An Iranian meme showing a car with a real and a child's play steering wheel, quoting President Trump's statement "The Strait of Hormuz will be controlled by me and the Ayatollah." side by side with a meme showing President Trump with the President and Prime Minister of Lebanon standing over a relief map of Lebanon with the initials "MLGA" for "Make Lebanon Great Again."
We clearly have a "Meme Gap."
President Trump wants the #IranWar to be a “win,” but if there is no deal, attacking Iran’s energy and water infrastructure is not a winning strategy for the US, because of Iran’s #PeculiarSenseOfSymmetry. Here's why.
www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/a...
Next week: A better strategy.
This piece by my Atlantic Council colleague Caitlin Thompson deserves to be widely read -
www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
6/6 At 6m45s, Araghchi says Iran would have to recover the enriched uranium and has no plans to recover it. That’s what he said.
5/6 At 6 minutes, he claims Iran’s enriched uranium is “under the rubble,” not specifying whether Fordow, Isfahan, or elsewhere.
4/6 At 5m30s, Araghchi says safe passage through the Strait is “up to our military.” Meaning not Iran’s “civilian” leader. This shows that the IRGC is really calling the shots for Iran in this war.
3/6 At 5m10s, Araghchi says the Strait of Hormuz is open to France and Italy. We’ll see.
2/6 At 3m55s, Araghchi claims US HIMARS rocket artillery was responsible for striking Kharg Island from UAE territory. But the US base at Al-Dhafra is at least 340 km from Kharg, and the maximum range of HIMARS I thought was only about 300 km.
1/6 Some extremely interesting points from Iranian FM Araghchi’s “Face the Nation” interview just now, but you have to watch it because their writeup misses some key points:
www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian...
I would like this sentence posted in a sign in every planning SCIF at DOD and State (tap the link!):
www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/curse-m....
You must listen to Steve Witkoff on the Mark Levin Show to understand how we got into this war. You're listening to history here, and it's not what most people think. The misunderstandings, esp. on the Iranian side, are staggering and rival "Guns of August."
rumble.com/v76l928-excl...
And this from the UK, France and Germany:
We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Just released, Iran has now unified the world against them.
First, there's this:
www.state.gov/releases/off...
Some believe it wasn’t the US A-bomb that caused Japan’s surrender, it was Russia joining the war against Japan on 8/8/45. Think about today’s announcement by UK, France, and Germany they would “destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source.”
www.gov.uk/government/n...
On CTV (Canada) last night discussing the implications of the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamene'i. Worth a watch if you have 6 minutes.
review.bellmedia.ca/view/265932503
Watch the video to the end and you see Trump's strategy: sustained attacks to weaken Iranian security and strategic targets (probably including leadership), until the Iranian people overthrow the regime.
This is trying to draw to an inside straight.
An important story on computer chip production that deserves to be read.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/t...
Trump announces the United States will contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace.
This @nytimes.com article has been annoying me all day. The photo is described as the Strait of Hormuz, but it's not. Where is it? Kudos to whomever can figure out where it really is!
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/w...
This fits the pattern we noticed in January of last year: Abolishing FEMA would hurt all Americans, but particularly Trump voters. This map aligns with the numbers announced today.
www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-at...
Interesting numbers in $2.2 billion in FEMA funding announced today for past disasters. The DHS press release lists only the 15 largest of 1,721 recovery projects, but of those $875 million, $768 million went to states that voted for President Trump.
www.dhs.gov/news/2026/01...
An important change in Minnesota:
Exclusive: ICE officers in Minnesota directed not to interact with 'agitators' - www.reuters.com/world/ice-of...
Still not downloading TikTok. Here's why.
tiktok's new privacy policy is sparking a backlash. here's what to know. www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-...
A great analysis of counterterrorism strategy by Chris Costa and Colin Clarke: #CT
Loosening the Gordian Knot of Global Terrorism: Why Legitimacy Must Anchor a Counterterrorism Strategy www.thecipherbrief.com/loosening-th...
On Al-Jazeera Sunday night discussing the challenges ahead for the Board of Peace and the efforts to rebuild Gaza. Much depends on what happens in Davos in the coming days: President Trump will urge members to contribute serious amounts of money and troops for the International Stabilization Force.
Both the Damascus-based guest and the Kurdish guest got into it with each other at the end—proof that the mistrust runs deep. Amb. Barrack is right to regard this as both sides needing to work to gain the trust of the other.
Here’s Amb. Barrack’s tweet announcing the deal—praise for both sides, but short on specifics.
x.com/USAMBTurkiye...
On Ash-Sharq/Bloomberg talking about the Syria-SDF ceasefire agreement. Washington will need to keep encouraging both sides to live up to the terms of this agreement.
On Al-Hadath (Saudi Arabia) tonight talking about the challenges facing the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. They need commitments of money and troops that President Trump will be trying to nail down in Davos next week. Disarmament of Hamas is going to be a real challenge.
