{"id":94102,"date":"2026-02-23T06:49:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/?p=94102"},"modified":"2026-02-23T06:49:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:49:31","slug":"news-and-analysis-2-23-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/?p=94102","title":{"rendered":"News and Analysis 2\/23\/26"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"gated-content\" data-nosnippet=\"\">Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi <\/span>&#8220;<span class=\"gated-content\" data-nosnippet=\"\"> said he believes the proposal will be discussed in Geneva and both sides will work on a text to try and reach &#8216;a fast deal&#8217;<\/span>&#8221; &#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/02\/22\/iran-us-talks-friday-nuclear-deal\">U.S.-Iran Talks Expected Thursday to Discuss Nuclear Proposal<\/a> (Axios)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230; the alternative looks grim for everyone:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stripes.com\/theaters\/middle_east\/2026-02-23\/iran-attacks-greater-strikes-20844844.html\">Iran Likely to Respond to Renewed US Strikes More Forcefully than Last Time, Experts Say\u00a0<\/a> (Stars and Stripes)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wionews.com\/photos\/-ground-invasion-planning-what-jolly-green-ii-on-uss-abraham-lincoln-means-for-a-war-with-iran-1771834716730\/1771834716732\">&#8216;Iran-US Tensions&#8217;: What Jolly Green II on USS Abraham Lincoln Means for a War with Iran<\/a> (WION)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Zionist war on free speech continues &#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/02\/bbc-cuts-free-palestine-bafta-film-awards-speech-1236732912\/\">BBC Cuts \u201cFree Palestine\u201d from BAFTA Film Awards Winner\u2019s Speech<\/a> (Deadline)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230; and expends to threaten even the Israeli military:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2026\/02\/21\/israel-military-radio-galei-tzahal\/\">Israel\u2019s Government Wants to Pull the Plug on Its Own Military Radio<\/a> (Washington Post)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;[P]rotests took place on at least seven university campuses in Tehran, the capital, and in the northeastern city of Mashhad, according to accounts from student groups&#8221; &#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/22\/world\/middleeast\/iran-student-protests.html\">Iran Students Protest for Second Day Despite State Crackdown<\/a> (NY Times)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"h2summary\">\n<p>Israeli war crimes continue:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/news\/report-israeli-forces-detain-over-100-palestinians-beginning-ramadan\">Report: Israeli Forces Detain over 100 Palestinians Since the Beginning of Ramadan<\/a> (Middle East Eye)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/23\/gaza-child-dies-waiting-for-israeli-permission-to-leave-for-treatment\">Gaza Child Dies Waiting for Israeli Permission to Leave for Treatment<\/a> (Aljazeera)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2026\/2\/23\/ramadan-in-gaza-cost-of-iftar-doubles-as-genocidal-war-devastates-economy\">Ramadan in Gaza: Cost of Iftar Doubles as Genocidal War Devastates Economy<\/a> (Aljazeera)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Land bases protect aircraft carriers from anti-ship missiles while enabling heavy bombers to deploy massive bunker busters&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wionews.com\/photos\/why-the-us-military-may-attack-iran-from-its-bases-instead-of-from-the-uss-abraham-lincoln-1771785039645\/1771785039647\">Why the US Military May Attack Iran from Its Bases Instead of from the USS Abraham Lincoln?<\/a> (WION)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;On Sunday a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said Huckabee\u2019s comments were taken out of context and that there is no change to U.S. policies on Israel&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/krcrtv.com\/news\/nation-world\/huckabee-remarks-fuel-arab-and-muslim-anger-as-israel-braces-for-possible-iran-strike-mike-us-ambassador-president-donald-trump-tucker-carlson-interview-middle-east-bible-land-tensions-iran-strike-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu?teaserSource=trending\">Huckabee Remarks on Israel&#8217;s Regional Rights Spark Backlash as U.S.-Iran Talks Near<\/a> (TNND \/ KRCR)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;[T]he U.S. strike on Iran, or Operation Midnight Hammer, has &#8230; set in motion two consequences that run directly counter to [Trump&#8217;s] vision of coercing Iran into submission&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/responsiblestatecraft.org\/us-iran-long-war\/\">What if Today&#8217;s Iran Is Resigned to a Long, Hellish War with the US?<\/a> (Responsible Statecraft)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe Board of Peace represents a dangerous assault on international law, and an attempt to create a parallel decision-making structure that bypasses and undermines the United Nations and international justice institutions&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2026\/02\/board-of-peace-must-put-palestinians-rights-first\/\">EU\/Israel: EU Foreign Ministers Must Demand Board of Peace Puts Palestinians\u2019 Rights First<\/a> (Amnesty International)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Rev. Jackson emerged &#8230; not as a replacement for King, but as a bearer of the mantle, extending the unfinished struggle for civil and human rights into new terrains, new generations, and new political possibilities&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hbazian.substack.com\/p\/keep-hope-alive-i-am-somebody-in\">\u201cKeep Hope Alive\u201d, \u201cI am Somebody.\u201d In Memoriam: Rev. Jesse L. Jackson (1941\u20132026) Carrying the Mantle of Civil and Human Rights into the Present<\/a> (Hatem Bazian \/ Substack)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi &#8220; said he believes the proposal will be discussed in Geneva and both sides will work on a text to try and reach &#8216;a fast deal&#8217;&#8221; &#8230; U.S.-Iran Talks Expected Thursday to Discuss Nuclear Proposal (Axios) &#8230; the alternative looks grim for everyone: Iran Likely to Respond to Renewed US [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94102"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94108,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94102\/revisions\/94108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.minaret.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}