Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War

[shaberon]

Here is something to say about Turco-American Al Qaeda Syria:

Damascus, Feb. 28 (SANA) – Syria’s Central Bank said Saturday it has restored its full banking relationship with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and reopened its account there, marking a step toward reconnecting the country to the global financial system.

In a statement, the Central Bank of Syria said the move followed months of coordination with the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve to meet regulatory requirements and re-establish banking communication channels within legal frameworks.

And one can't help but note today are two very different kinds of martyrs:












One will be talked about and the other I guess won't.

They were victims of more or less the same thing, despite the fact they do not like each other, and Turkey does not like Israel.


This is the Russian rumor mill:

NEW YORK, February 28. /TASS/. US and Israeli strikes on Iran did not significantly damage the country's defense capabilities, CNN reported, citing a source.

"No significant damage has been done to Iran’s missile and defense capabilities, and Iran has prepared itself for a long war," the TV channel quoted an Iranian source familiar with the country's military strategy as saying.

I suppose some hardware was damaged, and, this is calculated to be absorbed.

It's considered the southern equivalent of NATO:

The military operation of the United States and Israel against Iran "upended the global order," Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University Professor Peter Kuznick told TASS.

"The war that began early this morning, US time, has upended the global order. It was begun by two of the most tyrannical and violent regimes on the planet. We don’t know how or when it’s going to end," the expert said.

Correspondingly, it seems that claims will be ignored:

"It seems they believe their position has not been fully understood, so they are reiterating it. Their position is that they will allegedly defend Israel from attacks. In other words, they are so accustomed to manipulating information for their citizens that even this completely obvious situation, unfolding live before everyone’s eyes, is being turned upside down," the diplomat said, referring to the latest statements by European representatives.

[shaberon]

This is a Xinhua self-credit for a long exposure taken in Tel Aviv. You can tell where the intercept attempts are coming from one particular area:






Wires:

Handala Hacker Group Warning to All Countries in the Middle East


WANA (Mar 01) – In a post on X, this hacker group wrote: “Evacuate all military facilities immediately; history has never witnessed a hellish day like today.”


The Iranian Army has announced that its Air Force jets have successfully bombed U.S. military bases in the region.



In its fourth statement, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army declared: “Moments ago, the fighter jets of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Air Force carried out a successful bombing of U.S. bases in the Gulf countries and the Kurdistan region of Iraq in several stages of operation.”



The Iranian Army further stated: “All enemy military centres in the region will be within the reach of the Air Force’s fighter jets.”

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
If the Ayatollah really has been killed, then he was the only person in Iran who had issued a fatwa that Iran should NOT develop a nuclear weapon. His successor might not necessarily share that view.

Yep. This from DD Geopolitics:

~~~

Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with CIA assessments, that ahead of Saturday’s US and Israeli strikes, the agency concluded that eliminating Iran’s Supreme Leader would not moderate Tehran. Instead, he could be replaced by hardline elements from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

According to the sources, an IRGC takeover was one of several scenarios under discussion — and it could mean even "greater radicalization of Iran."

[gini]

´You’ve Been Lied to About Iran. Tucker Explains´.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nGmlNS_RHMY

. --12 min--Mar 1, 2026 #TuckerCarlson #CatherineAustinFitts #stablecoin
Tucker and Cathetine Austin Fitts discuss the real reason we bombed Iran, and what the tension in the Middle East is really about.

Watch the full conversation here: • Catherine Fitts: Epstein, CIA Black Budget... ´

[Tintin]

Posted by shaberon (here)

Wires:

Handala Hacker Group Warning to All Countries in the Middle East


WANA (Mar 01) – In a post on X, this hacker group wrote: “Evacuate all military facilities immediately; history has never witnessed a hellish day like today.”

Handala: they're a good source, effective, and I'd definitely pay heed to that. (Now March 1st where I am, in the Avalon library.)

[Tintin]

This, from Peter Girnus, an Omani diplomatic aide and shared via Patrick Henningsen to X, although these are Peter's words. They support a lot of the commentary doing the rounds, and good to see from one who was in the room. It's had over 3 million views.

_________________________________

Source: https://x.com/gothburz/status/2027852172923154714

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart.

We had a very good month.

Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace.

By mid-February, we had something.

Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green.

That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma.

Here is what they said, in the order they said it.

February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday.

February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive.

I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach.

February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses.

February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters.

Not happy with the pace.

We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway.

Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years.

Not happy with the pace.

February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens.

I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses.

February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications.

February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump.

Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production."

Rejected.

Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman.

The President said they rejected it.

I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed.

February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment.

February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school.

I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that.

February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold.

The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning.

February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse.

February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement.

The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."
9:03 PM · Feb 28, 2026
·
3.1M Views

[Tintin]

Another condensed and useful history primer via Dr Simon Goddek on X:

___________________________________________

Source: https://x.com/goddek/status/2027951088968646950

> 70 years ago, Iran looked just like any Western country.
> Short skirts, rock’n’roll, open universities.
> It’s 1953. Iran elects a secular socialist: Mohammad Mossadegh.
> He nationalizes oil. That pisses off BP.
> Cold War excuse.
> CIA and MI6 stage a coup. Operation Ajax.
> Mossadegh is overthrown.
> They install the Shah, a brutal US-backed dictator.
> Secret police. Torture chambers.
> Iran turns into a puppet state.
> People are that desperate, they turn to Khomeini, an exiled cleric, promising independence and dignity.
> 1979: Islamic Revolution.
> The Shah flees.
> US embassy stormed. Hostage crisis.
> America never forgives.
> Arms Saddam Hussein.
> Iraq invades Iran.
> US provides chemical weapons, satellite intel, logistics.
> 1 million Iranians die.
> Iranian kids sent into minefields with plastic keys around their necks.
> US shoots down Iran Air Flight 655
> 290 civilians dead.
> No apology.
> Fast forward today, Israel attacks Iran.
> The U.S. immediately says “we stand with Israel.”
> They talk about “regime change.”
> They say that Iranians “deserve freedom.”
> No mention of the coup they started.
> No mention of the dictator they installed.
> No mention of the war they fueled.
> No mention of the decades of sanctions and sabotage.
> They created the monster, and now they attacked it because it was still breathing.
> Watch who they try to put on the throne next.
> The son of the Shah is already being presented as the “alternative.”
> The same dynasty.
> The same foreign backing.
>The same promises of stability.
> History will repeats itself.
> And it’s not gonna end well.

__________________________________

Some photos included on the tweXt as well

[abmqa]

Posted by Tintin (here)
Another condensed and useful history primer via Dr Simon Goddek on X:

___________________________________________

Source: https://x.com/goddek/status/2027951088968646950

> 70 years ago, Iran looked just like any Western country.
> Short skirts, rock’n’roll, open universities.
> It’s 1953. Iran elects a secular socialist: Mohammad Mossadegh.
> He nationalizes oil. That pisses off BP.
> Cold War excuse.
> CIA and MI6 stage a coup. Operation Ajax.
> Mossadegh is overthrown.
> They install the Shah, a brutal US-backed dictator.
> Secret police. Torture chambers.
> Iran turns into a puppet state.
> People are that desperate, they turn to Khomeini, an exiled cleric, promising independence and dignity.
> 1979: Islamic Revolution.
> The Shah flees.
> US embassy stormed. Hostage crisis.
> America never forgives.
> Arms Saddam Hussein.
> Iraq invades Iran.
> US provides chemical weapons, satellite intel, logistics.
> 1 million Iranians die.
> Iranian kids sent into minefields with plastic keys around their necks.
> US shoots down Iran Air Flight 655
> 290 civilians dead.
> No apology.
> Fast forward today, Israel attacks Iran.
> The U.S. immediately says “we stand with Israel.”
> They talk about “regime change.”
> They say that Iranians “deserve freedom.”
> No mention of the coup they started.
> No mention of the dictator they installed.
> No mention of the war they fueled.
> No mention of the decades of sanctions and sabotage.
> They created the monster, and now they attacked it because it was still breathing.
> Watch who they try to put on the throne next.
> The son of the Shah is already being presented as the “alternative.”
> The same dynasty.
> The same foreign backing.
>The same promises of stability.
> History will repeats itself.
> And it’s not gonna end well.

__________________________________

Some photos included on the tweXt as well

It's a very good and accurate description of what occurred. It's interesting to see how those politicians who are supportive of this unprovoked war, remember the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but can't seem to recall what caused it.

Btw, I was in Air Force basic training, at Lackland AFB in Texas, December 1979, when the deposed Shah was being treated for cancer. I had developed a nasty case of laryngitis and was treated at the same hospital. The security there was insane, considering that the hospital was on base.

[Arcturian108]

Discussing the situation with my spirit guides this morning, they told me that Iran would be free of it's Islamic regime in about three weeks. What I repeat now is something they previously told me a few months ago that Russia and China would not enter this fight. That appears to be the case so far, which indicates that this is not going to become WWIII, or become a nuclear war.

[thirtythree]

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced today that it has commenced the seventh and eighth waves of Operation True Promise 4 in response to ongoing aggressions by the United States and Israeli regime.

https://tasnimnews.ir/en/news/2026/0...israel-strikes

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

1h
🇺🇸 BREAKING: CENTCOM has confirmed that three U.S. service members were killed and five seriously wounded during Operation Epstein’s Fury.

Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries or concussions.

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2028126672508137772

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Christopher Helali

1h
🚨 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was martyred by the US-Zionist axis. In his Christmas message in 2019, he spoke of the love and importance of Jesus Christ and his message of peace and justice. This is why the EPSTEIN SATANISTS assassinated him.

https://x.com/ChrisHelali/status/2028122070542917753

[Ravenlocke]

-- GEROMAN -- time will tell - 👀 --

18m
Iran Defiant After Khamenei Death;
Picks New Leaders
Closes Hormuz
Continues Strikes;
Russia Backing

https://x.com/GeromanAT/status/2028139346046407013

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=kUy3soYsmKY

[Ravenlocke]

Amerikanets 📉
2h
Summary of the Ynet report that's going around

• The US planned for a 4-5 day operation that would weaken the Iranian negotiating position, allowing a deal more favorable to the US
• Yesterday, the US reached out to Tehran through Italian mediators requesting a ceasefire
• The Iranians rejected this

https://x.com/ripplebrain/status/2028109442466586799

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

2h
🇦🇪 Iranian strikes in Abu Dhabi. The French Naval Air Station (Camp de la Paix) was reportedly struck.

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2028111398463553564

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

2h
🇾🇪 Statement from the million-strong march in Sana’a, Yemen:

🔸We follow with pride and honor the strength, speed, effectiveness, and scale of the Iranian response, which has disrupted the enemies’ calculations and exceeded their expectations.

🔸The effective Iranian response has proven that free peoples, relying on God, are capable of building themselves up and confronting enemies regardless of their capabilities.

🔸The American presence and bases in our region are a source of evil, serve the Zionist enemy, and threaten our security and safety.

🔸The purpose of American bases is to violate our countries, subjugate our peoples, seize our freedom and wealth, and empower the enemy over us.

🔸We have no choice but to confront the enemies’ plans with determination and steadfastness. The final outcome is in God’s hands, and He has decreed it for His servants who trust in His victory.

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2028105863571939428

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

2h
🇩🇰 BREAKING! Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, announced temporary suspension of key shipping routes through two critical Middle East chokepoints due to heightened security risks from ongoing military escalation.

🔸Bab el-Mandeb Strait Rerouting

Maersk is pausing all future Trans-Suez sailings via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (between Yemen and Djibouti/Eritrea) for its ME11 (Middle East-India to Mediterranean) and MECL (Middle East-India to US East Coast) services.

🔸Strait of Hormuz Suspension

Separately, Maersk is halting all vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz (Persian Gulf entrance near Iran/Oman) until further notice.

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2028108348537593967

[Ravenlocke]

MenchOsint

⚡️✈️🇺🇲 Several US Air Force C-17 Cargo planes are en route to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait & Ovda Air Base, Israel

https://x.com/MenchOsint/status/2028129957138907212

[Ravenlocke]

The Sirius Report

Ali Khamenei was killed in his own home. He didn't try to avoid his certain fate.

This wasn't as a result of some mythical intelligence plot by the US and Israel.

The clowns in Washington have clearly failed to grasp the ramifications of what killing him would do.

https://x.com/thesiriusreport/status...89753900388703

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by Tintin (here)
This, from Peter Girnus, an Omani diplomatic aide and shared via Patrick Henningsen to X, although these are Peter's words. They support a lot of the commentary doing the rounds, and good to see from one who was in the room. It's had over 3 million views.

_________________________________

Source: https://x.com/gothburz/status/2027852172923154714

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart.

We had a very good month.

Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace.

By mid-February, we had something.

Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green.

That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma.

Here is what they said, in the order they said it.

February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday.

February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive.

I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach.

February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses.

February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters.

Not happy with the pace.

We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway.

Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years.

Not happy with the pace.

February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens.

I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses.

February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications.

February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump.

Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production."

Rejected.

Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman.

The President said they rejected it.

I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed.

February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment.

February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school.

I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that.

February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold.

The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning.

February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse.

February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement.

The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."
9:03 PM · Feb 28, 2026
·
3.1M Views

Wow. A truly remarkable (and very wry!) post from clearly an exceptional, wise and intelligent man. No wonder it's had 3 million views. I hope it has many millions more.

[Ravenlocke]

Dialogue works

1h
BREAKING: Yesterday, the U.S. reached out to Iran through Italy, suggesting a ceasefire; Tehran 'rejected the idea outright' – Yedioth Ahronoth

https://x.com/Dialogue_NRA/status/2028121492114883068

Pepe Escobar

1h
Confirmed even by media in that death cult in West Asia that neo-Caligula WENT TACO ON DAY ONE, suggesting a ceasefire via an Italian diplomatic channel.

Confirmed by sources in Tehran: the response was NO.

https://x.com/RealPepeEscobar/status...27999594561725

Max Blumenthal

Ynet’s Nahum Barnea: Trump seeks a ceasefire as regional escalation grows, decapitation strikes fail to produce regime change

(Barnea is a barometer of centrist Israeli opinion)

https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2028115440275165627