Tehran, Iran – The Iranian government has again blamed “terrorists” for the killings of thousands during last month’s nationwide protests after United States President Donald Trump and human rights experts weighed in.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the government has released a list of 3,117 people, whom he described as “victims of recent terrorist operation”, including about 200 security personnel.

“If anyone disputes accuracy of our data, please share any evidence,” the diplomat, who has previously stated that 690 people on the list were “terrorists” armed and funded by the US and Israel, wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump said he had installed Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara in office. Asked about the US response to the way Kurds are being treated in Syria, Mr Trump said: “The President of Syria, who I essentially put there, is doing a phenomenal job. He's a rough guy, not a choirboy, a choirboy couldn't do it – but Syria's coming together and coming together well.”

Mr Trump had repeatedly praised Mr Al Shara, calling him “handsome”, a “very strong leader” and saying that he has a “strong past”. Mr Al Shara was once the leader of a former Al Qaeda affiliated group called Hayat Tahrir Al Sham which toppled dictator Bashar Al Assad in a lightning offensive in December 2024.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43502737

Feb. 20, 2026

Individuals who carry out economic activities in the country will be able to access tax benefits for investments in renewable energy sources, following the update of the regulatory framework approved by the Ministry of Finance and Prices (MFP), as part of the strategy for the transformation of the national energy matrix.

With the publication of Resolution 41/2026 in the extraordinary Official Gazette No. 30, individuals who carry out economic activities, such as self-employed workers, agricultural producers, artists, and intellectuals, who are taxpayers subject to personal income tax, are exempt from paying this tax when they invest in renewable energy sources.

The Supreme Court ruling has helped the family of one man in particular: the architect behind Trump’s tariffs.

Crosspost from https://altmedia.house/post/203729

Trump on Wednesday night signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to compel the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides. Glyphosate is the chemical in Bayer-Monsanto’s
Roundup and is the most commonly used herbicide for a slew of U.S. crops. Trump, in the order, said shortages of both phosphorus and glyphosate would pose a risk to national security.
Kennedy backed the president in a statement to CNBC Thursday morning.
“Donald Trump’s Executive Order puts America first where it matters most — our defense readiness and our food supply,” he said. “We must safeguard America’s national security first, because all of our priorities depend on it. When hostile actors control critical inputs, they weaken our security. By expanding domestic production, we close that gap and protect American families.”

The pollution travels, too.

Crosspost from https://altmedia.house/post/203726

The nights of January 8-9, 2026, saw Iran go up in a coordinated blaze after two weeks of protests. I, and many other Iranians, witnessed the breakdown in public order during those days, and the influence of outside forces instigating the explosion.

Crosspost from https://altmedia.house/post/203756

In their own words
“Arm yourselves. Today. If you're worried about the law, you're worried about the wrong things.” - Jeremy MacKenzie, 2025
“You gotta harden your hearts. So if hearing people talk in a very aggressive and offensive way is too much for you, are you really gonna be able to stomach like men, women and children being loaded onto fucking boats at gunpoint so they can be sent back to India? Like if the word, you know, “n****r” is obviously like the most offensive one, if that is too much for you, I seriously doubt your ability to have the intestinal fortitude to stomach what needs to happen because what needs to happen is very aggressive and extreme.” - Alex Vriend, 2024
“‘Are you gonna, are you gonna suggest deporting the Jews?’ Yeah. Yeah, I think, I think we do all the time.” - Alex Vriend reading and responding to a comment on his livestream, 2024
“Give me some guys and some weapons and we'll fucking get rid of them. We'll take them up. Get in the truck, you're going to the airport. ‘Make me.’ Okay, bang. Anybody else? Anybody else not want to go to the airport? Who wants to go to the airport? Show of hands, who wants to go to the airport? I only had to shoot one, see? Easy. - Jeremy MacKenzie, 2024
“It's funny, this all started as a joke. Making YouTube videos, but then we got noticed, right? The Prime Minister had said our name in the House of Commons multiple times. So, we realized that we can move the needle in politics in Canada. So we decided to take it a little bit more seriously.” - Derek Harrison, Road Rage Terror Tour stop in Carp, Ontario, 2024

Crosspost from https://lemmygrad.ml/post/10784541

https://archive.ph/6tASh

whilst the US kidnaps presidents, arms genocides and bombs countries indiscriminately, why is it that only its enemies face sanctions?

And I’d like to pose a question so obvious it feels absurd to ask, yet so necessary it demands an answer. That is: in a world where the primary tool of imperial control is no longer the bomb (though that is never far behind) but the sanction, the embargo, the financial chokehold, why is it that the chief architect and enforcer of this global siege economy and instability never faces the same treatment?
In the West, we have normalised the idea that certain nations must be crippled for their defiance. Venezuela, for refusing to auction its oil to the highest imperial bidder. Cuba, for the crime of building a society on its own terms for over six decades. Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, for the sin of sovereignty in a world that demands submission.
These countries, crucially, are not invading their neighbours. They are not arming genocides. They are not kidnapping foreign leaders from their palaces. Yet they are strangled by the most comprehensive, brutal sanctions regime in human history, administered from Washington, with the rest of the world expected to comply or face consequences.
Al-Jazeera reports that US and EU sanctions have killed 38 million people since 1970.
And yet the chief operator of this system faces no such pressure. And this is a country that does invade countries on false pretexts, that does kidnap foreign leaders, that is arming and funding an ongoing genocide in Gaza
The Empire that sanctions everyone is sanctioned by no one.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43481503

The US Supreme Court’s ruling “implies that Trump’s recent order imposing tariffs on countries selling oil to Cuba exceeds the president’s statutory authority.”

Feb. 20, 2026

With the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s economic agenda—his use of an emergency law to impose tariffs on countries around the world—struck down by the US Supreme Court on Friday, analysts said the sweeping ruling should promptly end the Cuba blockade that his administration has pressured other governments to take part in, leaving millions of Cubans struggling with shortages of essentials.

The court ruled that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not empower the president to “unilaterally impose tariffs,” as Trump has on countries across the globe, insisting that doing so would boost manufacturing and cut the trade deficit—despite mounting evidence that the tariffs have instead raised costs on American households.

Ryan Grim, Jeremy Scahill, and Murtaza Hussain
Feb 20, 2026

Sources with knowledge of internal White House deliberations told Drop Site that Trump is emboldened by what he sees as a phenomenal success in his Venezuela strategy—issuing sweeping demands for capitulation under threat of removing the ruling government and then abducting President Nicolás Maduro when he refused to obey.

But, the sources said, Trump and his aides have pressed war planners for assurances that chaos produced by any U.S. military action would calm down in time for the midterm election season to kick into high gear.

Trump has suggested to aides that he would make a deal with Iran if its leaders bend to his central demands but he stands ready to unleash a massive military operation—potentially including one aimed at assassinating Iran’s leadership—if they do not. Trump has said he may consider an initial round of attacks in an effort to push Iran to submit. In that event, the massive firepower in the region would remain if he decided to move forward with a broader war. Iranian officials say they are currently working on a formal response to the U.S. position laid out in Geneva on Tuesday during indirect talks, but have cautioned Iran has its own red lines. Tehran, meanwhile, told the United Nations it would consider U.S. bases “legitimate targets” if attacked, putting U.S. servicemembers at serious risk.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43475308

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
Updated 6:26 PM EST, February 19, 2026

Guillermo Beltrán walked away with two heavy bags on Thursday, each containing an essential haul — rice, beans, amaranth and crackers — complemented by a bottle of oil, large cans of sardines and canned peaches. Every label carried the same simple phrase “Made in Mexico.”

Beltrán, a 70-year-old Cuban father of two, was one of several hundred recipients of Mexican humanitarian assistance, ordered by President Claudia Sheinbaum in support of the island nation as it faces blackouts and severe fuel shortages worsened by a U.S oil embargo.

“I feel very grateful,” said Beltrán. “The Mexican president should be praised to the skies for showing such concern and courage.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43475153

By WAFAA SHURAFA
Updated 12:47 PM EST, February 20, 2026

At the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington, President Donald Trump spoke of billions of dollars pledged to rebuild the Gaza Strip and a “new and harmonious” Middle East rising from the ashes of war. Videos aired at the meeting showed a future of gleaming high-rises and new soccer pitches.

There was no sign of such optimism in Gaza, where Palestinians who have spent months or even years in squalid displacement camps or the rubble of their homes hold out little hope for change.

“Since the beginning of the war, we’ve been hearing about conferences and meetings. They say there’s a solution and peace, but it’s all a joke. They’re all liars,” said Faraj Abu Anze, who is among tens of thousands of Palestinians living in a sprawling tent camp on the Mediterranean coast.

“We see nothing of that on the ground. There is no hope. Education and health care are gone. There is no life,” he said.

Israeli settlers on Wednesday shot and killed 19-year-old Palestinian-American Nasrallah Abu Siyam as they attacked the Palestinian village of Mukhmas, east of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

He and other residents had intervened to defend a Palestinian farmer under attack by a group of settlers, a witness told the Associated Press.

The Israeli army showed up and dispersed tear gas, sound grenades and live ammunition, the witness, Mukhmas resident Raed Abu Ali, told the AP.

Video circulating on social media appears to show the moment Abu Siyam was shot and his body being dragged away.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/43470563

Israeli attacks kill three Palestinians in southern Gaza. Palestinians detained by Israel released back to Gaza. U.S. officials prepare large military base in southern Gaza. White House weighs using Israeli-backed gangs to form Gaza police force. Settlers kill Palestinian-American in the West Bank; Israeli police kill Palestinian citizen of Israel. President Donald Trump hosts inaugural Board of Peace meeting. Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie to force a vote on war with Iran. U.S. is holding backchannel talks with Castro family confidante. Trump threatens potential Iran strikes from UK bases amid dispute over Diego Garcia. U.S. delays Taiwan arms package amid pressure from Xi Jinping ahead of Beijing summit. Wexner says DOJ and FBI never questioned him over Epstein ties. Former Prince Andrew arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over Epstein ties. Mexico explores mediating between U.S. and Cuba as aid shipments continue. UN mission finds “hallmarks of genocide” in RSF takeover of El-Fasher. South Korean court sentences former president to life in prison over failed self-coup attempt. U.S. begins full military withdrawal from Syria. Rights group alleges record extrajudicial killings by Punjab police unit. Congo offers rebel-held Rubaya coltan mine to U.S. in strategic minerals push. U.S.-brokered Russia–Ukraine talks in Geneva end without a breakthrough.

According to the BBC and press reports in the Gulf, Hamas members in Gaza have already voted. Those in the West Bank, in Israeli prisons and the diaspora are also expected to cast ballots for delegates to the movement’s 50-member general Shura council, which ultimately chooses its politburo and a new interim leader. The process could last weeks.

The two frontrunners in the leadership contest are thought to be Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Meshaal, who both survived the Doha airstrike. Between them, they present a fairly clearcut choice on Hamas’s future direction.

Al-Hayya leads the Gaza wing, though he lives in the Gulf, and is considered Sinwar’s heir – hardline, though not drawn from the military wing, and closest to Iran among Hamas’s foreign sponsors.

Meshaal is a Hamas veteran, one of its founders, who served as overall leader for more than two decades. He now leads the movement abroad and is thought to live in Doha. He is viewed as being at the more flexible end of the Hamas spectrum, with stronger ties to Qatar and Turkey.

The administration is pursuing a policy aimed at controlling Venezuela's oil trade and increasing its crude exports, and the country has seen a series of visits from US officials in recent weeks to advance this agenda, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who recently toured oil sites with Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has maintained that Maduro is the rightful president of Venezuela and is calling for his release, but she has obliged the US demands regarding Venezuela's oil, demands that were made under the threat of another attack. According to a report from The Grayzone, a pro-opposition Venezuelan journalist has said that the US Department of Justice has crafted an indictment against Rodriguez to "hold over her head."

In early November, a social media post by United States President Donald Trump set off alarm bells across Nigeria. The US “Department of War”, he said, was preparing to go into the West African country “guns-a-blazing” over what he claimed was the killing of Christians in Nigeria.

As Nigerians worried about a potential bombing campaign against their nation, the Tinubu government — though still denying accusations of a “Christian genocide” — quietly pivoted. Instead of aggressive rhetoric, it said it would welcome US assistance in dealing with security challenges that have long proved a thorn in the side of successive Nigerian governments.

Weeks later, on the night of December 25, the US launched what Trump described as “powerful and deadly” strikes in northwest Nigeria but the US military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) made clear the attacks were carried out “at the request of Nigerian authorities”.

That cooperation between the US and Nigeria only appears to have grown, culminating this week in 100 US military personnel arriving in the country to help train Nigerian soldiers in the fight against armed groups.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence said US forces will assist with “technical support” and “intelligence sharing”, and despite not playing a direct combat role, will help target and defeat “terrorist organisations”.

ANA (Feb 20) – In a significant development in Middle Eastern diplomacy, Iran and Egypt have reached a final agreement to fully restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies in each other’s capitals—an accord that officials say is now only awaiting a formal public announcement at an agreed “zero hour.”

According to diplomatic sources, the decision to exchange ambassadors between Tehran and Cairo has already been made, with strong political will evident on both sides. The breakthrough follows months of sustained dialogue and coordination, structured around a three-phase roadmap that has gradually moved into the implementation stage.

Officials note that bilateral relations have gained unprecedented momentum in recent years. More than 15 meetings at the level of foreign ministers have been held, alongside high-level engagements involving officials responsible for health, tourism, energy, and judicial affairs. These interactions paved the way for overcoming long-standing obstacles. Within this framework, a joint political consultation committee was established and has so far convened two formal sessions.