisseh. Lebanese army soldiers are still stationed at the Tallat al-Omara point in the Wazzani Valley, refusing to withdraw after Israeli threats to target them, transmitted by a drone. UNIFIL calls on the Israeli army to cease threatening army elements stationed at a confrontation point because they are on Lebanese territory and within the official borders, in a context of total refusal by the enemy army, which fires intermittent shots and regularly drops warning bombs in the vicinity of their presence. The Amal Movement and Lebanon’s Hezbollah: “Any attack on Iran jeopardizes the security and stability of the entire region.”
In Israel: Prayer groups in Haifa, operating in public shelters, have been ordered to evacuate all equipment and personal belongings within 24 hours. The Nachshon Shavit 679 electronic intelligence aircraft is carrying out intense activity in the heart of Israel and Gaza, and across the Mediterranean (SIGINT), including the interception and analysis of signals and communications (COMINT) and radar monitoring (ELINT). Hebrew Channel 13: The Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army inspected the air squadron at the Israeli “Hatzrim” base, as part of preparations for war with Iran.
The United States will deploy F-22 fighters to Israel, with a total of 11 arriving from Great Britain at Uvda Air Base. At least two surprise exercises took place on the night of February 24 between Israeli and American forces. The security establishment’s assessment is that the attack on Iran is a done deal and will happen very soon. Israel has updated its list of essential professions. According to the updated list, even high-tech workers will be required to report to work in case of emergency. Israeli media are publishing the first images of emergency hospitals being moved to underground shelters, fearing the outbreak of war with Iran.
In Gaza, a new group of families from Gaza has arrived, returning to the area through the Rafah crossing. A person is wounded by Israeli fire in the Qizan Abu Rashwan area, south of the city of Khan Yunis.
In the West Bank, a woman speaks about the violent settler attack on the village of “Susiya” in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. The IDF is attacking the town of Kafr Qalil, east of Nablus.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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